Shadowy Encounter.

CHAPTER 19

Shrouded in the darkness of the shadows, he found himself rising to the surface once again, freed from the restraints he felt a moment ago.

What happened wasn't much of a mystery for him anymore since he knew a little bit about the boy's shadow technique. He also had knowledge of the use of shadows in a few light novels he managed to read, so he highly doubted he would be much different.

Slowly he got up from the ground and looked around the place in the dead of the night. Everything was dark, limiting the distance of his gaze.

" Hey, what the hell are you trying to do here?" He asked, looking around the place.

The boy soon rose from within the shadows, grabbing a hold of his right hand as he looked straight into his eyes.

" I'm trying to save you — it's that simple."

He tried pulling away his hand once again, but the boy's grip was far tighter this time. His held hand wasn't budging an inch and the boy wasn't planning on letting go either.

Still looking into his eyes, he slowly raised his hand and placed it on the left side of his chest as he said,

" Here, how exactly does it feel?"

At that moment, he paused in shock at the question being thrown at him. The boy knew something about the side effects of the demon blood he drank taking effect on him but the marks on his chest had disappeared by the time he woke up.

It didn't dwell much on his mind, but the thought of when it could have actually vanished did leave him in a fair amount of fear. But despite that, he didn't believe any of the kids would have known, given their basic levels of sensory.

" What the hell are you talking about?" He asked, returning the boy a stern gaze.

The boy turned his gaze away from him, gritting his teeth hard as his eyes faded toward the moonlight. He heaved a sigh, his mind dwelling on how best to put his thoughts into words.

" The demon, the black demon you saw, the one that showed the way out, you remember, don't you? I know you faced one... just like it. The poison doesn't fade on its own, so someone obviously healed it. Still wondering who?"

At that moment, Megumi's lips began moving rapidly with not a single word coming from his mouth. What happened exactly was all now very clear to him, but the boy's words only left him with even more fear of what was to come.

" How did the poison fade then if you haven't healed it yet? What do you mean by poison? All it does is pose a risk of slight mental disorientation and physical trauma for a minimum of ninety-two hours based on my level of resistance."

" You can be as much as stupid as you want, but I couldn't wait till morning and have you kill the maid who would come walking in to help you. Demonic blood is incredibly perilous, and its effects are far more eternal than they are external. Honestly, I believe that middle-class children have a better and far more hopeful future than we do — they get to see the truth of matters for themselves right from the day they turn ten rather than read it from some stupid book.

I don't know what it is you think you know, but your lack of experience will lead nowhere with your level of absurd confidence, Megumi. Don't get me wrong, I never intended on coming here to scold you, but your chances of dying are far higher than your chances of staying awake after everything you'll get to hear at this moment."

He remained still, puzzled at everything the boy had just spouted, not that any of it made sense to him. But he had brought him out here because of the demon blood he now had inside him, the least he could do was have him get straight to the point.

" What will happen to me then."

" Anything could happen before death, but perhaps it's best you simply imagine an incurable and far deadlier form of rabies — you know, the one where you kill people rather than simply bite them... for no reason."

" Your phrasing is horrible and really irritates me — this is clearly no time for you to make jokes. I'll find the cure myself, now let go of me."

Finally, he managed to pull free from the boy's grip and quickly turned around, looking forward at the dark path that would lead towards his house.

" I can cure you, but only on one condition..."

********

The next morning was a bit hazy for him. His mind continued drifting towards his conversation with his distant cousin the night before and it was overwhelming for him.

He didn't sleep throughout the entire night and could only think about the demon poison.

" This is all too much for me to handle." He mumbled, changing into a pair of clothes, " I'll be seeing him again today anyway, see what he has to say."

He couldn't wait to finish breakfast before he rushed out of the house and back to the very same place where the boy brought him. It wasn't very far away so it only took him a few minutes.

" Hello, is anyone here?" He asked, looking around the place.

Just as the resounding sound of his voice echoed throughout the place, he looked down to see his shadow slowly begin to expand — it spread across the ground in a circle until it covered a certain perimeter.

Slowly, he emerged from the shadows dressed in a simple yukata with a bottle filled with a strange green liquid in his hand. He swirled it gently as he threw an intense stare at the boy standing by the side.

" Here." He said, throwing the potion at him, "It should heal the effects of the poison completely."

Megumi caught hold of the potion mid-air, staring at it with awe as he slowly popped open the bottle. There was an alluring aroma coming from the liquid, one that eluded him of the potential risk of taking it.

There wasn't anything he could do other than tell his mom what happened, drink the strange liquid, or wait until he died slowly — each came with a punishment, death being the ultimate.

" Fine." He mumbled, raising the bottle.

He swirled it one last time with his eyes intently fixed on it, before quickly gulping it all in one go.