A man walked along the sidewalk of a busy city street, his hand holding the brown hat on his head, trying to keep the wind that brought the rain from blowing it away.
Despite the bad weather, the cityscape was clear to him, the night lit by street lamps and the ever-dazzling neon lights that had become fashionable these days.
Regardless of the rain, cars powered by alchemical fuel were constantly leaving multicolored trails of smoke, adding more detail to the somewhat psychedelic atmosphere of this city.
The man, whose shaved beard and deep-set eyes gave him an experienced look, could notice some things that other people, perhaps enchanted by the beautiful colors or the good music that could be heard occasionally, would not.
Some people wore dark clothes, their shirts a bit bulky, and were attentive to strangers, even though this was a busy street in Blume City. Gangs had become as popular as the extravagant neon lights that now plagued the streets.
But he noticed a few other things as well, creatures lurking in the dark alleys, eyeing humanity with fear and suspicion. The man could even see a small glowing creature rummaging through a garbage can.
A fairy, a rare thing these days. Bemoaning the fact that he didn't have a proper tool to capture it and that he had a job to do, the man cursed as he constantly searched for shelter outside of shops and establishments.
His brown trench coat was darkened by the water that had fallen on him, but when he saw the neon sign of his destination, the chill that had seeped into his bones seemed to lessen considerably.
The O'Connor Bar.
At other times, he would have been reluctant to enter this place, not only because he didn't have enough money to buy one of the bar's more expensive drinks, but also because he was afraid of the owner.
But he had to go in, so he plucked up courage, maybe because he trusted that whoever might be inside could cover for him, or maybe it was the revolver in his waistband that gave him courage, and finally made his way to the entrance.
Despite the rain, which threatened to get worse and worse, there was a line of people eager to get in, and two guards at the gate, which looked like two huge towers, were selecting those who could enter.
He noticed the red eyes of these men and the gray hair that covered their palms. Werewolves, how could these guys not be? Only the person who owned this bar was brave enough to hire them.
No matter how powerful a werewolf was, they were usually pretty wild and out of control guys; only someone really strong could control them, which gave the owner of this bar even more prestige.
When he finally reached the entrance, he ignored the complaining looks of many men and women and simply approached the two security guards who were talking to a slender woman with blond hair and red lips in a delicate white dress.
"Miss, we don't care who your father is, you can't come in," said one of the guards, his tone was serious, and he even growled slightly. it was obvious that the woman had irritated him at this point.
"Stupid dog, my father comes here every weekend, you don't want to let me in?" the woman complained, causing the werewolf to bring his hand to his waist, trying to hold the slim silver club slung across his body.
"Gentlemen, I'm sorry, I need to get through, I'm a police officer and I need to speak to a person inside," the man said, flashing his police badge.
The blonde girl, who had unknowingly offended the two guards a moment ago, looked at the policeman, whose clothes were wet, and wrinkled her nose in disgust, as if she had just smelled something disgusting.
"You smell like gunpowder, you should leave your gun at the front desk when you come in," said the other guard, who had remained silent until that moment.
Although not clearly stated, this was certainly a sign that he could pass, causing the man to sigh in relief. Under the gaze of the blonde woman and the others in line, he entered the bar.
The change he felt was instantaneous. A strangely scented breeze blew toward him, and for a moment, he felt as if he were in a sauna. When he came out of his stupor, he noticed that he no longer felt uncomfortable from being wet, and his clothes were completely dry.
Looking closer, he noticed several strange lines on the wall, connecting in various ways to form complex patterns, and that alone made him let out a slight hiss.
"Someone seriously put an alchemical matrix at the entrance of a bar? Looks like the owner of this place is richer than I thought..." the man said before walking down the dimly lit hallway.
As if they had spotted him before, a woman wearing only a rather low-cut, sequined full-body bikini approached him. In the dim light, the woman's tanned skin appeared to have a slight sheen, especially on her forehead, where a pink gem was embedded, giving off a seductive glow.
The policeman noticed that the woman's exposed arms had some red-ink tattoos with geometric patterns. The woman looked proud as she noticed the man's view of her markings, and a smile blossomed on her face.
With her hair pulled back, a much more stylish smile on her red-painted lips, and deliberately flowing steps, as if she were putting on a little show for the people who had just entered.
"Hmm? A new guy~" the woman said cheerfully, before stopping two meters away from the man, then she looked at the police badge hanging around the man's neck, and her smile faded a little, as if her expectations had been broken.
"For the sake of the Holy Mother, how many times do we have to tell you that we are not a fucking brothel? We only wear light clothing, we don't offer those services," the woman complained before shaking her head.
"I'm not here to question anything, I just want to find a regular customer of your bar, I have a task to accomplish," the policeman said quickly, although his eyes had been a little pleased, he tried not to look intensely at the woman in front of him.
Not only out of respect, but because he knew the rules of this bar, if you thought you could take advantage of the women working here, it would be the last thing you would think of before dying mysteriously.
So the man slowly drew his revolver from his waistband before offering it to the woman. She took the gun and stared at the man's features before clicking her tongue.
"Come in, but I hope you know the bar rules." The woman proudly raised her chest, making her breasts jiggle quite a bit, and noticing how the man tried not to look at her too much, she felt even prouder.
Turning around, she walked slowly, accentuating her waist and her somewhat exposed ass through the bikini, all as a gesture of thanks to the policeman, who was unusually polite this time.
Why not give her a little visual treat? So the cop watched as the woman's barely covered buttocks cheerfully waved goodbye to him, causing him to shake his head in time to the music.
"I never really expected to see a woman from the Savage Continent in Shattercrown, except they're so sexy and they have gems in their foreheads or weird tattoos I don't understand," the man muttered before finally leaving the hallway and being flooded by the ambience of the bar.
Jazz music and the soft voice of the lead singer graced the atmosphere of this place, filled with bikini-clad beauties serving drinks and snacks to the people seated at their tables.
The clinking of glasses, the shaking of ice, or the expensive drinks whose colors were as extravagant as the neon lights outside. He could smell the scent of the expensive, the opulent, and the exotic in the air.
He had to turn a blind eye to what those rich people were doing with the golden fairy dust that some waitresses were giving them, but the sniffing sound could not be hidden even by the intoxicating voice of the lead singer, although for some reason she did not appear on stage and no one really knew where she was singing from.
With a glance, he was able to identify important people not only from Blume city, but from the country in general. He even saw the mayor of the city and his wife going to the VIP area of the bar.
But not wanting to dawdle any longer, he walked between the tables, gradually approaching the bar. Then he saw her, his target. A woman sitting delicately on one of the benches in front of the bar, her tanned skin a little deeper than the tanned girl before, but with a different charm, but just as beautiful.
If the first girl he saw when he entered the bar exuded sensuality from every pore, his target was like a bright flower, attracting the gaze of not only him, but many people in the bar.
Her emerald green eyes shone with an unnatural intensity, her black hair was adorned with a few thin plaits, but flowed down her back, partially covering her black evening gown.
Her right hand absently held a crystal glass of pink liquid that seemed to twist and turn on its own, occasionally even producing a bubble that rose several centimeters into the air before bursting.
As if noticing his intense gaze, the woman's eyes turned to him, and at that moment, the policeman felt his back break into a cold sweat. But steeling himself, he approached the bench next to the woman.
"Officer Norman, I never thought I'd see you here. Do you make that much in the police force, or have you recently accepted a hefty bribe?" As if in retaliation for the man's rude look, the woman blurted out those merciless words without any consideration.
Officer Norman could only shake his head as a self-deprecating smile appeared on his face. He knew that the woman before him was not only extremely beautiful but also mean, vindictive, and worse, a witch.
The latter was not a metaphor; the almost stereotypical black hat of medieval witches was placed to one side on the bar, its owner being the woman in front of him.
"Miss Rohan, my apologies, I got lost in your beauty," Officer Norman quickly flattered, causing a smile to appear on Miss Rohan's face.
"I forgive you, but tell me, do you need anything from me? My detective agency has cases pending," the woman cut to the chase, causing Norman to nod before removing his hat.
"We've got a pretty complicated supernatural case, the guys in the office can't handle it, you know, they can hit and shoot, especially that new girl who just came out of the army, her last name is Duval.
But when it comes to thinking and solving, only you are the best in Blume city, so my boss sent me to find you," he flattered her, not caring that he had let his colleagues down badly in front of Rohan, all to try to convince her to agree to go with him.
"At least tell me what this is all about, I'm enjoying a warm night here, you know?" Miss Rohan raised her glass and took a sip.
Norman recognized the drink as a cocktail made with an extremely expensive euphoria potion; envy was written on his face, something that seemed to cheer Miss Rohan, who laughed slightly, causing Norman to cough a little before speaking.
"Have you seen the papers lately? A rather famous businessman from the Iron Continent has been building a mansion here in Blume, but these days, some mutilated bodies of workers have been turning up at the construction site.
At first, we thought it was one of the workers who had gone crazy, but when we tested the detector, we found traces of spiritual energy, so we believe that a creature from the spirit world is responsible for the crimes," Norman did not hesitate to share some of the current knowledge the police had at this time, as Miss Rohan was an acquaintance in the office.
The woman, who had been somewhat apathetic at the arrival of Officer Norman interrupting her enjoyment, was more interested this time, even raising an eyebrow with interest, something the experienced officer noticed.
"We checked all over the construction site and found what appeared to be a summoning circle, but our resident wizard is that useless guy, so they sent me here, taking advantage of the fact that the bar is 15 minutes away.
The bastards wouldn't even let me get in the car, so I had to walk here in the rain," Norman complained, causing Miss Rohan to shake her head.
"Spirit creatures are dangerous when they are summoned arbitrarily without taking the proper measures, I don't even know if what happened in that building was the creature's fault or the bastard who summoned it." Miss Rohan was silent for a few moments, as if she were thinking about something.
In the end, she just shook her shoulders, as if the result didn't matter to her. She was just a witch and a detective; what else did she have to do? She wasn't one of those moralistic people, she only cared about one thing: her pay for this job, so she soon continued talking.
"Even though your boss is a cheap bastard, he knows how to get around in the city, the only good thing is that he still pays me well, which is the only thing I should care about. Well, come on," the woman swallowed the rest of the drink in one gulp, her cheeks becoming extremely hot and even her eyes clouding over.
"Drinking a 'Cursed Rose' like that is a complete waste, Séraphine," said a figure that seemed to materialize out of nowhere behind the bar.
Officer Norman was scared out of his wits at this point, especially when he saw the two rather prominent upper fangs of this person, revealing that she was a vampire.
She was a pale, white-haired woman, dressed like a classic bartender, with black and white in her clothing. The figure glanced sideways at Norman, but after taking several breaths in his direction, she simply shook her head.
"I have to work, Ronnie, I don't have time to enjoy myself slowly. But when I come back later, I'll enjoy as much as you want," after saying these words, the witch tried to get up, but stumbled a bit.
"Damn it..." Séraphine Rohan muttered before touching her temples with two fingers of each hand, the index and the thumb.
Then magic happened. A bluish glow emanated from her fingers and then receded into Séraphine's head. The temperature around her seemed to rise, even distorting the air slightly.
Séraphine felt the boiling aether penetrate her brain and ease her discomfort, but strange things seemed to creep into her field of vision. Soon, the woman's green eyes cleared, and she was able to stand completely still.
Though her mood seemed a little worse, she had to blink several times to stop 'seeing' some unpleasant things, and though she did it subtly, Ronnie looked at her with a mocking smile on her face, as if she understood what was happening to the witch.
"If Lady Osmond found out that you were using magic to get rid of your drunkenness, she would surely spank you," Ronnie complained after seeing Séraphine's magic.
"That's why we won't tell her, right? The only one who will spank me today will be you if you don't tell her," Séraphine, who had recovered, winked at Ronnie, who just laughed and showed her sharp fangs.
"Deal, now pay me," the slightly ambiguous mood was erased at that moment by Ronnie's reality-filled words, causing Séraphine to dramatically put her hands to her chest, but when she saw Ronnie's golden eyes go to her neck, she quickly tucked her hand into her hat.
"That's why you've been single for centuries..." Séraphine muttered before pulling several bills out of her hat and dropping them on the bar.
"Okay, let's go to the crime scene," Séraphine said to Officer Norman, who nodded stiffly.
He hadn't wanted to talk since the vampire Ronnie had approached her for one simple reason: her last name was O'Connor. She was the elusive bar owner, known only as a very powerful vampire woman with special status in the city.
Noticing the cop's stiffness, Séraphine simply smiled before reaching into her hat and pulling out a white feathered cloak, which she gently draped over her shoulders.
"Don't be so afraid, she doesn't eat normal people," Séraphine said grimly, though Norman got the underlying joke, so she could only try to draw a rather ugly smile, not wanting to offend the vampiress who was still standing nearby.
"Honey, would you tell one of your girls to give me a ride? It's raining and I don't want my hair to get mussed," Séraphine said again to Ronnie, who just snapped her fingers.
Soon, a woman, the same one who had taken Norman's gun when he entered the bar, approached them. The woman just glanced sideways at the cop before approaching Séraphine and taking her arm, naturally.
"Hey Séraphine, I'll be your driver this time~" the woman brought her face close to Séraphine's ear and whispered the words to her with a hint of mischief in her eyes.
"Tania, I won't go to my place now, I have work to do," noticing the strange look Norman was giving her, Séraphine quickly patted Tania's somewhat restless hands, making her look contemptuously at the policeman.
"What a disappointment, but come on," Tania let go of Séraphine's arm with a look of resignation on her face, then led her and the cop out of the bar.
The trio ended up in what looked like a parking lot filled with several rather luxurious Alchemical cars, which made Norman feel a pang of life at such a sight.
If he wanted to buy a car like this, he would have to save up a lifetime's salary, and he might not even be able to scrape together half the price, which to some extent indicated the quality of the customers at the bar Ronnie ran.
The car Tania took them to had a white paint job with some red accents that made it look quite expensive. Norman never thought he would get to sit in one of these vehicles, so he was excited when he felt the high-quality leather of the back seats for the first time.
"You look like a country bumpkin," Tania scoffed when she saw the look of amazement and happiness on Norman's face.
Tania's words embarrassed the policeman, who covered his face with his hat to avoid embarrassment. On the other hand, Séraphine was quite used to getting into this type of vehicle, so she took the passenger seat without a second thought.
The roar of the engine sounded like the purr of a wild creature, and as the car passed through the streets, many people turned to admire it. Perhaps that was why these cars were so ostentatious, everyone wanted to see the envious and astonished faces of strangers on the street.
Séraphine played carelessly with her hat as she rested her feet on the front of the car, not caring about the safety measures for these vehicles.
"Tell me what the wounds on these bodies looked like," Séraphine asked Officer Norman, who had to think for a moment before speaking, his face scrunched up, as if the image of his memories disturbed him quite a bit.
"There are no complete bodies, they are all decapitated. Their bodies seem to have been bitten off and their heads torn off, but they are nowhere to be seen. There are also cuts on their abdomens, whatever did this also ate their livers," even with all his police experience, Norman felt nauseous while describing the scenes.
"Hmm, the behavior of eating the liver of a prey is normal for some creatures, especially those from the spirit world, but their heads? In general, the skull of any creature is too hard.
So we are dealing with a creature with a special need that is very common in these cases... it wants souls. Some bastard summoned a spirit creature on the construction site, but did not take the necessary measures for this situation." Séraphine may be only 19 years old, but her witch training, her cultural level, and especially her agile mind made her quickly formulate a part of the story.
Although it was a conjecture of hers, she felt she could go this way to deal with the creature.
"If it's on a construction site, did someone try to summon a Spirit Servant to save some Aureum?
It happens a lot in my homeland, those bastard landowners just want productivity without paying too much and end up dabbling like that," Tania, visibly annoyed by some bad memories from her past, said these words, making Séraphine's green eyes sparkle with excitement.
"Sure! Probably the foreman or the owner of the land met some random bastard who pretended to be a wizard or a ritualist, they did a ritual that went wrong. Summoning rituals are tricky, you have to outline the requirements and the payment properly.
Otherwise... these things happen. It seems that the bribes... I mean, the donations the police will receive this month will be quite high, such a mess can easily expose and ruin anyone," Séraphine smiled as she imagined this situation, and a little idea popped into her head.
"As a police officer, I must warn you that you are defaming the city police, Miss Rohan," Norman warned, but he did so more out of protocol and to wipe his hands clean than anything else.
What did he care about a rich man's potential problems? He just wanted to help close this case and go home to bed! Fortunately, the car stopped outside the construction site, but Norman's face turned pale as he saw the scene in front of him.
Crowds, barricades, yellow lines, and most of all, the nightmare of many in the city, reporters, dozens of them holding the most dangerous weapon of the new era, their hand-held cameras.
"Looks like I'm going to have a new clipping," Séraphine muttered before opening the door.
As she stepped out of the car, a lot of flashes hit her, but she was used to it, she just posed, put her witch hat on her head and made kissing gestures with her hands.
"Miss Rohan! Do you plan to solve the lurid incident at the construction site? Do you have any idea what could have caused such grotesque events?" a reporter asked the two key questions before the others.
"Yes and yes, but now I have to solve this, so give me some space," with these words Séraphine moved her two hands and made a farewell gesture with them.
Then the aether surged from her soul, boiling through her body and spreading outward in a flood of blue energy that gently pushed the journalists in front of her, separating them into two halves and clearing a path for her to walk freely.
Many more flashes hit her body, but Séraphine was unperturbed and continued to walk toward the barricade that kept out the unaffiliated.
As she entered, she could already imagine one of the headlines that would appear in tomorrow's newspaper, something that made her laugh. But her smile faded when a thin man with deep, dark circles and greasy hair approached her.
"It's a good thing you came! Those bloodsucking vermin are worse than lawyers, always hanging around where they're not needed," the man said before reaching out for Séraphine's hand, but she simply shook it away.
"What about your boss?" asked Séraphine sharply, causing the man in front of her to feel somewhat embarrassed and to lower his hand.
"This case is very big, he has to discuss with his superiors to avoid certain one-sided news that could cause problems," the man replied before gesturing for Séraphine to follow him.
"Well, still not saving enough for your purification ritual? I smell corruption on you, it's still the same, similar to sewer shit," Séraphine complained, covering her nose from the smell that only she could detect.
"I'm hearing this from someone with her cursed senses, 7 years old, huh? From what I hear, hardly anyone in this day and age endures the curse for such an unnecessary skill," the man retorted before coughing.
When he covered his mouth with his hand, drops of black blood fell into it, causing the man to blink his eyes, but he didn't think about it anymore; he just continued to lead Séraphine through the construction site.
"The deadline will end in a few days, by then I will have a skill worthy of a witch, and you? A half-baked wizard who refuses to sell me the only valuable spell in your broken grimoire," Séraphine was not far behind and replied as viciously as the man.
"The Savage Continent 'Bullet' gesture is worth 500 Aureum, you want to buy it for 200, not even half, how can I sell it to you?" by the time the man asked this question, the duo had already arrived in front of the mansion under construction, where several bodies were covered with white sheets.
Only now, the whiteness of the sheets was stained with thick blood, but neither of them complained. Some people were taking notes and photographs, their uniforms, slightly different from the police, indicating that they were the forensic team.
"Good thing you came, we heard strange noises but we don't know from where, so we refuse to investigate, we know it must be that thing they summoned to lure us in," a blonde woman approached them, holding a notepad.
"Kath, you're still as scary as ever," the man complained, causing the woman to give him a sideways glance.
"Roman, if you want to die, go ahead, I'm not a nosy fool like the main characters in those horror movies. Who goes looking for the source of a noise in the middle of the night when you know there's something scary in the dark? Only fools," Kath said, making Roman shake his head.
"But you'd rather be among mutilated corpses," Roman pointed to the fallen bodies, causing Kath to nod.
"The death of others fascinates me, not my own." Kath simply shook her shoulders before looking at Séraphine, who watched them argue with a smile on her face.
"Séraphine, please get rid of that thing, and if you can, let me cut it open, I want to see if it ate the heads of the victims, maybe we can do something with them," Kath said, making Séraphine nod before looking back at Roman.
"Get out of here, the spiritual energy in this place will only worsen your exposure to corruption, but if you sell me that spell..." Seeing Roman's desperate face, Séraphine felt she was about to break the man's defense, so she said the next sentence quite confidently.
"I'll give you 300, how about it?" Séraphine's words made Roman hesitate; he coughed again, and this time the two women could see the black blood falling on his hand.
"Those who want to awaken the Vision are all crazy? Fine, 300, but I won't guide you in your apprenticeship unless you add 50 more Aureum." Roman's answer made Séraphine cheer, and she patted Roman's shoulder.
"Ok, let me see what bug they summoned here, tell me where the ritual circle is," at her request, Roman gave her brief directions.
Since this was a mansion under construction, some things were already relatively complete, so Séraphine had to go up to the second floor and enter a room full of construction debris to find the ritual circle she was looking for.
It was broken, but from the details she could see, Séraphine was able to confirm part of her hypothesis. Someone had summoned a Spirit Servant and not taken the proper measures to contain or support it, unleashing the massacre that hovered over this place.
Although she did not know what creature had been summoned, there was no fear in her green eyes, even as she watched the room he was in gradually sink into darkness.
The lamps set up by the police seemed to lose their glow as the walls of the room took on a color different from the gray of the cement used in its construction; they were tinged with red.
A strange atmosphere hovered in this place, strange murmurs, creaking noises that made her frown, but the worst was the walls, they were not just red, their texture changed to resemble freshly skinned flesh.
"You.... you belong to me... Visionary... your flesh... your blood... your soul... don't fight! Don't cry! Rejoice in the flesh! Rejoice in the pain!" a voice that came out of nowhere pierced Séraphine's ears and settled directly into her head, echoing constantly.
"You haven't learned anything in 7 years, have you?" resisting the intense headache and discomfort caused by the scene in front of her, Séraphine removed the hat from her head and put her hand inside.
She took out a small vial containing a red, almost black liquid. With her teeth, she removed the wax seal that covered the mouth of the bottle and drank the entire contents in one gulp. At that moment, she felt a cold sensation rise from her stomach to her head, and slowly the strange visions and sounds stopped.
"Just a few more days," she muttered before tucking the empty flask into her hat, grateful that this was a rare piece of space equipment that allowed her to carry a few personal items.
"Let's settle this, Mom wants to get paid well tonight," Séraphine tried to cheer herself up, patting her face lightly before putting the witch's hat back on her head.
But she was still in a bad mood, and it looked like she had a good punching bag to take it out on. The summoned creature, whatever it was, could be considered a poor victim of an incompetent summoner and should not be punished, but it broke a very important taboo in this world.
It ate the souls of its victims. This removed any trace of doubt or pity Séraphine might feel for the creature that was no longer in its natural habitat, for even if it harmed humans, it could easily be defeated and banished to the spirit world.
But no longer. Just as when a lion tastes human flesh and decides that humans will now be its prey, a spirit being that has dared to eat souls will become a recidivist and thus harm humanity.
Séraphine could have her own opinion about some things, like everyone else, but she was still a human witch, so she would not hesitate to turn against even Ronnie, a friend of hers, if necessary.
With such thoughts and ideas in her head, Séraphine followed the creature, her green eyes shining unnaturally in the darkness, the world before her was no longer just the construction site in front of her, she had removed the natural veil of reality.
Her curse, her ability, for which she had suffered torture and even the threat of mental and physical corruption for nearly seven years in a ritual that was more self-mutilation than training for an ability so loved and hated in the past.
Vision. The ability to see the 'real' world as some humans had recorded it in the past, or perhaps just another layer of the complicated reality in which humans lived.
But it also served Séraphine to see the intersections between the physical world and the spiritual world, so that right now, to her eyes, there were several clouds of red mist in the air, spiritual residue, a trail she could follow.
Although she had to constantly see the strange things that lay behind the veil of the world, her years of mental torture had helped her to endure and ignore them; anyway, they were not as frightening as what was constantly haunting her because of her current condition.
"Looks like you finally opened your eyes, I'm dying of boredom," the girlish voice suddenly came from behind her, but she didn't believe it.
Although she was in a completely dark corridor, where the only source of light was her emerald green eyes, she saw a white cat, which seemed to be the only difference in the darkness.
"Musu, do you know where the spirit creature I'm looking for is?" asked Séraphine, who was used to this situation.
"That poor bastard? On the third floor, but be careful, he broke the stairs that lead you there. He can smell you, he's afraid of you," the childish voice came from the cat again, though if you noticed the tone, it was more of a cat.
"That's good, I'll let you bite off a piece of him when I kill him," Séraphine promised, making the cat lick her front paws in anticipation.
"What are you waiting for? I'll get you!" The cat ran ahead of Séraphine and disappeared into the darkness, leaving a trail of blue footprints for the witch to follow.
"One day I'll catch you," Séraphine said, knowing the strange cat could hear her.
Following Musu's footprints, Séraphine ignored a floating eye that oozed blood and flew constantly around her, a strange snake with a human face, a stone that cried like a baby, and what appeared to be a dancing diamond, though why diamonds could dance, she did not know.
The world behind the veil was strange, psychedelic, weird, strange, crazy, twisted, nonsensical, not even the spiritual world could compare in strangeness to the things the real world hid.
Although Séraphine's eyes burned from keeping her Vision open, she knew she had to keep this ability active, especially after drinking that expensive potion earlier; she had to make the most of the time she had available.
She soon caught up with Musu, and sure enough, the stairs leading to the third floor were completely shattered, making it impossible for any normal person to climb them alone.
Too bad she wasn't a normal person. Wasting no time in chatting with a talking cat, Séraphine prepared to cast a spell, which is why her eyes stopped glowing, indicating that she had stopped using her abilities.
The real world was dark again, but without the strange things happening behind the veil, so Séraphine needed light, so she snapped her fingers. The boiling aether passed through her body again, flowing into her right hand and finally turning into a ball of blue light that brought illumination to the place.
"To think that this would be my first personal spell..." Séraphine looked quizzically and somewhat gleefully at the ball of blue light floating in her palm before gently pushing it away and letting it float above her head.
Even though she had just cast a spell and her body was still a little warm from channeling the aether that was surging from her soul, she decided to cast another spell that would allow her to ascend to the third floor.
She felt the aether rush through her body again, raising her temperature to a level that made her uncomfortable and even caused beads of sweat to form on her forehead. The air even rippled slightly from the heat, but she didn't care at the moment.
Her right hand made a staircase gesture, her index and middle fingers simulated the two legs going up diagonally, and the aether projected out from her body as blue energy, transforming into a rudimentary staircase of pure energy that reached up to the third floor.
Her head ached, not from the strange visions from earlier, but from the mental effort involved in this gesture, for she was of intermediate level, and they were complicated for her at this level.
But having a way, she climbed the ladder created by her aether to the blissful third floor; the ball of light floating behind her allowed her to see in the dense darkness, but also made her a target for the spirit creature, but Séraphine had confidence.
And a weapon. She drew a revolver from her hat, six enchanted bullets in the barrel, ready to eliminate any threat she couldn't face while she allowed her body temperature to regulate.
Her footsteps echoed as she walked slowly and calmly, as if this mansion under construction was her own; she didn't care about subtleties or possible risks, the only thing on her mind was to vent her anger and collect a juicy paycheck.
She especially hoped that the rich guy who owned this place would give her money under the table to keep her from talking. She already knew how these people operated, not only because she was a detective, although she was relatively new to the business.
But her parents were the rich guys in those stories you heard on the radio or saw in the movies. Although she felt contempt for the man who owned this place, who might be the reason for this situation, she wouldn't complain if she got a good amount of Aureum for her silence.
Then she paused, her eyes narrowing as she looked out into the hallway where the glow of her orb did not reach and where there was nothing but darkness.
Except for two huge red orbs staring back at her. She knew they were the eyes of that creature, and she could feel the fear, but also the greed in that gaze. Séraphine licked her lips and raised her weapon, pointing it into the darkness.
"Can you speak? Tell me, who summoned you? Do you even know, or has the hunger for aether clouded your judgment?" asked Séraphine, trying to get a little more information, but the creature's only response was a guttural scream.
Without hesitation, Séraphine squeezed the trigger of the revolver six times at a dizzying speed. The sound of the shots echoed through the corridor, followed by the sound of impact.
Cries of pain came from the creature, but instead of fleeing, those red eyes turned heavily toward her, allowing themselves to be illuminated by the orb of light created by Séraphine, revealing its true appearance.
It was a two-meter-tall humanoid figure, and that was where its resemblance to humans ended. His head had only those huge glowing red eyes and a mouth full of drooling fangs.
His blue skin was covered in black blood that spilled from six holes in his torso, and although he was naked, he had no distinguishing marks to indicate his gender. His limbs were stocky and muscular, and he had no hair or body hair.
A perfect Spirit Servant when well invoked. He did not leave hair lying around, did not attract undue attention from some people with special interests, and had a mouth that could accept the normal sacrifices that allowed this being to properly exist on the physical plane.
But Séraphine noticed something, his thinness, he was thin, very thin, his skin seemed to stick to his bones, and his muscles bulged grotesquely. In addition, his drooling mouth was stained with red blood, a sign of his crime.
Filled with hunger, pain, and rage, the Spirit Servant ran heavily toward Séraphine with outstretched hands, his long fingernails covered in dried blood showing how terrible they could be, but the witch felt no fear.
Why should she be afraid of a starving Spirit Servant? She simply made a gesture with her left hand, and boiling aether projected through her fist, shooting toward the creature.
The aether, tinted a brilliant blue as always, struck the Spirit Servant's chest like a sledgehammer, and the thud was very clear, along with the sound of cracking bones.
The creature retreated a few paces, enough time for Séraphine to quickly load her revolver. Though it pained her to waste these enchanted bullets, she fired at the creature anyway, this time hitting it in the center of its chest, where she knew its core was.
The creature fell to its knees before Séraphine, the red light in its eyes fading and returning to its original color of gold. The Spirit Servant looked sadly at the witch, who, feeling no pity for him, cast the final spell to end this brief encounter.
Séraphine waved her left hand in a stinging gesture, the temperature of her body rising to the point where she felt like she was on fire, but she gritted her teeth and allowed the aether to flow through her once more before exiting her.
This time, the blue energy became thin and sharp-edged as it flew toward the creature, striking it again in the center of its chest. Black blood splattered everywhere, but Séraphine stepped back to avoid being stained.
As she watched the spirit servant die before her, Séraphine's green eyes narrowed, and a few memories came to her, but she simply shook her head and let them pass.
She didn't want to fall into the whirlwind of memories and melancholy because of her actions, she just wanted to collect her pay, plus her rightful bribe. Was that too much to ask? She could only sigh.
"The life of a witch in Blume city is no doubt boring," she said to no one in particular, but she knew that many beings behind the veil near her, as well as in the spirit world, attracted by the failed ritual, could hear her.
She just wanted to blow off some steam.