“Wow… This Ruby girl is so different from how I imagined her…” Mai remarked, disbelief showing on her face at how Mark described the memory he just saw.

“It… It doesn’t make sense… Ruby has never acted that way in front of me before…” Mark was still in shock.

“Well, have you ever considered that you probably don’t know as much about her as you thought you did?” Mai spoke bluntly. 

Ark paused to contemplate. Mai was right. He really didn’t know Ruby all that well after all. He didn’t even know that she was going through this kind of harassment. 

Mark didn’t know what to make of this. Did this change anything? It could. 

“Was that the first time Ruby stood up for herself? Did they ever continue to harass her after that?” Mark verbalised his questions. 

“Well, I can think of one person who could answer those burning questions of yours.” Mai chipped in. The answer was clear.

“Sabrina…” Mark knew it too. 

“But they weren’t the only ones there… The other two girls.. Camie and Karmi. I saw them in the memory, I could approach them too.” Mark began to formulate a plan of action. This was important. He felt that it was. He could feel Ruby’s soul within him pushing him on.

“Then I’ll see if I can crack Sabrina. With the gremlin over her head, she should be easy to track down.” Mai grinned. Her eyes glinted with excitement. 

“Hey you don’t have…” Mark’s voice trailed off. He caught himself before he could finish his sentence. 

“I would actually hit you if you finished that sentence. You don’t have to fight this alone, remember? I’ve got nothing better to do anyways.” 

“Okay, thanks for the help then…Let me know what you manage to find.” Mark decided to trust Mai with this. 

“Of course! But first… How about we get something to eat?” Mai’s stomach growled. 

Mark couldn’t help but chuckle. 

“Hey! I’ve been holding it in this entire time…” Mai pouted. 

“You’re right, let's eat. I’m pretty hungry too.” Mark smiled and the both of them walked to get food from the cafeteria. 

---

Somewhere in Nan Ching District

Khan and Shen walked through a crowded street, their shoulders bumping against pedestrians all walking to their various destinations. 

Shen walked briskly, consciously avoiding the diverse forms of litter on the ground. Khan followed closely behind him. Smoke lingered in the air above them, creating a hazy, sick atmosphere. 

The streets were littered with food vendors, selling an assortment of foods and bites. 

“Get your Pork Buns! Buy 3 get 1 free! Best price!” 

“Smelly Tofu! Smelly Tofu!”

“Fried potato! Very nice! Best taste in Nan Ching!”

Vendors called out to the pedestrians walking by, advertising their food.

All sorts of smells wafted through the air, combined with the exhaust and smoke created by the vendors cooking their dishes. The street was an adventure for the senses. 

“Ugh… I hate this part of town…” Shen remarked, coughing as he inhaled smoke created by one of the street vendors. 

“I love this part of town.” Khan smirked as he bit off a chunk of fried squid skewered on a stick. 

“You sure you don’t want some?” Khan spoke, his mouth half full. 

“You can enjoy that squid yourself… I’d prefer to have an empty stomach, considering where we’re heading.” Shen declined the offer.

“Yeah… you haven’t told me anything about where we’re heading by the way…  You sure this lead can help us find Ryu’s spirit?” Khan asked as he chewed on the squid. 

“Raison tipped me off about this lead and he knows this district better than any of us. And I’ve done my checks… It seems promising… We’re here.” Shen stopped in front of a butcher shop. Fresh meats lay hanging on display. 

[Johnny’s Butcher Shop] 

The shop had a bright neon sign displaying its name.

Khan raised an eyebrow at Shen.  Shen simply gestured with his head for Khan to follow. 

The duo entered the shop. 

“How can I help you gents?” A gruff voice spoke out from behind the counter. He was a thin, older man wearing a butcher’s attire. His eyes looked worn out and serious behind his round glasses, but he still carried a welcoming smile. 

“We’re here to see Valen. Raison referred us to this place.” Shen spoke.

“Ummm.. Sorry? I’m afraid I don’t understand.” The old man raised his eyebrow, his eyes serious but smile still remaining. 

“I’m sorry, I should have clarified…” Shen paused and reached into his suit pocket. Khan followed suit, reaching into the pockets of his leather jacket. 

Both men pulled out their SAIB identification cards.

“We’re here on SAIB business.” Shen spoke.

The old man’s eyes remained serious, but this time his smile had faded.

“Head back, the door on the right.” His warm tone no longer present. 

Khan and Shen made their way to the back of the butcher shop. The right door had an ‘employees only’ sign on it. 

Shen grabbed onto the doorknob and twisted in open. The door creaked as Shen pushed.

What greeted the two men was an eviscerating odour. 

Shen immediately covered his nose. Khan’s eyes widened for a second but his ability kicked in, allowing him to redirect the smell away from his nostrils. 

“Ugh… phew… I am so glad I have this ability.” Khan smirked as he watched Shen struggle to adapt to the smell.

The room was lit in a bright neon red. The walls were covered with strange markings and inscriptions. Hanging from the ceiling were various body parts. Human body parts. All the way at the other end of the room, sitting at a desk, was a short, chubby man. He was dressed in scrubs, like a surgeon. On his head was a surgical cap and a head lamp. The man paid no attention to the two new visitors in the room. He was studying something intensely. 

Shen closed the door behind him. 

“Um.. Ahem… We’re here from the SAIB. You must be Valen… Raison told us you have something for us?.” Shen spoke, his face still showing discomfort from the smell.

Valen stared at the specimen on his table for a few more seconds before looking up. 

“Ah… you’re here. Have a seat.” Valen’s voice was calm and gentle.

Khan and Shen sat down in front of the desk. Valen stared up at them with his beady eyes.

“I’m not too sure if Raison filled you in… But what I do here is I examine cursed objects. Objects that have been manipulated or tainted with negative spiritual energy. More specifically, I specialise in cursed flesh…” Valen explained, keeping his beady eyes focused on the two men in front of him.

“When spirits attack or possess a human, more often than not, they end up dying. But their flesh remains tainted with spiritual energy. I examine the effects of said energy on humans. What makes them become corrupted? Why are some people more susceptible than others? How can we make humans more resistant to spiritual corruption? Is it possible to use this knowledge to bring humanity to the next level? To evolve?” Valen’s voice began to get agitated, excited. 

“Raison assists me with these studies, afterall, his unique spiritual contract allows him to capture spirits and facilitate spirit contracts with humans. He needs to know whether the human can act as a suitable vessel, whether he or she can withstand the spiritual energy.” Valen continued.

“I study this by using a variety of spiritual techniques to try and reverse the spiritual corruption in the flesh. Sometimes I do the opposite and try to curse the flesh with my spiritual energy. I’m trying to find the link between biology and spirituality you see- “ 

“Okay, that’s interesting and all but which part involves the spirit we’re trying to find?” Shen cut Valen off before he could ramble further.

“Oh, my apologies… Well, you see, I managed to salvage these the other day…” Valen dug under this desk and laid various body parts on the desk.

Shen flinched at the sight. He was glad he didn’t eat anything. Khan simply frowned. 

In front of them lay a severed arm, a random chunk of flesh and an eyeball. All of the pieces look deformed and discoloured. But they all had something in common. 

On each of the body parts, there was a clear, glowing inscription. A familiar inscription. 

“Ah shit…” Shen spat. This was definitely caused by Ryu’s spirit. 

“These three are each from different bodies mind you… Deformed beyond imagination. I can only imagine the kinds of deaths they had…” Valen spoke, still in his calm voice.

“How… How did you even obtain these parts? And if three people had died like this, why wasn’t it reported to us?” Khan questioned.

“Well, I have my methods… And to answer your second question… These people… they’re the kind that others would be okay with having died. They were members of the underworld, they dabbled in shady, criminal activities. One of them I’m pretty sure was an assassin for the mafia… No one would bat an eye if they suddenly disappeared from this Earth.” Valen explained. 

Shen and Khan realised then and there why they had such difficulty finding Ryu’s spirit. 

Unnatural deaths and spirit related incidents were always underreported. One reason for that was because the people with the most negative emotions were usually part of the underworld. And no one reports anything in the underworld. There exists an entire ecosystem on its own for the underworld side of things. And the SAIB was not part of this ecosystem. 

Still, targeting criminals… that’s definitely Ryu’s spirit….

Shen and Khan both thought the same thing. 

“The spiritual residue is unlike anything I've seen. The presence it gives off is minimal, but it's dense, almost like it's still active. I’ve tried reversing the curse, but I’m faced with a huge rebound. It’s extremely volatile. Almost as if…” Valen’s voice trailed off.

“Almost as if the curse is still alive? That’s because it is. The inscription is still active…” Shen completed Valen’s thoughts for him. 

“I’d advise you to hand those objects over to us. And tell us, where exactly did you find the bodies of the deceased?” Khan asked as he took out containment bags to place the body parts in. 

“Well, the interesting detail is that these three were all found in the same place, one after the other…. Near an abandoned warehouse. It’s over here at this address…” Valen wrote the address down on a piece of paper. 

Shen reached out to grab the slip of paper but Valen waved it away. 

“Before I pass this on… I assume I’m owed something?” Valen asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“We’re the SAIB, we don’t owe you anything…” Shen replied, getting slightly annoyed. 

“Ah, perhaps you didn’t hear me earlier… The underworld belongs to a different ecosystem… One that the SAIB is not a part of. I could care less about your badges. And you wouldn’t have gotten this lead if it weren’t for me. I could be useful in the future… And you guys could be useful to me too…” 

“What’re you suggesting?” Shen probed.

“I’m suggesting you owe me one.” Valen answered. 

Shen hesitated for a moment. The thought of them owing this guy didn’t sit too well with Shen but Valen was right. A contact in the underworld would prove useful. 

“Okay. I owe you. Only me and me alone.” Shen replied. 

“Deal.” Valen handed the address to Shen.

…

Outside the Butcher Shop.

“I’ll drop these cursed body parts off at HQ. We’ll need to keep them safe. I’ll join you later…” Khan spoke as he kept the containment bags close to his body. The see-through bags had been further wrapped with newspaper provided by Valen. 

“Think I can’t handle it by myself?” Shen asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Who here is ranked higher again?” Khan jested.

“But seriously, I wanted to follow along because I’ve got a bad feeling about this. I let my guard down with the Dispossession incident. This group is strong. Don’t let your guard down either…” Khan said in a serious tone. Shen realised that the Dispossession incident probably had a greater impact on Khan than he thought.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got this.” Shen gave Khan a reassuring cocky smirk. Khan smiled back.

“Always sure of yourself… when all you’ve got is just a stupid sword…” Khan mocked again. 

“Hey you better-” Before Shen could retort back, Khan had vanished, teleporting back to HQ.

“Fucker.” 

Shen looked at the slip of paper. He finally had a lead. 

“I’ll free your spirit Ryu, just you wait.”

Royal High, Male Restroom

A boy stumbled out of the cubicle he was just in. His eyes swollen red, snot dripping out of his nose. 

He dragged himself to the sinks and started to wash his face, wiping the tears and snot from his face. 

The boy, who had been bawling his eyes out for the past 15 minutes or so, looked at himself in the mirror. He looked like a mess. His eye bags were clear and visible and his hair was all messed up. 

Seeing his sorry state, the boy began to tear up further. 

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! 

The boy screamed in his mind. 

Why did she have to leave me? We were together for 4 years! How could she just throw that all away? Was it another guy? It must’ve been Jackie! That cheating- 

In the middle of his sobbing, the door to the cubicle behind him opened. 

A short boy with a scar across his face stepped out calmly. 

The boy who was sobbing earlier, blushed in embarrassment. He faced away, wiping his face with water. Trying hard to act normal. 

Was he there the whole time? I thought I was the only one here! Shit, fuck! Did he hear me crying? Fuck…

The boy with the scar across his face walked up to the sink and began washing his hands, ignoring the boy on his left. 

The boy on his left sniffled and wiped his snot, continuously splashing water on his face. 

THe splashing was starting to annoy the boy with the scar. After all, he had indeed heard the entire ordeal of the boy crying.

“Are you okay?” The boy with the scar asked.

Startled, the other boy sniffed in his snot and nodded. But he once again caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. His insecurities came flowing back and the emotion he had kept inside him was too much to keep bottled up. He started to bawl again. Tears flowed down like a river.

The boy with the scar heaved a sigh. 

“I’m sorry… about your girlfriend. Or ex…” The boy with the scar spoke, trying to comfort the other crying boy. 

“I’m… *sniff* sorry… *sniff* I’m okay…” The boy tried to speak between his sobs. 

“My name is Maximillian… but you can call me Max.” The boy with the scar spoke, introducing himself.

The sobbing boy didn’t know why Max was introducing himself but he was too embarrassed to return the introduction. 

Max placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. 

“I know you’re feeling sad, angry, and ashamed right now… maybe even a bit of self-hatred…” Max spoke as if he was reading off a list. 

“Allow me to help you, if just a little bit…” Max spoke as his eyes wandered over to above the boy’s head. Max observed the dark lines of spiritual energy forming. The mix of negative emotions curling up into a little worm. It was a small spirit, wiggling and writhing, floating above the boy’s head.

The worm opened its mouth, revealing a set of spiky teeth. Max flinched in slight disgust. The worm began to suck up the negative emotions of the boy, growing in size. 

“Ugh… Thanks? *sniff* I just… My girlfriend cheated on me… Aghh, I’m so worthless aren’t I… I’m so stupid… I should have known! That Jackie…. It’s all his fault! When I get back to class I’ll… I swear I’ll… I’ll kill that fucker!” The boy was growing in his rage.

The worm started to grow even bigger. 

“I apologise for this.” Max spoke. 

Max dragged his other hand up in the air and slammed it down, hitting the boy’s head. In that instant, the worm split in half and exploded, and the spiritual residue splashed across Max’s face like blood. Of course, this was all unobservable to the crying boy. 

“Calm down… Do not do things you might regret doing just because you got your heart broken by a girl. I implore you to give yourself some respect and clean yourself up. And get some sleep. It appears as if you haven't slept in days.” Max’s stern tone woke the boy up from his emotional rut. 

It felt as if a weight was lifted from his shoulders and he began to realise Max was right. Wiping his face for one final time, he looked up and nodded at Max.

“Ugh… *sniff* I’m sorry, I was saying something really fucking stupid huh… Thanks, man… um… Mark was it? Sorry I didn’t catch your name…” 

Max walked over to the sink and started washing his hands clean once again. The spiritual residue on his hands was irking him. 

“You don’t have to know my name. Just take care of yourself.” Max spoke, without looking the boy in the eye. 

“Yeah, I will.. *sniff* Thanks.” The boy nodded, took a deep breath and dried his face with a piece of tissue. He walked out of the restroom feeling somewhat relieved. 

Max sighed once again. He looked at himself in the mirror. The scar across his face was as prominent as ever, with some spots of spiritual residue that slowly began to fade away. 

“Tsk.” Max clicked his tongue. 

Disgusting spirits…

Max finished washing his hands and looked at himself once more. He made sure that no more spiritual residue remained on him before he walked out of the restroom. 

Max carefully observed his surroundings. The air was different. He could sense it. Something was changing in this school. 

Ever since Mark came back? No, it was before that. Ever since his friend died…

Max had felt that something was off ever since then. Spirits were gathering in this school faster than before. 

Ugh… I may not be able to stand the sight of more disgusting spirits…

Just as he said that, Max felt another presence. The presence of a fully realised spirit. 

Max directed his gaze to the direction of the presence and he saw it. A disgusting sight of a gremlin resting on the shoulders of a girl with auburn hair. She was walking back to class.

Ugh… Just my luck… 

Max clicked his tongue in annoyance. 

This is not even my responsibility… Where are the exorcists when you need them…

Tragedy & Co., a private exorcist firm.

“Cadence? Have you seen my sister?” Raison asked. He had just came back from a meeting with the local exorcist firms regarding the latest development in the Nan Ching District. 

Cadence was just about to leave to work on a case assigned by Constance, her mentor. She had been shadowing Constance for a few months and had to regularly cover for her cases, since Constance was busy working on her own. Cadence didn’t mind. The cases she attended to were exciting and interesting on their own, and she wasn’t as busy as her other batchmates. 

“Oh, Constance is busy at the moment. She’s still working on that case of hers. You need help with anything?” Cadence asked, she was already packing up to leave the office. 

“No, I just need to update her regarding some developments. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about…” Raison took a seat behind his desk as he looked through the list of clients requiring his attention.

“Oh, There’s a request for you… from the SAIB.” Raison informed Cadence.

“Oh?” Cadence raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, it just came in… they’ve sent a notice to you as well. But it seems you’re needed… at Royal High.” Raison spoke in his usual calm tone. 

“Huh… I guess I’ll get to see more action soon…” Cadence spoke with a smirk on her face as she read the details of the notice on her phone. She grabbed her bag and waltzed out of the office.

“Bye Raison! See you once I take care of this Royal High business!” With that, Cadence left. 

Raison sighed, staring at the pile of clients and cases he had to attend to on his own. 

“Where are all the exorcists when you need them?”