The Unforgiven Specter

The graveyard lay shrouded in eerie silence, broken only by the chilling rustle of dry leaves caught in the night wind, In the midst of this ominous stillness, the fearsome woman moved toward Leo and Tyler, as if a specter risen from the depths of the underworld, her face was pallid and devoid of any signs of life, her dark eyes glowing with a haunting glint, her slow steady steps held a menacing calm, and with one swift motion, she lifted Tyler by the throat, His body convulsed like prey ensnared in a death trap, his hands desperately clawing at her iron grip, but escape was futile.

Leo, though weakened by his own wounds, managed to grasp his sword, plunging it into her side with all his might, Yet, the woman didn't even flinch, she tightened her hold and reached for Leo with her other hand, hoisting them both up as though they were mere dolls in her powerful grasp, Eileen, who had been paralyzed with fear, found her courage and threw herself forward, slamming into the woman with all her strength, Both Leo and Tyler fell to the ground, gasping for air and coughing as they tried to recover from her suffocating grip, they exchanged stunned glances, while Eileen reached out, quickly pulling them away from the approaching figure, her nerves stretched thin with fear.

The woman's empty gaze followed them, as though she knew their escape was impossible, she moved at a slow, deliberate pace, Tyler turned to Eileen, a strange light in his eyes, and said: "Eileen, go and walk past that woman. I need to confirm something."

Eileen looked at him, incredulous: "Are you insane? You want me to throw myself to that thing, to let her kill me?"

He turned her with a steady look: "Eileen, you're one of the Black Hunters, Are you really afraid of a single woman? I'm sure she won't touch you, and if she does, we'll be right there to save you, Trust me."

Hesitating for a moment, Eileen finally nodded and walked towards the woman. The specter didn't spare her a glance, her focus locked on Leo and Tyler, The three exchanged glances, sharing a mixture of disbelief and horror.

A sardonic smile crept across Tyler's face: "Leo, I think our time has come."

Leo looked at him in alarm: "Is this really the best time to say that?"

Tyler's voice was grave as he answered: "She's not a woman, She's Jericho."

Leo looked at him, bewildered: "What do you mean?"

Tyler replied, his tone filled with dark foreboding: "She's a spirit known for vengeance, killing any man who dares disturb a woman's grave after nightfall, a force of retribution against those who violate the rest of the dead."

Leo stared at the advancing figure, his pulse racing, Tyler grabbed his hand and whispered fiercely: "Run, It's our only chance we need to staya live till the sun ries."

They bolted, running with every ounce of strength, feeling the earth itself try to drag them down, It was as though Jericho's ghostly hands reached up through the ground, attempting to hold them in place, Each step felt like a desperate struggle for survival, yet they ran, hearts pounding in terror.

Their legs grew heavy, drained by exhaustion, and Tyler stole a glance back, "I think she's tired of this chase…" But the words died on his lips when he saw her materialize directly before him, her claws plunging deep into Leo's stomach, His scream shattered the silence, a sound of pure agony that echoed through the graveyard.

"Leo!" Tyler's voice was filled with terror, she tossed Leo aside and turned her attention to Tyler, who drew his gun and fired at her with fury, but she continued to advance, undeterred, she lifted him and slammed him into the ground, his scream breaking the grave's eerie silence.

Tyler lay there, struggling to rise, she was preparing for a final, deadly blow when he closed his eyes, surrendering to what felt like an inescapable end, but Leo's voice broke through, and Tyler looked up to see Leo driving his sword, blazing with flames, into Jericho's body, The woman staggered back, taken by surprise for the first time, the fire searing through her as if awakening her mortal weakness.

Jericho lunged again, but Leo met her with a fiery determination, grasping her neck, his hands ablaze, she howled, the flames consuming her spirit from within Tyler's voice shouted, breaking the tension: "Leo, let her go! she'll kill you!"

The warning came too late, Her claws had left deep gashes on Leo's arms, but he continued to hold her in his fiery grip, until she finally broke free, retreating down the length of the graveyard, her tortured cries fading as she burned.

Leo collapsed, his body torn by wounds, and Eileen rushed to their sides, helping them to their feet, Dawn was breaking, and as the first light touched the graveyard's soil, the woman vanished, as though she had never been, The trio, battered and breathing heavily, looked at each other, haunted by what they had just survived.

Eileen finally broke the silence, her voice a mixture of shock and awe: "What was that… that woman?"

Tyler answered: Jericho was a woman of striking beauty, yet she chose not to marry her fiancé following the tragic deaths of her parents, instead; she devoted herself to raising her younger sister alone, however, dealt a cruel hand when her sister passed away at the tender age of sixteen, The grief; stricken Jericho found herself haunted by dreams in the night that her sister passed away, pleading for her to come immediately.

On the fateful night of her sister's death, Jericho felt an irresistible pull to uncover the truth, she arrived at the graveyard only to find her ex- fiancé desecrating her sister's grave, laughing with his friends as he violated her lifeless body, he scoffed, claiming this was the price her sister paid for rejecting a man like him in favor of a child, stunned into silence by the horror of the scene, Jericho rushed to report the atrocity, but her fiancé's influence rendered her pleas meaningless, they dismissed her, stating that it was "just a corpse" why should it matter?

Consumed by rage over the injustice, Jericho turned to dark magic, offering her soul as a sacrifice to exact vengeance for her sister In that moment of despair, she transformed into a monstrous entity, when her former fiancé attempted to commit the same vile act once more, she appeared before him, clad in the wedding dress she had prepared for their union, he laughed, mocking her, yet the creature standing before him was no longer the woman he once knew, with savage fury, she tore apart his body and that of his friends.

Bound by the dark forces she had invoked, Jericho became a specter of vengeance, eternally wandering the graveyards, Each night, when a man dared to touch the corpse of a woman, she would emerge from the shadows, claiming her victims.

Leo and Eeilin listened intently, their expressions grim, Tyler continued: "This explains why she didn't attack Eeilin because she is a girl, and the last time we encountered her, we hadn't touched any corpses, But the moment we descended into that pit filled with bodies, she revealed herself."

As Tyler's voice trailed off, the three of them looked down into the pit filled with remains, the weight of the encounter heavy upon them, The night had given way to daylight, but the remnants of that haunted darkness lingered within them, a reminder of the vengeance that lurked in the shadows of those who refused to rest.