Filed to story: A Little Princess's Journey from Darkness to Light Novel
That was when Cheryl started to approach them with small, delicate steps.
“You’re here, Josh.” She giggled.
The object of his affection had left him dumbfounded. “…”
His tears stopped, and a chill ran down his spine.
Cheryl had a pale complexion, with bruised and sunken eyes.
Her features were stiff, making her attempts to smile unsettling.
Josh felt numb. “Uh…”
Lilly stood in Cheryl’s way and frowned. “Stop scaring him!”
She wore a serious expression on her chubby, child-like face.
“Master… Master?” Lilly looked around.
Where is he?
Pablo floated closer. “I’m here.”
The man in white robes had deep-set eyes, a prominent nose bridge, and bright red lips. His appearance gave him a demonic look.
“What is it this time?” Pablo casually patted the girl’s head.
Lilly gave him suspicious looks.
What’s wrong with my master?
He got bored while I was forced into a timeout and left the school to take a walk.
He came back while I was in class, then left again.
He was nowhere to be found… until now!
But that was the least of their problems. Lilly asked, “What’s wrong with Cheryl?”
She was puzzled.
According to Pablo’s teachings, the vanity spirit shouldn’t have been able to possess Cheryl’s body yet, but Lilly no longer felt Cheryl’s “presence”.
Pablo narrowed his eyes. “This is a phenomenon known as ‘spirit substitute’.”
“Possession and spirit substitute may sound similar, but they are completely different. Possession implies the ghost attaching itself to a host and influencing them. Spirit substitute is when a ghost tries to manipulate the host physically without fully occupying their body.”
Lilly nodded vigorously. “Oh! So that’s a spirit substitute.”
Josh turned pale. “W-What do you mean by ‘spirit substitute’?”
The usually logical and unapproachable boy was reacting like any normal kid would.
Lilly began to explain what she had learned from Pablo. “A spirit substitute, huh? Look over there, Josh…”
She pointed at Cheryl, who was standing on her tiptoes. “A spirit substitute is a ghost trying to manipulate its host. There’s a ghost behind her right now. Its feet are guiding Cheryl’s movements…”
“Huh?!”
He was scared, but he couldn’t look away.
Cheryl was indeed on her toes, but the back of her foot was straight. That was not how an ordinary person stood.
He was ready to run away.
Lilly calmed him down. “Never run when facing a ghost! A human can’t outrun a ghost. Running will also expose the soles of your feet to the ghost, making it easier for them to possess you.”
Josh was speechless.
How was he supposed to leave now?
He could hear a small part of his subconscious begging for help!
Lilly spoke earnestly. “Our feet cannot leave the ground. We cannot move away, jump, or walk backward.”
She tilted her head and pondered a way out of this situation. There was only one solution.
“Of course, the best way to deal with this is to defeat the ghost!”
Josh chose to cling to Lilly’s arm instead.
She was taken aback but reassured him with a pat. “You’ll be okay, Josh. I’m good at what I do!”
“A ghost like that is not enough to scare me away!”
Lilly dispelled his fears by patting her chest. Her hair ties, tied at the top of her head, fluttered in the breeze.
The vanity spirit couldn’t help but snicker at the child’s words.
She alone?
The only thing I’m afraid of is Pablo!
She took control of Cheryl’s body and asked, “And what do you plan to do?”
Pablo leaned against the tree and said leisurely, “Nothing. This is my student’s practice run.”
“We can also resolve the matter of the eighteen lives that were lost under the playground.”
The vanity spirit’s expression twisted. She bared her fangs and viciously lunged at Pablo.
“Mind your own business and stay in your lane! We’re all ghosts here…”
Lilly grabbed the ghost by her feet and flung her back!
“Yeah, you’re both ghosts, but Master is not some malicious spirit!”
Pablo was shocked. “…”
Is this what it feels like to have my young pupil defend me?
Stubbornness crossed his face. “Get her, Lilly!”
“Okay, Master!”
She answered as she looked back. “You have to let go of me first, Josh.”
Josh had been stuck in a daze for a while.
Lilly expelled the vanity spirit. A gigantic female ghost, as large as a sumo wrestler, appeared before him.
“Huh?!”
A… A ghost?!
Lilly had just pushed him away, leaving him unsteady on his feet. He had to lean against a tree for support.
When he looked up, he saw a deathly pale young man dressed in robes with red lips standing by the same tree. He had no legs…
The man gasped when their eyes met. “You can see me?”
“Ahhhh!”
