A DANGEROUS ENCOUNTER
1985 Words
“But it could just be my imagination,” Mercy said, looking at Andrea with bright excitement. “How about it ? Do you think he likes me too?”
Mercy was her new college friend and classmate. She had fair, smooth skin that complemented her shoulder‑length brown hair. Cheerful and romantic, she spent most of her time daydreaming about love and gossip.
Mercy let out a long sigh. “You’re not listening, are you?”
Andrea panicked slightly, pulling her thoughts back to the present. “Sorry, I’m just thinking about something.”
“Don’t tell me it’s a guy,” Mercy teased, gently tickling her waist.
“Actually, yes,” Andrea laughed softly.
“Kareshi!” Mercy shouted excitedly.
“Shhh!” Andrea laughed again, pointing toward the library they were passing. “Keep it down, will you? We’re in a school building.”
“Fill me in,” Mercy demanded, eyes sparkling with curiosity. “Is he cute? Is he from our class?”
Andrea lowered her voice to almost a whisper. “Actually, he’s a —”
“Oh my gosh! He liked my photo, look!” Mercy held up her phone, showing her latest i********: post. “What were you saying? You were talking about some guy.”
“Ah, never mind.”
What am I thinking? I can’t drag her into this.
They walked past the library and saw a small group of students gathered nearby, talking in hushed, uneasy tones.
“Creepy, right?” one girl said, rubbing her arms as if brushing away invisible goosebumps.
“What was that all about?” Andrea asked Mercy.
“Right, I forgot to tell you 'cause you’ve been too busy spacing out,” Mercy teased. “There’s a vacant house near the campus. They say everyone who ever rented it had one of their children possessed by a demon! Some stories claim the kid went crazy and just vanished without a trace.”
“Or it could just be a made‑up story meant to scare burglars away from the property,” Andrea said firmly even though deep down, her curiosity was already stirring.
“Let’s go see it for ourselves,” Mercy said, grabbing Andrea’s hand and pulling her along.
Andrea didn’t resist. She had always been drawn to the unknown, she is a witch and she knew magic was real, she couldn’t help but wonder if there was truth behind the rumors.
Soon they stood before the house. It was a neat two‑story building with a clean, modern design. Nothing like the crumbling, abandoned place people usually imagined. The gate was freshly painted, the walls were spotless, and the lawn was neatly trimmed. Bushes were shaped perfectly, and colorful flowers bloomed in the garden beds.
“It doesn’t look haunted at all,” Andrea murmured, frowning. “In fact, it looks like someone tends to it every single day.”
Mercy nodded, equally puzzled. “I know, right? If no one lives here, who waters the plants? Who mows the grass? It doesn’t make sense.”
Andrea pushed the gate gently, and it swung open easily.
“Let’s check inside,” Mercy suggested.
They knocked on the front door, but there was no answer. Andrea turned the doorknob, it was unlocked. They searched the entire ground floor: living room, dining area, kitchen, and bathrooms. Everything was clean, the furniture covered with soft cloths as if waiting for someone to return. There was nothing out of place, nothing broken.
“Nothing strange here,” Mercy whispered, though her voice held a hint of unease. “Let’s go upstairs.”
The moment their feet touched the first step, Andrea heard a third set of footsteps, light and silent, moving just ahead of them. She froze, looking around, but saw no one.
“Let’s hurry!” Mercy called, already climbing higher.
“Wait! Mercy, don’t rush!” Andrea hurried after her.
Back in Andrea’s apartment…
Kael was sitting by the window, reading from the old leather‑bound grimoire. Suddenly, the air around him shifted, and his golden eyes began to glow faintly. Right in the center of each iris, a sharp, luminous six‑pointed star appeared, spinning slowly like a compass. It's the mark of his sight, activating whenever he sensed magic from afar or perceived things beyond ordinary vision.
Through the bond, he felt it clearly: a disturbance reaching toward Andrea. The star burned brighter, flashing once in deep violet as the image formed in his mind.
Upstairs in the strange house…
The air had turned icy cold. The three doors stood closed, but the one at the far end was beginning to rattle violently, as if something inside was throwing itself against it.
Mercy grabbed Andrea’s arm, her fingers trembling. “D‑did you hear that?”
Before Andrea could answer, the door burst open. A swirling mass of black smoke poured out, forming into a tall, distorted figure with glowing red eyes and long, claw‑like hands. It let out a high, keening shriek that made their teeth ache.
“Run!” Andrea shouted, pushing Mercy behind her.
But the creature lunged forward, moving too fast for them to escape. It raised a hand, and a wave of dark energy shot toward them, knocking Mercy straight into the nearby sofa.
Mercy nearly fainted. “Ahhhhhh!” She cried out, clutching her head. “The rumors were true, Andrea! This house really is haunted!”
Panic seized Andrea. This was the first time she had faced something so terrifying. She had no idea what to do and worse, her friend’s life was in her hands as well.
Acting on instinct, she pulled the small protection charm she kept in her bag and held it up in front of the entity. A loud, growling laugh echoed through the entire house. With one sharp swat of its hand, the charm shattered into pieces, falling uselessly to the floor. It mocked them with its cold, hollow laughter.
“Now, make your puny human lives useful,” it hissed.
“Useful?” Mercy stammered, staring up at the black shape.
It laughed again, louder this time. “Offer your lives to me. Be my food, that is.”
The monster’s right hand swelled, growing larger and sharper, its claws glinting like shards of obsidian. It swung it toward them. Andrea grabbed Mercy’s wrist and dragged her aside; they barely dodged the strike, the claws grazing their arms and leaving a burning sensation. The shock was too much. Mercy’s eyes rolled back, and she collapsed, unconscious.
“Mercy, wake up! Please, wake up!” Andrea called, gently tapping her friend’s cheeks.
She was trapped. Taking another hit from that thing would be fatal, but she could not leave Mercy behind.
“You won’t escape this time!” the creature shrieked, raising its dreadful arm once more and preparing to strike again.
Just as the shadow’s attack was about to hit her, a deep, commanding voice echoed through the hallway:
“Enough.”
The air seemed to freeze in place. Andrea gasped. A tall figure stepped out from the shadows near the stairs. Silvery‑white hair, small curved horns, and eyes blazing with light. Inside each iris, that same six‑pointed star glowed bright and steady.
Mercy stirred, half‑regaining consciousness. “Who… who is that?” she whispered, before her eyes fluttered shut again.
“Kael…” Andrea breathed in relief.
Kael glanced at her for only a brief moment, then his gaze locked firmly onto the shadow creature. “You have been sealed here for centuries,” he said, his voice low and resonant, carrying a weight that made the floor tremble faintly. “You dare reach out to those who carry a bond of equal power?”
Bond of equal power? Andrea thought. So this monster is a demon too? Why does it look so different from Kael?
The creature hissed, swirling into a sharper, more aggressive form, and hurled another blast of dark magic straight at him.
Kael did not even step back. He raised one hand, and streams of deep purple energy shot from his palm, colliding with the attack. The impact shook the walls, sending dust and debris raining down. The six‑pointed star in his eyes flared like a beacon, guiding every movement.
He stepped forward, his aura expanding and pushing the surrounding darkness back. With a sharp, precise gesture, he wove chains of glowing golden runes that wrapped tightly around the struggling shadow. From the floor beneath it, a large, heavy door materialized, fitted with two knobs shaped like grinning skulls, its surface etched with symbols older than the house itself. The chains pulled the creature backward, toward the open threshold. The shadow roared and fought, but a massive, clawed hand reached out from the darkness inside the door, seized it, and dragged it completely within. The door slammed shut and vanished without a trace, leaving only silence behind.
Kael did not say a single word. He stood still for a moment, then turned and began to walk away, slowly blending back into the room’s shadows. With one soft gust of wind, he was gone.
Slowly, the heavy feeling in the air lifted. The cold warmth returned, and the oppressive pressure vanished.
Mercy opened her eyes, groaning as she sat up. “W‑what happened? Where did it go?”
“Let’s just get out of here,” Andrea urged, helping her friend to her feet.
They hurried toward the front door and stepped outside, only to stop short, staring in disbelief.
The house before them had changed completely. The fresh paint was gone, replaced by peeling, weathered walls. The neatly trimmed lawn was now dry, cracked earth; the vibrant flowers had withered into brown, brittle stems. The bushes were overgrown and tangled, and the gate itself was rusted and hanging loose. It now looked exactly like the abandoned, forgotten place everyone had always described.
Andrea stared, her mind racing. The magic that kept it beautiful… it faded the moment the monster disappeared.
She looked back one last time, her heart heavy but grateful. Whatever had just happened, she knew one thing for certain: Kael had saved them.
In Andrea's apartment..
“So that thing… it was just like you?” she asked Kael.
“Similar,” Kael answered carefully. “But far less stable. It broke its own boundaries, and it reached for what it should not. Even among us, there are lines that must never be crossed.”
"So demons have rules too?"
"Demons do clash from time to time, but not to the point where we destroy each other completely. Order keeps our kind from falling into total chaos."
“Then what exactly was that creature in the house?” Andrea pressed, unable to hold back all the questions swirling in her head. “If it is a demon like you, why did it look so different? And what was that giant door?”
"That thing is Mushin," Kael answered "it is the death of a demon. It is what remains when a demon loses its mind and identity. They feast on human soul to preserve its existence. They bind themselves in one place, drawing in prey by making the area seems inviting."
Mushin…
"And that door?"
"That is a gate leading back to the Lower World."
"What will happen to it now?" Andrea pouted. "I feel almost sorry for it."
"They will lock it away," Kael glazed at her with a faint understanding look. “But it will be given time to rest and heal. Once it regains its senses and its true form, it will be set free."
Andrea smiled, relieved to hear that. She walked over to the window and gazed out over the quiet street below.
- Writer
