Stone Mage: Revenge of the Villain System

"How long will this take?" Rabuka asked as she entered the room and closed the door.

Maellan polished his spear and rubbed some alcohol at the tip. "Not too long. I will stop once your body could not take the treatment anymore."

She sat down hesitantly. "And is there an assurance that this would be completely successful?"

The 'doctor' gave a wide smile. "Every treatment I have done so far had been successful."

She was still unconvinced and continued to interrogate. "And how many people have you treated so far?"

He stopped polishing, then answered honestly:

"Three. Pavone included."

Rabuka then opened her mouth to ask who the other two was, but Maellan stood up and said:

"Are you ready? Or do you still want some time to prepare?"

He walked towards her, Spear of Levin in hand, and aimed the tip at her throat. Rabuka flinched, and he simply grinned.

"You seem not quite ready yet."

"I am ready." She gritted her teeth. "I just want to be sure of what I'm getting into. Asking for some information. I have that right as your 'patient', don't I?"

Maellan nodded. "Yes, I suppose you do. But I saw you talking with Pavone with some nervousness and apprehension earlier, and he tried to comfort you."

He gave a wistful sigh. "Ah, it reminds me of me and my beloved. Always together, never parting. I even followed after her when she had fallen into the Abyss."

His dark spear shone along with his eyes that glinted with a strange, devious delight.

"That is how I gained my ability to heal."

Rabuka's eyes widened. "You have a lover?"

Somehow, this made her feel relieved and less envious of Maellan. Her apprehension lessened as well, and she had come to sympathize with him with how lovingly he mentioned his lover.

He can tell that he was very much in love with this woman, just like how she was in love with Pavone.

"Yes. The most beautiful woman to grace Magecia, well, in my eyes." He smiled fondly. "I have seen many beautiful girls like you in the Academy and during my travels."

"But no one can hold a candle to my Cholie."

He caressed the shaft of his spear as he recalled this 'Cholie'.

"Not many appreciate her beauty because of her background. Especially foolish nobles like my father. We had tried to elope, and that was the day we both fell."

Rabuka rubbed her chin. "Did she..... Change too?"

"She most certainly did." Maellan sighed. "Much more than me."

"Where is she?" Rabuka was intrigued, wanting to meet this girl.

Especially since he said she was the most beautiful girl in his eyes. Her vanity had brought back that envy towards this Cholie instead, even when she knew that men would of course find the one they love to be the most beautiful.

Maellan smiled cheekily like a kid up to some mischief, his eyes gleaming as he said.

"She's always been here. My Cholie is always around me."

Rabuka frowned and looked around. There was no one beside Maellan, and there was no one else in the room beside them. She was also paying attention to her surroundings outside and there was only Pavone.

Suddenly, she felt hands grab her shoulder from behind, and—

"You've been looking for me, dear?"

"Ah!" She jolted. "Lady Cholie, it's a pleasure to meet you—"

When she turned around....

It was only Maellan, who moved as fast as lightning and spoke in a lighter voice.

Rabuka was so confused, but Maellan continued to talk sweetly like a girl and even have his actions and idiosyncrasies match one.

"Poor dear. You seem so agitated. Don't fret at all, my darling Maellan have a gentle touch and I am sure that he will take care of you well."

Rabuka was still dumbfounded.

Is he a lunatic? Or is he really being possessed?

She doesn't know what was going on, and it honestly scares her. She moved away, asking. "What... Why are you acting like that, Maellan?"

Maellan continued smiling, and his demeanor changed. "Ah, love. I told you we would scare her if you come up so quickly like that."

"Can you blame me, dear?" He responded to himself. "It's been a long while since I have seen a fellow woman. I have gotten excited."

He turned back to Rabuka and took her hands, clasping them merrily.

"I hope we would get along! You are such a pretty child, and your skin is so smooth and soft. As expected for a noble, ah I envy such skin!"

Rabuka became even more unsure about entrusting her safety to... whatever this was.

"I….. I think I'm not quite ready yet after all." She stood up, going for the door. "I will go tell Pavone that I need to think about it some more, excuse me….."

But then, she saw Maellan's face suddenly….. Move.

It was so terrifying, his skin rippling like waves and something suddenly 'surfacing' from those waves. It grew as an eye on his left cheek first, then another on his nose, until.....

It became another face upon his face, malformed and not positioned properly. The mouth was below his ear, on his jawline. The nose was also a bit squashed, not seeming to fit.

Rabuka could not help it, and let out a loud scream.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

Pavone was outside and eating some rice crackers that Maellan bought for him, and was not alarmed by the scream at all. He trust Maellan completely and thought it must be just Rabuka being unable to handle the pain of the healing treatment.

The other face spoke, though much softer and quieter. "Oh, you have such a loud scream, dear. I can barely make a sound nowadays so I simply speak through my dear Maellan's mouth."

Maellan smiled at the shaking Rabuka, looking like a frightened rabbit.

"Please excuse my Cholie. She tends to look up to nobles a lot and their beauty because she was a Commoner. Even when I told her she was already perfect the way she was."

Cholie spoke with her lips flapping on Maellan's chin. "Oh, stop it. You always flatter me too much, dear. I know I look hideous, especially now, that's why the poor girl screamed."

Maellan touched to caress her at the side of his face, and ended up poking her eye a bit and making it sink back inside.

"That is not true at all. You are the most beautiful. Right, Rabuka?"

He aimed that spear again towards the frightened girl standing by the door, ready to bolt outside.

Rabuka gulped. This.....

This was definitely not what she was expecting to get involved with!

But despite being scared and repulsed by it, she was also fascinated. No matter the powers of a Magecian human, no matter the Mage Focus...….

This was not possible to achieve.

Only Daemons like Maellan can. This was proof that he—- or more accurately, THEY, along with his beloved Cholie— were not suitable to be called human at all.

They were something much more, achieving the impossible.

She steeled herself, and cleared her throat, composing herself.

"Yes... Lady Cholie is very lovely. It has been a pleasure to meet her." She forced herself to give a queasy smile.

Maellan grinned. "See? I told you, even she would appreciate the divine beauty you have."

Cholie 'blushed', meaning that only the left half of Maellan's face turned red and it was lopsided.

"Oh, you both are flatterers! But likewise, sweet Rabuka! I shall hope to see more of you from now on!"

Maellan's face rippled again, and went back to normal as the other face began to sink back.

"Introductions aside….. Shall we begin? Your scream earlier had piqued my interest, was that the remnant of your ruined Mage Focus?"

Rabuka's expression hardened, remembering the botched performance that led her to lose her once beautiful voice.

"Yes. It was much stronger before, like the crashing waves of the sea but through sound. That is why it was called Cordial Surge."

She really wanted to make that Ronin pay, who smiled using the face of Cermin Drychspiel as she coughed out blood and humiliated herself in front of hundreds of people.

She wanted to make him lose his voice and cough out all his blood too, and laugh while watching him suffer.

"Cordial Surge. That really does sound like a wonderful Gift. May the blessed lightning from Darkness renew it and make it even more wonderful."

He gestured for Rabuka to sit back in the chair, and this time, she did without any fear.

As long as she could get her revenge... Who cares if this act would be considered as insanity?

"Try not to scream as I push through your throat." Maellan reminded. "Well, it will be difficult to do so with the blood sputtering from your mouth and the wound anyway."

Rabuka nodded, raising her chin up to reveal her delicate pink neck…..

STAB!

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!'

Blood did spurt out and splattered like a fountain from her mouth and her neck, and it started out as crimson red and eventually turned deep, deep black as daemonic lightning coursed through her veins...

And transformed her into something no longer human.