CHAPTER 7: CURSE

The cruel battle of faiths concluded with the collective surrender of Death's followers. The anticlimactic ending left Wayne dissatisfied. Yes, he knew how dangerous a gun was, but what did that make him? He felt like a clown for all the internal turmoil he had endured.

He also lost his reverence for the deities in this world due to the followers’ disgraceful surrender. On second thought, though, it made sense. Like master, like servant. With their god crossdressing to essentially catfish people into following Him, it was unlikely for the followers to make noble sacrifices for their faith.

Wayne sighed. It was better this way. For a civilian like him, he could only be safe when the world was safe.

The followers kept their hands pressed to the wall as William demonstrated his natural strength on each of the captives. Wayne recognized one of them: Pluto, the harbor worker. William easily subdued him with a fluid combo.

Hadouken, shoryuken, tatsumaki senpukyaku[1]... Nah, just a simple left hook, right hook, and uppercut.

That’s mages for you! Simple and effective!

Once all the followers had been properly humbled, Veronica began her interrogation with her preferred truth serum—mushrooms so delicious they induced hallucinations.

She had been tracking the Deathwalker all the way here. Never had she expected to make such a breakthrough and crack down one of the Death Sect’s bases in a few days, but she grew increasingly disappointed as the interrogation progressed. The Deathwalker had not attended the gathering tonight. The man who had seemed like the leader was merely an errand boy. Not only had Veronica failed to capture her target, but she had also alerted the enemy.

Playing the waiting game was unlikely to yield results, so Veronica pressed for the whereabouts of the Deathwalker.“He went back to his hometown to get married,”a follower said.

Wayne scratched his head. That was absurd... but also made perfect sense in a mundane way. The mysterious mage he had pictured suddenly became infinitely more approachable.

After more questioning, Veronica learned both the Deathwalker’s name and location: Mike Nelson, also known as Bloody Mike, who hailed from Town Klofron in the northwestern region of suburban Londan. Raised in a family of slavish workers, he had moved to the big city alone to make a living, often seen at the port and the warehouse area. Once, he had offended a local gang while fighting for work and ended up beaten bloody; henceforth, he was known as Bloody Mike.

Mike was too poor to be useful, too poor to be smart, and too poor to escape poverty. He was destined to remain a nobody, having his value squeezed dry at the port and returning home with pitiful savings and little stamina left in his sickly body.

Somehow, however, he had managed to turn his life around. He became a follower of the Goddess of Death and mastered magic, gathering a group of underlings and carving out his territory in the warehouse area.

He never said a word about what had happened to him. The only hint was his devotion to Death and the complete reversal of his personality.

While Veronica was gathering information, Wayne, unable to contain his curiosity, asked William, “Hey, William, do you know the Goddess of Death as a man or a woman?”

“A woman,” William said without hesitation. He added, “At least the goddess presents as a woman.”

“What about under the presentation?”

“That I don’t... Why did you ask?”

“Um, when I was pretending to pray, I heard a voice,” Wayne said seriously. “I don’t know if it was the Goddess of Death, but the voice was low-pitched and definitely male. He asked if I would be willing to give everything.”

“That’s not the Goddess of Death, but one of Death’s three avatars, Grau the Observer. Did you see the spider mark? That’s the symbol of Grau.” William then said in surprise, “Death never descends in person, but She does have the Observer issue invitations from time to time. You’re lucky. That means you have a high affinity with Death.”

What he left unsaid was that a personal invitation from the Observer meant that Wayne was very likely to become Death’s chosen apostle in the mortal realm, granted great power incomparable to what was granted to a disciple like the Deathwalker.

“How does getting a god’s attention make me lucky? The Observer, Gr...”

The rest of the syllable was muffled by William’s hand, and his large face got intimidatingly close as he warned, “You’re now on the Observer’s watchlist, so you must not call him by name. Otherwise, he will interpret it as you accepting his invitation. Do you understand?”

Wayne peeled William’s intrusive hand off his face before asking, “What will happen then?”

“His will is going to visit the mortal realm and mark you as Death’s disciple.”

Wayne gulped. William’s grave expression and tone were unlike his usual brightness and optimism. The stark contrast made him swallow unconsciously. He should thank the large man for stopping him in time, or a visit from the Observer would certainly lead to unwanted consequences.

His train of thought derailed when the upside-down triangle in the center of the warehouse suddenly surged with black light from beneath the vegetation. The eight spider legs twisted and coiled in the air as if the refractory period had passed. The distorted legs blended into the void and connected to the outer realm. Low whispers echoed, followed by a sweeping black shockwave.

It covered the entire warehouse, rendering everything grey and white. Veronica had not put on a defense, and neither had William. They seemed prepared—no, they seemed to be waiting for this exact moment. Not only did they not defend against the black light, they embraced it.

The followers seemed unfazed. Despite the dramatic display, the shockwave caused no physical damage. Once it receded, the warehouse reverted to normal, and colors flooded back.

Wayne was the exception. He felt something change within his body.

“How is it for you, Veronica?” William asked tentatively. When she shook her head, he said with a sigh, “I should’ve known that the curse wouldn’t be so easy to lift. Who suggested that two negatives would make a positive? Oh, it was me. Alright.”

Veronica rolled her eyes at him.

“Excuse me, can you explain what the curse is? Has the Observer descended?” Wayne asked stiffly, his shirt drenched in cold sweat.

“It has nothing to do with the Observer or you. We got cursed by the Judge, another avatar of Death, for interrupting a ritual. And I’ve applied protective magic to you to shield you from curses.”

He patted Wayne’s shoulder in satisfaction for having foreseen the need for a ward, but the feeling was short-lived. His eyes widened in shock. “What? Where’s my magic? Did... did you get cursed?!”

“I don’t know! Shouldn’t you know?” Wayne whined. He knew what had happened, of course, but only children would admit to their mistakes; adults knew that pointing fingers was the best course of action.

Thinking his mistake had led to Wayne getting cursed, William panicked and stuttered, “Don’t worry. You’re not a mage, so a curse isn’t going to seal your mana... Wait, how are you... feeling? Did something change within you?”

He groped around as he asked the question, making Wayne jump and skitter back like he had been electrocuted.

Watch your hands! That’s off-limits for another man!

“I did sense a change.” He pursed his lips and made his eyes go unfocused, mixing truths with lies. “I’m hungry. I want to eat. Ugh, the hunger is getting worse.”

He leveled Veronica with a coveting stare and received a murderous glare in return. He wisely shifted his gaze to William.

“Wayne, you aren’t craving human flesh, are you?” William took an involuntary step back.

“No. It’s a normal hunger. I just need food to fill my stomach, something that isn’t a potato. And... there’s another type of hunger.” Wayne took a deep breath. “It’s not physical, but I can’t explain where it’s coming from. My soul? Let’s go with that. My soul’s craving magic, or, um, magical energy? I’m not a professional. I don’t know what the right word is.”

“Mana?” William suggested.

“Yeah, I’m craving mana!” Wayne nodded vehemently. “My soul craves mana. Without it, it’ll starve to death sooner or later. Yes, I think that’s it!”

He cast Veronica another glance and met another fierce glower.

“The Judge inflicts wicked and unpredictable curses for entertainment, so a hunger for mana wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility. However, he’s a mundane person with no mana to sate that hunger. Even if he had any, it’d have been sealed by the curse. Left alone...”

An impromptu lecture came from a corner of the warehouse. Wayne turned toward the source of the voice and saw Monica catwalking to him.

“The cat.” He gaped. “The cat’s talking.”

Monica leaped onto William’s head and continued to say, “William, your mistake has led to an ordinary man getting cursed. He will die without intervention. You have to take responsibility.”

“What am I gonna do? The curse sealed all my mana, and I only manage to muster some by meditating every day. I can’t help him.” William batted his eyes at Veronica like a petulant child. “Ve—”

She huffed and turned her back to him.

Resigned, William lifted Monica off his head and grinned at it. “You luckily keep your access to your mana. Why don’t you feed him? I’ll owe you one. I’ll make whatever dishes you want me to make.”

Monica didn’t drive a hard bargain. Its feline face turned thoughtful. “I can do that, but not for the long term. Going forward, he’ll have to gain mana through meditation on his own.”

William shook his head. “That’s too difficult. He’ll starve before then.”

“That’s right.” Monica nodded. It broke free of William’s grip and hopped onto Wayne’s shoulder, pressing its paw to his face.

Whoa, look at those cute little peets!

Wayne tilted his head to meet Monica’s golden feline eyes. It said in a hoarse voice, “I can plant a seed of mana in you to guide and help you become a mage as soon as possible. However, nothing comes free in this world. I’ll be your mentor going forward. You’ll have to follow the Goddess of Moonlight like I do. Any objections?”

“None.”

Wayne felt a rush of joy. He didn’t expect his improvised lies to help him become a mage. Being hit by the black light had turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Still, the combination of a magical girl and a cute pet that could talk and give magic? What a familiar combo...[2]

1. These are the moves of Ryu from the fighting game Street Fighter. ☜

2. Likely a reference to Sailor Moon. ☜