Laila momentarily recalled that strange magical device Eustar had used in Rizicus village.

That thing that moved quickly as if flying… But didn’t he say something about it needing to be charged? If he had it, we wouldn’t have needed to walk for half a day.

It took only a few seconds for her to realize that he wasn’t using a magical device. Laila was startled to find that she was simply being carried in his arms, and Eustar was running at full speed, pushing through the crowd.

“Eustar, we can’t shake them off like this!”

Laila shouted. This behavior would only attract the ghost’s attention.

She turned her head and gritted her teeth at the sight of the male soul following them at an unbelievably fast pace. One of his legs was almost completely rotten and barely visible, yet he was stumbling greatly while striding towards them.

“Eustar!”

“I know, Laila. Don’t worry, I’m not just running away blindly.”

He skillfully leaped over narrow stalls while carrying Laila.

For a moment, as her body lifted into the air, Laila unconsciously gripped his collar tightly. When they reached a less crowded area, Eustar hoisted Laila over his shoulder with one hand and rummaged through his pocket.

“Just a moment, please bear with it for a bit.”

I really hate this position, Laila thought. Being slung over his shoulder like a sack of goods was unpleasant enough, but the worst part was being unable to look away from the ghost that was following so closely, almost within arm’s reach.

Rotten fish fell with a splat from his mouth, which was gaping so wide it would have dislocated the jaw of a living person.

“Got it, just hold on a little longer.”

Eustar swiftly swung Laila from his shoulder back into his arms. Laila noticed the monocle fitted over his right eye.

“That monocle…”

“This way looks better.”

Eustar spun around and entered an alley, setting Laila down.

Immediately, the splattering sound grew closer, and the wide-mouthed man appeared before their eyes. Whether it had stretched during the chase or was originally like that, his arms were so long they nearly touched the ground.

“Laila, don’t close your eyes. Look straight at it. I can only see properly if you look straight at it.”

There was a creaking sound. It came from the man raising his arm. He swung his arm like a whip, and Eustar dodged backwards, pulling Laila into his embrace.

“So, I just need to keep looking?”

“Yes, that’s right. Don’t close your eyes. Look and listen. You’ve already done this before. You can do it.”

She could see the damp, pale hand that had struck the ground being dragged along. It looked like layers of snake skins moving on their own.

Laila suppressed the nausea rising in her stomach and stared straight at the man with her eyes wide open. A humming sound rang in her ears. She also heard something swishing through the air.

—He killed me. He killed me! That bastard killed me.

Laila knew this was the voice the man before her, more than half-rotten, had in life. He was enraged. There was nothing to be felt other than rage and despair.

This is dangerous, Laila thought, trying to compose herself as her body stiffened with tension.

Some ghosts retained a bit of reason, but some did not. Among those without reason, one of the most dangerous to encounter was a ghost consumed by anger. There must be a story behind this man’s death. It wasn’t a simple accident…

“Can you do an ‘overlay’, Laila?”

Eustar’s whisper sounded next to her ear. The thought that he was too close briefly crossed her mind, but in a situation like this, the fact that he was right behind her was the only comfort.

“You mean look at that man’s memories? Like with Bin?”

“Yes, that’s right. You know that even beings that remain only as souls have a core, right?”

Laila nodded hesitantly, biting her lower lip.

“I know.”

“Only you, as a medium, can see that core. I can see it clearly with this monocle and your power, but I can’t look into the core. Because I’m not a medium. I’ll explain this later.”

“Why do I need to see this ‘core’?”

She turned her head and asked in a somewhat challenging tone. The man’s core, whatever it was, didn’t seem like something she particularly wanted to see. Surely it wouldn’t be a pleasant circus performance or anything of the sort.

Eustar spoke in a calm voice.

“Once you know what the core is, it becomes much easier to capture.”

Capture. Laila pondered that word in her mind. Like how he had gathered and removed the children’s ghosts in Rizicus village… Is that what he meant? But…

“Alright. I’ll try.”

Laila nodded and raised her gaze to look directly at the man.

Something black was gurgling in his mouth, overflowing and dripping down his decaying body and pooling on the ground.

—He killed me, he killed me… He killed me.

Laila focused all her attention on his voice, his one remaining eye, and that gaping mouth. She could feel the ghost’s presence growing stronger.

Laila’s awareness and summoning of the ghost was similar to suddenly noticing a stain you hadn’t realized was there.

When you don’t see the stain, you can pass by without noticing, no matter how large or conspicuous it is.

But once it catches your eye, you can’t look away from then on, and even if you try to avert your gaze, the stain seems to keep growing larger…

Laila was now approaching the stain, having stared at it directly for so long. She was trying to touch it with her hand to find out what caused it.

—He killed me! Can you hear me?! He killed me! That bastard!

Something black spewed from the man’s mouth. A fishy smell wafted strongly, and a clear scene appeared in Laila’s mind.

The buzzing sound grew louder, drowning out all other sounds, but she could see two men. They were sitting on a rock, fishing. There was no one else around…

It’s a place only they know, Laila thought. The two men had different hair colors – one was red-haired, and the other was blond.

As she blinked, the red-haired man snatched the fishing rod from the blond man’s hands. Then he kicked the other man’s legs below the knees with his thick-booted foot.

The water was deep. But not so deep that he couldn’t have escaped. The blond man could have survived. If only he hadn’t hit his head on the rocks as he fell.

A sharp cry was heard. At that moment, Laila was thrown out of the man’s memory. The despair of hitting his head on the rock, the final sense of betrayal felt at the precarious boundary between life and death.

That was the man’s core.

“You did very well, Laila.”

Eustar whispered. At the same time, Laila’s body swayed, and Eustar pulled his right hand, glowing blue, towards his chest and then spread it to the side. If someone had seen his movement, they would have thought he was a handsome magician.

“The god Adiak asks if you have sin. Answer that it is the sin of another, not mine. Behold, my two hands are as clean as Habashka’s.”

The man who had vomited the black liquid—Laila knew it was a mixture of all sorts of decay and the man’s obsession—suddenly bent backwards at the waist.

His head hit the ground with a thud, and tattered fish carcasses spilled out of his gaping mouth, scattering everywhere.

Eustar raised his voice. His right hand, now enveloped in a bluish light, was almost invisible.

“Adiak asks if you have sin. Bow your head and answer that it is the sin of another, not mine. Behold, my hands are clean!”

A ear-splitting scream was heard. It was so loud and sharp that probably everyone in this small town heard it. The soul of the man, who had been thrashing about with his body bent backwards, flew off somewhere with a sound that cut through the air.

Laila’s eyes widened. She looked at Eustar’s hand, now devoid of light. Now she could see that there was a large, transparent glass bead in his palm.

The bead contained clear water, which, strangely enough, never tilted or shook no matter how the bead moved.

“Did you chase it away?”

Laila asked. Eustar carefully put the bead into a leather bag and then examined her complexion.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine! But why didn’t you capture it? In Rizicus…”

“Ah, there we needed to perform an exorcism. But this man… Well, I thought it wasn’t necessary to exorcise him.”

“Why is that…”

It was then.

“Aah! What’s wrong with this guy!”

“Stop him! Stop him! What are you doing! He’s going to die!”

Shouts of people in confusion could be heard from outside the alley. As Laila instinctively tried to run out, Eustar grabbed her wrist.

“It’s better not to look.”

This person did it, Laila thought. Screams could be heard, and she saw some people running away. Whatever was happening behind the street corner, Eustar was responsible.

“I think I need to see it.”

“It’s not a pleasant sight.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ve never seen a pleasant sight in my life.”

For a moment, a faint smile appeared and disappeared in Eustar’s eyes. Was it sympathy? Either way, it wasn’t important right now…

He put Laila’s hood back on, then wrapped his arm around her shoulders protectively and walked out of the alley.

As soon as they turned the corner, a strong smell of blood hit them. Just as Laila covered her mouth and nose, a blood-soaked man smashed his head against a solid wall with a loud thud.

“Oh my God!”

People screamed. The entire ground was covered in bright red blood, flowing like a river. The man died with his eyes wide open, staring at Laila. Through his completely shattered head, something grayish could be seen inside.

“This person, could it be…”

Laila’s voice trembled.

He was the very red-haired man from the dead man’s memory. Although his face was covered in blood and smashed almost beyond recognition, she could tell clearly.

Eustar said,

“I set a destination for that man. Now that he’s had his revenge, he won’t appear again.”

Laila turned around, shaking off Eustar’s hand with an incredulous look. Her eyes, looking up at him, were mixed with confusion and anger.