Chapter 8
A human body was, to the dead, as dangerously addictive as a powerful drug. That was why it was necessary to break that habit early on.
“Yin-Yang Five Elements Household Spirits, Triple Stars, Six Divine Generals, Celestial Conflicts, Commander of the Four Seas, Transforming Spirit General.”
A blue aura seeped into Calicia’s red eyes. Soon, the powerful, piercing energy of the General Spirit surged through her entire body.
“Here I come.”
Clenching her teeth, Calicia lunged at Isaac.
“Ugh!”
With the force of a charging bull, she shoved him so hard that Isaac fell back onto the floor. Calicia didn’t miss the opening; in a swift motion, she straddled his abdomen.
“Stay still.”
Calicia pressed her hand firmly against Isaac’s neck.
“Let go!”
Isaac struggled desperately to escape her grip.
— I said let go!
Over the boy’s body, Isaac’s distorted ghostly face overlapped grotesquely, the two faces glitching together like a broken screen.
Calicia grabbed the boy’s bangs and yanked them up without hesitation. Her blood-smeared fingers touched his smooth forehead.
Scratch, scratch—
Ignoring the sting, she wrote a single character stroke by stroke: 封 (seal).
A temporary sealing spell—one that bound a spirit inside a human body.
“W-what is that…”
The bloody character glowed red and began to burn away. Immediately, an enormous, unknown pressure wrapped around his body.
Like thick iron chains.
Isaac gasped for breath, eyes darting wildly in panic.
“What do you mean, ‘what is it.’ I told you—you’re not getting out even if you want to. You’re trapped now. You.”
Rolling up her sleeves, Calicia looked ready to begin a proper beating.
***
“I was wrong, Lady Calicia! Please, please let me out!”
Isaac, beaten nearly senseless, sobbed like a child. Staying inside the boy’s body any longer would definitely kill him.
“Why? Didn’t you say you liked being in there?”
“No! I want out now! I swear!”
“Good. Smart choice. Crawling into someone else’s body isn’t as nice as it sounds.”
Calicia rubbed the 封 character on his forehead. As the smeared writing lost its shape, the force binding Isaac’s spirit disappeared.
— Bleugh! Uwek! Haaah—!
Expelled from the boy’s body, Isaac collapsed onto the ground and dry-heaved.
A truly miserable experience—one he never wanted to repeat.
“But why isn’t this kid waking up?”
Calicia squatted beside the boy and examined his complexion. Hm. His features are nice enough. A face blessed by peach blossoms…
Lost in thought, she poked his cheek.
“He’s weaker than he looks.”
Even after a long while, he still didn’t get up.
Good bones and strong qi were entirely different matters, after all.
Especially since the boy had likely been tormented by spirits since childhood because of his death-gate fate.
Still… this was too long.
Finally, Calicia shook his shoulder roughly.
“Hey, snap out of—ah!”
In an instant, he grabbed her arm and yanked her toward him.
The sudden movement sent her small body pitching forward—falling directly on top of him.
Their eyes met in midair, and Calicia’s silvery-purple hair cascaded down like waves.
His gaze dipped, following her falling hair.
Between his dark lashes, golden eyes shimmered like they were holding sunlight.
A gaze so deep it could enthrall even the living.
A gaze impossible to look away from.
“….”
Their faces were so close their lips could touch. Calicia froze—
and the boy seized the moment to flip their positions.
Calicia let out a humorless laugh.
“What the— you.”
The boy radiated a menacing aura.
Baring his teeth like a beast cornering prey, he gripped her arm tightly.
“My back hurts. Get off.”
“I asked you first. What are you?”
“Calicia Ballus.”
She answered plainly and pushed him off.
If she delayed any longer, Deoric would rain hellfire down on her.
“What did you do to my body.”
“What do you think? You were passed out on the ground, so I smacked you a few times to wake you. Now get off. Off!”
Calicia thrashed wildly like a madwoman.
The boy, startled by her unexpected struggle, backed away slightly—his expression a mix of irritation and confusion.
Taking advantage of the gap, Calicia scrambled to her feet.
“Ugh, my clothes are ruined.”
She shot him a glare and brushed dirt off her outfit.
“Hey! Next time don’t wander into places this overgrown. And avoid damp, dark areas too. Especially when it rains—just don’t go outside. People like you, with weak—”
Rattling off advice, Calicia suddenly shuddered and made a strange sound.
The boy, who still hadn’t fully risen, had grabbed her ankle.
His hand was large-boned and icy cold—enough to raise goosebumps.
“Let go.”
Calicia shook her trapped foot, annoyed.
“…Isaac.”
The boy whispered softly—barely audible.
“That’s what you called me earlier. Isaac.”
“…?”
Calicia, who had been shaking her leg in irritation, froze.
“You remember? How can you remember?”
She tilted her head.
“And you seem more fine than I expected.”
Her red eyes swept over him, searching for anything she’d missed.
Normally, people possessed by ghosts remembered nothing.
Possession.
A state where one’s control over their own body was forcibly taken.
“With a death-gate fate like yours, this must’ve happened dozens of times. But you’re fine. Your complexion, your awareness—everything.”
It was strange.
Possession severely exhausted both body and mind.
Even after an exorcism, people suffered dizziness, vomiting, exhaustion…
And the severe cases lost their sanity altogether.
Empty shells with hollow eyes—
But this boy was different.
His eyes were full—bright, sharp, unbroken, even stubborn.
“It’s extremely rare. Your death-gate fate is real, but your mind and spirit are unbelievably strong.”
Calicia repeated the word strong, falling into thought.
A body prone to spirits—yet also capable of enduring them.
If I could force my mana into that body and carve a path… it’d be perfect.
At that moment, the former family head’s words flashed through her mind—
as well as the solution she needed to replace his long-rotted body.
“You’ve seen non-living things since you were young, haven’t you?”
Her eyes sparkled as she crouched before him.
“What trick are you pulling now.”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know. Ghosts.
Maybe you can’t see them clearly, but you can feel them. Let’s see…”
Grabbing his shoulders, Calicia suddenly sniffed him.
She was searching for ghost scent—the lingering odor left by spirits.
A sharp, sour smell—like vinegar.
That scent belonged to ghosts who died during… intimate acts.
Another sniff—rotting perfume and powder.
A young maiden who died prematurely. A handmaid spirit.
“You had two clinging to you recently.
One perverted freak obsessed with lust, and one young lady ghost. Right?”
The boy didn’t answer.
But the slight tremor in her captured ankle told the truth.
“You’ve had things like that stuck to you your whole life, whispering this and that. Aren’t you tired? Want me to get rid of them?”
It was like a shady salesman targeting an anxious teenager.
But what choice did she have? She was desperate.
“You’d better watch your mouth in front of me.”
The boy’s jaw tightened.
“No need to bristle. It’s not a bad deal for you.
I’ll personally keep spirits off your body for a while. In exchange, do one thing for me.”
“One thing?”
“Let me borrow your body for about a month.”
Calicia smiled brightly and offered her hand for a shake.
Her upturned eyes curved like half-moons, blooming like spring flowers.
“You just have to let my old man use your body for half the day!”
“…Ha.”
The boy released her ankle, utterly drained.
He jumped to his feet as if wanting to wash his ears out immediately.
“It’s not weird!”
“If half is too much, how about five hours!”
“Okay—three hours! Just three!”
Growing desperate, Calicia grabbed the hem of his pants.
A possession-magnet body like his—where else was she going to find one?
“Nonsense.”
The handsome boy turned away coldly, unwilling to listen any further.
***
“Seriously. Does he think I don’t have a body of my own.”
That was about five days ago—when she had grumbled at his retreating back.
Since that day, Calicia had torn the entire ducal estate apart in search of a suitable vessel for the former family head.
The conclusion: failure.
Deoric’s spiritual rank was simply too high.
Even mages with iron will and knights with bodies of steel couldn’t withstand him.
“Those with spiritual sensitivity are mentally weak,
and those with strong bodies have terrible affinity.”
Exhausted, Calicia rubbed her temples.
No matter how much she thought, the answer was the same.
— Miss! Miss! That handsome kid you told me to check on!
Isaac burst into her room in a panic, panting despite not having lungs.
— Some of the servants were dispatched to the northeast pavilion!
The empty palace had been lent out because of an unofficial visit from an important guest.
And—
— That kid was Ian Lachies! The Grand Duke’s heir from the North!
The ones occupying the pavilion were none other than the Dukes of Lachies—
protectors of the North.
