Unnatural Holoccurrences (DISCONTINUED)

Useless and sick

"Deaths are normal in this side of the world."

My father told me those words when I realized what kind of life I was actually having. I hunted down rogue magicians and captured them after a fight to the death. There were even some who were executed because I caught them as an Enforcer.

However, the moment I truly understood what death meant was the time when I was standing over my uncle's grave. The rain fell down from the sky and while it could hide the fact that I was staring blankly while tears ran down my face, I still knew that I was crying.

Now that I thought about it, that was the last time my father was smiling playfully. Ever since that day, he became stricter with my training and drilled into me the values and principles of the Millenium Nights Association. A single death was enough to change my life and I walked the path of a magician.

Everything around me was dark. It was as if I was floating in the void. I've read several materials describing the afterlife but it was a secret that the grim reapers were trying to keep. But I knew very well that I was most likely not dead yet. My hands were cold after all.

Time passed and my senses slowly returned. The softness of my mattress, the warmth of my blanket, the heaviness of my body, and all other things were coming back... And that included the sheer pain every single cell in my body was experiencing.

When I opened my eyes, a familiar ceiling greeted my vision. It was definitely my room's ceiling. There was only one reason why my body was in extreme pain.

"I'm... still alive... today", I muttered.

My throat was dry and breathing air hurt. That pain was proof that I was still alive and it wasn't enough to make me wish for death. But my mana was too low and I couldn't focus enough to channel it so I couldn't do any magic to ease my suffering.

"So... you almost died", a man's voice said.

He was sitting on a chair beside my bed and reading a thick grimoire. But my years of being his son made me think that he was really furious with me.

"Sit", my father said.

A warm glow surrounded my body and the pain was gone. Thanks to his magic, I managed to sit up. But I couldn't face him. He was a strict teacher but he was also an understanding father. That's why whenever he got mad, I knew that I messed up.

"How was your fight with that homunculus?" he asked.

".... Do I have to say the obvious?" I asked back.

"Hearing yourself say it will have a greater impact on you. How does it feel to lose against a weaker magician?"

I clenched my fists. Despite being a well-made homunculus, E-004 should be weaker than me in terms of mana and magic. It was amazing that he had an Arcanum but he shouldn't be able to beat me.

"I... underestimated him", I said.

"And do you know why?"

It was obvious why. But it was hard for me to say it. As a magician, I searched for the truths in this world. However, that didn't mean that the truth was my ally.

"Did you realize your arrogance, Takeda Felix?!"

Father closed his book and glared at me. His mana was saturating the room and it made cold sweat run down my body. I couldn't fight back because I was completely in the wrong.

"If you were careful, you could've noticed that your enemy dragged another person into the Phantom World. You could've prepared your defenses. You could've disrupted his magic! But what did you do?!"