Sender: Kieron Branduff
Message: Leciara, where did you go without me?
Leci locked her phone screen after reading Kieron's message. Just those words alone were enough to make her waver.
And yet, she was already standing before Liadan Mansion — the cursed, ancient building Fianna had told her about. She had come with Norris and Jayden, fellow Exorcists. Together, the three of them should have been more than enough to face whatever haunted this place.
The mansion lay far from the school, even more remote than Leci's family residence. Hidden deep within dense wilderness and jagged mountains, they had been forced to walk a long distance through the forest before finally reaching it.
True to its name — Liadan Mansion — the structure was an abandoned relic from the colonial era. Its old European architecture only amplified the oppressive aura that clung to it.
"I can't believe there's a building like this here," Norris muttered, hands on his hips as he stared at the mansion. The white paint on its walls had long since peeled away, replaced by moss and creeping vines. Wild grass choked the front yard in thick, untamed clusters.
"Liadan Mansion… does this belong to the Liadan family?" Leci murmured, scanning her surroundings. "What kind of story could turn it into this?"
The place was silent. Filthy. Drenched in a suffocating sense of dread.
Every abandoned building carried a history. Every ruin was accompanied by a story. And Leci was certain this one held something deeply unsettling.
Only Jayden seemed to know the truth. His expression darkened the moment they arrived. "There is a grim story," he said quietly. "This place used to be the headquarters of a cult."
It's only just begun—why does the air already feel so heavy? Leci shuddered inwardly. She had expected murder, perhaps. But this was far worse. A cult meant rituals. Sacrifices. Countless restless spirits bound to this massive structure.
Her unease sharpened. Something inside the mansion was watching.
"Cults are always tied to demon worship and human sacrifices," Norris added, his enthusiasm visibly deflating. They hadn't even stepped inside yet, and already his confidence was crumbling. Alone, he would never have come here.
Jayden nodded as he cleared away the overgrown brush with his iron staff — its branch-like tip adorned with small bells, a spiritual weapon used to purge corrupted spirits. "That's right. There are many wandering souls here—victims of those sacrifices. They're trapped between the human world and the other side, waiting to be purified."
"If we defeat the Evil Spirit controlling this place and cleanse all those wandering ghosts," Norris said, gripping his long sword glowing with a mystic aura, "we'll be hailed as heroes."
Leci exhaled sharply before scoffing. "You're seventeen and still dreaming about being a hero? How childish."
Norris flushed crimson. "Shut up! Men don't age out of imagination!"
That only made Leci grimace harder. She stared at him as if he'd just been forced to eat something rotten. "He admits it without shame," she muttered — loud enough to sting.
"All right, enough," Jayden cut in quickly, sensing their argument spiraling. "We're here to deal with whatever haunts this mansion."
Fortunately, Leci was willing to compromise. She drew her golden dagger and helped Jayden clear the remaining brush. With a resigned sigh, Norris joined in as well.
After more than ten minutes of clearing the path, they finally reached the mansion's front terrace.
Just standing before the entrance made their chests tighten. The dark aura was so dense it felt fused with the very air.
Unbeknownst to them, the building was far more dangerous than they realized. One wrong step — and it could cost them their lives.
Click…
No one touched the doorknob. They stood several steps away. Yet the rotting wooden door creaked open on its own, revealing utter chaos inside.
An overwhelming sense of dread washed over them. The darkness pressed down mercilessly, draining their courage.
"Is this place even safe?" Leci whispered, glancing between Norris and Jayden. "Shouldn't we be doing this with adults?"
This was the first time she had ever felt true fear while facing the supernatural. For reasons she couldn't explain, her mind returned to four years ago — the night her parents died. Back then, she had felt a chill eerily similar to this one.
Both boys nodded in unison. "You're right. Let's leave," Norris said after swallowing hard.
"This is something that should involve the entire clan," Jayden agreed, already turning back.
Hwaaaar—
Drag—
"Wuuuaakh!"
Leci didn't know what happened. It was too fast for her eyes to follow. She only remembered falling — and being dragged violently into the mansion by something unseen.
"Leciara!" Norris and Jayden shouted, rushing after her without hesitation.
BLAM!
The door slammed shut behind them, trapping them inside. Before either of them could react, a massive black figure emerged — long-haired, horned, its enormous hand clamped tightly around Leci's body.
It grinned, sharp eyes gleaming. A predator that had found its prey. "Human… a human is here… aaaah…"
Its mouth stretched wide, rows of jagged teeth exposed, ready to devour her whole.
They had misjudged this place. This was no ordinary Evil Spirit. It was a demon — once worshiped by the cult. A creature that had consumed countless human sacrifices.
Leci trembled violently. Four years had passed, and this was the second time she had seen a demon. A being far crueler than any corrupted spirit. The very kind that had taken her parents' lives.
Terror flooded her mind, paralyzing her body. This fear was worse than anything she had ever endured.
She had never wished to see a demon again. Yet here she was — at the edge of its monstrous maw.
If only I had gone with Mr. Kieron…
If she hadn't been arrogant. If she hadn't been swayed by Fianna. None of this would have happened.
Cring! Cring!
Jayden swung his staff, the bells ringing sharply as spiritual energy surged through every corner of the mansion. The demon froze, its grip faltering.
"Now, Norris!" Jayden shouted.
Already on the second floor, Norris leapt down onto the demon's arm, plunging his spiritual sword deep into its flesh.
"Let her go, Leciara!"
Their teamwork worked. The demon released her. Norris caught Leci immediately, pulling her back toward Jayden near the entrance.
Without wasting a second, Jayden began chanting, shaking his staff toward the door in an attempt to break the seal imprisoning them.
"Hehehe… humans are truly foolish," the demon rasped, watching the three teenagers cornered like rats. Its gaze lingered on Leci — her eyes vacant, her mind shattered by shock.
The air inside Liadan Mansion suddenly felt impossible to breathe. Leci heard nothing anymore. Norris's shouts. Jayden's chants. The demon's laughter.
All of it sank into silence, as if the world itself had closed its ears.
Only her heartbeat remained — wild, irregular, pounding violently against her chest. Her vision blurred. Light and shadow swirled together like water endlessly stirred.
Her body felt light. Too light. As though it no longer belonged to her.
Cold crept from the nape of her neck, sliding down her spine, spreading through every nerve. Not an ordinary cold. A cold that recognized her. The same cold from four years ago.
Her breath hitched. In the darkness behind her closed eyes, something stirred. Not the horned demon. Something quieter. More insidious.
A whisper seeped into her mind — not in words, but in emotion. Fear. Anger. Regret. Unhealed wounds. All of it was pried open, like a door ripped from its hinges.
Leci wanted to scream. To fight back. But her body no longer responded.
Her consciousness was pulled backward, like a tide dragging her into the deep. Deeper. Darker. Farther from the surface.
The last thing she saw was Norris's pale face — Jayden calling her name in panic — and then everything collapsed.
Silence.
And within that emptiness, something smiled. A foreign soul — one that had waited a very long time — had finally found its opening.
Leci's consciousness faded. And her body… was no longer entirely hers.