"Come. Quick."

Marsha pulled the rescued people in a hurry.

Exactly like what Deklan said—the red tower has another smaller bubble that served as protection from the rampaging mana that came from the Alpha Ghost. She didn't know he came to know about this, but that's not important right now.

"Stay inside until this is over, okay?" Marsha said, sweeping her eyes across the people.

No more than fifty of them remain, and most of them were wounded.

Marsha tried to be strong, but the tears that kept streaming down her face, she couldn't give them a proper assurance. Even so, the people could tell that she was trying her absolute best to care for them despite her worries.

'I'm sure the people would be safe here,' She thought, turning to look behind. 'There are plenty of chances for the Alpha Ghost to attack and kill us, but it didn't. It was aiming for young master Deklan. He must have done something last night that pissed it off.'

Reaching the red tower safely, without being attacked, wasn't a coincidence.

It was because the Alpha Ghost wasn't coming here to massacre them.

Maybe it would kill them later, but for now, it was fixated on killing Deklan more than anything.

Perhaps the reason it didn't instantly kill Deklan was that it wanted to vent its hatred.

And Deklan dying easily is not something it wanted.

"Are you going to help Young Master Deklan?" One of them asked.

She quickly nodded, "Yes. If we don't come back, then know that we did everything we could. And I hope someday you will forgive me for being blind to the bad things that happened to you."

It was unfair.

Marsha knew it well that the people suffered so much more because of Granny Linsa, and it wouldn't be easy to earn their forgiveness. But either way, she was going to try her best by helping them survive this ordeal.

Of course, the people don't know what she meant entirely.

But some of them knew.

As she turned to leave, someone caught her hand.

A young girl no older than seven held her hand firmly with both hands.

She smiled sweetly at Marsha, "Come back safely, big sister…"

It sounded simple.

Just an innocent kid who wanted her to come back safely.

However, at that moment, she seemed to represent the words that the people couldn't speak out loud.

And that was more than enough for Marsha.

"Yes," She answered and pulled away, running back to where the fight was.

Marsha used mana to enhance her physical capabilities, making her run faster than normal, but as she cast one last look at the people behind her, she noticed a figure outside the wooden fence. A person, or better, an Exorcist.

She could feel traces of mana coming out of him.

And she didn't know who this person was—he's certainly not from around here.

Considering that there shouldn't be any Exorcists around this area, this was surprising to see.

'I've seen him before… Who is he?'

Marsha wanted to stop, to ask who he was, but she couldn't.

Right now, Deklan was more important than finding out who this person was.

Swish—

It was the first time for her to run as if her life depended on it, like she was doing right now.

Freed from all restraint, her world narrowed to a single goal: reach the square.

Mana, no longer a careful instrument she should be mindful of, became pure propulsion.

It flared from her heels with each strike, not in delicate brushstrokes, but in great, shocking bursts.

She covered the distance not in a run, but in a series of vaulting leaps—the wind of her passage tearing at her clothes. In less than ten heartbeats, she skidded onto the dirt road of the square, halting the strong momentum from her leaps, and looked ahead.

It was then she sucked in a cold breath.

Just like earlier, the Alpha Ghost was standing mightily on the square with its gaze fixed ahead.

Flames engulfed the other end of the road.

And from it, a figure emerged through the flames with deliberate slowness as if it were fire-resistant.

Marsha held her breath as her eyes shone at the sight of this… creature.

One that seemed familiar yet foreign at the same time.

"Young master…?" She muttered silently in shock. "It's like back then."

Marsha met with Deklan for the first time when he was attacked by a group of assassins.

He killed all three and fell unconscious afterwards from his injuries.

But he wasn't entirely himself at that moment—he was a silhouette draped in a tattered red cloak, and his face was lost in unnatural shadow provided by the hood. For a second, the sight made Marsha wonder whether he was even a human.

At that time, he looked like a Ghost more than a person.

Fortunately, his form reverted back to normal not too long after.

The red cloak dissipated, the shadows bled away from his features, and his human form resolved.

Marsha had been wondering what kind of power Deklan used to achieve such a form.

But he never really used it again.

Now, she witnessed the form for the second time, and he wasn't unconscious like the first time.

Deklan stepped out of the flames.

He was taller than normal, easily reaching seven feet, and his limbs were also longer and thinner.

It gave him unnatural proportions for him to be called a human, as the tips of his fingers almost reached his knees. And the gun in his hand has transformed into a long farming scythe that seethed with a reddish aura.

Seeing such a stark change caught the Alpha Ghost off guard.

For a second, it sniffed the air and found the human scent from Deklan had disappeared completely.

Now, he bore the pungent stench of mana.

Only Ghosts possess this thick stench of mana.

Deklan pulled a Hot Blue Chilli from his inventory and bit down hard, tearing the flesh from the stalk in one searing mouthful before tossing the stem aside. Instantly, his exhale clouded into a visible ocean blue mist.

He put out his tongue that was now made up of strands of hay, fanning it desperately.

Even in this form, the spice was a vicious, unconquered fire.

But the burn was the point. A trade. As his mouth blazed, a cold, electric clarity sharpened his senses, threading through his muscles. Both his agility and reflex were increased slightly, and for those effects, it doesn't matter if he needed to burn his tongue in the process.

Swish—!

In a sudden burst of speed, Deklan charged straight at the Alpha Ghost with a chuckle in his throat.

His scythe struck the neck, and surprisingly, it pierced through the skin.

Realizing that Deklan had gotten stronger than before, the Alpha Ghost's body erupted in flames.

Controlled fire chased after Deklan, who was now circling the square, moving and dodging the fire that moved like a serpent. And to add to the pressure, the Alpha Ghost also intercepted and struck, shattering anything that its claws reached.

All but Deklan, of course.

Deklan flipped and twisted his body unnaturally, dodging with incredible precision.

He was even cackling at each missed attack, like doing a performance to entertain the spectators.

At one second, the battle was happening on the left, and in the next, it happened on the right.

Both were moving at incredible speed.

From this, Marsha could place their speed was about the same, but Deklan's strength was still far below that of the Alpha Ghost. Deklan leaped and dodged a swipe, doing a split mid-air as his slender hand anchored on the Alpha Ghost's arm and pushed him up.

Deklan spun mid-air.

As he did, the reddish farming scythe in his hand turned black.

It adopted the Shadow Beast weapon persona before it cleaved downward hard.

Swish—!

Boosted with the Astral Strike skill, the slash hacked the Alpha Ghost's shoulder and spewed blood.

Angered, it retaliated fiercely.

But Deklan moved nimbly, avoiding each attack with minimal movement.

Even though Deklan and the Alpha Ghost had about the same speed, Deklan was smaller, and it was far easier for him to maneuver the attacks that came his way and counter them. In the span of three seconds, the Alpha Ghost was riddled with cuts.

It stung a bit initially, but now, each strike was akin to a searing wound.

[Status Effect Inflicted: Branding!]

[Brand has been multiplied by 3 times!]

[Shadow Beast amplification effect has reached its maximum!]

Deklan cleaved the scythe, aiming to slash its neck.

But what greeted him was an open, fiery maw.

Boom!

A burst of flames struck Deklan squarely and hurled him away.

His back slammed against the wall of a house.

Before he could move, a torrent of searing breath engulfed him—a storm of fire from the front, and the solid hardwood on his back. Deklan was caught in a vise of heat and immobility, one that would spill the death of many Exorcists if put in the same situation.

However, Agna the Red Scarecrow was more than a simple persona.

Unnaturally, his body contorted until he turned into a pumpkin head.

And before the Alpha Ghost realized, a spear shot from the side and stabbed through its ribcage.

Growl!

"Hihihi~" Deklan covered his mouth and laughed sinisterly.

Even though he was wounded, the Alpha Ghost was in a far worse state than he is.

Just then, the Alpha Ghost sucked in a deep breath as its flames seeped back into his body.

Suction noises that grew louder and louder with each beat resounded, and then, its body detonated.

Boom!

Marsha stared at the fire that encroached on her rapidly with her eyes open wide.

She was still outside the square, a presumably safe distance.

But a battle against a silver-rank Ghost needed more space than the one she was giving.

To her surprise, the flames rapidly surged towards her like a tsunami of fire.

In the last second, Deklan reached her first—coming from the side like a noble knight in shining armor and covering her with his crimson cloak. Of course, except for the fact that he was now a slender Ghost, and was holding a farming scythe rather than a sword.

Deklan used his body to block the flames.

It was painful, excruciatingly so, but all that came out of his mouth was a light chuckle.

Almost like that's the only thing he could say, but that was not the case.

Once the flames died, blood dripped down to the floor from Deklan's shadowed face.

"This is no time for a prank, little girl," Deklan said with a surprisingly lighter voice. "Focus on healing me lest I become a roasted pumpkin, hihihi~"

"R-Right!" Marsha nodded and quickly channeled her mana to heal him.

Slowly, Deklan stood up and turned to the Alpha Ghost again—stumbling weakly in the process.

He was still far outclassed in terms of raw power, but that could change.

And he knew exactly what to do.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.