There were two reactions to Matthos's possession. One is Lumi's frightened face. The other…
"Bwahahahaha," Barney roared in laughter and ended up leaning on the wall for support as he gasped for air once he stopped laughing. Lumi, on the other hand, didn't understand where Barney found hilarity from.
"What's funny?" she demanded.
"Lumi," Barney gasped as he tried to recollect himself, "Audio means sound. Video means moving motions. Disco is a place where people dance and Inferno is hell. String that together and it doesn't make any sense," he started laughing again, and Lumi lost her patience and shook him.
"That's if you interpret it in its modern meaning. In oración, that means I hear, I see, I learn from below," she admonished. That sobered up Barney, who looked at Matthos. He was back to sleeping again.
"You're right," he apologized, "I shouldn't interpret things the modern way. But," he looked like he ate a ball of sour heads with the way it puckered, "it's really funny to me. Sorry, Lumi."
"Matthos," Lumi cautiously stepped close to Matthos, hoping he wasn't possessed any more. He was back to sleep as if nothing happened.
"This isn't good. The business in City A is messing up the barriers we strengthened here in Physma. Ramos's energy is compromised and she's infecting Matthos long distance," Barney's expression went serious. He looked outside and saw that there was nothing wrong with the barrier.
"Lumi, can you check on the barrier?" he suddenly got the idea and wanted to test if Lumi's powers cover spirit barriers and the likes.
She nodded and went close to the window. With a whistle, light shot out from her palm to the ground. Barney felt like he drank a shot of espresso with the way her power's aura felt like. If Matthos were awake, he'd get a better grasp at things.
Lumi looked at the transparent shield. It's the first time she encountered anything like it, light coming from the ground and creating patterns and symbols. Then, there's the glass-like shield that looked like it kept things out. 'How did they come up with such a strong barrier?' She thought.
Barney watched Lumi close her eyes, and the purple light burst out. She whistled again, and he felt that burst of energy. He can really feel it working.
"No, there's nothing wrong with the barrier. What kind of barrier is it?" Lumi said in awe.
"It's the Grishams, Matthos's maternal family, that created this kind of barrier. I'm not sure how but they were able to. Every founding family in Physma has its own kind of barrier."
"It's the first time I've ever seen one with this. Normally, most barriers have white inscriptions on the ground that light up, and where the light reaches, that's the only part protected. We are not safe from flying beings," she recalled.
"Yeah, the barriers evolved as time went on," he replied, thinking of how amazed he was when he first saw this house. Was it when he was five years old? How time passes by so fast, he mused.
"It's dome-like," he went into detail, "and from the legends, it allows the people inside to see what's outside. On the outside, the view is distorted."
"Barney, the thing, Matthos's phone—does it transport curses that it can pass barriers?"
He went through this question carefully before answering, "No. I'm sure that's not the case. Instead of transporting curses, it transfers energy. For curses to transport, physical items such as golems and beings are needed. The case with Matthos is simply bad energy on his aura and exhaustion. When the physical body is sick, and the mental body is attacked, the effect is drastic. It makes it vulnerable to attacks. Hence, the somewhat prophecy?"
He tried not to laugh at it to avoid getting punched, but it's still funny.
"It's a warning," she shivered to the voice that came out of Matthos a while ago. It was far from his rich, baritone voice that soothes her to sleep. That warning sounded like it came from a banshee.
"So we're being watched," Barney snorted, "that's nothing new or scary."
"It should scare you this time," she warned, "this isn't your average curse. If I'm right, the being behind this curse knows you stopped its spread from Physma."
"The golem probably has trackers," he sighed and slapped his forehead in frustration, "I should've used gloves. But it just doesn't feel right when you don't touch it with your bare hands. It's easier to identify with your sense of touch."
"Will you do the same with acid?"
He didn't answer to that, just grinned. In the future, Barney will introduce pH indicator papers to Lumi. But, for now, he'd let her stew in worry.
"Don't worry, Lumi. Once our dear expert wakes up, he'll know what to do."
Spoiler alert: He didn't.