"So you're saying that the disappearances began around the same time the Count stopped leaving his room?"
The groundskeeper nodded at Noah's question. "Yes, it began a few months ago. People started disappearing at night without any trace, even a newbie servant from the manor vanished recently."
"At night, you say… Are the villagers aware of the Count's condition?"
"Mr. Charley insisted we keep it quiet within the manor, but for some reason, the villagers found out anyway."
"And the ghosts—where do they appear?"
The groundskeeper shuddered, then looked around before whispering in Noah's ear. "Nobody wants to believe me, but I saw one with my own eyes. On the second floor, in the northernmost corridor of the manor."
Meanwhile, Levi was making progress with his own investigation.
"Oh! red chrysanthemums, Grandpa's flowers! I never thought I'd see them here." He glanced left and right. "I wonder if I could pick some."
Levi became distracted by the garden's flower varieties and completely forgot what he was supposed to be doing.
"If you're planning to pick them, I'd suggest waiting until tomorrow morning. They have yet to fully bloom."
A voice surprised him from behind, and its owner stepped forward beside him. She crouched down to the flowers' level before continuing. "The best time to pick a flower is just before they open at dawn, when the morning dew has dried but the sun isn't beating down yet. Too much moisture can weigh down the flower, and too much heat can damage it as well."
The young girl turned toward Levi with a smile, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she asked, "Are you planning to give someone a bouquet, dear guest?"
She had silky hair as white as ivory and crystalline pupils the blue of the ocean. In this garden of a thousand fragrances, she was undoubtedly the most beautiful flower of all.
"Ah, h-hello!" Levi stammered. Perhaps it was because she seemed to be his age, but the young man's heart was beating faster than usual.
The young girl stood up, dusting off her dress, and introduced herself with a small curtsy. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Emily Whitefeathers. Welcome to our humble village. Were you just visiting?"
"Yes, that's right! No, actually, um... Oh yes, I was supposed to be conducting an investigation."
"That sounds interesting. May I join you?"
"Of course! We were going to start by questioning the servants."
"There's no need to trouble yourself. If you have questions, ask me. I can assure you I know more than anyone else."
"Oh, that's perfect. Um, to start, I'd like to know more about this village's history."
Emily froze for a few seconds, then burst into laughter.
"Pfft, hahaha, you're really funny."
"Oh, am I? Um, thank you." Levi didn't quite understand what was amusing.
"It's just that so many troubling things are happening right now that your completely unrelated question caught me off guard. I can tell you the story, but it's a long one."
"Even better—I love stories," Levi replied.
The sun was setting, and Samantha was briefing with Charley.
"What? That's everyone present in the manor?!" Samantha exclaimed.
"Indeed," Charley confirmed. "Lady Evelyn is unreachable, and Master Morgan took most of the guards with him on a mission."
Samantha began biting her thumb, she had a bad feeling about this. She thought intensely about the situation.
(This situation really isn't normal. Setting aside the Count's suddenly worsening health and the disappearances and ghost stories, it can't be a coincidence that all the Whitefeathers family's forces are elsewhere at such a critical moment. Were they lured away ?
The only people capable of fighting are me, Charley, and the Countess. I can't involve the children in this. Charley's getting old, and the Countess must stay with her husband.
Things are much more complicated than I thought. I need to warn Avalo.)
Samantha grabbed her phone and realized too late that the enemy already struck first.
"Damn, no signal," she noted.
Zzzaaaap
"Ah, it seems the fuses have blown. I'll go check."
"Don't trouble yourself, Mr. Charley. It's not the fuses. It appears the enemy has decided to make their move."
(They must have accelerated their plans because our arrival wasn't expected.)
The vision slits in Samantha's helmet began glowing with powerful pink energy illuminating the whole room. She began to look around her as if she was scanning the space.
(I'm detecting two at 300 meters—they've destroyed the electrical poles. I suspected as much; they're trying to isolate us from the outside.)
Her pink karmic energy started to envelop her whole body.
Clacktap
She then opened the window and leaped several meters into the air toward the presence she had detected.
(Even if it's a trap, I don't really have a choice. They're my only lead.)
She landed in the forest adjacent to the residence and charged forward at full speed like a cannonball. Within seconds, she had the two culprits who had caused the power outage across the territory in sight.
"A pumpkin head and... a headless horseman?" Samantha murmured as she approached the two creatures.
She clenched her fist and recited:
[ Lagertha ]
Wiiiiiizzzz
In a flash of light, a shield shaped like an inverted teardrop with an abnormally sharp point appeared in Samantha's fist, covering her arm.
The creatures reacted and turned at the appearance of the light. The moment they turned, the pumpkin came face-to-face with a metal point.
Tchaaak splash
Pumpkin pieces flew in all directions. The splatter knocked the horseman from his mount. The instant he braced his arm to get up—
Tchak
The shield's point, covered in pink energy, had already pierced his chest. In less than five seconds, Samantha eliminated both monsters. She jumped back and waited.
The now-lifeless bodies of the two creatures began blackening before her eyes and started transforming under her indifferent gaze.
Still on guard, she had begun identifying the enemy.
"Black smoke creatures ? No way…"
Several minutes had passed since sunset, and it already felt like night had fallen. One person in particular, wandering the second floor corridors, was now plunged into darkness.
Click click click
No matter how much he pressed, none of the switches worked.
"It's a power outage, I suppose. Or maybe the ghosts' doing?"
Noah looked around. Faint light from outside filtered through the window panes, and a gentle breeze blew in his direction.
"Is that light the moon already? But where is this wind coming from? I'm pretty sure all the windows are closed."
The wind stopped. Noah froze.
He felt the change in the air. It was as if silence had fallen and the temperature was gradually dropping.
He swallowed hard.
"If I turn around, the ghost will be behind me, right?"
Beads of sweat appeared on his face. His tension rose and his heartbeat began accelerating. He had started to turn around, but his movement was as slow as if he were moving in slow motion. Once completely turned around, one eye closed and the other half-open, he saw...
Nothing at all.
Noah shrugged his shoulders and hands arrogantly. "No luck—the ghosts must be terrified of running into me. Hahah—"
[𝔸 Ř 𝕋 𝓗 ย 𝓻 ｒ Ř]
A voice grated to Noah's ears, and when he turned around, his eyes widened in shock and he stopped breathing.
Her silhouette was visible in the dark even without moonlight because her translucent body seemed to glow faintly. It was a lady with skin and dress as white as bones. She advanced toward Noah step by step, her face covered by long black hair trailing on the ground. She stretched her arms forward and continued calling.
[ᵃ 𝕣 𝐓 Ĥ 𝓤 𝐑 ｒ ᖇ]
"Uh, you must have confused me with someone else. My name isn't Arthur," Noah replied hesitantly while backing up a few steps.
[𝓪 Ř 丅 𝐇 ᑌ г 尺 ⓡ]
"We can talk about it. I can help you look for him. Arthur, right? He must be a fine young man."
[𝒶 𝓇 𝐭 𝕙 𝓤 𝓡]
"Is he dark-haired like you? How old is he? He must be your son?"
[A̶R̶T̶H̶U̶R̶!̶!̶!̶!̶?̶] The white lady began running.
"I DON'T KNOW ANY ARTHUR!!" Noah panicked. He grabbed a dagger Samantha had given him from his pocket and threw it forward, closing his eyes. By reflex, he instinctively covered the dagger with karmic energy.
Tchaak
The dagger embedded itself in the entity's forehead, and she collapsed.
Noah opened one eye.
"Ah! I got her! Hahaha, ghosts are no match for me." Noah was distracted by his victory and laid down, forgetting to confirm his assailant's death.
The white lady's body began blackening, and Noah's dagger fell out. The surface and features of the body disappeared, then transformed into smoke.
The black smoke covering the floor rapidly gained volume without a sound. And when it reached the size of a small car, Noah finally noticed.
"What the hell is that??"
The smoke took shape, and Noah couldn't believe his eyes as he was trying to get back up. His face was covered with unparalleled terror and fear. He wanted to scream, but no sound could escape his mouth.
His greatest nightmare was materializing before his eyes.
End of Chapter