Gray found himself in a… village?
Was this really what Sera's inner mind looked like?
A village, but one that seemed blurry and distorted as it rained? Drip! Drop! Drip! Drop! No, those were tears—tears of loneliness, despair, and blood, unendingly so…
"Sera! Where the hell are you?!" Gray shouted.
That was a fucking mistake. Something in the village stirred up, something dark and evil. That's when they showed up. Shadows that vaguely resembled villagers.
G̸̭̹̰̳̙̐̊̎͊̌̐e̶̼̩͚̲̝͋̓̿͛t̸̛̥͚̫̦͎̗͓̐̈̎͂ ̵͇͍͕͙̺͉͇̫̘̈̓̔̀̌̅o̸̟͊u̵̧̖͙̺͚̹͈̹̳͊̐͆͆̊̕͠ͅt̵̢͎̖͍͚̖̠̋͌̚͜~̷̨̯͇͂͗̓̓̈
"Get out? Sure. Just give my student back!"
— SHRIEEEKKKK! —
The shadows charged!
Demonic Eyes, sharp claws, and bloodthirsty!
Gray would have long started to run if he had been here for any other reason. But SHE was waiting for him. He may have just become a Teacher by mistake, but that didn't matter.
She was among the first to believe in him, and that was enough…
"Focus, Gray, you got this. Those ought to be heart demons, right?! If anything, they're half imaginary!" He had read enough web novels to know this!
Heart Demons → Creatures that were incredibly weak but would use their enemies' fears and insecurities against them! He just had not to show any! Or rather…
Gray actually gave a confident grin.
"Let's get this party started, shall we?"
In his hand appeared… a black dildo-looking rod?! A single touch bringing unimaginable pain to its target? It was perfect against those freaks!
As for whether it would work or not… it freaking would as long as he believed! Thus, instead of retreating, Gray actually went on the attack!
— SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! —
As he smacked the first evil shadow, it opened its maw in ridicule. But that didn't last long, a second later, the thing started convulsing on the ground in agony!
Ị̵̡̨͇̥̪͇̞͉̭͂̈̽͋̍́-̸̯͍̭̦̣͊͊͐Į̵̣̎̀̍͋̀͑̑̃͝͝-̵̥̯͗̑͝I̶̪͈͓͖̯̎̑-̴̯̉I̴͖͐͑̍̋̏̈́̌̚̕͠m̵̯̀̐p̸̢̦̻͙͔͖̩̠̤̪̌͊́̈́͘͝ȍ̷̢̹̟̙̳̙̬̳̼̀̏s̷̤̱̱̱̳͓͑̽̂͛̎̃͐̋͆͝s̵̲̼̄̅̉͆̈i̶̘̩̿̊b̴̗̤̳͖̥̭͌̃͠l̶̰̽̋͌͑̐ę̶͓̪̘͙̟͗̾͋̑͜͠͝?̴̼̥͑̀̃̄̓́͂̓͊͠!̷͙̜͒̏͋͝
"I-I-I-Impossible, you say? Sigh. What kind of great evil stutters?"
But Gray barely left the creature time to reply that he went on a mad rampage. "Give." SMACK! "Me." SMACK! "My" SMACK! "Sera!"
With every smash, one more shadowy monster would convulse on the ground. That's when a circle of frenzied shadows formed around him.
But whenever one inched closer, Gray would wave his Black Rod, the creatures retreating in dread just like wild animals seeing fire for the first time.
"That's more like it. Stay the fuck away!"
Gray kept progressing, reaching the very depths of the shadowy village. That's when he finally saw her. In the center of it all was Sera, but not the one he knew.
No, this one was far younger, weaker, and more vulnerable. She was also getting harassed by a storm of dark ectoplasm. Gray instantly knew: this was her curse!
It had turned into a full-blown sentient creature! Fed by her own Mana, it had become far too strong and had locked her in a cage made of her own insecurities! Gray approached…
"Hey, Sera. It's me, Teacher Gale. Remember me?"
"T-Teacher?" She raised her eyes toward him, ones red from crying.
"Yes! I'm your Teacher, and you're Sera, the one who'll always follow me, remember?"
Incomprehension flashed across her eyes, her memories hazy. Always follow him? Could it really be? She had always been so lonely and—
A Teacher cursed just like her. A teacher who had taken her under his wing. A teacher who had saved her life soon after. A teacher who had taught her everything he knew.
"T-Teacher Gale?! I-Is it really you? Y-You're not fake, right?"
"Of course! No one else's that handsome!"
She quivered. He wasn't wrong.
— SWOOSH! SWOOSH! —
Gray's right hand suddenly felt emptier…
His Pain Rod? It was freaking gone! When he was distracted, a shadow had used the time to throw its body at him and smack the thing away. The item was now out of reach!
L̷̨̢͓̝̥̖͗̋̐̿͛̕̚͠ḙ̴̡͓̻̩̩͚̲̻̠̑̽̽̑̃̐̕t̵̢͎̗̭̙̫̹̫͔̀̽́͗͒͊́̉̋͝ͅ'̵̼̠́̊͗͋́̒͘ͅs̶͓̟̻̜̰͑̑̓̑̂͛͐͐͝ ̴̡̺͕̺̬̟̔̀̇͘s̵̤̋̔͊̑͠ë̷̛̲̳̠͚̘͇̞̘̇̃̾͘͠ͅȩ̵̼͉͙́̈́͛̉͆͋̈́͝ ̶̠̇̄̊̂̐̂y̵̧̞̖̋̐̐͊̇͜͝ơ̶̡͖̺̜̓̀̿̂̀͂̔u̵̢͕͚͛͊͗͂ ̷͉͕̗̥̈́̽͒͐̎͒͌͒͝f̸̧̡̫̼͊͂̑͒͐͛̎̀͌̈́į̴̳̺͛g̴̮̅̃̎̒͆̄̓̾͌͌h̵̜͔͛͗͆̅̍̐͑̆͌͝t̴̡̳̘͚͖̯̦̻͋̅ ̶̙͉̟̩̟̰͝͝n̵̢̥̣̗̗̱̘̘͑̿̀̌̊̆̎̒̑̑ǒ̴̥̓͗̉w̵͆̓̒͋̐̊̕ͅ!̶̳̬͓͍̻͕̝̝̙̙̈́̒̾̋̒̀̂͌̚̚
"See me fight, now? Are you sure?" But instead of cowering, Gray actually gave the most confident smile ever.
He had finally realized something. This was Sera's inner world, right? Sera's weakness and the demon's strength... all came from her own insecurities!
But amidst that sea of insecurities, there he was. Ever since becoming his student, not once had she doubted him. And at this moment, that ridiculous trust of hers turned into power.
"Are you really, really, really sure you want to see me fight?" Gray actually laughed, raised his hand toward the sky, and… released a Gale so strong it broke the sky?!?
— WOOSH! WOOSH! WOOSH! —
That gale swept away the rain.
That gale swept away the sky itself.
That gale made a tornado feel like a soft breeze.
That was Teacher Gale. In here, he was INVINCIBLE!
The village froze. The evil shadows froze. The "all-powerful" and malevolent Curse froze. Even Sera froze, too, albeit not for the same reasons. Pride, awe, relief, she felt so much!
— Tip! Tap! Tip! Tap! —
As Gray came closer, the Curse didn't even dare twitch. It didn't move as he started rubbing Sera's head and didn't either as he turned pensive.
Beat up the curse? Sera'd wake up, and she'd be eternally grateful to him. No trial, no bad press, no worries… but that would be a mistake! Only now did he finally realize it.
Chuckling, he actually left her there… and even took a few steps back!? He stared straight into her eyes, grinned, gave her an enthusiastic thumbs-up, and…
"Sera, I believe in you. You got this! Welp, guess my job here is done!"
That's when he suddenly… disappeared?! It wasn't a feint either. He really was gone?! What the hell?! His job here was done, but he hadn't bloody done anything!
The scene, once frozen in dread, became restless in confusion. But that's when the Curse awoke, its baleful energy coming back. Who cared why! This girl was so doomed now!
H̵̩͛̆̓̀͊̚o̴̻͖̪͌͑͆̽w̴̡̩̗̥̳̺͇̬͉̐̍̓̓̌̌̍̈͘ ̶̨̤̤̩̩̦̺̉ḍ̶̔̅̀ō̵͍̘̭̬͙̙̤̓̑͊̌̃͆́͝͠ę̸̭͍̪̈́̽̓̈́̃̆̉͠s̸̨̨̠̥͙͖̜̽͘͝ ̶͈̪̻͉̑̎͗̈́ĭ̵͔̲̠t̶̙̖͈͖̊̓̔̔̎́͝ ̷̩̂͐̏̇͜f̷̧͈̗̤̤̯̤͈͂̌̐͜͝ȩ̵̡̲̙̤̞̲̿̏̿̍͒ȩ̷̡͉̩̘̬̼̗͇̔̆͋͌͑̽͑l̴͕̦̘̾̀ͅ ̷̙̬̜̪̈́̋̀͝͝t̴̢͇̤̠̟̹̠̼͆̽̔͝ͅo̵͉̙̾̌̀̈́͗̎̚͝ ̷̱̠̻͍͓͛̔̍͗͘͜͜b̵̛̘̰̠̗̖̜̫̞͐̓̚e̷̛͇̘͊͂̂̆̎͝ ̵̧̧̙̟̟̱̱̊̎̄a̶̛̛̰͎͐͋̌̀̆̋͝͝b̵̤́̓ą̵̲͖̠̺͚̗̿̏ͅn̸̢̯͙̥̝̑̊́͋̑͠d̴͖̯̂̋̉̋̍́͠͝o̸͕͉̩̪̊̈̃̓̈̈́̄̚ṉ̷͔̈̉̀͂̀͝n̶̢̦̞̱̲͉͇̮̯̓̈͌̈͘e̷̢̛̛͔̩̮̜̭̫͋̋͋̋̅͘͜͠ͅd̷̩̻͙̱͔͔͇̱̚͜?̸̨̣͙̺̪͇̺̥̺̓̒͒͝ͅ
How did it feel to be abandoned? Sera started crying again, her entire being drenched in tears—except this time, they were tears of joy!
"Hehe, Teacher believes in me!"
"Hehehehehe, Teacher believes in me!"
"Hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe!"
Her pale complexion had become rosy with elation. Then there were her eyes, which glowed with terrifying determination.
No matter how long she'd have to fight, she WOULD win! After all, her beloved Teacher believed in her! Little did she know that said Teacher was facing his own battle.
Gray awoke to one scary Enforcer Elder!
"So, kid, what happened to saving a life? She isn't better."
"T-That. Ever heard the saying you can lead a Horse to water, but you can't make it drink? Well, it's something like that…"
"You CAN make a horse drink. Body possession, mind control, physically force it, kidnap its horse family, and threaten it. You can also—"
"That's not the goddamn point! Sera's battling her inner demons right now. I could have crushed them, but I ensured she could win alone instead. She just needs time."
"Kid! Do you seriously expect me to believe that?!"
"Y-Yes…"
That's when the Enforcer placed his hand on her forehead and did the same as Gray had earlier, diving into her mind. Soon, in a certain shadowy village…
Poof! The bloody mage appeared in a flash of light. But he had barely arrived when some shadow villagers instantly noticed his arrival and charged straight at him!
— SHRIIEKKK! —
Facing their claws, he harrumphed.
"Get lost already!" He smacked them so hard that their faces blew up! And yet, even that didn't prevent them from drawing his blood.
Yet it got even worse. The wounded ones? They were already back up, their evil instantly reforming their bodies. Tch— those were immune to regular magic.
What followed were a few minutes of INTENSE fighting! As for the result? A panting bloodied Enforcer, the latter glancing at the Village with gloom.
"Tch— No way that kid made it through! He was probably bullshitting me. Teacher Gale, my ass!" But that's when it happened. The creatures started… shivering?! Seeing this:
"Teacher Gale?"
— SHIVER! —
This time, it was so intense that the poor shadows almost lost their shapes. Then, as if walking on eggshells, they even gestured the Enforcer to… follow them?!
Then before long…
An Enforcer, seated on a cozy shadow chair, watching a duel of the ages between a student and her Curse. But why the hell did the student seem the scariest of the two?!
"Teacher Believes in me! Hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe!"
What was happening here?! A certain Elder Enforcer suddenly wondered if he was getting old. Was this how all the youngsters were nowadays?!
Snapping his fingers, he returned to the real world, only to see a VERY stressed young teacher who awaited his verdict, fingers crossed. The Enforcer spoke:
"Go. Don't be seen. Be back in that jail in 6 days. Understood?"
"Yes, Sir! Thank you very much! I won't disappoint you!"
Who knew the scary Enforcer Elder wasn't that bad! Still, Gray didn't have time to think about it. He still had to recruit students ASAP else all his efforts would be wasted!
He wouldn't be able to show his face either? So freaking what!
The Academy was about to get a Hidden Expert…