Chapter 107: Joining Forces
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation
After unraveling all the enigmas, the trio was left with a singular, pressing issue: confronting the ghostly presence before them.
Their mission was straightforward. They were tasked to settle the paranormal disturbances that plagued Yellow Hill Village, ensuring they left unscathed in the process.
Whatever past disputes or hidden agendas they had among them faded into insignificance from the moment the apparition materialized. It was undeniable; the point of no return had been crossed.
“It’s halted its advance and seems hesitant to enter. How should we proceed?” Stretch murmured, his voice laden with apprehension.
Miles, with a solemn expression, had asserted his ghostly dominion over the entire house. He clearly delineated the village boundaries from the ancestral hall, using the main door as the dividing line.
But a man, drained of all color and blessed with striking features, stood eerily still at the threshold. His intentions were unclear – was he stationed there as a guardian, preventing anyone from fleeing? Or was he merely waiting? His unnerving stillness heightened their fears as they remained ignorant of the full extent of his terrifying capabilities. One fact was clear though: confronting this ghost alone was a death sentence. Yet, how this ghostly entity dispatched its victims remained an enigma, for no witness to its lethal methods lived to tell the tale.
“We should be asking Frank. His knowledge surpasses mine,” said Miles, shifting his gaze toward him.
Frank, too, had an unsettling pallor, his eyes devoid of vitality. Positioned next to the ghost, one could easily mistake them as kin; such was the chilling resemblance.
However, Frank responded with a hint of resignation, “I botched my initial mission, finding refuge in this ghostly coffin. It’s a marvel I’m still breathing. Had I any insights into this ghost’s nature, I’d have evaded its clutches and escaped long ago.”
Suspicion clouded Miles’s face. He found it hard to accept Frank’s narrative at face value. Having lingered in such perilous environs and having faced numerous ghostly encounters, Frank surely must’ve discerned certain behavioral traits of these entities. Perhaps he was just being reticent.
“It’s baffling how you ghost tamers operate,” Miles sighed heavily, feeling cornered.
If Frank feigned ignorance and Stretch was paralyzed by fear, and with the ghost sentry steadfastly blocking their way, the onus was on Miles to alter the status quo.
Without warning, the luminance in the ancestral hall began to fluctuate, giving way to a sinister, ruby-red glow. Miles had chosen to unveil his dominant ghost domain, no longer feeling the need to conceal his unique powers.
As the ruddy luminance enveloped the ancestral hall, it began to gently extend its reach, reminiscent of a radiant beam emanating from the confines of the house and tracing its path over the ground outside. Miles’s strategy was evident. He aspired to entice the ghost into his ghost domain. Should he succeed, this would grant him an avenue to discern the ghost’s strengths and perhaps even confine it.
“Stay alert,” Stretch interjected with an underlying tone of anxiety.
While Miles spearheaded the endeavor, Stretch, too, remained on high alert, ready to spring into action if the situation demanded.
In due course, the crimson radiance confronted the ghost. Yet, the entity remained impassive.
Given Miles’s past encounters with various ethereal beings, his ghost domain ought to have seamlessly ensnared the ghost. To his astonishment, the domain found its progress impeded, reminiscent of a stream thwarted by a boulder. It struggled to encompass the ghost and was compelled to reroute its trajectory. While the immediate vicinity bore the signature red sheen of Miles’s domain, the ghost’s stance remained untouched, indifferent to the encroaching crimson tide.
“Did the ghost domain fall short?” Miles questioned, a furrow evident on his brow.
Relying solely on his domain against this ghostly presence now seemed a miscalculation. This was yet another spirit that could negate the powers of his domain.
However, Miles’s endeavors had seemingly incited the apparition. The previously inert figure outside unexpectedly stirred. With calculated intent, it bridged the gap, treading onto the domain’s red threshold.
The scene unfurling before him was eerily reminiscent of an encounter with an elderly woman from his past. Just as she had boldly ventured into his domain, this entity did the same. However, a stark contrast arose. Whereas the elderly woman’s entry was benign, this ghost’s foray disrupted the equilibrium of Miles’s domain. Suddenly, Miles found himself divested of his control over the realm.
“This can’t be!”
His eyes widened in terror as he beheld the ghost, which now stood defiantly within his domain. Far from being ensnared, it appeared to have destabilized the very fabric of the realm.
“Miles, your powers didn’t subdue it?” Stretch, sensing imminent peril, urgently questioned.
The ghost, undeterred and resolute, penetrated deeper into the ancestral hall, instilling a palpable sense of dread in its three inhabitants.
At this juncture, the crimson luminescence that Miles had cast over the house appeared to be faltering under immense pressure, hinting at an imminent threat of it waning into obscurity.
“The ambiance is unsettling. We must be vigilant. This might well be the most formidable ghost we’ve ever crossed paths with since our initiation as ghost tamers,” Miles articulated as a sheen of cold sweat betraying his anxiety.
The menacing ghost was drawing near, and escape seemed an elusive dream.
“We’ve no choice but to confront it,” declared Stretch, his voice laced with determination, teeth gritted in defiance.
“Very well, united we stand,” Miles responded fiercely.
“I’m on board,” Frank concurred with a firm nod.
In the throes of overpowering dread, a seemingly irrational impulse drove Stretch to take the lead. As he lunged forward with a steely glare, a shocking revelation came to light. The attire on his back was abruptly torn asunder, exposing a chilling sight.
Emblazoned on his bare skin was the ghastly depiction of a man, brutally disfigured and dripping with crimson. He appeared to have been flayed alive. The sheer realism of the tattoo was unnerving, creating the illusion of a genuine person shadowing him as if bound to him in an eerie dance. The sheer malevolence of the design could induce chills in the bravest of souls.
This was the inaugural instance where Miles had the opportunity to closely observe Stretch’s back tattoo.
When Stretch invoked the ghostly force of the tapestry, a harrowing transformation ensued. The lifeless figure embossed on his skin eerily sprung to life. Blood seeped from the inking, and in a grotesque twist, a blood-soaked limb thrust outward from Stretch’s back, clenching his flesh. The ensuing agony contorted Stretch’s face.
But that was merely the prelude. Another hand, equally drenched, soon emerged.
With both arms protruding, followed by its head and torso, it seemed as though the malevolent spirit from the tattoo was on the verge of fully liberating itself.
However, the ghostly entity didn’t fully extricate itself. Its upper half remained outside while its legs were still ensnared within the ink. It hinted that the spirit might attain full manifestation the next time Stretch unleashed this uncanny force.
This half-liberated, blood-soaked ghost clung to Stretch’s back like a nightmarish appendage. But as the ghost outside sought to approach the coffin, Stretch, bearing this grotesque burden, hastily intervened.
The previously dormant entity stirred. Raising its bloodied visage, it extended its dripping arms, ensnaring the approaching spirit, thereby arresting its movement.
Almost as if choreographed, Frank, who had until now been on the periphery, surged into action. With each deliberate step echoing his determination, he made a beeline towards the ominous ghost. His eyes, typically void of emotion and seemingly distant, were now aflame with a fierce determination that overshadowed any hint of trepidation.
Not to be left behind, Miles too instantly girded himself for the looming confrontation.
Emerging from what seemed like a mere shadow cast on the terrain, a ghostly figure devoid of a head sprang to life. Moving with an uncanny agility, it sought to flank the enemy ghost. Its purpose was unmistakable: to deliver a decisive blow, aiming for the ghost’s head, thereby neutralizing the threat it posed.
The synchronized onslaught of the trio seemed to catch the ghost off guard. Its once palpable aura of superiority was now being overshadowed by the united resistance it faced.
In this palpably charged atmosphere, the ghost’s forward motion came to a sudden and unexpected standstill.