Lala watched the brutal match between the Crocodile-Faced Khodam and the Bull-Headed Khodam. At first, she thought it was just about victory and defeat—but the longer she observed, the more it felt like watching two sadistic torturers play a twisted game.
They could have ended each other quickly. One clean strike to the head would've been enough. But instead, they chose cruelty—bit by bit. One limb at a time. The crocodile-faced khodam severed the bull's arms, gouged out its eyes, and even crushed its testicles with the blunt side of his axe.
Rai, meditating back home, flinched in horror. His bird—a reflection of his soul—shrank as if in sympathy, right at the moment Lala witnessed the bull's testicles being hacked off.
The match lasted two full hours.
Two hours of unrelenting agony.
When it was finally over, Lala exited the arena with a pale face and trembling steps. She returned to the marketplace gate. Portals were forbidden to open inside the market, as doing so would expose one's real body to other khodams. So, she stepped through the gate and began walking into the forest outside to safely return home.
But something went wrong.
A giant hand grabbed her from the shadows, yanking her off the ground.
She was pulled toward three massive, muscular male khodams, all of them leering at her with disgusting smiles.
"Well, well... What did we just find here?" one of them sneered.
"A treasure, huh? Why don't you come have some fun with us?"
"Who are you?! Don't you know you'll be punished for this?!" Lala screamed, panic rising in her voice.
The three male khodams glanced at each other—and burst into laughter.
"Missy... did you forget where you are?"
"There are no rules in the spirit world," said another, licking his lips. "Even murder is allowed here... hahahaha."
One of them tightened his grip around her wrist, lifting her effortlessly into the air while his other hand began to grope her trembling body.
"Stop! Please stop!" Lala cried, her voice cracking as tears welled in her eyes.
Just as the three male khodams closed in on Lala, a massive feline claw slashed through the air—striking all three and forcing them back with a roar of pain. Lala fell from the grip of one of the attackers and hit the ground with a thud.
"T-Toist...?" one of the khodams stuttered as they recognized the newcomer.
"Lord Toist, why are you interrupting our fun?" the boldest among them snarled, nursing a fresh wound.
"You idiots," Toist growled, his aura dark and terrifying. "I only came to retrieve my student. But if you want 'fun,' I can show you a whole new level of torment."
His voice was calm, but his killing intent sent a chill down Lala's spine—even though she knew it wasn't aimed at her.
"N-No! Please forgive us!" the three khodams cried in unison, backing away.
Then—whoosh!—they disappeared into the trees, vanishing as fast as they had appeared.
Toist turned to Lala, his large beastly face now oddly soft. "Lala, are you alright?"
Seeing Toist's comically grumpy but oddly comforting expression, Lala suddenly broke down in tears. Her sobs made his furry cheeks twitch awkwardly.
"They're gone now," Toist said gently. "You should go home and rest."
"I will, Master... but I'll visit you soon. There are some things I want to ask."
"Alright."
Lala nodded and opened a portal. A moment later, she returned to her real body—reuniting with Rai.
As Rai opened his eyes, a shiver ran down his spine. He couldn't stop imagining what would've happened... if Dukun Rosso hadn't been there.
He was safe. But he also knew—this world was far more dangerous than he ever expected.
After being calmed down by the eight milk-drinking jinn, Rai sat quietly, though a slight frown remained on his face. He was still a bit annoyed by their constant teasing and mischief, but deep down, he knew—it was simply in their nature to deceive and play tricks.
Still, it didn't make them any less irritating.
Trying to refocus, Rai pulled out the Manual of 100 Illusions. With a deep breath, he began memorizing the contents page by page. The book was strange—some pages glowed faintly, while others seemed to hum as if alive.
Despite the temptation, Rai wasn't ready to summon the new khodam that came with the book. From what little he had sensed, this one had a highly sensitive body and specialized in… questionable techniques.
"I'll deal with that later," he muttered, closing the book.
Some time passed. After organizing his thoughts, Rai returned to Dukun Rosso's place.
As always, Rosso looked relaxed, sitting among strange herbs and flickering candles, the smell of incense strong in the air.
Dukun Rosso glanced at Rai and asked calmly,
"Where's Alfin?"
Rai took a seat before replying,
"Alfin is in college right now. But I might have a few leads."
Rai said calmly, "I discovered the Stamsun accident case—it caused the death of an entire family. And shortly after that, Diana was kidnapped."
"Oh… Stamsun had always been a thorn in the side of Diana's family's company," Dukun Rosso replied, stroking his beard. "If you use your ability to reconstruct video footage from the incident, we might be able to see the jinn responsible. Human eyes wouldn't catch it, but a shaman's eyes can."
"Alright. I'll try to recover the footage. I already asked Alfin to investigate the house—Stamsun's place is abandoned now, but he might find the CCTV or any recording device," Rai explained.
"I also found a book… hidden by my father and my aunt. I think… that book might be the reason they died."
"A book?" Dukun Rosso echoed, his tone sharp.
"The first sentence of the book says, 'Did you know that humans aren't just born with one to seven white khodams… but also one to seven black khodams?'" Rai recited.
Dukun Rosso immediately stood up, eyes darting left and right before he exhaled deeply.
"You should never mention that book again," he said gravely. "It should be buried in the core of the Earth. That's the only way to destroy it. But… I can't reach the Earth's core."
"Why not?" Rai asked.
"Before I get there, my body would be destroyed by magma. Without a strong, fire-resistant khodam, we can't place the book in the core," Rosso replied with a grim face.