✨ A Little Bit of Magic || READER X RAY || The Promised Neverland

✨ Chapter Forty Eight

⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING: MENTIONS OF VIOLENCE + S*XUAL ABUSE / R*PE ⚠️

"Back in my day, whenever something even mildly inconvenient rose up, we'd always tell a teacher. It makes me wonder what the hell went wrong."

"Yeah, just like how blinks weren't invented yet, sir?" Zack joked, but the teacher frowned a bit harder. We expected an answer. We expected bad news. But surprisingly, Professor Lucas had neither. "Can you at least appraise it?" I asked, grabbing Zack's left arm. I was careful not to touch the hand, which had somehow found a way to look worse. "Like how you appraise our affinities? If you can tell us the nature of the curse, maybe we can track down who cast it! And beat them up!" Lucas chuckled, albeit softly. He reached for his staff, thudding it twice against the stone floor. He took the boy's hand in his own, whispering the appraisal incantation.

"I- I can't tell."

"What?"

"I can't read this. I can't read this curse."

I glanced at Zack, who had tears in his eyes. His lip quivered as he asked the question buried in the back of both our minds. "Sir, am I going to die?"

The red haired man grit his teeth, clenching his staff a little tighter. The small brands of an unknown language started to glow white, a sort of wind growing from the center of the room. "You should know as well as I do, Zack. Dendros are the strongest shields of them all. I won't let my student die on me."

Well, then I guess it was a yes. That the curse would eventually end up killing Zack. But if Professor Lucas was helping us, then surely- We'd have time to spare.

"Usodiat animaux ix!"

A black, yes black, light emanated from their intertwined hands. A strong gust of wind send the professor's papers flying through the room, a loud drum-like sound ringing in my ears. That spell sounded familiar. The strange void of a flashbang left me a bit dizzy, my legs stumbling their way onto Zack's back. "What- What happened?" I stuttered, pushing myself back up.

What I was met with were two very different expressions. Zack had the slightest grin on his face, but he quickly repressed it, feigning sadness. As for the professor, he was gripping his right hand tightly, biting back a scream. His fingertips were stained a familiar coal black, leaving me in shock. I fell to his side, examining what he'd done. The curse- It had been split. Most of Zack's hand had returned to a normal lively state, but at the cost of now two people having the endure the suffering of the curse.

"It'll- It'll spread slower. About half the speed it did before," Lucas coughed into his elbow, the curse already taking its toll. Zack stumbled behind me, thanking him. "But make no mistake. This won't sever the consequences. If you can't find the person who did this and have them retract the curse, we'll both die." "Professor!" I hissed, shaking the man's shoulder. "You should have warned us- You should have given us more time!" He chuckled weakly, patting my head. "Dendro are... stubborn people. We don't like to think things through." I grimaced, glancing at the two smiling boys in front of me. The pressure started to get heavier and heavier. Now it's not just Zack's life on the line. But I didn't need another reason either way.

Zack had left for class, while I decided to stay with the instructor. I had a few questions about the spell he'd used.

"It's pretty blurry in my head. But it was what my mom used before she died. It was a similar spell to yours, sir. 'Usodiat animeom? animeme?" "Animeam." He replied, a bit gruffly. It obviously struck a chord with the professor, as he'd nearly dropped his staff.

"There are three usodiat spells, y/n. And they're bordering the forbidden classification."

I tilted my head. "What does that mean? The forbidden classification?"

"The Magical High Committee is pondering whether or not they should add the usodiat's to the library of cursed magic."

"But you used it to save Zack," I protested. "How would pain split be used if not to save someone?"

"You know how many messed up people are in this world, y/n. Wars upon wars upon wars. Murders, killings, rape, torture. We are not an inherently kind race."

"Were the elves?"

"Now why are you asking about the elves?"

"The humans genocided them, didn't they? Were the elves any worse? Any better?"

Lucas frowned. "All living things greed, y/n. Though for us, it's mostly in bloodlust. The elves were more materialistic. Yes, competitive, but intelligent. And the humans responded to their pacifism with magic. And therefore, the usodiat's were created. Out of that bloodlust."

The first usodiat was "usodiat animstat it". A sort of defensive spell where the user would become an unbreakable stone statue- forever. A rock gargoyle of the person you once were, eternally frozen in that shell of your former self. It was bizarre to me, the circumstances where you'd want to use it. It was an irreversible spell, basically a death sentence. There was one recorded instance where animstat was used, and the Professor didn't want to talk about it. "A tale for another time, y/n." He'd said, shoving some of those papers into his already packed drawers.

The second was "usodiat animaux ix". The one he'd used on Zack. It was a spell truly highlighting the good in mankind. Until it didn't. What was a merciful 'pain split' became a selfish, conceited type of torture. People would purposefully injure themselves and cast the spell to hurt those they hated most. It was a bit unpractical, especially regarding the fact you could simply cast an 'inflamiem' or 'dieux ab inferno' and literally just- kill the guy. But apparently, the spell had found its way into history as a more sneaky sort of torture.

The final usodiat was the one my mother had used. "Usodiat animeam im". To protect with one's life. Or more morbidly- To protect by giving up one's life. My mother had accepted her death far before the assailant had shot that bolt of black lightning. And instead of allowing herself to be murdered, she'd spent that life saving mine.

"We can't be the ones to judge what 'protection' means, especially if a wand is being held to your head. But your mother, when she cast that spell, her 'protection'- it locked your memories. What she'd assumed to be painful ones that would make your life difficult now. Do you- Do you remember, y/n? Your childhood?"

I frowned, rubbing my temples. "I never noticed. I never thought about it. What I'd felt was important were the things I thought I remembered. But truth be told, I've just started recovering some memories. I don't remember what my old house looked like, where I lived, what I liked to do. I just- It's such a black hole."

"Well, you might want to start looking into that."

"What? Why?"

"The usodiat's aren't just spells, y/n. Remember that. Using them comes with a lifetime of consequence. You haven't been diseased like Zack and I have, but you're cursed in your own way. Don't you want to remember? Your life before all this pain?"

He was right. All I could see when I think about my parents were their corpses. It helped a little bit, knowing that my mother made the decision to protect me with her life. I want to do more for her. I want to do more for them. I want to remember.

"Well sir, where do I start?"

Professor Lucas smiled, his golden eyes twinkling. "Maybe with the person you'd spent most of that time with. Not your parents. Not anymore. y/n, who was your closest friend before the accident?"

I took a deep breath, sighing deeply as I pictured his stupid face. Here we go again.