Dark Magic

WINIFRED

"So, what you're saying is...you're useless?"

"Isn't that a harsh thing to say, my lady?"

"It is harsh but it's the truth, isn't it? I'm not going to sugarcoat it for you."

"It seems I have not won your heart yet. I'll have to try harder."

Is he really trying to sweet-talk me? I, Winifred, the one who wormed my way into high society and stole the juiciest gossip before anyone noticed anything? I can't believe he's been alive for centuries and still doesn't know anything.

"You really can't hide your emotions," he chuckled, covering his mouth with his gloved hand. He's so annoying. Maybe I should've just taken the other magic tutor.

"Oh, don't throw me away just yet. I can tell you're considering getting rid of me. I'm hurt. I thought we were allies."

"You claim to be an ally yet you can't tell me a single thing about this body! I need better allies, don't I?"

"If you have allies, you don't throw them away easily," he picked my hand, drawing lines on my palm. I could feel his skin on mine, every single sensation clearly.

"If you do, it's considered betrayal. Allies stick together till the end. Friendship wins."

"You sound like a child," I replied, unable to hide my disgust. I snatched my hand back, ignoring the hurt look he had on his face.

"You didn't have a lot of friends, did you?"

"I could say the same for you, Mr. Tutor."

"I had friends. They betrayed me and left me rot for several centuries before I regained enough strength to leave. I need better friends and that's why I have you, My lady."

This grown man is insane. Someone, get me away from this man. He has completely lost it.

"Let's continue our lesson, my lady."

Well, at least he wasn't completely useless. The lessons were easy to understand as he was teaching me like I was a child and since he was secretly teaching me dark magic, I was interested.

Dark magic wasn't what I thought it was. No babies were being sacrificed and there were no complicated rituals. In fact, the reason why it got its bad reputation was because Dark Magic was so easy, it could be done by just anyone. But, that was mid-level dark magic.

Low level magic, normally is done with the use of a single chant spell. Mid level magic is done with the use of an incantation. High level magic is done with the use of a magic circle. Meister level magic is done with thought. The more the spiritual connection, the more powerful the magic was.

Normal people with no affinity for magic could use dark magic. Dark magic derived its source from darkness and mana mixed together. Darkness was everywhere so using dark magic was easy, as long as one knew the spells. However, the difference was in the output. Dark magic could easily be used but the output would differ based on the innate talent of the user.

If those with no talent produced an output of 50%, those with a little talent produced 70%. Those with considerable talents produced 90 percent and those chosen by the god of darkness produced about 1000%. It was basically a cheat. And there was the fact that output could be increased with very...drastic methods. That's where the idea of rituals and human sacrifices came in.

"Human sacrifices are often a last resort. If someone resorts to using a human sacrifice right away, then you can tell they're insane."

"You're walking in the skin of another man," I immediately pointed out.

"This isn't human sacrifice. I didn't kill him."

"What's the difference if you're using his body?"

"Can we just stop chastising me for every single decision and focus on the class?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because it's time for Lunch."

I smirked and rang the bell Darryl kept close to my leg. Hearing the sound of the bell was the signal the maids needed to come in. They were always punctual and it made it easier for me to eat.

Yes, I'll admit it. I'm pushing him to his limits. I wanted to know how much more he could take until he snapped. He's calm now but I wanted to know his limit. Unfortunately for him, I'm talented at pissing people off. I mean, I pissed my father off with my birth. It doesn't get better than that.

"Winifred, I'm here."

That voice, that scent, it was Darryl. I reached out my hand and he took it.

"We have quite the spread today as well. What do you want to eat first?"

"Are you going to feed her, Darryl? I thought she could eat by herself."

"No, Sir. I'm selecting the dishes she wants to eat. She's very selective with her dishes and always wants a lot of meat in it."

"Protein is good."

"There's no need to respond to him, Darryl. You can continue."

"Come on, Winifred. You have to be nice to Lord Silver."

Have to be nice? Why should I be nice? They can see, I can't. All I want to do is eat. Now that doesn't interest me anymore.

I picked up my cane and lengthened it.

"Where are you going, Winifred?"

"I'm using my lunch break to take a nap. I'm not hungry anymore."

"Are you really that upset? I'm sorry, I won't say anything anymore. Please, just eat."

"I said I wasn't hungry."

"I know. But you rang the bell for lunch, didn't you? It would be a waste, since there's a lot of meat here. You can smell it, can't you?"

I'm not going to lie, it smelt fantastic. But I didn't want to give in so easily. Especially since Nathan was watching me. He was waiting to see what I would choose.

"Fine, I'll eat. But I'll only eat the meat."

"You won't grow healthily like that," Nathan said.

"Having only meat for lunch once in a while isn't going to negatively impact my health, Lord Silver."

"You're right, my lady. Do as you please."

After lunch, I could take the rest I wanted. I walked to my room alone, closing the door. I couldn't see or sense anyone around me so I could finally relax.

There was something I wanted to try. It was a little dangerous so I made sure to keep my distance from the two annoyingly prone to worry males.

I lay on the bed and closed my eyes. Dark magic was easy because darkness was everywhere. All I could see was darkness. If normal people found it easy to use dark magic, it should be simpler for someone like me who was a Saintess of the god of darkness.

Nathan only taught me one spell. It was a simple word spell and he only did it because I bugged him to. It was a simple movement spell that could move objects from one position to another. The 'object' I wanted to remove...was the darkness in my vision.

The first step was calling out to the darkness. That was easy since I could already see it. The next step was whispering the spell.

[Hécari]

Now, in hindsight, I thought it was a bad idea. But it was only after I did it that I realized how much of a horrible idea if was.

"AAARRRGHH!"

Pain tore through my skull like someone picked a sledgehammer and repeatedly hit on it without mercy. Losing my balance and fall to the ground head first made it infinitely worse. I would've lost consciousness and probably died if I didn't notice it.

It worked. There was a huge mirror in my room right in front of my bed I just noticed and I could see my reflection.

There was no difference in the body I had back on my world and the body I had now. The only difference were my eyes which were a murky grey. Blood was falling from my eyes, coming from my eyeballs like they were pierced through.

So, the problem were my eyeballs.

"WINIFRED! ARE YOU OKAY?"

It was Darryl. I really wanted to see his face. But the moment I looked up, my vision went dark again and I passed out.

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NATHAN

The moment I heard her screams, my body moved like it was being pulled towards her. She was almost immediately quiet and that only worried me more. The boy was faster, getting to her before me. He cradled her in his arms, urging her to respond. Her eyes were wide open but she wasn't conscious.

The problems were those cuts on her eyeballs. They continuously bled out until red became black. I knelt beside her body and examined the cut. There was no weapon nearby neither was there any other presence other than her own.

"She couldn't possibly...no, she didn't..."

"What's wrong with her, Sir?!" Darryl asked in a hysterical voice.

"She used magic."

"What?! How?!"

"That's what I want to know too. I know how to take care of this but there are several things I would need. Get me cotton, lots of processed cotton. Tell the maids I need a needle and embroidery thread. And I want you to bring me two buckets of water, in two separate buckets."

He handed her body to me and rushed out of the room immediately. I lifted her off the floor and put her on the bed.

"Impatience is a terrible trait, Winifred. But I can understand the mind of the desperate."

She couldn't hear me but if she could, she would no doubt be offended. She was but a child, a very troubled child. If her impatience and inhospitality wasn't corrected, she would grow up to be an insufferable woman.

"I ran here as fast as I could. The maids and butler are bringing the others but I brought the cotton first ."

"You're a smart boy, Darryl."

I took the cotton and placed it on both eyes. It was going to take a good amount of effort and drastic measures but I vowed to save this stubborn student of mine no matter what. I could just hope she appreciated it.