Chapter 81: Still Just Kids

On the way to the female ghost's main haunt, Abel gave earnest instructions to Ryan and Pietro, both of whom looked like they were spoiling for a fight.

"When we get there, everyone needs to assess the situation before acting. Don't be impulsive, absolutely no recklessness."

Ryan cracked his knuckles, his expression clearly saying, Isn't that obvious? Seeing no response from either of them, Abel sighed and turned to Pietro.

"Right, Mr. Pietro, you've crossed hands with that ghost before. How tough do you think she is?"

Although Abel had also seen her, he'd been too shocked at the time, completely frozen and unable to react.

Pietro initially wanted to say she was basically a pushover, and if she hadn't slipped away so quickly, he would have torn her limb from limb. But he figured a little tact might be better.

"I held her down in the water," he said carefully. "She kept struggling. Dealing with her with one hand was a bit tricky, but two hands were definitely enough to handle it."

Abel: "..." Why does that sound kind of weird?

"Hmph." Ryan scoffed dismissively. "Don't talk so big. Just hope you don't get beaten 'til you cry 'Daddy' later."

Pietro was about to retort, I'll beat you 'til you cry 'Daddy' right now, when Ryan suddenly roared again, his temper flaring.

"And another thing I've been wanting to say! Where the hell are you taking us? I've seen this same damn spot three times already!"

At his words, the group halted.

A jolt went through Abel. He quickly scanned their surroundings, his brow tightening. After a moment's thought, he took a lighter from his bag, tossed it onto the ground, and said simply, "Keep walking."

Ryan instantly got his meaning. His explosive temper cooled, and he fell silent, following closely behind.

After about a minute, Abel stopped and picked up the lighter. His expression turned grim.

Things had just gotten complicated. They might have run into a 'ghost wall' – a disorienting illusion meant to trap people. Of course, it was also possible the ghost knew they were coming and had deliberately ensnared them.

Either way, the situation wasn't looking good.

Ryan spat. "Should've brought the rapper out here. Isn't he the one who likes studying this crap? Maybe he'd know how to fix this."

As atheists, he and Abel were clueless about such things. And as for Peter and the others… expecting a bunch of superpowered individuals to be experts on ghosts and spirits? Not likely.

Pietro considered for a moment. "I'll give it a try," he offered.

He possessed incredible speed, but it was clear they were trapped. He could only dash around within a small area. To the others, the blur of his afterimages looked like he was just running in place.

Abel found it strange and was about to ask what he was doing when Pietro suddenly stopped. He doubled over, turned his head, and retched violently.

Wanda recoiled several steps in disgust. "Oh, God, Pietro! Don't come near me, that's disgusting!"

Pietro waved apologetically between heaves. "S-Sorry… couldn't help it… My head's spinning so bad."

Given his speed and the limited confines of the ghost wall, Pietro had essentially been running dizzying circles around himself. No wonder he felt sick.

Seeing that method was a bust, Peter started stretching his limbs, preparing to climb or web-sling straight up onto the branches above. If the ground was caught in a loop, the sky couldn't be, right?

But Wanda quickly stopped him.

"Hold on. Let's ask Saiki first. Maybe he can see what's going on."

Wanda reached out mentally to Saiki Kusuo. Unfortunately, Saiki was currently preoccupied with investigating Joan's situation and had no time for them.

Watching Joan laughing and chatting with Julian, he replied mentally to Wanda, (Isn't Peter there? Have him use his Spider-Sense to find the way.)

With that, he cut off the connection, noticing the atmosphere between Joan and Julian had grown tense with Lin's sudden appearance.

Receiving no further response, Wanda could only relay Saiki's words verbatim to Pietro and Peter.

Peter looked around, trying to recall the route the driver had taken them on earlier.

He pointed down a different path. "This way."

Abel sounded surprised. "You know the way?"

"No," Peter answered honestly. "But my gut tells me we should go this way."

"Are you kidding me?!" Ryan exploded. "Now's not the time for gut feelings! Are you trying to get us all killed? You— Hey! Damn it, stop right there!"

Peter paid Ryan no mind, already heading down the other path. He glanced back at the others. "Trust me. My intuition's usually pretty reliable. Besides, I think I walked this path once before; it looks a little familiar."

Since Saiki Kusuo himself had vouched for Peter's intuition, the siblings exchanged a look and followed him.

To Ryan's astonishment, Abel also followed Peter without hesitation.

"Hey, Abel, are you crazy? You're actually trusting this kid's so-called intuition?"

Abel turned back. "He won't lead us wrong. I trust Mr. Peter."

His unwavering conviction made Peter pause. That kind of baseless trust in a stranger… even Peter, a natural do-gooder, rarely encountered it directed at himself, let alone felt it for others so quickly. Honestly, it was touching.

The small group soon disappeared around the bend, leaving Ryan standing alone.

He gaped, seemingly unable to believe they'd actually ditched him. But anger was one thing; he wasn't stupid enough to let pride dictate his actions, especially when lives were on the line. Gritting his teeth, he broke into a run, chasing after them.

He hadn't gone far before he saw them stopped up ahead, standing motionless, seemingly lost in thought.

Ryan caught up and gave Abel a light nudge. "What are you standing around for? Let's go!" he urged, stepping forward himself.

"Wait, Ryan, don't—!"

Abel started to shout a warning, but it was too late.

"AAAAHHHHHH!!"

Ryan let out a bloodcurdling scream as his foot found only empty air on the seemingly flat path.

SPLASH!

He plunged into icy water. Murky lake water shot up his nose, and the sudden choking sensation shocked him fully awake. Only then did he realize his surroundings had changed dramatically.

He was now floundering in a small lake. In the middle stood a dilapidated old pavilion. This was it – their destination.

Ryan broke the surface, sputtering, and wiped the water from his face. He saw Abel pacing frantically back and forth on the shore, his face etched with worry. Realizing Abel was probably still caught in the illusion, Ryan scooped up handfuls of lake water and splashed them vigorously towards the group on the bank.

Abel looked momentarily blank, then blinked, snapping back to reality. He leaned down, extending a hand towards Ryan.

"Well done, buddy! Looks like the ghost wall is finally broken. Come on up!"

Ryan was just reaching up to grab Abel's hand when he felt something slithering up his back, starting from his feet.

An icy chill, colder than the lake water, shot up his spine. Ryan whipped his head around.

He came face-to-face with the female ghost. Perhaps because they were too close, or perhaps because the ghost hadn't expected Ryan to turn so suddenly, the two—human and ghost—somehow ended up pressing their lips together.

Ryan: "..."

Ghost: "..."

Abel: "..."

Pietro averted his gaze, unable to watch, and quickly slapped a hand over his sister's eyes as well. "Nope. We're still just kids. Can't be seeing graphic stuff like this."

Left out, Peter stared, bewildered: ??? What about me?