While Max bolted up, he took out a mask from his Inventory and put it on as a precaution.
If someone else were to spot them, he didn't want to further expose his identity. And with the mask on, Max would feel more comfortable using his skills incase he was forced to.
This mask was different from the one Max had on him when he was running around the city as the Shadow Thief.
Max would rather not have his real identity be associated with the Shadow Thief. Even if it hasn't gained any fame yet but soon it inevitably will, and he didn't want trouble coming after him for being connected with it.
Before he was able to ask, Little Dou landed on his head and quickly told him what she saw,
[It's a ghost! You should be careful!]
"Ghost? That white silhouette was a ghost?"
Max wasn't able to take a closer look at it since his eyes were looking at the unbelievable sight of its body being undamaged, and right after that, they had to back away.
The ghost only fully manifested when they were already running away, but Little Dou could easily recognize it, thus saving them that crucial second where it would have gotten in contact with Max.
The last thing Max saw was the white figure slowly becoming larger.
...
Evil Ghost Luo was filled with surprise, watching his target suddenly turn his back and run.
Usually, his target will be in a permanent state of unrest with his ghost energy corrupting their minds, filling them with terror.
Once that happens, they won't be able to do anything, and he would happily harvest their souls to slowly consume it.
It always gave him the feeling of being in control of their lives. It was such an addicting feeling.
However, to his miscalculation, his current target unexpectedly broke out and took off swiftly that even he couldn't chase after them.
If he could, he would have run after them right away, but it was too risky.
Evil Ghost Luo was in his soul form, and he didn't want to leave his body here and take off without it.
His soul was injured, and he couldn't afford to risk his already severely injured ghost body to what he guessed should be a fellow Awakened.
That could solely be the reason why his prey got away. If he were an ordinary person, he wouldn't have been able to get away from his control.
An Awakened.
This was his first time trying to hunt one. It should be fun. This was just right. If he uses an Awakened to breakthrough to the next rank, then that would be an achievement he could take pride in.
"So it will be you then. You should be grateful that you will become the final sacrifice for my breakthrough to Rank 2."
His body then moved as his lips curled up with a sinister expression on his face.
"Hmm?"
On the ground, he saw a familiar necklace that seemed to be damaged. When he took a closer look at it, his expression warped into fury.
"You have truly angered me now. This is the worst mistake you could ever make. Once I catch you, I will make you regret living up to this day."
In his hand, was a cracked necklace. This was the most valuable treasure in his possession. Evil Ghost Luo had to complete a few months worth of missions from the Ghost Hall to get this item.
This accessory can save his life from a fatal attack once and gets broken after being used with no chance of it ever working again.
If he wanted one more of those, he had to work for a couple of months once again, and he didn't have that kind of free time right now.
He was unfortunate that his item broke at the worse time possible. He was already at the barrier of his breakthrough, and this item could come in handy when he is in the midst of breaking through.
After all, this was another life. Even though it won't work with his ghost form, his disposable body could still be saved from death once.
Evil Ghost Luo could breakthrough in this body while it was wearing the life-saving accessory. It would be as if he had two extra life.
But now it was gone. And the worst was he didn't know how it got destroyed. This thought filled him with rage.
His soul was in excruciating pain from being attacked by a powerful Awakened, and he couldn't get out of the city since there were a lot of those people from the Special Affairs Department searching for him day and night.
Now, he also lost his life-saving treasure. Evil Ghost Luo was shaking with fury. His anger was pointed to his prey, who was the one responsible for his hard-earned item being wasted.
At the same time, he resented the Special Affairs Department for putting him in this situation.
Evil Ghost Luo had a cautious personality, but he was forced to make his move earlier than his initial plan.
That was because he could feel that those people from the Special Affairs Department were narrowing their search to his location. Though he didn't have anything to base it on, Evil Ghost Luo trusted his instincts more than everyone.
He felt the need to breakthrough tonight, or else he would have some trouble hiding from all of them.
With his soul being injured, Evil Ghost Luo wasn't confident about surviving a few direct hits of Elemental Attacks.
It was only a matter of time before his malicious ghost energy would be detected by one of their people. Evil Ghost Luo was sure of it.
He wasn't those old ghosts that could perfectly mask their energy and pretend to be an ordinary person.
His abilities weren't that powerful, yet so he was bound to be located if he stays here for long.
There should be no room for error this time. He will breakthrough this day and leave the city untouched.
Evil Ghost Luo thought as he made his way up to where Max was, his eyes shining in a haunting light.
...
Max and Little Dou reached the rooftop where they decided they would confront this unknown ghost.
In this place, there would be more room for them to move around against this dangerous enemy.
They don't know anything about this ghost or why it chose to attack them, but the same could be said to their opponent, who doesn't know anything about them, so it was only down to who was stronger.
Max found a spot to hide and observe if the ghost was going to be able to find them, but then he suddenly thought of something else he could do.
As he leaned on the white wall, slowly, Max started to blend in, though not to the point of invisibility, he only made the white wall thicker as he disappeared.
The usefulness of the Shapeshifting Skill in situations like this was convenient.
With this, he only had to wait. Max slightly smiled, wondering whether he would make the ghost look like a fool.