Anyone Dares Bully you, Call Uncles! novel Chapter 72

Lilly forcefully dragged Josh to a sprint.

The blazing sun still hung overhead. The trees in the school grove weren't particularly short but provided just enough shade.

The moment he set foot in the grove, he noticed Cheryl there with her head hanging low. She looked downcast.

She sluggishly looked up to stare at him when he approached.

He could feel every hair on his body stand on end.

Lilly turned around. "Are you scared, Drake? You can head back if you are!"

Josh was ready to leave but stayed out of stubbornness. "...Real funny. You think I'm scared?"

Calm… I have to calm down.

Nothing in the world scares me.

A resounding scream tore through the air just as he was thinking. "Ah!"

Josh jumped. "Eek!"

That startled Lilly who chased after the boy who began to run wildly. "That's Polly, Josh!"

Polly was sitting in the school bag singing. "....Take the red string of fate… You and I… Ah…"

The bird couldn't reach a higher octave leading to a hideous scream.

Josh was rendered speechless.

He wanted to weep so badly.

That was when Cheryl began to take light, mincing steps toward them.

"You're here, Josh." She giggled.

The subject of affections had been shocked stupid. "..."

His tears stopped and a chill ran down his spine.

Cheryl had a pale complexion with eyes bruised and sunken in.

Her features were stiff, leading to her efforts in smiling leaving everyone unnerved.

Josh felt numb. "Uh…"

Lilly got in Cheryl's way and started with a frown, "Stop scaring him!"

She wore a serious expression on her chubby, child-like face.

"Master… Master?" Lilly looked around.

Where is he?

Pablo drifted close. "I'm here."

The man in white robes had deep-set eyes, a tall nose bridge, and rouge red lips. His appearance made him look demonic.

"What is it this time?" Pablo indifferently patted the girl's head.

Lilly threw him suspicious looks.

What's wrong with my master?

He got bored while I was forced into a timeout and left the school to go take a walk.

He came back while I was in class then left again.

He was nowhere to be found…until now!

That was the least of their problems. Lilly asked, "What's wrong with Cheryl?"

She was puzzled.

According to Pablo's teachings, the vanity spirit shouldn't have been able to overtake Cheryl's body yet but Lilly no longer felt Cheryl's "presence".

Pablo narrowed his eyes. "This is a phenomenon known as the 'spirit substitute'."

"Possession and spirit substitute sound similar but they're completely different. Possession implies the ghost attaching itself to a host and influencing them. Spirit substitute is when a ghost is trying to manipulate the host physically without fully occupying the host's body."

Lilly nodded vigorously. "Oh! So that's a spirit substitute."

Josh had turned ashen. "W-What do you mean 'spirit substitute'?"

The unapproachable boy who thrived on logic was reacting just like a normal kid would.

Lilly began to explain what she learned from Pablo to him. "Spirit substitute, huh? Look over there, Josh…"

She pointed at Cheryl standing on her tiptoes. "A spirit substitute is a ghost trying to manipulate its host. There's a ghost behind her right now. Its feet are padding Cheryl's own. That's how she's moving right now…"

"Huh?!"

He was afraid but found himself unable to look away.

Cheryl was indeed on her toes but the back of her foot was straight. That wasn't how an ordinary person stood at all.