Thud, thud, thud!
Heavy footsteps echoed behind him. Before Blaine could dodge to the side, a tremendous force slammed into his back, sending his body flying forward until he crashed into the wall.
Bang!
The intense pain left him breathless. He collapsed onto the floor, and it took a full second or two before he could gasp for air again.
The candlestick was no longer in his hand. Gritting his teeth through the pain, Blaine struggled to prop up his upper body.
Looking up, he saw Sirius standing where he'd just been. So it was the old man who'd sent him flying.
Blaine truly hadn't expected that after all that pounding, this old geezer could still get back up, and that his ancient body could contain such monstrous strength!
Should've stabbed him a few times! Blaine cursed inwardly.
"Get up, Silas! He's coming for you!" Cecilia shouted urgently.
Sirius Arapis walked toward Blaine.
In the dim candlelight, his shadow looked dark and sinister.
Blood dripped steadily from his forehead. Without a word, he reached both hands toward Blaine.
Survival instinct kicked in and Blaine leaped to his feet. Seeing those hands lunging for his throat, he raised his arms almost reflexively to block.
In that instant, their skin made direct contact.
Sizzle!
A sharp, searing pain erupted where they touched, like a violent electric current shooting straight into Blaine's brain!
"Ahhh!"
Caught off guard, Blaine screamed and clutched his head.
It hurt so badly!
Like someone was splitting his skull with an axe! The pain was unbearable. He dropped to his knees, unable to straighten up.
But Sirius didn't press his attack.
Instead, he froze. He shook his head, his face twisted in a strange expression that looked like he was about to burst into tears, yet also filled with indescribable joy.
"Lord... is that You? I can feel Your presence..."
Large tears welled up in his fierce eyes. Muttering incomprehensible words, he staggered forward, trembling, toward Blaine.
As for Blaine, he could no longer hear the outside world, because at that moment, his mind was flooded with terrifying whispers.
This was a language beyond human comprehension. It was as if tens of thousands of voices spoke simultaneously.
They were shouting, laughing hysterically, sobbing, murmuring.
Countless voices layered upon each other, mixing and merging into pure, absolute madness.
It compelled him to listen, as if just a little more focus would let him understand the true meaning of these whispers.
Intense pain followed like a shadow. Each whisper that entered his ears felt like red-hot steel needles repeatedly piercing through the nerves in his brain.
It's that hallucination! The sound the original owner of this body heard during his episodes!
Past memories collided with present agony in his mind. Blaine clutched his head as his vision repeatedly went dark from the pain.
Just then, Sirius's hand reached out once more.
Boom!
Blaine felt a thunderous crash in his mind. The real world vanished completely, and horrifying visions engulfed him.
What did he see?
A cross.
A massive cross.
On an inverted cross so enormous it seemed to hold up the very sky, a mighty giant hung upside down, pierced through by iron nails.
Blood covered his entire body. His face bore an expression of pain and bewilderment, as if he were on the verge of death, yet also deep in slumber.
Sacred, strange, eerie, terrifying!
The mad whispers echoed through Blaine's mind. The sounds grew louder and clearer, until finally they exploded like thunder.
At last, Blaine understood what the whispers meant.
"...The Lord's will shall be done among men. He shall dwell with mankind, He shall bear our sins.
His glorious light illuminates the darkness, and thus all living beings shall be saved."
It was countless ancient peoples singing primordial hymns in a foreign tongue.
It was an anonymous epic from the age of ignorance, lit only by torches. The song was filled with fervor and awe.
They trembled, they rejoiced, they went mad!
Who knew how long it lasted? It felt like an instant, yet also like eternity.
Just as Blaine thought he would be trapped in this vision forever, he seemed to hear the sound of waves.
An impossibly ethereal sound of waves.
With that tide, the visions and whispers rapidly receded. His vision gradually cleared.
But the moment he regained consciousness, he felt the agony of suffocation.
"Cough... cough..."
Pressure on his neck made it impossible to breathe. Looking down, he saw Sirius's hands wrapped tightly around his throat.
Blood still dripped from the wound on his forehead, but the color had changed from bright red to deep black.
But the color of the blood was the least of his worries! More terrifying still was that Sirius's entire face had twisted and deformed, making him look like a monster.
Bulging tumors covered his face and hands. The corners of his mouth were split all the way to his ears, revealing rows of sharp, bone-white teeth!
"Lord... yes, You are here..."
He spoke incoherently through his torn mouth, his gray-blue eyes filled with fanatical joy!
"Let go, let go!"
A girl's anxious shouts came from the side. It was Cecilia, futilely pounding on Sirius's arms, trying to save him.
"The knife..."
Blaine's vision went dark. His lungs felt scorched and deflated. With all his remaining strength, he forced out those two words.
After his reminder, Cecilia immediately reacted. She turned, picked up the dagger from the floor, then gritted her teeth and plunged it into Sirius's side without hesitation!
"Aaahh!"
Sirius let out a pained roar, swung his arm, and hurled Blaine away!
Bang!
Blaine went flying again. This time, he crashed into the desk on the other side. He lay on the ground grimacing, his back throbbing with pain.
"Ahh!"
While he was still reeling from the pain, Cecilia's scream came from across the room. Sirius had pounced on her.
Hearing the scream, Blaine instinctively panicked. Silas's memories urged him to save his sister.
He grabbed the desk to pull himself up quickly, but in his haste, he accidentally yanked out a drawer, and its contents clattered all over the floor.
Thunk. Something heavy landed on the back of his hand.
Blaine looked down.
A revolver lay on the floor, its metal gleaming in the candlelight. He picked up the revolver. The solid weight and intricate mechanical structure came into view.
Is this thing real?
Cecilia screamed again. Sirius had backed her into a corner with nowhere to run!
No time to think!
Blaine steeled himself, half-knelt, and checked the cylinder like he'd seen in videos. It was loaded with all six rounds.
"Hey! You idiot!"
He assumed a shooting stance and aimed the muzzle at Sirius, then raised his voice: "Your Lord is right here! Come and get Him!"
Sirius paused, as if instinctively drawn by Silas's words. He turned and lunged toward him.
"Grrrahh!"
He looked less and less human. His mouth gaped wide, saliva stringing between his razor-sharp teeth.
Go to hell!
Blaine clenched his jaw and squeezed the trigger with all his might.
Bang!
The loud gunshot echoed through the room. The powerful recoil slammed into the web of his thumb, transmitting all the way up his arm to his shoulder like a hammer blow.
Sirius's body stiffened for a moment, as if he'd been hit, but he quickly charged at Blaine again.
Blaine didn't hesitate. He fired the remaining five rounds at Sirius.
Bang! Bang! Bang!...
He'd never practiced shooting a revolver and was basically firing blindly. Fortunately, the target was close enough, and his luck held out.
One bullet happened to hit Sirius in the head. There was a wet splat as brain matter splattered.
He pitched forward out of control, collapsed to the ground, twitched a few times, and then went still.
"Huff... huff..."
Blaine gasped for air that reeked of gunpowder. His gaze moved past the corpse to Cecilia on the other side.
The girl was unharmed, but still shaken.
Blaine's mind was blank. His stiff face managed to contort into a bitter smile meant to comfort her.
First day in this world, and I've already killed someone with my own hands. What a god-awful start.
---
[Author's Note: When this book began, the author of Lord of the Mysteries had not yet revealed the potion formulas and abilities of the Supplicant pathway, so the early related formulas and rituals are original creations. Please forgive any conflicts with official canon.]
[PS.. When this book reached Sequence Five, Squid-sensei (the author) released the related setting information. Therefore, starting from Sequence Four, this book has been written according to the settings that Squid-sensei has already made public.]