"Hello, what are your orders please?" a female blonde waitress stopped before a particular table as she flashed its occupants one of her sweetest smiles.


    "Uhmm.. you must be Stephanie correct?" Stephen scanned his eyes around the restaurant before they fell on the waitress.


    "As you can see on my badge" the waitress lightly tapped the name badge on her chest.


    "Yeah. You are right. Would you mind sparing a few minutes of your time? we would like to discuss something with you" Aletta nodded with a smile, exposing her cute set of dimples.


    "We are record label scouts.. we happened to have come across your cover songs on YouTube.." Stephen hurriedly lied when he noticed the other party was about to decline.


    "R--Really?!" the waitress named Stephanie glanced at the watch around her wrist.


    "My shift ends in five minutes.." she informed them, the pace of her breathing suddenly accelerating.


    "Alright. Meet us outside then " Stephen nodded as he and Aletta stood up, exiting the restaurant.


    "Record label scouts? really?" Aletta punched her brother on the shoulder as soon as they left the restaurant.


    "What did you expect me to say? she was about to decline" Stephen justified.


    "What if she never had a cover song uploaded on YouTube then?" Aletta sneered.


    "I took a guess.. I mean she''s pretty.. someone with that kind of looks won''t be content with just being a  restaurant waitress" Stephen grinned coyly.


    A couple minutes later, Stephanie the waitress joined the siblings. This time she got rid of her official waitress apron and had a nervous expression on her face.


    "I really don''t know what to say. When I released those covers on YouTube, I never expected them to catch the eyes of any record label.. after all the recording quality was very low since I merely recorded it on my phone In-built voice recorder" Stephanie wriggled her fingers nervously.


    "Uh.." Stephen''s corner lips twitched. Fortunately, Aletta had his back.


    "Our record label is out for individuals with  pure and raw talent.. and we feel that you are one of such individuals.. with an angelic voice like yours and our label''s strategic PR, you are going to be dominating the billboard charts in  no time "


    "You really think so?" Stephanie broke into a wide  ambitious grin as her eyes flashed with excitement.


    "However before that, we need to ask you some personal questions.. say for example your date of birth, your heritage and the likes.. these information is going to be crucial in setting up your Wikipedia page" Aletta brought out her palmphet.


    "Alright. Ask away!"


    .


    .


    —[TITLE CARD ; NOW]


    .


    .


    "Can you track down the Crocottta?" Jtas mentally asked Sofia as he exited the hotel building.


    Looking towards the sky, he noticed the sun was about to set.


    "You want me to sniff out your prey? sorry try a Werewolf" Sofia scoffed.


    "Although I am a Ghost, Yokais are different from us" she added.


    "That means you can see other ghosts right?" Jason caught on the implied meaning in her words.


    "Affirmative "


    "When you took control of my body.. if it wasn''t possession, what was it?" Jason asked after hesitating a bit.


    "Union.. it''s a state were both of our souls becomes molded as one.. it''s like our souls become entwined. In that state you can use all my abilities. However that form consumes a hell lot of my energy since you don''t have even the slightest rudimentary control over it, causing an excessive amount of my ecto to leak out.. I''ll say we don''t ever use that form until you learn proper control" Sofia replied.


    "Hmm.. I wasn''t counting on it in the first place " Jason wriggled his nose as he put on the Sprite Pupils.


    His vision instantly changed. However he didn''t receive that notification he was hoping for.


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. "Am I took far from it?" he frowned while removing the Sprite Pupils.


    "However if you are looking for a Crocotta, I''ll think I can give you a few clues.. they are proficient in patience, capable of lurking in the shadows as they await their preys to walk right towards their maws"


    Realization suddenly dawned on Jason.


    "The Cemetery!"


    .


    .


    Rustle... Rustle. Rustle.


    A silhouette made their way through several tombstones before they finally arrived at a particular one. Stephen scanned his eyes around.


    "The Crocottta is yet to arrive" he spoke through the wireless Bluetooth communication bud.


    Whoosh!


    Just then, a violent breeze brushed past his face as a figure shoved him against the surface of the tombstone. Stephen who was about to struggle suddenly stiffened when he felt a cold but sharp object kissing the flesh of his throat, followed by a voice filled with the stench of rotten flesh.


    "Move an inch and you won''t be able to do so again"


    "You.. you are the old man from that abandoned internet cafe?!" Stephen''s brows shot up in astonishment as he recognized the voice of the other party from such close proximity.


    "Indeed. As soon as you and that girl walked into my shop, I knew who you were" the Crocottta sinisterly chuckled, not bothering to deny the allegations.


    "Why didn''t you kill me then?" Stephen bit his lower lips nervously as he felt a small amount of his blood slid down his throat.


    "Hmpfh. Old man Jones is the best alias that suits my taste perfectly. He''s the secluded type who hardly socializes.. I wasn''t ready to risk losing that identity"


    "I take it the original Old man Jones is dead?"


    The Crocottta snorted.


    "No. He''s alive.. in my stomach, hahahaha"


    "You are disgusting" Stephen clicked his tongue.


    "You weren''t the first Mystique Hunter who has told me that.. and you won''t be the last either"


    "Heh. Too bad this is the end of the line for you" Stephen strangely smirked as he suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs.


    "Now!"


    " Singi Areahps  Xelpud Esod!" a chant suddenly rang from behind the Crocottta, followed by a brilliant glow as two flying fireballs shot towards him.


    "Bastard! you were intentionally stalling for your colleague!" sensing the danger from the fireballs, the Crocottta slammed its feet on the ground, exploding in a burst of unnatural speed as it evaded the trajectory of the fireballs.


    As for Stephen, his forehead shot out a brilliant light which transformed into a glowing axe that landed on his grip. Swinging it towards the fireball at the lead, he borrowed the collision force to flip through the air, just in time for the second fireball to blast the tombstone into ashes, while setting the cemetery field grass ablaze.


    The once slightly dark atmosphere instantly became bright like it was at  the peak of noon, exposing the appearance of the Crocotta to be the old Shop Keeper the siblings encountered at the Internet Cafe earlier in the day.


    "You!!!" the Crocottta glared at Aletta who was standing in the distance, a glowing tome floating behind her as she held up a snow white rosary with her left hand while her right hand weaved through a series of finger seals.


    "Like I am going to let you!" Crocotta  recognized her intentions, causing it to charge  towards her, his claws aimed at her chest. Although there was a large distance between the two of them, the Crocotta covered it within a few seconds. This was a speed that the ordinary human legs couldn''t hope to achieve.


    "You nosy Mystique Hunters.. always making feeding difficult for my kind!" Aletta was still in the midst of weaving through her hand seals when the Crocottta arrived in front of her, his claws seven inches away from stabbing right through her heart.