#39
“I never imagined it would be a soul without eyes or ears.”
What kind of death must one have suffered to end up in such a horrifying state?
Up until now, she had often seen spirits with missing body parts from accidents, but this was different. The ghost’s eyes and ears weren’t merely damaged—they had been neatly removed, as if carefully carved out by someone.
While Isabel was lost in thought, the evil spirit twisted its body, letting out grotesque sounds.
「Grrrk… krrk…」
“Whatever the reason, stopping this corrupted soul comes first.”
A soul consumed by darkness loses its will, hunts down prey, and devours them in pursuit of greater strength. That was their primal instinct.
Normally, when she encountered disfigured spirits, she felt pity first. But now, she almost found it fortunate—fortunate that this one could neither see nor hear.
Isabel carefully stepped back, making no sound. For now, she intended to wait and observe. She didn’t have much time to spare, but when facing an evil spirit, timing was everything.
Besides, she only had one vial of chicken blood—the only means of weakening such a spirit. If she wasted it, there would be no second chance.
Her plan was to hold back, then strike at the right moment. Since this spirit had only recently become corrupted, a small amount of chicken blood would still work.
But then—
Splash.
The silence broke. Isabel froze and looked down. Water had pooled across the floor—water that hadn’t been there before.
“Why is there water on the ground?”
Her confusion lasted only a moment. The evil spirit sensed something amiss, and its head jerked violently side to side. Its long, sharp claws slashed through the air.
「Kyaaaah!」
Isabel twisted away just in time to avoid the blow. At that moment, the moonlight that had lit the bedroom vanished behind clouds, and the faint candles inside began to flicker out, one by one.
Darkness swallowed everything. Isabel whipped her head around, trying to track the spirit. She could feel its presence nearby but couldn’t pinpoint its location.
Suddenly, a chilling current rushed toward her from behind. She twisted her body desperately—but the spirit was faster.
Stab.
“…Ahhh!”
A searing pain spread from her abdomen. Isabel clutched the wound, eyes widening in shock.
“Wait… this isn’t an illusion?”
Cold sweat ran down her spine. She realized with horror that this was real. If she made one wrong move, those claws would skewer her body like a piece of meat.
「KRAAAHHH!」
The spirit lunged again. Already injured, Isabel’s movements were sluggish. Its blow lifted her from the ground and slammed her against the wall.
Thud!
Debris rained down over her body. Pain rippled out from her back.
“Ugh… damn, that hurts.”
She clutched her ribs, forcing herself upright against the wall. Her violet eyes gleamed more sharply as she swept the now-silent room.
She had to hurry. If she wasted time, she’d die before she even escaped. Her tired gaze darted toward where Adolf was lying. Thankfully, he didn’t seem worse off than before. She had to end this now.
Bracing against the wall, Isabel pulled out the small glass vial of chicken blood. She popped the cork, the sharp metallic scent stinging her nose.
This was her one chance. She had to throw it directly at the spirit’s face.
She stared unblinking into the suffocating darkness.
Swish…
Sensing the spirit charging at her, Isabel hurled the vial with all her strength.
CRASH!
The glass shattered.
「Kyaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!」
A shrill scream tore through the room as the spirit convulsed violently, slamming itself into walls before crashing to the floor.
Panting, Isabel pushed herself up, wincing at her wounds. The wild black aura surrounding the spirit flickered out, replaced by its faint, original green glow.
She had feared the blood might not work—after all, Denver’s house had been smeared with it, seemingly to no effect. But thankfully, it had. Clutching her bleeding wound, Isabel staggered toward the fallen ghost.
Whatever its story, she couldn’t leave a corrupted soul roaming free.
“I didn’t think I’d use this here…”
Biting her thumb, she smeared blood on the silver ring she wore. The obsidian set in it flared red, then emitted a deeper violet glow.
Isabel slipped the ring off. In its place, a silver dagger materialized in her hand. Its blade gleamed dangerously in the dark.
Striking down a helpless spirit without sight or hearing should have been easy. She raised the dagger high—then hesitated.
“Is this really all there is?”
Something about it gnawed at her. She still hadn’t discovered why the spirit had called to her, and frankly, it seemed too weak to have drawn her here in the first place.
“Why does it feel like I’m missing something?”
As that unease ate at her, a sudden urgent voice broke through the darkness.
“Get down!”
It was Adolf. Instinctively, Isabel ducked. A massive bundle of hair whipped through the air above her head, slashing the space like a predator’s strike before vanishing back into the shadows.
Frozen, Isabel stared upward, stunned. Slowly, tension locked her limbs in place.
“What is this…?”
She had never felt such an overwhelming spirit before. It pressed on her shoulders, suffocating. This was no entity a human could possibly withstand.
At that moment, the clouds shifted, and moonlight spilled back into the bedroom. As the shadows stretched long, Isabel’s breath caught in her throat.
Rustle, rustle—
Countless strands of hair writhed across the room, filling it entirely.
The fallen spirit before her was suddenly ensnared, its body wrapped tightly in black hair. It was lifted into the air, then absorbed strand by strand, vanishing without a trace.
Watching it disappear, Isabel let out a hushed gasp.
“So this ghost was just bait… The true body was this thing all along.”
