I swallow my saliva nervously, my whole body is shaking and sweating out of fear.
"Fuck this... this shit feels so real, there is no way that I'm gon-..."
"...Wait? Did he just say that I'm cursed?..."
"Huh?! What do you mean that I am cursed?!" I ask loudly, still shaking in fear.
"Cursed." He replies.
"By who?!" I swallow again, my sweat dropping from my chin, right onto the glowing thing.
"By a demon of course."
"So I'll ask again, Shoji-kun. Will you die right here, without trying to do anything about the curse, or will you continue to live, trying to break it?"
"Huh? Wait... so that priest... is just offering me a life or death choice without any catches?" I relax a little as a nervous smile creeps onto my face.
"Yes, yes! I choose the second!" I say as loudly as I can.
"Very well then. Come with me, Shoji-kun." The glowing thing vanishes as fast as it appears and the priest walks out of the room.
I drop onto the ground immediately, holding my neck and softly crying out of happiness that I've survived.
"Oh my god... I need to run... as fast as I can! I just need to find a window!" I look around, but then the priest walks into the room. He grabs me by my collar before I can even react, and starts to drag me somewhere.
"Let me go! Please! Don't kill me! Oh my god! I'm too young! I have a sister to look after! My brother is working far, far away so he can't take care of her! Please! Please!" I say loudly in fear and desperation, tears dripping down my chin.
The priest sighs and shakes his head in annoyance. "I'm not gonna do anything bad to you, kiddo. I just want to show you something."
"YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT YOU'RE NOT GONNA HURT ME, JUST LIKE IF YOU WEREN'T THREATENING TO KILL ME A MINUTE AGO?!"
"You're alive, that's the proof of my intentions."
I totally give up as he drags me. I've tried too hard to somehow run away from him but to no avail.
He drags me onto the church altar, letting go of me. I hug my knees and sob hopelessly, not even trying to stand up.
"If I'll somehow survive throughout all of this... I WILL NEVER EVER AGAIN HELP SOME RANDOM WOUNDED PERSON WHO CAN USE SOME FUCKING MAGIC..."
I look up at the priest who's doing something. He's oddly quiet and seems to be searching for something.
"He's focused... maybe that's my chance...!"
I slowly stand up, trying to be as quiet as I can. Suddenly a shiver runs down my spine.
"Don't even try sneaking out, Shoji-kun" The priest says, his voice echoing throughout the church.
I turn around to look at him. He puts his hand on the tabernacle, tracing the symbols on it with his fingers.
"What the fuck is he doing? Opening some stupid hidden chamber or something haha-..." My eyes widen as the tabernacle starts to glow and the whole altar starts to move, revealing a dark staircase.
"What the fuck?!"
The priest walks up to me and grabs my wrist, dragging me down the stairs. The torches on the walls are lighting up.
"The place that I'm taking you to is not a place accessible to anyone besides some priests and the pope."
"So why are you taking me here then?! Can't you just let me go!? I will not tell anyone about this place! Ever! I promise!"
"You're cursed, Shoji-kun. As a priest, I cannot just let someone cursed go without giving them proper treatment, because I've vowed to always help those who are in need."
I just stare at his back as he's dragging me.
"At first I thought he really wanted to kill me... this priest is weird... maybe even slightly crazy, judging by his way of thinking and acting... but he doesn't seem to be lying."
"Oh and besides Shoji-kun, those who enter this sacred sanctuary that those stairs are leading to, apply a certain rule to the ones who enter..."
"Rule? What rule?!"
"If you'll tell a demon, their familiar or even servant... You'll be killed by an Angel that will be automatically sent after you for breaking the rule." This priest is too damn calm and relaxed while saying things like that to an already desperate person like me.
I frown and a look of frustration appears on my face.
"Angels? Demons? What the fuck are you talking about?! This rule doesn't even feel like a rule at all! This stupid sanctuary compels a fucking act onto your soul! Normal rules only apply to the places where a person is! Not outside of them!"
"Hmm? Compels a Pact? Oh! You're a genius, Shoji! I was thinking about a way to call it because you're right. I've called it a 'rule', only because I couldn't find any better way to name it, but here you are giving me a nice name for it. 'Compelling Pact' it is." The priest says in a happy tone as if some burden had been thrown off his heart.
"This priest... nahh... he doesn't even act like a priest! His morals are twisted! First of all! He doesn't value the lives of others a bit, why do I think so? Because he told me to "Live or Die"! Second of all! He's dragging me against my will to places where I don't want to be, and he thinks he's right just because he said that I'm apparently 'Cursed by a demon or something like that! And third of all! He's happy that he's named a fucking rule or pact, whatever the hell it is, despite it literally killing people! Like how the hell am I supposed to tell if someone's a demon, or an angel, or fucking I don't know... Everything's happening too fast-... wait... what if... no no! That's impossible!"
Finally, we enter a room and he drags me towards a pedestal that's standing in the middle of the room.
I immediately get a headache, probably because this is a sacred place or something.
There's a small needle sticking out of the pedestal.
"You need to stab your finger with it, Shoji."
I look at him in confusion and obvious rejection of his stupid idea.
"What do you mean, Sebas?! I won't stab myself!"
"Sebas, huh? Since when are we friends for you to call me by my name? It's quite disrespectful you know Hm? But whatever, call me as you wish, Shoji-kun."
Suddenly he pushes my hand onto the needle. The needle pierces through my hand, drawing a lot of blood that falls onto the pedestal.
"Agggh! Motherfucker! What the hell are you doing?! It hurts!" I scream at him as I pull my hand away from the needle. A small hole from which blood is spilling out, in the middle of it.
The priest sighs and frowns slightly.
"You will recover quickly, Shoji. This Sanctuary has an amazing healing factor, that's why you'll start having nausea in like 2 seconds, but it'll go away in a minute."
And after he said this I dropped on my knees, feeling nauseous, just like he predicted me to.
"Fuck... what the hell..." I say while holding my stomach and looking down at my right hand, as the small hole is quickly patching up.
The torches around the room start to suddenly light up, one by one.
"So Shoji-kun, you're Slavic, right?"
I look up at him with a look of confusion and surprise. After all it's a weird moment to ask something like that, isn't it?
"My father was Slavic, he met my mother here and I was born, but it turned out that he already had a wife or something, so he took me and ran away from my mother, back to Europe. I don't even remember what my mother looks like, nor what's her voice like." I say as the nausea starts slowly going away.
"So why are you here, and not in Europe, Shoji-kun?
A look of sadness appears on my face as I look down, clenching my teeth in sadness and guilt.
"It was some time after my Dad and his wife who's Kaori's and my brother's mother, have both died. Brother was offered a job that forced us to move here..." I tear up a little as I speak.
"That's sad, sorry for asking, Shoji." He says softly and pats me on the head.
"It's weird... his hand is so warm... but I'm not a dog to be pet!" I slap his hand away.
The priest slowly walks up to the pedestal. A surprised and frightened look appears on his face.
"That's weird..." He mutters under his nose.
I slowly get up from the ground as the nausea is no longer as strong as it was before. I look at him, wiping my tears away with my sleeve.
"What's wrong, Sebas? You seem troubled. Oh..." I look down at the pedestal. It seems that the pedestal has some weird symbols on it. A language that I can't understand. Every letter is crimson... just like if it was written with my blood.
"What is this?" I ask curiously, softly touching the crimson symbols with my hand.
"Huh?! What's going on... I can read it... but I can't remember what it says..." The priest steps back in disbelief, grabbing the collar of his cassock.
"The one who cursed you must have at least Authority Type 6 Vymir... I can't do anything about it. That level exceeds far beyond my capabilities... I need to call them for help... probably..." His voice is slightly shaky, it seems that he's in disbelief.
He walks past the pedestal and stops in front of the wall that has a weird hand-shaped hole in it.
"Vymir? Authority? You've been saying this word 'Vymir' earlier, what does it exactly mean and what does it have to do with me being cursed." I look at him with curiosity while walking towards him.
"I don't know how to explain it for a young kid like you to understand, but I'll try my best. Basically, Vymir is something that resides within your soul, powering it like a battery. The amount and type of Vymir a person has depends on their life achievements, deeds, motivation, lifestyle, training, goals, and character. For example,e if an average human with an Authority Type 1 Vymir somehow killed a great monster like Kraken, yes Kraken does exist, then their Authority Type and the amount of Vymir their soul deposits will increase. Of course, the gifted geniuses who are born strong have it the easiest out of everyone. Vymir can be materialized into various spells, which are manifesting into the elements that the user has access to: Hilo- Light; Yano- Darkness; Mida- Water; Hoen- Fire; Raca- Lightning; Katr- Wind; Chia- Earth; Chie- Healing. Each element has six spells in total, I'll list them from weakest to strongest: Ka, Jo, and Kyu are the first-tier spells. When a person completely masters them, there are three more spells to learn- the second-tier spells: Kaki, Jozy, and Kyuy.
Vymir can also mutate, creating an extension in the soul that we just call mutations, original right? Mutations are mostly gained via inheriting power from your ancestors, but even tho it's very rare, a small number of people can manifest a mutation of their own. So do you understand everything, Shoji-kun?" He explained as he held his hand on the spot that was on the wall.
I just stare at him.
"Wat"
The priest looks down at the watch that's on his wrist.
"You should be going home, kiddo. Go back to the presbytery, I believe you left your thing there, just don't steal anything and go home right?" He says while staring at the wall. I still have no clue what he is doing, but I start walking towards the staircase.
"Aighht!~" I say with a careless childish voice, relieved that I can finally leave.
"Wait! One more thing."
"Huh?" I turn around to look at his back.
"I recommend you to visit from time to time, you're cursed, y'know what that means? You'll life will be flipped upside down, and your worldview, goals, and survival chances will change drastically. So come here from time to time and I'll teach you some things." He seems to be happy... just like if he has found someone to talk to...
"Oh god... I'm a scumbag... but I'm not such a scumbag to decline visiting an old priest from time to time, aren't I hehe~?"
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
"Sure, why not!" I say, giving him a last wave.
Sometime later I'm walking towards my house, I'm maybe like 800 meters away from it. I hum to myself with a small smile on my face. A shiver runs down my spine.
"I can't believe! This day was so wild! So many things happened! So many twists! Meeting Sebas, talking to him, feeling a lot of pain for a moment, getting death threats, but some time later talking to him like to a friend haha! I can't believe it... I'm soooo tired! I just want to lie down and have a long nap!"
Suddenly I realize that I don't feel my legs. I look down and see them covered in ice that's holding me in place.
"Huh?" A confused look appears on my face.
"You're a pervert, you're a scumbag, you're a creep, you're plotting with the church, you're the reason that Haruki-kun isn't coming to school, yet you share a similar scent to her, Nakamura Shoji. I don't know what they see in this garbage bag that's standing hopelessly in front of me." She says in a voice colder than the void itself.
I slowly turn my head around to face her as my eyes widen. "Carmilla...? What's going on...? What are you talking about?" I say with a hint of fear and uncertainty.
"They see potential in you, something that I will never acknowledge."
"What are you talking about I'm asking again Carmilla?!" I get even more scared of her, she's acting weird.
Two horns grow out of her head following a long demonic tail growing out from her behind.
She starts to slowly walk towards me, never breaking the eye contact between us.
Another shiver runs down my spine.
"But you are his friend, that's why you'll be blessed with a painless and quick death by my hands." A beautiful longsword appears in her right hand and she brings it to my neck, drawing some blood from it.
"Carmilla! What are you... what are you doing?!" I say loudly, my voice shaky and desperate.
"No... this isn't the same situation as the one with Sebas... those horns... the tail... even a stupid child with an additional chromosome would understand it... Carmilla's a demon... I feel it... something that wasn't apparent in Sebas's voice, but is apparent in her's. This bloodlust... is truly... evil."
I try moving my whole body to somehow get out of the ice spikes that are holding me, but the ice covers me even more instead.
"STOP IT PLEASE! WE CAN TALK IT OUT CARMILLA! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING AGAINST YOU! I DIDN'T HURT HARUKI IN ANY WAY! PLEASE! DON'T DO IT!" I scream at the top of my lungs. Tears are forming in my eyes. My body temperature is constantly going lower and lower. The tears turn into ice before they can even fall out of my eyes, causing my eyeballs to freeze.
And now, I have become a literal ice statue, I can hear, I can think, I can imagine, I can feel, but I feel no pain... all I can do is listen...
"Mix: Painless Freeze. Farewell, Nakamura Shoji." She says coldly and slices my head off with the sword that appeared in her hand earlier.