As soon as Deklan captured the Riven-Mouthed Maiden, he dropped to the ground.

His back was against the fence.

Even though he tried reaching for something, anything, with his hand, to stop himself from falling, his hands only grasped the air. Deklan plummeted to the ground, sagging against the wall as his body went limp from overexertion.

His vision swarmed, the world ahead reduced to a wavering blur.

Several flickering notifications from the system appeared, but his eyes were too blurry to read them.

And even if he could, his mind was too worn out to think of anything.

Pumple watched in composed stillness as Deklan's chest heaved up and down rapidly.

Potions… I need potions.

Since his mana reserve was depleted entirely, his Ghostly body was shutting down.

A Ghost feeds on mana to survive and grow stronger; it was a natural response for their bodies to absorb mana, vastly different compared to Humans. Deklan was worried that, unlike Humans who passed out if they depleted their mana reserves, a Ghost would simply pass away.

Deklan couldn't let that happen.

He couldn't die.

Not before he could at least talk one last time with Paul.

Just a few words from him should help Paul live on and get through this difficult hurdle.

If Deklan failed to do at least that… He didn't even want to imagine what would happen.

"System… Take out a minor mana potion…"

Deklan rasped as his body slowly sagged further.

A vial appeared in his hand, the minor mana potion, exactly what he needed.

He fumbled frantically with the lid, but his darkening vision—and fading strength turned a simple task into an impossible one. Something he could usually pop with a flick of his thumb now felt sealed tightly, like someone deliberately tightened the lid to make it harder for him to open it.

Deklan stared at the lid as his fingers scraped for a grip.

But even when he managed to catch the edges, they kept slipping away.

"Pu-Pumple…" He called, but he was already lying on the ground. "Open it… Open it for m—"

Before he could finish his sentence, the world turned dark.

And his mind slipped away.

…

Raah!

A sound echoed, but Deklan didn't know what it was.

Raaaah!

It came again, and the second time, he recalled that it sounded astral and wrong.

Raah!

At the third time the sound seeped into his eardrums, he noticed that it sounded like a scream—an astral scream that seemed angry. And from how it echoed, it became apparent that whoever that scream came from was not a Human.

Perhaps a Ghost.

And when the scream roared louder for the fourth time, Deklan's eyes snapped open.

Deklan blinked, letting his eyes adjust to the faint, starving light.

He sucked in a very deep breath, filling his lungs to the fullest, and then pushed himself up.

"Eugh…" A groan escaped his lips as he held his throbbing head. "What happened? Where am I…?"

As his mind finally shook off the haze of sleep, fragments of memory slid back into place—he was still in the Shadowed Town, and he overexerted himself to the point of depleting his mana reserve. Now that he recalled clearly what had happened, his eyes snapped wide, and he swept his surroundings—for the second time.

Deklan was now in a very dark place.

Only one source of light could be seen, and it was coming from right above him.

Like he was on a performance stage, and he was the main lead being highlighted by the spotlight.

It was eerie, and frankly disturbing.

Initially, he thought he was back to where he met with the bitch, but this place felt different.

It looked similar, but the air here is extremely cold.

And the mana… Deklan could feel it present in the air, but it was so scarce he could barely sense it.

Is this Hell?

Remembering his sins, Deklan thought that since he had died, this must be Hell.

He looked down at his hands and frowned.

For some odd reason, his mana reserve wasn't empty like he remembered; there was still a flicker left.

It's barely a tenth of the full capacity, but unmistakably there.

No… If that's the case, then how do I explain this?

If this was really Hell, Deklan would've been tortured by now, but he wasn't—there doesn't seem to be anyone here either. "How long have I been here?" He looked around again, searching for something, anything. "Where the fuck am I?"

Rah!

Deklan turned when a breeze brushed against his skin.

Something passed him from behind.

It was a Ghost, or maybe a Demon? Either way, he wasn't alone in this darkness.

[Time Remaining: 50 seconds.]

Deklan blinked his eyes when he saw the system's notification, which meant he didn't die.

And that means this place was real.

"Fifty seconds? Fifty seconds to what…?" Deklan thought aloud, but he was pushed forward.

He fell face-first into the shallow water.

Something pushed him from behind.

Deklan looked around again, but he couldn't find anything at all, not even a trace of the thing that pushed him from behind. It's like these creatures are there, but he couldn't see or sense their presence. And the prospect of something in the darkness scares him.

It was Human instinct to always fear the dark.

"No, wait, I don't think that's the case," Deklan climbed back to his feet again.

But the moment he did, another creature rushed past him.

He couldn't see or sense it, but he knew that from the rush of wind and also its scream.

Deklan covered his mouth, suspecting something.

It's not that I couldn't see or sense them, but they also couldn't see or sense me.

They attacked when I made a sound. Just what is this place?

Deklan realized this might be the case because seconds ago, when something pushed him from behind, it didn't feel like it was a deliberate push. It felt more like something bumped him and knocked him down.

Naturally, this made him think that the creatures here also couldn't see one another.

Suspecting that it might be the case, Deklan crouched down and covered his mouth—he made sure he made no sound. He even breathed silently—fearing that whatever the creature that made those screams didn't find him.

Clearly, they were searching for him because he was noisy.

And he felt that one more bump from them, and he would be found.

I can hear at least a dozen of them. Since they were noisy, there must be something they wanted.

Maybe there's a method for them to look at me that I don't know about?

Deklan shook his head, not wanting to know more.

Right now, all he wanted to do was wait for the timer to run out.

[Time Remaining: 12 seconds.]

Raah!

Raaagh!

Deklan closed his ears, blocking the astral screams from disturbing him too much as some of them got too close—for comfort. His eyes only stared at the countdown before him, and the only thing he could hear was his thoughts and heartbeat.

6…

4…

3…

2…

Just as the countdown struck one, Deklan's heart skipped a beat when something touched his shoulder.

His entire body froze.

It was so close to his ear, the sound of growling, and the suffocating killing intent that the creature holding his shoulder was emanating. One that could even match a Demon. But fortunately, when he turned to look, the countdown struck zero.

And in the next instant, his body was swallowed by the shallow water underneath him.

…

Inside the Shadowed Town.

Night swept over the entire town like a thick, suffocating blanket, plunging everything into a darkness so absolute that one would find it hard to traverse the street. Streets, houses, and walls fused together into a single expanse of ink-black void.

Had it not been for the trees that retained their colors, it would have been impossible to go out.

Like being in a maze of shadow.

Sprawled in front of the town hall was a pale man with a translucent body, and his eyes abruptly opened when a phantom passed by the street. Deklan sucked in a deep breath and sat up, sweat drizzling down the side of his face.

Just like earlier, he was still lying in front of the town hall where he passed out.

"Pumple…?" Deklan called as he scooted backward to lean against the wall.

Before he could call Pumple once again, he recalled that Pumple must have already returned to the Ward.

It was no doubt already more than fifteen minutes.

"Eughh…" Deklan massaged his forehead, still feeling the aftertaste of the dizziness that had attacked him earlier. "I managed to hold on until the Riven-Mouthed Lady was captured, but who would've thought I'd not survive the aftermath?"

Even though it was scary thinking back, Deklan let out a deep sigh.

In the end, he managed to survive and even captured a silver-rank Ghost in the process.

No need to worry about what didn't happen.

Bad days are going to happen in the future, so when the moment is good, enjoy it.

That's what Paul said to him.

Right now, everything ended well, and he ought to bask in happiness—not worry.

Deklan took a moment to rest his mind and body, sitting cross-legged and burying his face in his hands.

"Good thing the battle has ended," He muttered out loud, noting that there were no more explosions in the background. "Now that the Riven-Mouthed Maiden is captured by me, the Shadowed Town will not last. It doesn't matter to me, though."

Just then, Deklan raised his gaze when he heard a dinging sound.

A panel appeared before him; one that caught him completely off guard.

[Notice: For capturing a unique Alpha Ghost, the host had also captured its influence!]

[Congratulations, the Shadowed Town has been added to the Ward's territory!]

Deklan's eyes sparkled when he saw this.

He had been working on expanding the Ward to the Slosa Hamlet, but he got this place instead.

But knowing the boosts that he would gain from expanding the Ward, he wasn't complaining.

Deklan wanted to quickly check the Shadowed Town, but as he was about to do that, his ears picked up the sound of creaking insects. And his body also felt the cold wind brushing against his weary body; it was relaxing and serene.

Even so, Deklan's face was anything but relaxed.

Instinctively, he stared skyward and came to notice that it was already nighttime.

It wouldn't be a problem normally, but it's really bad for this moment.

"Marsha!" Deklan immediately stood up and sprinted straight to where he came from.

Fear and worry gripped him tightly as Marsha had been sprawled there alone for hours, and since she was wounded, there's no saying what would happen to her. Even if she's fine, she would've tried to find him, and that's not good.

"Please don't be stupid," He uttered as he ran. "Wait for me!"

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