To Hunt A Vampire - Part 1 [Job, Mythal]

Word Count : 1,266 | Total : 2,480 | Target : 3,500
Job, Approval

What were the chances the house was haunted? Mythal honestly would have put money down on the 'yes' bet if he could. The house just reeked of supernatural power; not with a literal smell but the feeling one got just by being near it. Standing on its porch, right before the impressively large and heavy door, there was an uneasiness that clung to the air like an arid stench. It made one want to run back the other way, to escape from whatever terror lay within the dark expanse of the house. But Mythal, and by extension Markus, were not normal people. The dark wasn't scary; it was their fuel and source of power. The things that could lie in the dark; they were merely annoyances that were occupying where they generally felt at home.

The door slammed shut behind them, to the lack of surprise in both of them. Mythal glanced back at it, half expecting to see a ghostly figure poised in the corner, having pushed their exit shut and now was mocking them. There was nothing there at the moment yet that didn't mean there wasn't something else lying in their wait along their way forward. Markus had remarked right before he opened the door that he had seen something moving; whether it was a trick of the eyes or not was still up in the air at that point. The house itself certainly hadn't been lived in for quite some time; the fireplace was as cold as the stone brick that it was composed of, the only signs of fire in the ancient ash in its mouth. He couldn't tell if the chairs nearby were lavish or not, as they were completely covered up by a plastic covering. It was as if someone had planned on packing up and then... never completed the task. Perhaps due to an unfortunate accident?

The floor revealed it self in waves as they moved, the thick layer of dust upon the surface as heavy as snow. Mythal scanned the room, h is hands back to resting idly in his pockets. He was still on guard but he didn't want to give anything hiding out that idea. It would give him a better vantage if the hider thought it could surprise him. Markus turned enough to address him once more, offering an encouraging and witty snippet of dialogue that was amusing enough to make the God Slayer snort and smirk. Meet the ghosts; that was funny. Mythal was shaking his head when he nearly ran smack into Markus' back, having followed close behind him into the next room. His partner had frozen up almost instantly upon turning the corner and Mythal had nearly walked right into him. He did a bit of a foot shuffle to the side, placing himself at Markus' shoulder so he could look up at what had given him pause.

The stairwell was quite grandiose; with a colorful but aged rug running the length of the steps. The railing that curtained the stairs was exceptionally detailed; a battle running the length of the banister showcased creatures of different species in bloody combat. But as eye-catching as all of that was, it was far from the strangest sight before them. That honor went to the young woman sitting at the top of the steps, her ominous smile bearing down on them. She seemed perfectly corporeal at first, enough so that even Mythal wondered how she had gotten there and still left the rest of the house in such a state of disarray. But taking a moment to truly look her over, it was obvious that she was both there and not; her form was translucent around her outline and the barest hint of the stairs behind her could be seen in spots.

Meet the ghosts; not so funny now.

Her pleasantness disappeared only a moment later, her face contorting in anguish and a bone-chilling shriek exploded out from her mouth. She charged them, flying down the stairs in a swift downwards dive. Markus dove to one side and Mythal leapt to the other, splitting the gap and leaving the ghost an empty alley to swipe viciously at. But instead of attacking, she kept moving forward and hit the wall --well, phased through the wall was more like it. The house gave a low groan as she disappeared within its confines, agitated out of its state of rest. Mythal turned his gaze to the spot she had disappeared into, his magic already surging into his hands. If Markus took a moment to look, he would see the pitch-black veins rising off of Mythal's flesh on his hands. "I'd say so," he replied simply, his eyes never detaching from the wall. As Marks urged him to watch their back, he gave the man a curt nod and moved over to the center of the hall so he could keep close to the other wizard. Then they proceeded up the steps, with Mythal walking up backwards so they wouldn't find themselves surprised.

Everything was fine until they reached the second landing. Suddenly the air was alive again with angry noises; unearthly whispers that uttered fierce and violent things at them. Mythal glanced about, trying to locate the source while still remaining on guard. He saw her out of the corner of his eye and spun to face her, the specter hovering in the air above them. Markus ran forward, looking to slide beneath her legs and avoid its attack again. But it looked like it just clipped him, her ethereal hands passing through his shoulders. He didn't let out any loud noise of agony so it must not have caused any real pain. That made his life easier; that meant he could scare her back. The ground cracked as he pushed off of it, launching himself at the ghost.

But just as he was preparing to attack, Markus called out and told him not to touch it. Mythal only had a moment to twist his body away before her translucent hands were upon him too. He pushed his foot down as hard as he could, launching himself into the air far above her head. He spun through the air, doing several different twists and flips before he landed beside Markus, denting the rugged floor as he hit the ground in a crouch. As he spun his attention back, the ghost was gone once more, leaving them alone in the hallway save for the door set at the end. "You good?" he asked Markus, taking a moment to make sure he was fine. He was holding the 'injured' shoulder but a mere sapping of magic would be more of a nuisance than anything else he figured. Once he was sure Markus was good to move forward, he would followed the other wizard to the doors.

Markus practically kicked them open, revealing the well-packed study beyond. Books rose up like towers on each side, easily dwarfing the two in height. A pristine desk sat on the other end of the room, bearing a large and ancient looking tome. Mythal was rarely one to believe the treasure just sat there waiting to be picked up but there it was. As they entered the room, another figured slid out of the darkness behind the desk, clearly trying to be as intimidating as possible. He spoke to them with all the charm of a snake, his voice like a fine brandy set against his fish-like and immobilized flesh.

"I won't be long," he said before he dropped into the ground, his own shadow proving a temporary portal for him. He popped back up on the other side of the desk, putting it between him and the vampire. His hand snapped out and took ahold of the book, yanking it towards himself... only to find it stuck. As his brow furrowed, the ghost girl rose up out of the table, her hand fixed on the other side of the book. She snarled at him and clawed at him, causing Mythal to take a step back.

"Uh... nice ghost girl, good ghost girl," he attempted to soothe her, unsure what would get her to calm down. His words only seemed to coax her anger more and she launched herself forward at him, attempting to dive through him. He had just enough time to duck down and roll away, springing back up by the door. "Alright, package grabbed. Let's get," he said, gesturing towards the door.

Cursed Lands	Fairy Tail
2823/3500