## Story 1 ![28-1.png](/uploads/28_1_b6f7b27ad8.png) The school, home to boys and girls hoping to become users of magick,
is abuzz with one question:
What tricks should they play on the town for the upcoming Halloween festival?
The student who puts their education to good use and comes up with
the most wonderful trick will be given a coveted title.
The girl with wavy hair and her best friends—the boy with spiky hair and
the bespectacled girl—are thrilled to show off their skills.

The professor makes an announcement to the excited students:
"The souls of magick users who plot tricks attract demons.
And demons will do anything to lead children astray.
Once a child is captured, their whole being is sucked away down to
the marrow of their bones. It is a pain so great they regret even the gift of life.
So if you ever find yourself suddenly faced with a miracle, do not engage!
Do not let your curiosity get the better of you."

But none of the students are listening.
It is then that a boy—one particularly fond of tricks—yells out:
"I will be the king of Halloween this year!"
A fervor sweeps the school.
And the girl with wavy hair swears she will not lose. ## Story 2 ![28-2.png](/uploads/28_2_011f025c41.png) The girl begins practicing tricks with her best friends.
Another day flies by, and before they know it, the night is upon them.
They are seeking a level of perfection befitting the ruler of Halloween.
The girl leaves her room so she might cook dinner and give her whirling mind a break.
As she walks, she spies something glinting at her feet.
It is a lovely box.
Yellow topaz in the shape of pumpkins dots the cover. It emits a distorted, bewitching glint.
Curious, she lifts the lid to find a small pumpkin pie sitting neatly inside.
She then hears a whisper:
"I will teach you all the magicks under the sun.
All at the festival will be under your spell."
The voice is so sweet and gentle, it is almost impossible to resist.
I must eat the pie.
She opens her mouth wide...
Suddenly, a scream rings out. It is her best friend—the bespectacled girl.
The wavy-haired girl tosses both pie and box aside and ushers her best friend into her room.
She comforts her as she weeps over her failure, yet on the inside, she is relieved.
Soon, the girl with wavy hair returns to her practice in an attempt to shake off her fear.
But the next time she looks, both pie and box have disappeared. ## Story 3 ![28-3.png](/uploads/28_3_0abec1d440.png) On the day of the festival, the girl and her friends continually shock the townsfolk.
Tiny lamps in the shape of skulls and pumpkins erupt from a large box.
Bursts of sound and light explode from their staves.
A moment later, they transform into various sweets and
pastries that rain down upon the onlookers.
Even if it is not enough to earn them the title,
this is the spell the best friends created together, and it is their joy.
Yet for some reason, the box crosses the wavy-haired girl's mind,
causing a chill to run down her spine.

Alas, it had been an omen, for she turns to find the box resting on the ground.
Before she can even think of why, a hand reaches out from beside her
—the boy who swore to be the king of Halloween.
Before she can draw a breath, he pops the pie in his mouth.
There is a strange light in his eyes—a distorted, bewitched glint.
Standing before the dumbfounded girl, the boy lifts his staff into the air.

Dozens of vines suddenly rise out of the ground throughout the town.
They twist together like snakes before taking on the shape of a giant tree.
Its branches and leaves shine majestically, reaching upward like a canopy.
The townsfolk give a cheer. The students stare, enchanted.
The girl is also astonished, but then she realizes the boy is nowhere to be found. ## Story 4 ![28-4.png](/uploads/28_4_6af74847b8.png) The girl runs, then. She rushes to her professor and reports everything she saw.
She tells about the box that suddenly appeared before her.
About the alluring voice she heard when she opened it.
She managed to shake it off thanks to her friends,
but the boy had not been able to resist its temptations.
The great tree had not stopped growing. Its roots twisted and
spiraled and burrowed throughout the town.
When they finally find the boy in a back alley, he is already gone.
The tree has swallowed him whole. His body is a husk; his weathered skin peeling off in flakes.
Worse still, his eyes are wide, and his tongue lolls out of his mouth like some terrible prize.

The girl shudders, thinking how she had not been able to
stop him, and huddles close to her professor.
"But at least you are safe," her professor says.
"Your love for your friends kept you from temptation."
The entity in question was called the Pumpkin Demon,
and it was something the school of magick had long yearned to capture.
But no matter what manner of guard they adopted, the demon had ever more
clever methods to lure people in—and claim their lives in the process.
As the professor laments the boy's death,
the great tree above glints in a bewitching manner, stealing people's hearts.
The girl squints under its light, but her heart has already sunk into darkness.
She was lucky to escape with her life, yet this state is but a temporary reprieve.
For temptation lies ever around the bend,
and it is known that demons always seek people's greatest desires...

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