CHAPTER 119: REVOLT! A CLASH BETWEEN GHOST AND STEVE!

There was only a brief pause before...

Wham!

Steve moved without hesitation.

His hand was already on the hilt of his blade as he slammed the injuried guard to the ground, the cold steel of his dagger pressing hard against the delicate flesh of her throat.

His eyes weren’t just locked on her—they were searching, seeking the answer to a question he didn’t even know how to ask.

"Who the hell are you," he hissed, voice low, dangerous.

"And how the fuck can you see that bald fuck?"

The girl’s lips parted, trembling—not from the cold but from the press of death so near, so personal.

"W-wait." she whispered, eyes wide, breath hitching as she stared at the phantom flickering just behind Steve’s shoulder.

"Don’t kill me. I’m... I’m a Magic Guard. Just like you."

Her voice was delicate, pleading. Her skin flushed, heart racing beneath him, chest rising against his weight.

Steve narrowed his eyes, pressing the dagger tighter. Her breath caught.

"I don’t give a fuck what you are." he muttered, a snarl building behind his teeth.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Sarah..." she stammered, her voice breaking.

"I’m Sarah."

"Slit her throat!" a chilling voice declared behind him.

The ghost had turned, eyes cold and ancient, drifting just beyond the veil.

Steve’s eyes flicked between the two—the spirit hovering ominously and the trembling girl beneath him. She stared back, but not just at him. At the ghost. She could see it.

"How the hell can she see you?" he barked.

"I don’t know!" Sarah cried, still panting.

"I can just... see him. Is that not normal?"

Steve stared down at her, eyes burning.

"What the hell’s that supposed to mean?"

"I don’t know!" she cried again, helpless.

"I have eyes. I see people. I see you. I see him. Isn’t that what normal people do?"

His grip wavered.

The ghost hissed beside him, a malignant pressure building in the air.

"Do it already! Kill her. Kill her now."

"No, no—please don’t listen to it," she begged.

"I’m not a threat—I’m not—"

Steve’s thoughts spiraled.

’ What the hell am I supposed to do? She’s a Magic Guard. That makes her a comrade.’

And yet... that memory. That cursed memory, whispered by Rapunzel herself—a sword through the back, by your comrade.

His chest tightened. His jaw clenched. His heart slowed.

This was his first mission.

And she... she just appeared. Out of nowhere. At the worst possible moment. Able to see things no one else could.

’Could she...be...the one who...?’

She had the look—like someone who would slip into his bed, whisper lies into his ear, smile as she slid the knife in his back. She had the features, the softness, the allure of someone who should have been in his harem. And that only made her more dangerous.

The ghost was screaming now, gnashing spiritual teeth, venomous with hate.

"Kill her, Steve! What are you even stalling for!"

"Please," Sarah whimpered.

"I have to save her—she has three children—she— she just wants to get back to them. I owe her that."

"Shut the fuck up!" Steve thundered loudly, cutting through her mutter.

But then, as the moment stretched on and the moment remained static, Steve froze.

"...What did you just say?" he asked, barely above a whisper.

Sarah had already shut her eyes, bracing for death, her breath still against his neck. But something in his voice made her pause.

She opened one eye, blinking up at him, confused.

"Huh...?"

"You said... you have to save her? A woman with three kids?" His voice was different now. Still dark—but quieter. Tighter.

Sarah blinked.

"Y-Yes, she... she’s a survivor. We found her after the attack on the town. She said she had three children. Said they were returning on the ninth day after their orientation..."

Steve’s breath caught. His blood froze.

The ninth day... the cave... the children... Maggie.

"...Could you... tell me what she looked like?" he asked, barely able to form the words.

Sarah hesitated, noticing the sudden shift in him.

"I’m not... good with descriptions." she mumbled.

"But she said her name was... Maggie."

Everything stopped.

Steve’s body trembled, but not with rage now—this was something else. Something colder. Something deeper.

’Maggie. How... how does she know that name?’

He hadn’t said it aloud. Not once. Not since the cave.

Without warning, he dragged Sarah upright by the collar of her robes, his blade still in hand, his voice a violent whisper.

"Where is she?! What happened to her?!"

"I—" Sarah stared at him, stammering, stunned.

"I—"

"Answer me!" Steve shouted, eyes wild.

"Where is she?! What does she need saving from?!"

Sarah turned her eyes away. Guilt wrote itself across her face. Her voice dropped.

"I’m sorry... I’m so sorry. It just came out of nowhere and..."

"What came out of nowhere?" Steve asked, teeth gritted.

She was shaking now. Trying to find her breath.

"The Goblin Clan..." she whispered.

"They attacked. Killed everyone. We tried to hold them off... help the survivors escape... but it didn’t go as planned. I... I was the only one who made it...but I’m sure of it...I’m sure she made it out before the slaughter started."

Steve just stared.

She was trembling, arms hugging herself, her chest rising and falling with uneven breaths. Her body fragile, broken—but her voice carried truth.

Still, his grip didn’t ease. His eyes didn’t soften. He watched her, watched how her lips trembled, how her throat moved when she swallowed her fear.

Then, a strange smile touched his lips. A bitter, dangerous smile.

"You don’t fucking mean it..." he muttered.

Sarah blinked up at him, confused.

"She’s still alive," he said, breathlessly.

"She’s still alive."

"I... maybe." Sarah answered.

"But I don’t know where she went. She didn’t say. We were attacked before we could—"

"If you want to live." Steve growled.

"you better remember exactly what she was planning to do."

But before Sarah could speak, the ghost seethed beside him, voice thundering.

"What the hell do you think you’re doing, Steve?" it asked.

"Have you forgotten what I told you? She’s the one emitting the immense aura. She’s the one that’s dangerous."

Steve gritted his teeth.

"You’re reading this all wrong. She’s just a Magic Guard."

"Then why can she see me?" the ghost spat.

"No one else can. Not unless they’re cursed. Or worse."

"I don’t know!" Steve roared. "But she knows where Maggie is. That’s all that matters. We can investigate the rest later."

The ghost’s voice dropped into a sinister whisper.

"No... I refuse... as much as I fucking hate to say it, your life is the priority."

Steve paused.

He looked down at Sarah again—still trembling, still afraid, still vulnerable in his grasp.

Then he gently let her down. His fingers left her collar. His knife dropped to his side.

"I can protect myself." he said softly.

"And I said Maggie is the priority. If Sarah knows where she is—then she’s the priority too."

Silence.

The air around him dropped several degrees. The ghost stared at him, eyes glowing in the darkness like pale twin moons.

"You can’t kill her." Steve finished.

"And I won’t let you."

The ghost’s gaze narrowed. The pressure around Steve intensified.

"Is that a problem for you?" Steve asked, stepping forward.

The ghost said nothing. But its hand hovered, stretching out its shark monstrous claws.

The tension was electric.

Every breath. Every movement. Every heartbeat. All suspended in a moment that could tip into violence with the smallest shift.

"...Don’t tell me..." Steve whispered, his voice death itself.

"...You’re trying to revolt against me."