In the old world, humans usually stored their dead in graves and funeral pits. To find they did the same to their vehicles wasn't much of a shock.

The junkyard was littered with the bones of metal contraptions, towers of wheels and hinges stacked together under the moonlight. It was almost sad. Surely the beasts deserved better than to be left to rot, or rust in their case. But then, he doubted burying so much metal would be an easy task. Not unless the humans had dragon fire on hand.

"Are you serious?"

Luizitine stayed low to the ground, peaking around the mechanical skeletons as he heard the voices of humans nearby. He spotted a group of them. Two males and three females. They were all gathered around a campfire, sipping from metal cylinders that reeked of alcohol. One even went as far as letting out a loud belch, which the others were quick to voice complaints over.

"John, you friggin' pig."

"Gotta be a new record, right?"

"Well-"

"Don't encourage him! Jesus, no wonder you're single."

"Boo. Low blow, Syd. And counterpoint. URRRP!"

Their screeching and laughing rose as Luziitine crept closer, the scent of fresh human meat making his mouth water.

It had taken a bit of convincing to get the directions from Dude, but after a bit of convincing, the human agreed to show him the way. From there, it was a simple matter of retracing his steps to build a mental layout of the area. He had the perfect route planned from Justin's house to the junkyard. Now all that was left was to put it to good use.

“I can't believe it. So you're telling me that time with Lisa-”

"Totally made it up. Never got past talking. We did kiss a few times, though."

"Must be nice."

Luiz crept closer, his eyes moving over each target. Which one shall be first? That one's too thin. But that one's all fat. Hmm. That one might be tasty. So many choices. He licked his lips, the hunger rising the closer he got.

“Well if you guys are done, I’m taking a whiz.”

The hellspawn smiled, watching as one of them volunteered as dinner. The thin male. Not the best choice, but food was food. The human waved to his companions.

“Try not to go crazy while I'm gone.”

Luizitine put on his demonic mask, horns growing and tongue stretching out. The thin male's path was easy to follow, the towers of broken vehicles offering plenty of cover for the hellspawn. He could hear liquid draining from the human as he stalked towards him, nails sharpened and fangs dripping with saliva.

He didn't need much. A single slice would be enough to turn the man into a tasty drinking fountain. Or he could make it a roast. Burn the man alive and gnaw on him afterward. The latter would alert the others, though, which would have been detrimental to future feedings. No. Better make it quick and quiet. His tongue swished in the air, ready to lap up his beverage with glee. The man whistled a steady tune as the hellspawn crept closer and closer. He rose onto his feet, his shadow towering over his mortal prey. His nails raised.

“BLEEEEH!”

The man jumped back with a scream.

“Holy crap! It’s real!”

A transparent figure had appeared directly in front of the human, its face stretching out as it uttered a monstrous growl.

“BLEEEEEH!”

The thin male fell over, immediately turning to run. Right past Luizitine.

"GHOST!" he screamed. "THE JUNKYARD GHOST IS REAL! RUN FOR IT!"

The other humans all stopped their chatter, eyes locking on both the fleeing human and the spirit following behind. A spirit which had taken the form of a large hairy beast, arms flailing in the air as its growl became a heavy roar that echoed throughout the junkyard.

"BLEEEEEH!" it screeched. "I'LL EAT YOUR SOULS! BLEEEEH!"

The humans' faces contorted in horror, drinks dropping and spilling as they scrambled to their feet, running just like their companions.

Luizitine watched numbly as the humans fled for the safety of a faraway vehicle, the contraption roaring to life. The ghost continued to roar, but it stopped at the edge of the junkyard, watching them pile in one by one to drive away. Luizitine stared up at the sky.

Did that truly just happen? Is this a hallucination?

The spirit stopped roaring, the humans having long since rode off to safety. Its form shrank several sizes, the transparent being it had first appeared as returning.

Dark black fur shrank until all that was left was the hair extending down its back. Claws became thin fingers, the white glow of its eyes turning into dilated brown pupils. In moments, the spirit took on its true form. A human woman. She was giggling to herself as she looked over the spot where the humans had just been. Luizitine narrowed at the creature.

"Hey!"

The spirit stopped laughing.

Luizitine had encountered many spirits in his lifetime, both the living and the dead. And in that time, he'd quickly realized how pesky phantoms were to deal with. They always sprung up like gnats in his old kingdoms, tormenting his subjects with their senseless tomfoolery. And he could tell the spirit of the junkyard was no different than the rest.

She had the appearance of youth, probably no older than the humans who had just fled for the hills. Or Justin, for that matter. A point which he was reminded of when he finally reached the ghost.

“That was my dinner you scared-"

"BLEEEEH!"

The phantom transformed in an instant, roaring at the top of her lungs.

“GET OUT!" she screamed. "I’LL EAT YOUR SOUL!”

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Luizitne stared at the spirit, his patience faltering as the ghost screamed in its face. The ghost woman waved her arms in the same manner as before, her beastly form towering over his human one. But as her roars died down, so too did her intimidating gaze falter. She shrunk back to normal just as fast as she'd changed.

“Y-you’re not scared?” she said. “You’re supposed to be scared.”

The hellspawn groaned. "I've fought succubi, spirit. Nothing you do could possibly faze me."

The spirit looked him up and down. Considering his form, the reaction didn't surprise him. The girl looked to have died recently, her garments not that different than the other humans. In fact, they were remarkably intact, her sweater only slightly stained with blood. Perhaps they'd been a scavenger that starved to death. Or someone who'd been poisoned. He didn't spot any fatal wounds, so he doubted she'd been a victim of assassination.

“Are you stupid?" she finally asked. "I’m a ghost, guy. I’ll eat your soul.”

“If you truly wanted my soul, you’d have eaten it by now. But you are welcome to try.”

The spirit frowned. “Don't tempt me, human. I eat souls like yours for- Holy crap!”

The spirit jumped backward as Luizitine revealed his demonic mask, horns extending and skin burning a bright red. Dawning his true form always made his hunger shoot up, but he knew he could afford the luxury given the half-frozen lower torso he had saved at home. He shrunk back to normal, breathing a sigh as he tried to contain the blood frenzy.

“There," he said. "I hope that makes it clear enough that I am no...Spirit, I’m not going to hurt you. There’s no need to cower.”

The woman peeked her head out of a scrap metal pile. Luizitine showed his hands, hoping the spirit would understand the gesture to mean he came in peace. Though destroying her was easy enough, he didn't see a reason to. She may have scared away his prey, but by all accounts, he was in her domain. The junkyard had been haunted long before he'd been dropped into the world. To destroy her would be akin to killing someone in their own house.

The ghost slowly came out, her voice quivering.

“W-what are you?” she asked.

“My name is Luizitine,” he said. “I’m a demon. A hellspawn, to be exact."

“A demon? And I thought I was the scariest thing in town.”

The woman floated closer, once against staring him over.

“A-are you the devil?”

“I have encountered devils, yes. Though I’m not sure which one you mean.”

“Y’know. Satan. Lucifer. Father of All Lies. The Big Guy downstairs.”

Luizitine shook his head. The devils he knew of tended to be mischief makers that stole away children in the dead of night. Vicious creatures as far as he was concerned. They were always picking fights with the harpies.

“Luizitine, right?” the woman asked. Her eyes grew. “On no. Are you here to drag me to hell?”

“Hmm? Is that what your afterlife is called?" He nodded. "Interesting. No, I don’t make it a habit of passing judgment. I only came here to hunt.”

“Hunt?" The woman drew back. "You eat ghosts?”

Luizitine smiled. “No spirit. I only eat humans. I don't think you'd be very tasty.”

The woman sighed. She must have been a recent death to have asked such a question. Even if he could kill her, eating her would have been out of the question. Soul contained no nourishment. No protein. No fiber. It would have been akin to eating a bag of air. Doable, yes. Practical, of course not. Still, whoever the woman was didn't seem to let her guard down despite his words.

"What is your name spirit?"

She flinched. “I’m not telling you. You’re not taking my soul, demon.”

“I told you I'm not here to eat you.”

“Yeah. Well. That doesn't mean you can't do other stuff. I've seen the movies. I give you a name, and suddenly I'm your slave. No way, Satan!"

“It's Luizitine, spirit. And to be quite frank, I doubt anyone would want you soul. It's too weak.”

The woman flinched. “What’s that supposed to mean? You’re saying I’m not good enough to be a slave?”

“Yes.”

The woman's fear flipped, the ghost staring daggers his way. Perhaps it was a waste of time trying to reason with phantoms. I suppose I can find a better place to hunt. Dude may know of cool-egg. Perhaps I should try to find him again. He smiled at the thought.

“Karla.”

Luizitine came out of his thoughts. The spirit was floating in front of him, her cheeks burning red.

“My name is Karla,” she said. Her eyes met his.

“Ah. Well." He nodded. "Pleased to meet you, Karla.”

She folded her arms, the glare remaining as she seemed to be choosing her words carefully. Though the demon part had made her wary, he could tell that wasn't the only reason for her caution. As she stared back at him, he could almost feel her intensity.

“Why?” she asked. "Why are you here?"

“I told you. I’m here to hunt.”

“In my junkyard? Then those guys before. You were trying to…”

“Eat them. Yes.”

The ghost grew silent.

“Does that bother you?” he asked.

"A little.”

The quiet returned, Karla's gaze falling to the ground. Though despite her words, the spirit didn't try to flee again. Or make herself invisible, which Luizitine knew she could have done at any point. To see Karla floating in front of him despite everything being said made him reconsider abandoning the junkyard. He rubbed his chin.

“Perhaps a compromise, then?"

Karla looked up. “Compromise? You mean like a bargain? I thought you said you weren’t a devil.”

“I’m not. But I am a hellspawn who would like to use this place as his primary food source. Which is why I offer this bargain to you. In exchange for allowing me to use this junkyard, I promise to only hunt enough humans to sustain myself & my minions. I’ll even ensure that only those of ill will get devoured. No innocent youths. No knightly heroes. Would that arrangement be satisfactory?”

Karla gave him another suspicious look. She floated closer. Enough that her face was directly in front of his, white eyes scanning his for ulterior motives.

"Why is this junkyard so important?" she asked.

"It's my first supply line. I'll need it to secure a foothold. I plan to be the ruler of this world someday?"

Karla's eyes grew. "Ruler of- What kind of demon are you?"

Luizitine could only respond with a smile, his hand extending out towards her. Given everything else he'd told her, he doubted being upfront about his goals was something to scare away Karla. And his hunch was correct as the ghost woman didn't move an inch away.

"Counter offer," she said. "You can use the junkyard as much as you want. No killing kids, but anything else is fair game. On one condition."

“Name it.”

A smile spread across her lips.

“Take me with you," she said. "Taking over the world sounds a lot more fun than scaring randoms for eternity."

Luizitine thought a moment. Karla was no demonling, but a phantom was a useful ally to have around. A stealthy agent to pick up intel. A puppeteer to entrap targets. Though ghosts were a nuisance to his subjects, as minions they made for some of the best knights one could encounter. And her wariness aside, he could use someone other than Gingee to fill his ranks.

Karla held out her hand, Luizitine finally nodding and coating his in Soul of Cold. The deal was finalized with a firm shake, much to the phantom's surprise.

"Wow. You really are a demon, aren't you?"

"Was that in doubt?"

Karla looked at her hand, the ghost beaming brighter as she saw the whisps of cold still rising off it.

Luizitine nodded at his new hunting grounds. Finally, the pieces were being put in place. They had somewhere they could eat freely without worry of interruption. Somewhere they could mark as a foothold and branch out from. It would take time to acquire the resources he needed, but the first major hurdle was accomplished. The hellspawn threw back his head, letting out a throaty bellow as he reveled in his success.

Karla tried to match it, though hers came out much higher by comparison. Still, the attempt was enough to earn Luizitine's favor, their shared laughter echoing through the junkyard.

"So what happens now?" the spirit asked.

Luizitine pointed ahead. "We build, Karla. But first we find get Gingee."

"Who?"

Luizitine grinned. It was time to start the reconstruction.