We had finally reached Riverdale Town.
Everywhere we looked, there were people… normal lives, normal faces. But something felt off.
Ray took out the string doll.
The moment it activated, the thread began to move on its own… guiding us.
We followed it through the crowded market… then into a narrow, unknown alley.
The smell there was unbearable.
Rotten. Heavy. Suffocating.
But we ignored it and kept moving forward.
Soon… we reached a dead end.
And suddenly—
The string doll disappeared.
Ray narrowed his eyes.
"He's nearby."
I looked around, then said slowly,
doesn't the atmosphere feel… heavy?"
Ray nodded.
"Yeah… someone is releasing their aura."
But there was no one there.
I paused for a second… then clenched my fist—
And slammed it into the ground.
surface shattered beneath us—
And we fell straight down.
We landed inside a dark tunnel.
Without wasting time, we moved forward.
Then… we saw a faint light ahead.
As we got closer—
We saw him.
A man.
Standing in front of a glowing magic circle… chanting the same spell again and again.
Then—
He cut his own finger.
Blood dropped onto the ground… completing part of the circle.
Ray's expression changed instantly.
"We have to stop him… he's trying to resurrect them."
I looked closer—
Two bodies.
A woman… and a child.
Lying inside the circle.
Ray continued,
"There's no guarantee they'll come back… a demon could take their place."
But before we could act—
The man turned around.
And the moment he did…
Our bodies froze.
His heart…
It was visible.
Beating. Exposed.
In a dead, hollow voice, he spoke—
"I'm just… trying to bring back my wife… and my son. They died… from an illness."
Ray shouted,
"This won't bring them back! It could summon something else—something dangerous!"
The man slowly looked back at the bodies.
Then said quietly—
"I don't care… let people die."
Suddenly—
Gravity crushed down on me.
I couldn't move.
But just in time—
Ray cast an anti-magic barrier around me.
Then—
Lightning gathered in his hand.
He slammed it into the ground—
And electricity spread through the entire area, striking the man.
His spell broke…
Just for a moment.
Ray dropped the barrier.
That was my chance.
I rushed forward—
And punched him straight in the face.
He was thrown back and hit the ground.
Tears streamed down his face.
"I just… want to see them one more time… why are you stopping me?"
He folded his hands.
Begging.
I hesitated.
Slowly… I lowered my blade.
Ray also dropped his guard.
And that moment—
Was our mistake.
The man cut his finger again—
And completed the magic circle.
A blinding light erupted.
Lightning began to crackle all around us.
From the circle—
A hand started to emerge.
I reacted instantly.
I pulled out my blade—
Coated it with aura—
And stabbed it straight into the hand.
A terrifying scream echoed through the tunnel.
Not human.
Something else.
Our bodies froze in fear.
The hand quickly retreated back inside.
I didn't waste time—
And slashed the magic circle apart.
The black light disappeared.
Silence.
We both let out a breath.
Then—
We heard a weak voice.
The man.
We walked toward him.
He couldn't even move.
Tears kept falling from his eyes.
"Forgive me… I caused you trouble…"
He looked at us one last time.
"I just wanted… to see my family again…"
Blood started pouring from his body.
His exposed heart—
Slowly…
Stopped beating.
I picked up the paper lying nearby.
Then gently carried his body…
And placed it beside his wife and son.
We both folded our hands—
And prayed for him.
Then—
We burned the place.
And left.
By the time we returned…
It was night.
I handed the page to the professor.
But before that—
I had already read it.
It contained only one thing.
A spell.
The professor looked at us and said,
"Leo… Ray… thank you. You saved me."
He promised to treat us in the cafeteria.
We were exhausted.
So we went back to our room—
And fell asleep instantly.
Late at night…
A black crow landed near the window.
It stared at us.
Silently.
But—
It had no eyes. and no shadow
And then…
It flew away.