CHAPTER 8:

  The door opened quietly, it was night, moonlight was casting down elegantly through the window

  Charybdi and Scylla looked up at the door as it opened

  On the other end, there was their landlord

  “Ladies, I believe that we have to talk about the current situation of affairs”

  “Look, we will have the money by next month, but currently, our budget has been tight because of some incidents”

  The landlord simply cocked his eyebrow in response

  “And what are these incidents that you are referring to?”

  “We can't exactly tell you either”

  “Incidents that you can't tell me? Who do you take me for, a fool?”

  Impatiently so Charybdi tapped her foot on the ground

  “Tch!”

  She didn't bother anymore, with a swift motion she got off the bed and looked at him in the eyes

  “Look here asshole, we don't have the money nor do we owe you an explanation, so you better back off”

  “Wow, Charybdi, no need to go to such methods yet”

  Charybdi ignored her words and continued to stare at the landlord

  “Or what? Gonna twist my head off or something?”

  “Maybe, depends on what you're gonna say next”

  Scylla tensed a bit at her sister's words, maybe she needed to step in this time

  “Listen kid, stop wasting my time, either give me the money or I'm gonna have to force it out of you both”

  Charybdi needed no less reason than that

  In an instant she grabbed him by the throat and violently bashed his skull against the walls of the room

  It killed him in mere seconds due to blood loss, the scarlet blood stained the white walls of the room

  Scylla jumped back in shock at the gruesome scene, she was used to her sister murdering people, but this was unexpected…

  “Well we have to clean up this mess quickly before anyone else comes in, or else we're toast”

  Charybdi wiped the blood of the landlord off her face with her palm while looking back at her sister over her shoulder

  “Why are you so worried about that? If anyone sees this, I'll kill them too”

  “Problem is that we don't have the time or connections to cover what we do here”

  Scylla said casually whilst crouching down at the landlord corpse

  Charybdi couldn't deny her words, letting out a chuckle, she responded

  “Ever since I can remember we have been on the ghetto from all sorts of things, and then out of nowhere, a new host comes up and ruins our reputation completely, losing us all of our connections”

  “I get that, but bickering over him will get us nothing, we just got to lift our heads up like we always have been”

  “Phtt, I know that already. What I'm saying is that the kid is simply extraordinary, I mean he suffered what even immortals like angels and devils fear”

  “That is his most important trait I believe he has….you know sis…it wouldn't be a bad idea to join him? It wouldn't hurt us”

  “Are you serious? Ally with him? After he bought us such great shame?”

  “Would you like him to bring even more embarrassment to us then?”

  “Bu- Ugh, fair point…”

  As soon as Scylla finished talking, Charybdi turned towards the hallway and looked around

  Click!

  Her head snapped around at the sound

  But when she checked, nothing was there

  “What could you possibly have heard this time?”

  “It sounded like really rushed footsteps…they disappeared quickly though”

  “Looks like you're hallucinating again, great timing”

  “For the rational one, you are rude”

  Surprisingly, the neighbors didn't hear a

  thing either

  No one was going to come to their, it was one extra workload less for Scylla to worry about

  They began cleaning up the blood and hid the body in a trash bag

  Then they teleported it in an active volcano

  They threw the corpse inside the active volcano as they watched it being engulfed by the magma

  Now, not even magic could prove that they had killed someone, no evidence on the crime scene left after the cleanup…

  Haru, after waking up in the morning, saw Matthew and Sylvia sleeping on the couch

  He decided to stay quiet instead of waking them, knowing that it would be beneficial to lay low for now and continue on with his daily life

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  He then got to his morning routine of showering, brushing his teeth, and making breakfast…

  Instead of going to school like normal he used a rune card

  Now standing there at the schools gate for a moment, with a sigh he went inside

  It was anything but normal for him to go back to school after what he had experienced

  Along the way he kept his gaze low the floor the whole time

  (What a drag…)

  The school day had already mostly passed…

  The cold gazes and comments about him fell on deaf ears , wherever he was, whether it'd be in the cafeteria, hallway, stalls, classroom, it didn't matter

  Simply put, he didn't care anymore, especially after Miss Smiththrowe's death

  Even when he was in class, he kept falling asleep

  Every hour of class he had was more numbing than the other, but the clock kept ticking slowly

  By the fourth period he'd barely even see in front of him anymore

  “Hey dude…you ok?”

  “Yeah…I'm fine”

  “...”

  Even though it was a stranger who asked him, it still didn't help

  The environment around him became suffocating and infuriating, hardly was he moving around anymore

  Every minute of his stay at school felt like a vice grip, as at certain points his focus was more distilled than ever

  (I feel like I am drowning…but why? Even though Sylvia cheered me up, I still feel like shit…)

  When in a random lunch break of the day the principal spoke over the megaphone

  “Haru Senkawa, my office now”

  Haru was surprised. He hasn't done any harm, so why the hell would he have gotten into trouble for?

  (What? And since when did HE start using the microphone in his office?...)

  After some deep breaths he made his way to the principal's office anyway, basically dragging himself as he climbed up the stairs to the second floor

  Drifting to the right towards the principal's office, the area was empty as all the teachers were on break

  That meant that he didn't have to worry about anyone asking him questions on his way to the office

  For a moment he stood there before the door and knocked lightly

  “Come in”

  A man's voice could be heard from the other side of the door

  Haru peeked his head through the door before fully coming in

  Surprisingly Annabelle was next to the principal who was sat in his chair

  “Sir I don't think you know who that woman is”

  The principal waved his hand slowly

  “Don't worry about her now, sit down, we have talking to do”

  Haru reluctantly sat down, his body was visibly stiff, it was obvious that he was ready to act, especially with her around

  “Very well, now I may go straight to the point, do you remember when the basement was unlocked? The very day that you became the imaginary codex”

  Harus's eyes widened in shock, and going about this logically

  Annabelle must have told him, but how did Annabelle even know in the first place?

  (This defies all logic…what is this dreadful feeling?...)

  “As you know, on that day, there were rumors about stealing and reselling items. It turns out it was indeed true, I was the one doing it”

  “So you're the one who was behind that, and what the hell was you're reasoning there?”

  “Because I asked him to see all this little scheme was all part of my plan”

  “Plan? What plan are you talking about? And what could you possibly gain from that stuff?”

  Internally, Haru was seething at this, biting his lip and all

  “It's easy to answer that question, well I mean obviously business, believe it or not your school is a running place for the underground and the media, it's like a major major player”

  The principal just stood there in silence, he didn't seem to care one bit about being controlled by Annabelle like a puppet on strings

  “So that was your plan, meddling in with some pretty big connections to save your ass?”

  “...”

  Annabelle didn't even bother to deny his claims, she knew full well what she was doing

  The principal waved his hand at Annabelle to interrupt her

  “You're probably thinking of us right now in a really bad light, but what if we could make you an offer?”

  “If you agree with us, we promise not to have anything to do with you ever again with you or your family. You also have to retire your position as a holy being”

  “What the hell do you even mean by retiring?”

  (Retire? Is that even possible?...)

  The principal leaned on the table, putting his arms on his chin before speaking

  “You really don't know? Well, that's a shame, but I guess we could explain it to you”

  An eerie smile came to Annabelle, her hands now being wrapped around the principal's neck

  “The only way you can lose your status and power as a holy being is by retiring, meaning, willingly giving up your holy relic”

  Haru hadn't thought of that before, although it did spark a thought inside his head

  (So you can't force it. It has to be done willingly, that's reassuring to know…)

  “About the deal, I'm sorry to say, but I refuse”

  Annabelle smiled, seemingly satisfied, his persistence is something that really amazed her

  “.....”

  The room stayed quiet for a few seconds before the principal abruptly got off his seat

  Then he exited the room without a care in the world, it seemed like their end goal was reached, so certainly, he didn't have anything else to do with it

  “That guy is really apathetic. He didn't even bother, like a wolf in sheep's clothing”

  Annabelle walked towards the door while looking back at Haru

  “We need to have a little chat in private. It's important”

  Haru stood up reluctantly and approached her at the door

  “Lead the way, I guess…”

  “Excellent”

  They both exited the office, heading towards the first case of stairs

  “What is so important that you need to tell me in private, though?”

  “It's something that will determine your future here, in this school”

  (Be more specific next time bitch…)

  They descended down a floor where Annabelle led him to an off limits area of the school

  Down again to the basement of the school, Haru tensed up. The memories of this place came back flooding to him from the first encounter with his newfound life

  Annabelle smiled sadistically. She leaned against one of the metal tanks and moved her lips

  “Don't try to scream or leave. All the doors are locked”

  Haru now could sense the danger crawling down his spine, without will the iris of his eyes shrunk

  (This crazy bitch….)

  Annabelle walked up to him and placed her right arm on his chest

  “I don't think you'll do that since you're a good boy”

  (Oh I'm gonna make you pay for your past insolence…)

  With no further hesitation, Annabelle began sucking his blood via a kiss…

  Hours passed, and each grueling minute felt like an eternity as Annabelle kept sexually harassing Haru via the vampire kiss

  Each time she'd kiss him she'd suck the blood out of him, his body would refill immediately with more blood than she'd suck out. That was the primary function of the imaginary codex

  The pain was intense as Annabelle's had sunk as deep as possible into his sensitive lips each time

  Until Annabelle finally got off him, her hair and clothes disheveled

  “I knew it, you didn't make a sound, maybe I broke you? Oops”

  Haru laid down there, trying his hardest to seem unfazed. No matter what though, it was forever etched in his memory

  “So, what is that what you wanted with me down here?”

  “Oh yeah, and there is that. What this is taking a wanted to say is that since you didn't agree to this deal, I no longer find this school interesting”

  “Yet again being so vague with me, but go on explain”

  “What I simply mean is that now you have two options, either you quit this school entirely so it has completely no value to me or you stay and watch me slaughter them all as no one walks away knowing my business like that”

  “Great now so you're a bitch and psychotic, anything else that I'm missing?”

  Annabelle lifted herself off his stomach, not really seeming amused by his sarcasm

  “I'm surprised that you aren't bawling your eyes now”

  Haru paused for a moment, that one hit too close to home, every muscle in his face tensed while trying to keep the facade

  Annabelle turned around and walked away, not wanting to pressure him even more, she opened the door to leave the basement

  (I can't believe I fell for the lie that all the doors were locked…)

  As Annabelle left, Haru couldn't hold onto the facade for longer…

  His face went expressionless, emotionless and utterly defeated

  Standing up from the ground which he was laying down, he could do nothing but wonder the school

  (I can barely move…)

  His body dragged across the cold concrete, yet his hands rested by his sides

  No one even gave a fuck seeing him in that state, quite frankly

  Wandering and wandering, thinking about the kiss

  His mental psyche was now broken

  (Kill them all? Why should I care?...)

  With that he started doubting if he was even worthy, if this was all even worth it

  The odds were stacking up against him, from the very start, it started to drown him….

  He cried and pleaded but not even the Heavens could hear his cries

  “Please! For God's sake! Someone!”

  “.....”

  A bottomless pit and an unshakable mountain to climb, once he stood in front of the school gate he made a decision

  Thinking back to what Annabelle said

  (Fuck you…)

  He should probably quit school for sometime, with lazy movement he opened the gate and stepped out

  Looking back at the school didn't even cross his mind, gaze stuck to the pavement while walking

  For a while he aimlessly walked around the school, trying to find a spot where he could be all alone and rest

  He eventually found a bus stop where no one else was, now sitting down on the bench and leaning his head against the glass on the side

  The sunlight cast down upon him? It was still early in the day

  The mix of the coldness of winter and summer was odd to him

  He lifted his head up to look at the sun

  that was blinding his eyesight, even if he were to move somewhere else the sun engulfed on the entire bench

  (Can't I just get some peace?...)

  It was like the universe was against him today with how much of what had happened…

  Getting up from the bench he left

  Even the rune card in his fingers felt empty, he was back again at his now empty house

  Nothing even seemed to move in the perimeter, this house was like a new cemetery

  Nevertheless he stepped in to take a shower in his comfort

  First, taking his clothes from the drawer and changing in the bathroom

  He then turned on the water to heat it up and waited for a bit before stepping in the shower

  With soap in hand he rinsed himself first with the running water

  Then putting on the shampoo to properly wash

  After getting done with the showering he closed the water and stood there in silence for a while, glancing into nowhere

  “...”

  (What if she was right?...)

  After a while he stepped out of the shower and got dressed again in order, with the socks first then the boxers jeans and then the shirt

  He stepped out of the bathroom and left the door open to let the steam off from the hot shower…

  When walking past the kitchen he thought to make a salad but he didn't even have the strength in him to do that

  For now he ignored his hunger and went into his bedroom , the phone was left on the bedside table, charging, with a sigh he took out the charger

  After what happened today he decided to relax and take his mind off the incident with the internet…

  All he could see where headlines and theories about the 9 holy beings

  He checked his socials and all his friends that were following him were gone…

  Not only was his public image destroyed but also, his digital one, now he had no life now outside of the prophecy stuff now

  While rolling on the bed he set phone aside on the bedside table where it was, proceeding to sulk in tears while burying his face into his pillow

  Minutes passed before he slowly drifted into sleep

  (I can't seem to relax…but I'm feeling drowsy…)

  Maybe a rest was all he needed?...

  He woke up in the middle of the night all sweaty and panting for air

  (This day has gone to utter shit…)

  Not knowing what else to do he stood on his bed and reconciled with his own thoughts

  (I can't calm down it seems…)

  Hell, he wasn't even sure that he'd visit this place again so he had no choice

  He went to the bathroom again, this time, to fix himself

  Having nothing else to do to relax, he slowly tended to the house

  Tucking everything, every toy or book that he had away, he arranged the accommodations while cleaning all the windows of the house

  lastly, he took the keys and locked the house, he didn't even know where to put the keys

  (They would probably be somewhere in Sylvia's place…)

  He walked towards the edge of the huge balcony and glanced down at the view

  Reminiscent of his past, only this time, his parents weren't there by his side to cheer him up

  They were gone, and now, he had to face change completely alone

  He looked at the time(smartwatch)

  Damn, it was already late enough…

  Looking back at the house, it made him shed some tears, with his hand he wiped them off

  Finally, he used a rune card to teleport to Sylvia's place…