Think of it as being bait for a while. The evil spirit needs something to focus on, or it will try to leave this room. It’s okay. Repeating this to herself, Satin calmed her pounding heart.

“Madam, are you really alright?”

“I told you, I’m fine.”

Larie kept sniffling and calling out to Satin. Satin hunched her shoulders and squeezed herself under the reflected light. The evil spirit crept closer to Satin, waiting for an opportunity. The dried blood from the stableman stained her hand in a dark color.

The light flickered here and there. With no way of knowing when or where the evil spirit might attack, she could only remain endlessly vigilant. The image of the evil spirit tearing into human flesh kept surfacing in her mind. If she showed even a moment of weakness, she would be its next prey.

“Go away! Get away!”

She shouted, pushing it back. The evil spirit crossed the shadows like stepping stones. Every time the lantern brushed against the evil spirit, a sharp stench hit her nose. The angered evil spirit clung to Satin, then retreated to catch its breath. It stayed in one place for a while, not moving.

Satin glared at the evil spirit.

What are you planning?

The evil spirit stepped back. Just as Satin had retreated to lure it, now the evil spirit seemed to be luring her. Satin knelt and observed its movements.

Even from a short distance away, the darkness thickened, making it easy to lose sight of the evil spirit. Satin looked in the direction the evil spirit was retreating and suddenly felt a chill. There was a window hidden by curtains on the opposite wall.

Is it trying to escape that way? How do I stop it?

The curtains fluttered. Satin stood up in a panic. Thud, the window rattled. Thud, thud, thud. After a few shakes, the window suddenly flew open. Satin gasped in shock.

I thought all the windows were locked?

Realizing the oversight, she cursed inwardly. This was a room they hadn’t used since that day, and the servants must have forgotten to check the windows.

Escape.

She stood up in horror, then suddenly sat back down as realization struck her. The black form rushed toward Satin.

It wasn’t trying to escape.

The wind brought by the evil spirit hit Satin’s entire body. The lantern’s flame went out, plunging the room into darkness. There wasn’t a single speck of light to protect her. Everywhere was the evil spirit’s playground. The breath of the blood-stained evil spirit brushed against her face.

At that moment, only one name filled her mind.

“Aaah! Rublier!”

As her scream echoed, a figure burst through the open window with a dull crash. The glass shattered with a sharp sound, and a blade gleamed, slashing at the black form that was about to pounce on Satin. The sharpness, the decisiveness, the reliability made Satin cover her mouth and catch her breath. The tears she had been holding back threatened to spill.

“Satin, are you hurt?”

Rublier’s breath was rough as he leaped through the window from his horse. Satin whimpered.

“I’ve been waiting so long, why did you only come now!”

“I shouldn’t have left you today, damn it…”

Rublier cursed softly. The form wrapped around his sword slipped into the gaps between the walls and the floor. The evil spirit moved fluidly. It could fly, crawl, and hide.

“Satin, stay hidden and don’t come out.”

Following Rublier’s instructions, Satin scooted backward and crawled under the vanity. Her back hit the hard wall. As she tried to watch Rublier and the evil spirit, she bumped her head on the low ceiling. The pain reverberated through her bones, making her cry out.

“Ouch!”

“What’s wrong, are you hurt? Did that thing do something to you?”

Rublier asked urgently.

“I’m not hurt. I’m fine.”

Satin lowered herself to the floor and secured her view. In the brief moment she had lost sight of it, she couldn’t tell where the evil spirit had gone. Crawling on the floor, she felt a chill on the back of her neck and raised her upper body. If it was on the floor, this position was very dangerous.

“Rublier, the evil spirit can hide in shadows. It can suddenly jump out, grab your feet from below… Above!”

The darkness pooled on the ceiling suddenly fell. Satin screamed. His long sword, anticipating its move, blocked the evil spirit’s path. The evil spirit, avoiding the sword, turned towards Satin’s hiding place. Rublier wouldn’t let it go. He immediately pierced the evil spirit’s body with his sword. Pinned down, the evil spirit stopped.

Oh. Satin’s mouth fell open.

Is it done? Did we catch it?

“Rublier!”

The evil spirit, drenched in the night’s moisture, suddenly shot up. It moved swiftly, as if it hadn’t just been pierced. Satin muttered in despair.

“It’s no use.”

“We need to tear it apart completely.”

Rublier replied coldly, seizing the opportunity and slashing sharply with his sword. The evil spirit, split by the sharp light, hissed. But the torn parts soon rejoined. This time, she saw it clearly. It was a perfect restoration. Rublier’s sword relentlessly drove the evil spirit, but it was like cutting through fog; it didn’t inflict a mortal wound.

“My god…”

The evil spirit spread its body like the night’s veil, wrapping around the sword. If a Paladin’s sword was a symbol of the Pope’s power, the evil spirit seemed like a banner wielded by a demon. It’s as if it was showing off, saying the legend that had long vanished still remained.

The sword repeatedly pushed the evil spirit back, cutting its body. If it had been a normal beast with flesh and bones, it would have died several times over. But it’s fog-like body had no flesh or bones, so the sword’s strikes only disrupted its movement temporarily.

Rublier clicked his tongue.

“Do we need to tear it into many pieces?”

Satin followed the evil spirit’s tail with anxious eyes.

Will that work? If it could die that way, wouldn’t it have died already? How do we catch that thing?

Even if it was torn by the sword and survived, fire…

Satin’s head shot up.

“Rublier. Buy me some time.”

Right, if the sword wasn’t enough, they needed to use fire. Satin pulled out the drawer of the vanity and overturned it. The miscellaneous items inside rolled out. Satin crawled, feeling around the floor.

Without questioning her request for time, Rublier blocked the evil spirit from approaching Satin. He didn’t even ask what she was doing, perhaps to avoid breaking her concentration. Thanks to this, she could focus solely on her task without worrying about the evil spirit.

A lace mat, an ink bottle, coins, a comb. Among the various items, Satin found a small matchbox. She grabbed a few matches at once and struck them together.

A spark flared. Heat surged. Even the small light pushed back the shadows filling the room.

“Reducing the shadows leaves the evil spirit with nowhere to go. I tried it earlier.”

“How did you figure it out?”

“You mentioned before that demons slip into shadows. I suddenly remembered that.”

Satin transferred the flame to the lamp’s wick. The room brightened, and the evil spirit, with less room to move, stepped on the remaining shadows.

“Then we’ll burn it.”

They understood each other without unnecessary explanations. Rublier was also a descendant of a guardian family. Satin gradually drove the evil spirit back. It wasn’t difficult since she and Larie had been doing it together.

Rublier didn’t miss the opportunity Satin created.

The sword, reflecting the light, struck the evil spirit onto the bed. The body, pierced by the sword, momentarily scattered. But as it had always done, the evil spirit wriggled its fog-like body to escape the sword.

Rublier reached out to Satin. She slid over and handed him the lamp. He tilted the lamp over the evil spirit pinned by the sword, pouring out the oil.

Then, the lamp fell straight down.

Everything happened in an instant.

Flames shot up from the bed to the ceiling. The evil spirit let out a final, piercing scream. The room filled with a choking stench. If the window had been closed, they might have temporarily suffocated from the pungent smell.

Satin’s stomach churned. Rublier covered her nose and mouth as she gagged. He stood close to the evil spirit, watching it burn away completely.

All that remained where the evil spirit had been was gray smoke and the smell. The fire, a brief blaze, extinguished before spreading to the walls and ceiling. Rublier stomped out the remaining flames on the bed.

Satin stared blankly at the soot left by the evil spirit’s struggle. The remnants stretched from the bed to the wall and up to the ceiling, as if the screams it let out while burning had taken form.

“Did we get it?”

“It’s gone.”

“It won’t come back?”

“Probably not.”

Rublier touched the marks on the wall. Satin, looking at his tall figure, shifted her gaze. Near the window, shattered glass sparkled. It was strange. Was it just her imagination? The moonlight streaming into the room seemed much clearer than before.

Rublier sheathed his sword. Seeing Satin’s complicated expression as she stared at the window, he turned to her. A dark streak ran across her pale cheek. Startled, he turned her face towards him.