On cooldown?

Aiden discreetly moved behind Hellen. No matter how many times he tried to reaffirm himself about the combat capability of the ghost against him, it only worked when the ghost wasn't around. As soon as he saw the scary figure, all his reaffirmations went down the drain.

Hellen wasn't the same however, indifferent to the terrible smell, she calmly stepped inside and even had the leisure of looking back at Aiden. She had already sneakily put away the gun in her holster, she could always quickly take it out in case of emergencies.

Aiden under stress didn't notice aunt Hellen's actions, he stepped forward into the room while trying to hold in his breath. It was proving to be difficult. Everytime he loosened a little, the smell which registered in his brain made it difficult to focus on anything else but enduring it. It was difficult, you couldn't allocate other tasks to your brain when it was trying its hardest to bear the disgusting stench. He felt thankful that aunt Hellen's all rooms were air tight, including the cupboard. Was it intention on her behalf? He didn't know. 

Just as Hellen took another step to approach it, as they had thought, the ghost chose to proactively attack, disregarding its intention to hide. It turned over from behind the villa, showcasing its hideous appearance. Its face was the least recognizable, eyes sockets long empty, surrounded by simply a bundle of weathered muscles, with occasional bones in between. It walked, albeit a little fast, towards Hellen while pulling back its fist to prepare a punch. The posture was certainly comical. 

Hellen stood ground as it approached with Aiden diagonally behind her. She quickly rolled over to the left as soon as the ghost released its punch, perfectly timing her dodge. Instead of following her, something seemed to click as the ghost turned over to Aiden instead. 

Aiden wasn't extremely weak minded, he just hadn't experienced this situation before. As sharp as he was, this wasn't something which he could compensate with his brains. He couldn't magically get used to the smell and terror of the unknown. The ghost didn't approach Aiden though, it very likely wouldn't engage with him as long as he had the golf club.

Fuck fuck fuck shit 

His mind was in a mess as the ghost turned its back on him. Watching the ghost prepare for another swing at aunt Hellen, a hint of clarity regained in his eyes as he tightly gripped the golf club.

Not now, not now. It would sense me and turn its attention to me.

This time he wasn't fighting alone. Aunt Hellen had said she would distract the ghost for him. 

There must be a reason for that. Yes. No matter how much it didn't wish to engage with me, if it senses my approach to attack it, it might retaliate. I have to wait for the perfect moment where its attention is on aunt Hellen.

He didn't have to wait for long. Aiden kept quiet, the smell occasionally registering in his brain, reminding him of the stench surrounding him. But the adrenaline which had started running through his blood did well to combat it. His mind was focused on the current situation. 

Tracing even the most minute movement of the ghost, he snapped out of it and took a huge leap towards the ghost while powerfully swinging the golf bat towards its torso as soon as he saw it release his hand towards aunt Hellen, who once again dodged it.

As expected, the ghost stiffened for a moment when it sensed Aiden had entered its danger range. But it was too late, the ghost didn't have good enough reflexes to dodge that. 

What happened next was unbelievable for him, and to Hellen to an extent. Large cracked sounds resounded as the helping ghost curled over a bit while letting out a loud scream. This was the first time Aiden had heard the ghost make some noise, he thought it was mute. On the other hand, it was out of place for Hellen because the reaction of the ghost was larger than she had expected.

But it makes sense. Only if the side effects were so terrible would it actively hide so much. 

She had the leisure to think because the ghost had given up on attacking her. Fully enraged, it turned, rather comically while still a bit curled and attempted to throw a fist at Aiden. By that time, she had already reached Aiden's side, ready to push him out of harm's way if he failed to respond in time.

It wasn't too quick nor too slow from Aiden's point of view, one moment the ghost curled over, the next moment it had turned around and decided to attack it. Instinctively, he quickly took a couple steps backwards. 

In a space as small as a room, the difference between a run — by Aiden — and a quick walk — by the ghost — wasn't so large. The ghost quickly caught up, forcing Aiden to dodge sidewards. The ghost didn't halt its punch, which went on to hit the ball. It only left an imprint though. The walls weren't lightly built. There was a difference between a door of a random unused closet of some room and the walls of the bungalows given to the privileged people. 

Breathing heavily, Aiden one handedly swung the golf club in a hurry before the ghost initiated its attack again. The club hit its head, causing it to smash into the wall. Aiden distanced himself more while he kept his gaze locked onto the ghost. It was rendered immobile as its head bounced off the wall, leaving a very nasty stain, a mixture of skin, and mass. Decayed mass. 

Within a couple seconds, it was already trying to move its body though. Aiden once again readied his golf bat. The ghost opened its mouth and screeched, heavily clutching its own head. Ironically though, it still began to approach Aiden as it pulled its other arm behind. 

Hellen, who was standing nearby, had a doubt gradually forming in her head as she watched the proceedings of the battle.

Why isn't it using its phaseless ability? It could have easily avoided so many hits. What's happening? Why can't it use its phaseless ability? I've heard that these both secondary abilities have their own cooldowns, but shouldn't a couple hours be enough to recharge it? Anyway, it's good that it can't use its phaseless ability.