I moved without waiting for another confirmation from the system.
By the time we reached the lower floor, the air had already changed.
It wasn't just cold anymore. It felt heavier, like the house itself was holding its breath, waiting for something to break.
Every step down the stairs made it worse.
Gino was right behind me, his movements quieter than usual. Even his confidence didn't stretch far enough to fill this kind of pressure. Sarah and Cynthia were already halfway back toward the room, clutching the holy rosary I handed them earlier. Millien stayed close, his small steps almost too fast for how serious his expression was.
Then I heard it.
A sound from upstairs.
A scream.
Mrs. Perez.
"Anthony!" Mr. Perez's voice cracked as he leaned over the railing. "Do something! She's convulsing...she's throwing up blood...please!"
I didn't need to ask what was happening. I already felt it.
The dark energy wasn't just spreading anymore. It was tightening. Like fingers closing around something fragile.
And then the system spoke.
[KAPRE IS ATTEMPTING FINAL SOUL EXTRACTION]
The words didn't feel like information.
They felt like a countdown.
I clenched my jaw so hard it hurt. "Tch… damn it."
I pulled the dagger out without thinking. It formed in my hand like it had been waiting for this moment too. Cold, familiar, sharp enough to cut through whatever rules this world was built on.
"Gino," I called without looking back. "Stay sharp. If it moves, don't hesitate. It's going to get aggressive."
"Got it," he answered, but I could hear it in his voice now. He wasn't just confident anymore. He was focused.
We reached the bottom of the stairs and everything collapsed into motion.
The kapre was no longer just outside.
It had already started pulling itself into the structure of the house.
The tree stump outside wasn't just a remnant anymore. Blackened roots were spreading like veins across the walls, seeping through cracks in reality itself. The air around it twisted, warping like heat above asphalt.
From upstairs, another scream broke through.
Mrs. Perez again.
And this time, it was followed by something worse. A choking sound. A body giving in.
I didn't wait.
"Sarah! Cynthia! Back upstairs, now!" I shouted, tossing the holy rosary into Sarah's hands. "Put it on her. Don't take it off. It's a barrier. It'll slow the extraction."
Sarah didn't argue. Neither did Cynthia. They turned and ran immediately, footsteps pounding up the stairs.
The system chimed the moment the rosary left my hand.
[HOLY ROSARY ACTIVATED]
[EXTRACTION HALTED]
[KAPRE ENTERING AGGRESSIVE MODE]
The pressure in the air snapped.
Like something just realized it was losing.
And then Millien jumped onto my shoulder.
His grip tightened slightly, and I felt it before he even spoke.
"Anthony," he said quietly, but his voice carried something heavier than usual. "It broke a rule."
I frowned, still watching the corridor ahead. "What rule?"
His eyes stayed forward.
"Entities don't directly kill humans in the physical realm. Not like this. Not forced extraction. Not possession while conscious. It's forbidden between layers."
A cold weight settled in my chest.
"And if they do?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Then, softer.
"That's when the Inquisitor descends judgment."
Before I could even process that, the house groaned.
The kapre moved.
It didn't walk out like a creature.
It unfolded.
The shadow at the base of the broken tree stump stretched upward, forming limbs too large for the hallway, too dense for the space it occupied. Wood cracked under invisible pressure. The walls trembled.
And then it came at us.
Fast.
Gino reacted first.
"Move!"
He shoved me sideways just as something slammed through the hallway where I was standing. The impact shattered the floorboards, splinters exploding outward.
I landed hard on my side, rolled, and pushed myself up immediately.
My body felt different now.
Lighter.
Faster.
The status boost wasn't subtle anymore. It was the only reason I wasn't flat on the ground.
The kapre swung again.
I raised my dagger and blocked it.
The force nearly broke my arm.
My feet dragged back across the floor.
"Yawa! seriously…?" I hissed through my teeth.
[AGI COMPENSATION ACTIVE]
The system didn't speak like before. It didn't explain. It just pushed.
My body shifted before I even decided to move.
I twisted under the next strike, slipping just beneath a limb of condensed shadow and wood that crashed into the wall behind me.
Gino moved differently.
He wasn't fighting it head-on.
He was dodging it like something impossible to predict, using speed and timing instead of force. Athletic, precise, barely avoiding impact each time the kapre swung.
Still, even he was getting pushed back.
"Anthony!" he called out, ducking another strike. "This thing doesn't slow down!"
"I noticed!" I snapped back, already circling.
The kapre's attention shifted between us, like it couldn't decide who to crush first. Its presence alone was distorting the room. Every movement made the air heavier.
Upstairs, I could still hear struggling.
We didn't have time.
I stepped forward.
"Alright… fine."
My grip tightened on the dagger.
"Let's end this quickly."
I dashed in.
Not waiting for fear. Not thinking through it. Just moving with the system's rhythm syncing into my instincts.
The first slash hit its lower limb.
It didn't cut clean.
But it reacted.
The kapre roared. The sound wasn't sound at all. It felt like pressure collapsing inward.
It swung down hard.
I jumped back just in time, landing beside Gino.
"You good?" I asked.
He gave a sharp breath. "I've had worse during PE, but yeah, this is close."
"Then keep moving."
Another strike came.
This time I didn't wait.
I ran toward it.
The dagger met the attack head-on.
Steel against something that shouldn't even have form.
And for a second, it held.
My arms shook.
My teeth clenched.
"Come on… break already…"
The system flashed again.
[STAT INTERFERENCE DETECTED]
[ADJUSTING OUTPUT]
My strength spiked.
Just enough.
The kapre's limb cracked under the pressure.
It recoiled.
That was my opening.
I moved in, dragging the blade across its form, cutting through dense shadow like tearing fabric. It didn't bleed. It didn't scream.
But it felt it.
Behind me, Gino rushed in again, kicking debris out of the way and keeping it distracted whenever it turned toward me.
"Don't let it lock onto you!" I shouted.
"Already trying not to die!" he shot back.
The kapre shifted again, pulling its mass inward like it was preparing something worse.
Upstairs, another cry broke through.
The extraction wasn't gone.
Just delayed.
I gritted my teeth harder.
"We don't have time for this…"
And I moved again.