Leuko - Blind to the Sunlight

Chapter 17: Protector of the Coward

One more touch…mmh, I should put more there too…oh! I could use this instead!

"Luciel!"

No no no no, not enough, it won't be nearly enough! It needs to be perfect!

"Why is it dark? Did you close the light? Luciel?"

Mmm…I know! I will put my own blood on it so it can gain some colour!

"Luciel! Where are you?"

Wait no, he seems scared, I shouldn't do that…blood is scary, I need to make something not scary…

"Alright, I'm coming up…ah!"

*Bam*

Hmmm? Is there someone? No matter, I need to finish this first, or else I will be a failure.

"Luciel! Can you please open the light!? I can't see the step in front of me!"

It looks better now, I just need to fill it up.

I took hold of some cotton and put it inside my project.

"Fine, I don't need the light anyway! I can easily not trip by myself…aaaaah!"

*Bam*

"Hurgh."

I hope it is good enough…no…it would never, as I cannot make something good enough…but Pandora can!"

"Ehehehe. And for the final touch! Pandora!"

Pandora raised one of his arms with a pencil in his hand and slowly drew on my new project! Project: Protector of the Fearful!

This is perfect!

"Luc…oh, you're here! Why didn't you respond? And what is that on your hair?"

I brandished my newest creation high in the air, with this, I could easily solve my mistake.

"Luciel…you're creepy." A voice calmly said near my head.

"AAAAAH! Don't destroy it, it's not for me I swear!" I rolled out of my bed in fright in reaction to the sudden voice while protecting my new creation. Pandora also left my head to wear his costume again.

"Luciel, it should be a scream of joy you're pushing when you see me instead."

"Oh, hi Cynthia's."

"Hi Luciel, and Pandora…so…why were you laughing?"

"I was laughing?"

She looked at me in confusion before hunching her shoulder. "Nevermind then, come with me instead." She stood out from my bed before catching my hand. "Ah! Your bleeding…from your eye! Are you alright?" Cynthia suddenly said in worry as she touched my blindfold and looked surprised when she noticed there was no blood in her hand.

"What? Why is there no…" Cynthia paused, before reaching toward her eye before wiping away blood that left her own eye. "…I'm the one bleeding? Why?" She looked extremely confused at herself.

"Kyu." Pandora jumped back on my shoulder before handing her a cloth to wipe away the blood near her eye.

"…thanks." She took it and moped around her eye, there wasn't a lot of blood so it was easy for her.

"…Anyway, are you ready to come with me?

I followed behind her and walked out of my room with my creation in my other hand, and Pandora on my shoulder.

But the moment I saw the light outside, I realized my mistake as my skin started to burn.

"Aaah!" I struggled to free my hand from Cynthia, which wasn't as hard as she let go of me the moment I screamed. Immediately I retreated to the darkness of my room while looking at the roof with defiance.

Stupid sun!

"Ah Luciel…I'm sorry…I didn't mean to hurt you…" Cynthia said with concern on her face.

"Hmm? But you didn't hit me?"

"I know…but I forgot that light harm you…"

I tilted my head to her response. "You just said it was the light who harmed me, so why do you apologize?"

Cynthia looked blankly at me before regaining her smile. "Right…right, I will go take Allister then, go take your umbrella."

She said before leaving the short always leading to my room.

I nodded before heading back inside to grab my umbrella.

Let's see…where did I put it…it shouldn't be far…ahah! Found it!

I removed the tissue covered in blood and took my umbrella in my hand.

I hurried back to my room and moved toward the lobby of our dorm. Cynthia was already installed on one of the couches, with Allister sitting right beside her while gripping his knee with fear.

I tried to approach him, but the moment I did so he trembled even more.

Mmmh…I can't continue, or else I will go against the rule!

"What are you waiting for Luciel? Sit beside me." Cynthia said excitedly while patting the space right beside her.

Oh, if I have the authorization, then it's fine.

I didn't have any reservations anymore and moved right in front of Cynthia and then looked at Allister with what I hoped was a smile.

But sadly he seemed even more scarred now…I should practice it…but first!

"Crying boy! I have a gift for you!"

"Eh?" He exclaimed surprised, surely not understanding why I was addressing him, before starting to tremble even more and hide behind Cynthia.

I took out from behind my back the plushie I just made. It looked like Pandora costume, but with multiple patchwork of yellow and white as it was the only colour I had in my disposition.

"Here's your gift!" I handed over a confused Allister my latest creation.

"Pandora?" Cynthia asked in surprise while looking at it, but she frowned when she realized she was wrong. 

"Wha…what is this?" Allister asked while reaching to grab the plushie.

"It's a plushie of Pandora!" I said with proudness. "I made it myself in the image of Pandora! Because you look scared and pathetic! Just like me! And as Pandora allows me to stand with confidence, I'm sure this one will also help you!" 

Indeed, after tearing apart the Pikachu plushie, I used its cotton to fill up this plushie that I made by using my own fabric and some of the other vile plushies!

Yes, it did make the gift look like it was composed of multiple parts that were only connected by some wire, but it should be fine!

…I hope.

I hesitantly looked up to Allister just to see him still contemplating the plush.

"If…if you don't like it…I can try to make it look better…" I said nervously.

***

"Your scream of terror was very good." He stipulated with his vile voice.

He didn't smile, but I'm sure if he could, he would have done it.

I didn't hesitate to run away from him while screaming, fighting against him would be useless after all.

I didn't even look where I was going and entered a random room and immediately climbed the stairs.

I looked around for a place to hide, and I found it! A bed!

I immediately raised the sheet and hid below them and I waited silently, making sure to not produce a single decimal of noise.

But after a certain moment, I still didn't hear him coming toward me, in fact, I didn't hear a single thing.

I pushed a sigh of relief and prepared to raise the sheet, but I stopped while realizing that no one would be here to protect me.

I was scared of this day.

No, I was always afraid, but of this day in particular.

The day when Bea wouldn't be able to protect me at all times.

Bea wasn't my sister, but I still considered her as my only family member, the only one who supported and protected me inside the orphanage we both were assigned after our family died during the Broken War. A common story really, nothing to write a book out of it.

But we still bonded over one fact, that both of us were esper. She was a fighting type esper, making her physically stronger than even an adult, but it also made her organism ask for more nutriment, something that was extremely problematic with the little resource our orphanage possessed.

Yet she was still the one who ate the least among all the children, even some adults, she was ready to sacrifice herself just to help other people.

But I'm different, she's brave and right, and I was pathetic and a coward.

I was born as a ghost esper, only a level one, which made me able to see ghosts and let out some ectoplasm from my eye, but that was all. It was more of a curse than a blessing, as every ghost was terrifying, and loved to tease me as a means to entertain themselves from death.

This made me extremely prone to being bullied by the other kids who let out their frustrations on me. The same fate happened to Bea despite her having the power to stop them from doing so, they did it because they were under the delusion that she was taking away all of their food.

I asked her once why she let them do so, and she answered that she did it because she wanted to make them bully me less.

But in any circumstances, she was there to protect me, to the point I grew used to it, or it more just to say I depended on it.

And today was the day when I harvested the fruit of my naivety.

I foolishly that even after we both succeeded in the exam, we would be able to continue to be together, for her to protect me once more…but they separated us.

And they put me with the worst person possible, the Bringer of Eclipse.

Nobody on the staff told us who he really was, the best we could deduce is his royal heritage to this island, but nothing else.

But the death knew, and even those who happily tormented me for no other reason than the alleviate their boredom showed an emotion I never saw them display.

Fear, they feared for their life.

The moment he appeared, along with a plushie pokemon, he was able to install to make dead people once again scared of their existence.

For once, they were cooperative and told me everything they knew about him, but most was about his sin.

The sin of disgracing life by being born, the sin of shutting down the sun for his selfishness and the sin of surviving.

A being that simply shouldn't have existed yet still dared to breathe.

Me and Bea immediately put him on a list of people we should not get close to, but fate hated me more than I could think of.

Bea tried to reassure me that I would be fine and that if there was any problem, I could ask her to replace me.

But I had enough of Bea sacrificing herself for me, this was more atrocious than any torturing the Bringer of Eclipse could bring me.

*Slam*

Suddenly the door of my room was brutally opened, and a high-pitched voice reasoned in my room. "Allister! Are you ready to leave?"

No! I will not leave! If I live the abomination will eat me.

"Allister?" The voice started to approach my location, I even heard it climbing the stairs.

Judging by her voice, it must be the servant of the Bringer of Eclipse, the spirit never mentioned her before, but it is the only explanation as to way someone would stand near him.

But that wasn't important, what was important was that the abomination probably sent her so she could bring me to him to torture me!

But sadly for them, no one can find me under my sheet! That's what Bea said to me at least. 

"Allister…are you hiding under your sheet?"

"How did you…AH!"

No, it's a trick! She can't see me under there, she just wants to localize me with the sound of my voice!

"Does the light also hurt your skin?" She asked with worry before I could hear a slapping noise. "Of course not, you were fine just a minute ago…then why are you hiding?"

I felt pressure on my bed, it meant she probably sat on it…she must be close to finding me.

Which is why I shouldn't answer, if you respond she will be able to localize you!

"…why are you not answering? Are you dead?"

Good, if she thinks I'm dead she will leave…wait…if she thinks I'm dead, then she will report it to the instructor, who will then tell it to Bea, and then Bea will be sad!

"N-o--, I'm…al—iv---e."

"Hmm? Sorry, I have difficulty hearing you under all of these sheets, could you leave them so I can hear you better?"

"…I'm not hiding…"

"Then why are you under your sheet in the middle of your bed?"

Ah! I knew she would be able to localize me if I answered…but at least she still shouldn't be able to harm me under there.

"Allister?"

"What do you want from me you servant of the abomination."

"Hey! I'm not his servant, he just legally kidnapped me after my parent abandoned me!" Cynthia replied to me with an angry voice.

"So you serve him against your will?"

"I don't serve him!"

"…then why are you following him?"

"But I'm not…wait…you're not talking about Volo are you?"

"…who?"

"…if you're not talking about Volo, then…oh…you're speaking about Luciel…" She said with a trace of disappointment in her voice, which just made me try to hide even more in the sheet.

"Allister, why are you scared of him? I heard you scream when the dean called your name with Luciel, and the girl also protected you immediately when he looked at you."

"Because he's the Bringer of Eclipse!"

"…I'm asking you a second time, who you are talking about." She asked in confusion.

"…it the ghost who told me about him…they're a lot here…scarry ghost, vengeful ghost…I saw a lot of them…but it was also the first time I saw…scared ghost, they were scared of him because he's sin."

"You can see ghosts? Oh, you must be a ghost esper then."

"Y—es…a level one…"

"Oooh, that worst one to be, isn't it?"

"…yes."

"Yeah, I've heard it from Volo, an esper level one has all the disadvantages of being an esper, with none of the benefits." She said in wonder.

But despite how frank she was, it was also right. "…yes…" 

"Sorry, I distracted you, so what the problem with Luciel being the Bringer of Eclipse, because personally I find it to be an extremely cool title. Just imagine this, Cynthia, the Bringer of Eclipse, is way better than my current one! Well, I suppose this one is Luciel's title now…well I'm sure these geezers could find a better one for me instead of the Unwanted Proof!"

"…do…do you want to praise yourself more?" I sincerely asked, I know some of the bullies liked to praise themselves, sometimes they do it so much they don't feel like trying to beat me anymore, and other times it gives the time for Bea to come to protect me.

…right, Bea won't be able to come this time, there is no reason to buy more time…and Cynthia doesn't sound like she wants to beat me up…she does sound weird.

"Gah! Right, right…sorry, you can talk…"

"…the spirit keeps repeating that it was his fault, that he is the cause of all evil, that he killed them, that he killed HIM."

"…he did? Well, how bad can it be?"

…I don't know if I should tell her children were among the spirit, children even younger than me, and some were even baby crying out loud.

Currently, I can't hear him as they are all too scared of the Bringer of Eclipse to even approach me, but there were so many of them that I could barely hear others speaking.

In the end, I choose to not say it to her. "…they usually always against each other…but if they all agree to the same thing…then it must be true."

"I don't care about the opinion of dead people, I'm asking if you truly believe that Luciel is really the root of evil."

"…I find him scary…I'm scared of him because I think he will torment me… scared that I will suffer the same fate as them."

"Well that's just absurd, Luciel can't be evil! He is the sweetest of potatoes!"

"…you tasted him?"

"What? Of course not…what? I…no, no I didn't eat him! Why would you say that?"

"Because you said he was a sweet potato."

"But that doesn't mean I ate him, it an expression to say he's inoffensive."

The spirit says the contrary.

"Plus, did the ghost tell you why Luciel supposedly killed them?"

I wanted to answer her, but I could only stand in silence when I realized I couldn't answer her at all. "They…they told me he was born evil…"

"Well, then they told you nothing, the one speaking was his despicable father, he was simply using their mouth to speak his message."

"What?"

"What I'm saying is that every crime you've heard about Luciel was invented by Luciel's father."

Really? But the spirit looked really confident in their answer…were they just manipulating me?

"Anyways, your opinion on Luciel shouldn't come from me or these spirits, you should create it yourself"

"I—fo--und hi--m cre—ep—y." I said hesitantly, scared she would be angry at this comment, but my only answer was silence.

"Well I suppose you're right…he does really creepy stuff…like a lot…but he's not doing this out of intention of being creepy…he's just naturally creepy I guess."

"…he's only creepy?" So he doesn't want to harm me? But he looked like he wanted to when he praised my screen.

"…yeah…he's cute, like extremely cute…but he also have creepy expression…and he move like a puppet…I can understand why you would be scared of him."

"No…I mean why do you think he's only creepy." Why isn't she doubting his innocence?

"Oh that's simple, because he is like you."

"Like me?!"

"Yes, he's scared of everything and everyone. And like you who hide under his blanket to protect yourself, he hides himself in his halo to protect himself from those who want to hurt him. He's simply more scared of others than others are scared of him, he can't be evil if he only wants to protect himself, can he?"

…he's scared? But why? He's so strong…he was able to make a whole room faint under his presence! If I had this power, I wouldn't be scared of anyone, and I could protect Bea by myself!

"You're wondering why someone as powerful as him could possibly be scared, don't you?"

"…yes…he's so strong… there's no need for the strong to be scared of anything."

"I thought the same, but at the same time, when you get strong enough, your problem just can't be resolved with your power anymore. Because sometimes, your opponent isn't another being… it's yourself…and you can never be stronger than yourself."

"Eh?"

She sighed before patting the place where my head was below the sheet. "All I'm saying is that Luciel is not scarred that someone will take his life, he's scarred that he won't have any reason to live it."

"…"

"Listen, I understand that you might be scared…but Luciel isn't like what you think…what do you say…to give him another chance."

I slowly raised my sheets over my head before looking fearfully at Cynthia. "If…if he wants to hurt me…would you protect me?"

She looked at me in surprise before smiling at me. "Of course, I would… with one condition."

"A--a con—dit--tion?"

"Yes, I want you to be my friend!"

"Fr—iend?"

"So do you agree?"

"But…that's not how it works."

"…what do you mean? Don't we just need to agree to be friends to be friends?"

"No…who told you that?"

"…no one…but I guessed it myself! So it's true!"

"It—It's not…" I responded, and I could see Cynthia looking at me as if I just told her the sky was yellow.

She's not that bright is she…like Bea…

"…then…then how? Wait, does that mean that I'm not friends with Luciel? No…I must be his friend, he says so himself…" She seemed to panic before looking intensively at me. "Allister, you must know how someone is really your friend, don't you?! Tell me! I will protect you in exchange, don't worry. Just tell me!"

I wanted to back down from her gaze, but sadly I had nowhere to run, so I could only respond. "…a friend is someone…you can trust…and that also trust you."

"…any other option?"

"…it…it not an option…in a requirement…"

"Drat!" She screamed before massaging her brow and murmuring at high speed. "Luciel definitely doesn't trust me, he's too traumatized for that…wait!"

She suddenly regained her smile and even calmed herself. "I forgot that I'm awesome! Which means that becoming a true friend with Luciel is simply among the multiple challenges I will face!"

"…ah? You…you want to become…friend with him…weren't you is servant?"

My comment made her freeze in place, she then slowly turned her head in my direction with an expression betraying her confusion. "Servant? Of Luciel?"

"Ah…well…you've been close…close to him…and…he… even if he isn't evil…he still didn't seem friendly…so…I thought you were his servant…am I wrong?"

"Allister." This time I was the one who froze under the coldness of her voice, I immediately lowered my head to avoid the look of disgust Cynthia's face was plastered with. "I am no one servant, did I make myself clear?"

"YES! Loud and clear!" I responded with difficulty as if there was an invisible pressure on me that dared me to even attempt to say another answer than what she wanted just so it could crush me.

"Good!" Suddenly, as if it was nothing else than an illusion, Cynthia regained her joyful attitude. "Oops, Luciel must be waiting for us right now!" She said while standing up and taking my hand and leading me out of my room.

Not like I had any chance to refuse, I'm currently a prisoner of her eccentricity and his cruelty…no…I must try to give him a chance…only if I'm able to confirm that he is really evil would I judge him…

Well, he is creepy…even more than me…

"Eh? Luciel still isn't there?" Cynthia exclaimed in surprise while looking at an empty room, but she just hunched her shoulder before walking toward the sofa.

As I also didn't have any other thing I could do…or if I did something Cynthia would just catch me again, I decided to sit down too.

Just in time to see the Bringer of Eclipse slowly walking toward their location with an umbrella and a plushie on his shoulder.

…yeah…he's definitely creepy…you don't walk inside a building with an umbrella, it brings bad luck!

"Luciel! What took you so long? Well no matter, come with us, I have something I want to do!" Cynthia said, but I noticed he still fixated on me despite Cynthia's comment.

In fact, her request looked more like a signal for him to approach me as he soon stood in front of me with an expressionless face.

…what…what does he want?

I looked to my side for Cynthia's assistance, but she seemed completely unconcerned by the situation.

The only thing I could do was trust that Cynthia was really speaking the truth about his personality.

As I looked back at him, his expression slowly changed…too slow even.

He started to raise the left side of his mouth, then the right side. He finished opening his mouth.

The only sensible conclusion was that he was trying to smile, but the process was extremely macabre to the point I instinctively backed away deeper into the sofa.

He suddenly raised one of his hands toward me, so I raised my own arm to protect my face.

But as I felt no pain, I slowly lowered my harm just to see… a plushie?

Wait, it's the same as the one on his shoulder!

No, this one is in worse condition than the original…

Why did he give me this? Is he attempting to curse me?

"This is a gift!" He suddenly said, making me look at him weirdly.

A gift? Why does he want to gift me with such a weird thing? The academy already gave us one, a very cute Pikachu…there is no reason why he should give me that one.

I took hold of the plushie and inspected it, and I realized it was in a way better quality than I expected, not the clothes used of course, but the sewing was made to perfection, and not a single hole was left.

And he was able to make this in less than ten minutes?

No, he must already make one beforehand…wait…that tissue…

I looked at a yellow spot on the plushie and touched it slowly just to face a similar feeling.

This…this is the tissue from the pokemon plushie they offered!

I even squeezed the plushie and realized it was also the same feeling.

He…he really made it in less than ten minutes…but why?

"I made it myself in the image of Pandora! Because you look scared and pathetic! Just like me! And as Pandora allows me to stand with confidence, I'm sure this one will also help you!" He said with pride in his voice, it was probably the first time I'd heard any emotion from him.

But he made it, so I could feel safe?

…he wants me to be safe?

…he will protect me?

I looked at the plushie one more time, before hugging it tightly.

Maybe he is really not evil…at least not for me.