Karmen's heart raced as her lover's once-familiar features contorted into something grotesque.
His eyes, once warm and full of love, now glowed with an eerie, malevolent light.
A low guttural exhale escaped his twisted lips, sending shivers down her spine.
Paralyzed with fear, Karmen's mind struggled to comprehend the nightmarish transformation before her.
Her world shattered in an instant, replaced by a suffocating sense of dread that seemed to consume every ounce of her being.
Immense tears streamed down her face, her body trembling, as Karmen wept uncontrollably, her heart gripped by an overwhelming mixture of horror and despair.
Karmen was cold with fear. She covered her gaping mouth with her hands to muffle her cry, not wanting to risk her voice being heard and ending up being killed by Cream and James.
The James she knew was gone. The person... or rather the creature that appeared in his stead was in all ramifications something she could describe with one word...
A monster.
...
...
...
James' body morphed and broadened. It grew so much that he had to lower his head to not burst through the ceiling.
A towering grotesque being with dark purple armour that exuded an eerie black aura around him, for a body.
Even the breaths the demon took were grunts that echoed menacingly and warmed the room with their heat.
The creature's eyes shone white and a black horn that ousted an eerie black mist around it projected outwards, right from the middle of the demon's forehead.
Cream Pye clicked her tongue as she ambled towards the creature. She kissed her finger and slowly moved it over Notsack's face.
"Oh, my dear Notsack. My prettiest little demon, Notsack. My handsome child...
"You have been loyal and resourceful for the longest time," she praised the demon.
Notsack lowered his head even more in a reverent bow of gratitude.
"I am glad the Enchantress thinks me worthy of her praiseful words," he replied, his voice so deep it send a shiver down Karmen's spine.
Karmen stayed quiet in a corner, glued against the wall from the overwhelming fear. She did not know which was the best thing to do — to run away from such overbearing magical pressures or to stay quiet and hope she doesn't get killed.
The first option was impossible. How fast could she run in such a restricted space?
The second option was looking highly unlike too.
Her heart dropped into her belly every time they glanced her way. Beads of sweat came off her face like a wet sponge.
She kept gulping and saliva and chewing on the duvet without any idea of what to do.
...
...
...
Cream elegantly circled around Notsack in measured steps, caressing his armour face and his black horn with her finger and talking in a low arousing tone to him.
"There is someone I need you to find," she said, "... request of the Count."
Notsack muttered inaudible words and Cream smiled, understanding immediately what the demon was trying to say.
"I know, my child. I know you hate taking jobs for the Count but we need him for the resources he provides and until he stops doing that, tsk... we'll—
"No. You will have to keep doing his dirty work for him."
Notsack groaned, not liking the idea even though it was the truth.
"Who is this person that the Enchantress wishes for me to find?"
"He calls himself White. No face. No mana particle remnants, not even one."
Notsack slightly raised his head. "But that's impossible. Complete suppression of mana is impossible."
"It's not impossible but it requires the highest level of magic and even with that, a sorceress like myself can easily extract the tiniest of mana particles hovering in the atmosphere.
"In this case, it was not suppression. This man called White completely erased his mana particles... it was like he was never there.
Notsack's eyes broadened in disbelief. "That's even more impossible."
Cream continued. "Unfortunately, The guard didn't know much about him either, so it's going to be a bit difficult."
She stopped in front of him and crouched, her breasts bouncing before the demon's eyes. Cream shifted the bang of her blonde hair to the side and drew her face closer to the demon as if wanting to kiss him.
With a low moan for a voice, she said, "But I trust you to bring me good news... as always, Notsack."
Her hand slithered down towards his crotch as she grabbed his testes. The pair of balls were big, each one being larger than an orange.
"O-Ow," Notsack let out softly but the nature of his demonic voice failed the expression he wished to pass across.
Cream Pye fiddled with his balls and the shaft of his tarse, showering it with tender care and slow gentle massage before stopping abruptly.
"That should do," she said, standing on her feet, "Find this White, Notsack and bring him to us alive. We cannot have anyone tampering with the Ritual when that time comes."
"As you wish, my Enchantress."
...
...
...
Cream turned to Karmen who was trembling with fear. The witch apprentice had unwillingly peed on herself having given in to the pressure of her fear.
"And what about her," Cream Pye asked.
Notsack raised his head and glanced in Karmen's direction.
"I will get rid of her."
Cream shook her head and walked up to Karmen.
"No. You won't do that. We don't want to attract undue attention to ourselves."
The Enchantress lifted Karmen's face by her chin with her face so close she could feel the scholar's ragged breaths on her face.
"P-Please... don't ki-kill me. I beg... I beg you."
Cream moved her face even closer, looking deep into her eyes and peering into her soul.
"Tsk, no one is going to kill you, my dear. However, we don't want you remembering what you've seen here."
They locked eyes and the Enchantress' black eyes started to turn crimson as the very same black mist that swirled around Notsack's horn began to ooze from her body like steam.
...
...
...
Room 133, Zenith Dorm For Warlocks — Dickens Nuttinson's room.
I jolted awake from my slumber. My senses had picked up strange aura — an unsettling shift in the atmosphere of the academy.
I could perceive a presence... no, two that prickled my skin with unease.
"What an awful aura."
The foul and ominous aura I perceived overlaid the less noticeable second aura with a sweet fragrance to my senses.
"Was this a nightmare, a product of my overactive imagination?" I questioned myself.
No, the sensation was too palpable, too real.
I forced myself out of bed, my feet making contact with the cold floor. The gnawing instinct couldn't be ignored.
Just as I reached for the light switch in my room, the aura vanished — both presences disappeared.
"I see. They've disappeared."
I glanced at my ceiling for a moment before returning to my bed and going back to sleep.
The first day of my second year was quite eventful and luckily for me, I made it in time with accomplishing my daily quest.
At least, I get to sleep soundly this night and not fight dragons or some other monsters in other realms as punishment.
"Phew!"
See you soon. "Good night."