"Grim. Ominous. Fucking weird, for sure. Maybe even a little scary?" Nelg spoke hesitantly in Glenn's mind. The young man rubbed his chin, unable to keep his eyes off the strange scenery he was looking at. Kevin pushed his glasses up his nose, his unibrow creased.

"...So that's the haunted place, right?" Glenn asked as he crossed his arms. Kevin looked down at his notepad, flipping a few pages up before nodding.

"Yes, Sir Glenn. That's the target's location."

Glenn pressed his lips together, uneasy. Kevin and him were standing in front of a very large, normal-looking house, surrounded by not-so-normal white marble statues. White dust was covering the ground and the walls of the house, untouched for days. Which, in and of itself was weird, since apparently, more than a few Fixers had disappeared investigating this place. There should at least be some footprints, but no, the dust remained undisturbed.

"So, how many victims already?" The young man turned to his assistant, who replied instantly.

"So far, twelve Silver Fixers, five Gold Fixers, and forty-five civilians. All of the nearby habitations have been abandoned since their inhabitants were terrified of ending up like their neighbors; missing."

Glenn moistened his lips. A haunted house, with marble statues and many, many missing persons. Obviously, the first thing he wanted to check was whether the statues were alive. There were way too many cliche stories of statues coming alive and attacking bystanders for him to act as if their presence was normal.

"Can I destroy all the statues?" He asked Kevin, who froze for a second before shaking his head, a small bead of sweat pearling down his forehead.

"Uh, no, please? Those are all masterpieces from the renowned sculptor Van Virando," The light in the assistant's eyes changed, and he spoke with a little more fervor, "Humanity as a whole must make sure that those statues last for eternity. Each art piece from Van Virando is renowned throughout the world, and is even sold in King's Rise Higher Circles."

Glenn looked back at the statues and whistled, impressed. They were extremely realistic, but all of them were missing a face, strangely. Instead, dots had been poked where the faces should have been in a circle, making for a stark contrast with the rest of the statues' bodies.

"I guess these statues are pretty expensive, then. Is it okay to just leave them here?" He demanded while wondering if they would fit in his dimensional pouch. He had a lot of money, but he certainly could make use of more, couldn't he?

Kevin smirked and pointed at the statues' feet.

"Van Virando is also an exceptional Magi, who took refuge in the Fringe to calmly work on his art. He modified the statues magically in a way that if someone barely tried to move them, they'd explode in a cloud of white dust. Hence..." He waved at the layer of white dust covering everything. Glenn groaned in acknowledgment and rubbed his hands together.

"I see. What about Van Virago, where is he?"

Kevin frowned and corrected him.

"Van Virando. He went missing after announcing to the world the creation of his Magnum Opus. But..." The assistant looked at the statues and hugged his notepad tightly, "...More statues kept on being created, even after the artist's disappearance. That was a year ago, and no one had any idea of what happened to Van Virando."

Kevin adjusted the position of his glasses and held a gold crucifix toward Glenn.

"What we do know is that some entity has taken hold of Virando's residence, and is probably the reason for the disappearances. Ah, also..." He looked back at his notepad and grumbled through his teeth while flipping through the pages. He stopped on one and tapped his finger on it.

"Here it is. You've been granted the authority necessary to employ force if necessary against Van Virando. You are absolutely forbidden from killing him, though. The artist's death would set humanity back a few centuries, and the world needs his techniques to be taught to others."

Glenn sighed and cracked his neck.

"...That's a lot of restraints. I can't break anything, can't kill anything, and am supposed to use some damned crucifix to do the job. Heh, how does it even work anyway?" He took the crucifix and threw it up and down under Kevin's worried gaze.

"Uhm, you're supposed to pray toward a Divinity you're closest to and summon their powers through the crucifix. It should exterminate the ghost and purify evil. I'm not really sure, it's a new product from the Church of Onnea to fight against the Thorn's Cult."

Glenn looked at the crucifix through a new lens. So that was something from the Church of Onnea? It was a little amusing to see they would create something so specific to fight against the cultists.

'Bah, what uses is this thing? I'm sure using Divine Blessing on the ghost, if ghost there is, will erase it from this planet's surface,' Diamanes sneered, unimpressed. Glenn ignored him and shook his head.

"Alright, then. Kevin, you stay safe, and I'll go take care of..." He searched for his words and smirked, "...Casper over there, 'kay?"

The assistant looked at his boss confusedly, nodding absent-mindedly, "...Casper? Who's...?"

Glenn navigated through the marble statues and unceremoniously kicked the door open. His leather boots were carving black footprints in the white dust, and a small cloud surrounded him mysteriously. The young man coughed and waved the dust away, entering the house.

"Hello, the ghost that probably transforms people into statues, where are you?" Glenn hollered without the slightest fear. He was more than a little curious to know what a “ghost” looked like, but he couldn't say it frightened him in the least. Perhaps it'd be like a floating white thing or some kind of scary zombie that screamed? Whatever, if push came to shove he could just obliterate the whole house with a Black Hole—

"Remember, you're supposed to be very careful and not break anything," Nelg reminded him, while Diamanes mocked him, 'I know that's hard to ask of you, but try to restrain yourself from just reducing this nice house to a pile of rubble.'

Glenn groaned and proceeded through the house, using Sun's Touch to illuminate his path. All the windows were barred with wooden planks, and dust had settled in every corner. Some spiderwebs hung from the ceiling, trapping insects that had died a long while ago. Van Virando's house's atmosphere was a little gloomy, but Glenn couldn't find anything that led him to believe that a ghost was there. It was just an eerily empty house, with a lot of dust, cobwebs, and not a lot of furniture.

Ah, that's what was unnerving him. Glenn glanced in a few different rooms, but the result was the same. Strangely, the rooms were simply empty; no furniture, tables chairs, or anything you might expect to find in a house. No chests, desks, or shelves. The floor was, of course, of white marble tiles, without rugs or tapestry. Glenn couldn't find a kitchen either, nor a bathroom, or a pantry. Many families reserved a whole room to hang meat to dry and store grain, but there was none of that here.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

He did find a stairway leading to a higher floor. Perhaps he'd have more luck looking up there.

"...It's a little boring, to be honest," Glenn blurted out, disappointed. He was expecting some scary, poltergeist bullshit, but so far the ghost didn't look like he wanted to show up. He began playing with the crucifix, walking up the stairs while wondering what prayers he should address Onnea. It was the Goddess he was closest to and one he actually met. Maybe he should try asking the Guide for help, too? That was something to try out. The Guide probably saved him back when he was fighting the Fallen Mother and her unholy Son in Palancar. He had no idea whether the Guide was a good or bad kind of god, but he looked mysteriously friendly enough.

Creak...

"Hah!" Glenn jumped on his feet and stared at a door opening slightly by itself. With a wide grin, he ran to the door and shoved it open, ready to send the best prayer of his life.

"Haha, show yourself, ghost! I'll send you back to...darn it," He sighed and shook his head. That room was as empty as the others, the windows barely letting any sunlight in through the wooden planks blocking them. He did a quick tour of the room, but there was nothing. The other rooms were all in a similar condition, empty and dusty, with a musty smell. No blood, no scary things, nothing.

"This is getting a little annoying, ghost..." Glenn hissed through his clenched teeth, his disappointment increasing with each passing second. There was no next floor, meaning Glenn had already explored the whole house. There were no traces of the missing persons, no traces of a ghost, no nothing. The young man sat on the stairs and sighed.

'Well, I'm also a little disappointed. I was looking forward to that,' Diamanes admitted. Glenn could only agree with the entity. He leaned back and pondered; more than forty people had disappeared in this house, they had to have gone somewhere. Oh, maybe a hidden space? Glenn's eyes lit up and he looked around with a little more interest. At this time, he missed Liara's presence, for the Black Heiress seemed to be quite adept at finding these sorts of secret passages.

"If there ends up being nothing, I'll officially be renaming this adventure the Lousy Urbex," Nelg grunted with annoyance. Glenn smirked and passed his hand on the walls, trying to find a lever or hidden button, without success. After trying and failing for half an hour, Glenn gave up and stormed out of the house. Kevin was waiting a hundred meters away, watching with a pair of binoculars. He flinched when he saw Glenn make his way out with barely hidden anger.

"Shit, the only thing there is in this damned house is dust, disappointment, and boredom!" He blurted out, kicking a rock out of his way. Kevin trotted up to him, confused.

"Uhm, is it...is it done, Sir Glenn?" He asked hesitantly. Glenn smacked his lips and shook his head.

"Nope. There ain't shit in this fucking house, so I couldn't exorcise shit. Maybe the ghost is haunting the garden, I don't fucking know..." He lamented at the lost time before sitting on a tree trunk. Kevin approached him carefully, looking for any strange signs. Glenn rubbed his forehead, lost in thoughts.

'There has to be something, or there wouldn't be so many missing persons...'

Diamanes suddenly laughed and didn't waste a second to explain why.

'Maybe you need a bait, haha! Like a fisherman's worm! Send Kevin in there, Glenn!'

Glenn blinked the corner of his lips slowly but surely curving upward. He turned toward Kevin and grinned widely, patting his scrawny assistant's shoulder.

"Kevin, I just had an excellent idea..."

Kevin's eyes widened, but a few seconds later, he was already in the house alone, Glenn waiting at the entry for something to happen.

"Uhm, Sir—Sir Glenn, I don't think that's a good idea, uhm..." Kevin stuttered, terrified. Glenn waved it off.

"Come on, you got the crucifix, man, you're safe!" He shouted at him with a smile while watching carefully from outside. He made quick work of the planks obstructing the windows with Gravity Manipulation, allowing him to see inside the house more clearly. Kevin was frozen in place, unable to move from his position. The assistant was trembling, hugging his notepad like it was his last lifeline.

"...Oh? What's that?" Nelg asked curiously, noticing something Glenn failed to see. The young man glanced around, finding out what surprised his sword. Kevin, who was standing right in the middle of the house's main hallway, looked at the ceiling when dust fell on his shoulders. Two, white marble hands were extricating themselves from the ceiling, reaching for the assistant. The hands were connected to a white arm with no elbows, elongating without limit to catch Kevin.

The assistant gasped and fell to his knees, unable to move as the hands slowly but surely reached for him. Glenn rubbed his chin as he watched the spectacle, wondering whether he should intervene.

"Hey!" He rattled his throat, and the marble hands stopped moving, "Use the crucifix, you dumbass!"

Kevin's eyes widened even more than they already were, and he hurriedly took the crucifix out of his belt. The hands suddenly accelerated, reaching for Kevin's throat, but the assistant managed to pull out the crucifix and held it in front of him like a shield. The gold crucifix gleamed weakly under the feeble lighting until Kevin started muttering something desperately under his breath. The hands froze and tried to push through some invisible barrier, struggling to do so.

Glenn crossed his arms, not worried at all, but extremely curious to see whose God the assistant asked for help. Straps of pure white satin shot out from under Kevin's feet and went to restrain the marble hands. As soon as the lustrous fabric touched the marble hands, it became as black as night, and violently pulled on the hands. A pale, white lamprey with two arms, the size of a bear fell from the ceiling, writhing on the ground in the black satin. Kevin stumbled back and dropped the crucifix, horrified. As soon as the crucifix stopped touching his skin, the satin disappeared, freeing the lamprey.

"AHHH!!" Kevin screamed in terror, putting his ridiculously small notepad between him and the lamprey. The creature shrieked and pushed itself with its two, long arms toward Kevin. The assistant paled and fell on his back, but just as the lamprey was about to latch on him, a spell wrapped around the creature and pulled it out of the house. Glenn carefully Gravity Manipulated the lamprey, grimacing at the mouth filled with sharp teeth, and held his left hand toward the creature.

"Alright, let's see if Divine does work on this "ghost"," He muttered as he cast a Divine Blessing on the lamprey. The creature writhed as the golden light wrapped around its pale, wrinkled body, and hissed a white cloud of dust all around itself. Glenn frowned and waved the dust away, his eyes widening when he watched his right arm petrify into white marble. The Divine Blessing seemed like it was working, but not enough for his tastes.

Kevin ran out of the house while screaming, garnering the attention of the lamprey for a spare second. It wasn't a long time, but it was enough for Glenn to pull Nelg out of his sheath and hurl it at the creature, all done with the use of Gravity Manipulation. Not being able to use his right arm sucked, but the young man didn't dwell on it. It was probably temporary, anyway.

But what if it wasn't?

Glenn shook his head and controlled Nelg with almost perfect Telekinesy, shoving the sword right in the lamprey's face. And in a strange sort of way, the sword sliced right through the lamprey but didn't cut it. It didn't bleed, nor was its skin ruptured, but the creature did seem to feel the pain of the blade passing through it.

"Wow, this is so fucking weird!" Nelg shouted as he was thrown around with Gravity Manipulation. Glenn winced, concentrating. The lamprey struggled on the ground, failing to push itself up to counterattack, all the while the golden light of the Divine Blessing kept on slowly devouring it. Black fumes came out of the creature, dispersed by the golden light.

In a final struggle, the lamprey puffed another large cloud of pale dust, which Glenn hurriedly avoided. His focus was broken for a second and the lamprey managed to power through the Divine Blessing, jumping at Glenn desperately. The young man stepped back and recalled Nelg to his left hand, awakening the sword with Mana and using its Cut & Pull ability. The lamprey froze as the attack touched it, and its body suddenly fell apart in two irregular slices.

The two lamprey slices kept on emitting black fumes until they disappeared completely, leaving behind two parts of a broken, rusty crown. No jewels were adorning it, and it looked old, all beat up in addition to being cut in two from Glenn's slash.

The young man took a few seconds to make sure the creature was completely dead, before allowing himself to sigh. He sheathed his sword, watching in wonder as the marble covering his right arm fell off like plaster, crumbling away.

"What an interesting creature..." He muttered, before smirking as he crouched next to the broken crown, "...It even gave me some loot!"

He was about to give the crown a closer look, but the sound of Kevin puking his guts out forced him out of his interest. He turned around to try and find out what made his assistant have such a visceral reaction, just in time to see one of the nearby statues crumble. A mummy fell out, crashing on the ground in a small puddle of black blood and dried organs. Its bones broke on contact, making for a crunching sound particularly disturbing to hear. More statues broke open, relieving more mummies from their airtight seals, all in different stages of desiccation.

Glenn grimaced, his nose creased. Diamanes sneered, and Nelg gasped in surprise.

Oh, so that was why Kevin puked.