Rather than a ghost, the creature resembled a demon — its form was far too strange. It glared at Leci and Kieron with pure hostility, then howled loudly into the night.
"Aaauuuuu!"
Leci pushed Kieron back; it was her turn to act. Kieron seemed to understand, stepping aside to let her handle it. He didn't interfere — only watched her, curious about what she would do this time.
Leci's tanzanite eyes narrowed sharply. Now she understood how the Lost Spirit had appeared here. When she looked toward the back courtyard of the apartment building, she saw thick black fog rising from that direction. It was a fog invisible to the naked eye — only those with supernatural sight could perceive it.
Before the Lost Spirit manifested, there had been no fog at all. Its emergence coincided perfectly with the black mist seeping through the air. Leci smirked slightly. She didn't need to think long to know the cause.
"Groooaaarrr!"
"Khiikhiiikhiii!"
The Lost Spirit moved with terrifying speed — faster than the wind. In an instant, it was already before Leci, its sharp claws slashing downward.
The girl quickly scribbled a spell into her small notebook and tore the page out. "Crystal Rain Spell!" she shouted, throwing the paper into the air.
Pats!
The spell ignited in a burst of pale light — paper turning into shards of crystal that rained down upon the Lost Spirit. Each shard struck with such weight that the ground trembled beneath their impact. Kieron's eyes widened in awe as he watched the creature become buried under a mound of luminous crystals.
Leci walked closer, her gaze softening with faint pity. "You poor soul," she murmured. "Had you not crossed paths with a wicked human, you wouldn't have become like this."
Her fingertips brushed the surface of the crystals, her voice quiet and compassionate. "If your essence hadn't been tainted by your master's greed, perhaps you could've already found peace."
She lowered her head slightly. "At this point, I can't purify you anymore," she whispered, her tone mournful. Leci picked up her notebook once again and began writing another spell.
Krak… Prang!
"Grrraaaah!"
Just as the Lost Spirit lunged toward her, Leci tore another spell paper. "Shadow Tendril Spell!"
The creature's claws and the fangs in its wolf's mouth halted just inches before her face. It could no longer move — black tendrils of shadow had wrapped tightly around its body. Leci had stopped it in the nick of time; a moment's delay and she would've been torn apart.
Still, she was injured — a shard of crystal had cut her left cheek, drawing a thin line of blood. She stepped back three paces from the restrained creature, hastily writing another spell in her notebook. This demon had to be defeated before nightfall. Once darkness fell, its existence would merge completely with the night itself.
"Green Fire Spell!"
Leci tightened the grip of the shadows around the Lost Spirit's body and threw the new spell paper. The moment it touched the ground beside the creature, it ignited — bursting into emerald flames. Those flames would sever the link between the Lost Spirit and its master.
While the creature was still unable to move, Leci chanted once more. "Soul Lock Spell!" she whispered, sealing it just like before.
The Lost Spirit's body began to solidify into a soul stone as she pressed the seal paper onto its forehead, then pierced a hairpin above its head — the final mark of purification. Yet her task wasn't over. There was still one more thing Leci had to take care of.
She hurried toward the apartment building. As she passed Kieron, she tossed the newly formed soul stone to him without even stopping. "Your meal," she said flatly.
"Wait!" Kieron caught her wrist, forcing her to turn toward him. His obsidian eyes narrowed as he noticed the cut on her cheek.
"Why did you let yourself get hurt like this?" he asked, voice low but edged with anger.
His tone softened as his gaze lingered, concern flickering behind his words. That look — that warmth — made Leci lose focus for a second. Her breath caught when she suddenly felt something warm and wet brush against her skin.
Kieron… was licking the wound on her cheek.
A shiver ran through Leci's entire body. She froze, startled and breathless. Just as she tried to pull away, Kieron's hand tightened around her wrist again.
"If you ever let yourself get hurt like this again," he murmured with a faint, dangerous smile, "then you'd better surrender your soul to me instead."
It felt like being pricked by a thorn while picking a rose. After lulling Leci into momentary stillness with the gentleness in his eyes, Kieron cruelly sprinkled salt over her wounded heart. She thought he no longer cared about her soul — but she was wrong.
Annoyed, Leci stomped hard on Kieron's foot, forcing a pained groan from him. "Your words are unbelievably rude!" she snapped.
"Dear? Are you all right?"
The voice of the landlady called out, having heard the commotion. The middle-aged woman appeared by the apartment fence, concern etched on her face.
Leci immediately turned away from Kieron without a word. She walked briskly toward the landlady, her steps sharp and steady. They exchanged a few quiet words, and before long, the two women shared a soft laugh and disappeared into the apartment complex together.
Kieron clicked his tongue. He knew he had spoken carelessly. He hadn't meant to hurt her — only to scare her a little, hoping she'd take her own safety more seriously. To be honest, this was the first time he had ever approached a woman.
Usually, women swarmed around Kieron like bees to honey. They were the ones who offered themselves to him — whispering that he could do whatever he wanted with them.
That's why he couldn't understand Leci — a woman who looked at him differently. Instead of surrendering, she resisted him with all her strength. Because of her defiance, Kieron found himself wanting to keep her close, to stop her from ever pulling away.
Deep down, there was a strange desire — a longing to see her change the way she looked at him.
Not as Kieron Branduff, the charming biology teacher, nor as the nonhuman being that feeds on souls — but as the real Kieron beneath it all.
For some reason, he believed that one day, Leci would understand his true identity.
Of course, Kieron hadn't always been this way — a savage creature that devoured souls. He became like this after being tainted by something vile, something that corrupted his essence completely.
Because of that corruption, it was almost impossible for Kieron to control the urge to consume human souls. Whenever he tried to resist, pain would tear through his head, as if his skull was being split in two. If he pushed too far, he risked losing his sanity entirely — and descending into a frenzy.
And slowly, that corruption began erasing his memories of his former life. It was as though the darkness wanted him to forget who he truly was — to strip away his original self and remake him into something purely malevolent.
Even Kieron himself didn't know how to stop it.
The man let out a long sigh before following after Leci. It took him only a moment to find her — she was with the landlady in the small storage shed behind the apartment.
Somehow, Leci had found a strange bundle. It was dirty, wrapped in old cloth, and when she opened it, there lay a straw doll, red earth, and strands of hair tangled inside.
The sight of it made his skin crawl.
"Do you know what this is?" Leci asked the landlady.
The middle-aged woman shook her head, confused. "No, dear. What… what is it?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.
Leci's expression turned grim, though her own unease was clear. "This," she said slowly, "is a medium used to cast a curse — a hex."
At once, the woman's face went pale. Her warmth vanished, replaced by fear. "Someone… cursed me?" she whispered.
Leci shook her head regretfully. "I don't know. My abilities aren't strong enough to trace the sender. But whoever it is, they have malicious intent — perhaps toward you, or someone else in this building."
"I have to burn this."
With the landlady's permission, Leci set the cursed objects aflame, summoning green fire to purify the supernatural energy within. The flames roared high, forming a shape — a grotesque face twisting in agony.
"Khiikhiiikhii!"
The eerie scream marked the end of that day's exorcism. Because it happened near the path to the forest, the residents watching from their windows on the upper floors saw everything.
They watched silently, their faces pale against the glass.
"Thank you so much," said the landlady, smiling through tears. "You've helped me more than I can ever repay."
Leci handed her several paper charms and a pouch of salt. "Place these charms in the corners of the building — on the inside fences and along the walls. Scatter the salt by the inner fence only," she instructed softly.
"I hope this will protect you and the others."
The woman's eyes welled with tears again. She wiped them with trembling fingers, voice thick with emotion. "I never even asked you to help… and yet you came. Thank you, truly."
"Don't mention it," Leci replied gently. "It's my duty."
Before leaving, the landlady handed her an envelope filled with money — more than Leci had ever expected. She refused at first, for she hadn't come here seeking payment. But the woman insisted.
"Please," she said kindly. "Think of it as a gift — for your hard work."
A soft touch fell on Leci's shoulder. When she turned, Kieron was there, smiling warmly at her. This time, his smile was sincere — so much so that Leci couldn't help but return it.
On their way home, Kieron kept stealing glances at her, his expression heavy with guilt. Finally, he reached out, brushing a few loose strands of her hair aside.
"I'm sorry, Leciara," he murmured.