Sinerman Mansion
Desmond returned to the mansion. She had had enough excitement for one day. She looked around the quiet mansion and sighed. Slowly, she drifted from one room to the next, her mind calming.
Occasionally, she paused for a moment in a room, and her eyes wandered through the gloomy space. Sometimes, she felt as if she saw moving shadows where a muffled conversation had come from, but when she looked, there was nothing there.
Desmond assumed it was her imagination playing tricks on her, or maybe it was some distant memory. She wondered if she had ever really experienced this place alive and inhabited and just didn't remember.
But things were different now. She didn't feel lonely anymore. She had guests today. She had been talking to people and they had been so alive and interesting! But unfortunately, it wasn't all pleasant experiences. Now they were going to kill or capture her, and for what? What for? People were interesting, but they were also stupid.
If the old man thought he was just going to give up, he was wrong. Was he going to send some people after her? He would fight. Should she kill them? Des paused in her thoughts in front of the mirror that was in one of the empty rooms. She stared into it and materialized so she could see her reflection. She reached her black face and watched her glowing eyes before frowning.
"Killing them... it would be too easy. They'd keep coming back for revenge. The dead leave people who care about them. They'd never stop," she said aloud.
Her movements ceased, and then her body slowly sank, her feet hidden under the spiderwebbed robe touching the floor. A dark shadow began to spread rapidly from where she stood, covering the entire room, the hallways, the entire mansion suddenly covered in a black blanket that then soaked into the building and disappeared.
Des's eyes went blank and her shoulders slumped. "Do you want the exams? You'll get exams. The kind that no one will ever want to come back for," she said and then closed her eyes. She felt tired. She would have to rest for a while. She slowly walked back to the dungeon where she felt most comfortable and let her mind go.
When she fell asleep, her body slumped onto the floor.
----------------------------------------
Deep below the mansion
Deep beneath the mansion, unbeknownst to anyone, even Desmond, there was a secret room.
It was a large, darkened crypt with a massive stone coffin in the middle. With her eyes closed, Desmond fell through the ceiling, and her immaterial body was pulled towards the coffin. Her body passed through the coffin and disappeared into it.
At that moment, the coffin lit up. Every inch of it was covered in glowing, complex seals that glowed and slowly rotated, illuminating the dark crypt.
At that moment, a figure stepped out of the shadows and approached the coffin. The light emanating from the coffin illuminated his form.
He was a pale man, wearing a traditional white and black kimono belted at the waist with a high black sash. His hair was straight, pulled back into a tight bun without a single crooked hair. It was also black and white, with black on the sides and white in the middle.
Attached to his forehead was a red jewel, the only bright color on him. His eyes, too, were as gray as storm clouds.
image [https://cdn.leonardo.ai/users/e70a625f-a29f-469a-912e-d78c50e456f1/generations/0bd845b0-9943-4621-8ef8-c9a9b76e70a5/Default_A_fiercely_stoic_Jiangshi_a_male_ghost_in_modern_attir_2.jpg]
The man moved forward slowly, as if he were floating on the floor, and stopped at a stone tomb. He raised his hand, and three red dots appeared on his slender fingers, moving rapidly as he gestured.
The seals on the tomb began to move, connecting with each other and turning before connecting with others to repeat the motion. The number of seals decreased until finally, only four remained, each on one side of the tomb.
Ssssssssss...
There was the sound of escaping steam, and the lid of the tomb lifted, letting out a cloud of cool air before flipping completely to the side.
The man looked inside before raising his other hand, which held a large syringe of milky white liquid. He stabbed it into the neck of the woman lying in the coffin.
The woman had white hair, a young face, and was wearing grey attire. She lay motionless in the tomb with her eyes closed. The man slowly depressed the plunger of the syringe, emptying its entire contents.
image [https://cdn.leonardo.ai/users/e70a625f-a29f-469a-912e-d78c50e456f1/generations/3d75df7c-f403-4387-bc68-3c467a53eef6/Default_Dark_A_sleeping_whitehaired_beauty_lying_with_her_eyes_5.jpg?w=512]
The man watched the sleeping woman for a moment before raising his hand again and repeating the whole process. The lid closed again, and with quick movements of his hand, the entire tomb was covered with seals. Instead of leaving, the man stood there.
"Chhrrmmm...." There was a grunt, and something large moved in the shadows. A creature just over two meters tall with a body like a gorilla.
Anyone who looked at it would have to compare it to a gorilla; it even had an elongated face and a protruding jaw. It had no lips, and its mouth revealed large, sharp teeth. Its skin was blue, its eyes yellow and wild, and its hair was disheveled and wavy, the color of bleached bone.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
image [https://cdn.leonardo.ai/users/e70a625f-a29f-469a-912e-d78c50e456f1/generations/050c831a-7446-402e-8325-4d1858ff0dea/Default_Ghost_monster_male_yokai_7.jpg?w=512]
"Huh. Karaboshi, what are you still doing here?" The being asked in a harsh voice mixed with a growl.
The man named Karaboshi turned around and put his hands in his sleeves. "Just waiting, Brack."
Brack ran a hand through his hair, which he pulled, and opened his mouth wide enough to fit a grown man's head, yawning heavily.
"You're impatient," Brack said as he wiped the tears from his eyes that appeared as he yawned. "But there's nothing wrong with wanting the General to wake up already," he shrugged.
Karaboshi didn't move and continued to watch the tomb. "I didn't agree to this."
Brack laughed briefly. "Huha! Yet here you are. The general said it herself. Anyone who wanted to could leave. You could have left like the others."
Karaboshi sighed, his shoulders slumping as if he were carrying a great weight on them. "Why didn't you go too? I thought you'd be the first to leave."
Brack grimaced and sat down on the ground. "We've been at this too long. Also... I want to see how everything turns out. The beautiful madness! Chaos! If the General succeeds, the world will change beyond recognition, and we'll turn the Spirit World upside down."
Karaboshi turned to look at the seated Brack. "Yama will still be a problem."
Brack shrugged. "And when isn't he? Huha!" He roared in laughter.
----------------------------------------
Next day - Principal Rachil Menei Residence
The principal sat in a chair in front of the TV that morning, sipping coffee while listening to the morning news and reading some documents in his free hand. His house was well-furnished and stylish. Rachil preferred minimalism, so there weren't many decorations. The whole place was in warm colors of brown and lush green.
The living room was purposeful, so there wasn't much else besides the sofa, coffee table, large wall-mounted TV, and a play area for the cats. His spirit beast was currently in the cat castle, tugging on a ball of yarn and enjoying the time off.
[Back to the studio.]
The weather announcer finished, and a calm, refined woman appeared on the screen. The brown-haired natural beauty was wearing a yellow costume and was known as the most strict moderator, Tania Freeniel.
Her voice never faltered, nor did her primarily pleasant expression ever falter, no matter what news she was announcing.
[Thank you, Phil. Now for the next report. Last night, a feral High Spirit was discovered residing in the Sinerman Mansion. One assault has already been reported, and other cases are currently under investigation. Popular field reporter Hazel was on the scene and recorded video footage].
The principal put down the papers he was holding and looked up at the TV to watch. He frowned a little as he recalled last night, which hadn't gone as easily as he thought it might. Hazel was an unpleasant complication.
He began to watch the edited footage of the recording, the sounds muffled while the presenter spoke.
[The head of the family, Will Stragos, and the Principal of the Spiritualist Academy, Rachil Menei, were on the scene and immediately took up the meritorious task of protecting the citizens and sealed the place.]
The video showed groups of Spiritualists forming a barrier, and Rachil smiled with satisfaction. It was good that it portrayed him in a good light. As a public figure, people needed to have a good impression of him, and he was later re-elected as the Principal of the Academy.
[During the process, the spirit itself appeared, but fortunately, it showed no aggressive intentions. From the video, it appears that only she showed interest in what was going on. We also learned from Reporter Hazel that the ghost calls himself Desmond].
Rachil frowned again. The spirit's name? Hazel seemed to be doing something else unnecessary afterwards. What is she trying to do? The Principal couldn't help but think of that pesky group GhostPeace, trying to get some real rights for the contracted spirits. They'd been making quite a fuss lately, and Rachil didn't have a good impression of them.
Especially since they had suddenly stormed into the Academy one day for a Contract Class and tried to stop Spirit Beast contracting.
The Principal had a feeling he would have to deal with them again soon. How annoying.
[Brave reporter Hazel also made contact with High Spirit Desmond and found out some information from her. You can listen to it now. When asked about the assault and disappearance of several people, Spirit Desmond responded this way].
The video of Hazel's interview with the ghost added audio, which had already been edited for listening to remove any background noise.
[I didn't kidnap anyone. I can't leave.]
[What? You can't leave?]
[From here. The mansion. I can't leave. Even without the barrier, I couldn't go any further than here. So I couldn't kidnap anyone.]
The camera then turned to focus significantly on the red barrier Stragos and the Principal had built. The screen switched back to the mediator Tiana in the studio.
[This was Spirit Desmond's response to deny the kidnapping accusation. It also raises the question of whether this High Spirit is truly feral and how much expense was involved in creating a barrier that was most likely completely unnecessary? The court and police are now investigating the whole matter. In the meantime, the police department is asking citizens not to let their curiosity get the better of them and to stay away from Sinerman Mansion].
The news ended, and the Principal continued to stare at the television with a stunned expression. His mouth was slightly open, and another moment longer, and he might have spilled the rest of his coffee in his lap.
After a moment, he shuddered and slowly set down his coffee cup before covering his eyes with his hand. The cat ears on his head disappeared in a small flash of light and soaked into his head. He needed silence for a moment.
Damn! How much expense had he spent on the barrier? Did people think all these experts were paid out of thin air!?
----------------------------------------
Same morning - Silvernort Residence
Aren slowly climbed down from the window on a climbing plant that was gradually encircling their family's entire residence. Aren chose to leave this way to avoid encountering his siblings and to prevent any further incidents in the morning.
He jumped down part of the way and, once he straightened up, he headed off. He checked the small pouch tied to his waist and inspected its contents. He frowned and let out a long sigh as he made sure the tea and water bottle were in place. He definitely didn't want to go back there.
But Aren was someone who didn't like to be in debt. The spirit had told him he owed him tea. And he kind of had to admit that he owed Desmond for not telling him. So he just throws it out there and that's it. No need to make things complicated.
He ran to get away from the residence before any of the siblings noticed him. Unbeknownst to him, however, he was already being targeted.
A small creature that resembled a fat white monkey dressed in a light blue cloak was floating in the air. The creature's body wasn't completely solid, and when the wind blew a little stronger, the monkey's body blurred a little.
The monkey put its hand in front of its mouth and giggled mischievously.
image [https://cdn.leonardo.ai/users/e70a625f-a29f-469a-912e-d78c50e456f1/generations/9eed2318-d54f-4219-ad92-5f75979c7d3f/Default_Monkey_Ghost_cute_monster_4.jpg?w=512]