Diana: Disguised Evil Spirit

Light can indeed give people a sense of security.

Even if this sense of security is sometimes false, it's enough as long as people believe it.

Time came to noon.

Rebecca picked up Martin from school. He was a very sensible and cute little boy, but he had severe dark circles under his eyes, looking like he hadn't slept well.

Seeing the man next to his sister, Martin quietly asked, "Is this your new boyfriend?"

Rebecca smiled and explained, "No, Martin, he's an Exorcist I invited specifically to deal with that evil monster."

Little Martin didn't know what an Evil Spirit was, so calling it a monster was easier to understand.

"Really, Sister?!"

"Really."

"Can I talk to the Exorcist-sama?"

Little Martin timidly looked at his sister, then glanced at Li Dan.

Rebecca looked at Li Dan, and a faint smile appeared on his calm face.

"Of course. Your name is Martin, right? I heard about you from your sister. You're a brave child."

Li Dan wasn't good at dealing with children, and he disliked bratty kids even more. However, his impression of well-behaved children who didn't cause trouble was quite good.

Martin blushed a little at the praise.

"I'm not as brave as my sister says. I still get scared when I see that black monster."

"Mmm, can you tell me about the first time you encountered that monster..."

Rebecca watched the two of them chatting, and her spirit relaxed for the first time in a long while.

She hadn't seen her brother this happy in a long time.

In Martin's eyes, an Exorcist was comparable to God. He knew that calling his mother or sister was useless; they couldn't stop the monster from approaching.

If this had continued, Martin would have become an autistic child.

Now that he saw the only glimmer of light in the darkness, how could he not be happy?

Even the passing teachers were surprised. Martin was famously taciturn at school, yet today he had turned into a chatterbox.

If it weren't her class, she would have suspected they had swapped the child.

Rebecca had to remind him at this moment.

"Okay, Martin, we need to go home, or Mom will worry."

Upon hearing they were going home, Martin instinctively leaned closer to Li Dan, a sign of insecurity.

He looked up at Li Dan, as if gaining courage, and stated firmly, "Let's go home."

Rebecca's family lived in a complex in the center of town.

Before their father passed away, he had owned a factory, and the family was quite well-off. But with the pillar of the family gone and the harassment of an Evil Spirit, their situation took a sharp downturn.

The family of three moved from the center to the outskirts, but the Evil Spirit still followed them like a shadow.

When Rebecca brought Li Dan and her brother home.

Their mother, Sophie, was sitting in the middle of the yard, basking in the sun.

She also didn't like being alone in the house.

Rebecca briefly introduced her mother to Li Dan.

"Mom, this is the Exorcist I invited."

Sophie glanced at Li Dan without much reaction and continued sunbathing.

Rebecca apologized, "The doctor said Mom has a bit of schizophrenia right now. She's not usually like this."

Li Dan said, "It's alright. Please take me inside first."

Little Martin volunteered to show Li Dan around the house.

He was now like Jerry finding his cousin to back him up, full of bravado.

After Li Dan merged with the Undead, he no longer needed to waste a Ghost Card for secrecy at all times, and his courage had increased considerably.

Just as he was about to follow Martin into the house, Li Dan paused. His gaze fell on the shadow behind the door.

He sensed a powerful, unmasked malice.

It seemed the Evil Spirit didn't welcome him.

By stepping through this door, Li Dan had essentially entered the opponent's territory. If he left now, there might still be a chance to turn back.

Little Martin glanced back at Li Dan and asked curiously.

"What is it, Exorcist?"

"Nothing."

Li Dan strode through the door and into the living room.

The furniture inside was messy, possibly due to just moving in, but it still felt cozy.

Little Martin led Li Dan on a tour of his room.

It was filled with many flashlights and candles.

According to his sister Rebecca's account, the boy only dared to sleep while holding a flashlight.

Li Dan casually glanced at the Ghost Card.

"Traces of Evil Spirit Diana detected."

Oh? This Evil Spirit even has a name, Diana?

After touring the room and examining it inside and out, he found nothing particularly unusual.

He then returned to the living room.

Rebecca, afraid Li Dan would leave, quickly explained.

"She only appears at night."

Li Dan glanced at the sky and realized there was still some time before nightfall. He asked.

"Rebecca, do you know a woman named Diana?"

"Diana?"

Rebecca tried hard to recall anyone associated with that name. She touched her head, unsure.

"I think I heard Mom mention that name before, it was when she was at the mental hospital..."

Another mental hospital.

Li Dan now realized that those who end up in mental hospitals were no ordinary people.

Rebecca stood up and said, "Wait here, I'll go ask."

Rebecca walked straight towards Sophie in the yard to talk.

It didn't take long before the mother and daughter started arguing, an irreconcilable one at that.

Li Dan's enhanced hearing picked up everything clearly.

Sophie, the mother, said that Diana was a friend she knew from the mental hospital and that she would have Diana accept Rebecca and Martin.

This explanation instantly broke Rebecca. The black monster knew her and her brother?

She thought her mother didn't know about this, but she did and even condoned it. Didn't you ever consider that Diana might harm me and my brother!

Rebecca furiously berated Sophie about Diana's actions in front of her.

How melodramatic.

Li Dan deduced a possible scenario: there was indeed a woman named Diana in the mental hospital.

Sophie was friends with Diana, but Diana had long since died.

The current Diana was merely an Evil Spirit masquerading under a human name.

In many Western legends, Evil Spirits would disguise themselves as humans.

Annabelle was a Demon that disguised itself as the soul of the carpenter's daughter.

In Dead Silence, it was even more exaggerated, with Mary Shaw directly hollowing out a person's internal organs and using their skin to create the illusion that the male protagonist's father was still alive.

Everything had a traceable pattern.

Things would become clear by nighttime.

"Ding."

His phone vibrated.

Li Dan took it out and saw it was a message from Jennifer.

"Honey, all the equipment you ordered has arrived. I've put it all in the storage room without unpacking it, but what's that camera for? Are you planning to film... (blush)"

Li Dan's mouth twitched. He had no intention of filming adult movies.

The camera was intended for filming videotapes, and the other equipment was for playback.

Last time, Li Dan obtained the ability of Curse Transmission. Although he couldn't use it yet, having more life-saving methods was never a bad thing.

Curse Transmission: One of the abilities of the Soul Severing Clown.

Li Dan had drawn it last time, but professional equipment hadn't arrived, so he hadn't had a chance to film the videotape.

This curse was quite useful.

As long as the recording was playing, one could leave a supernatural or dangerous place through the curse. The videotape acted as a marker, similar to how Sadako could crawl out of a television playing a videotape.

It's just that the Soul Severing Clown's Curse Transmission wasn't as powerful.

There was also a chance of interference from the outside world causing the transmission to fail.