Argh…
The pain of something sharp piercing through his stomach made him awaken, sweat rolling down his spine.
He tried to move, but he couldn't.
His mind was confused. The only thing he could think of was pain.
Ron tried to open his heavy eyes, but his head was hurting too much.
So painful...
He took a deep breath and tried to figure out where he was.
And what was happening.
Moving his hands with difficulty, he pressed them onto his stomach, only to discover cold and soft... something.
It felt grassy, as if it was a vine.
Ron couldn't feel his belly, which was ominous, to say the least. He shifted his hands behind him, feeling the same vine. It was piercing his entire stomach.
He was dizzy, a strange and eerie feeling grabbing his guts.
His eyes were not opening yet, but he strove to see his surroundings.
Pain arose from the depths of his retina at his efforts.
Eventually, though, he succeeded.
Ron saw a dim crimson light emanating from a small lantern under him. Apart from that light, it was dark, and he was probably underground.
Wh-what's that…?
There, corpses were scattered across the old stone floor, flowers of blood spreading around them. It was a terrifying sigh, and it almost made Ron faint. The dead bodies were wearing strange clothes, as if they were cosplaying some kind of medieval ceremony, with their weird books and their old garments. He could not understand what was written on the books cover, and he did not care right now.
But… all of them were dead, and their deaths were recent, according to the scent of fresh blood and the still flowing blood.
Why were they here, to begin with ? More important even, what was this place ?
And what am I doing here, with that thing in my stomach ?
He had absolutely no idea what the answers to these questions could be, and he did not have the time to wander. He had to get out of here, first.
Yet, he could not help but wander what he was doing here…
Where was I before... I don't remember well. Ah ! I think I was coming back from school, and was about to go to Klara's place—
But at that moment, something else drew Ron's attention…
His hands…
And his forearms, and his whole body, actually.
What ? What the hell is that ?!
He was not… himself, his hands were too thin and delicate, his arms were too slender, his chest was not manly at all.
In fact, his entire body was that of a woman. And completely naked, which made him shiver of cold.
Gosh… I just wanted to see my girlfriend, why do I have this body now ?
Really, he could not understand. What had he done that owed him to get in this situation ?
I-I want to see mom, and dad too...
He wished so badly to be home, but he was not. So he had to get out of here.
To be able to see them again, he shall not abandon.
He then proceeded to study the thing in his stomach. It was, as he had guessed, a vine. It was purple like some kind of vicious infection.
Fortunately, it was not very thick.
Unfortunately, he had not grip on the ground.
Pulling it out of his stomach might be very difficult, perhaps even impossible.
He tried, but in vain. Nonetheless, he tried again, and again, and again...
However, it never worked.
Ron was desperate, and started to weep.
Until something changed in his mind, it was like a part of "him" had awakened as well, giving him knowledge.
He followed this knowledge, and focused. He tried to feel something that he could be only describe as mana in his language. Stream of mana flowed through his veins and to his hands, making them a bit stronger. With this new power he has able to crush the vine in front of his belly that was holding him in the air.
He fell onto the ground, making him more dizzy and confused than he already was. But now, having a grip on the ground, he was able to pull off the vine from his belly.
Crimson blood flooded outward and onto the floor, adding more to the already existing sea of horror.
Fortunately, it seemed like the wound was already healing, so he was losing less and less blood.
Despite being curious, he did not have the time to wander on who or what had given him the knowledge on mana.
I must exit this place !
He rose up and stood on his two foot. Now that he was not in the air, he could see the lantern better. It was of magnificent conception, there was a red gem at its center producing continuous light, and the frame was made of bluish alloy. The light producing item was eerie and sinister.
Ron took the object warily, and continued his way. He walked among dozen of corpses, littered on the ground. They were all frozen in frenzied expressions.
So scary... what happened to them ?
As he wandered, he searched for something of value among their belongings. To say the truth, he was scared by the recently dead bodies. What if the murderer was still close by ?
But he had to know... And running in a random direction might be even more dangerous.
He paid no heed to these interrogations and continued to search the bodies.
He found necklaces with an uncanny half-dragon half-demon head. All of them wore it.
Were they part of some kind of cult ?
Ron only had questions, but no answers.
Eventually, he saw the body of someone with more extravagant garments. Probably their chief. It was a man whose age was around forty. He had dirty blond hair.
Ron reached the corpse and, with disgust, started so search his body. He eventually found a cold sword made of black steel. The sword had the same emblem as the necklaces. It was strangely in good condition.
He took the clothes of the man and put them on him. He was already feeling warmer — still not incredible, but better than before.
But what really stroke him was the book near the dead body.
The book he could not read before.
Yet, since he obtained the knowledge on mana, he gained the ability to read this strange language.
On the book cover was written...
"Demonic Gospel"
Ron opened the book, hoping to find at least one answer to his questions...
Where was he ? Perhaps somewhere in space ? Or maybe in another world ?
Who — or what — was he ?
Why was he here, in this strange body ?
And the most important question,
How can I go back home ?
That was the question he most desperately wanted to find the answer to.
On the book, there was a bookmark to one of the pages,
And it was saying:
"How to resurrect Great Demoness Vanessa ?"