Yaho~! So after all those fluffy series, here comes a dark(?!) one! Those of you who’d read the synopses under the Teasers tab might find this familiar. Younger audiences, do take note that this series is tagged R15. Charm points: Game, plot twists, multiple POVs, character development and more. The will make more sense when we get further into the series. Enjoy^-^~
Next part will get dark quickly.
I Play the Role of Villain
– Transmigration and Familiar Contract [Part 1]
By the time I come to, it’s already pitch black outside.
My last memory is that of Haruno-san.
While poking fun at my slow friends, I rashly went ahead.
I"ll leave you behind if you don"t hurry upー! I said, waving my hand.
That instant, I heard my friends screaming.
A huge rock fell from the mountain on the left&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;
And that struck――
"I probably died, huh?"
The rock was around 2 metres.
But, what"s the meaning of this?
And there"s no pain.
Even as I find it strange, I decide to check the state of my wounds. I look down at my hands.
"&h.e.l.lip; What"s this!?"
There isn"t any hands to be found.
These are forefeet, huh.
"Impossible."
Why did I become an animal.
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Taken aback by the overwhelming development, I affirmed various details and the results are as follows.
So it seems I became a dog-like creature, apparently.
Although I"m still unable to take a look at my own face at this point, I believe that I"d become an organism that walks on all fours and has a wiggly tail.
Why did something like this&h.e.l.lip;
As I sit down wishing for answers, a voice calls out from behind.
"Oh, this sure is one rare phantom."
A hoa.r.s.e and slightly high voice resounds.
Next, I turn towards where the voice came from and keep vigil.
"Who?"
A tiny old man about a metre tall is there, smiling as he looks at me.
The old man doesn"t even flinch when he sees my bristled appearance, and merely chuckles.
"I"m a tree spirit. A tree phantom."
""Tree spirit"? "Phantom"?"
What"s with those terms.
After all, I"ve never seen them.
While maintaining vigil, I glare at the old man who claims to be a tree spirit.
The old man is laughing as usual.
"That"s right. Thee art a phantom too, though."
"Eh!? Phantom!?"
Surprised, my ears stand up.
And then, I stare at the old man.
"This body is a phantom"s?"
"But&h.e.l.lip; eh!?"
"Thee see, vortex-like black miasma hath been acc.u.mulating hither for many years. And then, thee wast finally born. It"s rare, thee knoweth. A phantom without a medium is uncommon after all."
Even though I"m so confused, the old man spares no thought for my state and chuckles.
Hang on.
Let"s think for a moment.
I was struck by falling rocks in the middle of hiking.
After which, I might have died.
Then&h.e.l.lip; after that&h.e.l.lip;
"Come to think of it, it felt like I was pulled by something and swallowed into the black vortex&h.e.l.lip;"
"&h.e.l.lip; In other words, my will dwells in a body of black miasma ma.s.s, is that what you"re saying?"
"That"s right. Thy current appearance&h.e.l.lip; looks like a young wolf to me but thee originally hath no form. Thee can probably taketh any form thee wish to."
Is that so?
Had I died, and turned into such an unidentifiable being?
I feel sad thinking of it, my ears droop weakly and my tail also hang in low spirits.
The wrinkly hand feels comfortable like a comb.
Even though I was in low spirits, enraptured by the comfort brought by that hand, my eyes end up narrowing.
"Thee wast just born. Thee still don"t knoweth the ways of the phantoms, right?"
"Doth thee wanteth to cometh with me? I"m the cherry blossom tree of this mountain. I"d always been alone. I"ll beest glad to has’t thee as a conversation partner.”
The old man looks at me with dull, tawny eyes that barely contain any sclera.
That being the case, I decide to take him up on the much-appreciated offer.
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Thus, my second human life that began, well it"s a phantom life but regardless, I spent it rather pleasantly.
For example, chasing deers around or diving into rivers and catching fish.
I enjoyed being among nature even when I was human, so I adapted immediately.
I did think of going to meet the family I had back when I was human, but I was unable to do so.
I descended towards the town to make sure, but it was a completely different town.
I must have entered a different world when I was swallowed by that black miasma vortex.
And so, calling the tree spirit old man "Grandpa", he teaches me various things.
It seems that phantoms fundamentally don"t have to eat or drink. It depends on their preferences.
Also, once in a while, they attack humans.
It seems that there"s no need to kill, but when I cause them pain and suffering, my skin will become glossy, or so.
"Grandpa! Is this edible?"
The mountain in autumn is full of nuts and berries.
Grandpa chuckles as he receives me.
"That"s the hawthorn fruit. It"s not inedible, thee knoweth."
"Nn, it"s not super tasty? I"ll give it a taste."
It"s red and appears truly tasty, but from Grandpa"s way of speaking, I probably shouldn"t expect much.
"&h.e.l.lip; It"s kinda bland."
It doesn"t taste bad.
The sense of incompatibility is no joke.
"Isn"t it? Thee knoweth, humans dry them, mix them with sugar and turn them into cylinders before eating them."
"I see. It originally doesn"t seem to have much flavour, huh."
I thought I can finally eat something sweet and sour, but my hopes are dashed.
As I narrow my eyes in comfort, Grandpa chuckles in a kind voice.
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And so I pa.s.sed time that was relatively peaceful for a phantom and the seasons made one full cycle. Spring arrived again.
I simply lived my days playing in the mountain.
It may be thanks to not possessing a medium and having a special body born from the black miasma vortex, said Grandpa.
Scampering across the mountain, laughing with Grandpa, and surprising humans once in a while.
I thought that such days would continue on forever.
However, they were destroyed.
xx
Some words don’t have exact translations but I translated them to words with the closest meanings to make reading smoother.
Phantom – Ayakashi
Familiar – Shikigami
I Play the Role of a Villain
– Transmigration and Familiar Contract [Part 2]
A human came.
It"s an onmyoji[1].
Grandpa always says.
They"ll appear if you attack humans too much.
That"s why you must never overdo it, or so he teaches me.
There was no way that I, who wasn"t even able to attack humans, could kill them.
Grandpa didn"t kill humans either.
However, he came.
And, right now, he"s torturing Grandpa.
"Stop!"
Shouting, I bite off one of the talismans binding Grandpa.
As a result, the inside my of mouth becomes burning hot and I feel cuts forming there.
Plop, dark red blood drips down.
"Haha, to think you can break my barrier talisman."
Because I bit off one of the paper talismans, the restraints on Grandpa disintegrates.
While facing that laughing guy, I hurriedly shield Grandpa and growl with all I"ve got.
"That"s great. I thought it"d be a boring tree spirit extermination but there"s also something fun, isn"t there."
He grips a black whip as he laughs and swings it in my direction.
I must dodg—
I want to jump backwards at once to dodge but Grandpa is behind me.
It"ll probably hit Grandpa if I dodge.
What should I do!?
That one moment of hesitance becomes a c.h.i.n.k and I"m unable to dodge the whip.
The whip coming from the right sweeps across my right forefoot and heavily strikes my waist.
Ouch.
I unconsciously let out a sound.
Then, my body gets blown off and I tumble on the ground.
"Hey, are you a werewolf or something?"
I understand that he"s walking towards me.
I frantically strain my body in order to get up.
"&h.e.l.lip; ow."
It hurts.
I can"t put strength into my my right forefoot.
Did it perhaps break because of what just happened?
As a phantom, I probably won"t die from this but what"s painful is painful.
I raise my body while enduring the pain and stand up with three feet.
He watches my movements in an amused manner as he leisurely approaches.
No good.
I must run.
Is this the thing known as "survival instincts"?
It"s scary. I want to run and put an end to this.
But, what about Grandpa?
If I run away, Grandpa"ll definitely be erased.
Even phantoms, when erased by onmyojis, will never be able to be born into this world again.
I"ve always been under Grandpa"s care.
I can"t let him be erased by that guy here.
Something.
There should be some way.
I desperately restrain my body that wants to run away to the spot and earnestly think of a way to save Grandpa.
Then, I suddenly remember what Grandpa said before.
『Thee hath no form. Thee can probably taketh any form thee wish to.』
That"s it.
This body is made of black miasma ma.s.s.
There"s no need for me to take the form of a small wolf.
First, constructing the right forefoot that can be considered broken.
Next, I construct the entire body.
"Haha! You truly are interesting!"
Thick limbs and sharp fangs.
Brutal hooked claws grow on my feet, ready to reap lives at any time.
I launch an a.s.sault on him with that constructed body.
As he defends against my attack with talismans and whip, he slowly retreats.
Just a little more.
Just a little more and I can defeat him.
My heart leaps at the long-awaited chance of victory.
And then, he――
"Alright, checkmate."
I"m not sure where he took it out from, but a deep black blade stabs into Grandpa"s body.
He was bidding for the best time to attack Grandpa while pretending to be suppressed by my attacks.
"Grandpa!"
"I"ll erase him if you move, you know?"
He pressures me, who wants to rush to Grandpa"s side immediately, with that single sentence.
"Shall I have you return to your previous form of a small wolf?"
As his hand holds the sword that"s stabbed into Grandpa, he looks towards me and grins.
There are no qualms in those eyes.
It"s likely he"ll erase Grandpa if I don"t listen to his order.
I hesitate for a moment but no good idea comes to mind.
It can"t be helped&h.e.l.lip; huh.
Giving a small sigh, I obey his words.
I slowly re-construct and return to the small wolf before.
"Oh, that"s amazing. Hey, are you able to turn into anything?"
"Then, try turning into a female human around 16 years old."
I"ve no idea what he has in mind with such an undertaking.
It"s just that, with no option of defying him, I close my eyes tightly and construct.
Light brown shoulder-length hair and large, golden eyes.
A height of about 160cm and a tight body.
Standing up with the two legs I constructed, I quickly glare at him.
He looks in amus.e.m.e.nt at the change in my body.
"Haha, it sure isn"t too bad. Alright, well then, will you not become my familiar?"
"Familiar?"
Unthinkingly, I ask in return the word I"m unfamiliar with.
He grins and replies, "That"s right".
"Th,ee&h.e.l.lip; can"t."
"Grandpa!"
With the sword still pierced through his body, Grandpa speaks.
"You can"t&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;!"
However, before Grandpa can finish speaking, that guy stabs the sword in deeper.
Grandpa"s body trembles with a start.
It"s no good.
He"ll really be erased at this rate.
"I got it, I"ll become a familiar or whatnot. So please don"t erase Grandpa."
"&h.e.l.lip; Yes."
"Kneel."
I kneel in accordance to his words.
"Remain the way you are and come over here.”
I go to his side while still kneeling.
Slide slide, I move my knees and inch towards his feet.
"Open your mouth?"
I open my mouth as he overlooks me.
Thereupon, he cuts his right index finger with the sword that"s stabbed into Grandpa and puts that finger into my open mouth.
"Lick it."
Even as I"m disgusted, I lightly lick that finger.
Sweet.
It feels like my body is boiling.
He removes his finger with satisfaction and continues speaking.
"Repeat my words."
"Until mine life exhausts."
"&h.e.l.lip;Un, til mine life&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip; exhausts."
The words wouldn"t come out well.
"Until his life exhausts."
"Un, til&h.e.l.lip; his, life, exhausts."
It hurts,
it hurts.
"That I wilt beest his servant ."
"That&h.e.l.lip; I, wilt&h.e.l.lip; beest his, servant."
My chest hurts.
It feels like I"m being bound by something, to the extent of crushing me.
"I swear."
I don"t want to say it.
"I"
I can"t say it.
"swe"
I can"t.
Can"t.
"ar."
The instant everything ends, the world sways dizzily once.
After which, pain runs throughout my body.
"Aa, aa, aa&h.e.l.lip; wuu&h.e.l.lip;"
I reflexively crouch down and curl up firmly.
"You said it well. Then, your reward."
With those words, he thrusts the sword that"s stabbed into Grandpa even deeper and pulls it out in one go.
Grandpa gives a scream of anguish and disappears.
"&h.e.l.lip;?! You said, you won"t erase him!"
"Aa. That"s why I kept my promise, didn"t I? I didn"t erase him. I did whittle his strength down to the minimum though. It may be 200 years or so before he can take up his previous form again?"
It"ll be nice if the cherry blossom tree doesn"t wither by then, won"t it? Saying so, he laughs.
His brown hair glistens as the silver full moon shines upon it.
And his deep blue eyes narrow in amus.e.m.e.nt.
&h.e.l.lip; In this moment, I realise for the first time.
That this is the world of an otome game.
And this onmyoji is one of the capturable targets.
It"s the beginning of a nightmare.
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[1] Onmyoji. Literally translates to Yin Yang Master.()xx