Face-to-Face Encounter (2)

As Green and Steward Laurence rounded a corner, they ran into two maids whispering to each other.

"Have you heard? Gilmore died just now too. It's terrifying!"

"I only just heard. They said it was a sudden illness..."

"Hmph! A sudden illness? Vakis from the patrol told me he ran into an Eerie. It was Ginny Will from the kitchen who brought it into the castle."

"What? That can't be! How could there be one in the castle..."

Just then, they saw Green and Steward Laurence come around the corner. Both maids jumped, lowered their heads at once, and shut their mouths.

Steward Laurence shot the two gossips a fierce glare, but neither scolded nor punished them. He simply led Green past.

Green was a little surprised. This was nothing like the rigid, stern old steward he knew. The succession of people going mad or dying mysteriously over the past two days had clearly put the old man under tremendous strain. He was so worn out in body and mind that he could not even muster the energy to keep the servants in line.

Laurence led Green to the lower level of the castle, where the Wilson Family's most trusted servants and stewards lived. By the family's rules, only those whose fathers had also served the Lineage were allowed to live here.

The rooms here were fairly comfortable. They had floors, glass windows, gas lamps, wooden furniture made with fine craftsmanship despite its cheap materials, soft bedding, and cotton curtains. The servants here lived better than the average middle-class family in Landon City.

But as Green approached the gardener Gilmore's room, he frowned before he even reached the door. He sensed a bitter chill that made him deeply uncomfortable.

Is that the lingering presence of an Eerie? Green wondered, but he kept walking straight toward the door. Rather than open it himself, he flicked a hand as he walked and summoned three Skeleton Soldiers. One hurried ahead of him and tried the lock on Gilmore's door.

Click. It would not turn!

Steward Laurence, who had come with him, saw Green use magic so casually. His pupils contracted slightly, and he took half a step back, his regard for Green turning to awe.

The Eerie haunting Wilson Castle was adept at Curses, and a Curse needed a medium. Such mediums came in all shapes and sizes, but in the end, contact was essential. Green was therefore taking extra care. He stood before the door without even wanting to go inside, leaving everything to the Skeleton Soldiers. Yet the door would not open!

Green glanced at Steward Laurence.

The steward found it strange too. He had checked the room earlier and left someone to guard it. The door should not have been locked! And the manservant stationed here was gone.

"Striker! Are you in there?" Steward Laurence moved closer to the door and called to the manservant. He raised a hand to knock, then remembered that even Green had avoided touching it. He stopped at once and looked back at him.

Green's expression was grave. He pointed upward. "I think I know where Mr. Striker is."

Steward Laurence followed his gaze, and his scalp went numb. Above the door, the corpse of a middle-aged man in a castle manservant's uniform swayed from a beam.

The castle's ceilings were high, roughly half again as high as those of an ordinary house. Even so, with Green's senses and powers of observation, he could scarcely believe he had failed to notice a dead man hanging over the doorway.

"So we finally meet face-to-face?" Green murmured. He gently rubbed the Ghost Eye pendant in his hand and used Soul Summoning again to call the Evil Spirit Maxim out of the Graveyard.

Using a ghost against an Eerie that might itself be a ghost was Green's plan. As long as the creature was not Formal Rank, Maxim could handle it. Even if it was, he could fight desperately and keep it occupied for a few minutes. If Green's judgment was wrong and the creature was no ghost, he was ready to retreat and leave Landon City at once. He got along well with Vincent, but he had no intention of going to his grave with the Wilson Family.

At the same time, white vapor poured through the gap beneath the door and spread rapidly toward them. A sigh drifted from no discernible direction, soft and lilting, as though someone were weeping out a sorrowful tale. It made Green drowsy against his will.

Fortunately, Green had practiced his Meditation Method without interruption lately, greatly strengthening his mind. Back when he had first crossed over, that one mournful sigh might have drawn him completely under.

"What a powerful Charm!" Green sucked in a cold breath and stepped back. With a shift of thought, he divided his attention and anchored part of his consciousness in the Graveyard.

Green had discovered this method by accident while practicing his Meditation Method. As the Town Center in the Graveyard had been upgraded, the great clock formed there by the Gelfis Meditation Method had grown stronger too. That had advanced Green's practice enough for him to anchor a sliver of consciousness to the clock without affecting himself. That sliver was his lifeline. No matter what mental ability he faced, as long as the Graveyard was not breached, he could retain a shred of clarity and remain immune to its harmful effects.

Green's face was expressionless as he glanced at Steward Laurence. Loyal and strong-willed as the old steward was, he could not withstand the Charm. His eyes were vacant, and he stood motionless like a marionette whose strings had been pulled taut.

Green paid him no further attention. He stepped back, eyes fixed ahead, and summoned the remaining six ghosts from the Graveyard. A determined, icy glint flashed in his eyes. "Eerie! Let's see your true face today!" He raised his hand and unleashed Bone Spikes.

Boom! A huge spike of rock shot up beneath the door, blasting the sturdy door to splinters despite the spell the Eerie had used to reinforce it.

Wood chips flew everywhere, pattering against the surrounding walls.

Green had chosen the angle of the rising spike so the flying splinters could not reach him. Two seconds later, the spike vanished, revealing the open doorway.

The room beyond was filled with thick fog, bone-white and ashen gray. It rolled and churned now and then, as though something were stirring it at will.

Is this the Eerie? It was Green's first time facing one of the mysterious, powerful creatures. Though it existed in a form unlike a human's, he was certain it had arrived and was somewhere in the fog. The Ghost Eye clenched in his hand trembled faintly, as though it had spotted prey and was eager to strike.

Green did not rush to channel his Magic Power. An Eerie was no ordinary ghost; the Ghost Eye would not simply draw it in. He had to wait for the best moment to act.