I didn't realized that I have been holding my breath for too long upon hearing Taemin mentioned the name of the ghoul. I don't exactly have an idea on how it became possible but she's here—Marcella is here—and the only reason for that would be me.

But how did she knew that I was here? How did she knew that she didn't succeeded on killing me?

My heart was on my throat. It was beating too loud and terrifyingly fast that I can't almost breathe. 

The wind was howling softly in the eerie silence of the night and I could already hear their hurried footsteps. In any minute now, Marcella will be here and when she see me, I am pretty sure that she will do her best to kill me this time. I got a feeling that she will not stop until she's not seeing me lying on the pool of my own blood.

"Naeun." I felt Taemin silently reached for my cold hand, enclosing it with his, and I instantly relaxed upon his warmth. "Where is the amulet?"

Right, I almost forgot the shadowcloak amulet! I had to remove it earlier when I was changing into my battle kimono and put it inside my pocket. I could be concealed afterall! 

"H-Here, should I wear it? I-I am afraid that she'll going to try killing me again." My voice trembled as I speak due to my growing fear. 

Both to my surprise and to my relief, a pair of warm hand end up on top of my shoulders and the owner carefully turned me around to face him.

"Don't be scared. I am here. I mean it when I said that I will protect you. As long as I am alive, no one can bring you any harm. Do you understand that?" Taemin's gaze was piercing but despite of that, I could still feel that he truly meant his words. I let my worries slid away and forced myself to smile. "Hand me the amulet. I'll put it around you."

A little lost, I did what he told me to do and turn around slightly. Within a second later, I felt the weight of the amulet resting once again on my neck and felt its mystical force engulfing me. 

"There, now you hide. She won't see you anymore." Taemin said that without sparring me another glance.

I knew better that arguing wouldn't lead us to any good so I hesitantly went to a tall tombstone nearby and hid myself, silencing my ragged breathing as I do.

For several minutes, Taemin remained standing alone in the middle of the Graveyard of Yagoto, swinging his scythe savagely when an eidolon tried coming on his way, and silently wait for our ghoul to come. There was a dead look dancing on his now silvery eyes. Despite his currently calm demeanor, one could still feel the stormy rage that is burning inside him. He's mad—my master is mad.

Francesco Chevalier's Point of View

Having to know that Marcella was able to followed us here was not a mystery to me but her finding out that we were currently deployed in Nagoya was.

Marcella was not an ordinary person when she was still alive and it was a secret that I have been keeping but all of my efforts were put in to waste after my brother Giovanni disclosed the matter to the Pilgrim Reaper.

Witch blood was in her veins and it was not any ordinary blood. She was from the primordial witch bloodline—the Morozova—the only bloodline that are capable of controlling the gates of Heaven and Earth, the gates separating the living from the dead, they are the gatekeeper. She's from the witch bloodline that my father has been long hunting for.

At first, I was in the dark of why my father wanted to got hold of a Morozova witch not until she told me everything. It turned out that they were the keyholder of my father's desires and that desire was the reason why she died. 

"Master Francesco!" Jungwoo called for my name panting as he reached my spot. Several cuts and gashes were found on his skin which I believed to be Marcella's doing. "That ghoul, she.. she's too powerful unlike the others! She was able to inflict serious attacks. We can't.. do anything to stop her."

As if on cue, her bone-chilling shrieks echoed loudly on the silent night and I caught Naeun flinched from my peripheral. 

​​​​​​Marcella has finally arrived, on her wake was Lucas who's cursing furiously as he chase her down.

"Leave her to me. Stay away from Naeun as well. She's using the shadowcloak amulet. Don't let the ghoul sense her." I said as I readied my scythe and move as far away from Naeun as possible. "Be on guard and rely the command to Lucas." 

Jaehyun's familiar nodded and hesitantly left my side to pull away his comrade from the impending battle.

They would only get on my way. No matter how skill they are, they'd be still no match for a witch. She's far too powerful, far too cunning for them, and I am the only one who knows what are her weaknesses.

"Marcella." I called upon her and she quickly shifted her full attention to me. "How did you know that I am here?" 

She must have fully regained her body now as her face no longer covered in gore. Her once eyeless pit was now filled with hatred which is obviously reflected on her icy-blue orbs. 

"Where is she?!​​​​​​" Marcella bellowed. "Where is Naeun?!!" 

I took a step closer to where she was perched, a smug smile crawling on my tightly closed lips. "Oh, didn't you killed her last night?"

"Don't test my patience, reaper. I said where is she? I know that you intervened again." Marcella's voice was venomous and it caused for my smirk to grow even more. Being a ghoul has taken all her gentleness away. It's almost like she transformed into a new being. Tsk, what a waste. 

​​​​​​"I'm afraid but you won't touch her again. I won't allow you to even have a glance at her. Tell me, who gave you our location?" I took another step closer to her as I said those words.

"I don't have time for this, Francesco. The longer that Naeun remains walking on this world, the higher the chance of your father finding out about her. You already know this. It's better that she die all over again than her to be your father's pet! I won't let another Morozova to suffer on his hands."

The wind howled suddenly after her remark. Dark clouds gathered around the starless skies, blurring away all the remaining moonlight that illuminate the night.

I was momentarily stunned. The last time that I saw her use her witch abilities was when she died. Her death was not an accident but it was fabricated by no other than by her own. 

On her last breath, she summoned the brightest flames the consumed her life and as her body got burned into ashes, she left an unbreakable curse that left no other Morozova Witch to survive. On her death, she took her own priced bloodline along. And Naeun being her kin, died on the same curse.

Death by fire was the curse. At first, I was confused on how the curse works since all ladies from the bloodline should die but it turned out I was wrong. The curse was only effective if she's a doppelganger, a reincarnation of the former gatekeeper. It happen to be like that because these mystical abilities are only passed down to them. Since technically they're reincarnations, a part of their souls weren't originally theirs.

But up until now, despite of Naeun be