The cold white charm splashed across her face at the same moment Lumian quickly recited an incantation.
It ignited instantly.
Her face began to distort, like colors melting under heat, but before Lumian could press further, she abruptly vanished.
Lumian immediately became alert. In that brief moment, he had caught a clearer glimpse of the ghost's appearance.
It was in fact, Quin, James wife.
That woman… I didn't know she wasn't even human. I thought it was just a domestic dispute—not something supernatural.
Kacha!
The painting in front of him suddenly crashed to the ground with a loud noise.
In the next instant, the ghost—now completely exposed and distorted—charged straight at Lumian.
Lumian reacted immediately, rolling sideways onto the floor. The attack missed by a hair's breadth as the ghost slammed into the wall behind him and vanished through it.
Without hesitation, Lumian drew his gun. He removed his bullets, sprinkled some of the charm's powder onto it, then loaded them back in place.
He stood up again, breathing steady, fully alert.
...
Swoo! Swoo!
The ghostly figure suddenly emerged from Lumian's left side.
Without hesitation, Lumian raised his gun and fired.
Bang! Bang!
At the same time, he recited another incantation.
Immediately, the bullets in midair ignited, flames wrapping around them as they accelerated and struck the ghost directly.
The woman screamed in pain as fire spread across her form—but in the very next second, her body cracked like glass, and she vanished once more.
For about three seconds, there was silence. Then her figure reappeared again, this time sweeping past Lumian in a blur.
...
Immediately, Lumian found himself back in his room, sitting upright on the bed and holding his white blanket.
Wait… was I just dreaming? Seems like I'm really having a long day.
At the same time, he felt a strange sense of calm and stillness.
He looked around and noticed a mark on his table that hadn't been there before.
Only then, did he realize he was asleep, yes, he was dreaming!
With that realization, he forcefully shattered the dream state.
At that exact moment, the ghost suddenly materialized a dagger and lunged to stab him.
Seeing this, Lumian immediately jumped upward. While still in mid-air, he fired.
Bang!
The charm-infused bullet shot forward at high speed, and pierced through her spiritual form, forcibly anchoring it to reality.
Lumian landed lightly on the couch. To be honest, he was doing his best not to damage someone else's house—he would clean up the mess later.
The woman's figure flickered, revealing her long slender legs for an instant, before shattering again like glass.
Hmm… what just happened back there? It feels like she influenced my perception… wait… that means she might be from the Indulgence Order. An order that makes people indulge in what she wishes.
He pushed off the couch and stood up, becoming alert once more.
...
There was a long silence once more, as the ghost did not appear again.
Lumian quickly checked his chamber and realized he only had five white engraved bullets left.
He snapped it shut.
A strange calmness suddenly washed over him—similar to the feeling he had in the dream earlier—but this time, it felt like it was settling into his ears.
Then a voice echoed in his mind.
"Lumian, watch out. She's coming from above, aiming for your head."
Hearing this, Lumian immediately blurred backward.
At the same moment, the ghost descended from the ceiling, dagger aimed directly downward.
Lumian reacted instantly, raising his gun and firing.
Bang!
But in the same motion, the ghost passed through the ground, and the bullet struck the wall where her head had been a moment ago.
She reappeared behind him almost instantly and swept past once more.
This time, a strange sensation spread through Lumian's mind—laziness, heaviness, a desire to stop fighting.
His body relaxed against his will.
For a brief moment, he felt it was pointless to continue. It would be easier to just lie down on the couch and say the job was done.
But just as his consciousness began to fade, he noticed something.
Wait… she's always drifting past me. That means she's not stabilizing in one position.
And I haven't actually fallen asleep yet… meaning her influence isn't fully taking effect.
She's probably around Phase 8… that's why my resistance still holds.
And the fact she always passes through me at close range means her ability has a distance condition—she likely needs proximity to apply influence.
She's still very nearby.
With that realization, Lumian forcibly suppressed the drowsiness.
Relying on his diviner intuition, he snapped his aim to the right.
Bang!
...
The ghost shattered once more, but Lumian didn't linger. He immediately rushed up the stairs.
The reason was simple—he had realized something.
The ghost was appearing everywhere at once and constantly shattering. Normally, if it were a single entity, it would have already shown signs of exhaustion or confusion. Yet this one remained energetic, coordinated, and even strategic.
That could only mean one thing.
It wasn't a single ghost.
It was a clone-based entity.
As he climbed, several ghostly figures suddenly appeared in front of him.
Lumian used his acrobatic movement to dodge through them, refusing to let any of them slow him down.
Damn it… but why does this family have such a long staircase... he complained inwardly while continuing upward at full speed.
At certain points, he even encountered ghosts that simply waved, smiled, or blew kisses at him.
Ignoring them completely, he pressed on. Eventually, he reached an intersection filled with multiple doors.
He paused.
There was no way the enemy would simply wait for him to choose calmly.
Without hesitation, he spoke inwardly. Eidolon… I don't know which way to go. Left or right?
They was silence, as Lumian continued. Answer me. You do know if I die, you die too, right?
There was a short pause, till the honeyed and smooth voice replied. Wait a second. Do you think this is easy? I have to extend my spirituality and search through multiple locations… the honeyed voice said with slight irritation.
After a few seconds, it finally spoke again.
The door at the third left from your position.
Lumian nodded immediately and pushed the door open without delay.
As he stepped inside, a faint sweet aroma hit him.
Soft lantern light glowed in the darkness.
In front of him, the woman was seated on a chair—slumped, completely exposed in her posture, drool spilling from her mouth.
She appeared to be in a deeply "satisfied" and unnatural state of pleasure.
...
Lumian froze.
For a moment, his mind went completely blank. He didn't even notice when his pistol slipped from his hand and hit the floor.
Seeing the ghost before had been one thing—but seeing her like this, in person, disrupted his thoughts entirely.
With this, Lumian finally understood something. Wait… I think I understand now. She's… a narcissist. She's enjoying me killing her clones.
At that moment, the ghost stirred. She groggily opened her eyes, and for a brief second, she and Lumian exchanged confused glances.
Then, immediately after that, she completely vanished.
Lumian snapped back to himself and immediately bent down, grabbing his pistol.
In the next instant, the ghost—Quin—reappeared and screamed a word in the ancient language of Pteron.
"Moon!"
The temperature in the room plummeted.
White silhouettes began drifting through the air, carried by a violent, howling wind.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Lumian became vigilant once again, as his expression changed. It seems I miscalculated... To be able to "indulge" spirits, she has to be phase seven or higher.
The drifting silhouettes gathered together, their laughter echoing eerily as the cold intensified.
Frost immediately crept into the air.
Lumian's body began to tremble uncontrollably.
He was freezing, and on the verge of collapse.
His thoughts scattered as he desperately searched for a solution, but nothing came.
In his final attempts, he finally came up with something desperate. Wait, she's a narcissist right? I bet... If i... fire she won't even dodge.
With trembling hands, Lumian raised his pistol. His vision blurred, but he forced himself to aim.
With the last of his strength—
Bang!
...
Bam—kacha!
The white, intricately engraved bullet shot forward and struck the woman.
Lumian, on the other hand, dropped to his knees. His strength was completely drained—he didn't even know whether the attack had worked.
Without thinking, he began reciting the incantation again.
"Ah!"
A sharp, piercing shriek suddenly echoed through the room.
The scream lingered for a moment before suddenly shifting.
"Yes… yes… yes… yes!!!"
Hearing those words, Lumian's mouth twitched.
He was far too exhausted to react. Instead, he simply lay down on the floor and covered his ears.
At the same time, the frost coating the room began to melt. The howling winds faded, and the drifting spirits gradually dissipated into nothingness.
The ghost's voice continued, repeating "yes" over and over again, making Lumian visibly uncomfortable even as he tried to block it out.
Oh, Skywalker… what are the neighbors even going to think of this noise…
After a few more seconds, the voice rose into one final scream—
"Ah!"
As soon as those screams echoed, the room immediately fell into deep silence.
Lumian slowly removed his hands from his ears.
A gentle warmth spread through his body, easing his exhaustion and restoring his strength.
He exhaled deeply.
Turning his head, he realized he was in the master bedroom.
He scanned the area carefully, searching for any trace of the ghost. Activating his mystic eyes, he examined every corner.
There was not presence, no residue, nothing at all.
Letting out a long sigh of relief, Lumian slowly pushed himself to his feet.
...
Lumian smiled faintly and began to walk around the room, softly chanting an incantation:
"Clean hands, clear mind, quiet heart.
All that harms, now fall apart.
What is not love, let it depart.
I am whole. I make new start."
...
As the final words left his lips, a subtle calm settled over the room.
He moved efficiently, heading to each room in turn, repeating the same process—purifying, stabilizing, cleansing.
Minutes passed.
When he finally came back downstairs, he tidied the area, ensuring everything was in order. The lingering traces of the supernatural had completely faded.
Satisfied, Lumian bent down, picked up his candles, and gently blew out the flames before placing them back into his bag.
With that, Lumian stood up, hanged his bag, as was just about to turn towards the door.
But immediately, he paused, as he felt a cold hand rest on his shoulder.
Lumian slowly turned his head.
Standing behind him, was the ghost Quin, But this time, she was dressed.
She no longer radiated that chaotic, distorted presence from before. Instead, she seemed… calm. Almost normal.
Quin tilted her head slightly, as if trying to recall something. She paused for a moment, thinking.
Then she looked at him and asked, in genuine confusion:
"I forgot to ask, why were we actually fighting?"