The creature—an enormous dog-like beast with cold, glowing eyes—rose to its feet and snarled. Its fur was mottled with patches of dark miasma, but as Melina's golden light washed over it, the corruption began to fade.
The beast charged, baring its fangs, but Melina smirked. With a graceful leap, she soared into the air and landed a powerful dropkick squarely on its head. The impact sent a shockwave of light rippling through the house, fully purifying the creature.
As the glow subsided, the beast shook itself and sat obediently in front of her, its massive body towering over her at eight feet tall. Its now-fluffy fur was not clear and brown coloured, and its bright, gentle eyes gazed down at her.
Melina's eyes sparkled with delight. "So cute!!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around the beast's thick body. It responded by wagging its tail and licking her face affectionately.
"You guys were all suffering from a curse, huh?" Melina murmured, glancing over at the now-restored spirits, who were staring at her nervously. She tilted her head, curiosity gleaming in her eyes. "I wonder what happened here..."
The spirits exchanged uneasy glances before one of them, a frail-looking ghost with the body of an old man, stepped forward.
"Can you guys explain?" Melina asked, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. "I'd like to know what kind of mess I just cleaned up."
The old man bowed his head respectfully. "Thank you, kind lady," he began, his voice trembling. "This house... it has been cursed for decades. We were trapped here, all because of an Orthodox cultivator..."
Melina placed a hand on her hip and gave him an encouraging nod. "Go on," she said, her tone soft but firm. "I'm listening. I more or less assumed it to be an evil cultivator."
'Well I'm from an evil cultivator family,' Melina thought nervously.
"Well, we had a treasure our family which I was to protect," the old man began, his ghostly body faintly flickering. "A cultivator, sensing its presence, came to us and demanded it. But we couldn't hand it over—it was our family's heirloom."
Melina leaned forward, intrigued. "Oh? What was it?" she asked, her curiosity piqued.
The old man gave a wistful smile. "A teleportation device, capable of making one travel large distances in a few seconds. It had been passed down for generations. When we refused to give it up, he grew furious. To keep it from falling into his hands, we destroyed it with our own hands."
"Destroyed it?" Melina repeated, her eyes widening slightly. 'For a mere device like that all that fighting wasn't needed. I could easily make one,' Melina thought, not understanding how rare such devices were.
"Yes," the old man continued. "But in his wrath, the cultivator cursed with his cursed sword. He turned us into ghouls, and we were was unable to leave the mansion." His voice softened, and he bowed his head. "After all these years, we're finally free." A beaming smile lit up his face as he looked at Melina with gratitude.
"I see, I see," Melina mused, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "So, what will you all do now?"
The old man's expression grew solemn. "Because of the sins we committed—killing innocent people under the curse—we cannot ascend to the afterlife yet."
Melina raised an eyebrow. "And you're stuck in this mansion?" She glanced around, noticing that the house was far larger than she'd initially thought. With a very massive compound.
'Probably for the dog to have a lot of space to play and for them to train. They seemed like a clan,' Melina thought staring around.
"Yes," the old man said with a nod, and the other six ghosts behind him followed suit.
"For such a big house, your family seems pretty small," Melina remarked, tilting her head.
A faint chuckle escaped the old man. "Most of our clan members escaped before we were cursed. Only I, the elder, and these six loyal servants remained behind to guard the others so the cultivator couldn't hurt them. We managed to injure him but he killed our bodies."
"I see," Melina said, her tone light as she processed the information.
After a moment, a sly grin spread across her face. "Well, I can help you out. I could craft puppet bodies for you to inhabit. It'll take some time, but once you have those, you won't be stuck here anymore."
The old man's eyes widened in astonishment, and the other spirits murmured excitedly. "You would do that for us? Thank you so much, immortal!" Seeing the spell Melina used to purify them, how could she not be an immortal? She definitely was in their eyes.
Melina waved a hand dismissively. "Just call me Melina. No need for all that formal stuff." She crossed her arms and smiled warmly. "But first, how about some introductions? I'd like to know who I'm helping."
The old man straightened, his face glowing with pride. "Of course, Melina. I am Aldric, the last Elder of this household."