The house was quiet that night.
Too quiet.
The kind of quiet that only happens when a house that is usually loud suddenly becomes empty.
Yuma sat on the couch, flipping through channels while Stud floated upside down near the ceiling, watching the screen with intense focus.
"Stop changing the channel," Stud complained. "You humans have no attention span."
"I'm trying to find something good."
"You already found something good. Go back to the cooking show. The angry chef amuses me."
"You just like it when he yells."
"Yes."
Before Yuma could respond—
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Both of them froze.
Stud slowly turned toward the door.
"…If that's a poltergeist, I'm pretending to be a decorative lamp."
Yuma stood up and walked to the door.
When he opened it—
Alumna stood there.
Same calm expression.
Same posture.
Hands in his coat pockets like always.
"…Evening," Alumna said.
"…Evening," Yuma replied. "Something wrong?"
Alumna looked past him into the house.
"I'm here for Stud."
From the living room, Stud shouted,
"I REFUSE."
Alumna walked inside anyway.
Stud floated into the hallway, arms crossed.
"I am retired. I have chosen a peaceful life. Television. Insulting Serena. Occasional survival. That is enough."
Alumna reached into his coat and pulled out a glass jar.
Stud immediately backed away.
"…Why do you have a jar?"
Alumna opened the lid calmly.
"Because this is faster than arguing."
"Wait—"
Alumna moved quickly.
Too quickly.
He grabbed Stud midair and dropped him into the jar in one smooth motion, then closed the lid.
Stud slammed against the glass dramatically.
"This is abuse! I have rights!"
Alumna calmly poured a bottle of water over the outside of the jar, completely soaking it.
Stud froze.
"…You're kidding."
Water slowly dripped down the glass surface.
Stud pressed a tentacle against the inside and immediately recoiled.
"…You filled the barrier layer with water. I can't phase through this."
Alumna nodded. "Correct."
"This is imprisonment."
"This is transportation."
"I will report you."
"To who?"
"…I will think of someone."
At that moment—
Footsteps came from the stairs.
Serena appeared, slightly annoyed and half-as—
"What's all the—"
She stopped.
Her eyes landed on the jar.
On Stud.
Floating inside.
Looking offended.
Stud immediately pressed himself against the glass dramatically.
"SERENA. HELP ME. I AM BEING KIDNAPPED."
She stared at him for a few seconds.
Then looked at Alumna.
Then at the jar again.
Then she turned around and started walking back toward the stairs.
"Yuma," she said flatly, "lock the door after Sensei leaves."
Stud froze.
"…You're just going to leave me like this?"
Serena didn't even look back.
"Yes."
"That's cold."
"You'll survive."
"This is emotional damage."
"Goodnight."
She went upstairs.
Stud slowly turned toward Yuma.
Alumna handed the jar to Yuma for a moment while he adjusted his coat.
"I'll bring him back after the mission," Alumna said.
Stud shouted from inside the jar, "I don't want to go on a mission!"
Alumna took the jar back.
"Not optional."
He turned toward the door.
"Lock the house tonight," he told Yuma.
Yuma nodded slowly.
"…Okay."
Alumna left.
Stud's muffled voice could still be heard from inside the jar.
"This is kidnapping!"
Yuma stood in the hallway for a moment before closing the door.
Then he heard soft footsteps.
Serena came back down the stairs.
She stopped a few steps away from him.
"…Yuma."
"…Yeah?"
She hesitated slightly.
Then asked quietly,
"…Do you know what day it is tomorrow?"
Yuma paused.
He did know.
Alumna had told him before.
But he pretended to think.
"…Um…"
He scratched the back of his head.
"…Monday?"
Serena looked at him for a few seconds.
"…I see."
She nodded once.
Not angry.
Not upset.
Just… quiet.
"…Goodnight," she said.
Then she turned around and went back upstairs.
Yuma stood there in the hallway, feeling like he had just answered a question wrong on a test he didn't know he was taking.
He sighed quietly.
"…I'm bad at this."
The house went silent again.
Inside the Car – Night
The car moved quietly through the night, headlights cutting a narrow path through the empty road. Streetlights passed in slow intervals, light sliding across the windshield like a ticking clock.
Inside the car, the atmosphere was heavy.
Stud sat inside the glass jar on the passenger seat, arms crossed, still clearly unhappy about his situation. Water droplets clung to the outside of the jar, forming a thin barrier that prevented him from phasing through.
He stared out the window for a long moment before speaking.
"…You know," Stud said, voice calm but annoyed, "normally when people want my help, they ask. They don't trap me in a jar like a rare insect."
Alumna kept his eyes on the road.
"If I asked, you would have refused."
Stud didn't answer immediately.
"…That is correct," he admitted.
The car continued forward, engine humming softly.
After a few seconds, Stud spoke again.
"…So what's really going on?"
Alumna was quiet for a long moment.
Then he finally said,
"…It's better if you're not at the house tomorrow."
Stud turned slightly toward him.
"…That serious?"
"Yes."
Silence filled the car again before Alumna continued.
"Tomorrow is Serena's birthday."
Stud blinked.
"…And that's a problem?"
Alumna's voice became quieter.
"When Serena was younger, she was attacked by a poltergeist on her birthday."
Stud's expression changed slightly.
"It almost ate her."
The words hung in the air.
Alumna continued driving, eyes forward.
"Since that day, every year on her birthday, she has the same nightmare. The same poltergeist. The same moment. Over and over again."
Stud didn't interrupt.
"So that's why she hates birthdays," he muttered.
Alumna nodded slightly.
"There's more."
Stud leaned back slightly, listening.
"That poltergeist didn't disappear after that day," Alumna said. "It escaped."
Stud frowned.
"And during that same day… it killed twenty-one Geists."
The car suddenly felt colder.
Even Stud didn't joke this time.
"…Twenty-one?" he repeated quietly.
"Yes."
"That's not a normal poltergeist."
"I know."
Alumna's hands remained steady on the steering wheel.
"Reige and I managed to track it down that same night. We couldn't destroy it, but we managed to attach a tracker to its core."
Stud looked at him.
"…So you know where it is?"
Alumna shook his head slightly.
"That's the strange part. Every year, after Serena's birthday, it disappears completely. No trace. No movement. Nothing."
"And then it comes back."
"Yes."
"Only on her birthday."
"Yes."
Stud looked out the window again, watching the city lights pass.
"…So every year… she knows it's coming for her."
"Yes."
"And she still fights."
"Yes."
Stud was quiet for a long time.
Then he sighed slowly.
"…She's a strong girl."
Alumna nodded once.
"Yes. She is."
Stud continued looking outside.
"…Most humans would run. Hide. Quit. Pretend the world doesn't exist."
He crossed his arms.
"…But she picks up a weapon and goes hunting anyway."
Alumna didn't respond, but his grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly.
After a moment, Stud spoke again.
"…Alright. I understand why you don't want me there."
Alumna smiled then Stud turned toward Alumna.
"…But that still doesn't explain why you brought me."
Alumna finally glanced at him.
"It better for you and for her. I don't know what she'll do if she sees you tomorrow, for both of your safety I just need to have you two separated just for tomorrow."
"For most of my life, even before you ended up in that house… I hunted poltergeists."
Stud didn't respond.
"I killed and purified more poltergeists than most hunters," Alumna continued. "I've seen hundreds of types. Maybe thousands."
Stud's expression slowly became serious.
Alumna's eyes met his for a brief moment.
"…But this is the first time I've seen a poltergeist like this."
Silence filled the car again.
Alumna looked forward again and said quietly,
"…I was hoping you might know what it is."
Stud didn't joke.
Didn't complain.
Didn't insult anyone.
He just looked out into the dark road ahead.
For the first time that night—
Stud looked serious.
"…Yeah," he said quietly.
"…Let's start the mission."
The car drove deeper into the night.
And somewhere in the city—
Something was already waiting for Serena's birthday again.