CHAPTER 42: CHAPTER 42: DECEIVING

Click. Clack.

Lana’s measured steps, laced with carefulness, cut through the air. Her narrowed eyes surveyed the room.

"Xander? Colin?" Her gentle voice cracked with a hint of nervousness.

Hehe.

The sound of muffled laughter from behind attracted her attention. Her heart pounded in panic, and a chill shot through her spine.

Her instincts screamed at her not to turn. It was like one of those horror movies where the protagonists knew... the ghost was right behind them, and yet they turned around.

Whenever Lana saw those movies, she cursed the brainless protagonists, but now? She was doing the exact thing... sigh!

Sure enough, the moment she turned around, her eyes crashed into gleaming black eyes.

Xander was grinning eerily, his teeth were charcoal black, while his pitch black eyes stared at Lana with amusement.

What unsettled Lana even more was the trickling black substance from the corner of his mouth.

Her fist clenched as the chill seeped into her body.

Inhaling a deep breath, she gave a forced smile and whispered,

"Hi, Mr. Ghost..."

"Puti! Puti! (Slut! Slut!)" Xander’s dark whisper made Lana’s heart tighten.

He started to move, his body movement resembling a lizard’s, and his deep eyes maintained eye contact.

’Lana, don’t be afraid... don’t be afraid! Are you going to stand here like an idiot? Go! Wave your talismans, show your power! Let the world bow in front of you!’

The pep talk boosted her confidence, and she took out a talisman from her pocket.

The crawling Xander on the ceiling froze. The distance between him and Lana had been closed by him, and just as he was about to attack, she took out a wild card.

Lana finally let her lips curve into a smirk; her voice, bolstered by courage, cut through the air.

"Hey! Spanish ghost, I have a question."

Xander stared at Lana with wariness in his eyes, while the eerie smile on his face had vanished long ago.

Having his attention, she asked loudly,

"English or Español (Spanish)?"

Hiss.

Xander tilted its head in confusion, and for the first time, Lana felt that the ghost was silly.

Suppressing the joyful smile rising on her face, she shouted,

"Lo tomaré como español. El que se mueva primero es gay. (I will take that as Español. Whoever moves first is a gay!)"

Xander froze, its eyes widening as it tried to understand the implication. Lana struck at that exact moment and threw the talisman in Xander’s direction.

The talisman, as if having eyes, shot straight at Xander.

"Tramposa!" Xander, seeing Lana’s moment, hissed and tried to move away; however, it was already too late.

The talisman plastered itself on Xander’s body; a faint golden light engulfed him.

"Ahhh!" A blood-curdling shriek echoed in the room, while Lana crossed her arms in satisfaction and smirked.

"And that... was for being a homophobe! See... I moved! Because I support the LGBTQ community...Eh? Sh*t!"

Lana watched as the faint golden light slowly vanished.

What appeared in her view was Xander’s pale face with black veins pulsing under his skin, his eyes blazing with resentment.

Suddenly, he let go of the ceiling and fell straight to the floor. His next movements were inhumanely insane as he rushed toward Lana like a lizard crawling on the floor.

Lana’s heart tightened, yet she gritted her teeth and took out many talismans and started to throw all of them at Xander.

Before Xander could reach her, though, the talisman had struck him again and again.

At the same time, Lana channeled her mystic energy at her fingertip and pointed it in Xander’s direction.

"¡Detente, zorra! ¡Me duele! (Stop, you bitch! It hurts!)"

Sweat dripped down Lana’s forehead as she chuckled.

"Eh? Why didn’t you think that by possessing this boy you were hurting him too, huh?"

Because of the talisman’s assault, Xander was curled up like a shrimp, repeatedly letting out agonized screams in a human voice.

Only a psycho could remain unhinged hearing those human screams.

Lana hardened her heart and chanted,

’Don’t... don’t listen to it! He is not human! He is deliberately using a human voice to force you to stop.’

"Miss... miss... ple...please...stop... it... it hurts..." Xander’s choked voice pierced Lana’s heart like a knife.

From her perspective, Xander was just a 19-year-old boy, almost equivalent to a child for her. And seeing him suffer filled her with regret.

However... she knew that it was one of the tricks the ghosts pulled out when they were about to lose.

"Just a few more minutes, and everything will be alright." Lana softened her voice while staring at the pitch-black eyes.

Hearing Lana’s words, a glint flashed in Xander’s eyes, and suddenly he smirked. in a human voice, he shouted,

"What are you doing? Stop molesting me! Mom! She is using some kind of magic to strip me! Help! Help!"

Lana’s eyes widened in horror.

"You fucking cheater! Mathilda, don’t! The ghost is trying to trick you! Don’t come in!"

Xander’s eerie smirk remained; he started to let out human sobs and even said in a loud, broken voice,

"You...are sent...by...my uncle...right? Pl...ease... have... mercy! Ahh! "

Lana’s heart pounded with panic. This ghost was clever. It is understood that humans are affected when they hear a human voice, and hence he tried to deceive her... when he failed... he changed target.

"Son? Are you alright? Son?" Mathilda’s anxious voice snapped Lana out of her daze, and she shouted,

"Don’t hear him! He is trying to deceive you!"

"Mom... mom... I love you... but... I can’t... live... like this... I feel dirty..." Xander’s voice was even louder and full of raw pain, which for a moment even made Lana believe him.

"Mathilda..." Lana began, only for her eyes to widen in horror when she saw the doorknob turning.

’Sh*t! Shit! I had locked the door... so why? No! Mathilda, please don’t!’

The next second, the door was pushed open and at the entrance stood Mathilda and the maid.