Volume 1: Chapter 1 - Part 3
Author: Geraint
"Wait--"
The young man immediately felt threatened just before I summoned out my sword and pointed it on his neck. He closed his eyes, letting go of the writing pad and raised his hands.
"Why are you following us?" I frowned and asked him.
"You can speak Japanese?"
"Just answer me! Or your head will roll on the floor." I moved closer the tip of my sword on his neck.
"That's I want to ask you! What are you two doing in my clinic?! You are the one from last night, right? Also that girl lying down on the bed."
"My companion is sick and I needed to bring her here so they can cure her."
"I'm the doctor here. I just came here to check all the patients and see their condition."
"Then why are you after us last night?" I threatened him with my blade even more.
"I was just called by a friend to check on the condition of her daughter which is getting worse! This friend of mine used to work as a shrine priestess and she was asked to deal the evil spirits lurking at the nearby forest and I was just dragged by her! What we found was the two of you which what happened last night!"
"I see... In other words, you guys came to eliminate us."
"That was just misunderstanding! We won't do that since you two are not evil spirits! We tried to communicate but we don't understand your language!" His long explanation made him sweat profusely.
Understanding the situation, I retracted my sword from his neck and made it disappear.
"Okay, so it was just a misunderstanding."
The young man fell on his butt to the floor and he sighed in relief.
"Those supernatural abilities. Are you two really humans?" he asked, lifting himself then he stood up.
"We're only half-humans."
"Huh? What's the other half?"
"Demons." I smiled conceitedly at him which made his face pale.
"If you know how to speak Japanese. Why didn't you try to talk it out with us yesterday?"
"I just learned it this morning thanks to the girl who we met on the road here."
"Seriously? You learned it in just a day and you're already this proficient?"
"I'm still not that good because my vocabulary is quite limited."
"Okay."
The young doctor was performing a physical examination on Lilith, checking her heartbeat as he explained to me and he used some kind of device to check her body temperature which made me interested.
"She got her fever from fatigue and she'll be fine after some rest. Is she even eating properly?"
I felt guilty because I wasn't able feed her anything nutritious. I failed to take care of her.
"I'm sorry, Lilith. I'm no good master." I gently held her hand while she was sleeping peacefully.
*Ring!* *Ring!*
Suddenly, something ringing on the doctor's pocket and he took out a small artifact and put it closer to his ears.
"Hello? Himiko? What's wrong? I just came back here in the clinic."
It looks like he was speaking with someone in that small artifact.
"What?!" he looks shock and became nervous.
"That's out of my profession. I can't help. A doctor can't cure her condition. It's something out of this world that normal person like me can't explain." I can see hopelessness in his expression.
"I know... it's a curse that passed down in the generations of your family. One's afflicted by that curse, something emerges at the back of the victim every night and it absorbs the vitality of the victim until the he or she dies. None from your family generations has survived that curse even those who tried to escape outside the country... It's painful to see your own child suffering like that but we already done everything to save her. All we can do is to end her suffering--Huh?" he put down his artifact then he sighed.
"I'm sorry, Himiko..."
When the young doctor was about to leave, he stopped for a moment then he glanced to me.
"Hey, kid."
"Don't call me kid. My name is Seir."
"Then Seir, do you know anything about curses?"
"If your talking about curses here in this world, I don't know... We came from another world after all."
"What?! Really?"
I just nodded at him.
"We'll talk about that later. Then you have ideas about curses. I just want you to help someone and she currently suffering because of that curse. We already kind of desperate now and my friend's daughter might die tonight. Please! I will give you anything you want if things goes well!"
"Anything?"
"Yes, anything in my power."
Thinking of something I can take from him, my eyes stopped on Lilith and noticed that how she looked weakened and became a bit skinny then I felt guilty of my greediness.
"Then, food and shelter. As long as you promise to provide us those things until we returned back to our home world, I will be willing to help."
"Okay, deal." the young doctor smiled.
We left the clinic in hurry then I followed him and entered his car. While bypassing the road at a high-speed, the young doctor was so focused in driving that he wasn't speaking to me.
When we arrived at the location which was an old looking house, the young doctor quickly pulled me to the house and we entered together inside.
"Hurry!"
Just I stepped inside the house, I felt a strange aura which reminds me of that place from my home world.
"Evil spirit begone! Evil spirit begone! Please get off my daughter! I'm begging you!" I can hear the cry of the woman until we arrived on a room which was very dark and gives a kind of eerie atmosphere.
"Himiko?"
"Shun-kun... Please help me."
"Wait a second. I'll just light the candles."
The small flames illuminated the room, revealing a crying woman when I saw a young girl lying down flat on a soft blanket in front of her. In the young girl's is exposed back was humongous lump, swelling and it has disfigured face of a smiling demon.
"Mama, I can't..."
The young girl was getting weakened and slowly losing her consciousness.
"Ayaka, don't give up! Your Mama will do something to save you!"
The woman held the face of her young daughter as tears keep dripping down from her cheek and the same with her daughter.
"Mama, I made a friend yesterday and he was really amazing."
"Please don't give up! We'll go meet him tomorrow!"
"I was really happy that I made my first friend."
"Ayaka, don't!"
I now remembered the little girl and she was the one I met up crying for being lost in the forest.
"Seir, that's the curse I'm talking about. Can you do something about it?" the young doctor requested.
"I'll try, but I already have the suspicions that the creature in her back came from my home world." I stretched my arms and fingers.
"Eh?"
"It can already speak a language means it already been around here in this world for a long time. That thing is more like a parasite than a curse."
"Then how will we take off that thing?"
"Easy. We'll just peel it off. It's only active and comes out at night to suck the vitality of its victim and that's the only time we can take it off."
I heard their conversation about meeting me but I have to interrupt them since I'm not available tomorrow because I have to take care of Lilith.
"Uhmm... Escuse me?" I approached them.
The two of them looked at me and their eyes widened in surprise.
"Sorry but I'm busy tomorrow so I can't meet with the two of you."
"You! You're from that last night!" The woman pointed to me while she was trembling.
"Huh? That voice..."
The young doctor went to the grab the woman from behind then he dragged her away.
"Shun, what are you doing? Let go of me!"
"Just leave her to him."
I squatted in front of the young girl and stared down at her with smile.
"Yoh, Shiina."
"Huh?"
"Can you recognize me?"
"Seir-kun?"
"Yup! It would be painful for a moment so endure it. Don't worry, you'll feel better later."
I held the young girl in the nape, infusing her body with my magic power while I grabbed the humongous lump with my other hand then I slowly peeled it off from her back.
"Ugh... mmmh! It hurts, Seir-kun!"
"Just little more."
The lump was wiggling around just an insect and it started to speak.
*Wait! You'll kill this little girl if you take me off! Let go of me immediately before I curse you too!"
"Shut up! You're nothing but a parasite jumping off to another host after killing your last victim."
*How? How did you found out?! Just who the hell are you!?*
I finally peeled off the lump from the young girl's back then healed her injury with my magic power. She's now feel comfortable and quickly fall asleep due to tiredness.
"Ayaka!"
The woman and the young doctor immediately went to check on her and the woman embraced her daughter. She was happy that her daughter is safe and alive.
*Please don't--*
The lump squirming in my grip got swallowed in flames that I conjured and it immediately turned to ashes and disappeared.
"Don't forget the promise! Free shelter and food."
"I'm sorry but I won't be the one who will fulfill that promise."
When I was about to leave the room, the young doctor said that and I turned towards him.
"What?"
The young doctor pointed at the woman beside him who looks clueless.
"Her."
(To be continued.)