In a small room there are two beds, parallel on opposite sides of the room. On the edge of one of the beds, sits a young man.
–I need to be strong –said Xilovy while tying his shoes, determination building in his eyes–. I can do it.
–I pray for your blessing, Erdra Merha[1] –thought Xilovy while leaving his house–. I must strengthen myself to survive.
Xilovy walked towards the station with his head down and repeating in whispers, "I can do this". He was wearing a blue jacket in which he carried a pen, a small blog of paper and his wallet. He looked very simple, he was not very eye-catching, unless having a bad taste in fashion is what you call eye-catching.
–Good morning –said the receptionist–. May I see your ID, please?
–Yes –said Xilovy with a lot of energy, waking from his thoughts–, of course. Here, take it, please.
–Here you have –said the receptionist–. Now you may board any of the buses.
–Oh –said Xilovy with a sigh while lowering his head–, there are too many people…
He decided to enter the bus in gate three, which was surprisingly empty. It was not as it mattered. Either way, he sat down close to a window. Waiting for the bus to start, he saw how the other buses left one by one. Time passed and he remained the only passenger of the bus. Due to the bad sleep and the tedious waiting, he ended up falling asleep.
…
Xilovy's sleep was interrupted abruptly by the voices of multiple people, which meant that he had arrived.
–Everyone gather –said a middle-aged man–. I will state some important points.
As the man said, a crowd formed in front of him. The crowd was facing a huge black gate, which looked like the entrance to a fort. The walls were huge and long, which could be seen to reach the foot of a nearby mountain.
–As far as I know –said the middle-aged man–, everyone knows why they are here. Either way, I will make some things clear. My partner and I are here to represent the church and supervise this mission. A squadron of members of the church will be in charge of hunting the demidemon. In other words, this mission is not of great danger for you. As it was said before, you are all tasked with defeating monsters and purifying their energy. At the end of this mission all of you must be checked by a bishop, to ensure that you haven't been corrupted. If any of you tries to escape, or is seen purposely avoiding the meeting with the bishop, you will be wishing to have died in this mission.
–This seems like such a waste of time –thought Xilovy–. Everyone here already knows all that, which is the reason they are here. He might be doing this to try to persuade anyone to not to even think of doing what he just mentioned, but still, I don't care! All this situation is making me nervous.
I may just kill myself all at once –whispered Xilovy.
The middle-aged man turned his head and stared directly at Xilovy. Chills went through Xilovy's spine and he couldn't help but start grasping for air.
–Everyone will be given a notebook and a pen for creating your index –said the middle-age man–. If you already have an index then you should still receive the notebook as it can be useful for any case scenario. The index is where they must detail how their spells are going to work. The magic energy follows your will, but it is necessary to specify through your index how your will is going to manifest. Through the index you give meaning to characters. While infusing your index with your energy, every time you infuse your energy to any of the characters stated on your index, the characters will consume your energy and cast the spell stated in the index.
The middle-aged man takes a piece of paper and shows it to the crowd.
–In this paper there is a circle and a statement saying "The energy takes the form of white particles, and they move toward the center of the character" –said the middle-aged man–. I am infusing this improvised index with my energy right now, as you can see there is no clear visible difference. So watch now what happens when I draw a circle on the ground and infuse it with my energy.
The middle-aged man crouched and with his finger drew a circle on the ground. The man was holding the paper with his left hand, so he used his right hand and extended it towards the circle. As the man infused the circle with his energy, a bunch of white particles appeared from his hand and made their way towards the center of the circle.
–This is a very simple explanation –said the middle-aged man while continuing to infuse the circle with energy–, so I recommend you to be creative and experiment with what you are able to do .
The man started infusing even more energy to the circle and with that much more white particles appeared, fading when they reached the center of the circle. It was truly mesmerizing watching all the bright small white particles move towards the center of the circle. It was as if a lot of white, brilliant dust suddenly appeared from nowhere and acquired consciousness. The movement of particles was continuous, and as they disappeared new ones appeared, creating a perfect cycle.
–Even though we supervise this mission –said the middle-aged man indifferently, staring at the particles that he was creating–, we are not your babysitters, so don't count on us to go out and save you. My partner and I are going to be at the bar in the pool zone creating a safe zone, so if you need a break or any supplies, you know where to find us. That will also be the zone where we shall be meeting after finishing the mission.
The middle-aged man suddenly broke from his focus and raised his head.
–After entering the resort you will not be able to leave until the mission is over –said the middle-aged man with a face of concern–. If any of you discover that this is much more than what you can endure, then you can wait with us for the mission to end. Only the invisible force field will disperse once the demidemon and all the monsters inside are killed, so you must be quick.
The middle-aged man stands up and turns his gaze towards the sky.
–You may enter now –said the middle-aged man–. I wish everyone the best of luck, and my most sincere condolences.
Xilovy saw how a crowd of people ran through the gate and into the resort. Once he crossed through the gate, he saw how a thick white fog appeared behind him. It was as if the whole world had disappeared and the only thing in existence was the resort, surrounded by emptiness.
Xilovy decided to enter the lobby, but before he could reach the handle, the sky suddenly turned pitch black. The radiant sun that before illuminated the sky now was gone, and a weird moon appeared instead. The moon looked as a huge teasing smile in the sky, it was as if it was the smile of a clown, mocking everyone that dared to enter.
The lobby was so dark that it was impossible to see what was inside. Xilovy took a deep breath and entered the lobby.
–If I put my hand on a wall and continue walking close to it –thought Xilovy–, I will be able to advance without problems.
Walking through a hall, Xilovy realized that his eyes were getting used to the darkness, and he was able to distinguish his surroundings. It was as if the light from the moon, although dim, was reflected throughout the whole place.
He continued walking before he came across a big room where the resort style changed completely. The room resembled the classical entrance to a mansion, with two curved stairs which lead to the second floor and with a huge door in between the stairs.
–The entrance at the center looks very suspicious –thought Xilovy–. Normally, one would expect that behind the middle door there would be something of great value, or a crazy boss fight. I don't think it is worth the risk. I will let everyone else take care of those big events and just focus on small things. Little by little is how you must do your things. Slow but steady wins the race. I will go to the second floor and start hunting.
Xilovy went up the stairs on the right, staying close to the railing. His steps echoed throughout the whole room, and a strange feeling of peace and loneliness invaded his heart.
Midway up the stairs, Xilovy realized that something suddenly appeared to his left. It was an abnormally tall dark figure. The monster's right arm began at the level of his abdomen, and both of its arms reached the level of its knees. Regardless of his appearance, his head was one of a handsome black-haired young man.
The presence of the monster immediately alerted Xilovy. The monster's presence was so overwhelming that with just a glance, Xilovy became totally paralyzed.
–It's so close! –thought Xilovy–. If I move, I'll die… I must not move! I am dead! I am dead! I am Jofcu dead. Jofcu! Jofcu! Jofcu![2]
The monster turned his head towards Xilovy and pushed him with his left arm. The paralyzed Xilovy fell and crashed into the railing. The monster stopped moving and watched him silently.
In the realization that he was being teased by a beast, Xilovy turned his head, desperately searching for anything that could help him.
The monster prepared to turn his whole body, but before he could complete the action, Xilovy noticed what it was trying to do, and immediately decided to jump off the stairs.
The despair and the pure terror made him fall horribly on the floor, spraining his left ankle. He was vulnerably lying on the ground, facing the monster, enduring the pain, and the overwhelming urge to scream.
The monster stared straight at Xilovy and gave a huge smile. It was as if the monster was toying with him.
The monster quietly and calmly started going down the stairs.
–I need to be strong –said Xilovy with a sigh.
–Strong? –thought Xilovy while crawling towards a corridor–. Who am I lying to? I am going to die… I am surely going to die… Die! Jofcu! JOFCU! JOFCU!
As soon as the monster set a foot on the ground, it started sprinting towards Xilovy. Xilovy bit his right index finger and with his blood started drawing a circle in his left palm. He quickly grabbed the notebook in his right pocket and extended his left hand towards the monster.
With all his will to live, Xilovy infused the circle with his energy. The spell which was written on the notebook was activated and from his left palm a bright flash of light manifested. The light was so bright that the whole room was illuminated for a brief moment.
Fortunately for Xilovy, he was with his eyes closed, staring directly at the ground. On the contrary, the monster was blinded, and because of the momentum he fell to the ground.
Xilovy didn't waste any second and began to run as best as he could through the closest corridor.
He identified that in the distance there were three doors at each side. With no doubt, he entered through the third-furthest door of the left and quickly identified that the interior resembled a high school lab. The room had small windows at the top of the wall. The light that entered the room was strangely yellow, but Xilovy didn't care much, and he quickly hid inside a cabinet.
Xilovy's body had reached its limit and the starting shock commenced to wear out. He had used all his energy to escape and even though he didn't feel safe, his body couldn't bear it anymore and he passed out.
[1] Earth mother in the language of the love Goddess
[2] Fun word of the language of the love Goddess