It was the first time Leci had ever seen a Lost Spirit crumble into ash—disintegrating like dust in the wind. That alone was enough to prove one truth: Kieron was an entity far stronger than she had ever imagined.
And with the fury burning in his eyes, he was terrifying.
Without realizing it, Leci crawled backward, her palms slipping against the cold floor as she pushed herself away from him. His piercing gaze followed her every movement — silent, unblinking, relentless. He stepped toward her, slow and deliberate, while she timidly retreated.
Leci's tongue felt numb. Something heavy clogged her throat, trapping her voice. More than anything, Kieron in this moment was far more frightening than the man who once threatened her in the infirmary. His aura — sharp, icy, and merciless — pressed against her like the chill of death.
For a second, she thought she was staring at the Angel of Death himself. Especially with those enormous black wings unfurled behind him, shadowing the entire hallway like the cloak of a reaper.
Have I truly been involved with… this? With a creature like him? What exactly… is he? The thought shook Leci to her core. Her entire body trembled uncontrollably. The last time she had felt such fear was when she encountered that demon long ago.
Could Kieron be the same…?
"Leciara!" Norris's voice broke sharply through the suffocating silence, followed by hurried footsteps.
In an instant, the oppressive aura vanished. When Leci turned around, Kieron was gone. Completely gone. As if he had never stood there at all — no shadow, no trace, not even a whisper of his presence left behind.
Moments later, Norris reached her. Leci still sat frozen on the floor, her expression pale and shaken.
"Leci, what happened?" he asked, his voice tight with concern as Jayden appeared behind him.
Leci shook her head weakly, her thoughts in tatters. Her breath trembled as she forced out a whisper, "Just now… something… something was here…"
"I felt an extremely cold aura from this floor," Norris said bluntly, ignoring Jayden's confused stare. "Did you run into a demon?"
Leci shook her head again as Norris helped her stand. "No… something was here. But it's gone now," she murmured at last, trying to steady herself.
She couldn't show weakness. Not here. Not in front of visitors. And she definitely couldn't let Jayden suspect who she truly was. Better to pretend nothing had happened — just a fleeting apparition. Deep down, however, she struggled to erase the image of Kieron's dark, monstrous silhouette.
"Are you hurt, Leciara?" Jayden asked gently, his baby-faced expression tightening with worry.
Leci nodded softly and forced a small smile. She genuinely appreciated his concern. Even if it only lasted a day, the warmth of it comforted her more than she expected. "I'm fine. Let's go downstairs and join the others."
No one objected. Together, the three of them headed to the first floor where the rest of Class 2-C had gathered. Kieron was already there — looking perfectly ordinary, perfectly human, perfectly harmless.
Nothing was out of place.
After submitting their completed assignment, the class headed out of the museum, crossing the parking lot toward the bus. Yet along the way, Leci could feel his gaze trailing her. Quiet, unreadable, persistent. As if he had so much he wished he could say.
But they never found the right moment. Not in the bus. Not at school. Not even afterward.
And even if they did — what then? What could they possibly talk about?
From the beginning, Leci had known one truth: no matter how many questions she asked, Kieron would never reveal who he truly was. Forcing him would be useless. He would never tell her what she wanted to know.
Eventually, Leci gave up. When class ended, she went straight home without cleansing any Lost Spirit. After encountering that bald ghost at the museum, her body felt unbearably weak. Her head throbbed, and her entire body burned with feverish heat.
Rest. That was the only thing she could do. Just a moment of comfort, a moment of quiet. She needed to mend her mind after witnessing the side of Kieron she had never seen before — so terrifying it left her shaken long after.
Too many things had happened recently. For now, Leci simply needed to rest.
.
.
.
Zraash…
Crackle! Rumble!
Young Leci froze in terror.
A massive, pale creature towered before her — its height rivaling a multi-story building. Humanoid in shape, yet grotesquely wrong. Its skinny arms were impossibly long, dangling to the floor, ending in claws as sharp as a wild beast's.
The thing that terrified Leci the most was its mouth — a long, horizontal maw filled with rows of jagged teeth. It stretched from its forehead all the way down to its chin, splitting its face in a grotesque line. The creature had no eyes at all, not even hollow sockets.
Yet its hearing was razor-sharp.
From afar, it could hear Leci's tiny, terrified squeaks — like a cornered mouse begging the darkness for mercy. And that nightmarish mouth curved into something resembling a smile.
A wide, unnatural grin so horrifying Leci knew its image would haunt her for years.
Dash!
The creature — whatever it was — charged toward her on all fours, its limbs bending at uncanny angles. Young Leci crouched in front of a closed kiosk, trembling so violently she could barely think straight. She knew she should have hidden somewhere else, somewhere safer…
But she had been too young, too frightened, too helpless to choose wisely.
All she could do was cover her face with both hands, as if such a fragile gesture could protect her. When its sharp claws reached toward her, she held her breath — bracing for pain.
Clank!
"Ciara! Run!"
Leci jerked her head up. Her father had already intercepted the creature's attack, blocking its claws with a long iron staff. Behind him stood her mother, hurriedly writing talismans onto slips of paper.
"Mom! Dad!" Leci cried, terrified for them. She took a step forward, wanting to help, but her mother immediately shouted,
"Stay back, Ciara! Go! Find your sister!"
Leci's face crumpled. That helpless, aching feeling — more painful than any wound. She was weak. A burden. Her parents were fighting for their lives, and the best they could ask of her… was to run.
The demon was unbelievably strong. Even after combining all their power, her parents could barely hold it back. Many in the family had already been injured, some gravely. And as the head of the household, her father bore the full responsibility of protecting them.
Leci knew he would never retreat — even if the chance of winning was nearly zero. He and her mother loved her deeply, and she loved them just as fiercely. That was why they begged her to flee.
"Please, Ciara… go." The words were the most painful she had ever heard.
No matter how desperately Leci wished for her parents' safety, that wish would never be granted.
The moment she turned around, a heart-splitting scream tore through the air. Leci froze. She knew instantly — her parents were facing death. When she tried to look back, someone grabbed her.
Her older sister.
Without a word, she covered Leci's eyes and ears, dragging her away so the little girl wouldn't see — or hear— the horror unfolding behind them.
The funeral followed the next day. From that moment on, the memory never left her. It clung to her like a parasite, a virus that nested in her mind. For years it tormented her, pulling her deeper into an ocean of endless guilt.
Even now, Leci still couldn't forget. That night had become the greatest nightmare of her life — a wound that kept reopening over time.
.
.
.
Leci twisted in her sleep, trapped in another nightmare. The pale monster with the grotesque mouth lunged at her again — and she jolted awake with a gasp. Her head pounded as she knocked her temple with her knuckles, trying to steady her breathing.
After several long breaths, she slowly calmed down. Her blurry vision adjusted to the dim room, and that was when she noticed…
A pair of strong arms wrapped securely around her waist.
The straight-haired girl stiffened in alarm. Someone was sleeping beside her. A man. A man who was neither family nor kin.
Leci almost screamed when she realized it was Kieron — in her bed. In her bed. This was insane.
Her instinctive gasp was swiftly muffled. Kieron placed a relaxed hand over her mouth, silencing her with effortless ease. Then he gently pulled her back down, guiding her to lie beside him again.
Leci's heart pounded wildly as his arms tightened around her.
"Sleep," Kieron murmured softly, almost tenderly. "Rest well, Leciara."