Chapter 54: Never to be Solved.

This is what remains from volume five of the diary of the Hero of Ultimate Fate, Luka. Recovered from his apartment, years after his death.

Day 1:

A new case, a new diary. Ok, what might the case be? Well, I am going to see the dirty underbelly of the newly resurrected D-pop. Now, some people might say that I should get rid of the demon lord, but…

The D-pop is something that is getting all the people around me to be excited. I can see someone weighing 200 kilograms trying to shake their ass to it.

So, I go to the club that has the two ghouls performing for it, this night. I bet, if I don't stand out, I can…

[There is a big scratch mark after the word can. It seems, our investigator got distracted.]

Day 2:

I wake up all alone in a room, but not tied up. So, I try to brainstorm where I am. Just where could I be? The place is one big white room, with nothing in it. Are they attempting to make me crazy? I think it is working.

Day 3:

So, I had a chat with two women, who wanted to know if I were a paparazzo. They seemed excited about the prospect. I think they are familiar. One of them introduced herself as Mary, and the other as Helena. Still, my brain can't seem to put backgrounds to these names.

Anyway, they let me out of the room, and I pass by the two ghouls. They are dancing, probably because they need some practice, before they go back on stage. Their movements are… mesmerizing.

Day 4:

I am at a club. Blaze. High-class watering hole for the queer birds in the capital of Florifel. I can even see king Allyn together with his husband there. For some reason, the king is stuck in the body of a 25-year-old. Not that his husband is any better. He is stuck at 30.

I move my gaze at the two dancers, and smile at the blonde one. He must have seen me because he winks, just as he catches the smaller ghoul. Mm, that wink held promise…

[This part was scratched out.]

Day 10:

I don't know why, but I am back at Blaze. This time, the king, and his husband are not there. So, I look directly at the stage. This time, the routine is somewhat different.

The two ghouls begin their dance, and then it happens. They call for a volunteer from the public.

Before I can reason with myself, I place my pen down.

Day 20:

Wow, practice today was intense. Who would have known that, after an hour worth of stretching, the dance would still be hard on us? It is a bright new number. Something that Mary, our agent, made for us. With my less than nimble body in mind.

No, I am not fat. On the other hand, I don't exercise, either. I guess that will have to change.

I have one chance. Just one. If I blow up the performance tonight, Mary will strike me out of the team. Helena offered me some rum, earlier. Hm, it was just the thing I needed, to settle my nerves.

Day 21:

I am writing on the desk in Alex and Cassius's room. I… spent the night with them. The performance was a blast, but I am not certain if I really should sleep with them. I mean, they are immortal, and I? I probably have another fifty years in me. Not even half of those in my glory days.

It was a beautiful dream. Being with them. Dancing as the crowd went wild. The time when I jumped on Cassius's shoulders, and Al jumped on mine, was both the funniest thing I have ever done, and the strangest. Just how powerful are they?

I notice a gaze on the back of my head, and then look up…

[There is a kiss mark on the page below these words.]

Day 100:

I am relaxing after a performance. For some reason, I looked at my first entry. How time flies, for me to have forgotten why I even took up to cracking open a new diary?

So, D-pop. There is something fishy about it, indeed. Even if a couch potato can become a professional dancer, then, well, how does that even happen? I catch Mary's gaze on me. She makes a motion with her hand, and I hand her the diary.

The last entry. Written by Mary:

Dear Luka. Hun, quit with the snooping. Your ass belongs to me — now. You drank the rum. Do you know what is in the rum? I will tell you.

Souls. Distilled souls. You are a soul drinker now, Luka. There is no turning back. So, leave this book behind, and go shake hands. Or, I will make you sleep in the tool shed out back, instead of with our lovely ghouls.

And don't you even dare think about ousting me. I am a demon lady, you sad excuse for a hero. You oust me, and I will oust you. Then, you will be forced to go up against demon lord Anastasios. He will kick you a new one, you little fairy!

The time when D-pop made a comeback is still fresh in the minds of people. The two ghouls, Cassius and Alex, made it their mission to promote people leaving their dead for the ghouls to eat. Graveyards become a thing of the past, as the two idols championed their cause.

As for Luka, well, he knew when he was beat. Eating, or drinking, souls was a crime punishable with death. He never asked just whose souls he gulps down with his morning rum.

Mary never told him, but the truth was, it was her soul all along. For, she is a demon lady, and her soul can regrow. Mary, Tamara, whatever you would like to call her, would never steal another's soul.

But that was not something that Luka needed to know…

 End of A Party for Ghouls.