The Legendary Ghost Hunter

- Within the Room Where Group 2 Fought Their Boss -

"Ngh…" Slowly, Tian Long blinked his eyes open. "What… I fell unconscious…?"

"Not only that, you nearly died," a voice beside him interrupted, and he turned to see Lauren, their group's assigned Healer Angelica user. "Do you remember what happened yet?"

"Now that you mention it…" Tian Long groggily sat up from the ground and rubbed his forehead, where a headache was brewing.

Pieces of memory flashed through his mind. Their battle against that massive Phantom by the name of Urkoy, eventually defeating it, claiming the chest…

… And what happened when they did.

Ashika, the Oculus Angelica user in their group, had figured out the mechanic to defeat Urkoy, using the sundial-like devices on the ceiling. She deserved the reward inside the chest — and everyone agreed on that. But when she was retrieving her prize…

Tian Long's eyes widened. It all came back to him now. Frantically, he got up to his feet and glance around at all the other bodies lying around, lifeless and unmoving. He counted five in total.

"Are they…"

"Yes… they're gone." Lauren had an uncomfortable look on her face, filled with sadness and a hint of anger as well. "I tried to heal them, but… you were the only one I was able to bring back to life."

"How did you even survive?" Tian Long asked, evidently shocked.

"I can hold my breath up to a minute. I nearly died, but in the end, I managed to fool those three. And once they left, I healed myself. It took a while, but I managed to do it."

"I see…" Tian Long muttered, clenching his fists tightly. "How could they…"

"Greed. That's how."

"… Let's go. I don't usually do this, but… some things can't be solved without violence."

With a new passion in his eyes, Tian Long looked at the portal in front of him, and walked closer to it. Lauren followed behind closely, but just as they were about to step through-

[STATIC—]

A mechanical, robotic noise suddenly rang out behind them, and Tian Long immediately spun around. There, a few feet away, a metal scythe moved a bit. His eyes widened.

"Reaper…!"

Hurriedly rushing over, he found the killer robot in a half-destroyed state, singular red eye glitching in and out like an electronic that had been splashed with water.

[INITIALIZING—STATIC—SELF-REPAIR PROC—STATIC—ESS—STATIC]

The screen that acted as Reaper's eye shifted displays, changing into a loading bar:

[REPAIRING…]

[2% ██————————————————————]

Below, several lines of code updated Tian Long on the situation:

[Ocular systems: Restored.]

[Central Processing Unit: Partially Restored.]

[Movement Module: SEVERELY DAMAGED. New parts required ASAP.]

[Combat Module: Partially Restored.]

[Flight Module: FAILED. REPAIR UNSUCCESSFUL.]

[Intelligence Module: Restored.]

[Accessing logs… attempting connection with memory module…]

[Overall Status: Partially Functional.]

Soon, the progress bar hit 100%, and Reaper's red eye blinked into view once again. Slowly, it twisted its neck around both ways, looking around. The cloak it usually wore was nowhere to be seen, and the entire bottom half of its body was severed, broken wires in full view. It was a miracle it was still online, even after all this.

"Reaper… you with me?" Tian Long asked, shaking the robot's frame slightly in his trembling arms.

Slowly, Reaper nodded its head as a scanning beam of red light shot out of his eye.

[Analyzing: Subject-DR4C0. Status: Friendly.]

"Oh, thank god… I'll get you out of here, hang on," Tian Long said, carrying Reaper's half-broken body on his back and leaping through the portal.

'The House of Crimson Moons…' He thought, emotions strained with anger. 'I'll pay you back for this, thousandfold…!'

*****

- Meanwhile, The Basement Chamber -

After what happened earlier, no one was keen on entering the corridor that very possibly led to the Emperor. Iris sent another knight into it, but it was once again punctured in holes (poor guy).

"Let me try," Iyesha suggested. "Maybe the corridor only accepts real humans. I can turn my body into water, so these spikes are nothing to me."

The rest of the group nodded in agreement, giving her the go-ahead. Iyesha took a deep breath and closed her eyes as a beautiful blue hue surrounded her body, as tranquil and timeless as the waves. After murmuring something under her breath too quiet for anyone else to hear, she stepped through into the corridor.

And… nothing happened.

"Looks like my guess was right," Iyesha said, then daringly took a few more steps forward. Still, no traps triggered. It was as if the Emperor was inviting them in. "It's safe, everyone! Go ahead!"

Acaya and the others exchanged nods, and hesitantly stepped into the corridor as well. No trap was triggered, thankfully. They followed Iyesha through the narrow hallway, letting her liquefied body take the lead to avoid any risks. Finn, carrying Iris, wanted to be last, but Duke, Ripple, and Jester had yet to enter as well.

"Well? Aren't ya gonna go?" Duke chuckled, smiling arrogantly.

"…" Finn didn't respond, and instead merely waited patiently. If that's the game they wanted to play, then he'll gladly play along. He was in no rush.

After a few seconds, Duke snorted and gave up on waiting, then headed into the corridor. Ripple and Jester followed him, both sending Finn a brief glance before turning away. Finn followed in a good distance after them, but then, he heard a voice call out to them from behind.

"Wait!"

It was familiar. A boy's.

Iris turned around, and her eyes widened. "Draco…? And Lauren too… wait, is that Reaper on your back…? You're all alive…"

"Yeah… too bad the others aren't," Tian Long growled, clenching his fists. "Duke, Ripple, and Jester… I'll make you pay."

"Oh, look who's come back from the dead!" Duke laughed from inside the corridor. "You got lucky, huh? Good to see, good to see!"

"Hmph. Deep down, you're probably fuming right now, aren't you?" Tian Long smiled wryly. "Just killing you isn't enough. The three of you need to atone for your sins through eternal torture. Then, and only then, can the souls of the others be rested at ease."

"Hold it," Finn interrupted, pulling Tian Long back by the forearm. "The Emperor knows we're here and is very possibly watching every move we make, even as we speak. If you start fighting them right now… the Emperor will use that against us. Save it for later."

Tian Long looked conflicted, but knew Finn was right. With a sigh, he set Reaper down on the ground.

"Stay here. We'll come get you once the battle is over."

Reaper slowly tilted its head. [Objection: Combat Module is partially restored. Reaper is still capable of fighting.]

"Not in your current state, you're not," Iris said, voice stern. "You'll only be a burden. Just stay here."

[… Understood.]

With that decided, Finn, Iris, Tian Long, and Lauren headed into the corridor as well, just slightly behind the House of Crimson Moons.

The final boss of District A was coming.

The Lunatic was here.