[25.3] The Woman in her Head

Zephyr opened his eyes and noticed he was in a shack with only one room. In the far corner, the room held one bed with plenty of pillows and blankets to make it comfortable. There were stacks of books near the bed and it was obvious that most of the money that belonged to whoever owned the shack was directed towards the owner of the bed.

He looked around in confusion, "Where? Who-"

A woman with a long braid and eyes the color of ice suddenly appeared in front of him.

He suddenly shouted in fear, "YOU! You're that crazy ghost in Reika's head!!!" His tone changed once he noticed her beauty, "But you... You look pretty good now."

She grabbed onto his shoulders desperately, "Zephyr! My darling child! You must listen to me!"

He screeched, "WHO IS YOUR DARLING CHILD YOU CRAZY FLESH BAG?!"

She paused and blinked quickly, "My, oh my… You have an even worse mouth than my darling Reika…"

Zephyr stared at her incredulously, "Huh?! Darling Reika?! Darling?! WHO?!? That girl? No. You must be mistaken."

"Ah! No! I can't get distracted!" She suddenly snapped out of her stupor and her tone turned firm, "Listen, child. You mustn't let Reika complete this spell!"

He looked at her closely, "Why not?"

She let out a huff, "Because it's necromancy! She already failed before and would have died if I hadn't been there to protect her body with my own soul."

His eyes widened, "Wait- You actually were benevolent?! But you charged at me and tried to kill me!!!"

She pouted her lips, "I was only trying to scare you away and prevent you from seeing the truth…"

He frowned, "Why?"

She let out a sigh, "If she remembers, she will hurt others. Once she hurts others, she will be overcome with guilt and torture herself. I can't let her get hurt anymore. I have to protect her."

He placed his hands on his hips, "Oi. Listen, lady. Whether Reika wants to remember it or not, it's completely up to her. It's not our place to prevent that. She's her own person with her own choices. We can't nor should we try to control her. It's wrong."

Her eyes widened, "Y-You… You truly do care about Reika…"

He froze as a burst of crimson covered his face, "WHY WOULD I CARE ABOUT THAT TRASHY HUMAN!?"

She ignored his cry, "Regardless of that, you can't let her return me back to the living. If she fails again, I won't be able to protect her this time. I already sacrificed most of my power to protect her from the blast last time."

He raised an eyebrow, "How do you know she won't succeed?"

She let out a sigh, "If she does, then that may be worse. She will never be forgiven for using that forbidden magic and they will chase her down until they finally catch her… I can't let Reika have that kind of life… Please! You have to go get the Headmaster to stop her before it's too late!"

He looked at her suspiciously, "I… I don't know. I usually don't trust people who try to claw my throat out."

She forced a smile at him and slowly reached out to rub his head. As he watched her cautiously, she suddenly pushed him back and shouted, "Keep Reika safe!"

Zephyr flew back into the darkness, only to resurface back into his own body.

…

I staggered back and slowly felt the freezing sensation subside. I shook my head, "What was that?"

Zephyr blinked as he regained his consciousness and glanced over at me with an odd look on his face.

I stared back at him with a glare, "What?"

"N-Nothing."

I shrugged it off and walked back out of the building. He quickly followed after me, "Where are we going now?"

"The prison."

He nodded slowly, "Ah. Right. The prison… Why?"

A grin crossed my face, "We have to grab our sacrifice."

His face went white, "Don't tell me…"

I didn't speak with him anymore and took the path to the prison which I had taken before in the past. I went to my hiding spot and crouched down in the darkness.

Zephyr crouched down beside me, "So what's your plan?"

I clicked my tongue and looked at the layout. Because I've been here in the past, I knew that there was no way for me to get inside without getting caught. I could potentially break the magic circles that prevent unwanted visitors, but that would take time and there was no way I had that kind of time. I would get caught by a guard before I could finish. The only reason I could take the last sacrifice was because they led him out to the gallows where there is less security.

I tapped my chin as I thought.

If only I could hide in plain sight.

I paused.

I slowly looked at Zephyr with a mischievous grin.

He gulped, "What?"

I tapped his forehead, "You have the ability to manipulate minds… Right?"

He felt uneasy, "In a way…"

"I need you to find me that woman in red and bring her out here so we can take her back. Would you do that for me?"

His mouth dropped, "You want me to do WHAT?!"

I repeated calmly, "Manipulate the guards and bring the woman in red out. Take control of their bodies if you have to."

He shook his head, "I-I don't really like doing that."

I raised an eyebrow, "Really? Because you seemed quick to do that to me when we first met."

"That was different. When you first awakened me, I needed mana to replenish my body so I was going to borrow yours. But when you signed the contract with me, you gave me more than enough mana to fix myself."

"So when you said you wanted to jump inside my head without my permission, you were just lying?"

"DUH! When have you ever seen me actually do that without permission?"

Ah. Good point.

I pulled him close, "Unfortunately, you don't have a choice. I'm commanding you to go and bring that woman out."

He looked at the prison guards with a worried expression, "But what if they have anti-demon devices set up? I-I don't want to be thrown into a cage and experimented on!!"

I pulled out my wand and gave it a wave, "There. Your presence will be hidden. If you get caught, I will come set you free. I won't let them lock you in a cage."

His eyes lit up, "Really?"

I gave a nod, "Duh. Now don't disappoint me. When you come out, I will be here to create a distraction so that we can leave together."

"But what about that woman? She's not going to follow us willingly."

"Then possess her."

Zephyr whimpered, "Please don't make me do this."

I ignored his complaints, "Hurry up."