The Bookstore Mage

Inside the bookstore, two strange headless monsters squeezed in between the shelves, the faces on their chests were morphed into ones full of crazed devotion as they sensed the heavy aura looming inside.

They only took a few steps before a short pale fairy, dressed in a butler's suit appeared before them. The monsters paused and glanced at the small fairy in confusion.

"The lord?" One of them asked.

The other quickly replied:

"No, it's missing the lord's aura."

"Kill?"

"Kill."

Their expressions quickly turned ferocious as both monsters disappeared from their place and reappeared behind and in front of the fairy respectively.

Obsidian sharp claws extended from the monsters' fingers, as they aimed to maim the butler fairy. Before their attacks could reach it, however, a strange force extended out from the fairy's body paralyzing the monsters in their place.

Their claws stopped mere millimeters away from the fairy's face and neck. The small butler's sharp grey eyes seemed to shine momentarily causing an inconceivable pressure to descend on the monsters.

Their bodies planted to the ground with a loud thud, yet surprisingly the noise didn't seem to go far as an invisible shield appeared and surrounded the trio. The fairy snapped its fingers and the two creatures teleported closer to the door.

It slowly approached them, causing the monsters to shiver subconsciously. An emotion they had long since forgotten resurfaced. Fear.

The fairy paused a step before them, its grey eyes looked especially sharp in the darkness. It opened its mouth and spoke in a gentle voice, akin to that of a gentle summer breeze.

"The Lord is resting. If you interrupt his sleep, you die."

The two monsters dared not rebuke the fairy's words, they simply lay there in silence waiting for it to continue speaking.

"Did the Lord summon you?" The fairy asked in a tone that demanded an answer.

One of the monsters shivered and replied:

"The Bishop-"

Before he could finish, the small fairy snapped its fingers causing the monster's arm to be ripped off its body. Dark red blood spurted out, only to be stopped by the fairy as it gathered it all into a floating sphere.

The monster tried to scream in pain, only to find its voice gone.

"I said, did the Lord summon you?" The fairy asked again, this time its cold gaze fell on the second monster.

It quickly replied:

"No, we came looking for the Lord."

As soon as he finished, both of his arms were forcefully ripped off its body. The floating sphere of blood grew in size as the fairy gathered every drop. The monster was unable to cry out in pain, either.

"The Lord didn't summon you, and yet you still came to look for him. Leave one leg behind, and disappear from my sight." The fairy ordered.

The monster with only one arm left only hesitated for a split second before it decisively tore off one of his legs. The second one used some sort of magic as a dark shadowy blade materialized out of thin air and cut his leg clean off.

The two monsters dared not linger any longer, the second their bodies regained strength, the duo teleported out of the bookstore. The fairy then blasted both of their legs in a puff of red blood which further grew the blood sphere.

The sphere began to rotate in mid-air, as the fairy glanced at it with hunger in its eyes.

"Meow"

Moon's sudden call caused the fairy to roll its eyes as it turned to glance at the cat that was sitting on top of the counter. Moon's piercing green eyes locked on the fairy, as lazily licked its paws.

The fairy hesitated for a second, it then waved its hand causing a small part of the sphere to detach and fly over to Moon, who greedily opened her mouth and swallowed it whole.

The fairy shook its head and turned to what was left, its mouth opened unnaturally wide causing the sphere to fly straight into it. A satisfied expression hung on its face before it disappeared as silence once again reigned in the old bookstore.

*****

Outside, the two monsters reappeared in a distant dark alley. Their bodies were visibly paler, and their auras weaker, yet surprisingly all of their limbs were intact.

One of the monsters asked:

"Who was that?"

"Too strong, I don't know."

"The Lord's servant?"

"Maybe."

"The Lord did not summon us. Are we no longer needed?"

"No longer useful?"

"What to do?" The second monster asked.

"Prove our worth to the Lord." The first monster answered.

"How?"

"Kill the bugs spying on the Lord."

The second monster hesitated before it replied:

"The Bishop will be angry."

The first monster harrumphed and was about to ignore his companion.

"The Lord might get angry."

This caused him to pause as he slowly turned to glance at the second monster with an inquiring look.

"What do you mean?"

"The Lord must surely know they are there, yet he left them unharmed."

After a few seconds of silent contemplation, the first monster silently replied: "Hmmm. Let's go back."

*****

The next morning, Lucien woke up in a good mood. He took a quick shower, brushed his teeth, and made some breakfast for both himself and Moon. He also did not forget to take the plate of cookies and glass of milk downstairs for the fairy.

This time, he didn't wait to see if the fairy will appear and instead left directly for the second floor. After eating his breakfast, he donned a creme-colored suit and made his way downstairs to open the bookstore for business.

The glass of milk and plate of cookies had already disappeared which brought a smile to Lucien's face.

*****

The day proceeded smoothly, it was a surprisingly busy one as well. Quite a few customers ended up buying the books, and a few regulars brought back the ones they loaned.

'I need to restock soon.' Lucien inwardly mumbled. He turned his old PC on and was checking through the store emails when the bells chimed making him raise his head.

"Welcome, ah! Anna, welcome back!"

The lively young girl walked in with a smile, the second she did, however, the smile quickly fell off her face as she turned pale. The sudden change surprised Lucien.

His eyes were subconsciously drawn to the tiny mana particles that surrounded Anna. He was about to ask when the particles stopped moving and continued floating about aimlessly.

"Anna, you—"

The young girl raised her head to glance at him in a mixture of shock and awe.

"Mr. Lucien, you're a mage?!"