Chapter Eighteen
The Death Court
Finally, after three long days, without any sleep and hardly any food, it was done. They would be meeting in a few minutes.
He really had no idea if this was going to work in the end, and if it did, then, well, that might end up bringing even more trouble. If it did, he didn't know what else he was suppose to do in order to keep everything under control.
Austerus sighed warily, feeling completely drained, struggling to keep his eyes open, ignoring how sore and stiff his body was. The only thing he needed to do now was to pretend that this had all happened before — sort of.
Standing in front of the gates of the Black Manor, the early morning peacefully quiet, he waited, his eyes looking around every direction. There was a light breeze in the air, a contrast to how tense he was feeling.
The air was suddenly filled with the cracks of figures Apparating, which was courtesy of him performing the Power-Transition Spell again. He looked at the other three members he recruited after not seeing them for the past three years.
Akutō Satsujin, Mujihi Shizukana, and Otokonoko Tsukuru, all of whom could be considered dangerous and unstoppable. Shiruetto was also with them, looking a little unease, fiddling with his two-fanged necklace. Seeing Austerus, he quickly walked ahead of the others and met him at the gates, becoming more relaxed.
"They all look absolutely insane," he whispered, glancing at the other three. "How did you even meet them?"
"Merely by coincidence," Austerus responded simply, trying not to show how tired he felt. "And the cure?" he asked, lowering his voice.
"Nothing," said Shiruetto. "I haven't seen one of my shadows in several days."
Austerus only nodded, though he felt a surge of worry on top of all the stress. He closed his eyes briefly, feeling the cool breeze on his sallow face.
There had to be something to cure the curse . . . right?
Sighing, he gestured to the Death Court to follow him, his black cloak billowing behind him as the others followed, nobody saying anything, at least for now.
It was a very tense reunion for the five of them.
"We'll be doing a special hero informatics class today."
Austerus sighed as the rest of his classmates immediately tensed. They weren't necessarily excited with different or special due to previous results of those special classes. One was a test where they were threatened with expulsion on the very first day, and another traumatized them probably for the rest of their lives even if they had come to terms with what had happened. Most of all, some of his classmates were absolutely horrible at tests.
Let us see what you have to say, Aizawa, Austerus thought warily.
"You'll be coming up with hero names."
The class roared in excitement as Austerus raised an eyebrow.
Hero names?
A quirk-empowered glare from their teacher silenced his excited classmates in an instant as he continued. "This is related to the Pro Hero draft picks I mentioned before. The draft begins in earnest in the second and third year, after students have gained experience and can be immediate assets to the Pros. In other words, they've shown their interest in your futures enough to have extended offers to first years like yourselves. These offers, however, can be cancelled if the interest dies down."
His classmates had to prove themselves, even if someone had extended an offer to them.
Aizawa then showed the number of offers their class had received, the list starting from the highest number of offers to the lowest.
The difference between the top two, and the rest of the class, was hilariously different.
Todoroki had received the most, at a startling 2,475 offers, with Bakugo right under him with 1,835. Tokoyami was next with 194, then it was Iida with 153, and Midoriya with 126.
Austerus was relieved to see that he himself hadn't gotten any offers, even though he had gotten second place in the tournament. He really didn't care, though; he had more important things to focus on.
"Regardless of whether or not you received offers, you will all be participating in internships with Pros, expect there'll be an exception."
Austerus was glad, to say the least.
"Indeed," Aizawa said, "you already experienced combat with villains at U.S.J., but this will still be a meaningful training for you to see Pros at work firsthand."
Which probably explained the reason why they were brainstorming hero names today.
"Well, those hero names are still temporary, but if you're not serious about it . . ."
Austerus internally groaned, and the door slid open.
". . . Then you'll pay for it later!"
Some of the other boys in the class immediately got excited upon hearing the R-Rated Hero's voice, but Austerus merely found himself staring at the others with a beaut real expression.
"A lot of names used by the students are recognized by society as they gain a reputation as Pros, and they end up becoming their hero names."
"That's how it is," Aizawa finished. "So Midnight will be making sure your names are approvable," He grabbed his sleeping bag from under the podium, his intentions clear. He zipped himself up inside it, then laid against the wall, quickly falling asleep.
After they were given whiteboards and markers, everyone began scribbling away, some muttering under their breath. Uncapping the marker, Austerus felt himself hesitating. He already had a name in mind, but he wasn't sure if it would give away what he was secretly doing.
Still, he had no other choice. It was, after all, a name that the others members of the Death Court had suggested; a name that had a deep meaning about it.
"For those who are ready, you can start presenting your names." Midnight announced, gesturing for someone to come up to the front of the class.
Unsurprisingly, it was Aoyama who went up first, winking at Austerus as he did so. The black-haired teen disliked how everyone else was whispering as the blond held up his whiteboard.
"Hold your breath. The Shining Hero. My name is: I Can Not Stop Twinkling. Mon ami, you can't deny my sparkle."
Austerus only felt irritated when the others just looked at their classmate with only one exasperated thought on their minds.
Come on!
"It'll be better this way," Midnight said, grabbing Aoyama's whiteboard and marker. "Take out the 'I' and shorten the 'Can Not' to 'Can't,'" she finished, showing the new result.
"It's stunning, mademoiselle," Aoyama said, smiling.
She likes it? the class though in shock, which only seemed to irritate Austerus more and more, even if he didn't show it.
Mina went next, her hero name being 'Alien Queen,' though it was rejected. Asui went next, showing her hero name, Froppy, something that the class (expect for Austerus and Bakugo) started chanting.
Austerus was listening to others as the others, one by one, presented their names. The following ones after Asui's were just as good, and seemed to fit their owners.
After everyone else had gone, it was his turn. He showed the class his whiteboard, which had the words 縁の下の力持ち ソウルイーター written on it.
"The Unsung Hero: Soul Eater."
No one made a comment on it. They all just stared at him.
After Austerus went back to his desk, Aizawa, now awake, stood up.
"Now that everyone's decided on their hero names, we'll return to the subject of internships," he said, removing his yellow sleeping bag from his body. "They'll last for one week. For those who didn't get any offers, you'll be choosing from among the other agencies around the country that will be accepting interns. Those of you who did receive offers will receive your own lists to choose from yourself. Choose wisely, because each Pro Hero works in different places and they will have different specialties. You're dismissed."
"You placed second in the Sports Festival," Satsujin said in a quiet tone, yet the disbelief in his voice was recognizable, "yet you didn't even get an offer?"
"There are more important matters than mindless, worthless work," Austerus said dismissively, sitting in one of the chairs in the manor.
"I guess so," Shizukana said, looking up from his book, eyes narrowed slightly. "Also, we're glad you used the name we suggested."
"Yeah, it seemed simple but unheard of at the same time," said Tsukuru, taking a sip of coffee. "Did anyone say anything?" he asked.
Austerus only shook his head.
"Well, it wouldn't matter anyway," said Shiruetto, lifting his top hat, sitting up straight from his laid-back position. "Austerus doesn't care what others say."
That was something Austerus had to agree with. Looking around the manor, he asked, "And the others?"
"Spiky and Green already went out to do whatever they're tasked with," explained Shiruetto, "while your father went to the forest with that teal-eyed woman."
"And your acolytes, Shiruetto?" asked Austerus, preparing a cup of coffee for himself; he really needed some instead of the firewhisky.
"Nothing," Shiruetto said, rubbing his neck worriedly. "I'm not even sure how far they've gone to find something."
"Well," said Satsujin, moving to stand beside Shizukana, "whatever they find, we're sure it'll be worth it."
"Hopefully," Austerus said tersely, drinking some of the coffee.
For the rest of the day, the five of them continued talking, keeping an eye out for any of the shadows, but none returned. After a few hours, Peureux and Hikari had returned from the forest, with Kurayami and Morana returning as well, though the two didn't say anything as they both went upstairs.
Only when it was late due something occur.
Austerus had simply been walking through the manor, making sure everyone was fine, when he saw it.
From out of the darkness, something unfamiliar seemed to be materializing in front of him, small wisps of smoke drifting through the air. Then, when it had gotten more clearer, he heard it.
"Austerus . . ."
The raven-haired male drew out his wand, turning in every direction, ready to attack if he needed to. The unfamiliar beam of light now seemed to get dimmer, and that's when Austerus heard strange sounds, ones akin to voices, each of them whispering a language (which was probably Latin).
Then, as the blueish light burned brighter, it disappeared.
"Black Eyes?" Turning around, Austerus saw Kurayami standing a few feet away from him, having come down from the staircase, running his newly-formed, silver hand through his messy hair. "What were you looking at?"
"Nothing that concerns you," said Austerus curtly, stowing his wand back into his robes. Kurayami, blinking a bit wearily, only shrugged. "What do you even want, Kurayami?" asked Austerus, eyeing the other shrewdly.
Before the other male could answer, though, they heard it.
A sound of what seemed to be the ground rumbling beneath them, but Austerus knew better than that. Both him and Kurayami looked towards the lit fireplace, watching as it died out from its arrivals.
The shadows had emerged out of the fireplace, all of them grinning and howling, and, from out of thin air, a heavy book bound in leather — along with having strange symbols on the front cover — appeared, floating, it's barely-noticeable shadow clasped by one of the other acolytes. Seeing Austerus, their smiles, if possible, widened more as the leather-bound book was thrown towards him.
Catching it, Austerus looked at it, inspecting it, unsure on what to do. The answer came moments later.
A laugh mixed of relive, slyness, and malevolent rang out throughout the manor, making Austerus, Kurayami, and the shadows turn towards the staircase.
"We are back in business, boys!" laughed Shiruetto as the shadows, along with his own, moved along the walls, their expressions remaining the same as before. He turned to the other two, grinning at Austerus while nodding at Kurayami. "Go on. Open it."
Walking towards the dining table, Austerus set the book down and opened it, both Shiruetto and Kurayami standing on either side of him, the two of them, along with the shadows, watched curiously.
The book, though it had no title, mentioned strange things that Austerus and the others had never heard of, though they knew it had very little value. The rest of the Death Court had also came into the room as well an hour later, Shiruetto sending the shadows back to his emporium, and Kurayami going back upstairs to talk with Morana.
"There has to be something," said Shizukana, looking at the words of a page titled Sorcery and Power. "Otherwise, Shiruetto's shadows wouldn't have brought you this book, Austerus."
"None of us have ever been wrong before in these types of things," said Satsujin, inspecting the page as well.
"Unless . . ." started Tsukuru, but quickly shook his head. "No, it wouldn't work."
"What wouldn't work, Tsukuru?" asked Shizukana, looking at him.
"Well, this maybe seem a bit far-fetched," Tsukuru said, beginning to turn the pages, "but what if the answer isn't a cure?" When the rest looked at him, he elaborated. "Think about it. The curse we're trying to stop probably isn't going to be stopped by a cure. Not all of them are easily fixed that way. Besides, don't other people say the meaning, 'Fight fire with fire'?"
"Wait a minute, Tsukuru," said Shiruetto, seeming to understand, "are you saying that we should just . . . use the same method on the one we're currently going up against?"
"Exactly," confirmed Tsukuru, stopping at a page he didn't expect to see. "Like this one," he said, pointing at the page, which was titled Basilisk Venom. "Sometimes, it's often better to use the same methods that your enemy is using."
"That actually does make a lot more sense," Satsujin said, sounding impressed.
Picking up the book, Austerus held it and began to read while the others listened intently.
"Basilisk venom is extremely powerful, and can kill a person within a little more than a minute at best, making the person drowsy and blurry-visioned before they died. This powerful venom was one of the few substances known to be capable of destroying Horcruxes, causing them fatal damage that could not be repaired. It only had one known antidote: phoenix tears, which happened to be very rare, decreasing the venom's deadliness."
"See, there's our answer," said Tsukuru, as Austerus put the book down again. "We just need some of this venom. Then we'll have a better chance of ending all of this."
"The curse shouldn't be that dangerous, though," said Shizukana, absentmindedly fiddling with Satsujin's black-and-white hair, the other not minding in the slightest. "It's just . . . there. Its not technically alive —"
"Nor is it dead either," said Austerus, giving the book to Shiruetto, who began to flip through the pages again. "Though the concept of basilisk venom is approachable, I do not see where we will be able to find some."
"Wasn't there any in that sword you mentioned before?" said Shiruetto, stopping at another page. "If you did, then I think this is your answer," he said, moving the book so that the five of them could see. The page was titled The Sepulcra Mountains, which included a sketch of blackish mountains that towered over the West County of England, showing a place that Austerus had been to before only once in his life.
Godric's Hollow.
This time, it was Satsujin who read the text.
"The Sepulcra Mountains are located deep within the area of the Scottish Highlands, where thirteen of the most powerful witches and wizards of the medieval times were buried. Anyone who has ever attempted to locate and enter the area where the tombs are has never been seen again. It is unknown why these thirteen were chosen, but there have been many theories throughout the years, each one speculating on the reasons of what could only be described as something mysterious and eerie."
"See," said Tsukuru. "Now we just have to there and get the sword."
"Then do what?" said Shizukana sarcastically. "Stab it? It's not dead or alive."
"Maybe that's what it's trying to do," said Shiruetto, ignoring the sarcasm, looking through the pages again. "It's trying to obtain a physical form. Something like this," he said, stopping at another page titled Necromancy. "Listen, this is what it says: Necromancy is often depicted as conjuring up a spirit or communicating with the dead, as the supposed goal of necromancy is to obtain insight about the future. A person who performs necromancy is called a necromancer. It's trying to summon those thirteen spirits, and will probably use them in order to become more stronger. So we just have to —"
"We are not doing none of that right now," said Austerus, taking the book from Shiruetto and closing it. "It will look suspicious if we leave now, and I am not going to tell anyone else about this — not even Peureux or Hikari, even if I do trust them. If we are to truly discover the meaning of everything that is happening, then, for now, we will have to wait."
"We have to wait?" said Tsukuru incredulously. "Austerus, I thought you wanted to —"
"Yes, I still do," said Austerus, sighing, "but now is not the time. Even if the curse is getting stronger, we can't do none of this, and if we do, then things could easily get more dangerous."
There were a few seconds of silence.
"So, when will we go?" asked Shizukana, continuing to stroke Satsujin's hair.
"When we are able to," responded Austerus, suddenly looking a bit tense. "As for how long we will have to wait, I do not know."
"Well, at least we'll be ready when the time comes," said Satsujin, intertwining his and Shizukana's hands together.
"In the meantime," said Tsukuru, standing up from his chair, "we'll continue looking in this book to see if there's more helpful information. We'll let you know if we do, Austerus."
Nodding, Austerus left the room, the conversations getting fainter as he entered his room. Locking it, he breathed heavily, before, with a repressed wince, pulled back the sleeve of his left arm to reveal the Dark Mark, which felt as though multiple knives were stabbing the flesh. It began to bleed, and soon, there was a small pool of blood on the floor, which Austerus cleared with a wave of his wand, steadying himself as he sat dow, feeling a bit lightheaded. Within a few minutes, the wound has healed, but Austerus still felt the Mark burning him, and that was when he heard it.
"There is no power . . . There is nothing . . ."
The same curse, the one that had said his name before, seemed to materialize in front of him, appearing faint yet noticeable, glowing a sickly green, wisps of green, fire-like smoke illuminating the room, and the Mark's burning seemed to intensify; the skin burned, and this time, Austerus saw more blood dropping onto the floor.
"Enough already!" he said, shaking his head, though the disembodied voices didn't seem to go away; the curse taunted him over and over again. With a whoosh of nonexistent wind, the fire-like entity evaporated, leaving Austerus alone in the room again. He healed the wound a second time, then cleaned the blood again.
Whatever was happening, Austerus hoped he didn't have to wait long until they could stop this. If they did, things were going to get much worse. Standing up again, he headed out of the room. As he did so, he reached into his cloak and felt his fingers touch the picture of Everett, along with his letter.
He still never showed any signs of giving up this (painfully long) unrequited love of his. He still couldn't move on. He knew his Patronus still remained the same.
And that seemed to pain him more than any stab to the heart.
Removing his hand from his cloak, Austerus walked out of the manor and past the gates, heading into the forest to do some thinking. There were going to be difficult decisions to make in the future.
And it will be much worse if the ones I care about are in the way, he thought to himself, extracting his wand.
There was never a choice on going back on something that was beyond your control — the curse, along with his role as a spy for the League of Villains, were proving to be very clear of that.