Addiction (2) - 19

As I thought, when I woke up, I found myself in the house of a stranger, being warmed by a nearby fireplace.

"Are you okay?"

Turning around, I found a young women bending over as she stared worriedly at my condition.

'Jurda Parem...'

'Fuck off.'

'Jurda Parem.'

Hearing a constant voice in my head begging for another taste of the drug, I could only shake my head inwardly and try to ignore it as much as possible.

You see, by now, my demonic biology had gotten back control of most of my body, so I was probably able to move as I wished for the most part, unless another dose of Parem was put right in front of my nose or something.

Thinking about it for a little bit more, I could only feel grateful to my past self for choosing the demon body as the power that I would bring over from the Demon Slayer World.

"A-are you okay?" Asked the young woman, bringing my attention back to the present.

"Yes, thank you for taking me in." I reply.

"I found you almost frozen solid on the ground yesterday, and I haven't seen you around these parts, so, who are you?"

Hearing this question, I could only chuckle for a second, probably sounding creepy, before motioning for her to bring her ear closer to my mouth as I whispered,

"A devil."

Thirty minutes later, and there wasn't a trace of the young lady at all in the house, as she disappeared from this world.

Smacking my lips, I rubbed my belly a little after the tasty meal and then moved on.

Before anyone knew it, the entire town of Sikursk became a ghost time, with no indication of what had happened to the residents.

The only living thing left in the town was a single lone figure standing in the town square, his face bright and smiling, quite a contrast with the dark and gloomy surroundings, as he wiped off the last drop of blood on his lips.

Using the sun to find his bearings, the figure turned towards a second direction, and before anyone knew it, was gone, as silence descended on the town's surroundings.

...

Four Months Later:

"You're going to the wandering isle."

"Yes Ma'am." I replied, standing up straight as I was inspected by a certain powerful grisha.

So, let me explain to you what I had been doing these past few months.

After getting rid of my addiction, I had found a recruitment center for the Ravkan Second Army, and had joined as a Heartrender.

You see, the power that I had gotten after enduring the effects of the drug was actually pretty close to that of a regular heartrender's power, except that it specialized in a certain area of the body.

And now, after I had shown my proficiency in learning every single language in this world, I had been named a top spy, and had been sent on this mission to try and find other grisha to recruit to the Second Army from the Wandering Isle.

This meant that I would be on the same mission as Nina.

"Your handler will be Nina, who is also a Heartrender. You must do well, after all, with your skills, you could climb the ranks quicker than any other before you."

'Yeah, yeah, you know that we have a high chance of dying on this mission.'

Anyways, I just nodded, before watching as Zoya nodded back before moving on to the next person.

As for me, I briskly turned around and walked to my quarters, which was just a tent that I would share with the rest of my team on this mission.

And, well, due to the fact that Nina was kind of notorious, it seemed like it was only going to be Nina and I staying in this tent.

"Hello, I'm your handler, Nina, and you must be Akuma, nice to meet you." Said Nina diplomatically, extending a hand to me.

"It's nice to meet you too." I replied, softly smiling to reciprocate an act of kindness.

"Are you new, or did you get assigned to me on purpose?" Asked Nina.

"I'm new, I've only been here for 4 months. Why? Is there something to worry about?"

"Oh, it's just that I don't have the best reputation." She said, looking dejected.

"What? It's your job as a spy to do whatever it takes to get information, I don't care about the methods you use."

"..."

"...Thanks."

"In return, don't question mine." I finally stated, ending the conversation in an ominous tone as she looked at me warily, not liking the hidden meanings that I had conveyed there at the end.

Anyways, we quickly finished packing our stuff and spent our last night in Ravka in this tent, just trying to fall asleep in this uncomfortable, awkward silence.

...

"I'll have some whiskey please." I shouted, drawing the attention of the bartender, as I listened to the conversations around us.

"You really are the up and coming prodigy. How are you speaking so fluently with only 4 months of practice?"

"Practice." I replied, stopping her dead cold in her tracks.

After all, she was used to men flocking to her due to her figure and flirtatious aura, but she had quickly learned that I was unaffected by it.

Anyways, as a cup of cheap whiskey was put before me, I downed it all in one gulp before turning over to see a surprised expression on Nina's face.

"What? I like the taste."

Her jaw hit the floor as she heard this.

After all, I had already drunken about 24 shots of whiskey, and it was a literal world wonder that I hadn't fallen to the ground dead yet.

And I really did like the taste of whiskey, the flavor and strong bite at the end was just perfect for me, a demon.

"Wanna compete?" I asked her, showing my first bit of emotion to her in the form of mischief.

"You think I'm that dumb to?" She retorted.

"I've already drunken 24 shots, I'm bound to fall in just a little while."

"Yeah right, you're probably just using your powers right?"

"Nah, it's just my body's natural resistance. I mean, you've been studying my hands this whole time, and did they move even once in a weird manner?"

"No..."

"So let's do it, last person standing gets a favor from the other."

"..."

She spent some time to think about it, but in the end, I had already controlled the situation and had manifested the ending.

"I'll do it."

And that was how our drinking contest began.