The Septic Curse

Seventeen

"What's wrong?!"

Marvin burst into the household, panicked and out of breath. 

He had run all the way to the car and teleported the whole damn thing back to the house, exhausting him. But he sure as hell still had enough magic to put up a fight!

The house was quiet. Dark. 

Something was off. 

Just as that man had predicted. And when a black magic fortune teller predicts something... You best damn heed their warnings. 

The magician rushed into the living room, nearly having a panic attack when he saw that the living room was empty. "Chase! Henrik! Jackie?! Jackie! Jackie, where the fuck are you?!" Marvin called out, running up the stairs. HIs voice cracked as he felt like he was going to cry. 

"Cha-! Oof!" He grunted as he ran into something hard and solid that suddenly got in his way, making him lose balance and nearly fall backwards down the stairs. But something caught him. 

"Jackie!" Marvin cried out in relief, throwing his arms around his brother's neck. "Oh, you're okay!" 

...

"...Jackie...?"

The hero's hands raised slowly, slithering around the magician's waist to trap the other to him. He buried his face in the other's neck, and just stayed like that. 

"W-was I...? Was I too late...?" Marvin felt cold, shaking as he tried to block the thought from his mind. "...no. everything's fine... for now..." Jackie finally said something, his voice coming out as a whisper. 

"For now...?" The magician gently pushed the hero away, wanting answers as to what happened while he was gone. Jackie cleared his throat, "sorry. I just... Needed a hug. Why were you yelling? You could've woken up the others..." 

"I was told that I needed to get home ASAP by a fortune teller- the kind that isn't a scam." Marvin explained, "what happened here?"

"...'One, two, three, four'." Jackie sighed, "'hell is knocking at your door'. Sound familiar?" Marvin sucked in a sharp breath, being brought back to that day. It had been such a splendid night, finally ridding themselves of that burden... But now it seemed more like a curse. A mistake.  

---

"When the bell rings four, hell will come to your door..."

---

"I-it's not an exact match... But there's no mistaking it. We really did fuck up, didn't we...?" Marvin laughed brokenly, shaking his head. "Somehow... This all sprouted from us doing a good deed. It seems that even the noblest of killings has consequences... But that only raises the question... Who are these people? Why are they upset about the demon's death?" 

"Look, I don't fucking know. I just- I just need- Ugh..." Jackie groaned, rubbing his eyes. He was getting far too stressed. "You need another hug is what you need." Marvin muttered, squirming back into his brother's arms. "...Yeah. Yeah..." The hero sighed, "...I'm sure the world could do with one less hero... Especially so with one that messed up this much..." 

"Don't say shit like that! This world needs you, Red... And everything's going to be okay... Why don't we head off to bed now?" Marvin pulled back and smiled at his brother, hoping that the other wouldn't see past it. They had enough to worry about. "...Okay." Jackie was reluctant to let go, something obviously bothering him. The hero was always an open book.