The rundown apartment stood at a distance from the other buildings, which felt strange. In a city like this, empty spaces usually didn't last long without being filled by more construction.
She moved slowly toward the building, her nose twitching a little as she tried to figure out how many people lived there.
Only one person lived there, which wasn't surprising given the feel of the place. Asher's choice to remain here was strange.
Even homeless people or drug addicts wouldn't stick around anywhere near it.
The negative energy here was so thick it could suck away a person's entire luck if they lived here for a year.
When a person's luck dried out, it meant sickness, accidents, and, in the worst case, death.
Fortunately, people could detect this, often steering clear after feeling tired, having frequent nightmares, experiencing a string of bad luck, or becoming overly emotional and easily angered.
But this was not an issue for her.
However —
She suddenly stopped walking further after she sensed that something was off.
On the stairway to the second floor, she spotted a presence that was neither human nor demon.
"What's a specter doing in this place?" she asked.
Her eyes fixed on a tall woman with long, disheveled black hair that covered most of her face.
Dressed in a long white sleeping gown, she would only look gloomy to humans.
A closer look revealed a stunning figure with all the right proportions.
The thin silk of her gown showed glimpses of her soft, pale skin underneath, and the more she tried to hide it, the more curious others would became.
But the demon girl could see through her real form and had to admit that the specter was beyond beautiful.
Her long eyelashes which framed her jet-black eyes, gave her a timeless, innocent beauty, while her red lips resembled the color of blood.
Specters usually formed from bad karma. It was odd for this entity to appear here, even more so than a demon like her trying to blend in with society.
"Five hundred credits per month," the specter said, lifting its pale, thin arm to demand payment.
The girl raised an eyebrow at the audacity of its words.
"You think I'll pay rent? Do you know who I am? " Her voice carried confidence, challenging the authority of the specter.
She was no ordinary demon; she hailed from a royal bloodline.
"What's your name?" the specter asked with her weak and nonchalant voice.
The girl straightened her posture, her eyes gleaming with a prideful glint.
"Call me Lucy. As for my last name, you don't have the right to know it."
"You need to pay 500 credits every month, Lucy... one month in advance, two months' deposit," it insisted.
"How dare you..." Lucy was momentarily surprised by her demand and indifferent expression.
No one had ever dismissed her like that. Her background was so significant that knowing her last name could turn the human world upside down.
Yet, this entity treated her like any other tenant.
She paused for a moment, weighing her options before deciding against violence.
While she could handle the specter, doing so would drain a huge amount of her power, and she couldn't afford to be detected by anyone right now.
"It's just a small amount anyway," she replied, handing over the payment.
After accepting the money, the specter handed her a key.
"Your room is on the second floor. Please don't disturb your neighbor," it said.
"Or what ?" Lucy asked with a piercing gaze.
"Or you'd be breaking our Landlord and Tenant agreement," the specter replied. Then, like a phantom, it glided through the walls and vanished.
'What an arrogant ghost,' Lucy bit her lip, clearly frustrated.
Her plan to follow Asher had taken an unexpected turn with the encounter of an entity who had such an annoying attitude.
"I knew it, that guy is not normal," she mused aloud, dragging her luggage up the creaking stairs to the second floor.
Though she was eager to meet Asher, she choose to bid her time and observe him first, letting the curiosity fuel her steps.
As she climb the worn stone staircase, each step echoed softly in the dimly lit hallway
She glanced around at the peeling paint and flickering light bulbs that created shifting shadows on the walls, surprisingly finding the place not so bad for a demon like herself.
Finally, she reached her room, conveniently located right beside Asher's.
'I'll talk to him later; he deserves some sleep,'