The Bookstore Mage

With the Council's sudden visit, Lucien's concern turned out to be unwarranted. They ended up taking the old Vampire off his hands and did not overstay their welcome. This made Lucien have a somewhat of a not-bad impression of them.

Now that he remained alone, Lucien made his way upstairs and changed into some comfortable sports clothes. He did not forget the jacket, since it was still cold out in February.

Moon followed behind him through it all, and when it was time to leave, she effortlessly jumped on his shoulders and nestled there. Her presence caused Lucien's lips to curl upwards as he locked the bookstore and left for a walk.

The sun set in the sky in fresh colors of orange-gold, and red, stretching far and wide. Lucien's steps halted as he raised his head to admire the view. His heart turned melancholic as memories of his grandpa flashed through his mind.

He had thrown himself into studying magic to cope with the loss, and to some extent, it worked. Yet it was still hard waking up to an empty house, a house that lacked his presence.

A heavy sigh escaped his lips as Lucien pulled the jacket closer to his neck. He then began to walk with no certain destination in mind. He needed to clear his head. Had this been in the past weeks, Lucien would have used the old magic book to escape the pain, yet after what happened with the Vampire, he was unsure.

A part of him was afraid. Lucien was afraid that if he continued down this line, he would end up losing himself. He would end up losing that which made him human. Was that something he was ready for?

Shaking his head, Lucien's steps subconsciously brought him before a 7/11. He walked inside causing the bells to jingle. An average-looking young girl greeted him with a cheerful attitude:

"Welcome!"

Lucien simply nodded with a forced smile and moved to grab an energy drink. He could feel the young clerk's gaze on him, or more specifically on Moon who was seated on his shoulders.

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Lucien then moved to check out, the young clerk was unable to hold herself back as she spoke:

"That's cute kitty! Can I pet her, please?"

"Sure," Answered Lucien, he then came closer to the young clerk who hesitantly reached out to pet Moon.

Through the bond between them, Lucien was able to tell that the cat was displeased by this interaction, so after a few pets, and an angry Moon, Lucien excused himself and paid for the drink before he took his leave.

Once he stepped out of the store, a series of fast paw attacks assaulted his head.

"Ouch, okay, okay! I'm sorry! I should have asked you for permission." He said and grabbed the troublemaker in his arms.

Moon still in her bad mood jumped off and began to walk by herself. This caused Lucien's lips to stretch upwards, as it made him feel like he was raising a child.

"Come on Moon, I'll make you the chicken breasts you like to eat."

This made her halt her steps, she slowly turned to look at him, almost as if to make sure he was not lying before she jumped on his shoulders once again.

After aimlessly walking for a while, Lucien was ready to head back home, when a strange disturbance in mana caught his attention. The glowing mana particles in a certain alley were hectic, causing him to pause.

His rational part thought it would be best to ignore it and just go back home, sadly his curiosity seemed to overwhelm his sense of judgment. Carefully, Lucien crossed the street and made his way toward the dark alley.

The sky had long since turned dark. The lights of the city made it impossible to see any stars in the sky. Yet in this particular alley, the light seemed to be absent.

'Ah, why the f*ck am I coming here for? This is like the plot of every horror movie that ever existed!' Lucien inwardly berated himself. His curiosity, however, was too strong.

Moon who was resting on his shoulder jumped off and bared her teeth at something. Lucien's eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the dark alley. His ears perked as he caught the sound of an animal growling from behind the dumpster.

Moon was on the verge of jumping out and attacking whatever was there. Lucien on other hand tried not to be rash. He attempted to calm her down through their bond but was still nonetheless prepared for anything that might happen.

Red piercing eyes that seemed to shine in the darkness greeted him. Lucien's mouth opened in shock at the creature that appeared from behind the dumpster.

It was a head... A female head floating in the air with dangling organs. The head had blood splattered all over its mouth. The smell suddenly assaulted Lucien as he took a step back, that was when his eye caught sight of a horrifying scene, a man was collapsed on the ground, his eyes open wide in shock and terror.

The man's chest was split open, and his organs were spilling out. The scene caused Lucien to take another step back, he staggered, nauseous, and clutched his stomach struggling to keep himself steady.

The floating head of terror made its move then, as it launched itself towards him. Before Lucien could do anything, Moon jumped out and slapped it away with a force far beyond her little frame.

Lucien had no time to consider what just happened, he instantly used Imer to hold the floating head in place. To his surprise, however, Imer was only able to make it a pause for a second before it launched itself toward him again with a silent cry.

Lucien took another step back, his mind panicked as the red eyes locked on his. Just as the head was about to reach him, Moon stepped forward again for the save. This time, she decisively latched onto it and refused to let go.

The head slammed into the alley wall, sending both of them crashing to the ground. This brought Lucien out of his trance as he saw Moon collapse on the ground.

"You mother f*cker!" He cursed and willed the mana inside his body along with the one in his surroundings before he died snapped his fingers, using Tajajiht.

A fireball suddenly appeared and shot towards the head that was struggling to fly away.

The second the fireball made contact, both it, and the head exploded with a bang forcing Lucien to cover his eyes. After a few seconds, he hastily scanned his surroundings, finding no signs of the monster before he rushed toward Moon and used Tadawsa.