“You know, with Hallow’s Eve around the corner, exploring an abandoned mansion far from the city is pretty festive,” said Eshdar. “Too bad this mansion gives me bad vibes.”

“Bad vibes?” asked Lilac.

“Like something’s wrong. Really, really wrong.”

Lilac concurred. Ever since they went through the gate, there was a foreboding, ominous aura from the mansion that the former Lycan couldn’t understand. However, there was one thing she could understand.

The mansion was dangerous.

Even if she was no longer walking the path of a wolf and a woman, she still had her honed instinct. Something about the mansion felt like it could eat her like a predator eating its prey. Her instincts told…no, screamed, at her, to run. The mansion was an apex predator.

Her fears caused her to let out a fearful whine. Eshdar calling the mansion ‘wrong’ was not an exaggeration. She somehow felt that stepping through the front door would be the end of them. So, she warned Albert by walking to him and stopping him.

“Al…this place is bloody dangerous,” said Lilac. Albert could feel her shivering.

“I know,” said Albert. “This place was the site of a black ritual. It isn't strange to feel like we're walking into danger.”

“How long has this mansion been abandoned?” asked Eshdar.

“Ten years,” clarified Albert. “Enough time for the garden to get overgrown.”

“And no one’s been around until recently?”

“I don’t think that is the case, Eshdar. I think this place has always been occupied.”

“He’s right,” said Lilac, sniffing the air. “The place doesn’t smell like abandoned, even if it looks like it.”

“What did you smell?” asked Eshdar.

Lilac paused, before she said, “Blood. The mansion is thick of it. There’s…also this stuffy feeling. This mansion is dangerous.”

“I see,” said Albert. He then pulled out his rifle and said, “Then don’t split up. Demons are more likely to tempt or ambush you when you’re alone. Even with all the anti-demonic protection, you can be overwhelmed, especially if we’re dealing with circle demons. This is different from that Orobas from earlier.”

Lilac understood the danger. Of the three, she was the most affected by the foreboding aura coming from the house. She wasn’t even sure if this was the right idea. Still, if it wasn’t for doing the job for the Demon Hunters to help them, she wouldn’t want to come.

Then there was the issue of her Tainted status. The words were insulting and unkind, but she had no other way to explain it. It was not kinder than being Corrupted, for instance. Otto’s warning also concerned her. She wouldn’t know how or when the demonic influence would overcome her, and what would happen to her then. Would Eshdar and Albert be forced to put her down?

She shook her head. Of course, they wouldn’t. So far, Lilac never assumed the two to be pragmatists. They would find an alternate way that would not involve her dying. She didn’t want to die young, not before reuniting with her brother, and not before she see her home region be free from demons.

Her mind started wondering about Ifrit. For some reason, even after what he had done, Lilac had no reason to hate him. Instead, she wanted a chance for him to explain himself. She bet he wouldn’t even know why. If Rhynsa’s words were to be believed, he could just be another victim of his parents.

Thinking too much about it wouldn’t change the fact that Ifrit was dead. She would also learn not to be distracted upon entering the mansion, especially when she felt an overwhelming pressure after Albert and Eshdar opened the heavy front doors, which were made out of oak, reinforced with steel. They seemed to be made not to keep people out, but to keep something in. That’s the impression Lilac got when the door was opened.

The mansion proved to be more than just peculiar when the three of them heard otherworldly whispers, shrieks, and cold and hot air. The one that proved that it was dangerous, however, was the presence of a dried pool of blood, most of which once soaked the carpet that lined the floor towards the grand staircase. The carpet was moldy and decaying, as was the rest of the seemingly abandoned mansion.

“This is worse than I thought,” said Albert as he pulled out his pocket watch. The clock hands were turning wildly, even though no one as adjusting it. It was an indicator of the malice and demonic atmosphere left from the black ritual. It could also detect demonic presence.

“Yeah,” said Eshdar, who already had his bow and arrows ready. “The air is thick of murderous intent. It’s like every single ghost haunting this place is out for blood.”

“Ghost?” asked Lilac. “You mean, they are always real? The undeparted spirits?”

“Only when they have a particularly strong connection to something,” explained Albert. “Most of the time, though, they are vengeful spirits destined for eternal damnation or, in this case, become fodder for demons.”

“Ghosts as fodders?” said Eshdar. “Now there’s something you’d ever hear.”

“Which means this place is a demon’s den, and we are in its territory.” Albert quickly readied his rifle and other equipment Lilac assumed to be his standard Demon Hunter equipment. “Stay vigilant, you two. Things will only get worse from here on out.”

They waited for anything to come, knowing that they shouldn’t be hasty and be the one that started the fight. They knew that would only agitate the ghosts and possibly wasted unnecessary energy just to fight something that had known shown itself yet. Knowing this was the case, Albert told the two to be careful and stay together, both agreed.

The mansion itself, as Lilac noticed, seemed rather grand, especially when illuminated. Without the dried pool of blood and the general deterioration of the mansion, she could see that the mansion was fitting for a family of nobles, especially a noble family that had been around for generations. The illumination, as Lilac noticed, seemed to be pre-electric. She only saw candlesticks and candelabras with burnt out candles in them, but not electrical lamps. The mansion was not updated for the 20th century, it seemed, for everything seemed to be stuck in time and left to rot.

The three came upon the next room to their left: a dining room. It was vast and fitting for the dining room of nobles, with a table that could fit at least 15 people. Like the rest of the mansion, the wooden mahogany table was decaying. Some of the chairs were only precariously balanced. One push and it would tip over. The ones that obviously did not decay were the silverwares, neatly arranged on the table, as if expecting for guests to come for a dinner.

The most striking decoration in the dining room was the giant oil painting of what looked like a raw, bloody battle between two naked Lycans. They seemed to be fighting while surrounded by Lycans and humans cheering at the two, while one Lycan sat on a throne watching intently. Their clothing seemed medieval, or maybe even older. Lilac wasn’t sure. Above the painting was a crest, but it was hard to determine the details without light. Still, the striking red over silver did make the symbol vaguely clear: it was that of a dragon’s head, a popular symbol for nobility and heraldry, something that she learned from Summinat’s library.

As the three got close to a nearby door, however, both Lilac and Eshdar’s sharp ears caught some disturbing noise: that of something stabbing flesh. Eshdar silently signaled Albert, who was the closest to the doorknob, to silently check what’s behind the door. Albert nodded as he slowly twisted the doorknob and opened it towards a dark corridor.

Then he saw the horror behind the door, and even he froze, unable to comprehend it.

Opening the door also released the sharp smell from behind the door. It alarmed Lilac enough for her to push through Albert. She wasn’t supposed to, but she did.

And like Albert, she saw the source of the stabbing noise, and she gasped in horror.

There was a person kneeling beside a corpse, stabbing it feverishly. The person kept stabbing a bloated, rotting corpse that looked less like the remains of anything and more like a grotesque lump of flesh with a partially melted face. The putrid smell alarmed Lilac, as it was far too unpleasant, even coming from a rotting corpse.

Then the person slowly stood up, and then the person turned. Lilac was stunned with fear. The person only resembled a human, but his face…it was gone. His lips were cut off, and his eyes barely stayed in their sockets. His body was too frail and too thin. In fact, the person looked more like a walking corpse than a living, breathing person.

Albert noticed the knife, and then the person growled, before lunging towards the two. Albert acted quickly by shooting the monster in the head. His body exploded before turning into ashes. The violent way of the monster dying shocked Lilac.

“What…what the bloody hell…?” said Lilac, unable to comprehend what just happened.

“Demonic corruption,” said Albert. “Then it’s true. This mansion is a site of a black ritual.”

Lilac, however, knew the demonic corruption wasn’t just affecting the monster that was once a man. The smell of the bloated corpse agitated her. She couldn’t describe the smell, but smelling at it made her reel back, as if startled or knowing that a danger was close. However, she calmed down when Albert destroyed the corpse with a spray of blessed water. The bloated corpse disintegrated into dust.

“Do you think we might be able to find the site soon?” asked Eshdar. “I feel uneasy just inside this mansion.”

“Dangerous, more like,” said Lilac, clearly agitated. Eshdar noticed that her blue eyes turned narrow like a cat or a fox.

“Agreed,” said Albert. “Like I said. Stay vigilant and try not to be distracted by the mansion. I know the place’s impressive, but it might cost your lives.”

Both nodded. As Eshdar entered the corridor and scouted ahead (but still within both Albert and Lilac’s line of sight), Albert pulled Lilac aside and said, “Be careful, Lilac.”

“I know. Recklessness is not something I cultivate.”

“I am talking about the demonic corruption,” said Albert, whose expression turned serious. “Lilac, this mansion…it’s okay if you want to sit this one out.”

“Are you telling me that because I’m a woman? Just so you know, I’m—”

“I know you are a Lycan with fangs and claws, but did you forget what you’re of, too?”

“A Tainted, right? So, what? That doesn’t mean I am more vulnerable than you two. I know how to fight, and we have known each other long enough to trust each other.”

Albert, slightly taken aback by Lilac’s assertiveness, could only say, “Okay, I understand. But, Lilac, heed these words. When you hear whispers, do not listen to them. Do not heed them.”

“If it isn’t either one of your voices, I wouldn’t trust them,” said Lilac, confident.

“I won’t be so sure about that.”

“Look, in any case, we are not going to be separated. Better get this done with and report everything that occurred here. I can’t stand being in this mansion any longer. It’s like my body’s itching for a fight.”

Albert could only keep silent as Lilac joined Eshdar in exploring the corridor and the connected rooms. Lilac’s assertiveness started to explain something to the human, and it was concerning. Even if she was not that kind of person, Lilac’s current status as a Tainted made her more susceptible to demonic suggestions. It started to show when she became agitated and alarmed.

He started to become worried. Lilac shouldn’t have come. Then again, she wasn’t the kind of woman who’d enjoy waiting. She wouldn’t care if she was a Tainted or not. She just wanted to help her friends, or, in Albert’s eyes, to prove that she wasn’t the traumatized villager that he met in Wayfer anymore.

Albert soon joined the two, intending to be more vigilant to Lilac’s changes and help her before it was too late.

***

Somewhere in the mansion, a figure watched the trio explored the mansion and chuckled. He had been watching the three ever since they opened the front door. Anyone sane would just turn around, just like several children on a dare. Even they wouldn’t dare enter the mansion, lest they know the true dread of the house of the demon.

The demon, the one that took over the place, had been living in the mansion for ten years. A botched attempt to summon a more obedient demon ended up summoning him to the mortal plane. He reveled in their shocked faces when they realized what they summoned and enjoyed seeing their eventual demise when the demon decided to play on their psyche, turning the whole mansion into a playground of violence.

He soon became bored and started luring people. Most of them were forgettable and unwanted, like the homeless or fugitives. Often times, he would play with their resolves by manipulating them through the lingering air of corruption, which made them susceptible to all negativity and finally, the breaking point. He would do the same towards the newcomers, just to see how their own dynamic ended up separating and finally, killing them.

Still, the three individuals were unique. One’s a vulpine-looking hellhound. One’s a hellhound without a horn or a Lycanthrope. The last one knew what to expect, and was the most dangerous of the three. He could easily find where the demon had been hiding and smite him with his bullets.

But then…the girl. The demon was interested with the girl. He appearance did not seem normal, but when he examined her further, he could sense the taint of demonic essence within her. A malicious thought came across the demon. He made a wicked grin, knowing that he would enjoy what he planned.

Thus, as the trio wandered around the mansion, the demon initiated his plans.