Kuro no Maou

What, it’s still night?

It doesn’t feel like a nightmare either.

Oh well if it’s still dark, I’ll go back to sleep then. I got school tomorrow too.

As I was thinking about going back to sleep, a feeling of discomfort wrapped my body.

For some reasons, my body felt sore.

No that was not the case. The bed I was lying on was hard that every time I roll over I feel sore.

No way I’d be sleeping on something hard. What, did I fall off my bed or something? If so, then this is the first time in my life...

I was thinking about returning back into the bed and tried to get up―― my body would not moved. I realized that my whole body was paralyzed and I could not even lift the tip of my finger. Is this what people called a sleep paralysis?

First time experiencing such condition, I wish it happened when I was still in my bed instead. Reason is because since I can not moved my body at all, I can only feel the cold floor.

As I was puzzled of my own situation, my eyes were getting used to the darkness and slowly noticed my surrounding.

...where am I?

I realized I was not in my room for the first time.

I was still in sleep paralysis state, so I could not even move my neck but I could move my eyes so I surveyed around me.

It was a room with no organic matters.

I think I was sleeping on a table in the middle of the room. The room was 6-tatami large, without nothing else inside. As far as I could see, there was no door. Maybe I am trapped inside a space without a single gap; such vague fear crossed my mind.

What is this? Seriously where am I? And why is this happening to me?

‘I’m inside a nightmare’ was what I wanted to believe but I was already wide-awake and the feeling of unable to move my own body was strong that I had no choice but to accept the reality.

Ok let’s try to remember―― I wasn’t supposed to be sleeping in my room, I’m sure I was at school, right, I was in my club room after my class ended. The big and villainous-looking me that belong to the literature club. In that club room of a club that doesn’t has that many members, I was working on my ‘chuu-ni’-type light novel, no that wasn’t right, I was alone with Shirazaki in that room with awkward atmosphere.

I think that was about that time I got that serious headache... and later lost consciousness.

The memory of myself suffering the pain in my head and fallen of my chair slowly returned back to me.

That was one hell of pains I suffered. I surely made the Shirazaki in front of me worried. Now that I think of it, did they call my home about this?

That said, if I passed out inside the club room then here should be a hospital? No, I don’t think the hospital would put patient on this hard table. Not even a field hospital has this kind of table.

Then, did they think I’m dead and put me inside a morgue?

Even so, I think they would at least put me on a mattress, wait a sec, my imagination is running out of control here. No way such thing would happen.

No way such thing would happen, but in reality this is my condition right now. Seriously, under what circumstances am I sleeping in a place like this?

Maybe, I got kidnapped?

Of course, my family is just a normal family you can find anywhere else, my dad is a public worker and my mom is a housewife. I do not think that maybe my parents were actually from a distinguished family or some kind of royalties from certain country. They are just normal parent without such grand background.

Maybe this is some kind of mistake―― my thought went into a sudden stop.

Whoa, it’s bright!!

Bright light suddenly filled the room. With such sudden change in brightness, my eyes stopped functioning for an instant. However, as my eyes were gradually getting used to the brightness, I did not see any change within the room itself.

I felt a human presence. Not just presence, the sounds of people walking on a hard floor entered my ears. The fact that someone is coming proving that I was not trapped in some space of no gap.

But, that sense of relief vanished in a matter of seconds. Figures of people entered my sight and I was shocked by their erratic appearance.

They were wearing white mantle and covering with hood. It was still fine if it stopped right there. But, they were also wearing white mask, and with one look at them my heart’s alertness level went up to maximum.

It was not a mask made of glass, but more like a mask that a mysterious phantom of opera would used, a simple but abnormal-looking mask that covered up the whole face.

Oh no. I’m pretty damn sure they are not good guys.

I could see 3 figures in front of me, all wearing the same white mask.

Are they followers of some kind of weird cult?

However the paralyzed me who could not even lift a finger, let alone letting out voice, could only move my eyeballs around watching.

Cold sweat was running on my cheeks. I felt like I am in a life-or-death situation.

“مهلا، أن استيقظ”

Suddenly, one of the masked men had spoken.

“لا تقلق ، أنا على أي حال مواصلة العمل”

The other one replied.

I who was on the brink of despair, had fallen down into further despair.

I could not understand a single word that the masked men were saying.

At least, they were not English or Chinese or any other foreign language that I had heard of.

Maybe, it was only me, who only scored an average mark in English test, unable to keep on with a strong accent English.

At least, I did not think that they understand Japanese.

The masked men continued to talk among themselves, without paying attention to me who was already in a state of panic and confusion.

Their conversation then came to a stop, one of the masked men pulled out white ring out of nowhere. It looked like a round fluorescent lamp but I did not think that it is a fluorescent lamp. However, the fact that I have no idea what that standing out thing is remained unchanged.

As I was wondering about what they were going to use that object I have never seen before for, a few tiny needles came out from the inner side of the ring.

7 needles in total, came out with a sharp sound.

‘Such a dangerous thing’ is what came into my mind and at the same time I had a very bad feeling about it.

Then, the needles suddenly went back inside the ring and it became like a normal ring again. The masked man who was holding the ring walked towards the direction of my head――

Whoa hold it, hold it right there! Don’t put such dangerous looking thing on people’s head, no, stop, nooooooooo!!!

My body would not move, my voice would not come out, All I could do was only watching them without any reaction against it.

The masked man without any trouble, put on the ring-shaped object around my head.

Seriously stop it, please. What if the needles suddenly came out? Considering the length, they will surely reach and poke my brain. Not mentioning, seven of them. I’d die. I’d die for real.

A sudden fear of dying struck me, but I could not do anything to resist, not even helplessly crying or screaming.

After a few seconds, the ring-shaped object was set around my head.

Stop, please stop――

Words did not come out from my mouth but the ring on my head made a cruel-kashun-sound.

//TN: That was the sound of the needles popping out. Yes, the needles pierced his head. Ouch//

After that, I blackened out.