Séraphine felt pretty cool at that moment. However, she soon had to lean on the hallway wall because the room began to spin, and a terrible headache hit her.
Her body was covered in sweat, and she felt like throwing up. She resisted the urge, though, because she didn't want to ruin her expensive dress or give others the impression that she was sick.
"I used so many spells in a row. Now, washing future stains out of these dresses will be tedious..." Séraphine was uncomfortable at this point because these discomforts were a consequence of her previous actions.
Her previous display of casting spells easily did not come without consequence. At least she had experience with this situation. With trembling hands, she pulled a jar out of her hat.
Inside the jar were small, red spheres. She put one in her mouth. Soon, she felt a warm sensation rise from her abdomen and spread through her body. However, it was different from the embracing feeling of the aether.
The symptoms did not disappear; they were impossible to avoid because they were a direct consequence of using magic. However, the pill made her feel slightly more comfortable, preventing her from showing more reactions on the outside because she had an appearance to maintain.
Under the light of the sphere created by her spell, she leaned her back gently against the wall. Her somewhat agitated breathing calmed down as the warm sensation in her body disappeared, leaving only a distant memory.
"By Mother Light, if that bribe isn't good enough, I'll sell the news to those reporters," Séraphine muttered, trying to clear her dulled mind due to mental exhaustion.
After ensuring that she could walk without staggering, she approached the Spirit Servant's body, wrinkling her nose at the foul odor of the creature's spiritual energy dissipating in the atmosphere.
"What a horrible smell of shit and decay..." Séraphine tried her best to ignore the smell, but she could never get accustomed to the horrible stench of corrupted spiritual energy. It was simply incompatible with the earthly plane.
Perhaps due to the side effects of using so much magic, the nausea she had been trying to contain worsened, and she reflexively closed her mouth and covered her lips with one hand.
'Luckily, I'm alone. How embarrassing,' thought Séraphine, embarrassed but happy to be alone.
After relaxing again, she examined the Spiritual Servant's body more closely and noticed the slow degradation of the corpse into spiritual energy.
A dripping sound, seemingly coming from nowhere, indicated the seepage of spiritual energy into the physical plane. Although this energy remained invisible unless certain methods were used, Séraphine could sense its consequences in the atmosphere.
The air grew thinner. The shadows cast by the sphere of light created by her spell lengthened strangely and twisted, as if they had taken on a life of their own. The worst thing, however, was the coldness that came from an environment charged with this energy.
Séraphine felt as if she were entering an icy cellar. Even the heat generated by the flow of aether in her body seemed to diminish in this increasingly cold environment, causing her to hiss in discomfort.
Among so many unpleasant things, however, Séraphine identified some useful things, such as the beginning of the corruption of this place, which seemed to have started long before the death of the Spiritual Servant. This gave the witch an idea.
"Bingo! Mom will have something to do next. If that rich guy wants to clean this mansion, he'll have to pay me. I don't think he'll trust the charlatan who summoned this thing if he's still alive!" The green eyes of Séraphine sparkled with excitement as she considered the prospect of a new business opportunity.
However, she didn't want the corruption to worsen significantly, as she didn't want to deal with the potential inconveniences that might arise. Despite still feeling the physical discomfort of using magic, she prepared a special spell. Before casting it, she looked at the creature's face.
"A standard Spirit Servant, just badly summoned... What a pity," she said, confirming that this being was exactly what she thought: simply a generic Spirit Servant. It was not special in any way.
"If you were a specific variant, this encounter wouldn't be so simple," Séraphine said, recalling the variants of Spirit Servants she had seen and experienced.
One type is usually summoned to care for children and resembles an old woman. These are referred to as 'Nurturers.' Séraphine was cared for by one of these as a child.
A small smile appeared on Séraphine's face as she reminisced about her childhood. Spiritual energy could be corrupting when free in the earthly world, but spiritual entities were not inherently evil; many were kind.
She still remembered the taste of chocolate and the cinnamon smell of the cakes that the Nurse summoned by her teacher, Lady Osmond, would prepare for her after each training session. Just the memory made her mouth water.
For this reason, Séraphine looked at the corpse of the creature she had killed with apprehension. However, the excitement of having found a promising business opportunity was still there, albeit diluted.
"If you had controlled yourself and not devoured those souls, I wouldn't have attacked you. I would have sent you back to your world," Séraphine said with a somewhat sad tone. This time, she looked at the open eyes of the corpse on the ground to explain her actions.
At that moment, however, something bit the corpse's hand, causing a piece of it to disappear. This forced Séraphine to activate her ability, Vision. This time, her eyes did not shine metaphorically; due to the use of her ability, her green eyes emitted a slight glow.
She then saw the culprit, Musu. The little white cat constantly bit the corpse's hand. Instead of dark blood coming out, the flesh disappeared as the cat bit it.
"You're too greedy, Musu. Though it saves me energy to send its body to the spirit world," Séraphine complained as she watched the cat wait for her to defeat the Spirit Servant before feasting.
"I saw you having a dramatic moment full of memories and deep dialogue. I'm hungry," the cat said in her childish voice before biting off a piece of the creature's corpse.
"You!" Séraphine growled, pursing her lips as she felt her cheeks heat up. If she were white-skinned, she would surely be as red as a tomato.
The cat lifted her head, stopping her eating slightly, and looked at Séraphine with her golden eyes. Having seen something only she could see, Musu sat down and licked one of her front paws.
"Humans are so complicated. If you're hungry, you eat. Why so much nonsense? You killed him because he wanted to kill you. That's how things work. Stop having internal dramas. In a week, you'll forget his face and features.
Why go to so much trouble to speak to a corpse? Do you do the same with all your prey? How can one live like this? Humans are so unnecessarily complicated." Musu's words made Séraphine, who had wanted to keep talking, fall silent.
"I don't know why I'm meditating on the words of a strange cat," Séraphine muttered before shaking her head, putting her hands on her dress, lifting it, and crouching in front of the corpse.
"I read that cats are sociopaths. It seems they are," Séraphine joked. This caused Musu to give her a sidelong glance before biting into the creature's flesh again.
"We're not making life complicated, that's all," the cat said before taking two more bites of the carcass. Feeling full, she walked to Séraphine's side and lay down near the woman's feet, enjoying her warmth.
"Are you sure you want to expel this corpse into the spirit world? You're on a dangerous edge right now. What you need is a good rest and some sunlight," Musu advised Séraphine in a lazy tone from having eaten well. Séraphine shook her head.
"You don't understand. I need to demonstrate my competence in this area and also create chaos so that they'll hire me to address the mild spiritual corruption in this place.
I'm not good at these kinds of rituals, but I can perform the expulsion spell. Then, I'll perform a simple cleansing ritual on this place and collect a big paycheck." Séraphine pointed to the floor where the Spirit Servant's corpse lay, proving her point.
Instead of common construction-zone ground, the area the witch pointed to had a scaly texture, as if it were the outside of a huge reptile. Additionally, through her vision, she could see small waves of red energy spreading to the surroundings and subtly altering the environment.
"Greed is a sin, Séraphine," Musu said seriously, but her childish tone still made the witch smile.
"But money allows you to buy whatever you want, like expensive fish. So, if I make money, maybe I can offer you some." Séraphine's answer seemed to shock Musu a little. Even her tail, which she had been waving absentmindedly, stiffened.
"Lady Osmond says that, too, but never mind. Do your thing. I'll get that expensive fish in the future." Musu dodged Séraphine's mischievous hand, turned away from the witch, and looked at her with her large golden eyes.
Then, her figure distorted and gradually blended in with the surroundings. Several words lingered after her absence.
"It seems Lady Osmond underestimated her influence on you..." That simple sentence sent a chill down Séraphine's spine. She had a vague feeling that she could feel her teacher's purple eyes on her at all times, despite their separation.
She looked around with her active vision, but could find no trace of Musu or her teacher. Only strange creatures curious about her came closer to observe her.
There was a strange, golden-haired dog whose mouth was full of black tentacles, and an ordinary-looking marten that walked on its hind legs and held a cigarette. Seeing these creatures was normal for Séraphine, but they always awed her, as if she could never adjust to the strange things she could glimpse with her Vision.
"Yes... That's it." After gently stroking the dog's fur, Séraphine deactivated her Vision when the dog tried to bite her hand.
This soured her mood, so she turned her attention back to the corpse on the ground. This time, her countenance was serious, and she was fully focused. She knew what she was about to do was unnecessary, but her greed and perhaps some hidden personal motivations drove her next actions.
Rather than a ritual, Séraphine performed a complicated series of gestures constituting an expulsion or banishment spell. She controlled the vibration of her soul at different frequencies, bringing forth aether from the depths of her soul.
This blue-toned, warm energy flowed through her body, exacerbating her symptoms, causing her eyes to water, and triggering nosebleeds. However, she couldn't stop; it was impossible unless she wanted to suffer further damage or die.
"Okay, only four gestures. The first one was..." said Séraphine, who pursed her lips. Hearing her voice served as a mental guide.
The first gesture consisted of placing her right index finger on her glabella. This caused the aether to leave her body and float in front of her. This gesture allowed her to create a fog of energy that enabled her to detect certain things or entities, though she could not identify them.
As she made this gesture, her eyelids felt heavier, but she struggled to keep them open. She also felt an abnormal urge to scratch her face, but resisted as she made the next gesture.
The second gesture was similar to wrapping a person in a sheet; it guided the aether to cover the spiritual corpse's body. The clash between the aether and the spiritual energy seeping from the corpse caused Séraphine to tighten her control, further draining her mental energy.
The blue energy and the invisible spiritual energy reacted as if hot oil were mixed with water: jets of energy splashed out, and Séraphine was careful to avoid them. However, the floor and walls were filled with small holes from the 'droplets' shooting out.
Clicks similar to the crackling of flames came from the energy shock, which caused flashes of purple electricity to run through the Spirit Servant's corpse, causing it to lose much of its integrity.
Under normal conditions, this gesture would cover things with aether. However, due to its reaction with the first gesture, it covered the corpse like a blanket. This caused a spectacular response to unfold before the witch's eyes.
By this time, her head was throbbing with excruciating pain, causing her to groan slightly. Her crouching posture shifted to kneeling on the ground as she felt the corrupted scales clashing against her skin. Luckily, nothing else happened except for the unpleasant sensation.
The third gesture was to bring her palms together in a prayerful position. This caused the aether she controlled to fluctuate, briefly overpowering the spiritual energy and causing the corpse to glow blue.
Séraphine knew the purpose of this gesture: to calm aggrieved souls, commonly known as ghosts. She was accustomed to this gesture because of her line of work. Still, she was cautious when performing it because doing it wrong could result in terrible consequences, including physical and mental harm.
It made you a magnet for spectral entities for a while. Séraphine experienced this firsthand when she had to use the gesture for the first time on one of her first missions. Let's say the witch didn't like waking up next to a ghost that constantly watched her.