Chapter 1-2: Touyo, the first Black Witch!

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Here comes the second part! Will Touyo be able to survive whatever is coming to him?! Find out in just a few seconds!

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“W-What’s going on?! Why’s the house shaking?!”

Touyo’s heart raced faster. Somewhere inside he could tell that it wasn’t just an earthquake. At this point, he wished it was an earthquake.

But the house continued to shake—the source of all the vibrations was coming from under his feet. He looked down, and somehow, his mind blared that something huge was coming towards him.

He widened his eyes as he sees cracks forming on the floor.

“Touyo!”

His consciousness wavered for a moment. The floor broke apart as the cause of the shakes crashed through.

A long body covered in scales thrust itself through the flooring, rearing its big mouth that opened. It showed several rows of sharp fangs that spun like a power tool. A roar, grating Touyo’s ears, was let loose into the world.

Touyo’s body flew upwards without him meaning to, craning his neck up to find Tsubaki holding his collar in the air.

After turning his head down, the mess that occurred burned into his eyes.

His floor was completely destroyed, along with his entire living room. Everything from the pictures to the cabinets, and even the television was completely demolished by the giant worm that came out of nowhere. Along with the floor, the ceiling and the rooms above were destroyed. Now it showed the night sky dotted with white stars everywhere.

His heart sank into the abyss.

“W-W-W-What the hell!?” He shouted from the bottom of his heart.

The giant worm, dark in color with a purple underbelly reared its head upwards and roared again. This time a shockwave was produced by that powerful roar which sent gusts of wind towards Touyo’s direction.

“Man, that’s one feisty Ghoul!” Tsubaki uttered out, trying to control herself mid-flight from the roar’s gust.

“T-That’s a Ghoul?!”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Tsubaki moved Touyo’s head towards her. “That’s a Ghoul. See, the thing about them is that they only want one thing—to eat anything with an active Magic Core.”

“T-To eat… an active… Magic Core?!”

Connecting the words together, a sense of danger blared in his mind. His mouth was left dry while Tsubaki smirked, a wide smile from the jester.

“Hehe, well? Pretty exciting, eh?”

“Y-You demon! You really are a demon! You made me sign up and now I’m going to die!”

Touyo’s eyes welled tears as he grabbed onto his hanged collar. He tried to get off as he swung his legs with force.

“Hey, hey, you’re the one who wanted to join, remember? As a mage, it’s your duty to stop this Ghoul.”

“You think I can?! You’re crazy! How am I supposed to kill that thing?!”

He snapped back, a vein throbbing on his forehead. This woman was about to send him to his deathbed without letting him become a Black Witch in the first place. However, Tsubaki remained calm--the creature bore no problem for her.

Tsubaki flew around the destroyed living room while the giant ghoul continued its rampage at them by hitting its head over at their side. The worm missed them by an inch as the head crashes to a nearby wall.

“Aaaaaaghh!”

Touyo’s scream bellowed, holding onto his collar to avoid choking himself from Tsubaki’s force. His struggling to survive caused the crazy teacher to smirk.

“Hahaha, look at you—you look so frightened!”

“Why would I not be!?”

He swung his arms to try to hit the woman who has put him through such peril in his lifetime.

But then his life fell short as the support that was hanging onto his collar lets go.

His eyes popped wide open, and gravity soon took control of him.

“Aaaaaahhhh!”

Touyo’s body fell right onto the broken ground, scattered wood and brick hitting his body as they cushioned his fall.

Pain coursed through his body. On his hands and knees, he lifted himself off the ground. It was the most painful moment of his life.

But to his surprise, it wasn’t painful at all. He looked at his hands and expected there to be cuts and bruises, but his skin was only just dirty.

“Touyo!”

The loud shout of his ‘teacher’ reached his ears, making him turn around to find Tsubaki flying in the air with a smile.

“Use what you learned from me to defeat that ghoul once and for all! This will be your conclusion to your first lesson!”

Touyo’s jaw dropped as his one and only chance to get out of his situation flew upwards to the sky, waving at Touyo for a final ‘good luck’.

He spun back around, and his heart stopped as the giant worm that destroyed everything in his home glared directly at him.

It didn’t have any eyes, but Touyo knew that it sensed him being there as it moved its head upwards, opening its mouth and roared. It was ready to tear his body to shreds.

Touyo turned completely white as he turned around and ran for his life.

“Aaaaaahhh!”

Touyo ran out of the broken house and into the street. Will everyone see this moment right now and panic?

But nobody came out. He stopped in the middle of the road, nearly fumbling as he turned his head around.

The big worm crashed through the already-broken house and ran up right to where Touyo was.

The worm salivated from its gaping mouth, leering at him, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

“T-This is impossible!”

Touyo shouted to the one who was surveying over his crisis with a bored expression, covering her mouth as she yawned.

He became even more infuriated at the woman who threw him into this hellish situation, but he had no time to worry. The worm reared its head—aiming for its target.

Touyo’s heart sank. He made a desperate lunge towards the left side barely missing the worm as it pierced into the ground, once again going underground.

“Hah… hah…”

Touyo, on his hands and knees on the rough street, breathed haggardly. The rumblings from underground similar to that of an earthquake only hardened his resolve to run away.

At this moment, Touyo’s mind began to work overtime.

The only way to beat the worm was to use the magic that he just learned. But before, he couldn’t do it at all.

But as long as he’s in this situation, he has no choice but to rely on his natural talent to use magic.

There has never been such a cold chill down his spine until now as he realized this.

He picked himself off the ground, raising his right hand. Following the procedure from Tsubaki’s lesson before, he forced himself to replay the memory over and over again.

At that moment, he needed to send all of his so-called ‘arcana’ from his Magic Core into his hand.

The rumblings were becoming stronger, prompting Touyo to make his mind work faster.

“Make a trail… make a trail… make a fire… make a fire…”

He repeated his mantra, pouring whatever power he imagined he had into his hand.

It didn’t matter how lame it looked. If it would save him, he would do it.

(That’s right…)

From up above, Tsubaki’s gaze was onto Touyo’s expression hardening as he is trying to use magic for the first time.

(One of the theories is that you’re still doubtful. If worst comes to worse, I’ll use shock therapy to make you believe in magic.)

A smile flashed on her face with keen interest, unlike the bored look she had on before.

Touyo focused his entire being into his hand. Then, a tingle. A warm sensation.

It was there. All he needed to do was to just make the trail before imagining the fire. It was simple, yet it took him a while.

The sensation clouded his mind. It was the arcana stored inside.

“And then…”

Before long, his hand created a magic circle, one that was different from Hinota’s magic. It was a brilliant crimson color. His heart raced as he widened his eyes with a bright gaze.

—Boom!

The worm crashed through the street, destroying it into pieces. Its wriggling body lunged upwards, revealing the menacing creature in front of Touyo.

Touyo gritted his teeth. He’s gonna have to pour in every ounce he can imagine into his magic circle.

And imagine the flame from before.

The worm turned and charged at Touyo, opening its large mouth that was closing in at every second.

“Take this! Fire!”

Touyo shouted his own attack, thrusting his hand forward towards the creature. The magic circle glowed and, in the next instant, a torrent of crimson fire burst out from the circle. The blazing flames were flowing and headed towards the opening of the worm’s mouth.

The fireball entered inside, and in reaction—

—Boom!

The worm combusted flames, each explosion popping out like the flowers of springtime. The crimson flames completely devoured the worm, causing it to writhe in agony—its shrill cries resounding in the air.

Touyo could not believe his own eyes, despite the fact that he’s the sole cause of this happening. The sudden burst of wind from the blast caught him by surprise as it blew him away and tossed him onto the street.

He raised his dirtied face to find the worm wriggling as if it was caught on a hook, the flames devouring it alive. It was a miracle that nobody has woken up from this. Picking himself up, he stepped back and marveled at his own work.

His own spell in the making, done all by himself.

“Yeah… Yeah! Hahahaha! Take that, you wormy bastard!”

No longer tired, he even jumped up in total exuberation. His hands flew up into the air without even caring how silly he looked. He never felt this reinvigorated before. It was as if everything dreary and gray before has suddenly become colorful, finally witnessing the world for himself.

But his excitement was cut short. He stopped when the worm was no longer wailing. He turned around and hoped that it might have taken it out. But the worm slowly raised itself, the crimson fires still burning it but it held strong against it. A loud growl emanated from the creature as its open jaws and sharp teeth specifically aimed right at him.

“Umm…” He let out a weary sound. “Sorry?”

The worm wailed, the roar piercing his hearing as he flinched from it. His legs lost strength and tumbled, his butt falling right onto the ground.

The worm then reared its head, and lunged at Touyo with its chasmal mouth.

“Aaaah!” Touyo wailed as he covered himself in his arms, hoping that in some miracle his arms would be enough.

“Okay, that should be enough.”

A voice cut through all the wailing and screaming, taking dominance over everything else. Time had stopped for Touyo when opened his eyes and raised his head. The worm slowed as though it was coming at him in slow motion, its cavernous jaws and the inside of it showing very clearly to him.

But something else caught his attention. Above the worm, the glimmering moon piercing the darkness of the night sky was where he paid attention to. And at the center of that moon was a shadow that loomed over them. The shadow in question was a figure, a dazzling maiden that had her arms and legs crossed—a grin creeping up her face.

“Good job, Touyo. Now let me show you how I do it.”

Tsubaki grinned, and right before she lifts her hand, Touyo noticed the change in her eyes. Her once vibrant lavender colored eyes now turned into a deep shade of rose. Her smile reminded Touyo of a bloodthirsty yet divine character from one of his comics, something that shook the very foundations of Touyo’s soul.

She lifts her hand forward, the purple magic circle appearing once again. The same purplish fire appeared—but this time, it was bigger and the color showed a much deeper shade.

“Fire!”

She unleashed the powerful torrent of fire aiming right at the worm. The flames, unlike Touyo’s fireball, decimated the worm by devouring it whole. It brightened up everything around Touyo in the sea of flames.

Unlike before, Touyo could feel the intensity of the flames. The flames itself continued to fester without letting the worm even give out a wail.

The flames continued burning for a while before it started to lose its drive, slowly dissipating in time. Once the flames dispersed into tiny embers that were whisked away by the passing breeze, Touyo saw the scene around him.

Burnt to a crisp. That’s all he could see. The streets practically melted right off as if lava passed through, and everywhere around it was completely singed.

The worm itself was nowhere to be found.

“W-Whoa…”

A look of shock seemed to be plastered on him the entire night. A sweat ran down his head—his heart was racing. It was enough for him to believe that he was having a heart attack.

But he wasn’t. It was the adrenaline of having escaped from death so casually, and even saw something that made him stand in awe.

Touyo searched and there was not a single trace of the worm left behind. He was about to head back to Tsubaki before he noticed a sparkling gleam from the corner of his eye.

A sphericle jewel that seemed to emit some kind of strange aura around it.

“W-What is that thing?”

Seeing the shining jewel that glinted from the moonlight, Touyo grabbed the jewel for himself, eying it up close.

The jewel was purple, but on the inside there was a strange whirling of darkness.

“T-This looks like it’s possessed.”

“That, my dear student, is the reward from defeating the Ghoul. That’s the core within its body.”

Tsubaki said with a playful tone as she floated towards him with a smirk on her face. Touyo could barely see her the same way after she had just defeated the worm in one spell.

And from the looks of it, her eyes returned to that of lavender.

“You mind if I have that? It’s very important that I get it.”

“S-Sure… What’s it for, anyway?”

Tsubaki snickered. “It’s a secret for now~!”

Touyo assumed that Tsubaki was planning on doing something evil, but so far she has done nothing but help him and proceeded to hand her the jewel.

“Hehe, thank you~ And by the way, Touyo…”

“Y-Yeah?”

“How did it feel?”

It was a simple question. Tsubaki asked in a way that seemed like a normal question for a conversation.

But within her meaning, Tsubaki noticed the burning fire blazing within his core. The urge of excitement filling his veins.

He smirked himself, and answered:

“It felt… awesome.”

He spoke from the heart. Tsubaki responded with a wide grin.

“I see! Then, do you plan on staying as a Black Witch? It may be a little too exciting, but trust me, it’s worth it.”

Tsubaki said with a wink. Touyo raised his hand where the fire came out of, and gripped it into a fist—still feeling the warm sensation from before.

The image of Tsubaki completely beating the worm with one spell, the spell so intense and powerful that it left him dry-mouthed, caused his heart to swell in determination.

“…I’ll do it. I’ll become a Black Witch!”

Even though he said it before, but this time, there were no doubts in his heart. Even when his life was in trouble, he wouldn’t possibly consider rejecting this proposal.

This deal that would forever change his life.

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“Aaaaaah! My house! I’m so screwed!”

The wails of the 12-year-old boy resounded in the night sky. It was mere minutes away before his mother arrives from her work, but Touyo realized the biggest issue of all.

His house was demolished.

Looking at it from the outside, it’s as if it exploded without the fire. Well, the fire was still there, so it really seemed like it exploded.

His mouth gaped as he swore that he saw his young life flash in his eyes. No, it didn’t happen when he fought the worm. It happened after realizing how big in trouble he would be if his house was demolished.

“Tsubaki! I can’t just say that it exploded on its own! She’ll definitely think that I did this!”

He turned back, his eyes pleading for an answer from the girl who just casually floated along. She rested in the air like laying on the softest bed, her hands behind her head.

“Hehe,” A smile formed on her ever silky lips. “That’s why this barrier here is the lord and savior for this night!”

She made herself upright, and practically sprawled her body while pointing her finger upwards

Before long, literal vibrations passed through Touyo in the atmosphere. His body trembled from what could have been the deepest bass drop in the world.

Then—whoosh—a wave of wind passed through him, getting him to widen his eyes at the house that was just demolished several seconds ago.

But now, it was completely fixed.

The door, the walls, and even the ground as he entered inside. The cabinets, the pictures, and everything else of value—especially the television—has been completely restored.

“Whoooaa!”

Touyo’s eyes glistened as he became in awe.

“That’s the power of what I like to call the Existence Barrier. I put it up the moment you were knocked out. It changes the area to transform into another dimensional plane. Everything that happens in there doesn’t exist in the real world, and when everything’s all and done, the barrier gets lifted and everything returns to normal. More importantly, the Ghouls let off a rather strong wave of arcana, so they’re easy to sense and makes it easier for us to make the barrier beforehand.”

“I have no idea what that means,” Touyo commented. “But that sounds so cool!”

“Well, I never expected a kid like you to understand spatial dimensions just yet. But don’t worry, I’ll teach you that along with all the magic in my disposal.”

“S-So I can do that too?!”

“Sure, if you practice hard enough,” Tsubaki gave a wink which got Touyo riled up. “Still, you really impressed me, Touyo! That Fire spell you made completely stunned me!”

“H-Heh, you think so?” Her praise over his magic spell roused his cheeks into a bashful blush.

“It could look prettier, but it’ll have to do. You have to understand—now that you’re my student, you’re expected to look good as a Black Witch, or else you’ll pull my name down the gutter.”

“I-Is that how it works where you come from…?”

“Hehe, I’ll teach you all about it from now on.”

Tsubaki made a light smile, a dazzling one which made Touyo’s cheeks redden.

He turned his head down to his hands, the power surging through him once more.

(So I can… do that too.)

He said with a spark that burst into a flame in his heart.

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There goes the first chapter! I hope everyone enjoyed it! If you like it, remember to give it a like, and comment on anything you find fancy! Even a simple 'Great chapter!' is fine (though I need a little something more to improve it) to show if you like it!