Azariah C. Alastair

Huff!—

— Haahh!

A young man gasped, his chest feeling like it was on fire.

He started struggling to breathe, like trying to suck air through a straw blocked by a thick milkshake.

Sweat poured down his face like raindrops in a storm, his shirt sticking to his skin like glue.

"Ahhh!" He whimpered, the pain spreading like wildfire through his body.

He experienced excruciating pain from what felt like a thousand needles piercing his chest, with each prick sending shockwaves through his body.

— Thud!

Dropping to his knees, he gripped his chest tightly as though attempting to keep himself from falling apart.

His teeth sank into his arm, the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth as he bit down hard, hoping to distract himself from the overwhelming pain.

But it was of no use.

The pain was relentless, pounding in his chest like a drumbeat from hell.

Then, as he was in the middle of his pain, a tsunami of memories crashed over him.

Memories that weren't his own—memories that contained the scariest of traumas and even one of the most horrifying things to see washed over him.

Tears welled up in his eyes, spilling over and tracing wet trails down his cheeks.

"Azariah..." He uttered a familiar name.

— Thump...Thump...Thump!

Finally, the young man slowly eased his grip on his chest, the pain gradually subsiding to a dull ache.

"Haaah... haah..."

He blinked away the tears, his breathing steadying as he tried to make sense of what had just happened.

His gaze fell to his arm, where a deep bite mark oozed blood.

"Damn it..." he murmured, his voice trembling slightly.

He reached for a tissue and pressed it against the wound, wincing as he applied pressure to stop the bleeding.

After a moment, he pushed himself up from the ground and made his way to the bathroom.

Turning on the shower, he let the warm water cascade over him, washing away the sweat and blood and soothing his aching muscles.

As he stood beneath the steady stream, his mind began to clear, the fog of pain slowly lifting.

And then, like a bolt of lightning, it hit him.

"I'm Azariah."

The warm water trickled down his back as he fixed his gaze on his reflection in the bathroom mirror.

In front of him, an unusually handsome young man stood, who was currently himself.

His dark violet hair cascaded over his shoulders, framing a sharp jawline that added to his allure.

But it was his eyes that captured his attention the most.

They were a striking ice blue, reminiscent of a moonlit night, and held a depth that seemed to draw him in.

His physique was nothing short of aesthetic perfection. Muscles rippled beneath his skin, defining his form in all the right places.

His abs were like chiseled marble, each ridge and curve pronounced in the soft light of the bathroom.

And then there was his... well, his little brother...

It was simply perfection; no questions asked.

"I'm Azariah C. Alastair," he said again, the words feeling strange and unfamiliar on his tongue.

"Ahahah..." He suddenly started laughing.

However... he quickly stopped.

"Azariah... he really suffered a lot. I'm not even sure how I'm not thinking about killing myself right now." He brushed his wet hair backward.

After a few minutes, Azariah dried his body and put on some comfortable clothes. After that, he sat on the bed and spoke in a low voice.

"Awakening Panel."

— Pop!

In front of him, a familiar panel that he saw a lot on the [Nelsith's Eroge Academy] appeared, however, now it didn't contain his username.

Or the attributes that were granted to the protagonist.

It now contained Azariah's attributes.

⋘ ― ― ― Awakening Panel ― ― ―⋙

Name: Azariah C. Alastair [17]

Titles: Broken Beyond Repair

Rank: F

⤬ Strength: F-

⤬ Agility: E-

⤬ Stamina: F

⤬ Vitality: F

⤬ Mana: G+

⤬ Charisma: S

⤬ Luck: S

[Skill Tab]

Current Status: Emotionally Broken, Mana Exhaustion, Broken Core.

——+——+——+——

Looking at his status, Azariah wasn't surprised at all. He knew that "Azariah" would be the weakest in the beginning phase of the game.

However, what he was curious about was how "Azariah" got strong.

"Skill Tab."

⋘ ― Skill Tab ―⋙

⤬ Forbidden Physique [Passive]

⟶ The user possesses a forbidden body that is highly attractive to supreme or higher spirits. The larger their power, the more attractive it will be.

⟶ No living being can detect this kind of physique.

⤬ Imminent Curse (Temporarily until broken)

⟶ The user cannot control any of the elements.

——+——+——

"...Is this really what I'm looking at?" Azariah's mouth parted as he looked at his own status.

He didn't care about the second skill at all, since he could probably break it with the dukedom's resources.

"A body that can attract supreme or higher spirits... Now, it makes sense why he only got stronger in the academy."

"The academy is full of hidden spirits and there are even a few supreme spirits because of the mana's purity."

"He probably... made a contract with those supreme spirits and easily got much stronger."

Knowing this, Azariah was thrilled, however, as he was about to formulate his own plans for the academy...

"What am I happy about?"

"Do I even deserve to be happy?"

"I have failed so many times, just because I have a special physique it doesn't mean that I won't fail again."

"Did you forget what happened in the past, Azariah?"

"You were powerless. And because of that, you lost your most precious person."

"You're useless, worthless... why are you even alive?"

Hearing a voice whisper into his ear just like the devil, Azariah's eyes gradually became empty.

He shrugged it off and opened the door from his room.

"Young Master, the Duchess has called you." A butler who was seemingly waiting for Azariah, stated as he bent down his head.

Azariah merely nodded his head and walked towards his mother's office.

Azariah's father had died in war, and because of that, his mother took control of the entire dukedom.

Nobody dared to oppose her since she was by means much stronger than any commander under the King.

If you were to compare her power to Azariah's father, one could say that she was much more stronger.

She was what people called—[Mana Child].

She was simply loved by [Mana] and that made her one of the strongest mages in the entire world, if not the actual strongest.

— Knock! Knock!

He grazed his knuckles against the door awaiting his mother's response.

"You may enter." A calm yet manly voice came from the room.

Azariah opened the door, and he was met with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Despite that, he remained calm and simply asked. "Mother, I heard that you called me?" 

"Yeah, I did... Zero."

— Chill...

At those words, the temperature in the room dropped by a lot as Azariah's eyes turned colder than ever.

"Woah~, I see that you're still as feisty as ever." Her lips curled into a deep smile as she held her cheek with her right hand.

"Do not call me by that name." He replied coldly.

"Ahh... I can do whatever I want, my dear Azariah." Her smile only widened at his words.

"Mhm~, it's just a pity, you know? Even with all those opportunities that I gave you... you just rejected them." With a deep sigh, she lifted her hand and snapped her fingers.

Suddenly, Azariah materialized out of thin air and landed right in her lap.

Her hands immediately reached out to his hair and slowly started brushing it softly.

"........" Azariah remained motionless despite her actions.

So, she leaned in close, whispering softly in his ear.

"Why did you choose those tiny ants over your own beloved mother? Your dear progenitor?" Her breath was warm against his neck, causing his body to shiver in response.

"Stop, Althea." Azariah turned his head as he called his mother by her own name.

His gaze was cold as ice and Althea could feel the room's temperature drop even more as he looked into her eyes.

They stood like that for a few seconds before Azariah stood up and walked towards the office's door.

"Hey, Azariah..." Althea called out to his name with a gentle tone.

Azariah didn't turn his head and simply stopped as he grabbed the doorknob with his right hand.

"Even though you may think it's a lie..."

"I truly love you."

— SLAM!

Upon hearing her words, a vein popped into Azariah's forehead as he slammed the door and left the office.

"Ahh..."

"My Dear Azariah..." Althea sighed.

She lowered her head as her lips curled into a deep smile, and finally, she went back to work.