"By the breath of mercy and still silence, rest where no chains remain."
"Thank you… boss."
**
"By the breath of mercy and still silence, rest where no chains remain."
"I will never forget you, boss."
*
"By the—"
"Thank you, boss."
"…chains remain."
"I hope your home gets fixed soon."
"…"
"If I get born again, I'll be your friend."
Arthur watched as Mikel dealt with the ghosts one after another. The smile on his face brightened with every ghost's final, heartfelt gratitude.
I can't believe I ever doubted him, he thought, sighing to himself, still a little embarrassed for accusing Mikel of having something to do with the missing lookout.
He marched over to Mikel, who was slumped over the table. Just one look at the exhausted young man told Arthur everything he needed to know.
"Two days of delay helping them made the line longer than usual, but that's the last one for today," Arthur said. "You did a great job."
Without lifting his head, Mikel peeked up, his cheek squished against the table. Even if he wanted to respond, he was too tired to speak and decided to save his energy for later.
Understanding, Arthur continued, "The engineer is already briefing the new recruits from today. They'll be starting soon."
"Mhm…" Mikel closed his eyes and rested for a bit.
A few seconds later, he mustered the strength to sit up. "I'm heading out for a bit. I'll be back."
"Where are you going?" Arthur furrowed his brows, watching Mikel already grabbing his things and swinging his backpack over his shoulder.
Facing him with a tired but easy smile, Mikel answered, "Just running some errands."
With that, he dragged his feet forward and casually tapped Arthur's shoulder.
Arthur raised his brows at the lingering sensation, then slowly lifted his eyes to watch Mikel's retreating figure.
"An errand? At this hour?" he whispered. What could that be?
Well, this—
---
One hour later…
Mikel stood in front of a house on the outskirts, right outside the main city.
"So… this is a haunted house, huh?"
Two ghosts stood with him—one of them, a young girl in a school uniform, lingered several steps behind. Even as ghosts, they shivered at the sight of the decrepit house, the quiet howl of the wind adding to their dread.
"Boss… seriously? You're going in there? It's creepy as hell!"
The other ghost nodded profusely, but Mikel didn't budge.
"Just stay there and don't disturb me."
The corner of his mouth curled into a slight smirk, his left eye glowing faintly as he scanned for the evil energy inside.
[Scanning…]
[Threat Detected: Malevolent Spirit]
[Threat Level: Low]
[No special skills except physical disturbance.]
[Lame.]
Lame, but good enough, Mikel thought as he took a step forward into the haunted house.
As he marched inside, Doom chimed in,
[Do you want me to play a song to boost your morale?]
Mikel didn't answer, knowing Doom would do it, anyway.
[Playing Morale Booster: Dance of the Macabre]
As a classical tune echoed in his head, Mikel stopped and glared at Doom's screen. The music cut off instantly before a new message flashed.
[Playing Morale Booster: Welcome to the Circus.]
As the rock music blasted in his head, Mikel resumed his steps and kicked the door open.
Inside, a dark shadow stretched across the house like a thick cloud of darkness floating aimlessly. But the moment it sensed Mikel's presence, it stopped moving.
Mikel smirked, snapping his hand to the side as the Blood Chain snapped into a beaded whip.
"Thank you… for the meal," he said.
A violent gust of wind swept through the house as the black fog exploded, shattering the already broken windows.
But Mikel stood firm, unfazed by the gust of wind that was trying to knock him back out.
**
Meanwhile, one of the two ghosts outside paced nervously.
"This is bad! This is really bad!" the male ghost fretted while chewing his thumbnail. "He's going to be in trouble! As a shaman, how can he not feel the malevolence in there?!"
The female ghost turned to him, frowning. "Why are you scared? You're a ghost!"
"I know I'm a ghost! But can't you feel that?!" He pointed at the house. "It's freaking haunted! Doesn't it make your stomach turn or suffocate you with that smell?!"
"But we have this talisman!" She held up the charm. "Boss said it'll keep us undetected!"
"It hides our presence, but it's useless if the spirit finds us!"
"Oh…" she blinked. "I… don't think I was listening when he said that part."
"Gah!" The male ghost dragged his hands through his hair, on the brink of collapse. "If he dies in there, how am I supposed to cross over? I still need him to find my body! I'm still drowning!"
The female ghost glanced down at his feet, noticing water dripping from the hem of his uniform. She sighed quietly and lifted her gaze back to him.
"The boss wouldn't have asked us to find a malevolent spirit if he—"
She didn't finish; she couldn't.
A sudden wave of spiritual energy blasted from the house, and the two ghosts turned their heads just in time to see a massive shadowy hand, claws outstretched, burst through the roof.
The hand was so large that Mikel, who was now airborne and flung away from it, looked like an ant in comparison.
Their jaws went slack. Time slowed as they held their breath. The massive hand clasped shut, catching Mikel within it.
"No…" the male ghost whispered, his heart sinking.
Even the female ghost felt something strange in her hollow chest. "Boss…"
They stood frozen, terror locking their feet to the ground. Just as the thought of fleeing crossed their minds, something dark lunged toward them from the house.
Thin, elongated black hands reached toward them. Just like the gigantic shadowy hand, the ones charging at the ghosts were as black as ink, albeit thin and smaller.
They turned just in time to see the creeping darkness mere inches from their faces.
Their minds blanked instantly, no time for them to move. Deep down, they knew this was the end.
But then—
The darkness stopped. Its sharp tip hung just an inch from their eyes. Followed by a powerful gust of wind that blasted against them, scattering the shadows.
"…!"
Neither of them could speak. Their knees threatened to give out, but somehow, they stayed standing.
Despite the immediate danger, they both stupidly looked back up toward the roof. The massive, shadowy hand cracked and fractured, then shattered into black smoke.
Yet even as it became smoke, the Blood Chain coiled like a growing serpent and ensnared it.
Hovering mid-air, Mikel held out the Book of the Dead, its pages flipping on their own. For a second, the entire world seemed to hold its breath.
"By the breath of mercy and still silence…" His voice echoed as he read the sacred lines. "…rest where no chains remain."
And as he chanted every word, a piercing cry from the black smoke echoed in the area. The Blood Chain tightened around its formless form, while the Book of the Dead flamed up.
Mikel panted, already too familiar with the ear-splitting scream that followed every fight, as he breathed out, "Curse… suppression."
And just like that, the chain tightened until it snapped the black cloud, leaving nothing but the black residue that quickly thinned out.
Above the fading smoke, Mikel slowly fell amidst the crumbling rooftop, eyes still burning faintly in the dark. And then, the system chimed again—cold, unfeeling, triumphant.
[Side Objective: Learn proper incantation]
[Curse Trigger Achieved!]
[Purification Protocol Achieved!]
[Congratulations, Master.]