Creating a cursed spirit was akin to composing a song with melodies that emerged from the Nine Hells of Satan.
Asterion moved his hands as if playing a dark and malevolent melody, cold and malicious musical notes, while manipulating his fingers in the dark and mysterious ripples of negative magical energy. Relentlessly, he forced his intentions and desires into the core of the cursed spirit's being, shaping its personality and consciousness. This was crucial for a cursed spirit to evolve smoothly in the future.
In this cursed spirit, he specifically infused his desires and yearnings to control the weather, storms, and soar freely in the sky. He was crafting a powerful melody that seemed to resonate with the boundless power of the heavens, a ruler cold, arrogant, and relentless, almost a god in the truest sense of the word. However, instead of a deity revered in the annals of human history, what he was creating was something dirty and unholy – a Demon King.
While Asterion was fully immersed in creating his second masterpiece, the lurking being deemed it an opportune time to reveal itself. It walked on the ceiling with four legs sporting extremely long claws. Its skin was wrinkled and green, its face covered by dirty, black, and unkempt hair. The visage resembled that of a horse's long snout, and its sickly yellow eyes were fixed on the figure standing in the center of the dining hall.
It was a cursed spirit!
An insatiable greed and a sadistic, arrogant gaze reflected in its yellow pupils. The cursed spirit advanced, walking on the ceiling, its gaze unwavering from the figure emitting an extremely alluring scent.
As it approached the figure standing in the dining hall, the delightful aroma intensified. Its long and repulsive tongue emerged from its mouth, while foul saliva dripped from the smooth and viscous organ.
Coming close enough, the quadruped cursed spirit couldn't wait any longer and leaped towards Asterion! Its figure could be seen as a fleeting shadow in the air, challenging for a normal human to even catch a glimpse of the creature's shadow. However, not for the guardian that faithfully protected its master and king.
Asterion's shadow moved violently, revealing a gigantic dog's head with hundreds of red eyes. It appeared and swallowed the cursed spirit whole while it was still in mid-air.
A moment. That was the time it took to manifest and devour the cursed spirit.
With teeth the size of daggers, the enormous head chewed on the cursed spirit delightfully while emitting a cold and sadistic laughter. As it finished its meal, the massive head gradually retreated back into the shadow of its master, eagerly awaiting his sacred call.
Asterion remained oblivious throughout the entire attack process. He was pouring all of himself into creating his second masterpiece, and even if he were aware of the attack, he would remain indifferent. Baskerville was his first masterpiece, created exclusively to protect him from all possible dangers. It possessed the innate technique to devour anything, whether physical, energetic, or even immaterial, such as concepts. It was the perfect guardian created solely for protection.
…
When the sun rose on the horizon, bathing the world in its warm rays, dispelling the darkness and cold of the night, it was the moment Asterion finished creating his creation.
Pale, exhausted, and trembling, Asterion sat on a bench at one of the tables in the dining hall. Despite being completely drained, there was a look of joy in his beautiful dark red eyes.
The creation process took longer than expected; his magical energy was severely depleted, and his body screamed with pain. However, the feeling of satisfaction in his chest could not be surpassed.
All the pain he felt, all the exhaustion he endured, was worth it when he looked at the cursed orb in his hands. Unlike the usual blue cursed orbs, the one in his hands was red, a deep crimson red.
Staring at the red orb in his hand, Asterion narrowed his eyes and let out a low laugh. His laughter carried relief, joy, and an unparalleled satisfaction.
Without any hesitation, he raised his head and opened his mouth, swallowing the crimson orb. The taste was still the same, terribly awful and repugnant, but it was all worth it in the face of the power he would command. Closing his eyes, Asterion felt the newly forged connection and opened them a few seconds later.
"Nidhogg..." he whispered.
Instantly, a massive black curtain made of a dense black liquid substance unfolded behind him. Through the black curtain, six pairs of red eyes could be seen, all fixated on Asterion. In those gigantic eyes, there was both reverence and tyranny.
Feeling Nidhogg's emotions, Asterion laughed. The dragon was so arrogant that even with complete control over him, Asterion sensed pride and tyranny in Nidhogg, as if it conveyed, "Don't command me to face weak enemies."
The Crimson Dragon of Domination, Nidhogg, had its own personality, much like the Devil Hound, Baskerville, who was sarcastic, sadistic, and cruel. Whether it was the cruel Baskerville or the arrogant Nidhogg, Asterion could summon them without caring about what both cursed spirits thought.
Dispersing the black curtain behind him, Asterion stood up after regaining some physical strength and looked around the dining hall in silence before murmuring to himself, "Let's go home."
-
Asterion, who had just jumped over the school wall, landed on the ground and shielded his eyes from the glaring sunlight with his hand.
Getting accustomed to the sun, he withdrew his hand and walked through the streets of London, which gradually came to life as time passed. People strolled to their jobs, oblivious to the dangerous world surrounding them. In this cruel world, normal people were nothing more than cattle for cursed spirits.
Asterion glanced at the crowd of people coming and going. "Ignorance is a blessing for the weak," he muttered as he walked through the people, thinking that he would never be like them— weak.
As he walked, he delved into his own thoughts.
The world was changing, more precisely, the cursed spirits were changing, growing stronger with each passing year. He noticed this change in the second year after awakening his past life's memories. Once a Grade 4 cursed spirit with 1 unit of energy, now it possessed 3 and was increasing every year.
On a smaller scale, it might seem insignificant, but cursed spirits from Grade 2 to Special Grade would have three to four times the power they would normally have. He could even imagine how chaotic the world was becoming because of this.
Asterion didn't know if it was him who was unsettling the world or, as he imagined, the current bearer of the Six Eyes.
"It's no use dwelling on any of this; just get stronger to protect yourself from what lies ahead," he muttered, looking at the crowd of people around him.
Suddenly, he stopped and looked to his left, swearing he saw a strand of white hair disappearing not far from him.
"What a crazy world," Asterion murmured to himself, gradually fading into the crowd.
Translated by AI
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Author's Thoughts: Perhaps some of you noticed, but I created Baskerville based on Alucard's Baskerville from the anime Hellsing. Nidhogg has an obviously Norse origin, with its appearance inspired by Slifer, the Sky Dragon from the Yu-Gi-Oh anime.
Nidhogg>
Baskerville(Still can't find one, if anyone has a suitable image post it here.)>