Chapter 131.

PART 1.

Hatori and Munshi arrive in Sindapur. The family who called them has a massive house, Hatori assumes they must be the richest people in the city if not one of the richest. He takes the role of an observer, as Munshi asks his starting questions to begin his investigation.

They are about to marry their son to another powerful and rich family, but due to the hauntings they have experienced, the proceedings have been stalled. Hatori is silently horrified to know how long the series of events before the wedding are, and how long the wedding itself is. it seems that you can change the world, but you can’t change the time-wasting things that humans do to torment each other.

“So, what kind of events have you experienced so far?” asked Munshi.

“It was quite normal things at first. Chandeliers fell on us for example, which we thought resulted from rusting. It couldn’t be happening so fast, but logically speaking, it was the most obvious thing we could think of.” Said Sannaphulla, the patriarch of the family. “Later, things got more violent. the doors started to move on their own, without any air and nearly bashed my face in. Shashtadeva, my son, was nearly pushed down some stairs, he managed to avoid the major damage however, aside from a bad case of jitters afterward.”

“Any other thing?” asked Munshi.

“Other family members have also experienced the same things, and our rituals were also disrupted by a phantom. That was when we realized that we can’t deal with whatever this is alone. there are not many necromancers in this area, so we decided to call you on the recommendation of my in-laws.” Explained Sannaphulla.

“Did this phantom ever target someone specifically? Or the mayhem is general?” asked Munshi.

“The in-laws have not suffered any direct effects, aside from being scared off. However, me and my family have suffered a lot of such events, where we felt like someone was trying to kill us,” said Sannaphulla.

As the patriarch reveals more details, Hatori notes them down. Munshi continues to ask them more questions in the same vein, after which he gives them some enchanted lockets to protect against a soul because all of these things are caused by a soul in his judgment. They then withdraw to plan to track down this soul without disrupting the proceedings of the wedding.

PART 2.

Manoj watches, as the preserved body is lowered in the pentagram. Then, the process of summoning the soul that used to inhabit this body begins.

“It will take a long time,” he said to himself, as the necromancers of his clan performed the ritual, “But it will be well worth it.”

He could not believe the stupidity of some people. Kishore Nanda, that political guy who used to advise the king back in the old days, and Munshi as well as other necromancers also protested when people started to preserve the bodies, knowing full well how they could be used.

But of course, the families overruled them in this matter, before the matter ever reached Porus. And now, he is going to use their own stupidity against them. “I should destroy all the bodies of powerful mages from the past once I’m done with this, lest I become a victim to my own scheme,” he said to no one.

PART 3.

As the events proceed, after everyone receives the lockets to protect them from a soul from Munshi, Hatori asks a question. “Master, is there a possibility that we could feel a chill or something like that from the presence of a soul or a spirit?”

“Not generally.” Said Munshi. “Just because of their presence, the temperature will not go down, until they actively utilize their magic to modify it. spirits are known to do that.”

Hatori nods at that explanation. “But why do a lot of people describe the effects of a soul or spirit magic as chilling?”

“Likely because of the emotional distress.” Said Munshi. “A heavenly home can turn into a prison cell in bad circumstances.”

Hatori watches the family going through rearranging their home, as the in-laws are about to come here, and the pre-wedding events are about to begin once more. Munshi and Hatori both stand guard, observe the people to keep them safe, and watch out for the soul.

PART 4.

Samudra was enjoying his nice vacation time. it is so tiring sometimes, traveling the world, and researching the different styles of magic and the cultures associated with them. not to mention, he was also on the list of commentators of dueling tournaments, which meant more traveling. He refuses to be those lazy commentators who watch from a comfortable studio, and never go to the ground.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

However, his vacation time is interrupted when he hears what is happening in the Sindapur, and therefore, he crashes open his father’s room. “Dad, you need to see this.”

“Samudra, how many times have I told you—”

“Lecture later. read this first.” Said Samudra, cutting his father off.

Surendra grabs the note, and as he reads further and further, his face gets paler and paler. “We need to stop this. I knew something was wrong when Manoj disappeared from the monthly meetings. I should have known.”

“Get your brother. We’re going to stop this.” Orders Surendra.

Samudra goes out to speak with his older brother. Looks like his father is going with all the firepower he can get. The matter certainly deserves that consideration.

PART 5.

Suraj comes to Josh, carrying a massive stack of reports in his arms. Josh wishes to stop him, but he is frozen by seeing this massive stack of papers, which is dumped on his desk by Suraj. “So, these are the issues I’ve solved this week. Administered the punishment which you assigned in the case of assaulting those three younger students, talked with professors about extra classes for struggling students, and dealt with some confiscated material.”

“Good. Good,” said Josh. “Continue like this, and you just might end up taking this position once I graduate.”

“About that,” said Suraj in a hesitating tone. “Do you think I’m going on the right path? I know that Hatori and James were upset with me when I didn’t improve physically, but…”

“They were upset because you were not working with the exercises to adapt to your vision.” Said Josh. “As for physical strength, just forget it. Hatori lives in a different world compared to us. violence is a big part of it. there is a need for brutes like him in this world, but once he is done wreaking havoc, people like us come, and fix the mess.”

“I doubt he will be amused to hear that description.” Said Suraj drily.

“Not really. He actually calls himself a brute, while offering me his services when I fought the elections last year,” said Josh.

PART 6.

No strange incidents happened today. In the night, as they are about to go to sleep, Hatori asks a question to Munshi. “Master, how do you find time for personal cases like this one? given you often end up helping police, one might think that you will always be working for the government or something.”

“You would be right if I had so many cases from law enforcement.” Said Munshi. “Except, that I don’t. most of the time, necromancers are not invited there, not someone like me anyway. so, if I actually relied on them for my income I would be broke and would end up on the streets.”

“So basically, the way you are now,” said Hatori, unable to resist that jibe.

“Hush you,” said Munshi. “Anyway, this is why I have so much time to handle these cases.”

“But wait, you didn’t say that necromancers are legally required to investigate a case?” asked Hatori.

“Yes, but the keyword is legal. You see, we necromancers are hated for bringing out dirty secrets, so inviting some local necromancer who is easily bribed is just a legal requirement. But if someone invites me, then cases get serious, because I cannot be bribed or intimidated.” Said Munshi.

“Also, if a necromancer ever finds out that another necromancer is actually taking bribes, they are required to kill them in a duel.” Said Munshi.

“Isn’t that extreme?” said Hatori.

“No,” said Munshi.

Hatori decides that he has enough of this talk, and falls asleep.

PART 7: WHY MAGEKIND HAS NOT GONE TO SPACE YET.

The non-magical humans have been fascinated with space, either interested to explore it or colonize it for generations. They have even gone to the Moon and come back, and Mars has been designated as the next target, and the planet shutters from the incoming infestation. It asked for help from Jupiter, but that bully planet refused to help out… the jerk.

Anyway, given the access to magic, and how easily it violates the physics, one would think that mages would have gone to space a long ago. But that is not the case. They are not interested in going outside of the planet, mostly because whatever they want, they can produce here in their world with magic, whereas non-magical humans look at space for potential resources for their civilization in the future.

This does not mean that some mages on an individual level have not tried to go to the space. If any sorcerer survives long enough, they end up leaving the planet. The last sorcerer named Samay is said to have left the planet, but there is no proof of it.

No sorcerer has ever returned once leaving planet Earth, so this also scares the mage society, causing them to think that going to space is a risky venture best left to those mad sorcerers.