Keepers Of The Occult (NaNoWriMo 2024) Chapter 11: Chapter 10: Only Human (Part Two)

Read chapter 11 of Keepers Of The Occult (NaNoWriMo 2024) by Mercynarie on NovelPedia.

Chester’s bitterness was still a long way from subsiding as he trudged along the abandoned footpath, kicking the occasional rock stupid enough to stand in his way. Of course, he could’ve simply teleported or summoned a cloud to get to where he wanted to go. But he thought that a long walk could help clear his head. He was wrong, obviously . A warm breeze breathed down his neck even though it had only just stopped raining. He looked up at the darkening sky, suddenly feeling the temperature rise sharply. Chester frowned slightly with confusion. He wasn’t a geography expert, but even a child knew that’s not how the weather worked. The boy stopped in his tracks as the sky turned a midnight black almost instantly. Magic surged through his veins. If some bored Magus was taking the piss with him right now, that bloke was going to be in for a rude shock. Chester was not in the mood for anything. Something hissed from behind him. The teenage Magus swung a glowing hand back with an aggressive growl, his foul mood lowering his inhibitions even more than usual. The stray magic splattered carelessly, leaving gashes on the nearby brick wall. Something small darted away nimbly. Chester growled in recognition at the floating disembodied head. It remained stationary in the air, its grin half-hidden behind shadows and its eyes glowing a sinister dark red. Chester did not return the smile. “Piss off,” he snarled. “I’m not in the mood to deal with you.” The Yokai cackled like a witch. “That’s funny, boy. Weren’t you trying to catch me with your friends just two days ago?” It seemed to be speaking in another language, but Chester could somehow hear it in fluent English. “What’s wrong; had a little fight with them?” “ Shut up! ” Chester kicked away a nearby rock in frustration. “Get out of my sight while you can, monster.” “Tsk tsk.” Bloodied saliva dripped from the Yokai’s mouth as a long tongue unravelled from within it. “A rock won’t fight back, but I will.” “You’re welcome to try .” The Magus lunged forward, purple clocks flashing in his irises. Electricity crackled through the ionised air as he swung a glowing sword at the temporarily frozen monster. It sliced cleanly through the head like a hot knife through butter. His swings got faster, more feral. Chester hadn’t actually put that much mana into his time-stop spell, which meant that the Rokurokobi would probably only be frozen in time for a few more seconds. He had to make this offence count. A strangled shriek rang out, and Chester backtracked instinctively. He watched in disgust as the severed parts of the face put themselves back together with sickening squelching sounds. Chester steadied his breathing to calm himself. He had really only attacked the monster out of pure frustration. There was no strategy, no plan of attack. The Magus studied the supernatural energy swirling around the Yokai carefully this time. With its magical density, it was no surprise that physical injury meant nothing to it. He needed more information before he could subdue the monster. Not because he wanted to fulfil whatever rubbish ‘duty’ his society had for him, but because this monster would harm innocent people without a second thought, including the ones he cared about. Colourful bangles materialised around Chester’s arms, his eyes never leaving the Rokurokubi. They circled each other, cautiously regarding each other. Every now and then, a flash of magic or a careless tongue swipe punctuated the tension in the air, but the opponents took their time to study each other otherwise. The Rokurokubi jabbed low with its sharpened tongue. The Magus avoided it with a stylish twirl before swinging a magically conjured whip at its temple. In return, the monster feinted to the right and swept its tongue towards the left at the last second. The attack connected as Chester staggered away, his protection charms flashing in alarm. Stillness returned. “I didn’t come here to kill you,” the Rokurokubi broke the silence nonchala