THE GHOST HUNTER .

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Emily's summoned wolf sniffed the air, locking onto Kael's scent. With a powerful leap, it sprinted forward, carrying her through the eerie, distorted landscape.

As they arrived, Emily's breath hitched in relief.

Kael was standing there—but something was wrong.

He held the young girl's pinky finger, a soft pink aura flowing between them like a tether. His expression was blank, almost dreamlike, as if he wasn't fully present.

Emily hesitated. She couldn't sense any malice from the girl—no negative energy, no hostility.

She let them be.

But then—

The shadows returned.

The small shadow girl emerged first, her tentacles lashing out, hungry for a fight.

Then—two more shadows followed.

A male shadow dashed forward, a dagger spinning in his hand, his movements swift and precise.

The female shadow crawled on the ground, twisting and contorting unnaturally, her speed unsettling.

Emily's jaw tightened.

This isn't good.

The wolf inhaled deeply, its chest expanding as it gathered energy.

"Hoooowl!"

A torrent of green flames erupted, beautiful yet deadly, flickering with leaf-shaped embers that exploded on contact.

The male shadow spun his dagger, deflecting the flames expertly—his movements weren't random; they were calculated.

The female shadow, meanwhile, slithered forward, her erratic crawling pattern making her impossible to predict.

Emily summoned five sharp green blades above her head.

With a flick of her fingers, the blades shot forward.

Two struck the crawling shadow—but she kept moving, her body jerking like a broken puppet.

The remaining three pierced her—but she simply disappeared into thin air.

Emily's heart pounded.

She teleported.

Left. Right. Above. Below.

Unpredictable. Relentless.

Emily's wolf was too occupied with the other two shadows, so she had to handle this herself.

She adjusted her aim, focusing intensely.

This time, she nearly struck the female shadow just an inch away from impact—but again, she vanished.

Where—

Above.

The shadow dropped from the sky, claws ready to tear Emily apart.

Emily barely reacted in time, releasing a burst of green energy to repel the attack.

But—she pushed the shadow too hard.

The female shadow hurtled toward Kael and the girl.

Emily's breath caught—but the shadow didn't harm them.

She remained fixated on Emily.

Emily's eyes widened.

"She's targeting… only me?"

The child shadow lashed out, its tentacles wrapping around Emily's wolf, restraining it completely.

Emily was now alone.

The three shadows closed in.

Far away—

A powerful explosion rocked the ground.

Emily's lips curled into a smirk.

"You're doomed."

The shadow girl didn't like that.

Her claws extended, cutting through Emily's green shield, shattering it entirely.

Emily gasped, falling to her knees—her energy drained.

Her wolf vanished, unable to sustain itself without her magic.

The shadow girl loomed over her, claws inches away from Emily's exposed neck.

Then—

A flash of blue fire.

A fist collided with the shadow.

The impact sent a shockwave through the air.

Ray had arrived.

His blue flames engulfed the shadow girl, their glow eerie and otherworldly.

Unlike normal flames, these burned the soul itself.

A shadow without a soul would be obliterated.

But—she remained.

Ray frowned. "She's not a ghost."

Emily, still catching her breath, looked up. "Wait—what do you mean?"

Ray clenched his fists. "The other two disappeared when I hit them, but she didn't. That means she isn't just a shadow—she's something else."

Emily's mind raced. "Then what is she?"

Ray's eyes narrowed. "We're not in the real world, Emily. This place—this is her dimension. More like… her dream."

Emily's breath hitched. "A dream dimension?"

Ray nodded. "She controls everything here. That's why the rules are different. Why my blue flames didn't burn her. Why she can summon anything she wants."

Emily's stomach twisted. "Then how do we fight something that controls the entire dimension?"

Ray smirked. "We don't. We just need to last long enough."

He glanced at Kael.

Kael was still connected to the girl, his pinky finger entwined with hers.

Ray exhaled. "Kael's doing his part. We need to do ours."

He turned back to the shadow girl.

"I can't kill you. But I can stop you."

He teleported—instantly appearing beside her.

His punch landed.

A massive explosion tore through the space—but the shadow protected itself.

Then—three dragons emerged.

Two massive golems materialized.

And a horde of skeletons rose from the ground.

Ray cracked his knuckles.

"Well, well… this is gonna be fun."

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Meanwhile…

Kael felt weightless.

The world around him shifted—colors melting into one another, time distorting.

When his vision cleared, he was no longer in the dark, twisted landscape.

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To Be Continued…