Lucien moved without warning.
One moment Marian was sitting there, smiling like any harmless old woman… and the next, his hand was already around her throat, lifting her clean off the bench.
There was no hesitation in his eyes. No doubt.
Just certainty.
"Lucien! Have you lost your mind?!" Walker shouted, rushing forward in panic.
"Stop."
The single word came out sharp enough to freeze him mid-step.
The detective and Jamie instinctively stepped in, blocking Walker before he could reach Lucien. None of them fully understood what was happening—but after everything they had seen tonight, they didn't dare interfere blindly.
Behind Lucien's grip, Marian struggled weakly.
Her hands clutched at his wrist, her voice trembling, fragile.
"Walker… help me…"
The plea was perfect. Painful. Real.
Too real.
For a second, even Jamie hesitated.
But Lucien just smiled.
A cold, knowing smile.
"You really are good at this," he said quietly. "Playing the victim suits you."
Marian's expression flickered—but only for a fraction of a second.
"Lucien… what are you saying…?"
He leaned in slightly, eyes dark.
"How did it feel," he murmured, "when your tongue was cut out?"
Silence.
Then—
Everything changed.
Walker froze.
The detective's breath caught.
Jamie's face went pale.
The air itself seemed to drop in temperature.
Lucien's voice hardened.
"Still pretending?"
He didn't wait for an answer.
Instead, he began to chant.
Low at first. Calm. Steady.
The words weren't loud, but they carried weight—something ancient, something that didn't belong to the ordinary world.
The courtyard fell completely silent as the sound spread.
At first, nothing happened.
Marian continued struggling, her face still filled with fear.
But slowly—
That expression began to crack.
Her eyes twitched.
Her lips trembled.
And then—
Her face twisted.
The illusion shattered like glass.
The warm, human features peeled away, revealing something pale… something wrong.
Sunken eyes.
A stretched, unnatural grin.
A face that didn't belong to the living.
Walker stumbled back, his legs nearly giving out.
"No… no… that's not…"
But it was.
Mary Shaw.
She let out a shrill scream, her voice no longer human.
"I curse you… Lucien… I curse you to die—!"
"Save it," Lucien cut in coldly.
His chant didn't stop.
If anything, it grew stronger.
The air began to vibrate faintly, as if reacting to the words themselves.
Mary's body convulsed violently in his grip. A dark mist started leaking out from her skin, twisting and writhing like something alive trying to escape.
The more he spoke, the worse it became.
Her screams turned sharper. Desperate.
Furious.
"You think… this ends here?!" she shrieked. "You think you can destroy me?!"
Lucien didn't even blink.
"You're already finished."
That was the truth.
And she knew it.
The black mist burst out completely, tearing free from Marian's body. It rose into the air, condensing into that familiar, horrifying shape.
Her real form.
But it was unstable now. Fading.
Breaking apart.
The chant reached its end.
For a single moment—
Everything went still.
Then—
Mary Shaw screamed.
A final, piercing sound filled with hatred and unwillingness—
And she shattered.
Not slowly.
Not dramatically.
Just—
Gone.
Like she had never existed.
The mist dispersed into nothing.
The air cleared.
And the silence that followed felt… lighter.
Marian's body went limp the moment the spirit left her. Lucien released his grip, letting her collapse.
Walker rushed forward immediately, catching her before she hit the ground.
"She's breathing…" he whispered, relief flooding his voice.
Lucien stepped back, exhaling slowly.
"Get her some rest," he said. "She's been carrying that thing for years. Her body won't recover overnight."
Walker nodded repeatedly, too overwhelmed to speak.
Meanwhile, the detective and Jamie just stood there, staring at Lucien like they were seeing him for the first time.
Not just someone capable.
But someone… far beyond them.
After a moment, Lucien turned toward them.
"There's still one thing left," he said.
They straightened instantly.
"The grave. Dig it up."
Jamie frowned slightly. "But… it's already over, isn't it?"
Lucien shook his head.
"The source is gone. But the remains still carry resentment."
He met their eyes.
"Burn it. Completely."
The tone left no room for argument.
They nodded.
"Got it."
With that, the two of them left to finish the job.
The courtyard finally fell quiet.
Walker carried Marian inside, leaving Lucien alone.
Only then did the tension leave his body.
He took a few steps back and sat down heavily on a chair.
His breathing slowed.
Then deepened.
Fatigue hit all at once.
The fight, the chants, the constant strain—it had drained him more than he expected.
For a while, he just sat there in silence.
Recovering.
Thinking.
A faint flicker passed through his mind—something familiar.
A kind of response.
Like recognition.
He didn't react.
Not immediately.
Instead, he closed his eyes and let his breathing settle, guiding his energy back into place.
By the time he opened them again—
The sky was already beginning to brighten.
Morning had come.
A week later.
Back in his antique shop, Lucien leaned back slightly in his chair, watching the man standing across from him.
Jamie looked serious.
Unusually serious.
"You want to work here?" Lucien asked.
Jamie nodded. "Yeah."
There was no hesitation in his voice.
Lucien studied him for a moment, then shook his head.
"This isn't something you just decide to do."
Jamie let out a small breath, half disappointed, half accepting.
"Yeah… figured you'd say that."
Still, he reached into his pocket and placed a check on the table.
Lucien glanced down.
Then paused.
Two hundred thousand dollars.
His eyebrows lifted slightly.
Before he could say anything, another check slid across the table.
"From Walker… and the detective," Jamie added. "They wanted to thank you."
Lucien looked at the numbers again.
Then at Jamie.
Then back at the checks.
"…Not bad," he muttered.
Jamie laughed lightly.
"You earned it."
Lucien didn't argue.
He picked them up without hesitation.
"Next time," he said casually, "just send more customers instead."
Jamie smirked. "Deal."
And just like that—
It was over.
For now.