Rama began to walk cautiously, aware that many eyes were now watching him. He walked along the side of the road at a slow pace, racking his brain, trying to think of the next step.
"The text warned me about the presence of a Ghost around here. But there shouldn't be any Supernaturals inside the city walls. What's really going on?"
He looked up at the tall wall on the horizon. If one focused their gaze, they could see a slight distortion in the air, indicating the magical dome that protected the city.
"Has the barrier stopped functioning?" Rama wondered. "No. If the barrier had stopped working, this city would have been ravaged by Supernaturals."
That meant there was something else causing the alarm to appear in his vision. Either it was a false alarm from his unknown power, or it was something real, and there was indeed a Ghost around here.
He walked for several minutes without finding anything. Finally, he stopped in front of an alley. Rama turned to look; at the end of the alley was the burnt-out complex.
"Is it possible..."
Rama immediately walked towards the alley and entered the burnt-out complex. Since it was already late in the afternoon, the atmosphere in this place became even colder and more eerie. The area where he had fought Jet and his two friends was a bit further from here.
"If the transparent text tells the truth, then maybe there is a Ghost here."
Rama ventured deeper into the complex. A chill ran down his spine as he walked among the burnt houses. What made it worse was that the alarming text was no longer appearing in his vision.
"If there's a place where a Ghost might appear, it's here. Oh shit! I didn't bring any weapons now!"
Rama cursed himself. "Ah, well. Whatever, besides, the text might have just given me a false warning."
Yet, Rama found it quite disturbing and highly unlikely. His power, mysterious as it was, had always given him remarkable results. It could make him strong easily, and give him the power to copy Supernatural abilities. And now, it was giving him a false alarm?
"Excuse me."
A voice startled Rama, almost making him jump. When he turned, he saw a little girl in a black dress standing a few meters away from him.
Rama furrowed his brow and then looked around. His instincts immediately told him that something was amiss.
"Can you help me?" the little girl asked. Actually, she looked like an innocent little girl who wouldn't make anyone suspicious.
If only she hadn't appeared suddenly in the middle of the burnt residential complex. And after his power had alerted Rama to the presence of a Ghost.
"What?" Rama asked with a flat tone.
"My dog got inside that house," the girl said, pointing to a house next to her. "Can you please help me get inside and find him?"
The girl displayed a pleading expression, one that could easily make anyone who saw it feel pity and want to help.
Rama didn't immediately answer because he was thinking about something else right now. Could he kill a Ghost without a weapon blessed with holy chants and only using his Supernatural power? Could a Ghost kill another Ghost?
'I guess it's something worth investigating, right?' Rama thought. It might sound foolish - entering a place that was almost certainly a trap - but he was a person who almost always followed his curiosity.
"Alright." And so, he followed the young girl into the house.
Shortly after they entered, the door suddenly closed. The girl just stood there in front of Rama without turning or showing any reaction. Afterward, her body turned transparent like fog, just like the form of a Ghost.
She slowly turned towards Rama, hoping to see a frightened expression, like the one she could see on the people she brought here. However, what she saw was a foggy shape just like hers.
Rama lunged at her and raised his fist. At that moment, Rama could see that the Ghost's eyes widened, showing a genuine shocked expression.
*BUAGH!*
The punch hit the Ghost square in her face and threw her backward. But because her form was just like fog, the Ghost just shot through the wall.
Rama looked at his fist. It turns out he could hit a Ghost just like hitting something solid if they were in their Ghost form too.
Successfully confirming one more thing, Rama grinned with excitement.
He followed the Ghost to pass through the wall. He found the little Ghost girl lying on the floor, her movements indicating that she was in pain. So Rama walked towards her.
"Can you speak?" Rama asked, it was something he wanted to know. Previously, he wouldn't bother to find out if a Ghost could talk or not and would only focus on running from them or killing them.
"You've become a Ghost too?" The Ghost girl asked with the voice of a little girl. It turns out she could speak.
"For now," Rama replied. "What are you doing here? How can you be inside the city walls?"
"I... I don't know," the little Ghost girl began to stand up. "My family... I saw them burning alive."
'So she is one of the victims of that fire.'
Based on what Rama knew, Ghosts were remnants of people who had previously lived and couldn't cross over to the afterlife realm. Their souls lingered where they died. He had never studied it too deeply, so he didn't know if a Ghost still retained feelings or memories from their life.
If that were true, then Rama would have to look at them from a different perspective from now on, not just as monsters.
"Have you killed many people?" Rama asked.
The little Ghost girl looked unstable, and Rama could see it in the expression that formed on her foggy face. She seemed confused.
'Should I kill her? No, before that, can I even kill her? I don't have a holy weapon.'
"I... I was just angry," she replied with a sad voice. "I didn't know what I was doing."
Rama was still contemplating whether he should kill her or not. Technically, she was a Supernatural, yet Rama could see a confused little girl.
"Can you promise not to kill anyone passing through here anymore?" Rama asked.
The little Ghost girl looked up at him. Her mouth slightly opened as if to say something, but the words didn't come out.
"I'll come here if I have the chance. But, don't kill people again. Or... I might have to kill you," Rama added.
After a moment of silence, the little Ghost girl finally nodded.
Rama exited the house. He sighed and exhaled while staring at the darkening sky.
"Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would meet a Ghost and speak to her," Rama muttered to himself as he walked away from the area. Today, he learned something else about his power. Something that might be unknown to other Hunters.
~~~