Both Elise and the rain-soaked ghost were completely stunned.
Just moments ago—
Lucien had clearly turned his back on the cross-dressing spirit.
Yet when the attack came—
he reacted instantly.
As though he had eyes on the back of his head.
What neither of them knew was that Lucien had been aware of the spirit's location from the very beginning.
The darkness.
The fog.
The abandoned mansion.
None of it could hide anything from him.
Exposing his back had never been carelessness.
It had been a trap.
And judging from the result—
it had worked perfectly.
The cross-dressing spirit lay sprawled across the floor.
Its body twisted unnaturally as it let out agonized screams.
It had fallen straight into Lucien's bait.
Realizing what had happened, the spirit immediately tried to transform into mist again.
Unfortunately—
Lucien's crowbar arrived first.
BANG!
The transformation was interrupted instantly.
The spirit screamed.
Lucien stepped on its head and looked down calmly.
"Where's your companion hiding?"
The spirit glared at him viciously.
It refused to answer.
"I... I know where he is..."
The rain ghost suddenly spoke up timidly.
She was terrified that once she lost her usefulness, Lucien would casually smash her apart too.
Unfortunately, before she could continue, Lucien's gaze swept toward her.
The poor ghost immediately retreated behind Elise again.
The spirit beneath Lucien's foot still refused to speak.
Lucien sighed.
Then raised the crowbar.
CRACK!
A horrifying sound echoed through the mansion.
The spirit's spine snapped.
A bloodcurdling scream followed.
The rain ghost shivered violently.
Even Elise felt chills run down her back.
"Lucien..."
She hesitated before speaking.
"Maybe... maybe we should let him go."
Although she agreed that the spirit deserved punishment, the scene before her was becoming increasingly difficult to watch.
During her investigation, she had uncovered some information.
"This man's name was Parker."
"His parents divorced."
"His mother suffered from severe mental problems."
"She forced him to live as a girl."
"She constantly abused and humiliated him..."
Lucien interrupted her.
"A miserable childhood isn't an excuse."
His voice was calm.
Almost indifferent.
"Plenty of people suffer."
"You don't see all of them becoming murderers."
His eyes shifted toward the hidden room full of corpses.
"He killed innocent people."
"He became a monster while alive."
"And after dying, he continued harming others."
Lucien lightly spun the crowbar in his hand.
"After doing that much evil..."
"What's wrong with a few extra hits?"
If Parker had never appeared before him, Lucien wouldn't have cared.
But once he had deliberately shown himself—
getting beaten was simply part of the consequences.
The spirit still refused to answer.
Lucien finally lost patience.
Qi surged into the crowbar.
Then he swung.
BOOM!
The spirit's body exploded apart.
"Nooooooo—!!!"
A shrill scream suddenly echoed from deep within the mansion.
A woman wrapped in white emerged from the darkness.
She floated forward while staring at the remains of Parker's soul.
Her face twisted with grief and hatred.
Parker's mother.
The true source of everything.
Elise's expression changed immediately.
That scream alone contained power far greater than Parker's.
This spirit was much more dangerous.
Far more dangerous.
She instinctively looked toward Lucien.
Only to see him frowning.
"Shut up."
He waved his hand casually.
A violent gust of wind erupted throughout the mansion.
Broken furniture.
Wood splinters.
Dust.
Everything was swept forward like a storm.
The woman in white let out a furious roar.
Dark energy exploded outward.
The last traces of light vanished.
Even the lantern in Elise's hand flickered violently.
The two forces collided head-on.
For a brief moment—
the entire mansion shook.
Then the dark energy shattered.
The woman was slammed directly against the wall.
Before she could recover—
Lucien's crowbar flew from his hand.
WHOOSH!
The weapon cut through the air like a spear.
THUD!
The woman was nailed firmly to the wall.
Silence.
The mother.
The son.
Both destroyed.
The rain ghost stood frozen.
Elise stared blankly.
She had dealt with supernatural incidents for decades.
Yet she had never witnessed a battle like this.
Not even close.
Lucien dusted off his hands.
"Alright."
"Let's find the oxygen-mask spirit."
He turned to leave.
Then suddenly paused.
Elise's face had become pale.
The rain ghost was already hiding in a corner.
Lucien didn't need an explanation.
He could feel it too.
An enormous amount of ghostly energy was rushing toward them from outside.
Fast.
Very fast.
"Lucien..."
Elise tightened her grip on the lantern.
"We made too much noise."
"The spirits in this realm heard us."
"They've smelled living souls."
"They're coming."
As if responding to her words—
countless pale hands suddenly slammed against the shattered windows.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Bloodstained fingers scraped across the glass.
Endless screams and wails echoed through the darkness.
The combined voices assaulted Elise's mind from every direction.
Her lantern grew dimmer and dimmer.
Her strength was rapidly fading.
Outside—
more and more spirits gathered.
Hundreds.
Perhaps thousands.
Their black eyes were filled with greed.
They wanted living bodies.
They wanted another chance at life.
And Lucien's soul smelled far too tempting.
Lucien stared at the crowd outside.
Then asked calmly:
"You said most spirits here are evil spirits, right?"
Elise nodded.
"Anyone trying to steal a living body qualifies."
Her lantern dimmed further.
Lucien smiled.
The moment Elise saw that smile—
her heart skipped a beat.
He had worn exactly the same expression before beating Parker into oblivion.
"Oh."
"That makes things easier."
The next second—
Lucien moved.
Like a cheetah exploding forward.
BOOM!
The mansion door shattered apart.
Lucien charged directly into the sea of ghosts.
"Lucien!"
Elise's eyes widened.
She immediately rushed after him.
But what she saw next left her speechless.
The crowbar swept through the crowd.
BANG!
One spirit exploded.
BANG!
Another scattered.
BANG!
A third was sent flying.
Not a single ghost could get within two meters of him.
A violent gust erupted outward.
The surrounding mist was torn apart.
Entire groups of spirits were shredded instantly.
The massacre continued.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Eventually—
the ghosts regained their senses.
Their greed disappeared.
Only fear remained.
The crowd slowly retreated.
Then retreated again.
Until a wide empty space formed around Lucien.
Nearly ten meters across.
Not a single spirit dared step closer.
Behind him—
Elise and the rain ghost stood frozen.
Ahead of him—
countless terrified spirits.
Lucien glanced at the crowbar.
Since the enemies were spirits, there wasn't even any blood on it.
After all that swinging—
it still looked brand new.
Not bad.
Then he raised his head and looked at the endless crowd of ghosts.
Ghostly flames illuminated their twisted faces.
It was a sight that would terrify any normal person.
Yet Lucien simply tilted his head.
Looking genuinely puzzled.
"I've been thinking about something."
The ghosts instinctively stepped back.
Lucien smiled.
"If you're all terrified of that mother and son..."
"If you're too scared to enter their territory..."
His grip tightened around the crowbar.
Then his smile widened.
"Shouldn't you be even more afraid of me?"
The entire spirit realm fell silent.
Lucien took a single step forward.
The crowd immediately retreated.
"Then why..."
"...did you come here?"
"Do you want to die a second time?"