Curse of Lysertis

Harold could be heard fumbling around in there. Glass bottles clinked, and bags rustled. Then came the sound of a jar falling and shattering.

"AAAHH! Damn jar! Ah, shit! Cut myself! SON OF A BITCH!!!"

A shrill squeaking noise started coming from the back room. Tiny little Nuisances scurried out from there—small, nasty, noisy, and restless creatures that resembled tiny elves. Their purpose in life was pure mischief. But the scariest thing about them was that their tricks had no limits. It had even gone as far as them killing a person and then playing with the corpse, terrifying others. All in all, they were quite unpleasant creatures.

And now, they had scattered throughout the shop. They started smashing windows, jars, and cauldrons. They even reached Adam, who was desperately trying to fend them off. One of the Nuisances decided to tip over a sack of ground charcoal onto the poor boy.

As soon as Adam saw it, he started fighting back even more fiercely, but the small creatures kept holding him down, giving him less and less of a chance to break free.

"How are they so strong despite being so tiny?! Get off me!" Adam shouted, trying to move.

Another Nuisance flew up to his head and tied his mouth shut so that he could no longer make a sound. Until this moment, Adam had thought nothing else could ruin his day, but oh, how wrong he was. The one holding the sack had already untied it and was getting ready to dump its contents onto him.

Just then, Harold burst out of the back room with a small jar of something in his hand and smashed it against the floor. A thick cloud of dust spread throughout the room.

As soon as the Nuisances smelled it, they immediately lost their strength, stumbling around as if they were drunk. The one hovering in the air with the sack dropped it right onto Adam's head.

Seconds later, all the Nuisances stopped moving. Adam, on the other hand, was now completely black from the charcoal. Even the slightest movement sent clouds of charcoal powder cascading from his clothes, face, and hair.

He turned to Harold with a look that made it clear he was ready to kill him on the spot.

"Relax, Adam. Relax." Harold slowly waved his hands in the air. "Don't get worked up. I'll clean this up, and you'll be as good as new."

Harold's tone was meant to be reassuring, but judging by Adam's expression, it only irritated him even more.

Harold grabbed a rag and a basin of water and started wiping Adam down. When he wiped Adam's face and removed the cloth from his mouth, Adam immediately asked:

"What the hell was that? And why do you keep these creatures in your shop?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"These are Nuisances. Nasty little things, no doubt. But their organs are valuable ingredients. They're used in many alchemy recipes," Harold said, trying to lighten the mood with a friendly tone.

"Then why keep them alive? If you only need their organs?"

"They have to be fresh. A potion made from a dead, even frozen, Nuisance won't work. Charlotte should have taught you that in her lessons."

"I don't understand alchemy at all, so I don't listen to her," Adam scoffed. "Are you done yet?"

"Be patient, almost there."

After a while, Harold finished wiping Adam down. Of course, he did his best, but getting rid of charcoal was no easy task.

Harold went back into the storage room and returned a minute later, handing Adam a bag.

"Here. Everything you need is inside."

Adam took the bag and placed five pulonets into a vase. Meanwhile, Harold started gathering the Nuisances into a jar.

"Need any help?" Adam asked, watching the process.

"Nah, no need. I've got everything under control. I'll clean up, and everything will be fine," Harold replied with a smile.

Adam shrugged and headed toward the exit. As he opened the door, the bell rang again, and he stepped out to the sound of Harold's cursing.

Adam took a different route back to avoid running into people at the market, especially the man whose arm Shun had broken. He reached the main street and walked toward his home. There weren't too many people around, so he didn't feel out of place.

A few minutes later, a chillingly familiar voice sounded behind him.

"There you are, you bastard!"

Adam turned around and saw the same man, now more sober, with his bandaged arm hanging in a sling over his shoulder. But that didn't stop him from quickly landing a punch with his other hand, sending Adam flying a couple of meters before he hit the ground.

"What, no pretty boy around to protect you this time? You're nothing on your own, you brat. Listen up—I'm going to beat you until you beg me for mercy. And I only need one hand for that. No one will stop me, and no one will help you, because you're a devil's spawn. In this town, everyone dreams of beating the hell out of you."

For the first time, Adam felt a boiling rage rise inside him. His body grew hot as the fire within him burned hotter and hotter.

"What's the matter? Think you can stop me?" the man sneered, grinning from ear to ear.

He pulled his arm back for another punch, but Adam moved his hand and released a burst of fire, burning his attacker's hand.

"AAAAAH! You little shit, how did you—?!" the man screamed, trying to put out the flames. When they finally died down, burns remained on his hand.

Adam stood up with a calm but serious expression and said, "If I'm a devil's spawn, then I'll live up to my reputation."

He released another blast of fire, setting the man's legs ablaze. The man collapsed onto his back, frantically trying to crawl away. Adam, in turn, walked toward him slowly, his fire turning a deeper shade of red. With an icy expression, he extended his hand, and a ball of fire formed in his palm.

"Please, have mercy!" the man pleaded, tears welling in his eyes.

Hearing those words, Adam's face twisted in disgust.

"Die, you worthless scum."

Seconds away from ending the man's life, Adam felt a firm grip on his wrist—Shun had grabbed him.

"What are you doing, Adam? Stop this, right now!"

This time, Shun didn't look as calm as usual. He even raised his voice at Adam.

"You want to kill him? Do you understand that if you do this, you'll regret it for the rest of your life?"

The fire in Adam's palm started to fade slightly.

"He called me a devil's spawn." Adam's voice was steady, but his anger was clear.

"And what? You think we should kill him for that?"

"Don't get in my way, Nohara. I wasn't going to kill him, just scare him."

"So saying 'Die, you worthless scum' was just to make him piss his pants in fear?"

"Yes."

A heavy silence followed. Only the groans of the burned man filled the air.

"Lower your hand, Adam."

"Or what? You'll break it like you did his?"

"I just might."

Adam fully extinguished the flames and lowered his hand, pulling it away from Shun. He picked up his bag of ingredients and continued walking home.

When Adam reached his apartment, he opened the door and stepped inside. He immediately noticed that all the dishes had been washed, the house was clean, and the windows had been repaired.

He walked into his room and asked, "What are you doing here?"