"Ba-banshee..." Jeremy said with his legs quivering.
"This ugly ass woman?" Eric asked skeptically.
"...why is it here? A Silver-rank monster shouldn't be possible inside the city..!" the wimpy boy shouted in disbelief.
Meanwhile the woman, or the banshee, slowly walked to them. With each step, the banshee becomes larger. Its arms elongated, claws growing sharper, mouth opened wide enough to swallow an adult. Its dress became messier and finally instead of walking, it began to float.
"Kieeeeeekkkkk!!!"
The banshee's scream pierced through the dead mansion, adding to the eerie atmosphere of the afternoon. The wailing monster was so fast, it glided through the room instantly and grabbed Eric's shoulders.
"Eric! No, no-!"
Sounds dimmed, replaced by stillness. The banshee opened its maw and began its magic. From Jeremy's view, the banshee slowly drained Eric's mana and lifeforce by casting mind magic on its victims. Jeremy scrambles to throw his wind spells many times, but it has no effect whatsoever on the banshee.
Meanwhile Eric is amused by what the monster is doing. Indeed it's strange for him to feel calm and comfortable despite the creature wholly letting it jaw drop. He also felt a little sluggish and sleepy, but those emotions were quickly replaced by displeasure and annoyance.
Sensing his patience dwindling enough, he blinked and groaned. "You done?"
"Kiieeekk?"
"H-huh?"
Ignoring their confused faces, Eric adjusted his head, and threw a powerful headbutt to the monster.
"Kieeeeeekkkkk!?!?"
"Eric!?"
Both Jeremy and the monster let out a surprised voice. Eric was actually fine, since he layered himself with a psychic barrier.
"This bitch's audacity...your breath stinks as fuck, you know!" He yelled, pointing his finger angrily.
"Eric! Let's escape while it's distracted!"
"Not after I teach it some manners!" Eric lunged at the banshee, beginning his assault on the creature. The banshee didn't expect a human to attack it so recklessly. Both of them rolled to the ground after Eric tackled the abomination. He successfully pinned the creature and repeatedly threw left and right jabs.
"E-Eric!?" Jeremy squeals, seeing Eric's abnormal fight.
At first the banshee was baffled seeing the crazy boy try to brawling with it. Because what can mere punches do against apparition like itself, but soon began to change it mind when the the fifth and sixth punches landed.
Its whole being rattled and shocked, and it begins to perceive pain. Sensing the absurdity of the situation, it blinked out of existence then appeared again far from the crazy boy.
Mana stirred around the banshee, and Eric quickly moved close to Jeremy after sensing it.
"Kiiieeekk!!!"
A deadly scream tore through the air, ripping anything on the way. Dust scattered, furnitures destroyed, the whole mansion rumbled. Eric managed to create a thick forcefield before the abomination could scream, enveloping him and Jeremy from the dangerous wail coming out from the banshee.
Jeremy slowly opened his eyes and lowered his arm that covered his ears. He can't believe he survived the infamous spell of the banshee, Cursed Wailing.
"Wh-what is going on...Eric? What is th-this barrier?" Jeremy asked as he touched the barrier. Eric stood still, trying to gauge the monster. "Jeremy, there has to be a way to defeat that thing, right?"
Jeremy nodded hurriedly. "Ye-yes! Banshee is an apparition-type monster, meaning its weakness is Silver-rank or higher spells. Al-also they are more vulnerable to Light magic since they are still connected with the demonkin!"
"Kiiieeekk!!!" The banshee continuously struck the barrier with its sharp claws, but grew annoyed and impatient after its attack rendered useless.
"Anything else? There's no way the bitch let us walk away looking for help outside." replied Eric, both hands in hips. Jeremy thinks hard and recalled some crucial information.
"Th-that's right! Banshee is amalgamation of corrupted dead souls unable to ascend to the afterlife! Dead souls are inherently neutral!" Jeremy took a deep breath. "They're docile...! it takes time to fully corrupt them and forcibly change their nature!"
"Meaning, someone deliberately interfered with the souls of the dead...your point?"
"Kiiieeekk!!!" The barrier wavered under the relentless attacks.
"In order to corrupt those souls...! Hieeek!! So-someone has to perform a ritual! That ritual will be used to anchor the banshee in place!" Jeremy yelped and continued, "The ritual is usually done by collecting the bones of dead creatures and forming a small shrine!"
Eric was satisfied, and released a drilling psychic force toward the monster. The banshee crashed through the walls, far away until it could no longer be seen.
"You go search for that shrine or whatever. Let me hold the bitch."
"Eric! You can't-"
"Listen here, you little shit! Either you go find that ritual or you hold the bitch! Even better, you escaped this mansion and told the city guard about this whole mess! Your choice!"
Jeremy choked on Eric's command. Tears streaming down his face, he began sobbing uncontrollably. Heavy screams echoed through the mansion, and Eric clicked his tongue.
"Time's up. Go find that shrine."
"H-huh? Wa-wait-"
Jeremy's body suddenly lifted and he was tossed out of the room. The door instantly closed, leaving scream and rumbling behind it. Jeremy still stood there, wishing all of this was a nightmare. As much as he hated Eric for making him an errand boy, he never wished him to die killed by a monster.
His legs wobbled, but he kept walking. One thing is certain: Eric has changed. The Eric of today is a better person in terms of character and strength.
"That power..." Jeremy didn't know why, but after seeing how Eric handled the banshee...not to mention how he emerged victorious over an ambush by five students...he was sure Eric would be fine.
"Th-this time! I will-"
Jeremy began recounting every room they visited, None of them have the ritual shrine. He was sure there is a ritual involved here. If not, how does the banshee manifest and kill those burglars and thieves? Ordinary dead souls unable to harm living beings.
"If I were the culprit, I would hide the shrine... but where?" He ran through the third floor and slightly tumbled when huge tremors shook the whole mansion. "The place must be dark and rarely visited by people..." Something clicked inside him. "The cellar and basement!"
He decided to search the basement of the mansion first. He hoped that Eric was okay and continued running down the stairs.
***
"You know...I'm not into a type of girl who is obsessive...what is it called...ah! Yandere!" Eric said as he hovered in the air. He looked down at the banshee impaled on the mansion wall.
8%
"Kiiieeekk!!!" The banshee deeply embedded into the wall, struggled to get out from the structure. Then it forcibly tore its body from the wall, causing the brittle wall to collapse. Eric flicked his finger, and countless debris inside the room floating, then headed towards the banshee.
The banshee prepared its scream, but Eric willed his psychokinesis to shut off the jaw. The banshee's entire body was pelted by debris and it roared in pain, but to no avail, its mouth was shut tight.
"Mrrrrrrrrkkkkkk!!!"
"I was thinking," Eric dropped into the ground. "...You are technically a ghost or spirit right? The evil one, I mean." He slowly walked to the monster.
"The brat said in order to defeat you, Silver-rank or higher spells are required. But..." He stopped at a certain distance. "...I was wondering if a small yet lethal power was able to...exorcise you. But, I think I found the answer."
After some time Jeremy left, Eric playfully entertained the monster by repeatedly lifting it, hurling it to the wall, slamming it face to the ground…just so he can grasp what the banshee is.
Thanks to that, he finally knew. Just like Jeremy said earlier, the monster is a crude compilation of corrupted souls that forcibly stitched together.
When Eric tried to kill the monster, his power met with some resistance as he attempted to disintegrate the cluster of corrupted souls. It felt like touching an inflated water balloon with a gentle poke.
This meant Eric simply needed to intensify that 'poke' in order to 'pop the water balloon', making it sharper and stronger.
16%
The banshee froze.
29%
"This is the weekend." Eric slowly moved his hands.
34%
"It was supposed to be a quick outing..."
The monster darted its eyes around, trying to seek an escape route.
"If you just let us go in the beginning, I might spare you."
A dense pressure shimmering in the air. And for the first time, the banshee felt...fear.
41%
"But...the dead can't complain...right?"
50%
The banshee blinked and tried to escape to the lower floor, but nailed in place by something imaginably strong. Eric launched himself to the banshee, yanked and dragged its head through the roof. A loud boom destroyed the whole roof of the mansion. Not only that, their initial departure also leaves trails of destruction to the third floor.
"Kiiieeekk!!!"
The banshee and Eric soared through the air. Not stopping there, Eric gathered the debris from the destroyed mansion roof into a giant spiked ball and slammed it into the monster.
The banshee's mouth finally freed, and it managed to defend itself by letting out a more advanced form of its scream. The giant spiked ball shattered into several large pieces. The monster wanted to counterattack but couldn't see its enemy anywhere.
"Boo."
Eric appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the banshee by its waist. He then made such a strong and quick strike that even the banshee didn't have time to react. A powerful dive bomb straight to the mansion, using the monster as a cushion.
"K-K-Kiiieee-kk..."
Cracks appeared to its body, it whimpered weakly but Eric gave no mercy. Using psychic force, he strangled the monster forcefully, lifting it from the ground.
Suddenly, the form of the banshee started to get distorted. It began to blur, flickering out of existence. That was not Eric's doing, meaning...
"Well, I'll be damned. The brat found it, huh."
The banshee struggled to break free from Eric's supernatural force choke and wailed after its secret was discovered. "Kiiieeekk!!! Kiiieeekk!!!" "Kieeeeeekkkkk...!"
The banshee's resistance began to fade, making it easier for Eric to finish the job. The first thing he did was remove both of the banshee's long arms.
A violent burst and crack echoed through the ruined mansion. Before the monster could scream, Eric continued his exorcism.
His next target is the banshee's lower torso.
"Kiiieeekk!!!"
Then all that remained was its upper torso and head. Eric made an exaggerated mocking pose, prayed with his hands pressed against his chest, then spread his arms wide to welcome the monster's death.
"Let there be light!"
Eric unleashed an even larger and more dangerous psychic blast, causing a massive explosion that flattened and obliterated the second and third floors of the mansion.
The setting sun shone down on him, and he bowed as if paying his respects to the exorcised banshee.
"Requiescat in pace."