Chapter 1 – Caught in the Damned Ritual
In lonely high hills, there is a big villa with old construction. It seems the owner abandoned it ten years ago, after keep finding abnormal phenomenon lingering around villa. Right now, this old styled villa being keep by their butler that secretly send here by evil believer.
In these days, where Planet Earth having its own space elevator and a bunch of space fleet. Such an Evil Believer was regarded as Heretics that rarely seen in Capital City.
But, on such creepy place. Mori Ren found himself naked and sleeping in high platform inside old villa, surrounded by corpses of evil believer. It could be seen that he was used as a living sacrifice for their rituals.
"What happened here?"
Let me recount the course of all these event...
Tonight, I just celebrating my adulthood on 20th birthday with my friends. Then, we go for all night before looking for karaoke in the middle of night.
If I am not wrong, on the way there someone acknowledged himself as Taoist Priest coming to us, while confessing he had a Yin-Yang Mirror from Tsuki-Amaterasu Shrine.
On one look everyone could find the so called Taoist Priest was a fraud selling fake goods.
Hey, even if I don't have any knowledge about the goddess of takamagahara, at least you need to convince me with your traditional costume. If you dressed yourself like an onmyoji, I might somehow believe you when you sold Goddess Amaterasu goods. You dressed yourself as Taoist, but selling Goddess of Takamagahara? You are insulting my intelligence, Old Taoist!
Wait, is it... I, I somehow bought that Yin-Yang Mirror of Tsuki-Amaterasu?
Why did they let me bought it? Shiet, those damned guys!
Forget it. Let me continue... there is nothing abnormal afterward. We just part ways after finished from KTV.
His eyebrows knitted together as a painful memories resurfaced.
Not only my intelligence getting insulted, my brain also kicked by a donkey... To think I would regard that Old Taoist's word as it is...
Think again now... Looks like, that old Taoist secretly held some grudge against country's goddess. He said all the way about how the mirror was created by Amaterasu and Tsukiyomi before they part their ways like the myth tales. Or It was the only artifact that could contact two goddess at once. But to think he would say the way for mortal contacting them is anything but 'holywater' of virgin boy!
Hey, blame myself for taking a relieve recklessly while holding it. I am not soiling anything, I stopped at the right time. Nevertheless, a few drop of 'holy water' dropped there by mistake.
Of course, there is no way the two goddess would be contacted by me. It was one way punishment and retribution.
After I cleaned the mirror. That cliché Isekai Transporter (truck-kun) recklessly drag me all the way here. I believe, even that mirror aren't two goddess artifact, they still punish me harshly for spoiling it...
Finished recounting what he went through about in a few seconds, he scanned all around with his eyes. Fixed, there is only a bunch of corpses and nothing more...
"Eh? Isn't this that mirror?"
His eyes caught a sparkling mirror with black and white yin-yang shadow.
"It really got Isekai-ed with me? How marvel!"
Then this should be his transmigration gadget, the golden finger or so he thought. As he take the round mirror with left hand, looking at his young looking face. Ren sighing as he clearly know, he returned into a shota body.
Well, it seems this is not his own body. He trying to trace his face with right hand when he saw a bloody hand with a scab on wrist.
Ugh... Did I slice my hand? No, no. It shouldn't be...
When he look at the knife and many ritual props, he knew the reason right away.
They let him bleed as it was the necessary for their evil ritual. These evil believer, they might thought that a sacrificial lamb need to be tortured so it souls would be more delicious for evil god. Isn't it like what he read on horror novel, that soul with so much resentment was the most delicious or so they say.
Huh~ Let it be... They should've been dead. This place is too eerie, I need to go back home... um home?
He just trying to stand, but dizziness struck his head.
Ren lost his footing and fell down beside altar platform. He unconsciously hug the round mirror with two hands fearing it would crack from the collision with the floor.
Bam!
The blood on his right hand flowed at the mirror as if it subconsciously absorbing the left over within his hand. When there is no trace of blood anymore, the round mirror light up in black and white. Ren who still 'enjoying' the pain and dizziness on the floor didn't know a thing about all of this.
Just like that, the black and white light illuminating the whole room. Ren got another wave of dizziness striking on his head, this time it was on big wave of memories.
"AHK!!!"
There is a scene where "he" live in a big mansion with dozen maid and butler. Or a scene about "him" bullying "cousin" from time to time. Many more scene about "his" pretentious daily life without knowing any obvious malice around "him".
It ended with the fanatical face of "his" elder cousin who "he" thought could be bullied as he like.
The despair, fear, anxiety and many other negative emotion flooded his head. If it was a normal kid he would be mentally handicapped already.
Who would know, the easy to be bullied cousin of "his" would turn into fanatic evil believer?
Um?
There is a shadow behind the elder cousin, it showing a cold and indifferent stare at "him" who tied up and being carried away.
Who the heck He is?
Only when the scene was about to show the ritual process, everything got distorted then only blackened layer without any sound was shown to him.
At this time, two shadow of black and white collided each other above him. In the fraction before he opened his eyes, the two shadow separated and went each way. The black one stuck on his glabella leaving a black magatama shaped mark, the white one stuck on his heart also leaving a flame like white magatama shaped mark.
The two mark only visible for a second as it gradually transparent and disappearing.
Ren open his eyes as he sat down, his face showing a complicated expression.
From that memories, he know a few thing about this body of his.
Firstly, the original owner of the body name was Alfred Pendragon. The main heir of Pendragon Family, one of twelve family who managed to retain the knighthood in the Federation era.
Secondly, albeit such high standing in the Federation, Pendragon always maintain a humble attitude toward civilians. This with the exception of Alfred Pendragon, who was the only main heir of this generation. As he always being pampered by his parents, he thought everything beneath him.
Thirdly, Alfred Pendragon who was about to reach twelve year old would be crowned as legal heir of Pendragon family, was a hindrance for some political enemy of Pendragon. They choose the 'easy to be bullied' cousin of Alfred as a sacrificial pawn to erase him. While at the same time make some scandal about Pendragon family who connected to evil believer.
Lastly, The scheme against Pendragon family seems to be proofless either way he died or not when he found by Federation Agent. When he died, then there is heirless family. If not, then there is a suspicious family who might be related with fanatic evil believer.
He murmured, "Not only, there is spy among family. The scandal it self already unerasable stain on family banner."
Sigh~
"Why did you need to bullied that worthless guy... Where in the world there is a big healthy eighteen-years-old young man would be bullied by a little boy barely twelve years old. From the look of it, they also count this case as a part of family scandal to be exposed right. Their scheme was so deep within family."
Ren shown a melancholy on his complicated face, it make him looks older and mature compared his new body.
Why did he need to be caught up in this damned ritual?
He had no choice but to wait for the rescue team to barge in. The only way to clean yourself from suspicion was to act like the victim would be in the same situation.
His complicated matured looks drawn back as the blank and dullness covered his eyes.
Ren completely forgotten about round mirror that brought him to this world.
Then, less than five minutes. Like what Ren deducted from the course of event, a group of people in black uniform really barge in the old villa. It could be seen from their moves, that these guys were professional in this field.
They must be Federation agent, thought he didn't know what department they were actually. He knew these people are professional agent that dealing with this kind of case. The supernatural case that involve evil believer.
Dang!
One of the officer smash the door.
"Clear!"
"Wait... There is someone in front of altar platform." continue him on speaker line.
"Target found! Target found!"
"Repeat again. Target found!"
"There is a trace of abnormal energy. Also, it seems all Evil Believer already turned into bloody corpses..."
Around five officer run toward the rituals room.
They ignoring the horrifying corpses of evil believer as they used to it. But...
"Is he okay?" ask the woman officer with a hint of worry.
"I don't know. Let me check him up."
The kid in front of them only twelve today. Such a kid to encounter this kind of terrifying event. What an unfortunate life he would live from now on?
It was known among these colleague agents when you encounter this kind of case. The chance of survival would be close to zero. While ninety percent of the survivor would be deemed to be mental with severe trauma. As for the rest, they would awaken some kind of divergent ability. Its means their live would be worse than the poorest civilians as they would be send to unknown region in the vast and dark universe from time to time.
Such a fate, no one really want it, beside some exceptional madman.
The kid subconsciously turned his head as if reacted at the sound of their conversation.
At this time the Federation agents felt their heart being gripped hard as they look at the dull and soulless eyes from the kid. Its not they never seen them, but it was rare to see survivor from young age like him. It somehow hurt their consciences as they could not come faster and save him on time.
The caring woman officer took off her coat, then cover him up with it, before lightly hugging him.
"Its okay. Everything would be okay. We save you, Alfred..."
Three of them left there to clean the scene, one left the old villa to report in the nearby bureau, while the remaining two woman officer bring Alfred to the Hospital.
On the way, the woman officer keep whispering at his ears while hugging him. "Its okay, Alfred. Don't worry... Its okay."