Truthfully, keeping my telekinesis a secret until now had been a perfectly rational decision for my own safety.

    In a world where science and magic were the norms, my power, which belonged to neither, was like carrying a ticking bomb.

    Just its existence could put my life in jeopardy.

    So logically, the best course of action was to stay out of this situation entirely, keep my head down, and remain hidden.

    Nighthaven was a labyrinth where people like me were as common as pebbles.

    This crisis would eventually resolve itself without me having to step in.

    And if I recklessly revealed my telekinesis and word got out, the vampires might shift their target to me instead.

    Yes, it was best to think rationally.

    For the sake of the future....

    ‘No. Why should I hold back?’

    Unfortunately, I wasn’t the type to endure quietly.

    If I wanted something, like a delicious deluxe chocolate cream bun, I had to have it.

    And if someone did something bad, they deserved to be punished appropriately.

    More importantly, while I stayed silent for the future’s sake, I couldn’t bear to watch the people I knew suffer.

    Good grief. Despite being a scaredy-cat, I could also be impulsive at times.No?v(el)B\\jnn

    Even I had to admit that my personality was frustratingly foolish.

    ‘Not that I plan to jump into the fire without thinking.’

    Of course, I wasn’t entirely without a plan.

    Let’s think about this. Right now, I was just a ghost cloaked in white fabric.

    The only person who knew my true identity was Greg.

    So, if I made a grand spectacle, pinned all the attention on the Ghost, and then disappeared forever, that would be enough.

    A classic scarecrow tactic.

    Until recently, the Ghost had been my only identity.

    But starting today, there was Yuria, Greg’s employee. That should be enough to keep things safe.

    ‘I really owe Greg a lot.’

    He fed me, gave me a job, and even gave me a name.

    In a way, he was like a father figure in this life.

    Though, considering he was only in his late twenties despite his stoic demeanor, calling him “Dad” would probably freak him out.

    That might actually be fun in its own way.

    Lost in these trivial thoughts, I eventually found myself stepping out of the alley and onto a wide street.

    Since there weren’t many bounty hunters around here, the street was crawling with zombies—so many it was revolting.

    “Graaaah...”

    “Kik, krrrrk...”

    Sensing my presence, the zombie horde surged toward me like moths to a flame.

    The scene could’ve been straight out of a horror movie, but I didn’t bat an eye.

    My telekinesis had already extended in every direction along the street.

    ‘Neck crank.’

    CRACK!

    I extended a hand from beneath my cloak and made a simple twisting gesture with my wrist.

    In response, the necks of every approaching zombie snapped sideways.

    It wasn’t a particularly difficult task.

    All I did was grab their jaws with telekinesis and twist them to the side.

    Compared to earlier, when I had forcefully crushed their necks, this move barely consumed 20% of my focus.

    Still, the result was impressive.

    The street, once teeming with zombies, was now filled with the sight of them collapsing simultaneously—a surreal spectacle.

    “What the... What just happened to them?!”

    “Th-their heads twisted?!”

    “Don’t let your guard down! Double-check they’re dead! Zombies can still move like this!”

    When it clattered to the ground, I realized it was formed entirely of coagulated blood.

    Blood magic.

    There was no need to guess who the culprit was.

    “Good reaction. You’re not just some nobody, it seems.”

    My head turned toward the source of the voice.

    Standing there was a tall, lanky man with pale skin.

    A handsome but gaunt face, crimson eyes filled with cold madness, and dark red hair that looked as if it had been soaked in dried blood.

    His attire was sharp and formal, resembling a tailcoat.

    Even without an introduction, I could tell he was Drakel—the vampire noble and the mastermind behind the zombie-filled chaos in the western labyrinth.

    My headache, worsened by excessive use of telekinesis, blended with my rising anger.

    Could he sense my emotions even through the white fabric cloaking me?

    Drakel, surrounded by magical circles drawn in blood, seemed equally emotional. His voice rang out, brimming with fervor.

    “I’ve been searching for you, Ghost. The one who ruined my grand plan!”

    “....”

    “Hah! How laughable. Because of a single mistake by my useless son, this noble vampire must now flee and scheme like a coward!”

    His crimson eyes bulged, and he trembled with barely contained rage.

    The air grew heavy, his mana responding to his emotions with an oppressive force that seemed to distort space itself.

    Ah, so the vampire I had incapacitated before must have been Drakel’s son.

    That explained the fury radiating from him.

    Drakel wasn’t just any vampire—he was a noble among their kind.

    Although his power had waned compared to his prime, his bloodline still placed him among the most dangerous entities in the world.

    From what I could piece together, someone must have investigated Drakel’s son and discovered the noble vampire’s existence through his body.

    Relentless pursuit had then exposed the preparations Drakel was quietly making for the Blood Night Incident.

    Once uncovered, all his plans had fallen apart in an instant.

    All ambushes fail the moment they’re detected.

    Drakel’s schemes must have shattered completely, leaving him with no choice but to target me in his anger.

    ‘Well, whose fault is that? He should’ve kept a better eye on his son. Serves him right, idiot.’

    Drakel had no one but himself to blame.

    Even if I hadn’t interfered, the protagonist’s party would have crushed his plans.

    And if he had succeeded, the factions of Nighthaven would’ve swiftly banded together to annihilate him.

    There was no way a washed-up vampire like Drakel could withstand that kind of assault.

    The Blood Night Incident was doomed to fail from the start—a fundamentally flawed plan.

    But oblivious to that, Drakel clenched his fist as if gripping my neck and shouted with manic laughter.

    “I’ll kill you, turn you into a ghoul, and leave this city! A vampire’s life is eternal, after all! Even if not now, one day I will fulfill my ambition. So die, Ghost!”

    The veins beneath his pale skin pulsed visibly, a sign of his boiling rage.

    Vampires were known for their literal blood running hot when overcome with emotion.

    All around him, blood magic circles began to form.

    Each one radiated power equivalent to the earlier attack—lethal enough that even my telekinesis would struggle to block them all.

    As expected of a monster that had once managed to defeat the protagonist.

    Against a foe like this, my telekinesis, optimized for overwhelming weaker enemies, seemed insufficient.

    Victory appeared out of reach.

    Not for me, though.

    I wasn’t unsure of winning—I was unsure of losing.

    ‘Well, if I thought I couldn’t win, I wouldn’t have come this far in the first place.’

    Closing my eyes briefly, I sifted through the original story in my memory.

    Drakel’s weaknesses, the environment of the western labyrinth, and the unique aspects of my abilities—one by one, I put the pieces together.

    In my mind, a strategy for victory began to take shape.

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