Jack-o'-lantern.

The term Jack-o'-lantern was used to describe the visual phenomenon known as will-o'-the-wisp in English folklore.

Many people carved their pumpkins and put them on display at Halloween time as decoration. They didn't know the full story of what a Jack-o'-lantern was.

It was based on folklore and retold in many different forms. But the most famous Jack-o'-lantern story was that it was born from a thief's soul that couldn't go to heaven or hell. Its spirit stayed on earth forever after Satan mockingly tossed him burning coal to show where to go.

That coal was put inside his pumpkin head, burning him from the inside.

"Jack o' the lantern! Joan the wad!"

The strange figure of Jack-o'-lantern that crouched on top of the roof of the taxi that got implanted on a tree started to sing a rhyme.

"Who tickled the maid and made her mad!"

Its voice was as if it came from deep in the abyss, echoing on the mountain they were in.

Carving Jack-o'-lanterns on Halloween was also believed to ward off Vampires because many people believed that the Jack-o'-lanterns' light was a way to identify Vampires who would hunt you.

And it was also known that they hunted vampires who passed their home.

The Jack-o'-lantern stood up, raising its scythe up.

"Light me home, the weather's bad!"

A barrier was erected around them as soon as the Jack-o'-lantern sang the last rhyme. The mountainous road turned into a dark cemetery with a bleak and depressed atmosphere without any sun.

The sky turned dark, with the only light being the lanterns that were put around the fence around the cemetery and the burning carved pumpkins around the tombstones.

"We are crossing the Jack-o'-lantern's home?!" Kai exclaimed, surprised.

"There is no way! The driver is a vampire, you know?! We all know not to cross Jack-o'-lanterns' home!" Liliana shouted at Kai, unable to understand why the driver had taken them down that road. "This is why I prefer to run by myself instead of taking a car!"

Kai knew that taking the vampire girl with him would create trouble sooner or later. Well, this time, it wasn't exactly caused by her, but the Jack-o'-lantern only appeared because there was a vampire that trespassed its home.

"Our driver acted strangely once we entered the mountain," Kai replied to Liliana calmly.

Panicking in this situation where they were inside the enemy's barrier would only put them at a disadvantage.

"Probably someone interferes from outside. Something like hypnosis, maybe." He continued.

"That's not important right now!" Liliana interjected. "I am not confident of beating the Jack-o'-lantern. This guy is really strong. And Vampires are weak against his fire created from burning coal given by Satan."

Jack-o'-lantern was standing in the middle of the cemetery, in front of the entrance gate, circled with tombstones around it. It didn't move from the middle, as if it guarded the gate out of the cemetery.

Kai and Liliana were standing at the end of the cemetery after he dusted the dust off his black shirt.

'Vampires are weak against Jack-o'-lantern's fire, huh?' He thought as he observed the surroundings.

Besides the fire that came out from the carved pumpkins, he also noticed some blue fire floating around the cemetery.

'Are they the souls of the people here? Or are they will-o'-the-wisp that accompanied the Jack-o'-lanterns in its journey?'

While that was interesting, Kai needed to escape from this barrier somehow. The fact that the Jack-o'-lantern didn't move at all from the front of the entrance, he guessed the exit would be there.

"Step back a little." Kai took a step forward and glanced at Liliana. "If you are weak against its fire, then be careful of it. I will take care of the Jack-o'-lantern somehow."

Liliana watched Kai walk slowly toward the Jack-o'-lantern with a confident smile. Phoenix fire danced around his body with each step, becoming bigger and bigger.

Something about his figure clad in black and slightly golden eyes that emanated from the dark looked strong. And he looked excited as if he wanted to have a fight like this.

When she was a kid, Liliana had often heard about the first Ruler, the one called the strongest, from her grandfather, Vlad III's little brother, Dracula.

From what she heard from his grandfather, the first Ruler was a person without fear. That person would face any challenge without turning his back, always kill his enemy, be kind to his friends, and love his partners.

His fighting figure was always seen in front of his subordinate, and he would command all Mythical creatures under him to help him.historical

Then by using their power, he would defeat his enemies. Sometimes, he would also use his brain to settle his differences.

At first, Liliana couldn't understand. Was there really such a person in the world? She had grown up under her father, living the life of a princess of the Romanian vampire.

It was her dream to meet the first Ruler her grandfather talked about. So when she heard about the Ruler coming to her father, she visited his office to see the Ruler.

The result? It was honestly disappointing. A normal-looking young man appeared. Indeed, he was a bit handsome and accompanied by two famous Mythical creatures.

However, the aura of the Ruler that her grandfather talked about couldn't be seen around him.

'And I acted like a brat after that.'

Charismatic and strong. Both couldn't be felt by the young man he met.

Still.. He was the Ruler. So she couldn't act disrespectfully and just left the room at her father's command.

But now... The story was different.

"What's.." She muttered, unable to understand what she saw.

Kai's presence suddenly became bigger.

Liliana's senses were not as sharp as Ibaraki Douji. However, her nose could smell blood better than any other Race. She could judge a person's strength just by judging their smell.

"What's happening?"

Three times, no, fourth time. His strength increased as fast as he walked toward the Jack-o'-lantern with a smile.

She couldn't comprehend it. What she didn't understand was that the Ruler was special. She couldn't feel Kai's power because he hadn't tapped it out of his connection with Amber and Ibaraki yet.

That was why she was surprised when he suddenly got stronger.

"So this is the Ruler?!"

She had prepared to run away from this cemetery, if needed, alone. But after seeing his power, hope returned to him.

Vampires couldn't do anything against the Jack-o'-lantern due to their fire. But Kai was immune to fire weaker than the Phoenix Fire, and he only needed to be careful about its scythe.

Kai stopped when he noticed the slight movement of the Jack-o'-lantern. He was 10 meters from him and was ready with his Phoenix fire protecting him around his body.

"Let's settle this quickly and find out why the taxi driver acted strangely."

***

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