Marvel : Starting as Ghost Riser

"We can talk about anything you want. How about we go to my place? My bed is big... and comfortable..."

She didn't forget to extend her slender fingers and trace circles on Roger's palm.

Seeing this, George winked at Roger, giving him a look that said, men will understand, use your charm, and then got up and left.

"Alright, but I don't have much experience, mam. You'll have to guide me."

Roger blinked, putting on an innocent, eager-to-please expression.

Seeing the mixed-race hottie acting this way, Sally became even more excited. Her mind was reeling, and she didn't care if he was a stranger. She pulled Roger up and headed outside.

"Be good, sister will take very good care of you. Let's go home—" Sally hooked her finger under Roger's chin. Seeing his slight shyness, she let out a throaty giggle.

The two then left the bar, arm in arm, waist in arm, shoulder to shoulder.

The town wasn't very large, but Sally had a car, which she'd driven from New York.

The two got into the car and drove to her house in the town, the house she'd inherited from her grandfather.

Once inside, Sally couldn't wait to embrace Roger, her mouth eager to devour him.

"Don't be so hasty. At least let's take a shower. You smell like alcohol, it's ruining the mood." Roger put a hand up to block her mouth, unable to stand the strong smell of alcohol on her.

"Okay, whatever you say, sweetie..." Sally gave a seductive smile, went to the bedroom to get a nightgown, and headed for the bathroom, not forgetting to blow a kiss at Roger.

"Wash up nice and clean, baby. It'll make things easier later," Roger said, winking his left eye, giving her a little jolt.

"Mmm..." Sally, dazed by the electric shock, rushed into the bathroom with unprecedented speed—

Seeing that she was in the bathroom, Roger smiled and pulled out his phone to call George.

"George, I'm at [Address]. Yes, it should be Sally's grandfather's house. I suspect the culprit is probably in this house. Come over. Business? It'll be done by the time you get here."

Roger hung up, and a sugary-sweet voice came from the bathroom.

"Sweetie... I forgot to bring a towel. Can you get one for me?"

"Sure thing. But I can't find any other towels. You don't mind if I use something else, do you...?" Roger rummaged through a cabinet and pulled out a length of hemp rope. He tugged on it – nice and sturdy.

————

George drove to the address Roger had given him. Just as he got out of the car and was about to knock, Roger opened the door.

"You're here. What took you so long? I finished a long time ago."

"Finished?" George gave Roger a strange look, glancing at his lower body.

He walked into the house and saw Sally, dressed in her nightgown, bound and gagged on the sofa. She was staring at Roger with eyes filled with intense fury.

It was as if her anger could burn Roger to ashes, her gaze like daggers stabbing into him.

"What's this...?" George asked, confused.

"I tied her up for the exorcism. A single mother who raised her child alone, suddenly having a drastic personality change, wanting to sleep with any handsome guy she sees – it's obviously not normal."

Roger took out some table salt he'd brought from his inventory and began sprinkling it on the floor of the living room, creating runes and patterns.

He was good at sending demons to heaven, but exorcism required the techniques he'd learned (stolen) from Scumbag Con.

"Alright, put her in the center. I'm going to start the incantation."

George placed Sally in the center of the runes, and Roger began to mutter the incantation—

The candlelight in the room flickered erratically as Roger spoke, and the salt circle began to glow faintly.

[God who governs life and death]

[In the name of the Creator]

[Borrowing the power of the Gods]

[I hereby banish you to Hell]

[Disperse quickly]

[Depart from this place]

"Depart from this place—" Roger roared, startling even George.

"Did it—did it fail?" George asked curiously.

"That's impossible. Depart from this place—" Roger roared again.

The surroundings remained calm. Nothing happened, not even the nearby candlelight flickered.

"That shouldn't be. I even banished Mephisto last time. Could it be that there's no demon inside her?" Roger went up and sniffed Sally. Indeed, there was no smell of evil or sulfur.

At first, he'd thought the demon might be hiding too deeply for him to detect, but it turned out there really was no demon inside her.

Looking at Sally's furious gaze, Roger felt a little awkward. She'd been kind enough to offer herself to him, and he'd tied her up...

Could he apologize to Sally and start over...

"Oh, my God—" George covered his face with his hand. "What do we do now?"

"Ah-ha, don't worry. I have other methods. I'll just switch to a different incantation. Wait, let me check my notes." Roger pulled out a small notebook and flipped through the pages.

"Found it! This incantation is guaranteed to work. It's an incantation for finding demons." Roger said excitedly.

Roger went over and rearranged the salt on the floor into a different rune and pattern, then began to chant again.

[Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon]

[World-Honored Ksitigarbha]

[Prajna Buddhas]

[Prajna Paramita]

"Bold demon, I will reveal your true form! Show yourself—"

————

After a long while, there was still no change. George had rolled his eyes and was now using his investigative skills to search for clues.

"There's no reason for this. Could it be because I have no faith? But that's not right either. Scumbag Con has even less faith, yet he uses these incantations just fine. Could it be that there really is no demon in Sally's body?"

Roger pondered for a long time, racking his brain. Deduction was never his strong suit. Although he'd watched thousands of episodes of Detective Conan, practical application and learning from TV were completely different things.

George went into the study and began to examine anything that might be useful. He unexpectedly found a diary in the study. Looking at the name, it belonged to Sally's deceased father.

Based on his years of investigative experience, he felt there must be some clues in the diary. So George opened the diary and began to read through the contents page by page...

"Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon, World-Honored Ksitigarbha, Prajna Buddhas, Prajna Paramita—Demon, reveal yourself..."

Roger was still performing the ritual on Sally, thinking that if this one didn't work, he'd switch to an Eastern one. Scumbag Con did the same, mixing incantations from different countries and traditions.

Scumbag Con's greatest talent was his ability to blend magic from different belief systems without needing to offer any faith. Why wasn't it working for him? Roger was extremely frustrated.

"Sally, you wouldn't want your son to be bullied at school, would you..." 

"Roger—I think I found a clue." George ran out of the study, holding the diary, and saw this scene.

'Uh, don't get me wrong. I was just trying to see if an Eastern incantation would work...'

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"Roger, I think I've found a clue. Take a look at this." George handed over a diary.

Roger took it curiously and began to read.

"Today, Sally's mother went out whoring again. Although I used to wish I could divorce her, but now..." Roger read to this point, looking at George with a questioning expression.

"Turn to the second to last entry," George said helplessly.

"I resisted. I finally controlled myself. That magic mirror is even more terrifying than drugs; it's addictive."

"Because it can grant any wish..."

"Ever since Sally's mother changed, like a different person, I haven't entered the magic mirror again. I feel like the magic mirror devoured Sally's mother's emotions. She lost her love for her child, for me..."

"February 15th. Sally's mother and I officially divorced. Then she went to the big city to seek her happiness, and I took the magic mirror back to my grandfather's house in the countryside. I sealed the magic mirror in the cellar, to prevent it from appearing. To control my own desires, I poured several truckloads of cement into the cellar."

"Sally, my daughter, after I die, you must remember to destroy that mirror. It's not a magic mirror that grants wishes, but a demon that devours desires..."

Roger understood. A single mother, not well-off, reading such a diary entry – how could she not be curious to see that mirror?

"According to the diary, the magic mirror can grant any wish, but only within the mirror world. It can't manifest in the real world."

George said gravely, "That's right. But if you stay in there too long, the magic mirror will devour something from you, causing a drastic personality change."

Roger stroked his chin, curious. "Have you ever thought about one question? Why does Sally still go out and party? Why doesn't she just stay in the magic mirror?"

"Let's ask Sally herself." Roger yanked the towel out of her mouth.

"Ms. Sally, tell me, why don't you stay in the magic mirror that grants all wishes?"

But Sally just sneered, saying nothing, staring fixedly at Roger.

"Aha, the moon is lovely tonight. At worst, I'll take a small loss and compensate you for your emotional distress," Roger said with a chuckle.

"Or, if you tell me where the magic mirror is, how about I let George spend the night with you? He's in great shape; his kidney function is this." Roger gave a thumbs-up.

George, standing nearby, couldn't take it anymore. "Roger, don't drag me into this. I would never betray my wife and daughter."

"Haha, just kidding. I saw the atmosphere was so tense, just trying to lighten things up with a joke."

....+2

"Okay, I think I understand the situation. Now we just need to find the magic mirror that she hid."

Roger took out some salt and drew a symbol on the floor. Then he took out a small brazier and began to murmur softly—

[Sacred Mother Earth]

[Mother of the Upper Realm]

[Please guide me]

[Reveal the demon hiding here]

This time, there were no hiccups. The smoke from the small brazier slowly began to drift outside. Roger quickly picked up the brazier and ran out.

Outside, the smoke didn't drift towards the cellar, but instead flew to a large tree, constantly circling it.

"Found it. She buried it here," Roger said.

"Here—" George handed him a shovel, taken from beside the cellar.

"Looks like she was pretty lazy. She buried it and didn't even put the shovel away properly."

Roger took the shovel, and together with George, they began to dig. Soon, there was a clunk as the shovel hit something.

"I hope we didn't crack the mirror—" George suddenly remembered an important question.

"Uh, probably not. Magic mirrors aren't that fragile, right?"

They quickly knelt down and began to dig with their hands. Fortunately, the mirror was face down, so they hadn't broken it with the shovel.

"Wow, it's a beautiful mirror," Roger said with a smile.

A mirror, about 1.8 meters tall and 50 centimeters wide, appeared before them, as if designed to allow someone to step out of it.

The two cleaned the mirror and carried it into the house. Sally, however, showed extreme anxiety. "By the way, how do you activate this mirror? Are there any corresponding incantations in the diary?" Roger asked.

George took out the diary again, flipping through it carefully, but still couldn't find any incantations or hints.

"No, there's nothing here about any incantations or hints."

"None?" Roger stroked his chin, circling the mirror. It was a very ordinary mirror, framed by intricately carved black wood. But upon closer inspection, the carvings seemed to be made up of tiny runes.

"In ancient Egyptian magic, mirrors were often seen as portals to other spiritual worlds. Perhaps there are no incantations, nor are they needed. Right, Sally?" Roger smiled at Sally. Sally looked at Roger with terror, as if Roger had guessed something.

"Turn her to face the mirror. Perhaps we'll find the answer." "Ah—no, you can't do this to me! Please, please keep me away from that mirror!" Sally looked at the mirror with horror.

George and Roger exchanged a glance. There was something to this...

When the mirror was turned to face Sally, a terrifying scene appeared before them—

There was no reflection of Sally in the mirror.

There were only reflections of George and Roger. Sally was completely invisible.

Sally had no reflection—

Gulp. George couldn't help but swallow. A living person, yet invisible in the mirror. What was going on?

A real-life horror movie—

George's legs were trembling. He instinctively reached for his holster, only the gun giving him a sense of security. And that unreliable Roger. He took a step closer to Roger.

"Hey—I've discovered a secret, George. Look."

George turned his head to see Roger poking the mirror repeatedly with his finger.

The surface of the mirror rippled, the waves slowly spreading and then stopping.

"I understand. You just need to look at this mirror for a while, and you can enter the mirror world. There's no need for any incantation at all."

Roger was excited because he could already stick half his finger inside.

"Wait—you're just going to go in like that? Aren't you afraid of danger? Let's study it a bit more before we decide," George quickly urged.

"Hehe, danger is afraid of me. I have numerous demons protecting me. No evil can touch me—"

Roger reached into his pocket, took something out, and tossed a small pouch to George.

"What's this?" George asked.

"Mandrake root. The thing evil spirits hate the most."

Hearing Roger's explanation, George picked it up, opened it, and took a sniff.

"This stuff, to demons, is like human shit to us. The smell makes them not even want to come near you."

George: "...."