What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse, Part 4
2200 Words
Sunday night.
The 4th of Watermonth, 1017 CE.
Boerbus Wetlands, which lies southeast of the capital and is officially part of Eliomam Prefecture.
Several evil spirits gather in an abandoned scarecrow, scaring off animals who wanted to forage for food there.
With their elevating grudge, they all shout...
“YoU pAtHeTiC sOuLs AgAiN! yOu CaNnOt FiNd PeAcE, sO yOu ReSoRt To AsKiNg HeLp FrOm ThE lIvInG tO eNaCt YoUr So-CaLlEd JuStIcE! bUt AlL tHe SaMe, YoU wIlL aLl FaIl! YoU wIlL bE eNjOyInG eTeRnAl HaZiNg In ThE dEpThS oF hElL aLoNgSiDe Us!”
They then do the natural thing of possessing it.
Moonday morning.
The 5th of Watermonth, 1017 CE.
His Highness King Virgil Almarius dispatches a royal circular encouraging concerned parties to take action and placate the souls of the hazing victims who were unfortunately forgotten to history. He was highly convinced that the curse-like pranks were a means for the ghosts to make the people notice their plight, and thus he sought to finish what his grandfather, His Highness King Vincent Hiei Almarius, has started 90 years ago.
In his closing statement, His Highness laments...
“We have done everything we could to achieve justice, but it seems that wasn't enough. But now, the time has come to finally put a conclusive end to the specters of fraternities and hazing – the real curse.”
The circular is being printed as a supplement to the kingdom's many newspapers and tabloids in order for more people to accept and understand this urgent message – if they want their peaceful nights of sleep back.
***
And we three are some of the recipients of the royal circular, which is printed in today's issue of The Kingdom Guidon.
The superintendent, upon knowing of the circular, has this to announce on the public address system right before classes start:
“Cadets! You all must know that the pranks our kingdom has experienced in the past few days are a result of the souls of unknown victims of hazing from almost a century ago, clamoring for justice and repose of their souls. As your superintendent, I hereby give full authorization for you to tackle the cases directly. However, you should take full responsibility for your own actions, as we do not want our esteemed future soldiers to die prematurely. Please exercise caution as much as possible, as we could be facing evil spirits who may be stronger than us. That is all. Thank you and good morning.”
The rest of the school day happens without much incident.
And we also spot Cadets Dietrich Kessler and Xyline Ella Pamatong, who were some of the victims of the curse-like pranks, seemingly recovering from their trauma, as we see their faces all determined.
We then take the chance to chat with them.
“Oh, if it isn't the so-called 'power trio'!” Dietrich opens.
“We've been wanting to meet you three,” Xyline Ella follows. “In case you didn't know, we've watched you fight Her Highness the Princess from afar. Even though you were all defeated, you still had 'it' inside you.”
Yulissa reacts, “Aw... how flattering.”
Dietrich then segues, “Now then. Since the superintendent has given us all permission to get to the root of the prankster ghosts... how about... we join forces?”
Laika, after giving some seconds of thought, replies, “Well... why not? Besides, I'd very want to see how you guys fight.”
“And let me in the fun, too!”
Oh, it's Joey Ramon!
I jest, “Alright. You're in the party.”
As sunset approaches, we six gather on the open-air grounds for a little strategic meeting.
Basically, all we have to do is to wait for the ghosts to appear and lead us to where their tormentors are, and then engage in some good old-fashioned super-powered beat-down.
8 post meridiem.
After a couple of hours of waiting (and eating dinner and trying not to accidentally doze off), one ghost finally manifests.
He doesn't mince any words.
“So... I sense in you all a determination to finally put this squalid chapter in our lives to a close.”
I answer back, “Yes. We are but a few of those who are willing to defeat your tormentors. And yes, we will try our best to make it out of this alive.”
“Very well. Let me guide you to where the tormentors are currently gathering.”
Following the ghost, we six make our way out of the military school, and eventually out of the capital, going southeast, towards the Boerbus Wetlands that are a part of Eliomam Prefecture.
We don't mind onlookers looking at us funny, as long as we need to accomplish this unexpected mission.
And on our way, we come across a piece of paper lying in a cluster of weed (not the addictive kind).
We all agree to pick it up and unfold it.
The message, written in ink that surprisingly still holds up even in a place like this, says...
“That man... CDQ... made an offensive advance on me, a fellow man. That good-for-nothing lech... must be punished. --PP”
Laika reacts, “I think this has nothing to do with the ghosts. But nevertheless, let's hold on to it. It'll prove useful in the future.”
The rest of us nod in agreement as she stores the paper in her magical satchel she brought.
Finally, we come across an abandoned scarecrow.
Dietrich asks the obvious.
“What's it doing in a place like this?”
“AnD wHaT aRe YoU mOrTaLs DoInG iN a PlAcE lIkE tHiS?”
The ghost, as well as the other ghosts who accompany other groups of combatants who are about to fight a common enemy, exclaim...
“There they are! They are our tormentors! They won't stop unless we are permanently erased from both the realms of the living and the dead!
“We've been beaten up and spat on by them... all in the name of so-called 'brotherhood' and 'character building'. And we unknowingly paid the price for joining them in the first place... with our own lives.“
The distorted voice that comes out of the scarecrow then laughs in a horrifying tone.
“HaHaHaHa!!! So YoU'Ve GaThErEd YoUrSeLvEs WiLlInGlY iNtO oUr OwN dEaTh TrAp! ExCeLlEnT! wE wIlL gIvE yOu AlL tHe NeVeR-eNdInG tOrMeNt YoU aLl DeSeRvE!”
The scarecrow then manifests a malignant aura as he begins to move of its own accord.
He sprouts many spikes and horns sticking out like sore thumbs on its limbs, and his face metamorphoses into a diabolical one.
“Alright then! Let's give those hazing initiators a dose of their own medicine!”
The ghosts can only watch sedately from afar as we start to unsheathe our sabers, ready for the battle with the so-called “tormentor scarecrow”.
OK, we need to fight defensively as usual.
As we brace ourselves for the scarecrow's initial pouncing attack, a group of adventurers itching to get the first strike unleashes a massive beam attack, which is presumably their combined link attack.
Oh, well. There's no such thing as kill-stealing here in this kingdom, right?
The beam attack obviously makes a dent on the enemy.
But of course, the enemy still persists.
Indeed, the scarecrow proceeds with his pouncing attack.
We anticipate his trajectory, and then move out of it as soon as possible.
He is then met with the fists of a wandering monk who evidently beefed himself up, with bodybuilder-grade muscles and all.
The monk's punch is strong enough to send the scarecrow flying...
...towards the path of several spells unleashed by another group of adventurers, who are all spell-casters.
The scarecrow tumbles to the ground after that multifaceted assault, but rises shortly thereafter.
“YoU mOrTaLs WiLl NeVeR kNoW tHe ExTeNt Of OuR wRaTh!”
With that, he unleashes a shower of spikes that are about to rain onto a group of unaware constabulary cadets...
...until those spikes are effectively neutralized by a squad of constabulary officers, who are identified by their name tags – “ISWANTUS C”, “MANGACOP D”, “DELA ROSA LR”, “BLACKFIRE N”, “LIMDICO V”, and “JONES H”.
This squad specializes in various weapons and spells, and its members leverage that diversity in combat for a tactical advantage.
As the enemy is still startled by the coincidentally coordinated teamwork among teams, we decide to go all-out.
With our grandiose charges, we six swing our lethal steel onto the scarecrow, making a dent on his hay-filled body possessed by something otherworldly.
We then give way to the constabulary cadets who were about to become pin cushions if not for the timely help of the constabulary squad.
“If you are weak, you are controlled. Be then swept away by the flow of harmony! Equal River Doctrinaire!”
That combined link attack, which is a simulated tsunami, is a combination of at least four Mizubig spells (the standard water spell) and a vacuum produced by a one-inch punch.
Good, good. The evil scarecrow is now grimacing and struggling to get up.
And then...
With a calm demeanor, Joey Ramon sheathes his saber, then prepares a stance, as if he's drawing power from within his body.
“Yulissa, witness the fruit of my months of training!”
“Ah, that finishing move you're talking about, right?”
He then gives a thumbs-up as a yes.
So... this is the reason why he decides to join us in the first place? To finally show off his one-of-a-kind finisher?
The enthusiastic cadet then begins to charge up his inner aura, as it manifests as a surging wave that generates enough light in this darkness of the night.
He then closes his eyes and concentrates as he begins an incantation.
“I stand amidst heaven's endless light.
“Genuflect before the gates to the underworld.
“I shall invoke the thundering fury of the Most High!”
While he chants the incantation, clouds part as rings filled with the power of thunder descend towards the possessed scarecrow, encasing him in paralysis.
He then grabs the enemy, turns him upside-down, ascends to a height almost three stories high, and then descends at a blistering speed.
“WhAt In DaMnAtIoN aRe YoU dOiNg?!”
“This is the end for you! Indignation Tombstone!”
He finally slams the enemy in a sitting position, driving him head-first into the ground with a power equivalent to that of a single thunderbolt directly striking the earth.
In essence, Joey Ramon Fermoze used the Indignation Tombstone as his finishing move, which is a thunder-powered piledriver.
He then pins the enemy by clasping his arms, while declaring in a gravelly voice that is so untypical of him...
“Rest in peace.”
As the cadet lets go of the pin seconds later...
The vindictive enemy is starting to disintegrate violently, as he says the following words...
“No! ThIs CaNnOt Be HaPpEnInG! wE mAdE sUrE tO cOnQuEr ThOsE wHo We CoNsIdEr To Be WeAk, EvEn In ThE aFtErLiFe! We WiLl NeVeR fOrGiVe YoU aLl! GrAaAaAhHhHhHh!!!”
“Your collective grudge was your unmaking,” the ghosts respond as the scarecrow, as well as the various evil spirits that were once the hazing tormentors that possess it, meets its highly explosive end, never to haunt again for all time.
At last, the hazing victims, who were sadly unknown to history, achieve their long-desired peace.
Their ghostly bodies glow, signaling that they have accomplished their years-long unfinished business with the help of their allied mortals and are ready to meet the Most High with no lingering regrets.
Their final message to us before ascending to the heavens is...
“Thank you, mortals. We have made our mistake of joining fraternities in the first place, and we are now vindicating ourselves as well as imparting a lesson to you all, even though it took us decades. Farewell, and may true brotherhood prevail among you all.”
Their ascension is punctuated by glimmers in the clear night sky.
At last... the horrible nights of curses are over.
We, the teams who volunteered to tackle the problem, all look forward to the morning sun that has vanquished the horrible night.
The next day. 6:30 ante meridiem.
We cadets are getting ready for our first class.
As we three enter the classroom, we see the pair of Dietrich and Xyline Ella occupying what was supposed to be our usual seats.
Oh, well. It's no biggie to us.
But seconds later, we learn the reason they're occupying our usual seats.
“S-Spikes?! They're not allowed here, you know,” I comment.
Xyline Ella answers, “It's because that darn kitty always follows whenever we go, so we made this spike trap. Dietrich and I both allergic to cats, you know.”
Yulissa facetiously bites back, “Then why won't you refer the cat to our feralkin cadet, Miss Hershey Aedoll, instead?”
Dietrich responds with a nonchalant “Oh.”
I just hope they're not allergic to her.
- Writer
