Noire's PoV:

After Garami revealed the culprit of this whole event (I still cannot believe she managed to do that, and that the culprit was not the butler), a magic circle brought forth a shadowy figure that has the appearance of a long, thin man dressed in a suit and a top hat. He does not seem so dangerous-

"Abort mission! Abort mission!! Everyone, save yourselves!!" - Garami

And our fearless leader ran away. The top hat noticed her (how could it not with all that shouting?) and started to run after-yikes!?

*Stab, stab, stab*

As he dashed past, the top hat threw a bunch of knives at us. That accuracy is close to Garami's own! If I hadn't moved, I would have lost a wing there!

"*Spit*, Noire, let me out already!" shouted Mira after spitting out the gag.

"Welcome back. How was your trip to coocoo-land?" - Noire

"What are you talking about? And get me out of here, NOW!" - Mira

"Okay, okay, don't worry… Okay, you can worry. The lock's busted." - Noire

One of the throwing knives from before had lodged into the cage door. I cannot open it! And now that I mentioned it, but the coffins and sarcophagus that the other three are in are also...ooh, now I get it. That top hat is as dangerous with the knives as Garami. No wonder she ran away.

"Then un-bust it, and fast! I've never seen a Dread Spirit that looks that bad before!" - Mira

"Phht, yeah right. Just how bad can a guy wearing a top hat be?" - Noire

"It is an incarnation of someone with a strong enough will to move around after dying without being an undead. It managed to efficiently capture us like fish in a net. And the fact that Garami's classes and skills are gone. I'd say that's pretty bad for Garami!" - Mira

"Not to mention, Dread Spirits that take the appearance of their former selves like that one have been recorded to become stronger over time. A fact that master Managand discovered-" - Jeeves

"Hey, what's up with the ghost?" - Mira

Garami, in trouble? On my watch? Garami, the favorite of lady Filyn? On my watch? Garami, the one who lady Filyn treats like a little sister after that event in Velantas, is in danger!? On my watch!?

"I have to go! Bye!" - Noire

Where did that shadowy top hat go! Mira shouted something behind me, but that is of no relevance! I need to keep that ghostly bastard away from Garami, or my life's over! Literally and figurately! I know, because I am the second-best in the world on that subject!! ...That's, you know, still alive..., or in a condition that would let you think freely or whatever...

It's easy finding out where those two went. They left a trail of overthrown and sliced-up objects.

Following the trail, I soon caught up to them. Garami is still in one piece, but that top hat is gaining on her! I shot an arrow at the top hat...guy, not the hat itself. It struck him right in his chest, a perfect heart shot! And it didn't slow him down at all. 

If one doesn't work, let's try some more. I started to shoot at the ground in front of the Dread Spirit with my self-made [Wind Wall] arrows. The Spirit couldn't stop in time, so he crashed into the turbulent walls that had emerged from where the arrows had struck.

That bought me some time, so I used the Holy Arrow spell along with real arrows enchanted with Holy Detonation. It is close to a ghost, so this should work, right?

The explosion covered the place with a cloud of dust. After the dust cleared, the Spirit emerged, without one arm, that is. Great! But now he's angry. Where did I leave the Holy Wall arrow...

"*Whistle*! Hey, doofus! Eyes on the prize!" - Garami

And what is that so-called leader of mine doing!? Stop antagonizing the Spirit so he... now I get it. Took me some time, but I get it now. You're getting the Spirit's attention so he doesn't move towards me. Point taken. 

The Spirit focused solely on Garami again after she started to wave around with that broken dagger. The Spirit must have wanted it. That's one long grudge alright. I'll take advantage of that.

As the Spirit tried to run off again, I nocked an [Whirlpool] arrow at his feet, which created a small vortex of water that trapped him at that spot. I immediately released another Holy Arrow spell before dodging behind one of the sculptures in the corridor.

Bullseye! But the Spirit just continued unfazed. Come on...

Unfortunately, the [Whirlpool] arrow's effect isn't the longest one, meaning the Dread Spirit freed itself after a little while. Then Garami started to gloat him, and rinse and repeat. 

And... I'm out of [Whirlpool] arrows. I mean, someone of my talent should not waste their time to create the same thing over and over again~...but maybe I'll change that way of thought if I survive this.

"...after me, you grudge of a fudge! Come if you want your jackpot!" - Garami

Garami started to lead the Spirit away from the corridor. Come on, this is the best place to shoot the thing into pieces-*Beep*-, hold that thought. My Terminal is acting up...

[Jackpot. Get it?]

Why is Garami sending me riddles at a time like this? Or...now I get it. Wait, I mean, high-score! No, that feels wrong...whatever. Time to move.

---

"*Wheeze*...*wheeze*...come at me...what do I do with my life..." - Garami

Okay, I can hear them. About time. I've been ready for fifteen minutes already. 

The door opened and Garami... or what's left of her, wobbled into the room. It took her a second before she saw what I had done to the place, but she recovered and got into cover. And here comes big, bad, and soon-to-be-more-dead-than-he-already-is~.

As the Dread Spirit entered the room, it froze for a second too (is my plan that strange?) and that was all he got. Through [Mystic Bow Arts]'s Mana Ballista Art, I released the biggest rune arrow I managed to create. Seeing that, the Dread Spirit desperately jumped to the side in an attempt to dodge the shot. I'll take that as a compliment. 

The Mana Ballista enlarges your bow with mana, drastically improving its attack power and range. The demerits are that it is slow and heavy to aim, so it takes me some time to recalibrate. The Dread Spirit tried to attack me before I could fire, just as I had expected. 

From out of nowhere, a large paw appeared and swatted the Spirit across the room. The paw is Raoul's. The same Dungeon Boss that once lived in Tir na Nog. He's a Specter Dragon Mimic that can possess any items to take on a draconic form. He can become other stuff, but the dragon shape is the one most comfortable for him.

While flying through the air, the Spirit managed to collect itself and land without much damage. Right where the Gem Guardian, a golem-like creature made of gems and noble metals that I created through the skill with the same name, was waiting for him. And I was not sparing any valuables when I created it. That is why Garami suggested the casino after all.

All the game equipment went to Raoul's body. We are not saving on anything today.

I jumped down from the slot machine (I think it is called that) that I was on and aimed at the Spirit again. Raoul joined the Gem Guardian who is busy battling the Spirit.

As the two behemoths kept the Spirit under control, I released the giant arrow and... bullseye! The Spirit was sent into the wall which triggered the runes on the arrow and I should probably get behind cover...

*BOOOOM!!*

Cough, cough, in hindsight, maybe making my biggest rune arrow with the effect of [Ember Burst] skill wasn't the brightest idea. I should have used the Holy Ray spell instead.

That's a lot. My level rose twice. It grew a lot more when I was fending off the Iron-counterfeits, but who complains about free levels? And what is this Quest?

"Congrats." - Garami

"There you are," I replied to Garami who had hidden behind the same game table as I did.

"Yes. Congratulate me." - Noire

"Oh man... after you do two things. First, where is Raoul?" - Garami

That reminded me, was he not in the blast range? Ah, there he is. The pendant that is his real body was blasted onto the chandelier on the opposite side of the room. Poor boy. I will give you a polish after this. The Gem Guardian is a bust, but I can recreate it whenever I want.

"Next: explain that you blasted away a fully functional casino and its valuables to Mira." - Garami

......Oh no...not the third worst thing that any living creature can be exposed to! Not that, please, NOOOOOOO!!

---

Two days and a serious punishment later. Garami's PoV:

Ahh, I love a good afternoon tea break~.

"Another set of cupcakes, milady?" - Jeeves

"Thanks, Jeeves, but I'm stuffed." - Garami

The garden in Damavand-Mansion is simply lovely. After Noire beat that Wild Hunt Lord, the aura of fear emanating from the Dungeon disappeared and we could take the place for our own.

The mansion did shrink from a five-floor building to a two-floored one, but that's no biggie. We got a HUGE variety of item-possessing ghosts. Why did they go all the way to store them in those upper floors and only switch out the weak ones for the stronger ones as we proceeded with the Quest? It's beyond me.

"Are you getting used to your new job, Jeeves?" - Garami

"Of course I am. Taking care of a mansion-shaped Dungeon is not so different from taking care of a mansion. By the way, is it fine to keep the basement a cavern?" - Jeeves

"Caves, Jeeves. And they'll become mines later on." - Garami

"If you say so, milady." - Jeeves

I'm glad I hired this guy. FINALLY, someone that listens to my orders. And I didn't need to spend any CP on him! Speaking of not listening to my orders...

"What are the others doing?" - Garami

"I think lady Noire asked master Alfred about ways of relaxation." - Jeeves

Convincing. The "shock-treatment" Mira gave her must have left some scars in her psyche.

"Lady Ciara took lady Lily with her on a hunt for some spirit of a lake somewhere. I did not hear exactly what, though." - Jeeves

That's cryptic for "the fairy's gonna sexually assault the chimera", my poor Jeeves. And poor me who does not think that's strange at all. Damn my life... And poor Lily too, I guess.

"And lady Mira and master Flint dragged lady Revi, master Iron, and master Karnel with them to find the Kusanagi no Tsurugi by using the lost dagger that villain O'Carnell wanted to steal." - Jeeves

Not surprised there either. None of that is my problem though. I'm just gonna laze around until the festival starts~. There is also that book about demonology that the former owner of this place wrote that I wanna go through. Hehehehe...