Mr. Crow could feel his soul almost leaving his body after hearing Lana’s words.
For a mont, he had the urge to slap her hard, but he, too, realized he was feeling paralyzed.
He could only murmur, "Why does not even one of our adventures end without so kind of mishap?"
Hearing that, Lana sighed and muttered, "I don’t know either. It just... happens."
anwhile, the ghost children, as if enjoying Lana’s misery, suddenly burst into unsettling laughter.
One of them giggled, "Sister has also fallen into our trap!"
Lana clenched her fists and glared at them.
"Why are you all so thrilled? Shouldn’t children like you at least feel so pity for ? I ca here to help you."
The children tilted their heads simultaneously, an unnatural, eerie motion, before laughing even harder.
Suddenly, Lana watched in horror as their heads began to drop from their bodies.
A bloody, grotesque scene unfolded before her eyes. Their necks split open like fountains, spraying streams of blood as their bodies collapsed.
Yet their severed heads continued to laugh, rolling around the ground as if they had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
One of the heads sneered.
"You’re not here to help us. You only ca to witness our misery. The mont you realized how dangerous this school is... You tried to run."
Lana tried to explain, "That’s not the case..."
But before she could finish, she felt a cold hand wrap around her throat.
She gasped. Air left her lungs instantly.
Mr. Crow, through their connection, felt the sa suffocating sensation. Panic exploded in his voice.
"Lana! Do sothing! Quick!"
Lana’s vision blurred, but she forced her trembling hands to clench tighter.
’No... calm down... This isn’t real... It’s an illusion.’
In an instant, her expression steadied. She closed her eyes and whispered, "This is all an illusion..."
Mr. Crow was stunned. "L-Lana? What are you...?"
Before he could finish, he too felt a hand wrapping around his tiny neck, squeezing tightly.
He choked in terror until Lana’s voice reached him again.
"Mr. Crow," she muttered weakly, "close your eyes. Forget the sensation. Ignore it completely."
Mr. Crow had no strength left to argue. He obeyed imdiately.
As soon as he did, the pressure around his neck slowly faded.
But the next mont, a new sound filled the air...
Children sobbing.
The heart-wrenching echoes of the children’s sobs had the power to make anyone feel sympathy.
Until the echoes beca so overwhelming that even Mr. Crow felt the urge to open his eyes.
But Lana whispered sharply, "Don’t open your eyes yet."
Mr. Crow trembled but obeyed.
anwhile, Lana remained still, eyes still shut... until she felt the oppressive aura weaken just enough.
"Let’s go," she said quietly.
Mr. Crow felt his body move, Lana lifting him and shifting her weight, before sprinting.
She opened her eyes and imdiately ran toward the car parked near the road.
Once she reached it, she saw the driver hesitating, caught between calling soone and anxiously staring in her direction.
The mont he saw Lana running out, he exhaled in relief.
"Miss Lana!" he rushed forward. "I was getting worried. I almost called Mr. Lucien."
Lana let out a long sigh. ’So two hours have not passed yet...?’
But the driver’s next words made her freeze.
"Thankfully, you told not to call him. You kept reassuring every twenty minutes that you were fine."
Lana’s eyes widened. "What? I never said anything like that."
The driver frowned.
"Miss, two hours ago, I ca out to check on you when you didn’t appear. I was about to call Mr. Lucian, but then I heard your voice, through telepathy, saying you were fine and still inside the school. You told repeatedly not to call anyone."
He paused mid-sentence.
His expression turned grim.
Lana felt her stomach drop. "Did that... inner voice tell you to do sothing?"
The driver looked stunned.
Mr. Crow, completely confused, asked, "Lana, what’s going on?"
Lana clenched her fists. ’Mr. Crow... the ghost boundary is not just the school. We entered it much earlier. Right now, we are standing inside the ghost’s territory.’
Mr. Crow’s entire expression turned grim.
Each ghost has its own range/zone in which it can hear or take actions easily. They are called ghost territory, while the edges of ghost zones are called ghost boundaries; they also mark the entry point.
If they had entered earlier, it ant the mont they stepped into the suburban area, they were already trapped.
Just how powerful must the ghost be to be able to have such a big territory?
"And," Lana continued coldly, "another ghost has been manipulating the driver to ensure he didn’t call for help. If it kills , no one would know."
She looked up at the sky. It was pitch dark.
More than four hours had passed.
Her heart trembled.
Mr. Crow asked shakily,
"Then why is the driver looking at us like that? And what did you an when you asked if soone told him to do sothing?"
Lana answered quietly,
"Because the ghost wasn’t just preventing him from calling Lucian. It was trying to make him believe..." She exhaled softly. "...that the woman in front of him right now isn’t ."
Mr. Crow’s eyes widened. "A doppelganger tactic..."
At that very mont, the driver froze.
He heard a terrified voice inside his head:
"Stay away from her! The woman in front of you is not ! It’s a ghost! Don’t let her co close! I’m coming to find you; don’t let her know!"
The driver’s blood ran cold. Instinctively, he stepped back from Lana.
The voice whispered again, desperately.
"Don’t leave. Just wait. I’m almost there. Don’t let the ghost realize you know."
anwhile, Lana saw the change in his expression and clenched her fists.
"We can’t stay here anymore," she said firmly. "That voice misleading you was not ."
The driver’s eyes widened in panic.
Lana stepped closer and said calmly.
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