Volume Two: Life and Death at Speed in the Northern Border - Alien Spirit

"Crystal Blade!"

A scarlet crystal blade slashed towards the female corpse, but passed straight through its body. The corpse merely flickered like smoke and continued to lunge at me!

This thing wasn't a corpse at all, it was a ghost! Physical attacks were ineffective against it! Sensing something was wrong, I turned and ran, but it followed me like a leech, its pale claws landing on my shoulder. An indescribable, cold, and sticky sensation spread from my shoulder throughout my body, and the skin it touched turned bluish-purple!

Just at the critical moment--

"Get off A Ye!"

Long, light brown hair fluttered in the mist, and a slender figure appeared before me. With a single, swift kick, she shattered the female ghost's head! The headless ghost twisted a few times in the air before vanishing into smoke.

"Are you alright, A Ye?"

It was Givinia —or more accurately, the thoughts she projected.

"I'm fine... Givinia, what's wrong...?"

"Ghosts are spiritual entities, and so are the thoughts I project, so I can directly interfere with them!"

I see.

"Givinia is so reliable! Auntie is so kind!"

"Railway? Where's the railway?"

"Don't worry about it..."

Guided by Givinia's will, I jogged to meet up with Ailin. I saw Ailin and Givinia's true form pressed tightly together, while dozens of projections battled various ghosts around us! There were men with twisted limbs, women with exposed uteruses, old men with intestines spilling from their mouths, and children whose jaws and above had been cut off... The most bizarre of all was a short, stout pregnant woman. Not only was she attacking frantically, but her abdomen had also split open, from which a ghost shaped like a fetus emerged, grabbing wildly with its hands just like the mother's.

"Sister Ye! Thank goodness you're alright!"

"Thank you for your concern, but Ally..."

The only one capable of fighting the ghosts is Givinia. Her eyes are closed, and simultaneously controlling dozens of projections is a tremendous strain on her. Each projection inherits the original's skills, striking with extreme ferocity, often hitting the ghost's vitals with a single blow. However, even the best dog can't fight off sheer numbers; for every one she defeats, ten more pounce. The ghosts in the mist seem endless, while Givinia's energy is extremely limited!

"The fog is too thick. I can only determine the general direction of Sirius. Stay close, we need to break through!"

Givinia suddenly opened her eyes, and the surrounding projections converged on her at the same time. Then, like a cannonball, she rushed forward, smashing through a large group of ghosts and clearing a path!

"Run!"

I scooped up the exhausted Givinia and Ailin and we ran as fast as we could. The ghosts that had been knocked away roared and surged towards us, and countless hideous faces surrounded us. It was a scene straight out of hell!

"Keep going, just one more step—"

Just then, two points of light appeared faintly in the thick fog ahead.

"All, all, all, get away, get away, get away, go away, go away, go away, go away, go away!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

It's Ally and Sirius!

Ally, her face deathly pale and eyes bloodshot, screamed hysterically, followed by a large horde of Sirius as Sirius surged forward!

That's good, we don't need to go looking for her anymore.

"Ally, stop! We're here—"

"No! No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

However, Ally was nearly collapsing, didn't hear my shouts at all and kept speeding along—wait!?

"Idiot, stop, stop, stop!!!"

At the critical moment, I released a pool of blood the size of a car, which formed a soft cushion and brought Sirius to a stop.

"Sister, calm down, it's us!!"

"You guys... wait, wait, wait!? Ailin, and A Ye and Givinia? You've all turned into ghosts too? Could it be that I'm also--"

"What nonsense are you talking about! We're all still alive, let us get on the bus!"

"--Ah, yes, yes!"

Before the ghosts could surge up, we opened the car door and jumped in with all our might. The moment we settled in, Ally unleashed a torrent of energy!

The immense thrust sent me tumbling about, mud splattering all over the car. We sped like that for at least a kilometer before the jets finally stopped.

"... Did you shake them off?"

"It seems so..."

Looking through the mud-splattered back window, all I could see was a white fog; the ghosts had vanished without a trace. I let out a long sigh and slumped listlessly into my seat.

What a stroke of luck! If it weren't for Givinia's ability to fight the undead with her bare hands, and if Ally hadn't happened to drive by in her car, I probably would have been dead in this godforsaken place...

"That's strange..."

Having recovered somewhat, Givinia sat up, rubbing her temples with a furrowed brow.

"Logically, after a person dies, the body returns to the earth, and the soul naturally dissipates. Some religions believe that the soul goes to heaven. Only the souls of a few people who had strong obsessions in life may temporarily remain in the world. Why are there so many vengeful ghosts here?"

"Is it due to the unique geographical structure? Or bad feng shui?"

"It shouldn't be related to those things. Perhaps there's something preventing the soul from dissipating..."

Te--

What is it...?

Te--Teke--

A strange chill ran down my spine. The ability to imprison countless spirits, whether good or evil, must be an extremely dangerous existence for us.

Tekeli--

The temperature was dropping, and we seemed to have unknowingly entered the middle of Fog Hidden Valley. The white fog here was even thicker, yet no ghosts appeared.

Tekeli-li--

"... Um?"

I think I heard something... a sound?

"Hey, listen carefully!"

Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!

"What's that sound? It's so strange!" Ailin frowned.

"It seems to be getting closer and closer to us..." Givinia's expression was also grave.

Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!

It was like a sinister flute sound with a wide range, almost musical, and I was certain that this was the sound I was hearing. This strange sound came from the depths of the white mist; te, ke, and li—just three simple syllables—yet it seemed to contain an evil Magic Power, giving one a chilling feeling as if their soul had left their body.

"Givinia, can you use the projector to see what that is?"

"I'd like to, but I always feel the consequences would be very—"

Tekeli!!!!!!!!!!

"They're here!!!"

A tremendous presence suddenly appeared above us. This was not the same as a sense of oppression; it was simply a feeling of its presence. However, just feeling its presence made the fear deep within me surge uncontrollably!

The chilling feeling of my soul leaving my body intensified rapidly; an uncontrollable panic gripped my mind. I mustn't look out the window! I mustn't look out the window! I mustn't see what that thing truly looks like! If I see it, if I see it, if I see it—

"Ally! Run!!!!"

"I... I know!!!"

Ally yelled, her voice filled with the same deep panic. The Jet Point again, propelling us forward at breakneck speed! Sirius like an arrow, tearing through the swamp and parting the mist, charging forward relentlessly. However, the terrifying presence hadn't disappeared at all; that thing followed, circling above our heads, as if mocking our weakness!

Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The eerie hissing grew louder and louder, drilling straight into my brain. Countless ghostly faces emerged from the white fog outside the car window, and a bone-chilling cold rushed into the car. Countless ghosts, controlled by that thing, attacked us!

"Get out of here, all of you!!!!"

All the Jet Point activated together, and Sirius soared into the air, shaking off the entanglement of the undead—in that instant, as the white mist was stirred up by the jets, we saw the thing's true form.

If I had to describe it, it was a cloud of black mist.

Within the billowing mist, tens of thousands of undead writhe and howl. Countless hideous faces appear and disappear on the black fog, emitting a buzzing "Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!" It is formless, intangible, without life, without death. It simply exists there, and the entire valley's environment is distorted because of it!

"No way, no way... no way!"

Only the knowledgeable and worldly-wise Givinia recognized its true identity.

"This is the second-ranked of the ten great demon beast races— the Alien Race!!!"

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Writing this reminded me of the days when I watched < At the Mad Mountains>. I absolutely loved Lovecraft!