Whoosh!


    The trio suddenly felt a gust of cold wind brush past them, causing shivers to run through their spines.


    "Uhm.. I think it is here already " Jason suddenly called out, as his shoulder length raven black hair danced according to the rhythm of the wind.


    He had only just said this when a silhouette appeared before him, however thanks to the heads up from the system, Jason wasn''t surprised.


    A dagger, Silver in color and slightly curved slipped into his grip as he calmly stabbed towards the silhouette before him.


    However to Jason''s astonishment, the Klypt dagger stopped a few inches from striking its target.


    "No way!" Jason noticed that a thick halo of ecto was  obstructing the Klypt dagger. No matter how much forced he pooled in, the Klypt dagger couldn''t break past this halo of ecto.


    Bang!


    An ecto tendril shot out from the Dark Wraith''s ecto halo which snacked  Jason directly on the face, sending him flying back through the air. Thanks to their current exchange, Jason unknowingly stallled the Dark Wraith, giving the siblings enough time to make their move.


    "Hey!" a voice suddenly rang out, causing the Dark Wraith who was about to chase Jason to pause.


    They had only just looked over when Stephen finally released the trigger. Thanks to the silencer, the gun shot wasn''t resounding. Unfortunately, the Dark Wraith dodged the bullet


    And they did it so effortlessly!


    "Hunters!" an annoyed voice erupted from the Dark Wraith as they sent out a series of ecto tendrils slamming towards Stephen, who was engrossed in taking another perfect aim, completely oblivious of the invisible threat.


    "Watch Out!" Jason had only just cried out this warning when the ecto tendrils slammed into Stephen''s chest, sending him flipping through the air, causing the blessed gun to slip out from his grip in the process.


    Two more ecto tendrils shot towards Stephen, only to be suddenly blocked by a silver dagger.


    "What the hell are you doing?" Stephen furrowed his brows as he watched Jason suddenly rush in front of him, waving a silver curved dagger in empty air.


    "Saving you!" Jason clicked his tongue as the Klypt dagger danced in the air, slicing off the two ecto tendrils. Before they could fall on the ground, the two chopped up ecto tendrils transformed into a red mist which got silently absorbed by the ecto halo around the Dark Wraith.


    "Oh?" the Dark Wraith was slightly taken aback, sending out ten more ecto tendrils rolling towards Jason.


    "Run!" seeing the barrage of ecto tendrils Jason knew he couldn''t slice them all with the Klypt daggers, as such he decided to make a run for it.


    However Stephen who was completely oblivious to this kept on standing on the same spot. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Jason grabbed his wrist as he pulled him along.


    "Wh--" Stephen was forced to choke down on the question as the previous spot they were standing suddenly got flattened by an invisible force..


    "You! your eyes-- You can see ectoplasm?!" Stephen finally noticed Jason''s eyes were glowing red, seeming to connect the dots.


    "I''ll explain later!" glancing behind him, Jason''s expression sunk.


    The ten ecto tendrils seemed to have merged together, transforming into a giant palm made out from ectoplasm that was now slamming towards them.


    "It can change shape too?!" his pupils dilated as he tried his best to increase the running pace of his legs.


    Whoosh!


    A Silhouette suddenly blocked their path as a pale skinned palm wrapped in ectoplasm slammed towards Jason''s chest who happened to be at the vanguard.


    Splurt!


    Blood shot from his mouth as he felt a cold but powerful force travel around his body, rattling his innards as the force caused him to tumble in the air briefly before roughly slamming back on the ground.


    "You!" a brilliant glow erupted from Stephen''s left arm as a golden axe appeared in his right grip, which he swung towards the Dark Wraith.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.  "Oh?" the Dark Wraith yelped lightly as they tried smacking the golden axe away, only to realize it was impossible.


    Bang!


    The axe slammed into the ground, causing a deep crater to form as dust flew into the air. Unfortunately, the Dark Wraith managed to escape at the last minute.


    Oof!


    Stephen had just scanned his eyes around when the giant  ecto palm that had been silently hovering above him slammed against his back, pummeling him into the ground, the force crushing his back bone.


    "You are weaker than the last Mystique Hunter I fought thirty years ago. The current me has made more progress than the me from thirty years ago. Going against me was the biggest mistake of your life "  the Dark Wraith appeared before Stephen who was weakly sprawled on the ground.


    Clenching their fist, the   floating ecto palm transformed into a giant axe. It was just about to descend when a chant rang out.


    "Ginppart Menoitututisni Etelpmoc Ipac!"


    Vroom!


    A surge of powerful energy suddenly erupted, throwing dirt into the air as a silver  colored translucent circular  barrier became visible, surrounding the four of them.


    A series of strange sigils and symbols seemed to be dancing around the surface of this circular barrier like happy fishes in water.


    Once this translucent circular barrier was formed, an irresistible force weighed down on the Dark Wraith, causing them  to become visible, revealing their true appearance.


    The true appearance of the Dark Wraith was a beautiful female with blue colored flowy hair that reached all the way to her lower butts. A stylish flower crown was plaited across her forehead. She wore  a pink kimono and had a beautiful belt wrapped around her waist.


    "What is this?!" the Dark Wraith shrieked as she glared angrily at the other female party in their four people group.


    "Heh. This is a barrier formed from mountain ash. Once formed, spiritual beings like you tend to lose your edge. Don''t tell me you haven''t heard of a mountain ash barrier?" Aletta smirked, her Hex Tome floating behind her, while her fingers were already busy weaving through a series of hand seals.


    Mountain Ash was a rare ingredient that had a restraining effect on Monsters. When used against a Yokai, they would find it difficult to move past the boundaries of the barrier. As for spiritual beings like Malevolents, the barrier had a weakening effect on them, temporarily stripping them of their invisibility ability. It was thanks to this that regular Mystique Hunters who couldn''t see their invisible ectoplasmic halo could finally level the playing field.


    However although a mountain ash barrier was amazing, constructing it wasn''t the problem.. luring the monster in was the real headache.


    For Yokais who possessed unnatural senses, they could smell the mountain ash from afar, considering it gave off a repulsive stench. As for spiritual beings, they could sense the energy fluctuation as well. As such the trio all agreed on a game plan..


    Jason and  Stephen were going to be the bait. Once the Dark Wraith was lured in, Aletta was going to activate the barrier.


    Fortunately, this little scheme of their worked. However this resulted in Stephen breaking his back.


    "Tch"  the Dark Wraith was silent for a while before she scoffed.


    "So what if this barrier slightly weakens me? weak children like you would count yourselves lucky if you touch a hair off my head, talk less of killing me.."


    "As for the punishment for tricking me.. your deaths are going to be slow.. especially you!" the Dark Wraith fixed her Malevolent gaze on Aletta.


    "I am going to slowly peel off  the skin of your face.. you are going to scream in excruciating pain till you die"


    Listening to the threats of the Dark Wraith, Aletta was lying if she claimed she didn''t feel any goosebumps.