The wraith locked his fingers deep in thought. Though no longer a human, his face still reflected years of wisdom and experience. In Spirit of Darkness, wraiths were the only type of ghost which could cast spells, reflecting this elder nature.

“This mansion you are intruding upon is our home. It has occupied this spot for many years, long before us ghosts took refuge here. Several decades ago, the spirits in the graveyard rose up desiring to find peace. I was among them. Together, we have set up this mansion as a home for lost souls. Any ghost was welcome to make this into their haunting ground, allowing us to mingle among our kind, and away from troublesome humans. Of course, then your kind had to barge themselves in and ruin everything.”

He stared daggers at me. Although cooperative, he did not seem very happy to have this conversation.

“Do you know of the history of this place before the ghosts took up residence?” I asked.

The wraith twitched his fingers.

“My knowledge in that regard is limited. I have risen long after the previous occupants have passed away, and I possess no memories of my time in the living realm. I do know, however, this was once known as Decipio's House of Traps. There are many mechanisms and contraptions lying about, but they are of no concerns for us ghosts.”

“Since you could say you are fairly young, I suppose you can't tell me much about world history, then?”

The ghost frowned.

“Don't look down on me, human. The reason for my ignorance is not due to youth, but due to insignificance. As long as no humans in The Veil wish to harm us, outside matters are of no concern. All we wish for is to be left alone. The chronicles of history are thus of no importance to us.”

“But you do know about recent events, right? Such as when Arma was around?”

His face filled with melancholy. He seemed to reminisce about the past.

“Yes. A few short years ago, we were at our peak. Arma and Bonitos served as our two most valuable guardians. Bonitos, a noble man of honor, held a strong sense of duty which made him incorruptible. Arma, however, was a very curious one. Like several others in our group, she displayed an unhealthy interest in the outside world and wished to learn more of it. I have told them time and time again that the outside was the bane of our existence, and the penalty for leaving this sacred sanctuary was death. Though disillusioned, she was still loyal to the cause and I was confident she would stay at our side. With those two serving as our sword and shield, we were invincible. This is something all us understood.”

The ghost turned away to face the wall.

“Of course, that was before he arrived.”

“By 'he', do you mean...”

“It was the Demon Lord. One day, the Demon Lord ascended upon us, and everything changed.”

I was getting intrigued. This could finally be my opportunity to learn more about this individual from a first-hand account.

“What happened?”

He turned around and faced me once more.

“The Demon Lord was a human of terrifying might. He intruded into our home with his army, and as such, we fought back. However, even with both guardians at our side, we could not repel him. Understanding the gravity of this situation, I made a decision. I had no other choice. We set up an agreement and entered into an uneasy alliance.

“Though he was a brute, not so difference from somebody else in this room, we did hold some values in common. We both despised humanity and their influence. War was never in our interest, but if it lead to the humans being weakened, then it was for our benefit. In truth, all we wanted was to be left alone, and that was one of the conditions of the treaty. Though officially allied, I never intended to provide any support. All I wished for was for things to return to the way they were before.

“But the damage was already done. Arma, already tempted by curiosity, was now completely entranced. It wasn't long before her and several others committed the unspeakable sin of abandoning this sanctuary. For that, she paid for with death. I weeped for the loss, but nobody was affected more by it than Bonitos. He swore he would have revenge, both on the Demon Lord and humanity as a whole. It appeared we reached our lowest point and it could never get worse.”

The ghost smiled.

“Of course, that was until you showed up. Wearing Arma's corpse, no less. A truly valuable experience.”

His bitterness was so thick it filled the air. I was glad that it didn't hamper the quality of his explanation.

“Does that mean you actually met the Demon Lord? In person, even?”

He nodded.

“Yes. As I said, he was a human. All his soldiers, however, were non-human. I have no idea how he came to possess such power, but he seemed to hold much influence in the settlements surrounding the human capitol. When I talked to him, he seemed quite cold and calculating.”

“I'm curious, how did he look like? I heard he was last seen wearing a silver pendant. Is that true?”

The ghost interlocked his fingers.

“Yes, I recall he did. He was wearing a full set of armor, not too dissimilar to yours. It was colored differently, however, furnished with silver and gold. His weapon was a large greatsword, and he wore a gawky-looking mask.”

That description didn't sit right with me. It sounded like something I saw before. I quickly realized why, and then had to confirm my suspicions.

“That mask, did it feature large smile? With some green around its edges?”

He looked at me with curiosity.

“Yes, indeed. I'm surprised you were able to recognize such an artifact.”

I chuckled to myself.

“That cheeky bastard...”

“Excuse me?”

“Oh, don't mind me. That's all I wanted to know.”

The mask I described was an SoD item called the Mask of Infamy. It was a helmet with a special property which granted the user increased stamina regeneration. It was valuable end-game gear and an excellent choice for PvP. It was so good, in fact, that seeing it used was considered cliched and boring. It became known a helmet only try-hards who only cared about winning would use.

The Mask of Infamy, Colossus Armor, and Blade of Fate. All three were the top of their class and a great threat to other players. Of course, this also made them very boring. A player using all three would be taken to be either a scrub or party-pooper who optimized his character build way too much.

And it just so happened that the Demon Lord was wearing all three.

“Is that all, human? Will you finally leave us alone?”

“Indeed. I thank you for the information. It has proven to be very valuable. I will take my leave and not bother you again.”

The wraith sighed in relief and let me out of the door. There I met the haunted armor, Bonitos, once again. He crossed his arms and grunted at me.

“Don't think I have forgiven you, human. We will fight again some day, and I will have my revenge. You will pay for taking Arma away from us.”

I smiled and grunted back.

“Of course, that is within your right. Keep in mind, however, you haven't seen even 50% of my strength. At top condition it would have gone quite differently.”

The armor grunted.

“Well, I haven't even used 40% of my power.”

I grunted again.

“Yeah? Well, I actually used only 30%.”

He grunted even louder.

“In truth, I only used 25%.”

I grunted back.

“Oh yeah, I actually-”

“Human, I am happy to keep arguing, but should you not check up on your companion? It has been behaving oddly for a while now.”

I realized he was right. Lacerta was still in the corner, shaking in fear. Did she stay like that the entire time? I walked over and tried to snap her out of it.

“Lacerta, we're done. Nobody is going to harm us, we can leave now.”

The lizard did not respond to my words, and shaking her shoulders did not have any effect. I could her mumbling and whispering to herself. What was she saying? I leaned in and carefully listened to her words.

“Don't hurt me. I'm sorry. Don't hurt me. Please don't hurt me. I didn't mean it. Leave me alone. I'm sorry. Don't hurt me. I had no choice. Please don't hurt me. I'm so sorry. So sorry. Please. Leave me alone. Help me, mommy. Don't hurt me. I really didn't mean it. Please, just please, leave me alone...”

It kept on repeating in that fashion. She must have been going through this the entire time. Even I began to feel sorry for her.

Left with no other choice, I picked her up and carried her with me. I walked all the way out of the mansion, and then to the forest where the cold could no longer reach. I put her down and covered her with the torn robe I kept in my bag. She appeared to be coming to her senses.

“Lacerta, are you okay?”

The lizard blushed and tucked her head into the robe.

“Yes, my knight. I am sorry for that affair. You faced a difficult battle, yet I was completely useless. I was a complete failure as a companion and a partner. I understand if you never want to get married to me anymore...”

I sighed and patted her shoulder.

“Don't get too depressed. Everybody has their flaws and failings, it's something we can't help. I got what I came here for, so I am satisfied. We should make our way back now.”

That seemed to cheer her up. We packed up our things and headed back to the village. Lacerta was skipping happily along.

“My knight, was it a hard fight? What will you do if you face an enemy of a similar caliber in the future?”

“Oh, you don't need to worry. After all, I only used about 30% of my full strengh- oh dammit.”

I stooped in my tracks and punched the ground in frustration.

“Damn it! How did I not realize this!”

The lizard looked worried and started panicking.

“What is it, my knight? Did something happen? Are we in danger?”

“I completely forget. I... I...”

“Yes?”

“I lost the argument! I was about to say I only used 24% of my strength, but then I was interrupted! That means that Bonitos won. Damn it, that scoundrel is going to pay!”

The lizard put on an awkward, relieved smile. Feeling frustrated the entire way, I walked back to the adventurer town. However, never in my wildest dreams would I have expected the surprise waiting for me there.