Days Later…
"Mikel—!"
"Be right back!"
Arthur could only watch as Mikel jogged away from the site with a backpack slung over his shoulder. His mouth curved downward as he sighed, watching the young boss leave once again—right after helping another ghost find closure.
"He's been running errands every night…" he murmured, tilting his head. "But the ghosts' requests shouldn't be that much, right? Does he even sleep?"
Arthur thought about it for a while, but eventually pushed the thought aside. A faint smile brightened up his face as he turned toward the ghosts at work.
"Everyone! The boss left his offerings on the shrine!" he announced. "Take a break!"
"Lunch break! Woohoo!"
"Lunch?!"
"Time to eat!"
One ghost fixing the roof immediately jumped down and rushed toward the offerings, eager to be first in line.
The other ghosts quickly followed, hurrying before they ended up at the back of the line.
Watching them, Arthur chuckled and shook his head.
The missing ghost lookout still hadn't been found, but the construction continued without delay. Arthur simply assumed it was a wandering ghost that had drifted too far to find its way back. Unlikely—but he didn't want to dwell on it.
Even so, curiosity tugged at him. Just what was Mikel doing that had him rushing out every single night?
"The boss left again?"
The old ghost engineer's voice snapped Arthur out of his thoughts. The elder ghost approached with a smile, Arthur's daughter skipping alongside him.
Arthur sighed and shrugged. "I wonder too… what's keeping him so busy these days… or nights."
---
The labor ghosts might never know what Mikel had been doing, and maybe… that was for the best.
Standing at the entrance of an abandoned, unfinished building, Mikel dropped his bag near the entrance. He stretched his neck from side to side, rolled his shoulders, and kicked the air lightly to loosen up.
Two young ghosts stood several steps behind, worry painted on their faces. Their gazes flicked past Mikel's figure to the creepy, unfinished building. A wicked howl seemed to ride the night breeze, making them shiver.
"Boss…" the female ghost called softly. "I think… what's inside is really scary…"
The male ghost nodded nervously, but Mikel, as usual, ignored them.
Resigned, they raised their fists and cheered weakly,
"Fighting~!"
Just as Mikel stepped forward, he stopped.
"You two should stay farther back," he said, glancing over his shoulder. "And take my bag with you. I placed a talisman on it—you can touch it."
With that, he turned and walked toward the building's broken entrance.
The moment he stepped inside, his nose wrinkled in disgust. The stench of dried urine and damp cement hit him, but worse was the sickening, rotten stench of something… inhuman.
His left eye faintly glowed red as he scanned the area until he was looking up.
"Third floor, huh?"
[Chances of winning: 30%.]
Mikel grinned wickedly and let out a short chuckle. "Should I be proud?" he muttered as he headed for the stairs, which lacked a railing.
[Your spiritual resilience improves with every battle. Be proud, Master.]
Mikel rolled his eyes. If only he could strangle a hovering screen…
He reached the unfinished third floor, greeted by nothing but exposed pillars and piles of dirt—tons of it. His eye glowed brighter as he scanned the space, locking onto a formless darkness lurking in the corner.
Mikel smirked as the darkness seemed to hesitate in his presence.
"Heh." He flicked his hand, and the Blood Chain snapped out like a whip.
"Thank you… for the feast."
The dust beneath his feet crunched as he bent his knees, channeling all his weight downward before lunging straight into the darkness.
Doom's screen blinked beside him.
[Playing: Another One Bites the Dust.]
SHRIEEEK!!
---
The two young ghosts paced nervously outside. The female ghost hugged Mikel's bag tightly, flinching every time a surge of negative energy rippled from the building.
"Goodness…" the male ghost whispered, eyes snapping toward the entrance.
Just then, Mikel emerged from the shadows of the broken entrance.
"Boss!" the male ghost called, his hollow face lighting up with relief.
The female ghost perked up and turned, smiling brightly the second she saw him safe.
Mikel had decided long ago it was too troublesome to let more ghosts know about the Blood Chain and the Book of the Dead. That's why he had "promoted" these two—not because they were qualified, but because they'd already seen too much. Explaining things any further was simply a headache he didn't want.
Now, while other ghosts hunted for malevolent spirits, these two focused on confirming reports and escorting Mikel to the locations.
At first, they had to drag him out of the danger zones or watch him collapse after every fight. But night after night, Mikel grew stronger, or perhaps even more familiar. Now, he could leave those places on his own.
"Boss~!" The female ghost skipped toward him, still hugging his bag. "Can you please leave your bag open next time and take a towel out? I want to offer it to you after your fight!"
Mikel shot her a sideways glance and reached for his bag, pulling out a liter of water and chugging it all in one go.
The ghosts winced, tempted to tell him to slow down. Another observation they noticed was that the more used Mikel became to these fights, the more water he guzzled afterward.
Once the bottle was drained, Mikel let out a satisfied hiss.
"That's better!" He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, raising a brow as he glanced at the two ghosts.
They immediately cleared their throats and stood straight, smiling brightly.
"Congratulations on taking down the first bad spirit tonight!" the male ghost cheered.
"Should we go to the next location?!" the female ghost added eagerly.
Mikel huffed and nodded. "Let's go."
With that, the three of them walked away, as if Mikel hadn't just fought a malevolent spirit moments ago.
[Two in one night. Impressive as always, Master.]
Mikel smirked, sneaking a glance at Doom's screen.
Two? Doom, I told you… better prepare yourself when the leash snaps.
Tonight wasn't just about feeding the Blood Chain. He was testing how much it could consume before it broke… or before he did.
[At this pace, I estimate your enlightenment… or catastrophic failure… within the hour. Neither path favors you, Master.]
Shut up and do your thing, Doom.
[Recovery Protocol Active…]
[Emergency Protocol: Self-Termination Resistance — Enhancing Recovery Protocol.]
[System Notice: Host behavior categorized as "Self-Destructive Progression." Logging pattern for future analysis.]
[Final Notice: Host's psychological collapse — Countdown Pending…]