ARC ONE: Possessed, Obsessed, Blessed

Everyone in Ho Chi Minh City knew about a famous high school for geniuses only, where they could participate in many national and international science competitions. They were well-known to such an extent that their annual entrance examinations became “bloody” wars that every student tried their best to survive. And as a result, those students usually won the first prize, appeared on television, and became the ones that your mother called “the neighbor’s children”.

Le Hong Phong High School for The Gifted.

I didn't know whether this school's devil was gifted, and due to the need for an extremely strong devil, I broke into this school as the final student left there to turn the page on the chapter in my career.

“Anne, this is the male devil that you told me?”

Standing in one school yard’s dark corner, I gaped at a black smoke floating in front of myself and asked Anne.

Anne was my only devil whom I had signed a contract with many years ago. Her original form was a black shadow, too, but since signing, she returned to her appearance when being alive: a gorgeous girl with a beautiful oval face, long wavy hair, sparkling brown eyes, chubby cheeks, pale skin, slim body, and an irritating habit of clinging to me. As usual, she sat on my shoulders and answered me with the confidence:

“Of course, master. He is a devil at all.”

“How could you know?” I asked and continued to evaluate the male devil from top to toe.

As a devil raiser, I could swear that there were not any devils like him. Ever.

What were devils? They were souls refusing to reincarnate when they died and then existing persistently in the world to do something. I called it “persistently” because devils could harm or kill anyone, just to satisfy their lust. They had no conscience, were mad and dangerous.

But did this “devil” have any sign of a normal devil? Nothing at all. He was just a black smoke wandering through the school at night, then someone saw him, gossiped that this famous school had a devil. Everyone believed, and I broke in, tiredly, with the hope to sign a contract with a powerful devil, and then, I found a gentle soul who was not able to speak!

Where was my extremely strong devil?

Where???

“Master, you seem to be so distrustful.” Anne bowed and then asked me, “ Did you know there was a student who had to do homework seven days in a row and he couldn't stop, even though his teachers didn't give him anything?”

“What? How scary…” I blurted out.

“He caused.”

“Who? Who caused that?” At that time I thought that I was deaf.

Anne pointed certainly at the black smoke.

“This devil did.”

And I gaped once more in front of Anne’s proud face. “The extremely strong devil” that I told her was not “strong” like this. I meant a devil who owned a high level of demonic power, who could transform into many powerful weapons and helped me with my missions. It was not a devil who could give homework infinitely.

I had a job as an investigator, who was not only to lead souls to the next world but also to exterminate all the bad devils harming people… Err, did it sound great? I wasn't sure about that, I just knew that I had to do this job seven years without a normal weapon. Anne could only transform into a pair of fashionable gloves for me, that was all, and what could I do then? I rushed at the enemy like an idiot!

How could I be alive up to now?

Just escaped death narrowly many times then cried for my vitality.

Maybe Anne found that my emotion was abnormal, she asked: “I was wrong, wasn't I?”

I sighed with despair. Nowadays people lived and died with enmity, envy, greed and so many things that could easily make them become devils after death. Powerful and clean devils were rare to the extent that all the strong devils I had known were signed. Anne just wanted to help me. It would be cruel to blame this mistake on her, al… although she had called this supernatural creature with the forbidden magic.

And… if I could not persuade him that everything was a lovely confusion, I would be cursed as badly as Crucio used on a wizard.

“Just go aside, Anne.”

Anne had looked at me for a while before jumped over my shoulders and stood docilely.

I went to the front of the “devil”. He might pass away for a long time since his initial appearance had been lost, just the black smoke left. But he hadn't harmed anyone since his death too, because I didn't see any chain of karma on his body. Speaking from experience, if this soul didn't reincarnate soon, he would evaporate forever. Originally, I was quite sympathetic to this kind of soul, so I said to him gently:

“I am so sorry for my annoyance.”

Relieving a soul's anger was art at all. As an investigator, I could exterminate the bad devils only, and if I provoked any clean soul, he or she could curse me easily. Those curses were too awful to suffer, and luckily, after many “accidents”, I had learned how to ease their anger. The black smoke still floated when I said and he didn't seem to be angry. Yosh, the first step was successful.

I asked: “How long have you been here? I am an investigator from the Realm Security Agency, would you mind if I used my magic to lead you to the next world? You have to reincarnate, dear, or you'll disappear forever.”

The black smoke was a little bit shaky. I understood that he was listening to me, so I continued to appease:

“I promise that you won't hurt. Your life is gone, let's reincarnate for yourself. There is nothing to stay.”

“Reincarnate and be reborn in another life, okay?”

And then, don't you know what happened? I saw the soul's face appearing! Although it was a blur, I could happily realize that it was a face! Err, it might be scary, but that meant this soul still had his initial appearance and he wouldn't be too weak when he went to the next world.

Yeah, that was all the progress to ease a soul's anger. My partners usually appeased and were cursed even though the soul was not angry at all, but they forgot that a soul was just a soul. Leading them to the next world and everything was done.

But when I was dreamlike, the black smoke's face said something irrelevant with his cold voice: “I heard that you are looking for a devil? To sign a contract, right?”

“I would like to sign.”

“But…” I tried to talk as gently as I could to avoid provoking the soul, “But you can't transform into something like a bow, a sword, or a spear. Dear, you'd better…”

“Yes, I can't transform into something like them.” The soul stared at me and interrupted when I was talking, “Because I can transform into all of them.”

I…

It wasn't the April Fool, was it?