Lim fumbled for his staff. The darkness was heavy. Everything felt worse. There was no running this time. He poked his leg with the staff. The pain reminded him not to flee.

Then the ghost appeared—hideous and terrifying. Its grey skin looked lifeless. Its eyes were hollow. The nose was half-severed. The mouth was a jagged mess, with stitches on one side. Blood dripped from its lips, pooling at its feet.

Long, thin fingers moved to its mouth, dragging across its face, slicing through stitches. Lim watched in horror as its mouth opened wider, spilling blood and chunks of flesh onto the ground.

He clamped a hand over his mouth, fighting the urge to vomit.

The ghost's neck twisted unnaturally, and its head dangled. Its body looked like a stick figure, with bones jutting out and strips of flesh hanging off. Lim realized it had no lower body. The ghost floated toward the flesh decoy lying before it.

Felix sensed the horror closing in. He could feel the creature's hunger and Lim's fear.

The ghost hovered before the decoy, stroking its head with sickening tenderness. It opened its mouth, releasing steam. Lim's stomach churned.

He gagged and vomited. The sound shattered the night's stillness.

"Blergh!"

The ghost turned its head toward their hiding spot. The sound had drawn its attention. Its long fingers extended toward them, reaching like skeletal vines.

Lim readied his staff. He was about to unleash a spell. But Felix grabbed his arm, shaking his head, urging silence.

Felix struck the ground with the back of his knife, creating a subtle vibration that moved toward the decoy. It wriggled, catching the ghost's focus.

The creature seemed satisfied with the movement as if the decoy was alive. It turned back to the decoy, and licked it, savouring the thrill of a meal.

Nausea rose again. Lim puked once more. Felix patted his shoulder.

"Chant a wind spell and fire it when I tell you."

Lim nodded, though doubt lingered in his mind. Would his spell be enough to stop the creature? He avoided looking at it, not wanting to witness the horror.

The ghost growled, teeth grinding as it devoured the decoy. Lim dared a glance. It consumed the decoy entirely, leaving a bloody mess.

The ghost licked its fingers clean, enjoying the taste of its feast.

Felix held his knife ready to attack.

"Whatever you have planned, I hope it works"

Lim said, heart racing.

"I can't face it again."

He began to chant, feeling the power build in his staff. It glowed green, illuminating the darkness. Felix focused on the creature. When the spell finished, Felix dashed forward.

The ghost turned, howling as it moved to strike. Its skeletal hand reached out, nails sharp. But Felix dodged, leaping aside and driving his knife into one of its hollow eyes.

The ghost didn't scream. It felt no pain.

It lunged at Felix. He leapt above it and clapped his hands together.

Ting.

The sound rang out, sharp and clear. The ghost screamed, its hands flying to its ears. The knife reacted, exploding with force.

"Argh!" the ghost cried.

"Hit its head, Lim!" Felix shouted.

Lim stood tall and pointed his staff at the ghost.

"Gale Shot!"

he shouted, launching a ball of wind toward it.

The impact was fierce. The ghost's neck cracked. Its head dangled at an odd angle. Flames ignited, enveloping its face, and spreading toward its neck.

The ghost fell, scraping its face against the ground. But the fire only grew stronger.

Lim's heart raced. What weapon had Felix used? A knife that could create flames?

Felix withdrew another knife, charging toward the ghost. As he approached, spikes of bone erupted from its body. Lim conjured a wall of wind to shield Felix.

Felix aimed for the back of the ghost's head. At the last moment, the ghost turned, its face disintegrating into ash.

The ghost screamed, sending a shockwave that slammed Felix back against a tree branch. Lim struck the earth with his foot. Stone beams shot up, hitting the ghost with force.

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It felt no pain. But the assault halted the barrage of bone spikes.

Lim began to chant another spell, but the ghost's claws were inches from his face.

In a flash, Lim disappeared, using [Blink] to reappear behind the ghost, coughing blood.

"Eat this!"

he yelled, firing another Gale Shot.

The ghost, distracted, swatted at the air, parrying the spell. At that moment, Felix threw another knife, aiming for the ghost's body.

He clapped his hands again.

Boom.

Another explosion shook the ground. The ghost cried out in agony, "Argh!"

Felix rushed toward Lim, barely able to keep his footing, blood dripping from his wounds. He hoisted Lim onto his shoulder and started to run.

"What about the ghost?" Lim asked, panic rising.

"Our work is done," Felix replied, leading them behind a sturdy tree. They watched from a distance.

The ghost writhed, teeth elongating as it tried to consume the flames. Its claws scratched and tore at its flesh. Bones erupted from its form.

Flames consumed half of it, leaving only ashes behind.

Screams filled the night, a chorus of despair. Finally, after a long struggle, the ghost's form dissolved, its ashes whisked away by the wind.

Before it vanished completely, it uttered a final word:

"M-y-c-h-i-l-d."

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lim slid down, sitting on the ground. He leaned back, exhaling in relief.

"You did it."

Felix shook his head.

"We did it."

They fell into silence, breathing heavily, trying to regain their composure.

"I'd rather fight a hundred goblins than one of these, and I hate those green bastards,"

Lim said, cracking his neck in pain.

"Same."

Felix sat down, eyes closed. Lim felt he hadn't done much. He created two spells of the highest calibre he could. But his ability took its toll. The drawback was heavy.

One question rang in his mind as he recalled the fight.

"I didn't know there was a way to lure a ghost."

As the author, he hadn't dived deep into ghosts. They appeared later in the story, never this daunting.

"That wasn't a ghost. It was a Morrowraith."

"A Morr-What?" Lim had never heard of anything like that. Not even in the books he had read or written.

Felix was surprised. No wonder Lim had no idea how to deal with it.

"Ghosts are dead creatures, just souls trapped here. They don't have a physical body. A Morrowraith is a creature, halfway between life and death. It's neither a ghost nor alive. You could say it's a corpse with the power of a ghost."

Lim found it fascinating. "So fire is its weakness."

Felix shook his head. "Not quite. Like ghosts, only holy magic and exorcism can kill them. Burn it, and once a ghost is touched by holy light or exorcism, it cannot regenerate its destroyed body part. Morrowraiths can do so. What I used was an exorcism technique used in the old days. "

Lim was impressed. Felix knew many things. Every part of his plan was perfect and neatly executed. Since he knew the Morrowraith would regenerate, he created flames that wouldn't die unless the creature turned to ash.

"So was the knife a special relic that created an unquenchable flame?"

"No. Just normal explosive knives. I tweaked them to explode with my mana vibration. The potion caused it."

"Your potion?" Lim asked, confused but curious.

"Yeah. The academy finished building my apothecary lab. They were kind enough to give me some expensive materials. Two of the items were perfect for me. A wyvern's blood—not just any wyvern, but a blood wyvern. Its blood burns and cannot be extinguished unless the object it is on turns to ash, or if you sprinkle it with wyvern dust or use A-rank water magic."

Felix paused, then added more.

"The potion was mixed with a Vessel Draught. It turns meat into a flesh decoy of whoever infuses mana into it for two minutes. That's all the time we needed. The Morrowraith was hungry for a human, so I just had to make one. Once it ate it, the wyvern's blood seeped into its body, and our job was done."

Lim listened, mouth agape. Brilliant. Genius. Terrifying. That summed up Felix's plan.

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.

The quote came to Lim's mind. It captured Felix's ability. He was locked in a room with the lights on, so the ghost didn't come in. While Felix worked, making plans and potions, Lim didn't have to.

"How are you so talented and fearless?"

Felix scoffed.

"Talented doesn't suit me. Lucky would be better. Most of what I made was from alchemy. I was lucky to create it on the first try. This Morrowraith was starved. We were lucky. It's a B-ranked creature. It would have taken more than just burning it. As for being fearless, I see worse things than that every day."

Lim nodded. He learned something new. His sympathy for Felix grew. That Morrowraith was the worst he had seen. For Felix to stay sane seeing thousands of faces worse than that was admirable.

"But how did you know it was a Morrowraith?"

"Because it attacked us in broad daylight. Ghosts don't do that. They avoid light and don't attack humans outside their territory. The fact that you saw it, despite being a ghost hunter, solidified that fact. But there's one thing that bothered me."

"What?"

Lim asked.

"Why did it attack us? Morrowraiths usually eat cows and chickens. Farmers often hire ghost hunters to get rid of them. You saw that half-eaten girl in its mouth, right?"

"Yeah,"

Lim shivered at the memory.

"That wasn't a girl. It was an illusion."

"Illusion?" Lim felt confusion rise. Why would there be an illusion of a corpse in its mouth? Then it clicked. "Does it cast an illusion when it's on the verge of starvation?"

Felix nodded. "Yes, it creates an illusion of eating its prey to satisfy its hunger. And that's the problem. I’ve never heard of them with the desire to eat humans. They can become invisible and pass through walls, but the academy walls resist ghosts or any of their kind."

Lim recalled something that puzzled him too. "Can they make time slow? When it attacked me in the hall, for a moment, time seemed to freeze "

Felix sighed. The Morrowraith was gone, but the headache lingered. They still had so much to figure out.

"Let's think later. I just want a shower."

"Me too. And some fried rice" Lim said, starting to walk, with Felix following.

He noticed something off about Lim, especially at the back of his head.

"You might need a haircut."

Lim turned back.

"Why? I think this suits me."

"No, not because of that. The flames must have caught your hair, when I carried you behind that tree, "

"What?"

Lim touched the back of his head. Strands of burnt hair fell away.

"That made it worse. I can see your scalp," Felix said, chuckling.

"You might need to shave it all off."

"No! My hair is the one thing that makes me look decent,"

Lim protested, covering the back of his head while Felix continued to laugh at his expense.

They reached the academy. Felix was still giggling.

"If you want to shave it, come to my room."

"Shut up."

Lim was pissed, really pissed. But he couldn't blame Felix. He saves his life, at the cost of his hair. As he was about to say something, Felix's eyes distracted him. He looked pleased and relieved. Not cause the work was done, but Lim had returned to his old self.

"Good job today."

Felix waved his hand and walked toward his dorm. Lim stood there, watching his back with a quiet smile. After living in two different worlds he had finally found someone he could proudly call a friend.

For the first time in a long while, the night didn’t feel so heavy.