A terrible dream. Most likely even a terrible nightmare.
The same possessed woman had been tormenting Yen, chasing her to the end of the world. The background would change every time, so Yen knew she was dreaming. It was just that, she was worried what would happen if she got caught. Would she forever be asleep? No matter how much attempts she tried, none seemed to have worked in helping her wake up.
She tried looking for any so called exits, tried to find anything else, even tried to see if using anything against Malum would work. Absolutely nothing.
Yen: "What kind of poison does this to people anyway?!"
Suddenly, she felt much at peace for no reason. It was weird of course, for someone running for their life to feel this kind of thing. She turned to where Malum originally was. Gone. Malum was gone, away from her sight.
She woke up.
Gasping after the terrifying nightmare she had faced for almost 2 weeks without rest, she woke up, feeling really weary and thirsty.
Beside her was Aquie and Haru, who were panicking at her sudden action.
Aquie quickly helped her sit up as Haru came back with a glass of water. Yen drank it, feeling some kind of minty taste with it.
Haru: "Mint was added to it. The doctor says it would help you."
Yen: "Thank you."
Her voice was a little raspy, coughing rather harshly.
Haru: "I'll call Marione, then you may both interrogate her."
Yen: 'Interrogate me?'
Yen found herself sitting on the bed, still a bit tired but felt a little sense of relief after knowing her sisters were with her and that Marione had healed her as much as she could.
Marione: "I'm sure there was.. something you've seen, but.. just tell us once you're ready."
Yen took some deep breaths, trying to recall her horrid dream and thinking of how she was supposed to relay all of it to them.
Yen: "Well.. I was most likely trapped in a specific kind of dream the whole time, having the same possessed lady chase me. I tried not to get caught while also trying to find other ways to escape. The last time I was running, I turned to see Malum gone, as I soon awoke.."
She paused for a moment, unsure if she wanted to add something else to it.
Yen: "Do you know anything about Malum's sudden disappearance?"
Marione: "Ah.. uhm.. how do I explain this.."
Both Ceresés eyed Marione, waiting for her explanation.
Marione: "I kind of find a way to drive Malum out of possessed bodies.."
Duchess of Ceresé: "And you're telling us this now?"
Marione: "H-hey! I just found it out as soon as Yen awoke!"
Yen: "Then, you helped drive Malum away?"
Marione: "Yes, but it was kind of tricky."
Duchess of Ceresé: "Did you find something new?"
Marione: "As a matter of fact, yes! But I need to show it to you guys. It's located and it shall stay in the tower."
Yen: "Then teleport us there."
In an instant, they were teleported into the tower, specifically the area where Marione works in the most. Yen's legs felt wobbly, most likely for not standing for days in her physical body. Aquie caught notice of this quickly and held onto her, letter her lean onto her for the time being as a support until she was able to walk by herself.
Marione: "Sorry.. but anyways, it required me to unlock that secret room I've been blabbering on about for months on end!"
Yen observed her surroundings, she didn't see anything else strange except for the woman possessed by Malum, tied onto the table with magic. She didn't want to question this as she assumed Marione would eventually explain it to them.
Marione then touched a part of the wall, the one with the Ceresé symbol on it, as it glowed, showing the hidden part of the tower through it. It was amazing that she was able to unlock it, but the room looked bigger than what she imagined as a small room with a message in it.
Duchess of Ceresé: "It looks bigger than I imagined."
Marione: "Because this is a secret room with tons of spells that no Ceresé should use without a strong and good purpose. If anyone with an evil will step foot on this place, they'd be crushed to ashes."
Duchess of Ceresé: "So, how did you unlock it anyway."
Marione: "I was messing around with the tower a day before we went to Angel's and I found myself reciting that Ceresé poem out of nowhere. Using any type of life spell while doing it causes the room to reveal itself."
Yen: "Yet you weren't reciting the poem."
Marione: "I wasn't? Maybe I was just mumbling it to the point you couldn't hear anything from me."
They stepped foot in the room, filled with an amount of books on the shelves with some little gadgets on the table, ones Yen has never seen before.
Duchess of Ceresé: "It's quite advanced, and would be dangerous if anyone knew of this."
Marione: "Which is why they chose to hide this section."
It was unusually clean, knowing that it would be quite rare for a Ceresé to stumble upon this room. Perhaps Marione has taken her time to clean it.
Marione: "Now, I immediately checked this room once Yen lost consciousness. If you saw the Malum-possessed lady over there, then you'd know I performed some kind of ritual, right?"
It made sense. Maybe one of the books there contained spells in driving dark magic out of someone, no matter how impossible it may sound.
Duchess of Ceresé: "Tell me, what did you do?"
Marione: "I had to do this ritual for.. I guess a week? But I was able to eat or just get energy from the clone who accompanies you in meals and meetings."
Duchess of Ceresé: "You were able to get a hold of what I said, right?"
Marione: "Of course, but anyway, the woman is completely fine now. The Malum in her has been killed after I inspected it. They really put their all into Malum, as it was much more powerful than the lion we had encountered. I saved it's data like the last time, and it's pretty much more corrupted once I started to compare the two."
Yen, who has been struggling for a bit, could now find herself to walk normally. She let go of Aquie, and tried to test her body capabilities a bit by testing a small imagery magic spell before confirming her suspicions.
Yen: "I assume there was this kind of effect Malum put on me that made me like this. I do not wish to think of this, as it already is terrifying on its own but I think they tried to.."
She took a deep breathe, composing herself as much as possible. Cold sweat trickled down through her chin.
Yen: "They might have tried to possess me."
Their eyes widened.
Duchess of Ceresé: "Possess you? Wasn't it their goal to kill you?"
Marione: "She would die from this, her soul, I mean. The physical body is not the same as the soul, the one who's hosting it. If the body dies, the soul will find itself to a new body, basically a reincarnation. But if it's possessed with another soul.."
Yen: "It may be trapped in there until the corruption disappears."
There was a brief moment of silence. They all flinched as the lady who got possessed, groaned in confusion, waking up from her coma.
Duchess of Ceresé: "It seems she has awoken too."
Silence swept the room as they waited for the lady to get a hold of her surroundings. The woman was as frail and weak as Yen when she first woke up, maybe even weaker, as she really struggled into getting up, shaking with each use of strength she did. Upon seeing the three Ceresés, she flinched in surprise but found herself calming down before asking a question.
?: "Where am I and.. where is that thing?"
Duchess of Ceresé: "'That thing'?"
Recent memories start flowing into her mind. She realized and have seemed to grasp what may be happening.
She tried to get off the table, yet as she struggled, she fell to the floor, having the other three Ceresés to squat down in order to get into her eye view. The woman was really panicked, like she was searching for something, or someone, really important.
?: "M-my son! Where is he?!"
She managed to whisper out, with a hoarse voice, making Marione teleport away and come back with a glass of water in hands, most likely one with mint.
Marione: "Drink it. Don't use your hands, it's not too stable right now."
Without much of a choice, she drank the water. It did have the minty flavor to it, which helped her hoarse voice, and once she was finished, she noticed a glow on Marione, using magic to help heal her further. It made her realize that she was with the Ceresés, those who are the only people in the whole world that could use magic. Their features were also quite similar to what was described of them. Red hair, emerald eyes, and buttermilk hair, scarlet eyes..
?: "You are.. Ceresé?"
Duchess of Ceresé: "Yes. I would like to know you're name."
Jane: "Jane, my name is Jane, Duchess Ceresé.."
Duchess of Ceresé: "Then Jane, I want you to explain what you saw. The effects of it were of dark magic and it would greatly help us if you could tell us what happened."
Jane looked nervous, uncomfortable even. Aquie just waited patiently, with Jane recalling memories and taking deep breaths.
Jane: "There was this voice from a week before the accident. 'That thing' kept on whispering to me, sins that I always thought of doing but never intended to. It promised to help Joshua, my son, and I in living a great life. I declined of course, but it kept on forcing me to it, breaking me mentally for it in the process.."
Yen: "What did you see.. after your possession?"
Jen: "I was trapped in a room, where there was a door and a mirror. Beside the door was a light switch, which I occasionally turn off and on. I couldn't open the door at all, so I just stayed in the room. But whenever I look in the mirror when the lights are off, I see myself, yet in some corrupted way that scared me. It made me realize that I was possessed.. but I don't know why it didn't bother to hurt me.."
Marione: "Because in hurting you, they would hurt your body. You were still somehow connected to it, so it just locked you up."
She stayed silent.
Jane: "Where's Joshua..?"
Duchess of Ceresé: "He's playing with the other children who live in the mansion, don't worry. We were just waiting for you to wake up."
Yen: "Oh yeah.. did you send the other villagers off?"
Marione: "Yeah. We checked the scene again and there was no problem with it so we decided to send them back."
They teleported with Jane to the room where Joshua, Zeke, and Zara were, playing with each other with big smiles on their faces. Haru was with them, watching over them carefully. This scene just melted Yen's heart.
Jane: "Joshua!"
Joshua: "Mom!"
Joshua ran to his mom, tears of joy forming in his eyes. He looked much better than the first time they encountered him, the boy who had fear and sorrow written all over his face. It was great improvement in just a week.
Duchess of Ceresé: "Jane."
Jane: "Yes. Duchess?"
Duchess of Ceresé: "I suggest you also stay here with your son for as long as possible. I'd like to ensure your safety until we solve this problem. If you want to, you could also stay here after for as long as you work as a maid."
Jane took long moment to think. It was then did her son start talking to her, urging her to follow the request.
Joshua: "Please, mom? I really like playing with Zeke and Zara.. I don't have any playmates in the capital!"
Her heart melted, as she gladly accepted the offer, making the children jump in delight.
Duchess of Ceresé: "If you want, I could provide everything, food, some clothes, even your son's tuition, as long as you work hard for it. But, your salary would only be 10 REN a week. Are you alright with that?"
Jane: "Y-yes Duchess! Thank you so much!"
Duchess of Ceresé: "Hmm, then you could work as a cook here. I heard from little Joshua that your cooking is quite amazing. I'll be the judge of that."
Jane nodded as Imelda was told to show them the room nearby and help them around the mansion for the familiarity.
Yen: "How are you sure that her cooking is good?"
Duchess of Ceresé: "I've seen it in her files."
Marione: "Then where could she possibly be working?"
Duchess of Ceresé: "At Angel's, as one of the chefs."
Yen: "Angel's?! She was the one in charge of the chicken most of the time, isn't she?"
Duchess of Ceresé: "Of course. I am quite fond of it, so having hired the chef mainly in charge of it is truly quite a fortune."
Marione: "Does Angel know about it?"
Duchess of Ceresé: "Yes, I informed her beforehand about this and with her permission, she was quite alright with it."
Yen became a bit skeptical. There was no way she would only hire her for the chicken, right?
Yen: "If so, chicken can't be the only one she makes well."
Duchess of Ceresé: "She's quite advanced in any types of dishes! It's just that chicken is her specialty."
Aquie giggled, walking away from the room, leaving Yen and Marione shocked.
Marione: "How did she get to do that with Angel?!"
Yen: "Position? Maybe not.. Money? Maybe so.."
Marione: "Maybe that's why she give so much offers to her.."
For the rest of the day, they were stuck to thinking about Aquie's actions, yet were also quite glad that this was able to happen.