Ravi carried Debbie inside, and the citizens’ hatred turned to disgust as they backed away, allowing him to pass through unimpeded. Inside, a nun yelled at a child who seemed indifferent to the crowd’s reaction or to whatever Ravi was presumed to have done. However, when their eyes met, Ravi realized the true depth of dread.

Uvrodon had never instilled such fear in him before, causing his heart to desire to escape. Every fiber of his being urged him to kneel, hoping the monster might show mercy and grant a swift demise until a slap snapped him out of the haunting vision.

Gasps resonated through the surroundings as Mary, the nun, dared to strike the monstrous being. Despite murmurs speculating on the abrupt cruelty of the once-kind nun, the unconscious girl in Ravi’s arms conveyed a different narrative to him.

‘Is this a side effect of her spirit weapon, or are these people just that oblivious?’ Ravi mulled to himself.

Any wielder of a weapon had to possess greater strength and stamina than a common soldier. This requirement tripled for spirit weapon users. Considering the weight of the little girl and Mary’s current condition, Ravi dismissed the notion of her carrying a pocket knife, let alone a spirit weapon.

‘They’ve all gone mad,’ Ravi concluded.

A grunt drew his attention to the unconscious girl, who stirred awake, while the wound on her forehead, along with even the slightest trace of blood, had vanished without a trace.

“What the?” Ravi followed the scar on his wrist, which extended all the way to his shoulder. It was the mark of the wraith, designating him as its lifelong target—a scar that had resisted the efforts of every healer he had encountered. Now, it disappeared on its own, leaving no trace behind, all because of a child who regarded it with contentment?

— — —<>|*|<>— — —

Ric cast aside Mary’s insult, diverting his attention to a stranger’s scar.

Flesh is doomed to refill its vessel; the soul. Scars were hard to heal because one has to fix their soul to fix a scar. One must sever the remnants of the past, their traumas, and regret to heal such a wound.

Ric couldn’t care less about a stranger’s well-being. What he sought was the death energy lingering within the soul.

Harnessing light and nurturing life is simple.

Delving into the abyss of darkness and confronting the specter of death is insurmountable.

Rather than attempting to heal the soul, Ric opted to conceal the scar with an additional layer of tissue. To the untrained eye, it might appear as though the wound had been healed.

Ric made a calculated bet that the stranger would cling to the scar while he continued to erase it. The intention was to compel the stranger to convert his life force into death energy, which Ric planned to siphon for himself later.

To his astonishment, the stranger fell for the illusion, inadvertently healing his soul while Ric performed superficial patchwork.

“Something is seriously wrong with these people,” Ric muttered, shooting a glare at the stranger. “How is it that none of them possess any death energy, even when they’re on the brink of death? Who the hell is giving them hope?”

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“Life is so hard,” Mary murmured, reminiscing about the newborn she had once cradled in her hands. “While death always remains easy.” She surveyed the area, knowing all too well that, despite appearances, the trio had not departed; a struggle for life had unfolded here.

With a sigh, Mary followed Ric’s gaze and spotted the lone guard. “Where are the trio?” she demanded.

“Huh!” Ravi attempted to evade the child’s gaze while searching for the trio. “They entered a while ago... but I can’t seem to find them anywhere.”

“Who is he?”

“One of the guards.”

“Then why so polite? Tie him down,” Ric commanded.

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances as Mary stared at Ric in disbelief. “Why are we?” someone questioned.

Lara took the initiative and caught Ravi in an armlock. The rest follow suit, restraining Ravi. Most of the hands over him were just for show, as Lara was more than enough to lock him in place, yet people shoved each other to lay their hands on the despicable guard.

“These guys are worse than demon children,” Ric snickers.

“What are all of you doing?” Mary snaps at them.

“Yes!” Ric agrees. “Don’t kill him before extracting some information,” he adds, as the crowd cheers and takes Ravi away.

“No! That’s not what I meant.”

The crowd ignores Mary, as her tool spirit has already given them instructions. They follow its words, considering it says what Mary wants it to say, rather than what Mary herself yelled at the top of her lungs.

“AHHhh...!” A piercing scream grabs everyone’s attention. They spot Debbie on the first floor, fleeing from a massive snake.

“Uverdon,” gasped Ravi.

“The terror trio!” another yelled.

Half of the crowd fled to safety, while the remainder rushed to capture the snake.

“Run away!” yelled Mary.

“Get him,” smirked Ric.

“Get him,” echoed the crowd before pouncing on Uverdon.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Mary exclaimed.

“What are you doing?” Ric repeated Mary’s question.

“What are you doing?” the crowd questioned Uverdon.

“I didn’t do anything,” Debbie wailed.

A deformed Minotaur stepped forward. After his failed semi-transformation, everything except for his arms remained human. “Ah!” he yelled, seizing Uverdon by the tail and flinging him away. Ric laughed at Debbie, who found herself trapped within Uverdon’s skin.

“Why did you throw her too?” Lara smacked the Minotaur in his privates.

Ric directed his attention to the zone of impact, healing Debbie before she even made contact with the wall. While extending his healing abilities to the Minotaur, out of pity and all too aware of such an underhanded attack.

A minor skirmish of hurtful words and feeble punches erupted on the first floor, while Debbie crashed headfirst into a pillar, sliding down like a cartoon character.

“You started this,” Mary accused Ric with a glare.

An elderly man within the crowd, perplexed by Mary’s perception, pointed at Ravi. “Yes! You started this. GET HIM,” he exclaimed, echoing the sentiment of the crowd.

“What the fuck is wrong with you people?” Ravi attempted to escape but found himself surrounded.

The entire town converged on the house, embroiled in a chaotic melee. Each individual seemed to be venting their pent-up frustrations and past grudges.

Below-the-belt punches, old individuals tricking the young ones only to strike them with a devilish laugh, unorthodox skills, techniques, and unconventional hidden weapons came into play. Despite the apparent disorder in the wild melee, everything remained within the rules. The lack of sharp edges and Ric’s ability to zap away any critical wounds ensured a level of safety amidst the chaotic frenzy.

“If I get knocked out, everyone is going to get injured,” Ric declared with a victorious smile over Mary’s predicament.

Mary sighed and approached her trusted cane. Lifting it like a rapier, she aimed it squarely at Ric.

“Oh... bother.”

Debbie groaned as she got up, finding not a single scratch on her head to support her memory. She wondered if she had dreamt of wearing a scaly outfit before falling from the first floor. Before she could complete the thought, Uvrodon’s head landed on Debbie’s, and the deep cut on one snake’s chin opened up as her head slipped inside his maw.

“Ahh...!” Debbie screamed at the top of her lungs, flailing about in the skin suit.

“Ahye!” Lara hurled the Minotaur toward Debbie, rendering them both unconscious. “I got them both,” she proclaimed, eliciting chants of her name from the crowd.

Once the chaos subsided, only Ric sported a swollen head, courtesy of the thrashing he received from Mary, while the rest panted from exhaustion.

“Explain,” Mary demanded, gesturing towards the lifeless Trio carcasses. The Minotaur seized Ravi’s collar, demanding answers. “Not him, you meathead.” Mary hurled the cane at the Minotaur, knocking him unconscious.

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