CH 12 - Awakening

Henry

Henry knew now without a doubt that an attack was coming. When they had led the guests to their carriages, he had noticed a distinct lack of any security. Death's Hand was here.

Their leader had started suppressing his aura the night before, and so Henry had no way of tracking him. It didn't matter now, though, since the assassins had clearly already taken care of their defenses. He told Gauss and Bartleby to take points. Gauss was to defend Dainn as he recovered downstairs in Bartleby's room. Bartleby was put to guard the hallway to Emilia and Hannah's rooms.

Meanwhile, he ordered all his servants to stay in their quarters downstairs, and asked Eifa to head back into the city for the night.

He took Sila upstairs swiftly, wishing his daughters a good night. He had to admit, he was nervous. But as he explained to his wife the dangers inbound, he summoned a bow of pure light and was all too ready to use it.

Death's Hand was about to face a pro, and one that had been insulted, his family threatened. He would torture the leader, and figure out who put the hit out. He would find that person and make him suffer a hundred deaths. He may be a Chosen Gold mage, but he did have plenty of experience in White magic as well. It was useful for when torture sessions took a wrong turn.

He was about to make everyone who trespassed here tonight suffer…

Dainn

I was lost in a void. I couldn't tell if it was a dream, or if I was under some sort of spell, but it didn't matter. What mattered was that I wasn't alone in this void.

Before me stood a massive horde of standing corpses. So many, all in neat columns and rows, that they stretched out farther than I could even see. I recognized some of the faces. Faces of people I had stalked in my old life. Including the one man out of the ordered legion.

The pedophile that I had killed. The victim that killed me. He was covered in the wounds I had inflicted. I smiled, until I realized I wasn't Dainn anymore, but was Michael Price once again.

"Wait, is this… No, it can't be… Take me back… TAKE ME BACK!"

These corpses, I knew without a doubt what they were. My victims. All the people I would have killed, if not for… that gun. Where did it come from?

But wait, I knew I shouldn't revel in this. I shouldn't be proud. And still…

I felt robbed. Seeing how many would have met their ends by my hands, and didn't… It was horrid to think about. A real crime.

"Stop it! I'm not that man! I have a second chance! DON'T TAKE IT FROM ME!"

I squeezed my eyes shut, grabbed my long, greasy hair.

It was neither of those things. It was clean, soft, and well groomed. I looked at myself again, and I was Dainn once more. I looked ahead, and saw the legion still there, but this time, I felt that familiar calling again.

I reached out, figuratively and literally, and felt something deep within my mana. Past the eight schools, I saw something.

Something great.

Something dark.

Something b-

I jolted awake, feeling death all around me. It was intoxicating, sickeningly sweet and alluring. It was close.

My mind went immediately to Emilia. I tried to sit up, and my vision blurred.

A tingle, and I dropped to the bed I was lying on. Where was I? I saw the magic I sensed as a bolt of white light passed an inch from my jugular.

"Damn. The kid has reflexes, that's for sure." The voice was cold, yet dripping with remorse. I didn't recognize it.

"You scum. Redirecting a spell to try and kill a child! You will die here and now!" Gauss. I recognized that pompous frat boy voice anywhere. I tried again to stand, but my mana was so drained, and yet I could feel something agitating it. It was physically harming me.

"I don't deserve that much credit. It was an accident that I almost killed him. I was told to take him alive, after all. You, on the other hand?"

I heard the whistle of steel flying through space, and decided I couldn't just sit around. I reached out, trying to find something to help myself up.

Mana surged and I saw the light in the room flare six times in rapid order. I heard steel move in response. No sounds of pain.

I felt my hand close around something, and so I gripped it hard and stood. I was feeling stronger all of a sudden, and could even feel my mana restoring itself.

Then I heard the small sounds of a man having a heart attack. It was odd to say, but without a doubt, that's what I was hearing. I looked over, and saw one of the adventurers Lord Henry hired clutching his chest. He was staring at me, and I watched in morbid fascination as his scleras turned from white, to red. Blood started flowing out of every facial orifice.

He fell to his knees. He looked at me in horror, and I felt my mana die down. Had I just cast a spell? I had no mana, though. At least, I didn't,

I was about half full now, and more than that, I was feeling great. Like I just had a full body massage. I was elated. Until I heard a scream, distant and coming from…

"Upstairs?" That's right, I recognized the room now. I was in Bartleby's room, on his bed. I stood, and finally noticed Gauss looking at me with wariness. He was refusing to come closer, his eyes wide and sweat forming on his temples. "What? We are under attack, are we not?"

He nodded, though still refused, or rather couldn't, speak. He did open his mouth, but no words came.

"Then let's go! Emi- I mean, the family is in danger!"

I started running, but despite my logic and charisma, he didn't move. In fact, the only thing that moved was his eyes, which grew wider and tracked me as I passed him. The sweat increased as well. He was truly horrified. What spell had I cast in my fugue state?

As I ran upstairs, I felt something was off. I was wary of getting ambushed, so I slowed at the first floor and took a moment to reach out. My sixth sense was muted, and I knew that shouldn't be the case. My mana sensed nothing, no spells being prepared near me, but there was magic happening upstairs, likely Lord Hera.

There was something else I could feel though, though never before have I tried it. In fact, I only just learned this was a thing today and didn't know if I could even use it manually.

But I had to try. In my head, I tried to hear the heartbeats. I listened closely, and though it took a minute or so, I finally heard it. Ba-dut, ba-dut, ba-dut.

I reached out to them, and suddenly it became clear to me.

I sidestepped the assassin's dagger as it went for my spine to paralyze me. I spun, and grabbed his wrist. He was a fully grown man and I was a child, so I knew to waste no time summoning a spike of earth to pierce his arm before he could pull it away. He screamed in agony, and I shut him up by delivering a sustained shotgun blast of blue flames directly to his gut. A painful death, and one too merciful for him.

The man's heartbeat stopped inside my mind, and I finally got to see what it was. That calling that kept reaching out to me.

It was a corpse. I was feeling corpses calling out to me, begging me to… what? I could see black smoke rising off the assassin before me, and I started to reach out, when I heard Hannah scream.

I cursed myself, and took off. Now was not the time to indulge morbid fascinations. That was my old life, this was my second chance. I could save them! I could be a hero and not a monster!

I ran up the stairs, following as they split and then wrapped around to meet at the second floor. I stopped when I saw another assassin, recognizing him by the black bandana and the skeletal hand clutching his face. He was dead already, black smoke coming off the body and the skin was a disgusting color mixed of grey, green, and violet around several slash wounds. Side effects of Silver magic, the shadows twisted and ate away at him until he died.

I moved on. There were three directions to go. To the left were the doorways to the daughters room, to the right my room, and straight ahead the large circular master bedroom. I turned left. I had heard Hannah's scream, but my instincts told me to go to Emilia. I swore, and went to Emilia's room. I had to.

I tried the door, found it locked, and used Silver magic to go under it, slipping in and out of the void. I saw the room empty, dishevelled, and only one butler and assassin to speak of. I ran over to Bartleby, checking his pulse, but I knew already.

I could see black smoke rising off of Bartleby's corpse, calling to me. The assassin was the same way, and I guessed they killed each other.

Where were the girls? Their bedrooms were connected by the bathroom they shared, so I took off and began kicking open the doors until I reached Hannah's room. I was done trying to hide. I was pissed.

I froze in shock and disgust. Erick was there on Hannah's bed, trying to rip off Emilia's pajama top, her sister lying unconscious and bleeding on the floor next to the bed.

Erick turned and saw me, but didn't stop fighting with Emilia to take off her shirt. "Oh, Dainn, just in time. I wanted you to see as I-"

He shut up. He stopped moving. He went wide eyed and he looked slowly down at his chest.

"Wha… wh… how…" he looked in shock at the small hole that was going through his torso, right where his heart was.

I called it stone bullet. I had refused to talk to him the moment I saw him stoop to something so vile. The moment I saw him doing that, I channeled the smallest amount of mana to create a bullet shaped piece of stone, and then I simply shot it. It was simple enough to add speed, velocity, and just enough force to pierce his heart without him sensing it. He had died before he even realized.

With that, my first opponent in this world became my third kill. Third kill. I have killed three times tonight.

But I'm a hero, right? Yeah, it's a different world. Killing is key to survival here. But I… I could have easily restrained them, too.

"Dainn!" Emilia cried, and I looked over. She was clutching her shirt closed, even though Erick had failed to get more than two buttons undone, and looking worriedly down at her sister. There was no smoke yet. I could save her.

I rushed over, casting a Master level White spell. The blood stopped as whatever wound closed. "She'll be fine, she just needs to rest." I used travel void to send her downstairs with Gauss, so he could at least make himself a little useful.

"Emilia. I'm going to send you-" I started, but she cut me off.

"No!" She hopped off the bed, ran back to hers, and came back with tears in her eyes, but a determined and stubborn gave. She had her new bow and a quiver with eight arrows. "Daddy is in danger! If you're going, then I am too!"

I looked at her, and nodded. I wasn't going to argue. It was still her birthday, after all. "Okay, then. Let's go!"