Chapter V – Ghost Hunt

All throughout the night, the villagers dared not to sleep. With the thought of being killed in their minds, they huddled together and had their medium perform some type of enchantment to keep the spirit at bay. Meanwhile, Jin investigated the murder scene and tried to calm Rena down. She trembled with fear and said nothing.

One of the villagers suspected Rena of being the killer, but another reassured him that the mayor was merely protecting his servant. The problem was why would a master save his servant? It did not make sense. Something was not right and Jin knew that this was no ordinary case. At one point, Jin did think it was Rena but based on her kind and gentle personality, that was a not a possibility. Still, he needed to keep an eye on her.

Night finally passed and the morning was a gloomy one. The sun did not shine on the village and the gray clouds blocked all signs from heaven. After finding no inkling as to what actually caused the mayor's brutal murder, Jin buried the mayor just outside the village wall and asked the still fearful villagers to pay their respects to their humble, charismatic leader. Then quickly, the people scampered back into their corners and prayed for sunshine. It was darkness they feared the most.

Another day has passed and the isolated civilization was dead silent. The medium still summoned anti-spiritual barriers while Jin made sure his Rainbow was ready to strike. He also kept Rena within his sight. Jin proceeded to make a strategy in case he came face to face with the unknown enemy. He knew that a physical attack may not be effective so he saved his strength to use special abilities, cast magic or even summon the great lightning serpent-bird, Quetzalcoatl. But first things first, Jin needed to locate the grudging spirit.

Night came and went rather slowly and the medium was reaching her limit. At last, she collapsed and the barrier disappeared. But Jin, despite being drowsy and slightly clumsy, stepped in her place and summoned his partner. A great clap of thunder startled the villagers, and they gazed at the beast that came down with volts of electricity. The creature hid its head and body in its massive feathered wings and after releasing a super electric shockwave across the sky, it spread its wings and cried out. Jin called out to it and ordered his summoned beast to protect the villagers.

"Protect the villagers with your power for as long as you can."

The lightning serpent-bird hesitated to obey its master's order. It flapped its wings and jolts of electricity sparked.

"If you're worried about me, then worry about these people first," Jin assured his partner. "Do as I say; I'll be fine."

Within a heartbeat, Quetzalcoatl released another shockwave, but this time, creating a barrier around the perimeter of the village. Then it flew up into the sky and oversaw the village from above.

The people were put at ease while the medium rested and the lightning serpent-bird soared in the sky. However, Jin told them he cannot keep Quetzalcoatl out in the open for too long and after several hours, nearing nightfall, the beast retreated back into its slumber. The electric barrier disappeared and the medium was put back to work. But that night, something terrible happened. Just as the medium finished chanting her barrier, a shower of blood fell in the direction of the storage room. Upon seeing this, Jin dashed towards the room and saw seven corpses lying there lifeless. But before he can act on this, his lack of stamina caused him to faint. The villagers did nothing to keep Jin safe, fearing that the spirit may appear.

Next morning, Jin found himself lying comfortably on Rena's bed with Rena sitting besides him, quivering. Upon noticing his awakening, she turned towards him and spoke with a ghastly tone.

"It was horrible, Jin-sama, just horrible!"

Jin got up into a sitting position. He leaned forward and focused his eyes on hers.

"Tell me what happened!" demanded Jin.

Rena's facial expression was like that of a scared child, and she trembled and muttered a few words to herself before saying bits of phrases that did not link to one another.

"…body after body… spilt insides… that taste of blood was… I… I…"

"Get a hold of yourself and tell me!"

Rena still looked pale and shook with great magnitude. Her eyes were also discolored and had some red coloring on her fine brown hair. It was as if she was possessed but after Jin's words reached her, she came to her senses. He got up and carried Rena to a safer area. But as she was being lifted from her position, a piece of carved wood fell from her hand.

After leaving Rena under the care of the medium, Jin went to search the bloodied area. Fear crept several times but he persisted. He counted seven bodies and was even able to discern who was who. One of them was the storyteller and another two were children who were promised a magic lesson in the future. But Jin knew that these two never had a chance with a lurking translucent stalker waiting to kill.

"Damn you!" Jin cursed the killer. "Why? They…they never had a chance!"

He turned towards the children's grave and apologized.

"I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise."

Tears fell from his eyes slowly. All seven of them were placed beside the mayor's grave. But just as he finished the burial and reentered the village, he followed a scream from within, indicating that another victim has been chosen. And indeed, another body was found dead; it was the body of the medium. By the way the body appeared, the victim was suffocated swiftly with cloth. This time, Jin did not bother burying the corpse and immediately went on to check upon the remaining survivors. He realized that Rena went missing. The search was reaching a critical point, and there was no time to waste.