A phantom floated inexplicably behind the man's back.
Its round head featured dot-like ink-black eyes and a sausage-like mouth, resembling a sunny doll with an overall dopey yet cute appearance.
Among those present, only Hina showed any sign of fear.
"So this is the legendary phantom," the man said excitedly, reaching out toward it.
"These phantoms are quite gentle. They don't harm people—at worst, they might embarrass you a little. Like this."
His hand passed through the phantom's body, then his legs suddenly buckled as he collapsed forward, pounding the ground with his fists.
"I'm such a failure! Nine whole days without anyone complimenting my monocle—I truly am worthless!!"
Tears and snot splattered the ground as he sobbed despondently:
"If there's a next life, I want to be a maggot."
Robin and the others stared in stunned silence. "A little embarrassing" was a severe understatement—this was downright humiliating.
The dopey phantom hovering midair scratched its head before drifting away from the scene.
Robin hesitated but ultimately chose not to use her ability to attempt capturing the phantom.
She had no desire to end up wailing on the ground like the man.
The man's negativity didn't last long. Wiping his tear-streaked face and straightening his attire, he regained his previous gentlemanly demeanor.
"My apologies for that display. They say touching a phantom brings good luck—though the process can be rather undignified."
"But where did that phantom come from? Hasn't your country sent anyone to investigate?" Robin asked curiously. According to the man, phantoms had been appearing for two years—how could such a bizarre phenomenon go unexamined?
"Investigate? Why would we investigate?" The man spread his hands matter-of-factly.
"Phantoms are just phantoms—souls of the departed. If you must trace their origin, they probably come from the Underworld."
Not just the man, but even his wife and daughter wore expressions of complete nonchalance, as though considering themselves fortunate.
Robin narrowed her eyes, understanding their perspective—or rather, Ghost Island's collective belief.
She didn't believe phantoms existed, so encountering such phenomena would naturally prompt investigation.
Conversely, everyone on Ghost Island accepted monsters as reality—of course the dead would become phantoms. A few cemetery phantoms? Perfectly normal.
As for outsiders, they'd likely dismiss phantom sightings as just another ghost story from Ghost Island.
But Robin differed from them all.
After bidding farewell to the family, she immediately gathered Gunpowder and Boren to thoroughly search the cemetery.
Everything has an origin—phantoms were no exception.
Whether it was an entrance to the Underworld or an unknown Ability User, she intended to uncover the source of these phantoms.
A mere touch could plunge someone into despair—the old King's confidants paled in comparison to these mysterious phantoms.
If she could harness this power, even Tia's legions of soldiers would pose no threat.
"Hina, if you're scared, you can head back first. No need to force yourself."
"I-I'm not scared! I need to protect you."
Clutching Robin's arm with one hand, Hina pointed at a gravestone with the other.
"Look at these severed tombstones! There must be more than just phantoms here—other monsters that can physically harm us too!"
"Hina speculates."
Following the direction of her finger, Robin saw a gravestone with its upper right corner cut off.
According to the man, the Phantom had appeared two years ago, while the gravestone being severed was a recent incident.
She didn't know exactly how recent "recent" was, but there were definitely other strange occurrences.
Still, Robin wasn't too worried. The ability to cut objects? Well, they had Gunpowder, who was immune to cutting.
If they encountered a cutting monster, they could just have Gunpowder buy time while the rest of them made a quick escape.
With that thought, Robin quickened her pace and stayed close to Gunpowder.
Fortunately, as the day passed, the four of them didn't encounter any cutting monsters.
Along the way, a few more locals came to pay their respects, and Robin learned from them the exact timing of the cutting incident.
It was around yesterday afternoon when mourners discovered the damaged gravestone.
The news quickly spread across the island, and the Public Safety Department had sent people to investigate, but unfortunately, they found nothing.
Unfortunately, the four of them once again watched as the Phantom slipped away before their eyes.
This type of Phantom had no physical form—it could even burrow into the ground or vanish into thin air, making it troublesome to chase.
After a whole day of fruitless effort, the four could only return to the inn to report their findings to Dier.
Dier's situation wasn't much better either.
From the Zombie Officer, he learned about the island's military distribution.
"So you're saying there are three types of forces on the island, and your Zombie Squad is the weakest?"
He pinched the bridge of his nose with a headache. Three squads meant three commanders, and infiltrating them one by one would clearly take a lot of time.
"First, tell me more about these three squads."
"Right away, boss!"
The Zombie Officer knelt on the floor and pointed at himself:
"First, there's us from the Public Safety Department. Our uniform is the Zombie Suit, and we're responsible for handling criminal activities in town.
But since the island's atmosphere is pretty good, crimes are rare, so our Zombie Squad doesn't have many members."
"Next is the Kappa Squad at the port. Their uniform includes a dish on their heads and a beak-like mask. They're in charge of dealing with foreign Pirates.
As you know, ever since Pirate King Roger said those words, the Great Pirate Era began, and lawlessness at sea skyrocketed.
So the Kappa Squad has the most members and the best weapons—they're the strongest of the three squads."
"Lastly, there's the Bloodline Squad in the palace. Their uniform is red armor, and squad leaders are equipped with red capes.
They have about two thousand members, mainly responsible for guarding the palace, patrolling it daily, and protecting the royal family when they travel."
The Zombie Officer glanced at Vlad beside him and added,
"The ones who were following Prince Tia earlier were Bloodline Squad members."
"That's not important!"
Dier waved his hand. Since the person was already missing, there was no point dwelling on it now.
"Go back for now. Will disappearing for so long cause any problems?"
The Zombie Officer shook his head.
"Our daily operations are pretty lax. It's common for members to go missing for a whole day just to scare tourists."
"Good. Bring someone else back with you when you return."
"Right away, boss!"
Over the course of the day, Dier had taken control of three Zombie Officers and one Kappa Port Soldier.
He suspected that Tia's main forces were likely the two-thousand-strong Bloodline Squad.
The zombie forces are too weak to be counted.
The harbor troops have a certain degree of autonomy. No matter who becomes King, they must rely on them, so there's no reason for them to rebel.
Moreover, most of their weapons are fixed artillery at the harbor. Transporting them would not only be inconvenient, but the sudden disappearance of even a single cannon would raise suspicion.
"Two thousand soldiers in the Bloodline Squad... how many among them are enemies?"
Click~
The door swung open, and Hina strode in with her head held high:
"We encountered a Phantom today!"