Blood Demon’s Eyeball

"Richard, I am really, really sorry coming to you like this, but can you come with me for a minute?"

Elian appeared to be in a rush and a bit scared. Richard was still waiting for his mana orbs to recharge when Elian came running to him all sweaty and out of breath.

"Did anything happen?"

"No. I mean… ugh! Can't you just come with me for a second? It won't be long. I'd rather show it to you."

Richard furrowed his brow. It was rare to see Elian panicking like this. He was usually level-headed. It also didn't make sense for him to be out of breath being a swordmaster and all.

"Okay," he said as he turned to look at the shop owner who waved his hands in a shooing motion without taking his eyes away on a glowing artifact.

"So… what is this all about?"

Instead of answering him, Elian took off his cloak and showed him his nape. Elian dragged him all the way to a secluded alleyway.

"That…"

Richard couldn't say a word.

A strange, purple eyeball grew on Elian's nape. It looked slimy and shiny, with a deep purple iris and a wide, unblinking pupil. Veins squiggled around it like worms, making it look really weird and gross.

"H—How did that thing get on you?"

"That's what I wanna know!"

"Uh, what do we do now? Okay. How about we go back to the inn first. I'll see what I can do."

Elian put back his cloak and pulled the hood down to his nose.

"No. I don't want her knowing about this. Let's find another place."

"...Okay."

***

Meanwhile, as they looked for another inn, Avisha was having a conversation with the voices in her head.

"Can't you like, not take over my body anymore?" she pleaded.

"Not possible."

"Too lonely."

"Need freedom."

"You're being selfish."

She brushed her face with her hands in frustration. "And I am the selfish one now. Look here, all of you. I just want to live peacefully, you know? Why'd you gotta ruin my life like this?"

"Wrong."

"Not true."

"Liar."

"Avisha will die without us."

"What are you even talking about? If you guys didn't exist, I would have lived peacefully with my family right now. I wouldn't have to do all of these. Ugh! Just… Just listen, okay? I'm trying to negotiate here. At least, um, don't randomly take over my body."

"Liar."

"In denial."

"You wouldn't give us a chance in the first place."

"She thinks we're a fool."

She wanted to deny them but she knew full well they were telling the truth. She never had plans on giving them control over her body, like ever. They made her do weird things that she literally had no choice but to distance herself from her family. In the first place, another reason why she wished to revive that person was so she could return whatever this power back to him. So she wouldn't have to deal with the voices any longer. So she could go back to her siblings.

"Okay. Okay, fine. I'll allow it BUT! Only when I am fighting. You guys love blood, don't you? So take over me when I fight and make a bloody mess out of the enemy. And don't make me forget about what happened either."

She had to compromise somehow. She couldn't allow them to take over so randomly even in the middle of a conversation.

"Not enough."

"You fight so little."

"But we'll allow it."

"In two conditions."

"Tell me," she said while hoping they wouldn't be too difficult.

"You need a mirror."

"And some candles."

"Come to our world."

"And promise to never sacrifice yourself."

***

"Sooooo, I'll try to remove it with a knife and heal it super quickly." Richard suggested.

They just got themselves a room in an inn and Elian was lying on the bed on his stomach with his head turned to one side.

"Sounds like a plan. Go ahead."

Having received the permission, Richard took out a sharp knife and carefully examined the eyeball, grimacing as it suddenly moved and looked at him.

He gulped, swallowing down a sense of foreboding creeping up his senses, and made a precise incision to carve out the eyeball. The knife effortlessly glided through the flesh, causing Elian to flinch involuntarily but he endured through the pain.

As soon as the eyeball was removed, green light then emitted from Richard's hands and began healing the wound.

"Burn it," Elian instructed.

He already had an idea about the identity of that thing. He suspected it was the Blood Demon's Eyeball. That growing on his body meant his mutation had already begun. Sooner or later, he will completely turn into that entity's vessel.

His fist slowly turned into a ball. He had finally come to a decision.