A Face-to-Face Encounter (3)

Meanwhile, after Green encountered two gossips on his way, word that the Necromancer was going to investigate the Eerie incident quickly spread throughout the castle.

Viscount Paul and Vincent had helped the news along. They hoped to steady the situation before anyone fled in terror. To the foolish men and women below, at least, a Necromancer who controlled corpses was no less frightening than an Eerie being that wielded the mysterious power of curses.

More importantly, Green's strength and experience had been exaggerated. The castle, where everyone's nerves had been on edge, suddenly found hope. Even servants who had planned to sneak away decided to wait and see whether this evil Necromancer could deal with something even more evil.

Green did not care what anyone else thought. He was wholly focused. Facing an Eerie being for the first time left him a little tense, and the hand gripping his Magic Staff tightened until veins stood out on its back.

A shriek suddenly rang out from the thick fog. A streak of white light burst forth and shot straight at Green.

The white light carried a faint, fishy smell.

The moment Green smelled it, his head swam and he nearly lost consciousness. Fortunately, a wisp of his Divine True Spirit was anchored to the great bell in the Graveyard. His mind clouded only briefly before clearing, just in time for him to see a twisted, hideous ghostly face hurtling toward him with a streak of white light trailing behind it.

Green immediately ordered the Evil Spirit Maxim to intercept it.

Like a male lion that had spotted another of its kind, Maxim had already grown restless. At the command, he howled and charged out like a wild dog off its leash.

The next instant came a sharp crackle, like wires shorting out, as Maxim collided head-on with the streak of white light. The result caught Green completely off guard. The moment they met, the difference in strength was obvious. It was not that the Ghost, which he suspected was Eerie, was too strong—it was too weak. It could not last even one exchange against Maxim. With a piercing scream, it zipped back into the fog faster than it had emerged, like a monkey whose backside had caught fire.

Green froze. Was this Eerie being really that cowardly? It had spent so long building itself up, steadily creating an atmosphere of terror. It had even seemed imposing just now, almost bluffing Green. Yet when it came to a real fight, it was this weak. Green was not pleased, though. He frowned instead. As far as he knew, no Eerie being could possibly be so weak. If one were, someone would have dealt with it long ago. It would never have survived until now. There was only one possibility: this thing was not the Eerie being itself, but merely a part of it, or a minion it controlled.

Maxim immediately gave chase, but when he rushed into the room, there was no sign of it. Even the thick white fog that had filled the room was gone.

Green stood in the doorway and swept his gaze over the room. The thing had clearly escaped.

Steward Laurence came to his senses then. With a grunt, he regained his wits, though his face was deathly pale, as if he had been through something dreadful. Fortunately, the old steward had a strong will and had woken in time. A few more minutes, and there was no telling whether he would have woken at all.

"Thank you, Master Green!" Steward Laurence knew how close the danger had been and hurried to thank him.

Green waved a hand, signaling for him to go back rather than stay, then walked into the room one step at a time.

Though Green judged that the suspected Eerie being would not return soon after fleeing, he still dared not let down his guard. He remained alert and ready to act.

The room was small. Bedding lay in a heap on the bed. A table by the wall had been knocked askew, a chair lay overturned on the floor, and other belongings were strewn about. The window was open. Because this was a castle, iron bars had been set into the windows for defense. Now those bars were smeared with blood. Someone must have slammed into them with such force that the rods had nearly bent.

Yet after looking around, Green found no body belonging to Gilmore, the former gardener.

Green frowned and ordered Maxim back to his side to stand guard. The other Ghosts spread out to search the surroundings...

Several minutes passed without a counterattack. The Ghosts searching the area found no trace of the dead gardener's body. In the wardrobe, they found only a dozen or so dead rats, all of which had died horribly. Some had died recently; others had already rotted, yet none gave off any stench.

"Hm? The positions of these dead rats..." Green opened the wardrobe and examined them. At a glance, he saw that their arrangement was no accident: they formed some kind of Summoning Circle. It suddenly reminded him of the Magic Circle Les and Old Bill had drawn when he first crossed over. "Could this gardener, Gilmore, also be a secret cultist recruited by the Tower of Yin Spirits?"

With this discovery, Green had an idea and activated Death Spirit Sight.

Until now, Green had paid little attention to Gilmore himself. But if the gardener might be a cultist, the matter had become more complicated.

Green had always believed the Eerie being that killed Baron Lonanks was connected to the Tower of Yin Spirits, and that the one that appeared at Wilson Castle was too. But what he had found now suggested things were more complicated than he had expected.

Just then, Maxim suddenly turned a wary gaze toward the doorway. His spirit form vibrated, producing a shriek that warned Green to be careful.

Green looked up. At some point, white fog had risen outside the room, just as it had inside earlier. A white figure was peering around the door at him. When it saw that Green had noticed it, it immediately pulled back, and the fog outside the door rapidly receded with it.

Green hurried after it, again ordering Maxim to take the lead. He gripped the Ghost Eye, ready to use it at any moment.

Earlier, Green had not used the Ghost Eye right away because he could not be entirely sure of his opponent's strength. After that first clash, though, he knew it was not strong and belonged to the category of Ghosts. The Ghost Eye could certainly counter it, so he no longer hesitated.

But the Ghost was exceedingly crafty. By the time Green rushed through the doorway, it was nowhere to be seen. Even Maxim, who had passed through the wall ahead of him, had failed to catch it.

"Hm? What's going on? That thing shouldn't be able to move so fast!" Unease stirred in Green's chest. He activated Death Spirit Sight and scanned the area, but found not the slightest clue.

This Ghost was different from the Eerie being at Baron Lonanks's home.

That Eerie being had left at least a trace of its aura wherever it went. This Ghost appeared with great swathes of thick fog, which left traces everywhere it passed. Now the entire corridor and the nearby rooms were covered in them, making it impossible for Death Spirit Sight to pick out where the Ghost had actually gone.

Green let out a breath and tightened his grip on the Ghost Eye pendant. Disappointed, he returned to the room, but found no further clues. Nor did the escaped Ghost appear again.