Summon Night: EXTRA

3

Scene: Outside a Haunted Mansion in the Forest

(The trio stands in front of an old, crumbling mansion surrounded by twisted, barren trees. Fog swirls around them, and an unsettling chill fills the air. Maruo hesitates, eyeing the dark, looming structure with clear unease.)

Maruo: (whispers) "Do we... really have to go in there?"

Kelly: (grins, punching her fists together) "What, you scared? It's just an old house. Come on, Maruo, we've seen worse already!"

Ronald: (chuckles) "Look on the bright side, kid. Maybe it's just abandoned, right? No one's home, so we get a quiet place to rest for a bit."

(The door creaks ominously as they step inside. Dust motes dance in the air, disturbed by their movements. As they walk through, they see portraits of people with blank, sorrowful expressions staring down at them from the walls.)

Maruo: (clutching his arms nervously) "I... I don't think this place is empty..."

(As if on cue, the air grows cold, and a soft, almost ethereal sobbing echoes through the halls. The trio stops, listening intently.)

Kelly: (whispering) "Did you guys hear that?"

Ronald: "Sounds like someone cryin'. And not just anyone... sounds like a girl."

(They follow the sound, passing through rooms filled with broken furniture, until they reach a grand but decayed ballroom. There, floating in the middle of the room, is a translucent figure of a young girl, her long hair tangled, her clothes tattered. She looks lost and pale, with dark, hollow eyes.)

Maruo: (eyes widening) "Is... is that... a ghost?"

Kelly: (smirking) "No kidding, Sherlock." (steps forward, calling out) "Hey! Who are you, and what's with the spooky crying?"

(The ghost girl looks up, startled, as if she only just noticed them. Her voice is soft and distant, like it's coming from far away.)

Charlotta: "I... I am Charlotta. Or, I was Charlotta, once... I think." (she looks down, frowning as if trying to remember something) "I was... killed here, but I don't know why. My memory... it's like pieces of it are missing."

Maruo: (sympathetically) "That's... that's awful. I can't imagine being... stuck here like that, with no idea what happened."

Kelly: (crossing her arms) "So you just stay here, haunting this place, trying to remember?"

Charlotta: (nodding) "I... I think so. It feels like I'm waiting for something... or someone." (her gaze falls on Maruo, her eyes slightly widening) "You... have something strange about you. A darkness that clings to you."

Maruo: (looks down, ashamed) "I... I didn't mean to summon it. It was an accident, and now people hate me for it..."

Charlotta: (drifting closer to him) "Maybe... you understand, then. What it's like to have people fear you for something you didn't mean to do..."

(Suddenly, the floor beneath them trembles, and an ominous, metallic voice echoes through the mansion, accompanied by a loud ticking sound.)

Voice: "INTRUDERS DETECTED. ALL MUST LEAVE OR FACE IMMEDIATE TERMINATION."

(They all whirl around, looking for the source of the voice. A bomb with a cartoonish face and menacing eyes rolls into the ballroom. It's large, nearly as tall as Maruo, with a red dial on its front counting down.)

Kelly: "Oh, great. It's a talking bomb. Guess it's fight time!"

Ronald: (cracking his knuckles) "Alright, I've been itchin' for a good scrap."

Bomb Boss: (laughing in a deep, gruff voice) "You fools! No one leaves this mansion alive! I'll blast you into nothingness!" (its timer ticks down faster)

Maruo: (panicked) "Wait! We can't just fight it-it's a bomb! If it explodes, we'll all be gone!"

Kelly: "Then we'd better find a way to take it down fast." (she looks at Maruo) "Think you can do something, Summoner Boy?"

Maruo: (swallowing nervously) "I... I'll try!"

(As Kelly and Ronald keep the bomb distracted, Maruo begins chanting a Summoning spell. He draws energy, his hands trembling, and summons a gust of wind to throw the bomb off balance. The bomb rolls and flails, unable to control its movements for a moment.)

Bomb Boss: (angry) "You think a little breeze will stop me? I'm unstoppable!"

(Ronald jumps in, landing a punch on the bomb's face, denting it slightly. The timer ticks down even faster.)

Ronald: "Kid, do that wind thing again!"

Maruo: (hesitates, then summons another gust of wind, pushing the bomb back toward a crumbling pillar) "H-hurry! It's about to blow!"

(Kelly dashes forward, slamming her stick into the bomb, knocking it back against the pillar. With a final punch from Ronald, the pillar collapses onto the bomb, burying it under rubble just as it detonates. The explosion shakes the mansion, but the debris absorbs most of the blast.)

(As the dust settles, Charlotta hovers nearby, looking oddly serene.)

Charlotta: "Thank you... all of you. You helped protect my home, even though I barely know you."

Kelly: (wipes her brow) "All in a day's work, I guess." (glances at Maruo) "You did good, Maruo."

Maruo: (smiling shyly) "I... I actually helped..."

(But Charlotta's face darkens, as if some memory has resurfaced. She looks down, speaking almost to herself.)

Charlotta: "I... I remember now... why I was killed..."

(The trio falls silent, sensing the gravity of her revelation.)

Charlotta: "It was because... I was blamed for something I didn't do. They thought I had summoned something dark, something dangerous... But it wasn't me. They executed me anyway, and I... I've been trapped here ever since."

Maruo: (gasping softly, his heart sinking) "That's... that's horrible... They... they killed you, even though it was a mistake?"

Charlotta: (nods, her face full of sorrow) "Yes. And when they did, my spirit was cursed to remain here. I've been waiting for someone who understands... someone like you, Maruo."

(A silence falls as Maruo realizes how similar Charlotta's story is to his own. But then, she gives him a faint, sad smile.)

Charlotta: "But... there's something else." (she looks away, almost ashamed) "I remember now... I wasn't just any girl. I was the original Summoner who accidentally bound that demon king to this world..."

Maruo: (stunned) "Wait... you... you're the one who-"

Charlotta: (nods) "Yes. But I didn't mean for it to happen. And now... you've done the same thing. It's like... the curse has started over, but with you."

(Maruo's face pales as he takes in this revelation. The weight of the curse-and Charlotta's tragic fate-settles over him, heavier than ever.)

Ronald: (gently) "Hey, kid... that doesn't mean you're gonna end up like her. You got us with you."

Kelly: (nods) "Yeah. This time, we're all gonna fix this. Together."

Maruo: (determined) "Thank you... both of you. And Charlotta... I promise, I'll find a way to set you free, too."

Charlotta: (smiling sadly, her form beginning to fade) "Thank you, Maruo. I'll be waiting... and watching over you."

(With that, Charlotta's spirit fades away, leaving the trio in the quiet of the mansion's broken ballroom, all of them more determined than ever to end the curse that has claimed too many lives.)

[Scene Ends]