The Bookstore Mage

Lucien did not know how he made it back. The last minutes of his walk was a blur. It was as if someone else took the reigns over his body, and he could do nothing but watch. He continued slipping in and out of consciousness until he found himself standing in front of the door.

Although the voices in his head had quieted down, the feeling of loss and ache they brought remained. Lucien rummaged through his pockets for his keys when the door opened abruptly.

Lucien paused for a second and glanced at the entrance, his mind was still hazy as he stepped inside. Familiar, comfortable darkness embraced him. Lucien quickly felt the pressure alleviation.

Still, he did not quite feel like himself yet. It was as if something or someone was intervening with his thought process. The notion of that made him feel sick to his stomach, yet the foreign presence forced him to calm down.

His legs did not listen to him as he navigated through the abyssal darkness when two figures appeared before him. One was the familiar butler fairy, and the second was an unknown eerie bald monster; with no eyes and a pair of goat horns that extended to the back of his head.

The duo turned their attention toward him in shock. The butler fairy quickly fell to its knees. A tinge of confusion flashed through Lucien's mind as he saw the fairy behave this respectfully, it would usually just disappear after giving him a bow.

Dazed, Lucien glanced at the unknown monster who remained on its feet.

"M-My Lord!" The monster called out in a fanatic tone.

A wave of annoyance and anger overtook Lucien's senses. 'Why is he on his feet?! He should kneel!'

'Kneel!'

'Kneel!'

'Kneel!'

The voices returned, only this time they were not human. They sounded as if thousands of people roaring at the same time. Lucien's frown returned as he clutched his head with one hand trying to make the voices stop.

The monster, oblivious to his struggles seemed ecstatic as it took a step closer to him. Lucien struggled to keep his emotions at bay, but with the monster coming closer, all of his attempts failed as the foreign presence took control.

His hands dropped to his side and he raised his gaze to meet the monster. A dangerous red hue surrounded his eyes as Lucien's aura surged. The butler fairy lowered her head even further not daring to meet his gaze.

The horned monster finally seemed to sense that something was wrong, but by then it was already too late.

"Kneel!" Lucien's voice came off as a deep inhuman growl.

The bishop monster's body froze as a massive pressure downed it to the ground. Its face was planted on the ground with a bang as a whimper escaped his mouth.

Lucien still out of it walked closer, each step he took was akin to a massive mountain hammering against the monster's heart.

"M-My Lord—"

Lucien did not let it continue, he used his right foot to stomp its head further into the ground forming a dent in the darkness.

"Did I give you permission to speak?"

The monster whimpered in pain as a shadowy aura seeped out of Lucien's and surrounded it. A faint dark grey mist escaped the monster's body turning his pale skin dry.

"You still dare struggle?" Lucien growled, his face twisted into a terrifying scowl.

The abyssal darkness that surrounded the entire space began to crack under his immense pressure. This caused the fairy to finally raise her gaze, a horrified expression plastered on her face.

"My Lord, please calm your anger," she spoke in her usual calm and soothing tone. The shocked look, however, betrayed her calm demeanor.

Hearing that, Lucien turned his head with a frown, his sharp scarlet eyes locked on the fairy who quickly lowered her head and continued:

"The space will collapse if you don't reign your aura, my Lord. Please ease your anger."

Her voice seemed to work somewhat as the frown on Lucien's face relaxed by a little before he asked:

"Tamellalt, did I give you permission to speak?"

The fairy lowered her head even further and spoke:

"You did not, please punish me as you see fit, my Lord, but kindly reconsider the space can hold on no longer."

"Hmmm."

Turning his gaze away from Tamellalt, Lucien glanced at the mummified monster by his feet and asked:

"What gave you the audacity to come here?"

The monster whimpered, unable to give off a proper reply. Clicking his tongue, Lucien used Imer to raise him to his eye level, his hand shot out and clasped his neck as he asked again:

"Speak, you vermin!" The dark aura once again launched itself on the monster making him throw his head back in pain.

"AAGH!"

"MERCY! MERCY MY LORD!"

"Mercy? You expect mercy when you come here and disrespect me?"

"YOUR MEN NEED YOU! PLEASE COME BACK, MY LORD! IF MY LIFE IS ENOUGH TO BRING YOU BACK, THEN IT'S A CHEAP PRICE TO PAY!"

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Lucien squeezed his hands over the monster's neck and replied:

"Your voice is annoying me, why are you shouting?"

"I-I'm sorry, m-my Lord!"

The dark aura that seeped inside the bishop suddenly surged out and returned to Lucien. He released the monster to the ground and turned to face Tamellalt.

"Take care of this trash. There's no point in keeping vermin that does not know its place. I don't want to dirty my hands any longer." Saying that Lucien gathered a ball of abyssal darkness above his palm and sent it to the fairy who raised her hands with a reverent look on her face.

Lucien did not stay to see what happened, he turned around and walked away as the veil of darkness parted showing the scene of the untouched bookstore. Once he stepped out of it, the abyssal darkness closed behind him as if he had just walked out of a different world.

A sigh escaped Lucien's mouth as he made his way to the second floor and fell on the bed head first. His mind, however, was still very much wide awake and in upheaval. He didn't know what just happened, who that monster was, hell, he wasn't even in control over his body!

The entire situation made his heart threaten to leap out of his chest. He wanted to scream, he wanted to shout, he wanted to curse, but his body was too weak to move. He was barely able to wiggle his fingers.