I checked my mana, and its stability.

'I'll need to wait a few months — roughly three — before I can create another Star.'

My current strength put me on pars with veteran Exorcists.

It would be enough for this mission.

I took a breath and activated a warp point to an abandoned ally in Street 51.

I created this warp point a few days ago, and linked it to the one in the abandoned RAF Fauld Site, near Burton-upon-Trent.

When the light faded, I stood in an empty, run-down area.

Old streetlights flickered faintly in the distance.

I walked toward Street 51 until I reached a small motel and stepped inside.

I went to Room 204, on the second floor.

I knocked.

The door opened, and Ellyn—youngest of the Dhampir triplets—peeked out.

"You're here," she said.

I nodded, and stepped inside.

Everyone was gathered around a table.

The room was cramped, just one space with a small kitchen and a bathroom, but it was enough for us.

We had picked this place because it was close to Street 51.

It made it easy to watch the area at all times.

We shared the rent for this room evenly between us.

"He's here. We can start the briefing," said Zephan, unfolding a stack of documents.

He spread them on the table.

"First, we've confirmed the sign that someone will be pulled into the Cursed Spirit's domain. It's the nightmare of being chased."

Everyone listened carefully.

"Second," he continued, "every member of our team has started to have these nightmares.

"That confirms we'll be dragged into the domain soon."

He paused, scanning the papers.

"Third, we still don't know the entrance condition for the Cursed Spirit's domain.

"The nightmares are the sign we will enter it, but we don't know what triggers them."

He flipped to another page.

"Lastly, four civilians in the area have started having the same nightmares.

"They'll be pulled into the domain with us.

"If you see them inside, don't rush to save them yet.

"First, find out how to escape. Rescue comes after that. Don't mess up your priorities."

We all nodded, though I could see muted expression on Calliope and Mira's faces.

All our clues came from interrogating residents on Street 51 and the few people who had started to have the nightmares.

I had started having the same dreams too.

In those dreams, I was in dark corridors. The would be the sound of footsteps chasing me, and the feeling of being watched.

No one knew why the someone started to have the nightmares.

I did.

I just hadn't revealed the information yet.

I had been waiting for a chance to reveal it while acting like I found it through deduction.

I looked over the reports.

"Hm…"

I murmured, flipping a page.

"I think I found the condition that causes the nightmares."

Everyone turned to me at once.

"It's awareness," I continued. "To be exact, it's the awareness that something supernatural is here.

"We all knew there was a Cursed Spirit around, so the moment we came to Street 51, the nightmares started."

I tapped the report in front of me.

"After Mrs. Gibson's daughter disappeared, she began believing that a ghost took her.

"From the next day, she started having nightmares too.

"Her husband didn't believe her, and he's not having any nightmares."

I flipped to another page.

"Mrs. Gibson's friend, Bella.

"She is living at the end of the street, also believes in things like this.

"After Mrs. Gibson told her about the ghost, she started having nightmares too."

The room was quiet.

Everyone was thinking about what I said, connecting it with what we already knew.

"He's right," Zephan finally said, realization dawning on his face. "Everyone who's having nightmares believes something supernatural exists here."

Since Zephan was a mentalist who could look into people's memories, he had seen these things already through their memories, but had not been able to connect the dots until now.

"So awareness of the supernatural, and entering this street… those are the entrance conditions," Mira said, crossing her arms. "But we can't be sure yet. We'll need more solid data."

We all nodded.

Then she added, "If awareness really is the key, then what if we erase their memories of the moment they became aware of the supernatural?

"Wouldn't that stop the nightmares and keep them from being pulled into the Cursed Spirit's domain?"

"I think so too," I said.

"Good," Zephan replied. "Let's test it. Mira and I will visit the civilians tonight. I'll check their memories to find the moment they became aware, then we'll erase that part."

Zephan and Mira left soon after to do the job quietly.

They would slip into the houses of those affected and handle it without alerting anyone.

Meanwhile, Lars and I left the motel to patrol the area like we always did.

A few hours passed before Lars muttered, "I'm getting hungry."

"Let's grab something from the mart," I said.

We went to the small convenience store at the end of the street.

We bought food for everyone, and as we were about to leave, the cashier, a woman, smiled at us and handed two chocolate bars.

"These are for our hundred-thousandth customers," she said cheerfully. "It's free. Please take them."

Lars grinned and took one immediately.

"Thanks," he said after a bite.

I looked at the chocolate in my hand without saying anything.

"Oh, did you recognize this brand? It's from Johannesburg. Quite expensive, actually" the woman said brightly, seeing my expression.

"It's good," Lars repeated, chewing.

His English was getting better lately, though he still spoke in short sentences when he used English.

"I know, right?" the woman said. "I live near the Makhonjwa Mountains, and whenever we used to visit Johannesburg, my dad would buy this for me and my sister."

"Makhonjwa Mountains? Where's that?" Lars asked.

She blinked, surprised.

"You haven't heard of Makhonjwa Mountains? They're pretty famous!"

"I haven't," I said, shaking my head.

"Me neither," Lars added in Danish.

"It's a famous place in South Africa," she said, laughing. "And yes, I'm a foreigner."

We talked a little more before heading out of the store.

As soon as we stepped outside, I let out a quiet sigh.

'We barely survived that.'

The woman we just met wasn't just some cheerful cashier.

'I didn't think she'd show up this quickly.'

Code name: Chameleon.

Specialty: Disguises.

Appearance: Unknown.

Age: Unknown.

Gender: Believed to be female.

She was the leader of the traitors who worked for the invaders.

Every bit of my knowledge about the Monkey King — even how to create a replica of his staff — came from her.

In my previous life, she was one of the main reasons Earth fell.

Finding her had always been difficult.

Her disguises were flawless, and she had caused us enormous losses.

There was only one reliable way to identify her were chocolate.

She liked them quite a bit, and always offered it to others.

Of course, that habit made things tricky.

Normal people could offer chocolate too, which meant you could never be sure if the person in front of you was her or not.

'Makhonjwa Mountains,' I thought.

As expected, she mentioned that place.

That was where the Monkey King grew up.

By bringing it up, she was testing me and trying to confirm if I really was his disciple.

His disciple would know of that place.

If I had said I knew Makhonjwa Mountains, she would've kidnapped me right there.

'She must be at least Rank 4 or Rank 5 by now.'

'I can't win against her in a fight yet.'

I knew she'd approach me sooner or later, but not this fast.

For now, I had denied knowing anything about Makhonjwa Mountains, but that didn't mean she'd stop suspecting me.

She'd probably stick around, watching from the shadows, waiting for a chance to confirm if I was Monkey King's disciple.

'I'll have to find a way to deal with her soon.'

'Her disguises are too dangerous.'

But that could wait.

Right now, the Cursed Spirit causing the First Disaster was more important.

We continued our patrol until it was time for the next team to switch in.

Then, Lars and I headed back to the motel room.

Everyone was already there, sitting around the table.

"Did you wipe everyone's memories?" I asked.

"Yes," Zephan replied. "We also confirmed that all of them had awareness of something supernatural in the area. If everything works as expected, they shouldn't have nightmares anymore."

"Alright. Now take this."

I took out several space stones from my inventory rune and handed one to each of them.

"When we enter the Cursed Spirit's domain, if we get separated, put your mana or aura into the stone.

"I'll be able to locate you through it.

"But until I reach you, don't move from your spot.

"If I don't come within five minutes, assume I can't reach you and act on your own from there," I said,

Everyone nodded, listening carefully.

The next day, we confirmed that wiping out the memories of those having nightmares actually worked.

The civilians who had their memories erased no longer reported any nightmares.

"Now that we know the entrance condition and how to stop it, the Underworld will probably create regular missions here," Zephan said. "They'll send Exorcists to erase the memories of anyone showing signs of being affected."

He sounded relieved, believing everything was finally under control.

I let out a quiet sigh and shook my head.

'He thinks we've handled it. But the Cursed Spirit's range will soon start expanding faster than they can react.'

'And given time, it will become unstoppable.'

Still, I didn't say anything.

'We just need to exorcise it. Once that's done, it'll all stop for good.'

Days passed, and our nightmares continued.

And then—

August 2, 2003

We were pulled into the Cursed Spirit's domain.

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