He saw a young man wearing a disguise of grass and leaves, dressed in deerskin pants, slowly appear as a phantom under a tree not far from him.

[Witchcraft: Retrospective Vision]

Then the light and shadow rapidly shifted, and except for Milan, no one could see what was happening there.

Milan's expression grew more serious, and suddenly he shouted:

"He's not gone, he's still among us—it's an Evil Spirit! He replaced someone else's presence!"

In perfect harmony with Milan, Aiven unhesitatingly threw two bottles of high-concentration No.2 Holy Water overhead. Activated Spiritual Light swept out, shattering it and turning it into a drifting golden mist spreading over everyone present.

Sizzle—

The sound like roasting meat instantly captured everyone's attention as they looked toward a pirate at the edge of the camp.

"Jack! What's wrong with you?"

Tom, who had been telling ghost stories and scaring his companions earlier, saw the sudden green smoke rising from his "timid" companion, and his face briefly showed a look of astonishment.

Then he... swiftly retreated!

Only a fool would approach without protection. As an elite pirate, to have survived until now, he must have appropriate survival wisdom.

"Look at his body!"

When the strange phenomenon finally revealed itself, the others finally noticed something odd and bizarre about this young pirate named Jack.

Originally, the head still belonged to a white pirate, but below the neck, it had transformed into the body of a robust and towering black Anuma.

Smoke billowed from him, and the young head on his neck twisted around as if he wasn't aware of his anomaly at all.

It wasn't until he lowered his gaze and saw his dark body that he showed utter terror and let out a horrific scream:

"Ah—!"

Suddenly, the head rolled off the shoulders, fell to the ground, and went silent.

The headless black body then took large strides, trying to rush into the dark rainforest.

"Don't think you can escape!"

Prepared in advance, Aiven wouldn't allow such an easy escape.

demo—

In the needle-like whisper of a curse.

On the slender, snow-bright edge of cold steel in Aiven's hand, a pale blue electric light flickered and danced.

[Official Witchcraft: Demonized Weapon!]

With a step, he had already approached the headless Evil Spirit from behind.

Swish!

The sharp, eerie blue electric light surged and easily dismembered the Evil Spirit into eight pieces.

Flap, flap, flap—

Following that, twenty seagulls with wingspans nearly two meters, having "spiritualized," transformed into blobs of bird-shaped white light and went after him, using the powerful strength of demonized creatures to instantly tear the Evil Spirit's remnants apart.

Slash!

The oddly capable headless Evil Spirit, though it could easily kill ordinary people, stood no chance against Aiven, passed on the spot almost without resistance.

Leaving only the "Dust of Evil Spirits" floating uneasily in the air, which Aiven collected in a crystal vial.

Though it was no use to him anymore, for Angie, who had already reached late-stage apprenticeship with the help of Essence Fruits, it was very beneficial.

After the Evil Spirit's death, in the nearby dark bushes not far from the camp, the sharp-eyed team members immediately spotted an aboriginal corpse that had long since stiffened.

It was only then.

Among the two Arawak guides behind Aiven, the older Zinaro finally managed to exclaim:

"That's the 'Headless Ghost' Aida!"

"A ghost?!"

Aiven raised an eyebrow. Could such a thin-as-paper ghost really possess such extreme abilities?

Spiritual monsters, like the Extraordinary, also have levels:

Ordinary ghosts, besides being scary, can't even kill the weakest ordinary person. To an Official Knight, whose powerful life energy field resembles a furnace, blowing hard might be enough to extinguish a ghost.

At the level of Resentful Spirits, they're already able to impact the spirits of those weak-willed, creating various accidents to kill, such as falling off cliffs or into ponds...

And Evil Spirits have already become entities that mere mortals cannot resist, possessing many unreasonable abilities, like mind-killing, curses, possession, immunity to physical harm... some even have various special abilities.

The most powerful Evil Spirit has even achieved immortality!

"That's right, the once headless Aida was indeed a ghost, a ghost that would quietly fade away at some point unknown."

Zinaro stepped forward to explain.

Apparently...

Aida was a slave working in a sugar plantation from the Southern Continent, who had an affair with the Hilus female owner. Discovered, he fled from the plantation, but was caught nearby, decapitated on the spot!

His head was taken back as a report, while his body was disposed of here directly.

Eventually forming a ghost that could only scare people, and named "Headless Ghost" Aida according to Atrean customs.

Though a well-known legend in this area, it's never been heard of anyone being harmed by him.

Instead, hunters walking the forest by night have been spooked by a headless figure sneaking behind them.

And Zinaro, who has long been active in attacking Hilus people in this area, has encountered this ghost several times without ever being harmed.

Yet for some reason, Aida unexpectedly evolved into a strangely empowered Evil Spirit!

Aiven speculated.

Perhaps it was his initial experience of being pursued as a runaway slave, driving a desperate need to hide, ultimately giving birth to the rule-breaking ability of supplanting presence.

Somewhat similar to the past abilities of a "Demon Disciple," but more domineering. Not only does he lack a presence, but those he kills also lose theirs.

By taking someone's head and placing it on his own neck, he can gain their presence.

In other words, even if the head and body clearly don't match in someone else's eyes, they would seamlessly accept the head as the original owner's.

Even the head itself wouldn't realize it was already dead.

After listening to his description, Aiven's expression was grave:

"What's going on? Even if the Magic Element concentration in the New Continent makes spirit formation easier under normal circumstances, shouldn't it result in so many spirits inexplicably growing stronger?"

From the resentful spirit of Pocatello who lost his son, to the Yucatan Tribe mixed with "Dust of Evil Spirits," and now today's head-swapping Evil Spirit.

The unexplained increase and empowerment of spirits made Aiven realize something unusual might be about to unfold on this continent.

"By the way, Milan! Later, ask your Huron princess if there's anything peculiar within the New Continent."

"Peculiar? Last time she sought Lord Governor of East Lenz, it seemed to be because of some issue from the tribe. I'll ask her in more detail when I get back."

This incident was merely a sidestory. Even though they've lost two men before making a move, behind the promise of Hilus gold, it was only a minor setback! No one would retreat!

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