A Wanderer's Lies

Chapter 72: Merlin [2]

"How dare he, how dare he, how dare he?!"

In a dimly lit room, a figure could be seen emanating a powerful and sinister aura.

With a hunched back, and messy hair that made them seem like a witch, their dishevelled and torn clothing only pointed further at their poor mindset.

"How dare he mention Jayne. How dare he mention my Sister!"

Katlynn ripped out a strand of her hair as she paused for a second, staring into the blank air with crazed eyes.

"It was him. It all started with him. That weakling was able to push me to feel such rage."

Katlynn muttered as the image of a boy hung in her mind.

It was then that she came to a conclusion.

"It's him. He is who should die. He is a weak nuisance, he'll die anyway. Yes, him."

"I'll kill the boy."

***

"Did you just…speak?"

Isaac stared at the black cat as he sat on his buttocks, watching intently as he raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I did." The cat replied in a high-pitched voice, befitting its small and cute demeanour.

Isaac was taken aback. He'd seen a lot of things, but this talking cat that had suddenly appeared in his room had him stumped.

Seeing his bewilderment, the cat spoke once again.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Boar Sin, Sin of Gluttony, Merlin." Merlin revealed as if it were a grand revelation.

As the Cat's words faded, it was as if gears in Isaac's mind started to turn, everything falling into place as he understood everything happening.

"You're the Curse that's bound to me. The Wizard." Isaac pointed, to which Merlin nodded.

"I am. During your rampage as that creature, I was able to cast one last spell on you that binds our souls."

Merlin answered, a hint of blame seeping through her voice.

However, there was only one part of that story that Isaac heard.

"So, you're with Onyx, aren't you?" Isaac glared at Merlin. He made sure to keep vigilant, ready to activating Ren if the moment deemed it necessary.

"Yes and No," Merlin answered as if she was teasing Isaac.

This answer confused Isaac, but rather than outwardly showing his confusion, his glare intensified as he spoke in a cold tone.

"Quit with the riddles. Answer the question."

Merlin stared for a second, the mischievous glare in her eye disappearing as she spoke.

"The last thing I remember before waking in this world was travelling with King Arthur, revealing myself to Meliodas and a few others as Merlin, one of the Seven Deadly Sins' as I battled Vivian, my apprentice…"

Isaac pinched the bridge of his nose as he interrupted her.

"I don't know what any of those things mean. Just start from the most important part, then we can fill in the rest afterwards."

Merlin, unfazed, continued.

"I woke up in a new body with no memory or recollection of how I'd arrived there. I was in complete darkness, the only feeling I had being the eerie unfamiliarity within my skin."

"Though I had nothing to indicate where I was or who I was, I had an idea of why I was in this darkness. I'd spent enough time with Gowther to know."

Isaac inwardly questioned the last second, however, the next sentence made him forget it.

"Mind Control."

As the words faded, Isaac pressed his finger on his chin, pondering for a few seconds.

"So you mean to tell me all the acts you committed under Onyx were against your will?"

Isaac didn't find it hard to believe she was mind-controlled. He had no problem believing that was how Onyx controlled their Terrors and Possessions.

However, this didn't mean he trusted her.

"Yes. Despite my conscious mind being controlled, my subconscious worked effortlessly to counter this magic that had been put on me."

"The furthest I had gotten was being able to consciously realise I was being controlled, watching everything around me happen, but still unable to control my actions. It didn't help that my Mana wasn't what it used to be. This was how i learnt i was Possession from my world called Seven Deadly Sins, or as you call it, Verse."

"For the first time in a long time, I was completely bewildered. Never had I thought something like this was possible."

"However, after you killed me and I bonded our souls together, not only did you destroy the body I was in, but also all the Mana I had accumulated, forcing me to start from the ground up. Hence my cat form. This is all I can manage at the moment."

Isaac ignored the last part of the sob story as the acts weren't committed by him but by the Zobae.

But he wasn't going to tell her that.

Instead, he asked her another important question.

"How do I know you still aren't being controlled?"

This would be troublesome if she was, seeing as how they were now inseparable.

"Well, you'd be able to tell. Seeing as how we are linked, we share a telepathic connection. Additionally, we can take it a step further by sensing each other's emotions. Go on, try it."

Isaac paused for a second, soon doing as he was told as he focused, sensing her even with his eyes closed.

"Well?" Merlin asked.

"You're calm. Almost unbearably so. But more importantly, you're you." Isaac reopened his eyes.

"Correct."

"Can you sense my emotions?"

Merlin paused for a second, answering shortly after.

"You're agitated and wary."

She was right.

Isaac hated everything that was happening at the moment.

Bonded, emotional connection and mind control?

Of course, he was agitated.

Additionally, there was something else that bugged him.

Although he could sense Merlin harboured no ill will toward him, that didn't mean she was trustworthy.

After all, Bonded to a Wizard was labelled as a Curse.

She wasn't an enemy, but Isaac knew she wasn't a friend either.

Otherwise, it'd be classified as a Perk or a National Treasure even.

"Allow me to clear your doubts." Isaac was intrigued upon hearing this, his interest growing further as she spoke her next words.

"I can tell you the events that will occur in three weeks."

Isaac narrowed his eyes as he kept his mouth shut.

Taking this as an indication to keep going, Merlin continued.

"In three weeks, the annual Dojo Showdown will ensue. Onyx is planning on undergoing their plans as the main attraction of the Showdown starts."

'The main attraction?'

Isaac needn't ask anything as Merlin answered his questions shortly after.

"The main attraction this year being a bet the Hale Grandmaster and the Vice Principal of Aurelius made."

Upon hearing these words, Isaac lowered his head, staring at the ground as he soon sighed.

'Great.'

It seemed Onyx's plan was contingent on Isaac accepting Harrison's request to fight against Jett.

Of course, Isaac could reject Harrisons offer, throwing a slight disturbance in Onyx's plan, but he couldn't help but think that was idiotic.

'It's better to let things happen, allowing me to keep track of their current plan. I can't meddle too much, otherwise they might change it.'

Of course, this meant Isaac had to stop avoiding Harrison.

"What is the prophecy?" Isaac asked. This was still something he was no closer to solving.

"That is something I cannot answer. Even Jayne herself was not privy to that information."

Isaac nodded his head. Merlin was Jayne's sidekick after all. If Jayne knew nothing, there was no way for Merlin to know.

"What about Xavier Hall?"

As Isaac asked this, he noticed Merlin stare at him silently, and Isaac could sense she was confused.

With a slight hum, countless Swatches, as well as Jayne's, dropped between Merlin and Isaac.

"I took Jayne's Dimensional device after everything had happened, and I found the swatches of dozens of people. One of them being my Nen Instructor."

Merlin trodden closer and with her feline paws, caressed the swatches a few times.

"Although I know of no Xavier Hall, I can confidently say that new members to Onyx have their Swatches switched for one more suitable."

"What do you mean?"

Rather than an answer, Merlin pointed towards Jayne's Swatch.

"Find the Factory Reset option."

Although confused, Isaac did as he was told, scrolling through the Swatches setting till he found the option for a factory reset.

With no hesitation, he pressed on it, watching the screen turn pixelated, then pitch black as a few new options appeared on it.

"Bounties, missions, ranks, Black Market…what is this?"

Isaac asked, looking through the new interface of the Swatch.

"That is everything an Onyx member can have easy access to. A Swatch with this system installed is replaced with new members' original Swatch."

It's as if a mental click played in Isaac's mind as a few things started to make sense now.

This was why Xavier's Swatch was here.

Isaac grinned.

'Finally. I finally discovered some dirt on the bastard.'

Isaac quickly went through the Onyx system, skimming past the bounties of the countless individuals he didn't know and even the Golden Six with a few million S on their heads.

Cain himself was the highest at 120,000,000S.

Thankfully, Isaac didn't seem to be on the list.

'At last, a benefit to being an NPC.'

Isaac had even spotted a bounty for Orion at…

'3 Billion S?! I might have to take my chance the next time I see him.'

Isaac chuckled.

Additionally, he quickly entered the Black Market site, noticing a few interesting items.

[Artifact (Forged): Quirk Nullifying Drug (B- Rank)]

[Requirements: N/A]

[A prototype to the Quirk Destroying Drug of the My Hero Academia verse. Shuts down a Quirk user's abilities temporarily.]

'I have yet to encounter anyone with a Quirk, but this seems useful.'

It seemed the black market site was a place to buy and sell illegal or frowned upon items.

If this was the case, Isaac couldn't think of a better place to sell the Anubis sword.

"Not only do you now know the names of the followers that had been working under Jayne, which is very secretive inside Onyx, but if you also find the Xavier man in the pile, I think it's safe to make assumptions."

"What else do you know? Do you know who Wayne is? What about anything else Onyx is trying to accomplish. Maybe even who their leader is..."

Merlin shook her small head, cutting Isaac off.

"No, my knowledge is limited. After all, I had only been beside Jayne for a few days after being brought to this world."

Isaac nodded, realising he'd expected too much from Merlin after becoming excited.

"And your power?" He asked.

"I can only use basic spells at the moment. Most of them are utility magic. For example, do you happen to have any more of those curses you mentioned?"

Isaac's ears perked.

"You're telling me you can do something about a Curse I have on me?"

Isaac thought, realising these curses had burdened him to no end.

Merlin's feline lips curved upwards.

"Well, let's see."

Closing her eyes, Isaac could instantly feel Mana rising from her.

"Curse Discovery."

As these words faded, Isaac noticed a strand of text rising from his chest, flowing through the air till it hung before Merlin.

"Hmm." She smiled.

"What?" Isaac was curious, the anticipation eating away at him.

"I've found something. Although, it isn't necessarily you who is cursed, therefore, I cannot dispel it. But rather, a cursed individual hunting you."

"Cursed individual? Is that all you found? Nothing about an entity of disaster or a shadowy silhouette?"

Shortly upon asking this, Isaac realised the vague and idiotic manner in which he phrased his words.

Merlin shook her head, soon raising it as a subtle, "But…" escaped from her lips.

"Does the name Katlynn mean anything to you?" She asked, staring straight into Isaac's eyes.

'Katlynn? Cursed?'

Isaac paused for a few seconds, soon grinning from ear to ear as he leaned in.

'I've been meaning to enact my revenge. This seems like the perfect time.'

"Merlin, tell me more."

***

"Come in!"

In a familiar office with a chilling breeze flowing through it, a large bald man with a scruffy ginger beard and scar traced upon his forehead raised his voice after hearing a knock at his door.

Hearing the man's hoarse voice, the individual pulled the door handle, entering the room as they closed the door behind them.

"Ah, Isaac! What a lovely surprise." Harrison cheerfully greeted the amber-eyed boy who'd entered his room.

"What brings you here today?"

Despite asking this, Harrison felt a joyful feeling course through his body, as he already knew the answer to his question.

Taking a deep breath, Isaac deliberated what he was about to do.

'With this act, I'm giving Onyx the distraction they need to enact their plan. For the Prophecy to be fulfilled.'

However, despite him knowing this, he had already come to terms with his actions.

This needed to happen.

"Mr Vice Principal, I accept this opportunity to fight for you."

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Next chapter title: Unwanted Attention [Single Chapter]

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