Occulus: Tale of the First Blood Witch

Chapter 17

All their classes with Zarian had come to an end. It was late in the evening, and Trent walked down the academy hallway alongside Zarian.

"Zarian," Trent called out to him. He turned to look at him. "How did you know it was me who used the forbidden curse?"

"I know you, Trent," Zarian replied. "Especially your impulsive decisions. You often do things without thinking."

"Like?" he challenged, folding his arms.

"Like using magic to move a classmate's chair when he insulted you."

"It's not my fault he doesn't check his chair," he replied.

"Does that include dropping apples on him when he slept under a tree one time?" he asked. "Or the incident at the library?"

"Okay, Zarian," he conceded. "I get your point. Will you still accompany me to Aunt Melissa and Aunt Sora's place?"

"Of course," he replied. "I need to make sure you perform the ritual correctly to break the curse."

"But... Zarian, do you think it will work?"

"To be honest, I don't know," he replied. "But let's hope that in the end, something good will happen."

While it wasn't the answer he was hoping for, he still felt a sense of relief in his chest. He nodded and opened the door they were approaching. As they crossed, they quickly arrived in the living room of Aunt Melissa and Aunt Sora's house.

"Aunt Melissa!" he called out. "Aunt Sora!"

They both emerged from the kitchen not long after.

"Good that you decided to come home, Trent," Aunt Sora remarked.

"I just got back from the academy," he told them. They both looked at each other.

"That's good to hear, Trent," Aunt Melissa said, still somewhat apprehensive, even after their recent disagreement.

"And I'm going to remove the curse I placed on Hunter and Hayden," he added. Both of them gasped in delight. He sighed and showed them the items he had collected.

"But... it's not easy to break a curse," Aunt Melissa said.

"I found a way," he replied.

"And how?" Aunt Sora asked. Trent took the paper from his pocket and shown it to them. "W-where did you get this? I've never seen or heard of this before."

"We secretly entered the restricted section of the library to find a solution," Trent explained.

"And how did you manage to get in?" Aunt Melissa asked.

"Near the library, there's a corridor with a wall adorned with golden vines and flowers," Zarian explained. "You need to twist three of them in a hundred different ways to open the secret passage. That's how we got in."

They both nodded. Aunt Sora turned her attention to the instructions on the paper.

"Scale of the Bakunawa, the voice of a singing siren, a strand of cursed hair, and tears of a forest nymph," she read what they needed for the curse. "And where will you find these?"

They exchanged glances and simultaneously took out the items they had obtained from the academy.

"We found a way," Trent replied, "with Zarian's help, of course."

"Zarian, I want to express my gratitude for assisting Trent," Aunt Sora acknowledged warmly. "I didn't want to overlook what he did, but for now, we must focus on removing the curse," she added. "Now, let me see what you've gathered."