I poked with a wooden stick at black haired man in a torn up black shirt and bloodied brown pants - I sighed irritated, however I noticed his eyelids barely fluttering and his chest expanding more. Well you would ask why I was annoyed? Well because the man who ended up covered in wounds at my backyard is none other than the main villain of the Rofan Novel "Flowers Bloom in the Dawn", Callius Mephisto! Though I had to admit that he did look handsome, fitting for the male main antagonist. I stood up from crouching and gazed at the street - thankfully it was empty, it was past midnight after all. I brushed down the dark gray skirt of my casual dress - any normal person would help him, though being the transmigator that I was, made it more difficult. I breathed down heavily and extended the left palm of my hand - shadows emerged from my fingertips and greedily latched themselves onto the lantern's lights. Good thing that my eyes were so used to seeing in darkness. All that was left was to get Callius to my apartment, patch him up and then off he goes! Well not exactly like that but something in a similar manner and probably not in that order.
But first things first - why I was even saving Callius in the first place? Well because the female lead and her sister were my friends! We met at the townsquare while I was doing the basic groceries and a small girl bumped into me while she was running after a stray cat - and that girl was Marissa's (the female lead) younger sister, Mia. That's how we met - as such in a very short time Marissa and me became friends. Mari in the original novel didn't have a happy life and I wanted to spare her the suffering from the hands of the book's plot. In other words, Callius dropping off half dead on my doorstep should be considered a blessing in disguise - leave him in the dust and be over with it! The main villain dies and Marissa lives with Mia happily ever after.
Well not so much...Callius was very strong, to the point he could even survive the impossible. For example with his powers he could heal himself, having a very strong regenerative abilities. That would mean Callius eventual survival and his horrible plans connected to tormenting Marissa. And I couldn't allow this! At least not on my watch...not to mention if he would remember me leaving him for dead and found out about my relationship with Mari...yeah, a psycho like him would kill me for sure.
I lifted him from the ground with a pained groan and tossed him over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Dammit why he had to be so heavy?! Like I get it, with his height and muscles included, it really shouldn't be surprising. But it didn't make my job any easier either! What a pain in the ass Callius was already even though he was unconscious. I walked towards the townshouse door, pushed them open and on quiet steps made it to my apartment. To be completely honest I hated those rich noble mansions with golden toilets, satin curtains and old expensive furniture - a) because with so much space, the mansions were overbearing and overwhelming b) given the quantity of the furniture and their age, I would probably be afraid to even touch them, let alone use them. Which is why I preferred my own apartment in the Eastern City's southern districts.
I entered my apartment, closed the door on locks and laid Callius down on the nearby couch in my living room. I pushed the curtains from the window to the sides and lifted my left hand in waving off gesture at the street lanterns. The light returned to the bulbs with a weak flicker before shining once again - I sighed and turned back to Callius lying on my couch. Lazily I took my med kit from a wooden chest of drawers, grabbed a stool and prepared myself to work. I groaned from frustration and annoyance - this would be a long long day.
By the time I finished patching Callius up, sun was already rising from the horizon. I lumbered towards the kitchen counter and made for myself a cup of very stong tea, since as I found out, coffee made my powers a bit too...active. Last time I drank coffee I spent all the day long wrestling my powers so that they wouldn't go rogue in broad daylight - my magic returned to it's original state just after coffee's effects wore off.
It was already morning and I didn't sleep for not even a hour - I already felt tired and my day was just beginning. For the good measure I pulled out an extra blanket from below the couch and covered Callius with it - my shoulders slumped in exhaustion and walked to the bathroom. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and visibly cringed - I had deep gray bags under my eyes from lack of sleep and exhausted glare directed at the mirror's reflection.
By all standards I considered myself to be an average looking - I had slightly wavy black with multiple white streaks on the ends hair measuring down to my shoulders and sharp red eyes like gleaming rubies. Originally I had pure white snow hair but that changed when I gained my powers. By all standards considered I was tall for a woman, especially considering the age I lived in. I had broad shoulders, slim waist and long legs. Due to my height I was often sticking out like a sore thumb amidst the crowd.
I shook my head and pulled myself out my thoughts - I started preparing myself for my day job. Then I needed to figure out a plan for Marissa and myself to avoid multiple deaths flags due to the original's novel plot.
***
I shoved my hands into my long skirts pockets - I mostly dressed myself in dark colours, not to blend with the crowd but those colours suited me the best. Excluding the dark cool gray skirt and leather shoes, I wore a simple long sleeved white shirt and on it a black jacket. On my shirt's collar I had crimson red band tied in a small ribbon - a gift from Mia, Marissa's younger sister.
I waved my hand at the two girls on the bench, Marissa eagerly waved back with a bright smile. With her appearance I could truly see why she was the female lead in the original novel - long straight golden hair gleaming in the sun, deep blue eyes like twin sapphire's and perfect figure. Her looks completely contrasted with my own appearance - next to her sat, Mia with the same golden hair but hers were wavy, also Mia had emerald green eyes instead of Marissa's blue. But anyone could see the family resemblance between the two.
"Hi, Aida! How are you doing?" - Marissa lightly asked
'Thanks for asking, I have a fucking psychopath in my house who kills anyone that just looks at him the wrong way' - that's what I really wanted to say but I bit my tongue.
"I'm good, how about you?" - I asked instead in my usual a bit apathetic tone of voice
"I'm great, thanks for asking! Yesterday I saw that beautiful begonia bouquet on the sale, I'm thinking about buying, it would fit with the my living's room design" - Marissa replied earnestly
I nodded smiling and continued carrying on the conversation.
Marissa proved to be a great and helpful neighbour - she moved in 5 months prior to the start of the original novel's plot. Mari and her sister were daughters of the Green Baron, a very greedy and ambitious nobleman - however he wasn't careful enough when conducting his shady business and ended up assassinated by one of the Baron's enemies. Shortly after the Green's name was tarnished and the Emperor declared the family was declared to be a fallen nobility - due to her father's numerous debts, Marissa and Mia were forced to flee their home and settled in the Eastern's City southern districts, far away from the former lands of the Green family. The original novel opened up with Marissa running into Callius at night, when he was from head to toes covered in blood. Callius became obssesed with her so deeply that it borderlined clinical insanity - as the plot moved forward, Marissa regretted ever meeting and encountering him that faithful night. Callius took away so much from the female lead that Marissa almost suffered a full blown mental breakdown.
And I'm the villainous extra that was only mentioned at the beginning of the original novel - Vakare, a mercenary with very potent magical abilities that worked for the novel's main villainess and ultimately died when she accepted a commission too difficult for her alone to handle. Vakare's as a codename was mentioned sparsely in the original novel - two times by the main villainess and occasionally by Callius during the few times when he was able to think clearly. She was a mysterious extra that was killed off before the original novel even began.
In other words I had full freedom with my choices - I just had to avoid working for the villainess and pick my commissions carefully! If only...
If only Callius didn't drop half dead on my doorstep...
You can't have everything, right?