The smoke from below slowly began to thicken.
As Klein and the family of four made their way downstairs with great difficulty, they saw a strange scene.
The fire seemed to have spread from the kitchen in the back, so it was still possible to leave through the front entrance.
However, there were some people who had collapsed with their swords, though no visible wounds could be found.
Klein didn't stop moving, always alert and prepared to cast four different spells.
He made it through the building which was beginning to collapse, the four following close behind.
Once they made it outside, Klein saw a few people gathering outside.
He spotted a familiar face, and called out, "Hey Batch! Mind telling what happened?"
The familiar mercenary man from earlier walked toward Klein with a pale face, and said, "Well... You were right. There were ghosts..."
He still couldn't contain his trembling at the thought. He naturally didn't believe the young man when he told them about it...
But the truth was clear.
"I mean, of course I was right, but how did that happen?" Klein nodded his head towards the burning building.
A wooden beam had just fallen in flames, obscuring the entrance.
"Well, not too sure; I just heard a scream from the kitchen..." Batch shook his head, recalling the memory.
"And what happened after you drew your swords? How did they attack?" Klein asked, thinking about what he saw.
"Well... not sure. The ghosts were just there, and the guys collapsed..." Batch's eyes shook as he recounted.
Klein scratched his chin, considering, "Well, guess we'll leave then. It's been nice knowing you," He said with a smile.
"Right... I think we've also decided to go to the capital..." Batch hesitantly spoke.
Klein paused as he turned away. After a beat, he said with a chuckle, "Well, good luck"
At that moment -
A host of dark amorphous shapes flickered in the light of the flames lighting up the burning building.
Klein made eye contact with Amelia and Harold, then spoke softly, "I think we should run now..."
Those shapes were fast and chased the crowd gathered outside.
Panic permeated the area, and people ran past each other to get away.
A black floating cloak-figure charged through the body of a young man.
His eyes became blank for a moment, before he collapsed, unable to even utter a word.
Klein cast 'illuminate' on the knife as he led the way outside the town.
Along the way, there was the occasional shriek or scream that rang out in the dark.
The crimson and azure moonlight began to reveal themselves.
"Huff, huff... K-Klein!" As he anticipated another meeting with a ghost, focusing his casts, Klein heard someone call out from behind him.
He turned around with an unspoken question in his eyes.
"S-slow down..." Harold spoke between breaths. He was carrying his son as he ran, so it was difficult for him to match the young man's pace.
Amelia was no different, but she remained silent.
Klein scratched his head, then smiled, "Well, how about you guys go ahead and I'll follow. You remember where your car is, yes?"
Harold and Amelia briefly glanced at each other, then turned to Klein and nodded.
They made it outside the town, not far from where they had left their car.
Klein glanced back. Two apparitions flew towards him.
'Hmm... think they should be called wraiths' Klein smiled at the thought of naming creatures previously unknown.
'Illuminate', 'Attract', and 'Float' were cast upon the knife before he blinked behind one of the wraiths.
The knife flew towards it even as it attempted to chase Klein.
It pierced through its ghostly form from behind, and approached Klein quickly.
Deactivating 'Attract', he precisely touched the back of the knife's hilt with his fingertips and projected it behind him.
It shot forward with the added momentum, piercing the other chasing wraith.
The first, though having been pierced, continued towards him unfazed.
Klein blinked, reappearing where his knife was, grabbing its handle firmly.
The two ghostly being persisted in their obsession with him, and he continued to play around with them.
"Haaa..." Klein sighed heavily, sweat trailing his brows.
After having an exhausting time with the two ghosts, he had managed to dissipate them with great effort.
"Am I really so charming?" Klein chuckled as he followed the direction the family had ran.
His mana was running rather low now.
The battle had only taken about a minute to conclude, but it was quite taxing for him.
It took too many attacks with a light-attribute spell to deal with the creatures.
'I should definitely focus on [Soul Fortify]...' Klein thought back again to his gains from [Petra's Soulspells].
Throughout the day, he was learning the spell.
Though, it couldn't really be called a spell.
It was more like a way to circulate mana.
The strange thing was that it required the construction of certain circuits to be built first.
The technique was simply unlike anything Klein had seen or heard of before.
Klein ran, seeing the family in the distance.
They were quickly approaching their car not too far away.
BANG!
A gunshot rang, piercing the air. A pained scream followed.
Harold looked behind him.
On a deserted street that seemed oddly placed, there was a commotion.
A man wearing simple overalls was holding a shotgun, firing at a group of swordsmen.
Blood flew upwards.
The shotgun fired again, leading to another lost life.
Klein briefly glanced at it before continuing onwards.
However, Harold and Amelia slowed their steps for a brief moment.
"Hm?" Klein looked at them from far behind with a questioning look.
Focusing on the scene, they didn't seem to see him in the darkness.
However, they didn't slow their steps for long.
They continued onward after the momentary pause, and finally arrived at their the car.
Klein also ran towards them.
BANG!
Another shot fired, and likely another life was lost.
Klein briefly glanced again at the commotion not too far away from him.
A sword pierced the neck of the shotgun-wielder, killing him.
And the wielder of the sword too, fell not long after, clutching his wounds.
Klein shook his head.
They had all died, it seemed.