Gimme that Pacifier!

Chapter 1

“The Senior Council has decided to banish you, Hela.”

“Banish me?” I bit down on my lip. What on earth was this vermin talking about? I took him off the streets, taught him how to wield magic, and put him in the position he occupies now. And this is the thanks I get? What nerve!

“Your research is too dangerous, and it’s drawing criticism. The number of people who fear your reckless methods is increasing.”

I couldn’t say anything in response.

“If you agree to obey the decision, Hela, I will spare your life. The magic heart will be destroyed, but I will ensure you can spend the rest of your life peacefully.”

I seethed with rage, at a loss for words. My vision cycled in and out.

Melane’s promise wasn’t about allowing me to live my life in peace. He was simply ordering me to fade into the background and keep silent.

There were only a few years’ difference between our ages. Despite that, he was not only my first pupil but also my family, my friend, and a comrade who had faced life and death alongside me. He was the only one whose presence could be described in so many ways, each holding its own significance to me.

How dare he? Has he forgotten who helped found Sylopia, the land of magicians?! “Am I the crazy one, or are you?” I shouted as I laughed incredulously and kicked the ground.

Suddenly, the ground rumbled. The Magic Tower shook as if an earthquake had struck. The only ones who stood unaffected were Melane, who had sentenced me to death, and myself.

I felt his gaze from the platform above me as I released magic from my body, manifesting a dark, shadowy circle on the ground.

“I gave you an opportunity, Hela,” he said. “I wish you would have taken it.”

Clang!

While I was distracted by my former friend floating on the platform, chains suddenly shot up from the ground with a sharp clatter. They were so fast that I couldn’t react in time. As I stepped back reflexively, green tendrils sprouted from the ground, wrapping around my ankles.

I stumbled, losing balance. At that moment, more white chains appeared and bound my limbs with a rattling sound. I tried to use magic to dispel them, but I found myself unable to do anything but widen my eyes. The magic I gathered to cast the spell dispersed instantly.

“Melane!” I screamed his name, my eyes bulging. Struggling against the chains, I glared at him. “You… This is—”

“Does it seem familiar? This is what you created, Hela. I have merely perfected it,” he said calmly, narrowing his eyes. “Didn’t I warn you that your actions are dangerous? Everything about you poses a threat.”

As he spoke, he took his staff in his hand again. “Ready.”

The other magicians immediately obeyed his orders. Their movements were perfectly coordinated, indicating they had joined willingly and not through coercion.

I panted as my legs gave out from disappointment. I collapsed weakly to the ground.

Just yesterday, we were laughing and drinking together. But now, I felt the sting of betrayal. I had been stabbed in the back.

I had always heard that when you become too angry, you lose the ability to speak. Now I knew it was the truth. I was unable to utter a single word. Yesterday, he was my drinking buddy, but today, he had made me a fool. I couldn’t help but feel stupid for being so careless. Unable to move even a finger, I watched him standing above me on the platform.

As my magic disappeared, so did the gigantic magic circle I had drawn. It was replaced by a new circle emitting blue and white light. It took eight magicians to draw the new circle, with four more assistants to replenish their magic.

Is this an annihilation spell? Judging from the magic formula, it had to be. It seemed able to completely erase anything without leaving behind a trace of one’s magic, body, or soul. It was one spell that I had never mastered.

I watched silently as the circle was drawn around me where I had collapsed. They must have met secretly every day, quietly researching and studying the spell in order to eliminate me. They must have been contemplating it every time they greeted me in the morning, delivered their reports to me, or merely crossed my path.

“How could you?!” I groaned, struggling to raise my head.

Melane only stared down at me in silence. He was always a man of few words, and he remained so in this moment.

As I lowered my eyes again, the light emanating from the magic circle flowed toward me and permeated right through my being. My body began to disappear. It wasn’t burning, but turning into a fine white glowing powder, crumbling away like a sandcastle. The light seeped into me, gradually erasing my existence.

It seemed like they had overpowered me with a magic suppressor, a tool made to subdue criminal magicians. Then they cast the annihilation spell to completely eliminate me.

I could only stare at my legs as they disappeared. Soon, they were halfway gone. I slowly lifted my head and looked toward Melane, saying nothing. It was all too absurd and shocking for me to resist further.

I looked around slowly. No one took pity on me or tried to save me. This was of my own doing. I turned my gaze back toward him.

Boom!

Then, the building shook as if there were an explosion.

“Aah!”

“Your Holiness!”

Melane looked around the chaotic ranks of magicians and raised his staff. His eyes fixed on me, he began to chant in an ancient language. At the same time, a dark energy emanated from the remaining upper half of my body and surged around me.

When I met the reflection of my eyes on the marble floor, I saw they were no longer blue but now bloodshot with rage. “Even if I return as an undead, I will kill you,” I hissed.

He said nothing, still not taking his eyes from me.

I bared my teeth and forced a laugh. The pitch-black energy surrounding me writhed even more fiercely. The halls of the building were now filled with a mix of Melane’s blue magic and the ominous black energy.

“Curse you, Melane. I curse you!”

“Without your magic, you are powerless. You’ve become just as pitiful and useless as those you once deemed so disgusting.”

“Are you mocking me?”

“I’m just stating the facts, Hela. Without the ability to wield your magic, even the dark magic you were so proud of is of no use.” He relaxed his stern expression and smiled faintly.

As he spoke, it felt like I really had become the villain. Whatever. I’ll kill him, even if I have to defy time and be reborn. As surely as the sun rises in the morning, I will get my revenge. Melane had betrayed my kindness and taken away my life. He took the most precious thing from me without even once speaking to me about it first.

“You won’t have even a spare moment for such things anymore,” he continued.

“Ha! I’m going to tear apart your very soul, even if I’m reborn as a worm!”

“Goodbye, Hela.” With my outburst, he calmly bid farewell.

How could he be so unbothered? Was I nothing to him in the end, not a comrade or a partner like I had always believed? You rotten bastard!

The last thing I witnessed was the space where my body had been, now empty of any trace of my existence.

* * *

Suddenly, a burst of light flooded the dark. It seemed that my soul was floating in darkness for quite some time. It was quite an unexpected situation.

For a while, I couldn’t open my eyes because of the light pouring in around me. What’s going on? Had I finally gone to hell, or perhaps paradise? Wherever it was, I was being reborn.

When I finally slowly opened my eyes, I could see a ceiling. It was insanely high. Who on earth built a house like this? You would have to fly into the air in order to light in the chandelier. Maybe I was somewhere completely not of this world. This can’t be a house for a giant, right?

I moved my arms and tried to get up. Although I tried to prop myself up, my arms felt oddly short.

“Goo?”

“Goo?” Who the heck just said that?

As I waved my arms in the air, I saw a pair of chubby objects, like octopus tentacles. I was puzzled by whatever was flailing around on either side of me.

“Boo… Gah…?”

Ugh, who’s making such a racket?

“Aboo, boo! Goo!”

That voice sounds close. It sounded almost unreal. It was strangely difficult to move, and I couldn’t form my words properly… Just like a baby…

A baby? Nah, no way. Was I really reincarnated…?

No, it was impossible. Even if I were reincarnated, it would be unusual for me to retain my memories… How terrifying. Maybe by some stroke of luck I survived, and I was just having a hard time controlling my movements.

“Ugh!” someone exclaimed.

At that moment, a giant face popped into my vision.

“Ah-boo!” I shouted. Agh! What is that?! A woman with a huge face! Or… am I just small? She can’t be a giant, which means… Have I really become a baby? A babbling, fidgeting, good-for-nothing baby?