Chapter 28: Not Good?
[Chapter 27 Comment]
[Xinhuan: The weird symbol comment from earlier was an animated image comment. It seems, we are limited to text communication.]
…
The next day, Theo noticed a system notification informing him about the comment. He closed his eyes for a moment, processing the information. "Ah, I see. So it was a gif. Thank you for clarifying. Unfortunately, it seems our means of communication are limited."
As Theo was about to continue the conversation, the car came to a stop, and the driver informed him, "We've arrived, Sir."
Theo glanced to the side as he stepped out of the car. Above them was a clear blue sky, shining brightly without a cloud in sight. However, not far from their location, a stark contrast awaited—a dark sky filled with black clouds.
"Hmm? Is that...?" Theo raised his head, observing the phenomenon.
"Yes, when a Destroyer Rank Supernatural appears, they often cause small anomalies like that," Amara explained.
"I see. Well, it's time for my students to shine. So..." Theo looked at Maya, Li Wei, and Oliver. "You guys can ask the supervisor anything."
Maya eagerly raised her hand, seemingly unable to contain herself since the previous night. "Here, here! I'd like to know what kind of beings we are facing. I mean, I understand they are ghosts, but what kind? Just normal ghosts, souls from the past, or something else?"
"We currently have no information on that. However, we have observed a few skeletons emerging from the ground. We believe this ghost has the ability to summon souls," Amara replied.
"Like a necromancer, huh?" Oliver narrowed his eyes. "So, it seems we'll be fighting an army."
"I will cut them down," Li Wei stated firmly. "But before that, I need to clarify something. Since there are civilians involved, how do we identify them? How do we know if they haven't died yet?"
"The ghost can possess a human and spiritually kill them by engulfing their soul. However, to do that, they have to kill the physical body first... which means, they can only starve the person to death."
"What if the ghost makes the physical body stab itself?" Li Wei furrowed his brow.
"In this world, there are three types of afterlife: Euna, Luina, and Reona. Euna is where the peacefully departed souls go, while Luina is for those who died unjustly or on battlefields. Lastly, Reona is where bad people go after death. To answer your question, the scenario you described falls under Luina. In such a case, Luina would consume the soul, including the one possessing the body. Thus, a ghost wouldn't do that."
Maya raised her eyebrows. "So, they want the original souls to pass away peacefully by starving them to death? That way, only the original soul would move on?"
"Yes, if they devour the soul, Reona will consume the devouring soul. The supernatural beings in this world are aware of this fact. In fact, they are souls that somehow managed to escape Reona."
"Your Reona doesn't seem to have good security... sorry to say," Oliver commented, frowning.
"If you were to gather all the bad people in one place, it would create chaos. So, situations like this are bound to happen. Euna and Luina don't face this problem since they consist of good souls."
"I understand," Oliver nodded in understanding.
"Do you have any other questions?"
"Just one more thing. I want to confirm... if we encounter the possessed individuals, we will do our best not to kill them and only sever the connection with the bad soul. But what if we can't?"
"If the bad soul has completely merged with the person, there's nothing you can do other than kill them. If you can't separate them, but the situation hasn't reached that point yet, you can call for assistance. In fact, I will send one of my subordinates to accompany you and assess the situation."
"Understood," Li Wei nodded, then turned to Theo, who had been observing the horizon. "Teacher, are you going with us?"
"Of course," Theo replied, but his gaze remained fixed on the entrance of the village. Although they had barricaded the entrance and set up a barrier to isolate the area, it seemed they were encountering some difficulties. "But you should look that way."
"Hmm?" Everyone, including Li Wei, turned their heads to see several skeletons running towards the barrier.
"Huh?!" Amara widened her eyes in shock. "They're attacking the barrier? Does that mean the supernatural being has started advancing outside the village?"
Without hesitation, Amara hurried towards the barrier, where three individuals were protecting it. They wore different uniforms from Amara, long flowing robes adorned with sacred symbols. Underneath the robes, they wore fitted tunics with markings that enhanced their essence.
As ten skeletons approached, the three defenders took out talismans. The person on the right tossed a talisman that effortlessly passed through the barrier.
"Water stops them!" they shouted.
Water surged out of the talisman, flooding the road and washing away some of the skeletons. However, three of them managed to jump to the side and avoid the flood. Once the water receded, the three skeletons returned to the road and continued their approach.
The woman in the middle raised her glaive and wrapped a talisman around it. She infused her essence into the weapon, causing it to emit a faint golden light.
"On guard!" she exclaimed, leaping into the air and bringing her glaive down on one of the skeletons.
The skeleton attempted to grab the glaive but was shattered by the momentum and force of the strike, splitting in half. The woman then swung her glaive to the side, striking the second skeleton.
Meanwhile, the third skeleton leaped from behind, preparing to attack her from the rear.
The woman didn't even bother to look back. Just as the third person was about to throw a talisman to eliminate the last skeleton, a figure suddenly slipped past him, startling the man.
"Huh?!" The man looked at the person who had somehow breached the barrier and leaped towards the skeleton, swinging a blade and slicing through its skull.
"Hmm?" The woman realized that the attacker wasn't one of her comrades but someone else. She turned around, shocked to find a child standing beside her, pinning the skeleton to the ground with his foot. "Who...?"
"Li Wei, you can't just go charging in like that!" Maya scolded him, reprimanding his actions.
The woman turned to the side, noticing her superior and a few unfamiliar faces. These strangers seemed to be the group they had been waiting for.
"Nana!" Amara called out. "I've arrived."
The woman, referred to as Nana, nodded and quickly returned. "The situation is not looking good. It seems the supernatural beings have become more restless."
"They're here to investigate. And since the situation has escalated like this, I want them to accompany you during the investigation."
"I don't mind, but..." Nana looked at Theo and the others. The students' behavior could still be overlooked, but Theo's apparent lack of urgency made her question if this team was suitable.
"Regardless, it would be best if you go and explain the situation to them on the way. If things worsen, I will intervene," Amara instructed.
"Understood," Nana nodded, then greeted the group. "I'm Nana, a 2-Star Exorcist. Nice to meet you."
Theo pointed towards the students, indicating that they would be handling the situation. However, his attention was focused on what happened to the skeletons. He observed that when Li Wei killed one and Nana defeated the others, they turned to ashes.
"Hmm, I'm not talented in essence, but if I can borrow a talisman to use on my weapon, it would be great," Maya raised her hand, looking at Nana with anticipation.
Nana let out a sigh and took out five talismans. "Can you at least use a bit of essence to activate the talisman?"
"That should be fine for me. Besides, my robot uses essence as fuel," Maya replied, nodding, and moved towards Li Wei to inform him that she was ready.
Nana didn't know how to react, considering that the students seemed to be taking the situation a bit too lightly. Amara gestured for her to take care of them, leaving Nana with no choice but to accept her fate. She extended her hand and said, "Please follow me. I'll explain the situation briefly on the way."
"Let's go!" Maya exclaimed, pumping her fists. However, before they could collide with each other in their excitement, her exoskeleton materialized, enveloping only her arms with robotic parts. She attached the talismans to both arms.
Li Wei drew his sword and positioned it on his back like a Daoist, while Oliver retrieved a few grenades. Nana was quite startled that this group consisted only of kids, but since this was a joint mission aimed at nurturing future generations, she could only comply.
As they walked, Nana provided an explanation. "The skeletons you see over there are minions of our target. They form a skeleton and imbue it with a soul, enabling the skeleton to move like a normal person. The fact that the barrier is under attack indicates that our target will soon become active. Therefore, we need to eliminate our target before that happens."
Li Wei and Maya looked ahead at the skeletons that had been washed away by the water. It appeared that they had survived the flooding, prompting them to consider eliminating them once and for all.
"Wait, you can't recklessly charge at them!" Nana tried to stop them, assuming that the kids didn't know much about their job. However, it turned out she was completely wrong.
"Earth Sword Strike!" Li Wei muttered, waving his sword six times in rapid succession. Three skeletons were struck twice, causing the essence left by the sword to burst and shaking the ground beneath the skeletons. The skeletons died without being able to put up any resistance.
Not wanting to be outdone, Maya punched one of the skeletons with her robotic hands, which had been empowered by the talisman. The talisman wrapped her arms in a faint golden light, and the skeleton turned to ash after being struck.
Meanwhile, Oliver took out two safety boxes from his belongings and crushed them on top of the skeletons. Unfortunately, he didn't have any essence to attack them, so the skeletons remained unharmed.
In the end, Li Wei and Maya successfully dispatched the remaining skeletons with their attacks, completely annihilating the enemies.
Nana was left in awe, as she had not expected these kids to handle the skeletons with such ease. Although they didn't appear physically strong, the skeletons were as resilient as adult humans.
"Is there something wrong?" Maya tilted her head in confusion.
"I rush in when I know I can win a fight. If I can't, I become more cautious," Li Wei stated calmly.
"It's going to be dangerous from now on. The souls residing in those skeletons are not of the fighting type, but when you encounter them, the difficulty will skyrocket. They can even ambush or trap you," Nana warned.
Li Wei and Maya nodded in understanding, but Theo's expression changed upon hearing about the potential traps or ambushes set by the skeletons. He couldn't help but wear an awkward smile as he muttered, "That doesn't sound too good."
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone