Body Drained Dry

One hundred sixty-three years ago, a red moon appeared in the sky, its radiance impossible even for the sun to obscure.

From then on, legendary evil creatures began stirring throughout the world—Werewolves, Vampires, Leshies, Evil Spirits, and more. Yet the various Transcendence rituals buried by the Church amid piles of old papers also saw the light of day once more.

Every church built a secret Sanctuary chamber underground.

Complex magic arrays were inscribed upon the Sanctuary walls and the church hall floor.

The arrays gathered the Light of Faith produced by believers' devout prayers, purified it into liquid, and stored it within the Sanctuary.

Ordinary people could not perceive this light. Only Mystics who had attained Transcendence could glimpse it.

The Holy Water sold by churches, which supposedly cured every illness, was merely this sacred liquid diluted with water.

Zack Town was not large. The Faith Power gathered each year could only support one or two Holy Baptism rituals. How could Nick not be distressed?

"During the baptism, a great deal of black mist was cleansed from your body. That was soul toxin left behind by the Evil Spirit. Without the purification of those two Holy Baptisms, those things would accumulate in your body over time, and you would be doomed to become a deranged villain."

Father wore an expression that said Kraun had gotten a bargain. "One hundred Gold Shields for a brand-new life is not expensive at all. You still have a long road ahead of you."

Hearing this, Kraun was completely certain he had passed the test. The weight hanging over his heart finally lifted.

As for the so-called debt, he automatically ignored it.

At worst, he could become a deadbeat. In his previous life, he had obeyed the law and feared owing anyone anything. Trying a different kind of life this time did not seem so bad, he thought.

Night fell. Three blazing pyres were lit in the square before the church, and Father held cremation rites for the believers who had died in the Evil Spirit incident.

Eighteen people from three families had perished in the incident. Familiar neighbors and friends came to see them off, a sea of people crowding the square as candles covered the stone ground.

People believed that candlelight could illuminate the path souls walked to the gods' paradise.

Kraun stood beside one of the pyres, his expression mournful.

He had completely inherited the original owner's memories. His grief at that moment came wholly from the heart.

Flames blazed in his eyes. He crossed his hands over his chest and silently prayed, "May flame purify our sins and cleanse our souls. May there be no sorrow in heaven."

Familiar friends came over from time to time, giving him hugs or patting his shoulder. Kraun answered them all with grateful smiles.

The flames gradually died out, and the night wind chilled his forehead.

Kraun placed his family's ashes into a black ceramic urn. He planned to bury them in the wilderness cemetery during the Month of Sprouting next year and plant a Pagoda Pine over them.

According to the teachings of the Lord of Flame, people came into this world and endured every kind of suffering to repay their sins. After death, they were purified in flame, then scattered across the earth to nourish growing plants. Those plants could in turn become fuel for fires that illuminated the human world, allowing the world to continue its cycle of rebirth.

The nuns also packed away the ashes of the other two families. They had no other relatives.

The crowd gradually dispersed, and the candlelight in the square slowly went out as well.

Nick came over then. "A house tainted by an Evil Spirit must be purified before anyone can live in it again. Stay in the church gatekeeper's cottage tonight. I'll purify the house tomorrow."

Kraun bowed his head. "Thank you, Father. Will there be a fee?"

"Heh." Father laughed at that. "Not this time. It is my duty to let the homes of believers bask in our Lord's radiance."

Considering you owe me a huge sum of money, this one is free!

Nick fell silent for a few seconds, then offered comfort. "The dead are gone, but the living must remain strong. May the Lord of Flame's radiance shine upon us!"

"May the Lord's radiance shine upon us!"

The gatekeeper was an old man with a face full of wrinkles and graying hair.

He had once been a lonely widower. Three years ago, after the church was built, Father had taken pity on him and given him this job.

Though the pay was pitifully low, the church provided three meals a day, and the food was fairly good.

Father must have already spoken to him. When Kraun arrived, the old man kindly pointed toward a small door inside the room and said gently, "You'll sleep in there tonight. The bed's a little narrow."

He sighed again. "Old Moya was still in his prime. What a pity."

Kraun choked up slightly and lowered his head. "Thank you."

He said nothing more, walked into the inner room, and gently shut the door.

It was extremely cramped inside, with room only for a narrow bed, a chair, and a roughly one-foot-wide mirror with a wooden base propped against the wall. Two cracks ran across its surface.

Kraun placed the ceramic urn beneath the bed, planning to retrieve his belongings from the Patrol Squad tomorrow.

No sooner had he touched the bed than he fell into a deep sleep.

No one knew how much time passed before moonlight slipped through the small window and silently fell upon the sleeping man's face.

Kraun suddenly opened his eyes and sat up in bed.

He got out barefoot, walked before the mirror, and tilted his head to examine his reflection.

The reflection's pupils shifted from dark brown to yellowish brown, then gradually lengthened and flattened into eerie vertical slits.

Several thick fleshy tendrils grew from his face. It grinned, revealing two long fangs above and two below.

All of this appeared only in the mirror. Kraun outside it showed no sign of abnormality.

Black smoke streamed from the reflection's ears, and an octopus-like monster covered in tentacles and sporting a mouth full of sharp teeth emerged completely.

The monster's tentacles grabbed the edge of the mirror, and it leaped out in a single motion, sending ripples across the mirror's surface.

Kraun's eyes closed at once. His body floated into the air and drifted back onto the bed.

The monster's body slowly turned transparent and flew upward out of the room, the roof offering it no obstruction whatsoever.

Beneath the gatekeeper's cottage eaves hung an antique copper bell the size of a kettle, its body covered in intricate Flame Cloud Patterns.

The copper bell let out a clear ring, only for it to stop abruptly.

The old man, wrapped in a leather coat and keeping watch from his chair, jolted awake from his sleep. He had heard a bell chime that struck directly at his soul.

He pricked up his ears and listened intently, but heard only the faint sound of wind outside.

The old man shook his head, wrapped his coat tighter around himself, lowered his head, and fell into a deep sleep again.

In the morning, Kraun emerged from the cottage with a troubled expression, repeatedly thumping his lower back with one fist.

I only slept for one night. Why do my limbs feel so weak?

He felt as though he were walking on cotton.

"What happened to you? Why do you look so pale?" Nick asked, confusion written all over his face as he approached.

It feels like my body has been drained dry. Kraun gave a bitter smile.

"I don't know why, but when I woke up, I felt incredibly weak and powerless all over."

It seemed the Evil Spirit's ability was more sinister than expected. Even Holy Baptism had failed to completely eliminate its influence.

Nick narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.

Kraun thumped his lower back again. His gaze inadvertently drifted upward, and he suddenly froze.

The church wasn't short on money, was it?

He pointed at the copper bell beneath the eaves and voiced his confusion. "Father, why doesn't this exquisite copper bell have a clapper?"