Night Before Friday

04. Puntianak Nails

Sit down...

Standing alert and careful there won't allow you to escape from here. Because my little granddaughter won't hold back from burning you to ashes."

Without having any choice, I simply obeyed. I took a seat in front of Old Man Slamet who sat cross-legged calmly in front of the clay water bowl.

The unwilted flowers floated above the water in the bowl, while the old man stared at the rippling water in the bowl seriously, as if he could see something within it.

"I can't guarantee your survival young man, but I can't be sure if you are going to die soon either. The Puntianak Nail that I gave you was used to submit the creature, wasn't it?"

I nodded, lowering my face while stealing glances around the room.

I tried to read the situation, trying to find an opening in the three doors in this room.

The first door was the main door where I entered earlier, then the door to my right where Agnia came to bring me a drink, and another mysterious door that was blocked by Old Man Slamet's body.

There was no other way out, I could just run away from this place but I didn't know anything about this place. This place is far from the town center, running away is a foolish decision that I should think of last. For now, I'll try to follow that sly old man's game.

"For now, I won't say why I gave you the Relic Nail, but I can at least tell you a little about it.

The Nail that I gave you is no ordinary Puntianak Nail, it has a name, the Wesi Abang Puntianak Nail.

Do you know anything about demits young man?"

I shook my head, although I had heard of them, but I thought they were just like ghosts which are the spirits of the dead.

" Demits are creatures that have lived in this land for a long time before our ancestors settled it. Their figures hide from the hustle and bustle of the human world, and sometimes appear before us just to look for prey.

Our ancestors have been in contact with them for hundreds of years, and one of their legacies is the Paku Puntianak.

Puntianak itself is a term that refers to a female demon that has a charming appearance to attract prey and drink their blood.

One type of Puntianak is the Kuntilanak, the ghostly girl you have submitted to.

Puntianak Nails were formerly used to make it easier for our ancestors to kill Puntianak. As many people already know, Puntianak is a type of demon that often disturbs humans. In addition, their supernatural abilities are also extraordinary.

However, in its development, the Puntianak Nail became used to utilize them. Once the Puntianak Nail is pierced into their head, the Puntianak will remain powerless for seven days.

Eventually, they will rot because their aura has been sucked out by the Puntianak Nail.

Paku Puntianak has several rules for its usage.

First Rule. The Puntianak can only be sealed for one time. If the first attempt fails, then the second attempt will immediately kill the Puntianak.

In addition, ordinary Puntianak Nails can only be used once. The color of the original Puntianak Spike is golden, and then eventually becomes blackish as it consumes the Puntianak's spirit.

With the high difficulty of capture, the difficult raw materials, and the ineffective use of Puntianak Nails, all of these things make Puntianak the most difficult creature to capture.

But young man, none of that applies to Wesi Abang's Puntianak Nail.

Because the purpose of making the Nail is actually to make the Puntianak turn into a complete human being who can blend in with the society."

Grandpa Slamet's explanation seemed to give me a little hint that he wouldn't kill me anytime soon.

Because I am sure all those explanations won't be needed by someone who's going to die.

"Then, if the nail is that important, why did you hand it over to me?"

I looked into his eyes with a sharp gaze. That old man had put me in danger, he really had to tell me everything he knew about Aya.

"That thing, to lure someone is right isn't it Grandfather?"

Agnia who was behind me walked up to the old man. She sat down beside him and gently wrapped her arms around his old arm.

"Aya, that kuntilanak girl in the banyan tree behind your house, she seems to be hiding from someone, doesn't she?"

I nodded my head, ever since I realized her existence. She never left there, all she did was hide her existence from me for a while.

Even now I still don't realize why. When she tried to drink my blood, she didn't come to my room while I was still asleep.

But rather she called out to me to approach her.

"That girl was hiding from the people who were trying to capture her, and I used her as bait to lure them out.

That girl probably won't realize that you're one of them. But as long as you're not trying to use her for anything she doesn't want, then everything will be fine.

What concerns me is a brat called Chandra who has gotten her trapped in that place, not to mention the fact that I'm using her as bait without her knowledge.

The Banyan Tree is a neutral site where demits can hide their presence from other beings, and that's the reason why she was able to hide there."

There was something strange about what the wrinkled lips of the old man said, if he really knew where Aya was hiding, then why didn't he do it himself?

"Your presence will lure her, then when she attacks you, you will definitely fight her. But I didn't expect you to make her your own slave.

I would have gladly done it without your help, but an old blood like me wouldn't be able to satisfy a female demon like her"

Everything is now spinning around in my head.

What I did was probably just for the sake of my selfishness, right after I learned the function of the Puntianak Nail I even used it for my own desires. If only I had let that girl suck my blood, maybe now she could be free. But what I did instead was trapping her with myself, and forcing her to be the cure for my loneliness.

It's too late now for me to regret it, because Aya is now my responsibility.

"You may have ruined my plan, boy, but that's okay. Maybe this is heaven's guidance, that I shouldn't bother that girl anymore.

No matter whether she is now her true self, or not.

Ahhh never mind, this time I will let go of one of my responsibilities, which is that girl and leave it to you."

"But Grandfather...

It doesn't sound very wise, handing over such a big responsibility, without telling anything to this youngster..."

A sly look was directed at me.

Agnia right? For some reason, I felt there was something different about her compared to me and Grandpa Slamet. As if she wasn't human like us.

The old grandfather isn't a problem for me now, but what about his granddaughter? A mysterious creature with the appearance of a ten-year-old girl. But no one knows how dangerous she is. I mustn't be careless.

"You are right dear. Aji Saputra, from now on you will be in danger if you still insist on having that girl. But don't worry.

I will be on a neutral side. I will provide assistance, as long as it does not endanger the other party.

The first thing I will tell you is that the Kuntilanak sealed with the Puntianak Wesi Abang Nail will decay faster, this is because basically the aura in their body is not absorbed, but placed on their head. That means all parts of the body other than the head will rot.

There are two ways to prevent that from happening, but I will suggest one way only. This is because the second method is only known to your puntianak girl.

The first method is to use a seven-flower water potion.

You can make it yourself, but since I'm sure it's very troublesome and you don't have much time. So for now I'll give it to you for free.

Agnia get it!"

Agnia removed her hand from his arm and walked towards the door behind him.

Not long after, she returned with a large bottle of water mixed with familiar flowers.

Red roses, orange yellow champak, white sandalwood, yellow ylang ylang, white jasmine, tuberose and Arabian jasmine. All those flowers were trapped in that big glass water bottle with the clear liquid inside.

I felt grateful, at least now I no longer had to worry about the girl's decomposition.

#############

I returned home just before the earth swallowed the sun. After successfully catching the last bus and counting every second I spent there, I was finally home.

As soon as I set my foot on the ground, I immediately ran and opened the door to my house. I almost smashed it if I hadn't found my house key.

Without waiting a second, I threw my bag and ran to the second floor while carrying a seven-flower water bottle and my room key. I left Aya in my room with the door and windows locked. I had also moved all the objects that she could use to cut off her head.

I opened my bedroom door, and saw Aya had fallen to the floor. She seemed to have tried very hard to reach the window of my room. But alas, her legs had rotted beyond recognition. Maggots, worms, and centipedes were moving around on her blackened body from chest to toe. Meanwhile, her white dress was being torn apart by those disgusting animals.

"Aji... Just kill me... Please... I can't take it anymore..."

I ignored Aya's words. Without a second thought, I immediately carried her remaining body into the bathroom. My numbness seemed to have gone out of my body, and I didn't even feel the centipede and stench from Aya's body.

I laid her body on the bathtub, then poured water that had been mixed with sevenfold flower water, then turned on the tap. White smoke slowly began to appear and enveloped Aya's body.

The water did not only heal Aya, but also killed off the insects that were trying to eat her body. During the healing process Aya was still trying to speak, but unfortunately, her consciousness was getting blurry.

I poured water into the bathtub until it was almost full. Aya's healing process was still ongoing, but certainly not as fast as I had imagined. I saw the bones in Aya's body starting to form.

I patiently assisted her healing by removing dead rotten flesh to help her heal. I collected all of Aya's flesh, dead insects, and dead skin in a black bucket filled with water.

After I felt Aya's body could heal itself without any trouble, I quickly got out of the bathroom and dumped all the dirt in the bucket.

Since Aya's clothes had been torn, I was forced to borrow my younger sister's clothes without her permission. I washed Aya's clothes in the meantime. I don't know if the clothes are still useful to her or not. But just in case, I'd better keep them.