Red inspected Allen with some caution. This strange feeling of uncertainty continued to grow in the boy as he examined the young master. It was a sensation that something was wrong, as if the light behind Allen’s eyes didn’t match with the person Red knew.

‘This is what possession is like, then.’

Red hesitated to attack. He first needed to gauge his opponent.

The boy took one step in Allen’s direction, and the young master immediately stirred into movement. He took out a short sword out of his waist and charged at Red.

“Don’t get in my way!”

The young master’s movements were sloppy, but under this strange energy Red felt Allen seemed even faster and stronger than he was used to witnessing. He didn’t dare to underestimate him.

The boy side stepped the sword slash before twisting around his opponent and punching him on the right side, the same side in which he was holding the weapon. This was a maneuver Red used many a time when sparring with Allen - a good way to punish an opponent that over committed in their offense and push them off balance.

Yet, even as Red felt his fist connect, Allen seemed barely affected by it. The young master swung his sword back to follow up, and Red had to scramble out of the way in a hurry so as not to get wounded.

The boy distanced himself from his opponent, catching his breath.

‘Is this another side effect of possession? Not feeling pain?’

This made this ordeal more complicated. A punch like this in the past would have left Allen reeling, but the ghost possessing him seemed barely affected by it.

Red couldn’t use a weapon for fear of injuring his companion too much, but his punches also had limited effect. What was he to do in this situation?

He wasn’t afforded too much time to think, as Allen continued to charge at him like a mad dog.

“Die!”

A barrage of sword attacks came in Red’s direction, but the boy didn’t have any trouble in dodging them. Allen was already predictable in his attacks, but whoever was possessing his body was worse, lacking even the bit of skill that made the young master a challenge for Red.

It was someone possessed of great strength but unaware of how to use it.

At first, Red thought this was just a ploy to get him to lower his guard. Yet, after almost thirty seconds passed by, this ghost continued to throw wild attacks at him, continuing to miss the margin.

The boy couldn’t help but frown.

‘Is it this weak?’

Maybe the necromancer was exaggerating the danger these ghosts represented.

“Stop dodging, damn you!” ‘Allen’ looked increasingly frustrated.

Red shook his head. “Am I supposed to let you hit me?”

“You…” The young master stopped attacking once he noticed he wasn’t getting anywhere.

He stared at Red from a few meters away with hate in his eyes.

“You ruined my life while I was alive, and now you can’t even leave me alone even when I’m dead?!”

Red was confused. “What do you mean?”

‘Allen’ snorted. “It’s because of you cultivators! It’s all your fault! You killed my family! You destroyed everything we held dear!”

The boy frowned. “I wasn’t the one responsible for that.”

“But you’re a cultivator!” ‘Allen’ pointed his sword at him. “I know it, I read his mind! I know what your kind does! Your fights and wars destroy villages and towns just in passing. You don’t care about anything else other than yourself. You ruin lives, you destroy dreams… But I won’t allow it! Not anymore!”

Before Red could say anything, the young master attacked him with renewed savagery. The boy was still trying to process what he had just heard, but he was still able to dodge his opponent’s attacks.

This ghost didn’t seem to be the monstrous and evil presence he had been expecting, so Red was at a loss. Still, it was a momentary hesitation. No matter what the circumstances were, he still needed to save his companions.

‘I’m sorry for this, Allen… Again.’

Red ducked under the sword’s swing, but this time, instead of going for a punch, he grabbed onto Allen’s right arm. Before the young master could try to free himself, Red used his leg to sweep his feet from under him, throwing him onto the ground with practiced movements.

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Allen screamed as he fell face down to the forest floor, but even then, Red still didn’t let go of his right arm. Instead, the boy used his entire body weight to pull the young master’s arm back before twisting it.

A cracking noise came from Allen’s shoulder.

This time, the young master screamed in pain. Red jumped away from his opponent before he was caught up in a retaliation.

Allen struggled to get up, trying to move his arm. However, the limb was completely limp, and he couldn’t even hold the sword in his grip any longer. He looked back at Red with a hateful gaze.

“I’ll kill you!”

The young master didn’t even bother picking up his sword to attack, instead hoping to strike Red with his bare hands, or the remaining one at least. It was even less of a contest at that point.

Red used his opponent’s momentum against him, sweeping his legs and throwing him onto the ground again. He grabbed onto Allen’s left arm before he could even react and twisted it again.

Another crack and another scream of pain.

This time, the young master wasn’t so quick to get up, so Red took this opportunity. He took out a length of rope from his backpack, using it to tie Allen’s arms and legs.

When his opponent finally noticed what was happening, it was too late. “… You! What are you doing you bastard?!”

Red didn’t respond, instead moving back to examine the boy.

“Let me go! Let me go! I need to kill them!” Allen struggled against his bindings, and for a moment, it looked like he might really snap the ropes with sheer strength.

‘This won’t do.’

Red rushed forward and struck the back of the young master’s head with a kick. Allen grunted but remained conscious.

It took Red three more strikes before he was sure his opponent was truly unconscious. After dealing so much damage to Allen, the boy made sure to check whether he was still breathing normally, and to his relief, everything seemed to be in order.

Other than the broken arms and pierced leg, that is.

Red was just considering what to do next when he felt the necromancer approach the scene. He looked back and saw the undead bear making its way towards him from within the trees.

Red frowned. “You lied to me. You could have helped.”

“And risk clone?” the bear shook its head. “No, stupid plan. Besides, kid in control, it seems.”

Indeed, the boy couldn’t deny that this task was far easier than he was expecting. Still, this was just the first part of the issue.

“What do I do now?” Red asked. “How I get this ghost out of him?”

“Two ways.” the bear raised two of its claws. “Necromancy or convince ghost to leave.”

The boy frowned. “You told me I would need necromancy to expel the ghosts from their bodies. Now you’re telling me I could just convince them to leave?”

“Not just.” the beast shook its head. “Convincing much harder. Necromancy easy in comparison.”

“How can that be true?” Red was very skeptical.

“Ghost born from unresolved obsession after death.” the bear said. “Strong, powerful obsession. Most ghosts unreasonable, evil, corrupted. Unless obsession resolved, almost impossible to make ghost move out of own volition.”

The boy immediately realized the difficulty of the situation. Wasn’t the ghost claiming it wanted to kill all cultivators? How could Red possibly help them resolve that kind of obsession? Still, the boy picked up on something.

Red looked at the bear. “You said it’s almost impossible to do it. Do you mean that there is a way to convince them without resolving their obsession?”

The bear nodded. “Some ways. Can trick ghost or convince ghost obsession is wrong. Very, very hard, though.”

Red sighed. “I have to try.”

The undead bear seemed to shrug. “Won’t stop you. Remember time, though. Head might notice us.”

The necromancer didn’t look concerned that Red would succeed, which meant they were probably not lying about the difficulty of this task. The boy would rather test it himself, though.

“Can you help me keep him still?” Red asked. “My ropes won’t be able to stop him.”

The bear grunted. “Hm. Sure.”

It walked over towards the unconscious Allen before putting one of its paws on his back. Indeed, a bear weighing down on you would probably keep you from moving.

Red walked over towards Allen, noticing the young master didn’t seem to be any closer to awakening. The boy fished a yellowish powder pouch out of his backpack before dragging it in front of Allen’s nose.

The young master stirred, and his eyes slowly opened, taking in his surroundings.

“… Hm?” ‘Allen’ seemed confused. “Where am I? What is- You!”

Anger reappeared on his face as he looked at Red, who was crouching right in front of him. Allen struggled, to no avail. He couldn’t even see what was weighing down on his back, but from his sudden chance of expression, it was clear he sensed the necromancer’s presence.

Suddenly, some of the fight left him as instead the young master now had a fearful expression. Red looked over at the necromancer in confusion.

The bear shrugged. “Ghosts scared of necromancers.”

The boy could only imagine why. Wasn’t it a necromancer that threw this ghost inside that head in the first place?

Red looked back at his possessed companion. He hesitated for a bit, but decided to just be straightforward.

“I want you to leave my companion’s body.” he said.

The ghost glared at him and sneered. “And what? Die again now that I have a chance at getting my revenge? I will never do it!”

What the ghost said gave him pause.

He looked at the bear. “Will they die?”

The bear seemed to be in thought, but it still nodded. “Weak ghost. Without body to possess, soul will dissipate quickly.”

Red frowned. Already he found himself stumped. What the boy was offering this ghost was definitive death and oblivion. How could he convince such an obsessed being to do something like that?

The difficulty of the task was dawning on him, but he didn’t give up. He needed more information.

Red started to have an idea.

He looked back at the ghost. “You said you were killed by cultivators, right? Tell me what happened.”

‘Allen’ spat at him. “Why would I tell another cultivator anything about this?”

Red hesitated. “… Because I might be able to help.”