Outside the border of the mansion
Vroom! Vroom!
The two men had stopped talking when the roar of an engine sounded behind them. Will and the Warden both turned to see a car speeding towards their position.
Screeeech!
The motorcycle driver skidded to a stop a few feet away from them as the dust cloud rose. The driver dismounted from the green modern motorbike that resembled a panther in appearance as it jumped.
As the person dismounted, the motorbike lit up slightly before disappearing and a thin stream of light flew towards the driver and vanished under the fabric of the pants on the leg.
The driver turned out to be a woman in her late twenties wearing tight hip-length black leather pants that revealed a bit of her hips as well as tattoos. She wore a short light green t-shirt with a pink print showing a good portion of her stomach.
On top of that, she wore an equally short biker jacket with black patterns on the sleeves, but it also had a lot of colorful patches on it.
The woman had semi-long blonde hair pulled back into a high ponytail with loose strands of hair on the sides of her face, and her green eyes were hidden behind round sunglasses.
image [https://cdn.leonardo.ai/users/e70a625f-a29f-469a-912e-d78c50e456f1/generations/cffb2873-c5ce-401a-98fb-1af0b9d7bd4d/Default_Blonde_spike_punk_hair_badass_biker_woman_dressed_in_a_4.jpg?w=512]
The woman looked around and blew a bubble of pink bubble gum before popping it and sucking it back into her mouth. Taking in the scene of the Spiritualists forming a seal around the Sinerman mansion and giving only a brief glance to the two prominent men, she opened her back to them and raised her hand.
The tattoo on her arm disappeared and another Spirit Beast appeared in the air in front of her. The spirit appeared in the form of a small figure no bigger than a child's doll with a half-transparent green body that was covered by a small billowing cloak.
The spirit's head looked like that of a robot with a black screen for a face, showing eyes in the form of red orbs and a red line for a mouth. It had two silky antennae on its head and two large insect wings sticking out of the sides of its head.
image [https://cdn.leonardo.ai/users/e70a625f-a29f-469a-912e-d78c50e456f1/generations/c9d4d176-d633-44da-8ed9-09a61a844e5c/Default_Hologram_of_a_flying_camera_in_the_form_of_a_jade_mant_3.jpg?w=512]
"Mantis open broadcast," the woman ordered.
The Spirit Beast nodded and there was a short, low sound similar to what you hear when you turn on a television, and a red dot appeared on its forehead and began to flash, with a small camera image above it.
"Hey, hey, bastards! It's your Hazel! Your favorite field reporter and fighter for your fucking rights!" The woman named Hazel struck a pose in front of her Spirit Beast, demonstrating with both fingers the finger gun she was pretending to fire.
Mantis held up her small hands and two small screens appeared in front of each of them, some stats on the right side and a comment window on the other.
[PartyGui022: My Hazel! Hi!]
[HomeworkDestroyer: Hey, hey, hey Hazel! Wuts up?]
[YumiBear: Whoa! Hey, what's going on over there? Where are you?]
[Hazelfan01: My queen! Please step on me!]
Hazel grinned and spat her bubblegum on the ground. "Damn it, fan01! Shut up, why should I step on you? Go away, pervert!"
Hazel tucked her hands into her pockets and stuck her hip out to the side as she stood and began to talk. "I'm at the Historic Sinerman Mansion right now. Also known to everyone as the Cursed Mansion. Everything you see behind me is being broadcast in real-time. So if anyone wants to see the action for themselves, hurry up and get over here!"
[LittleKitten: What are they doing?]
[SeaFish: Hey, isn't that Principal Menei?]
[LittleKitten: You're right! Kyyaa! I love his cat ears!
[SeaFish: I don't like cats.↑]
[LittleKitten: Said a fish.↑]
[Rollingeyes: lol.↑]
Hazel clapped loudly. "Hey, pay attention, guys! This is serious!" she shouted loudly. The chatroom paused for a moment before question marks or thoughtful smiley faces began to appear.
"This is a historic building! And you see what they're doing, hah?" she reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded paper, which she unfolded and shoved in Mantis' face.
"This is a copy of the Historic Preservation Union's certification sixty years ago when the Sinerman Mansion was declared a historic building, so this building is protected by law!" With that statement, Hazel turned and walked a few steps towards Principal Menei and the head of the Stragos family.
"What do you stinking old farts have to say about this, hah?" she scowled at them, jabbing her finger at the paper she was holding. "You're breaking the law here! The mansion is protected! Or do you think you're rich or have a prominent position so the laws don't apply to you? Hah? Hah?!" she spoke loudly like a ruffian, but it was still borderline so she didn't shout.
Principal Menei scratched his face in embarrassment and smiled slightly while Will rubbed the back of his neck as they looked at the woman who might not have surpassed them in height but certainly in character.
"Miss Hazel, this is a different situation," the Principal said peacefully.
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Stragos nodded. "Exactly."
Hazel turned back towards Mantis and threw her arms to her sides significantly. "Did you morons hear that? It's a different 'situation'. So obviously they don't need any permissions. As a member of the Union for Historic Preservation. U.H.P, I protest!" She turned around again and pointed at Stragos and Menei.
"You heard right. I protest! If you don't have permission to perform this action then drop everything immediately before you damage anything!"
The chatroom was thrilled.
[Stinkyfoot: Muhahaha! As always, Hazel is not afraid of anyone!]
[Hazelfan01: That's my queen!]
[Brat: lol go away pervert↑]
[Lowstam: But Hazel's right. It's a historic building. Boss Stragos and Principal Menei are too ruthless.]
[Mumu: But isn't the mansion cursed? Or is it just rumors?]
[Lowstam: The mansion has been here for ages. Of course, there will be many legends circulating around it. Check out the local legends forum.↑]
[Mumu: Thanks! I will look!↑]
Stragos sighed and waved his hand. "Enough of this nonsense. This is an emergency. A feral High Spirit has appeared in the mansion. At least one assault has already been reported, and who knows if any of the recent disappearances are also due to this spirit. This is a matter of public safety and as such we have every right to intervene."
Hazel lowered the hand in which she held the certificate. "High Spirit?"
Chatroom:
[YumiBear: o_o]
[Mumu: OoO]
[SeaFish: omg]
[DigD: feral h spirit? Shit!]
[Luvbigsishazel: Big Sis, this is serious!]
[Spookydog: Hold on! I'm heading there! Whooohooo!]
[Hazelfan01: ?↑]
[Rollingeyes: ??↑↑]
[Lowstam: ???↑↑↑]
[comment deleted by moderator]
Hazel folded her arms and closed her eyes for a moment as she thought. "Hmm... okay. I understand the problem and the need to seal the place up. However!" She opened her eyes and put her hands to her sides as she struck a heroic pose.
"Any further manipulation of the historic building must be approved by the court and the U.H.P! U.H.P. will definitely want to be present for the actions you intend to take to prevent damage!"
"It's coming!"
Before they could begin to haggle further about the situation, a warning cry came from behind them.
They all turned towards the manor and could already see a grey object flying towards them from afar. Principal Rachil stepped forward and raised one hand.
"Calm down! Continue your work. If anything happens, I'll take care of things!" The two cats behind his shoulders rose a little higher and began to wag their two tails, and the orbs that had been lazily circling around them before sped up their movements.
Then they suddenly flattened and flew to the feet of the Principal, who lifted his leg into the air. A purple plate slipped itself under his foot, and the next followed immediately, and so did the red plates, forming a staircase for the Principal.
Rachil stopped only when he was above the level of the fence that surrounded the mansion grounds and looked at the ghost heading towards them. The Principal feared that the ghost would try to attack them, but it didn't happen. The tall ghost stopped at the boundary of the grounds and looked at them.
The others did the same. At least the Principal confirmed the words of Stragosa's daughter. The ghost looked like a human wrapped in a cloak with coal-black skin and glowing eyes.
Hazel stepped forward, but Stragos held out his arm to stop her from going too close. "Stay back, Miss Hazel. This is not a game," he said sternly. Hazel didn't argue and instead snapped her fingers, and Mantis flew a little closer, aiming the image towards the ghost.
Chatroom:
[pokinoki: Wow! rli High Spirit!]
[blueBlueblu: How can you tell? You can't feel any pressure through the camera.↑]
[SeaFish: Didn't you go to school, bro?↑]
[pokinoki: Look at Wici.↑↑]
[blueBlueblu: Dude, don't be like that! I'm on my phone, I can't!↑]
[Yellow_snow: In short. How to tell if there's a strong spirit in your presence. Step one: Look around. Step two: Check to make sure you're not in the ghost's backyard. Step three: Make sure you don't have a way to piss him off. Step three: Don't do the summoning. Conclusion: The ghost will materialize in front of you in full form anyway. Too bad, you're screwed. It's a higher spirit. RIP.]
[Horse: LooooooooooL.↑]
[SpitYourFace: lmao↑↑]
[blueBlueblu: Σ(ﾟ口ﾟ;) ↑↑↑]
[LittleKitten: Hey, did the ghost just wave?]
[PartyGui022: Yeah, he waved. ↑]
[LittleKitten: I think it's a girl. ↑]
[HomeworkDestroyer: It's a girl. ↑↑]
[Boingboing: Is it just me or is the ghost kind of pretty?]
[PartyGui022: +1]
[Horse: +1]
[Rollingeyes: +1]
[Lowstam: Seriously? Guys...]
----------------------------------------
Desmond flew across the grounds and looked from a distance at the many people gathered beyond the border. This was the first time she had seen so many people together, and she would have liked to get a closer look, but she knew she couldn't.
In a moment, she saw a man rise into the air and remain standing over the fence. Des ached to the limit of where she could get to and stopped. She was still three feet away from the older man standing in the air.
She noticed the two animals hovering over the man's shoulders and immediately looked them over. She felt they were quite strong, and instincts warned Des to be on her guard. The man himself seemed weaker, but Desmond now knew how things worked among Spiritualists. These were his contracted Spirit Beasts, so there was no way the man was weaker than them.
Des looked at the man and he looked back at her without either of them doing anything. Since nothing was happening, Des looked at the rest of the people.
A few people were creating something, using their spirit beasts or on their own, moving their hands quickly, and the red haze that surrounded the grounds of the mansion was becoming more solid and the red color more rich.
To Desmond, it felt similar to when she tried to get into the basement. Sita said she specialized in seals. Were they trying to seal her here? She almost started to laugh, but suppressed it and just smiled.
The man in the air frowned when he saw her smile. Why wouldn't she have a reason to smile? Were they going to imprison her somewhere she was already a prisoner? Are all humans that crazy?
She shook her head and raised her hand. "Hi." She waved a greeting while she waved at them. Then she looked at the man who was watching her. "It's pointless." She informed him.
The principal tensed at the ghost's words, but he wasn't worried. As far as he was concerned, he could handle the ghost, but he didn't want the people he brought to suffer in any way. The ghost seemed to be trying to scare them off when she said that making a seal was pointless. "We won't let you do whatever you want," he said slowly.
Des tilted her head to the side in confusion. Did there seem to be some sort of misunderstanding, or was there something going on that she didn't know? "There's not much you can do about that right now, is there?" Desmond asked.
Principal Rachil folded his arms across his chest. "That arrogance is going to make you sorry soon enough."
Des was momentarily speechless. What? What was he talking about? Why was he insulting her?
"Done!" Someone shouted, and the red haze suddenly glowed and began to rise in height. The Principal quickly stepped back, just in time for the red transparent wall to rise up in front of him, merging into a perfectly round dome. As the barrier joined, it glowed brightly once before fading, and intricate seal marks appeared on its surface.
Des watched it all with interest but didn't get excited. It still made no difference to her. She couldn't leave here even if she really wanted to. What was the point, then?
She turned her head as she heard the people behind the barrier cheering happily, as if they had accomplished something really great. Even the grumpy old man was applauding them happily.
"Ah... this is so embarrassing," Des muttered, feeling embarrassed on their behalf.
After a moment, the people calmed down and the old man descended to the ground. "Now that the place is secure, we can relax and not worry about the feral High Spirit. And I already have a plan to deal with the spirit. In one month's time, there will be an examination to advance the Spiritist to Tier 2." Then he stretched out his hand and pointed at Des, who was still hovering nearby.
"She's going to be their test. Killing her or capturing her," he announced.
Desmond, who heard this, blinked, and her expression darkened. "Kill me? Capture?" She repeated coldly.
She saw the old man look in her direction, and when their gazes locked, the old man smiled mockingly. It was as if he was telling her in his mind that she might now regret her arrogance.
Hazel, who was standing nearby and still broadcasting, frowned. She didn't like it.