The Mission Begins

"Clang... clang... clang..."

It was the sound of a bell.

The deep tolling echoed through the dark space, seeming to strike right at their hearts. Rhode stood up and warily surveyed his surroundings, tightening his grip on the cards in his hand.

"Lize."

"Yes!"

"Remember what we did in that town?"

"I do!"

Lize had been feeling restless, but the moment she heard Rhode's command, she sprang into action. Without wasting a second, a ball of gentle, radiant light appeared in the girl's hand. As the sacred glow emerged, it was as if something nearby had been provoked. A fierce, chilling wind swept past, making even the blazing fire seem to sway.

"Mr. Rhode, is it the same sort of thing as in that town?"

"More or less."

"..."

Rhode's casual reply put Lize somewhat at ease. Before, she would probably have remained on edge. But after the battle in Mist Town, Lize had been delighted to discover that, as a Spirit Master, she could fight too—and even gain the upper hand against those terrifying undead monsters. It gave her a confidence she had never felt before. In the past, all she could do was stand behind her companions and watch them fight, unable to help. But things were different now. Under the right circumstances, she could join the battle herself instead of always needing someone to protect her. That filled Lize with confidence, and after hearing Rhode's answer, her fear of the haunted house faded considerably.

After all, if Rhode said it, that meant he had a way to deal with it!

Before she knew it, Lize had begun to trust and rely on the young man she had known for only a short time.

The battle began.

Rhode heightened his vigilance and scanned the area. He turned his right hand, and in a flash, Star Trace pierced the darkness and appeared in his grasp. Then he suddenly swung his sword, and a blazing Crimson Lotus Fire burst from its blade. It tumbled across the floor and solidified, revealing the shape of a black hound.

Flame Slayer.

The hound, flames circling its body, was tense and alert the instant it appeared. It lowered itself, claws digging into the ground, back arched as it faced the darkness before them. A low growl rumbled in its throat. Clearly, as an Elemental Spirit with keen senses, it had detected the danger lurking here.

"Lize, put a shield on yourself. Remember, if you run into trouble, cast Healing Spell right away... You know what to do."

"Yes, sir."

With the instructions clear, Lize quickly calmed down. Just as Rhode had observed, the girl was nearly perfect when it came to details. The opposite was also true: without a clear objective, she immediately became lost and helpless. Now that Rhode had given her orders, the girl who had spent the entire day here terrified, as though trapped in a haunted-house adventure, finally regained her usual composure.

"Follow me."

With that, Rhode turned and walked out of the hall.

The corridor outside was silent.

The broken windows rattled in the cold wind, swinging open and shut. Their repeated clatter against the walls echoed through the still mansion.

At first glance, nothing seemed different from before.

But things had already begun to change in secret.

Rhode noticed thin wisps of dim shadow slowly flowing along the corners of the walls, hidden from view. The black hound grew more and more agitated. It bared its mouth, revealing sharp white teeth, while sparks flickered between them, lending it a menacing air.

When they reached the end of the stairs, nothing strange had happened yet. But Rhode's expression grew increasingly grave. He looked at the stairs and gestured for Lize to stay close. Then he stepped forward and climbed.

"Whoosh!"

At that moment, a bust that had been sitting in the hall seemed to be shoved hard by something. It toppled over and came rolling toward Rhode.

Here they come!

Facing the oncoming attack, Rhode immediately swung his sword at the statue.

"Boom!"

The statue shattered into pieces. At the same moment, Lize felt a chill behind her.

Almost instinctively, she turned around. At the bottom of the stairs, several blue humanoid figures were slowly emerging from the floor.

"Evil Spirits!"

Unlike Wraiths, which were "creatures born under specific circumstances," Evil Spirits were a widely known—no, more accurately, infamous—type of monster throughout the continent. They were the pitiful souls of people who, after dying, had been tainted by evil forces and were unable to leave this world. Nothing remained in them but hatred for the living and desperate struggle. They could be found in countless places, and as a Spirit Master, Lize had naturally studied them extensively.

In the past, Lize might not have known what to do. But after the battle in Mist Town, she had come up with a plan of her own. Without hesitation, she raised her hand against the Evil Spirits.

Just then, Rhode reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Mr. Rhode?"

Surprised and puzzled by his strange action, Lize turned to look at him.

"You can try something better."

Rhode's expression remained calm as he met Lize's questioning gaze. Then he bent down and whispered something in her ear. At first, Lize looked surprised by his suggestion, then astonished, then curious, and finally resolute.

"I'll do my best, Mr. Rhode."

"Good. I'll take care of the ones above."

At that moment, more than a dozen Evil Spirits appeared from above and below. They swayed as they floated through the air with eerie, erratic movements, reaching out with both hands and letting out shrieks that chilled the heart. They lunged at the living, intent on tearing their bodies apart and turning them into their own kind.

But the Evil Spirits didn't get what they wanted.

Rhode wasn't the first to attack.

At the sound of a sharp whistle, the black hound, already poised to strike, leaped high into the air and opened its terrible jaws. In the next instant, blazing flames shot out and crashed into the Evil Spirits.

Undead monsters feared positive energy and fire. Now Rhode had both kinds of cards in hand. That was why he dared to take on this special mission. If he'd been alone, he wouldn't have come here for anything. Five hundred gold coins weren't worth his life.

Under the fierce blast of flames, the Evil Spirits shrieked and retreated. Their incorporeal bodies could ignore ordinary swords and knives, but that meant nothing against a magical attack. Soon, two or three Evil Spirits were engulfed by the flames and screamed as they vanished into nothing. The nearby furniture and decorations, long since rotted and decayed, caught fire as well.

The Evil Spirits' formation scattered. At that moment, Rhode activated Shadow Blink once more.

Driven forward by tremendous force, he leaped up the stairs like a swift, nimble swallow, his figure a dim shadow as he passed through the fiery barrier. The Evil Spirits hadn't even realized what was happening before a gleaming blade stabbed out from the side and shot straight at them. One Evil Spirit in its path was effortlessly split in two, like butter beneath a knife, then vanished. The rest saw that things had gone badly and quickly fled, disappearing into the walls.

The stairs began to shake.

A suit of armor, long sealed away and covered in rust, creaked as it walked toward its stand. It slowly raised the sword in its hand and swung it hard at Rhode's back.

But before the sword could fall, the black hound roared and pounced on the armor, pinning it to the ground. It opened its gaping maw and spat out another blast of scorching flames.

[Experience gained: 360/2500]

Not enough.

Rhode glanced at the system notification. His experience wasn't increasing very quickly, nowhere near as fast as it had in Dusk Forest. But that was to be expected. This wasn't an instance, and these Evil Spirits weren't elite monsters. He could easily take out a dozen of them, so of course he wouldn't gain much experience... But right now, there was something more important than experience that demanded his attention.

He turned and looked at the girl standing on the stairs.

The Evil Spirits' shrieks grew clearer.

As she faced the figures rushing toward her, wreathed in a cold aura of death, Lize raised her right hand. Rhode's words echoed in her mind.

"Healing Light isn't only for treating wounds, Lize. Remember: gather, stack, compress, then release it. I believe you can do it."

Gather...

Lize could feel the sacred power gathering under her will, soon reaching its limit. Under normal circumstances, all she needed to do now was focus, and she could cast Healing Light. But this time, she didn't.

Stack...

The sacred power continued to gather, and an unsteady vibration ran through it. It was like someone who could only hold one bowl of water being given another. Gradually, she began to feel that she couldn't keep it up.

Compress...

The two streams of sacred power began to merge, but Lize's concentration was almost at its limit. Her hand trembled slightly, as if she could barely hold on.

Just then, the wailing Evil Spirit lunged at her.

When Lize came back to her senses, the first thing she saw was the Evil Spirit's face, filled with anger and pain. The girl instinctively took half a step back, and the unstable energy in her hand dissipated at once. But before Lize could react, a flash of swordlight shot past her from behind. It pierced the Evil Spirit, halting the attack once more. At the same time, Rhode's voice rang out.

"Try again."

"Yes."

Lize bit her lower lip and raised her hand once more. With her previous experience, she quickly gathered the sacred power in her hand again. Then, staring at the distant Evil Spirits, she gritted her teeth and thrust her hand forward.

"Whoosh!"

A pillar of light appeared out of nowhere and slammed down like a massive column. The Evil Spirit caught beneath it had no time to react before it was utterly obliterated, shattering like fragile glass.

"Huh?"

Lize lowered her hand, watching everything unfold with three parts surprise and seven parts delight. She knew that Healing Light was highly effective against undead creatures, but she hadn't expected it to be this powerful. Holy Soul be praised! In terms of sheer power, this was well beyond the bounds of Healing Spell. Even the Holy Temple's Judgment Hammer couldn't be much stronger.

Before the girl could express her delight, Rhode's calm voice pulled her back to reality once more.

"Keep at it. This is only the beginning."