The ghost man's attacks are wildly different from the ghost families. Every slash he makes with his clawed fingers releases a ball of miasma that aims toward Belle's head. He dodges it every time, suspecting that the ball of miasma allows the ghost to control other's bodies. The ghost man is also stronger, he's faster and smarter than the ghost family. Belle spends the first five minutes of the fight dodging his sequential attacks as the ghost man disappears and reappears throughout the basement. The game of tag ends when Belle catches the ghost man by surprise and hits him in the abdomen with the axe, slicing across it. The ghost man backs up at the last second, leaving behind a shallow cut instead of a gaping wound. But Belle can tell it hurt the ghost man.
"Urgh, how are you able to hurt me? You're no exorcist." The ghost man says, doubling over in pain.
"Hah!? You can talk!?" Belle shouts in surprise.
"Of course, any ghost above the lesser ghost level can talk." The ghost man replies.
"Interesting, then, why did you kill the family?" Belle questions.
"It's basic nature for ghosts to attack and kill anyone they meet, it's how we get more powerful, the only thing keeping us from massacring everyone is our rules." The ghost man says.
"Rules?"
"I'm done giving you free information." The ghost man launches at Belle again. This time, the miasma coats his claws, making Belle feel lightheaded every time an attack gets close. Belle swings the axe at the ghost man, but he disappears before it connects, reappearing next to Belle with his clawed hand extended. Belle ducks down, the claw soars over his head and Belle swings the axe up, taking off one of the ghost man's arms. The arm falls to the floor, wriggling around a bit. Belle kicks it away from the fighting area. The ghost man takes a step back, panting. 'Is that what he's doing? Can ghosts even get tired?'
"This shouldn't be possible, what is that weapon!?" The ghost screams.
"Ah, ah, ah, I'll only answer that question if you answer some of mine," Belle replies, waving his finger at the ghost man. The ghost man takes a moment to consider before answering.
"Fine."
"Good, good, first question, what are these 'rules' you talked about?" Belle questions.
"When a ghost becomes a higher level than a lesser ghost, then they have a rule that must be followed before they can appear." The ghost man explains.
"Aha, and yours is the pentagram!" Belle exclaims, snapping his fingers.
"That is correct, but because I am a weaker ghost, it only works in this specific location, where I died. Now tell me, how can that weapon hurt me?" The ghost man asks.
"Hmm, I don't know. It says it's a common axe that can hurt ghosts." Belle answers flippantly, shrugging his shoulders.
"You!" The ghost man shouts, enraged. He disappears again, this time reappearing on the roof and flying at Belle with his one remaining arm outstretched. Belle leaps backward to dodge but isn't fast enough and the ghost man scratches his claws into his chest. There are a few horrifying seconds of utter blankness, the world around Belle going dull and fuzzy before his vision clears again. Belle shakes his head to get his bearings back.
"That was…unpleasant," Belle states.
"How can you resist my ability, no, I can't be defeated here by a brat like you!" The ghost man screams in rage, launching himself at Belle, his attacks becoming uncoordinated in his anger. Belle blocks the claw attacks with his axe and when he sees an opening, he swings, cutting off the other arm. The ghost man pauses, seeming to realize his situation, and then disappears, reappearing where Belle kicked his other arm. Belle can see the dark miasma gathering around the ghost man, and, not liking whatever that means, runs up and attacks him again.
"Not so fast!" Belle shouts, swinging at the ghost man who dodges to the left. Belle follows up with another swing, but the ghost man dodges again. It's Belle's turn to go on the offensive as he chases the ghost man around the basement. As Belle chases him, the ghost man's miasma starts spiking, the air becoming thick and hard to breathe in. Ryan chooses this moment to stumble back into consciousness.
"Cough, ugh, what happened? Why is it so hard to breathe in here?" Ryan chokes out. The ghost man rushes toward Ryan, too panicked to disappear, Belle rushes after him, axe raised in the air.
"Uhh, why are you running at me with an axe?! Don't tell me the ghost is in you!?" Ryan screams, covering his head with his arms as Belle swings the axe diagonally, chopping off the ghost man's legs. He falls to the ground and Belle steps on his chest.
"Hehe, gotcha!" Belle grins, staring down at the ghost man on the floor.
"W-who are you talking to?" Ryan asks fearfully, he's not protecting his head anymore, but he is holding his hands in front of his face, peeking through a small gap he made between two of his fingers.
"Hm? You don't see this guy?" Belle questions, grabbing onto the back of the ghost man's suit and waving him in front of Ryan's face, which he has uncovered after realizing he's not in any danger.
"No? What are you talking about?" Ryan says, utterly confused.
"Humans can't see or touch ghosts unless they have special eyes." The ghost man helpfully explains.
"Ah, I see, now how do I get rid of you?" He mumbles, turning to the ghost man in his hand.
[The system can exercise ghosts. Would you like to use this ability?]
[Yes] [No]
Belle immediately clicks on the yes button, watching as the ghost man and his limbs catch on fire and he screams in pain. Belle watches as the ghost man turns to ash beneath his fingers, finally disappearing. The depressing feeling of miasma in the house leaves with the ghost man.
[Evil Spirits Deafeated: 1/1]
"Alright, I'm really confused, what just happened?" Ryan questions.
{i second that}
{that fight scene was insane to watch}
{scene? he already said its real}
{that guy didnt see the ghost but we did? it has to be fake}
"Eh, don't worry about it, let's get out of here, I'm a bit hungry," Belle replies, already walking toward the stairs to leave the basement.
"Ah, wait for me! Don't leave me down here alone!" Ryan cries out, rushing to catch up to Belle. When he reaches the living room he spots a strange site. The ghost family is all lined up together, the ghost dad has reattached his head, and they're all smiling. Granted, with how they look, the smile is not a comforting one. The family just stands there, as they start to disappear from the bottom of their feet. When it reaches their heads and they're about to completely disappear, a gust of wind sweeps through the room, and on it, is a faint whisper.
"Thank you." It says. Belle lets a small smile crawl onto his face as he approaches the front door. Before leaving he turns around to face the camera.
"Thank you for watching the stream everyone, I hope to see you next time, goodbye!" He says, and clicks the [End Stream] button. The camera falls down and Belle catches it in his hands.
[Congratulations on finishing your first stream. You had a total peak of 156 viewers and earned 15 Ghost Points. Any money made from the stream will be immediately sent to you.]
Ryan is mumbling something to the side, Belle catches the tail end of, "...insane person." and decides to ignore him. He opens the front door and strides out of the house with Ryan trailing closely behind. It's completely dark out and when Belle checks his phone it says 11:35. He doesn't remember when he went into the house but it has probably been quite a few hours based on the missed calls and texts from Liz.
"Ryan! Oh, thank goodness you're safe!" A voice cries out.
"Leah! I thought I'd never see you again!" Ryan sobs, and the couple runs in for a hug, crying into each other's arms.
[Missing People Found: 1/1]
[Congratulations, you have completed the mission. You have earned one random weapon box, would you like to open it now?]
[Yes] [No]
He decides it would be better to open it in the safety of his room, just in case, and clicks on the [No] button. The couple is still whispering affirmations to each other, but it's getting late and Belle needs to call Liz back and get home.
"I hate to interrupt the tender moment, but I was promised some payment," Belle says, the woman, Leah, sends him a rude glare. She grabs her purse, rummaging around for a bit, then tosses some money at Belle.
"Here, take it and leave." She grumbles.
"Aw, I don't get a thank you? I did save your boyfriend and stuff." Belle says, putting his best pouty face on. Leah does look a tad guilty and eventually mutters a thank you under her breath. Ryan decides to give Belle a bear hug before giving Belle his number so they can keep in touch. Belle waits till the couple leaves before giving Liz a call. The phone rings for a bit before picking up with an ear-piercing scream.
"Belle! Where the fuck have you been! I thought you would only be gone for like thirty minutes, it's been hours!" Liz shouts, Belle brings the phone away from his ear for fear of damaging his hearing more.
"Sorry, I forgot to tell you I'd be out for a while." He apologizes.
"Sigh, it's fine, just tell me next time, I was worried about you," Liz responds affectionately.
"Haha, you can't live without me, can you," Belle states.
"Aw shut up, you know I could never live without my bestie," Liz replies. Belle feels a pang of guilt run through him at the realization that he could've died tonight and Liz wouldn't know a thing.
"Hey, I really am sorry, it won't happen again," Belle says, his tone more serious. The other end is silent for a while.
"Thanks, I just don't know what I would do if you disappeared," Liz confesses.
"Me either, I'm gonna drive home now, I should be there in about two hours."
"Okay, see you soon." The phone hangs up, but Belle doesn't miss the implication that Liz will wait for him. When Belle arrives at the house, Liz is waiting outside. As soon as he steps out of the car she's embracing him.
"Hey there sweetheart, it hasn't been that long." Belle teases.
"Don't call me sweetheart, that name is reserved for one person and one person only." Liz snaps back. It's a bit of a running joke between them, Liz has always been desperate to find 'The One' and she once said that only that person has the right to call her sweetheart. Ever since she said that Belle makes it his mission to call her by that pet name at least once a month.
"So where were you all night?" Liz questions, leading Belle inside and plopping down on the couch next to him after closing the door.
"Do you want the truth or the lie I tell for your sanity?" He asks.
"The truth please, I think I'm already insane enough to let you live with me." She taunts.
"Okay so, this girl called me and asked me to find her boyfriend who went into a haunted house and hasn't come out for a week."
"You have got to be kidding me." She deadpans.
"I got like, a hundred bucks out of it, here's the rent by the way." He responds, handing her the money he received from Leah. He watches Liz count up the money in her hand and then turn back to face him.
"Look, I'm too tired to converse about how stupid this was, so I'm going to go to bed, and we'll continue this in the morning." She says, pocketing the money and heading to her room.
"Goodnight my codependent love-crazy best friend!" Belle calls after her.
"Goodnight my dumbass psycho money-hungry best friend." She yells back, Belle grins as he walks to his room, places the camera on his desk, and jumps onto his bed.
"Guess I should check out this weapon box thing." He mumbles, opening the system and clicking on [Weapons]. He clicks on the new item, and when the system asks if he wants to open it, Belle presses [Yes]. There are a few seconds of waiting as the system leads Belle through an animation of a crate opening before the system sounds off some trumpets and reveals the reward.
[Congratulations! You have won a Ghost Companion.]
Belle clicks on the description of the item.
[Someone once managed to capture a ghost in a toy capsule, this ghost used to be very high-leveled, but after years of being trapped, its level has decreased and its memories have gone hazy. Allows you to summon a ghost companion from this capsule that will aid you once a month for a few hours.]
'Interesting, it seems like the weapons aren't just things like axes and swords' Belle decides to go over the information he learned and look at the Ghost Points tomorrow.
'For now, I sleep.' Belle thinks, closing his eyes as the fatigue washes over him.