After the female corpse vanished, the gloomy and eerie atmosphere gradually dissipated.
Bright lights once more illuminated the entire room.
Were it not for the scene of devastation within the house—as though struck by a hurricane, with heavy objects having collided everywhere—still lying in ruins.
Ruboo might have thought it had all been a hallucination.
He glanced down at himself. The repulsive, rotting flesh that had clung to his body had vanished entirely along with the corpse.
"That was absolutely the most thrilling spectacle I've witnessed in my eighteen years," Madison remarked, resting her pointed chin on Ruboo's shoulder as she savoured the aftermath. "Looking back now, it's a completely different kind of exhilaration."
"Thrill?" Ruboo, his arms aching, looked utterly perplexed.
"Don't believe me? Check for yourself." With that, Madison grabbed one of Ruboo's hands and guided it beneath her skirt.
A few breaths later.
Ruboo: "..."
Observing Madison's flushed, sweat-drenched face after the battle, Ruboo finally understood that Quini's previous assessments had been entirely accurate.
He cleared his throat, swiftly withdrew his hand, and offered his sincere thanks: "I owe you a debt of gratitude, Madison."
It was indeed true.
Without Madison's assistance this time, he would have been in a right state.
No supernatural incident was ever straightforward to handle.
Especially when the exorcism tools he'd pinned such hopes on proved so unreliable.
Madison waved it off casually. "Consider it payback for last night. And if anything like this happens again, remember to call me. I'd hate to see someone I actually like get taken out for no good reason."
"Of course!" Regardless of Madison's true intentions, having such a formidable ally was precisely what Ruboo had been hoping for.
"Right then, shall we continue what we left off?"
The stunningly beautiful Madison suddenly extended her index finger, gently lifting Ruboo's chin.
Sis, just when I thought you were reliable, you go and do something this outlandish.
Is this really the time for a party?
Fortunately, Ruboo didn't need to persuade her with tedious arguments, for voices from outside the door interrupted them.
"Good heavens! Has this place been machine-gunned?" exclaimed a passing resident, peering inside with alarm upon noticing the door lying askew.
"Actually, it's far worse than a machine-gun attack," Ruboo replied earnestly, staring at the perfectly normal face at the doorway.
...
Logically speaking, the commotion that had just erupted in the room—
Such as the howling wind, the female corpse's screams, Ruboo's gunfire, and so on.
it should have been heard by the hotel staff, who would have come to investigate.
Yet the problem was that for such a long period, to the outside world, it seemed as though nothing had happened at all.
It was only after the corpse vanished that the seemingly shielded room finally drew attention, quickly causing a tremendous stir.
Ten minutes later.
Ruboo and Madison's room was now filled not only with hotel staff but also a crowd of curious guests.
"Sir, you're suggesting the room was haunted, that's why it ended up like this?" the hotel manager inquired earnestly.
"Yes, I'm absolutely certain. Furthermore, I can assure you that neither my companion nor I were under the influence of drugs, nor were we hallucinating. I swear by God, what I'm saying is absolutely true."
To avoid hefty fines and a host of complications, Ruboo solemnly declared that he had indeed encountered a ghost, and that the events unfolding were beyond his control.
Naturally, he made no mention of the golden arm.
Upon hearing this, the other guests began snapping photos inside the room and uploading them, their excitement palpable as they exclaimed:
"Blimey! That's brilliant!"
"Mate, what did the ghost look like? Was she pretty?"
"How lucky! Why didn't I get to see her?"
"So the rumours about this hotel being haunted are true! Brilliant, I'm staying a few more days!"
"..."
Most who chose to stay here had heard of the hotel's notorious haunting, and many had travelled great distances specifically for a thrilling encounter with the spirits.
Thus, when they heard Ruboo's words, they didn't look at him as if he were mad. Instead, they gazed at Ruboo and his companion with envy, as if they'd gladly have swapped places with them.
What a bizarre world!
Ruboo murmured to himself, utterly taken aback by the onlookers' reaction.
Yet soon, something even more fantastical unfolded.
The hotel manager suddenly beamed and declared:
"Mr Ruboo, we have no doubt whatsoever about your experience."
"The Monteleon boasts a long-standing heritage and is a hotel steeped in rich history. We have always served not only the living but occasionally welcome ghostly guests as well."
"There's no need to fear these spirits, sir. They mostly just enjoy playing pranks. Much like what you've just experienced. Look! They've merely left the room in a bit of a state."
Ruboo surveyed the room, which resembled a battlefield, and felt an urge to utter a certain expletive, though he hesitated.
The hotel manager then added, "Mr Ruboo, it is now clear that the spirits caused all this. To express our apologies, our hotel will cover the full cost of the incident and provide you both with a new room."
"Naturally, we have one small request. We would appreciate it if you could recount tonight's experience in detail and grant us permission to use this account. To ensure authenticity, we hope Miss Montgomery would be willing to verify the story."
As he finished, the manager glanced at Madison, clearly recognising the actress who still enjoyed a modicum of fame in the United States.
"No problem," Madison replied nonchalantly.
But changing rooms? No thanks.
Having endured the incident with the corpse, Ruboo and Madison, whose nerves weren't quite as thick as those of casual onlookers, decided to return to the witch school.
Finally, after a series of interviews and photo sessions, Ruboo and Madison departed through the main entrance amid the hotel staff's enthusiastic farewells.
Glancing back at the hotel bathed in neon lights, Ruboo finally couldn't help but mutter, "What on earth were they thinking? Don't they have a shred of concern?"
Madison lit a cigarette, unfazed. "Never mind ghosts—even if the devil himself arrived, they'd exploit his identity to make the hotel famous before they died."
The Monteleone Hotel was already notorious for its hauntings. Should a fresh, genuine paranormal encounter occur—especially one endorsed by a Hollywood starlet—it would prove immensely advantageous for them.
This is also why the hotel manager, upon seeing the room in such a state, not only refrained from getting angry but generously waived the penalty charge.
Madison puffed away on her cigarette, adopting the air of someone who'd been there before. "Do you believe it? The room we're staying in tonight? The hotel will never restore it. They'll leave it exactly as it is, as living proof of a haunting, to draw crowds of sightseers. And my reputation will soar as a result. Who knows? I might even land a role in a Hollywood horror film."
"I do," Ruboo nodded emphatically, then drew a parallel. "Pity there's only one bloke staying in that room. Otherwise, Madison, your name would be on every lip across the States!"
Madison pondered this, then doubled over laughing. "Bloody right! What a bloody world!"
Ruboo took the cigarette from Madison's hand, drew a drag, and coughed several times before recalling a famous saying and musing:
"The world grows ever filthier, eh?"