The Queen's Taking

"( When did it go wrong? )"

"( I didn't see this coming... )" the Queen thinks to herself while being in deep stasis after being frozen by Captain Raymond's Purapocrypha Attack which freezes her Spiritual Form like hell, making her unable to even feel her body anymore.

At that moment, the Queen suddenly remembers her past, her past of being a lab rat, being tortured in that experiment as she was constantly bound to make her unable to move.

"( No, no, no, no... )"

"( Am I going to be delivered into another experiment lab again? )" she says to herself as she tries to move after finally feeling her body again while being frozen in ice so cold which deals her so much pain in doing so.

"( I need to move... )" she says as she moves her finger, slowly creating a large movement that cracks the ice from inside.

...

( Meanwhile. )

< Carroñero Queen HP -440.000 >

< Boss Name: Carroñero Reina (Carroñero Queen), Humanoid Form >

< Level: 85 >

< HP: 110.500/850.500>

< Boss Stunned >

" Are you sure you can keep her? " Shiro asks Captain Raymond as he then heats himself with his smoke.

" Of course, at least my ice makes her stop for now," he says while trying to calm himself in order for the ice around his body to melt.

" My body needs to be heated in order to control the power of my Astral Ice. " Raymond tells Shiro at the moment.

" Besides, after this, I need to carry her... " he adds.

" Why? shouldn't you kill her? " Shiro asks which Tracker 101 interrupts.

" We need to carry this Hollow Spirit home, not because we can't eliminate her, but... " the Tracker replies to Shiro.

" But the higher-ups give us some certain order to always bring home humanoid-type Spirits... " Tracker tells them as he also tells Shiro that he needs to follow them too.

" Why should I? " Shiro asks and Tracker then tells that despite Shiro's Spiritual Appearance, he tells that after he talks with Captain Raymond, he knows that Shiro is actually a Human during his lifetime but somehow, he became a Spirit after his death.

" Yes, I am a human during my life, 100% human... "

" Are you sure? " Tracker 101 says as he brings his truth device out from his pocket.

" Of course, I'm 100% sure... "

" During my life, my body is 100% completely human for I had no magic, no physical abnormalities, no superpowers, and no other, etc that gives me a hint that I'm a monster. " Shiro explains to the Tracker while Tracker looks at Captain Raymond who is still in his recess while watching the Queen as he sees the ice slowly crack.

"( Shit... )"

"( Guess, this one really doesn't give us any double time, huh? )" Captain Raymond says as he smokes it further.

"( The ice in my body melts slowly, one smoke is not enough to control my body temperature. )" he says as he can sense that his body is still below temperature.

" Captain? " Tracker 101 asks.

" Yes, Tracker... what is it? "

" Are you alright? are you still smoking? " Tracker asks Raymond saying that he needs some time.

As they were talking, Shiro then asks Raymond why is he smoking since he thought smoking is not good for health back in the world of the living. Raymond hears it and explains that since they are Astral beings, smoking doesn't affect their respiration like in the Living World, thus is why smoking is safe for Astral Beings since they're already dead, technically.

" Besides, I'm smoking to control the ice all over my body. "

" My Astral Soul Ability is [White Hand] "

" Is an Astral Ability to summon powerful ice from one's own Astral Form. "

" The power is quite strong, even the other Souls see my power as the greatest talent of all, but... "

" It has an annoying weakness... "

" Which is, the user will be forced to have their body under a constant low temperature, risking their Astral Core to be frozen if they were not heated quickly by any warm or hot object. " Raymond explains briefly while smoking.

" Besides, rather than thinking about me, I think you all should think about the Hollow Woman that we just froze. " Raymond says while sheathing his sword, followed by Shiro as he draws his [Astral Aegis Blade] both of them see the Carroñero Queen finally release herself from her icy prison, which she came out shivering as the cold still affects her.

" Grrhhh... goddamn... you... " she says Shiro then immediately decides to attack her, during her weakest moment as he hesitates no longer to rip those EXP out of her dead body with his blade.

"( With this, I will get a lot of EXPs!!! ) "

"( And some great rewards!!! )" Shiro says in his mind with a happy tone.

As he approaches her, Shiro immediately uses <Spirit Slash> to attack her, hoping that the skill will end her in one blow, but.

" Watch out, kid!!! " Raymond suddenly says as from above, he was attacked by a powerful blast, filled with powerful and condensed Astral Energy which blasts the boy away from the Carroñero Queen.

At that very moment, Raymond decides to save both Shiro and Tracker 101 from the blasts and notices that another had come into the scene.

" It seems you Souls had grown more powerful over these years... "

" Just look at you, a Captain had the balls to fight an Ascender. " said a Spirit as he hides behind the smoke of his Blasts.

" Oh, how we Spirits have been too late to realize your kind's evolution over these years. " said the Spirit as he then reveals himself while the others still hide in the smoke.

" But after this moment, it seems we had no choice but to consider that our fears had come true... " he says as he then reveals his very Spiritual Form in front of Captain Raymond and the boys.

" Who is... " Shiro asks.

" Wait, isn't that? " he shivers in fear.

" Wow, I'm honored... " Raymond as he sees the Spirit.

" I'm very honored on this very day..., am I? "

" At first, I only ask my squad here for some unofficial Spirit Hunt, but I didn't know that our hunt actually will bring me face-to-face with a Monarch. "

" Aren't you, Monarch of Curses!!!? " Raymond says as he calls the Spirit's title which shocks Both Shiro and Tracker 101 after hearing it.

" That's..., that's a Monarch... " Shiro says as he sees the Spirit filled with Black Smoke and wearing some Japanese Robes that he seems to have seen before during his lifetime.

As the three look at them, the Monarch of Curses doesn't say anything but tells them that they will take their leave for now as he and the others take the Carroñero Queen away.

" Wait, wait, what are you doing!? "

" I'm not finished, wait... hmmphh~! "

" Quiet dear, we can talk about this later in that place later. " the Curse Monarch says as he takes the Carroñero Queen with him and his comrades, leaving Shiro, Tracker, and Raymond there in awe as they don't know what happened.

< Scenario Ended >

< Congratulations You Completed the Quest > System says.

" I completed the Quest...? "

" But... ? " Shiro says as he looks upwards.

" But I didn't kill the Queen? " Shiro wonders to himself as he had no idea what is going on just now.