The Glitchy Window

At varying intervals throughout the rest of Derek's day, that same strange, glitchy message window appeared many times, sometimes in relatively quick succession:

[n𝙹∷ᒲᔑꖎ h⚍ᒲᔑリ k╎ꖎꖎᒷ↸! +20 xp]

It was almost always that message, but this one also appeared once:

[lᒷ⍊ᒷꖎ u!¡!]

He wasn't sure why it kept appearing. Was it intelligent, appearing just to annoy him? Or was its appearance triggered by some unknown phenomenon? In the end, he had no way to find out. He simply got used to mentally commanding it to disappear whenever it manifested in front of him. 

At first, he'd wondered if anyone else could see it, but it became clear that it was only visible to his eyes when it popped up at the dinner table with his family and no one reacted. Interestingly, it was the same with Deer Doctor Hyde's message screen. Both were visions only he could see. 

His brother, Peter, was still behaving strangely around him, as if treading on thin ice. His worry and confusion were clear to Derek's eyes. That made it all the more entertaining to behave as if nothing had changed; the more Derek ignored what had happened, the more Peter worked himself up about what his older brother might do in revenge. His discomfort amused Derek.

I hadn't been thinking much about revenge, Derek thought to himself after dinner had ended. But maybe I should? There's no telling what he might try next unless I scare him into submission so that he'll never dare betray me again.

As he thought about how his brother had beaten and then brutally stabbed him over 20 times, Derek wondered if he shouldn't just get rid of him. Apparently, the younger man's hatred of him ran so deep as to make him act out against him in such an extreme way. Now that Derek had returned from the dead, would the brother's attention turn towards his wife and children instead? The idea filled Derek with anger. 

There were many ways to get rid of someone. As a nobleman involved with the Red Fox Coalition, Derek was no stranger to this fact. However, he couldn't know whether the Coalition had members who had sided with his brother in this, and as such, it would likely be better to take care of his brother without their involvement. 

Besides, he had a much easier way to get rid of his brother now. He grinned as it occurred to him. 

Alone in his office, Derek opened his Brainstorming Log and asked if it was possible to check on his Paranormal Event's progress. 

In response, the following screen appeared:

*****

{{Paranormal Event: Wendigo's Revenge

Souls Harvested: 31

Paranormal Points Earned: 3,410

Wendigo's Current Location: Northeast Relremark}}

*****

Derek whistled softly. He had expected good things from this event considering the fairly broad victim pool, but this was better than he had expected. Wendigo had spawned in the woods outside his city and was now rampaging in the city's Northeastern area. In just 8 hours, it had already almost earned him enough Paranormal Points to create his second planned Event! Did this mean Paranormal Points were earned with every soul harvested?

A part of him squirmed, reminding him that 31 souls harvested meant 31 people he had indirectly killed. Before that part of him could dominate, however, he clamped down on his emotions, reminding himself firmly that he had to do what he needed to in order to stay alive. Anyone who fell victim while he was fighting for his and his family's lives was just unfortunate to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Besides, this Paranormal Event wouldn't harm anyone innocent anyways. 

He thought about how to get his brother to go to Northeast Relremark. Were there any good bars there? As much as he wanted to go with him and watch his brother's death, he would need to not be present, as he couldn't risk the authorities connecting him to the Paranormal Events at all. By now, the authorities were probably scrambling to figure out what was happening. He was very confident they would be able to neither stop the event nor prove he was responsible -- not when both the Log and the oversized book for the Events could be summoned and dismissed at will. However, he was not so stupid as to take any unnecessary risks that could give them clues. Just because he was a decent businessman did not mean he could outsmart a criminal investigator if suspicion ever came upon him. 

Wondering what would happen if he met the Wendigo, he asked the Log. The screen appeared, saying:

*****

{{Paranormal Events will not ever target their creators. Furthermore, as Apostles' souls are considered spoken for, other Apostles' Paranormal Events will be unable to target you as well.}}

*****

Derek nodded in satisfaction. That made him feel a lot safer, considering that he didn't know anything about the other Apostles or their abilities. Just because he was safe, though, didn't mean his family was.

"Is there any way to guarantee the safety of my family?" He wrote in the Log.

*****

{{After successfully passing your 1-week trial, you may spend 5,000 Paranormal Points per person to provide them with 1-month immunity to soul harvesting via Paranormal Events. In this way, you may choose to guarantee their safety.}}

*****

Derek grimaced. 5,000 Paranormal Points per person per month? That would mean spending 15,000 Paranormal Points per month just to spare his immediate family, excluding people like his parents, uncles and aunts, and others. Sure, he'd just earned almost 3,500 in a bit over half a day, but with all the other ways to spend them, no guarantees he could maintain this pace of earning, and a need to score highly each month in order to escape elimination, this was going to be difficult. 

Suddenly, the glitchy purple window appeared:

[n𝙹∷ᒲᔑꖎ h⚍ᒲᔑリ k╎ꖎꖎᒷ↸! +20 xp]

At the same time, the Paranormal Event screen updated:

*****

{{Paranormal Event: Wendigo's Revenge

Souls Harvested: 32

Paranormal Points Earned: 3,520

Wendigo's Current Location: Northeast Relremark}}

*****

"... Wait, does this mean that weird purple screen appears whenever my Paranormal Event harvests a soul?!"