Chapter 32: Almost a Punishment
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: PlumSauce
Over the next few days, Coraci spent most of his time at the Association, dealing with Mariana’s case.
He had to report the entire incident in full to headquarters. He had used soul-transfer sorcery and brought back a Lizardman girl who now needed care — though she was human now.
John also had to submit a report, though he didn’t need to contact headquarters directly. He wrote about feeding on Coraci’s blood but left out the part about the visions.
Those visions had once been vivid, as if he had personally experienced them. Even after he’d snapped out of it and turned to face the Abyss minotaur and the spider, the images of that dark corridor and the sky had still lingered in his mind’s eye.
But now, he had to strain to recall any details. It was like a dream — clear and coherent when you first wake, only to fade as hours pass. After a few days, all that remained was the faint sense that you had dreamt something real, with no memory of what it had been.
John had planned to tell Coraci about it, but now he didn’t even know where to start. The more time passed, the less he could remember. He recalled running, the forest, the sky, and a man reaching out to him in the woods.
He could no longer clearly picture the man’s face — only that he was very tall, with what seemed to be black hair and blue eyes…
The thought froze him in place. Vampires don’t feel cold, yet the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
A tall man. Black hair. Blue eyes.
Just like… the one who had once enthralled Burton, the man the Association had encountered among the remnants of the Arcane Covenant’s forces, the one who had killed several exorcists and hunters.
He dialed Coraci’s number, deciding he couldn’t put it off any longer. Coraci had to know immediately.
When Coraci answered, the background on his end was noisy.
“Are you busy? I’ve got something important to tell you…or it might be important,” John said uncertainly.
“Go ahead. It’s only afternoon — can’t believe you’re awake.”
“I couldn’t sleep. It’s like this—” John drew in a deep breath. “When I bit you, I saw a vision. And in it, I saw that physician.”
There was a pause of several seconds on the other end. “Wait, what?”
Like a fading dream, John could barely put the scene into words now. He did his best to describe what he remembered, focusing on the tall man with black hair and blue eyes.
Coraci asked, “How old did the man look?”
“Pretty young. I’m not sure exactly…”
“The one the Association encountered at that time was at least forty,” Coraci murmured, almost to himself. After a moment’s silence, he asked, “Are you saying you saw it from a first-person perspective? Not like watching a movie?”
“Right. I could see ‘my’ hands and feet — except they weren’t mine. And they weren’t yours either.”
“How old was the ‘you’ in the vision?”
“I’m not sure. I just remember he was tall — definitely not a child.”
“John, go to the Association after sunset.” Coraci seemed to move into a quieter place as he spoke; the background noise faded. “We’ll need to undergo investigation and detection. Both of us.”
“What? Why?”
“First, I wasn’t supposed to use sorcery at all. They have to check whether my soul’s been tainted.”
John didn’t know what “check” or “tainted” meant, so he kept quiet and let Coraci continue.
“Second, what you saw while feeding might not have been my memory. It could have been from your bloodline.”
“Impossible! That wasn’t my own body…”
“I know,” Coraci said. “I’m talking about your bloodline, not you. You understand how bloodkin pass on their lineage, don’t you? The blood you inherited carries the power of your father and your forebears. That power may also carry other things into your soul, like how clumps of soil cling to the roots when you pull crops from the ground.”
“You mean my father — or some other elder — might have met that ‘physician’?”
“Not necessarily. We can’t even be sure it was the same person. Tall, black-haired, blue-eyed men are common enough. In any case, come to the Association after sunset. Headquarters’ exorcists are in West Bay City, and they might cast a few spells on us. Nothing to worry about.”
Of course, John worried. It was like a human preparing for a hospital visit — knowing you won’t be hurt doesn’t stop the churning in your stomach.
The exorcists from headquarters were elderly men, fitting perfectly into the image of “demon hunters” from movies and novels. They were gentle, like witty dentists calming their nervous patients.
The inspection and detection in the isolation room went quickly. When John stepped out, the door across from him opened. Coraci sat in a chair, one of the old men beside him taking notes and asking questions.
Coraci came out and clapped John on the shoulder. “They didn’t find a thing.”
“They can see your memories?” John asked.
“Of course not. But they can tell if my soul is starting to fall into corruption. Sorcery isn’t a good thing — we usually avoid it because it always demands more offerings. A sorcerer can end up surrendering their soul without realizing it.”
“Like in Dragon Age?”
“What’s that?” Coraci asked.
“You don’t know?!” John was astonished. “It’s a game. What you said reminded me of the mages in it. Oh — so, what about my vision?”
“He suggested we try hypnosis from a regular psychiatrist. Supposedly, science works better than magic in that regard.”
The idea made John think of humans claiming to be abducted by UFOs. But hypnosis would have to be done by Coraci — because if it worked on John, the doctor would be traumatized by what he described.
Coraci led John toward the conference room. “You know, I’ve got good news and bad news.”
“That line is so cliché.”
“Exactly. So, let’s start with the good news.” Coraci pushed open the door.
Instructor Jere sat at the head of the long oval table, with Association staff from all around West Bay City filling the seats.
Mariana had changed into a new outfit and was practicing walking with one hand braced on the wall. Two young women flanked her protectively — one a pale-blond Nordic girl, the other a dark-haired, brown-skinned Samoan.
“Nate! Monin!” John’s voice was full of joy. Everyone had thought the two Bewildering Monsters had perished in the fire.
But when Nate turned, John’s smile stiffened.
Her right hand was gone — no, her entire right forearm. The stump was wrapped in bandages, half-secured to her torso.
Monin and Nate gave the Association a full account of what had happened that day.
When they’d first met Mitchel, Nate had already been cursed. When Mitchel handed her the slip of paper with a phone number, the moment she took it, an invisible sigil had been branded onto her right hand.
Coraci and Instructor Jere had pieced this together; the Bewildering Monsters themselves didn’t understand how magic worked.
Nine days later — just before the fire — Nate’s hand began to change. Panic and fear drove both her and Monin to shift from their female forms into hulking male ones. They had watched strange symbols surface on Nate’s skin, and within seconds they had made the snap decision to cut off the limb.
At that point, Mariana had murmured, “We’d do the same for a tail…” but no one replied. She shut her mouth and kept listening.
It turned out Monin and Nate had been right. Even a slight delay, and they would have died — burned alive by flames far hotter than any natural fire.
They ran out of the house, and less than a second later, the building and lawn behind them turned into a blazing inferno. The heat scorched their hair and backs.
At the time, they remained in their tall male forms. Even if someone from the same block had seen two men supporting each other as they ran away, no one would have guessed they were actually the pair of women from the now-burning house.
Monin said that, as he helped Nate along, he had no idea what to do. They couldn’t go to a human hospital — there was always the chance they might transform in front of a doctor, which would cause a huge uproar. Just as they were trying to find a way to contact the Association, they ran into a middle-aged man —
A tall man, blue-eyed, black-haired, who introduced himself as a doctor.
Coraci, John, and Instructor Jere all stayed silent; they could only keep listening. John knew this was the “bad news” that had followed the “good news”.
The doctor quickly got the two Bewildering Monsters into a camper van and gave Nate emergency treatment. Their bodies weren’t exactly like human ones — tougher, more resilient — and that was a blessing. As he worked, the doctor told them quickly and calmly, “Don’t panic. I know you’re not human, and I’m very good at handling these things.”
For the next few days, Nate stayed in the camper van, resting and receiving treatment, while Monin kept watch by her side. Thanks to their strong healing abilities, Nate needed little care after only a few days. They went back to look at the fire site, but when they returned, the camper van was gone. The doctor had left without even saying goodbye.
He’d never given his name, only called himself “Doctor”. At first, the two Bewildering Monsters assumed he was from the Association. That was why they’d trusted him so completely — so much so that they hadn’t even thought to contact the Association during the worst of the injury.
“I’ve already included all this in the incident report,” Instructor Jere said. “Along with Coraci’s report, these details will be distributed to every Association outpost in the world. Whether this ‘Doctor’ is a surviving member of the Arcane Covenant or not, we need to be very careful with him. As for the vision John saw during ‘emergency handling’, we’ll assume for now it’s related to him as well.”
“What’s ‘emergency handling’?” John whispered to Coraci.
“It’s when you drink my blood if necessary.”
By the time the meeting ended, it was already ten o’clock at night — the hour when most humans would be heading home to rest. The exorcists and hunters quietly said goodbyes to Instructor Jere, Coraci, and the others before leaving the building.
Carolyn and Liz were planning to take Mariana home with them — not to the Blackmoon house, but to the apartment they’d rented in West Bay City. Mariana seemed reluctant to part with Coraci and John, but she knew full well she was now a human girl and couldn’t follow them around forever. Leaning against Carolyn, she gave them a careful little wave.
“When I get better at walking, I’ll come find you on my own,” Mariana said. “I want to work here too.”
Liz helped her brush her hair back behind her ear and gave her an encouraging smile. “You still need to learn how to judge distances. Don’t worry, everything takes time. We’ll teach you.”
Although Mariana had survived, she no longer possessed the Lizardman’s strength and agility. Her understanding of the human body was less than that of a child. She truly did need care and guidance.
John felt reassured leaving her with Liz — but not so much with Carolyn. Maybe it was that first impression; he’d always thought Carolyn was intimidating. “She’s just an ordinary human now. Take good care of her…” he said, looking at Liz.
Carolyn cut in first. “Relax. Liz and I aren’t vampires — we’re not going to drain a virgin’s blood.” She handed her bag to Liz, then scooped Mariana up in her arms and headed for the elevator.
Liz shrugged and said quietly to John, “That’s her way of saying she thinks of you as one of us.” After saying that, she followed her out.
A small, hesitant voice came from the corner of the meeting room — it was Lathander, the mortal-born demon in the studded jacket who rode a heavy motorcycle, who had just finished packing his things to leave.
“John, I heard you drank Mr. Coraci’s blood. Is that true?”
“Uh…yeah. Why?” John asked. He’d already written that in the report; it was hardly a secret.
“Oh, good. Then you’re not one of those ‘only drinks virgin blood’ relics.”
The demon bolted out of the room, sprinting down the stairs before John could reply.
Instructor Jere cleared his throat, rescuing John and Coraci from the awkward silence. “Hey, Coraci, you probably already know this — but because of the sorcery, the Association will have to penalize you.”
Coraci nodded. “I know. Honestly, it’s a pretty light punishment.”
“What? They’re going to punish you?” John asked, worried.
“It’s fine. Just a pay cut, and they’re making me temporarily take over some job nobody else wants to do.”
Jere turned to John. “You don’t need to worry about him. Since you’re partners, that job is yours too. Officially, it’s not a punishment, but… Well, nobody likes doing it, and giving it to you two now is basically the same thing. Carolyn even volunteered once, but she’s a woman, so housing would’ve been an issue.”
“What job is it?”
“Remember the gilomorph that swallowed her neighbor’s property? And her hot-headed gilomorph husband?” Jere handed them two sets of briefing documents. “They’re locked up in a detention center jointly run by the Association and the International Demon Hunter Society. It’s a secret underground facility near the Lynd Export Processing Zone.”
The secret detention center wasn’t large — barely half the size of an average human prison. The briefing referred to it as the “Bunker”. Many dark beings and strange creatures that were dangerous but not guilty of capital crimes were detained there.
Just a few days ago, one guard had fallen ill and had to leave, and another had cracked under the mental strain and quit on the spot. Before the new hires could be screened and brought in, the place was down two guards. And in a prison for monsters, even losing one guard made things more dangerous — let alone two.
Most of the prison guards came from the International Demon Hunter Society rather than the Unthreatening Creature Protection Association. Since the Lynd Export Processing Zone was not far from West Bay City, the Bunker made a last-minute request for assistance from West Bay City’s Association office, borrowing manpower temporarily. After all, they had great trust in the Association’s exorcists and mediators.
“We can only go,” Coraci said with a resigned smile, holding the briefing documents. “It’s best to behave and follow orders at a time like this.”
“Why wouldn’t anyone want to go?” John asked.
Instructor Jere exchanged a glance with Coraci and said, “You’ll understand once you get there.”
Author’s Note:
I must really love prisons… I mean, really love them.
Two of my absolute favorite keywords: mages and prisons. (There are more, but I can’t quite put them into words right now…)
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