Curse the Mainframe! 16 Hellhound Guarding Hell

The door slammed open, startling all of them.

"Tatiana!"

Tatiana spun around, reflexively answering. "Yes, mother?!"

A slim, graceful woman stood in the doorway, hands on her hips. Her eyes exuded a fierceness that was much alike the expression Tatiana made earlier when she had been angry at their teacher.

Upon seeing the rest of them inside the room, her angry expression immediately melted into something welcoming and smiley.

Alec inwardly marvelled at the change that Tatiana's mother went through.

"Oh, my~ you didn't tell me we were going to have guests over. I would have prepared some snacks," the woman said, a look of regret upon her face.

Tatiana's mother closed the door softly after her, coming and leaving like a hurricane.

Tatiana looked embarrassed, hiding her face in her hands.

Elias quietly reached over and closed Zacharias' mouth.

"Uh," Tatiana struggled to recover. "Let's start training, okay?!"

They allowed her to change the subject since she was clearly embarrassed.

"So, what are we going to do?"

Zacharias huffed. "Obviously, you're going to give us pointers on the magic technique." He paused. "Aren't you?" he said, a tad less sure.

Alec smiled. "Sure."

Alec took the initiative to start. "Then, watch closely. I'll run through it ten times, like the magic technique scroll."

After he saw their nods, Alec started moving. Just like he had practiced, each move came smoothly and without any difficulties.

The rest of the teenager's eyes were shining as they watched him. They even felt like this was more beneficial to them as compared to when they watched the person in the scroll.

Where the person was fully grown and had a different reach, as they watched Alec's movements, they somehow developed a deeper understanding when watching him.

Instantly, they could recognise a lot of their obvious flaws. Which matched what their teacher had instructed them in earlier. It was just that, at that time, they were unable to see where their movements were flawed, meaning that the teaching didn't exactly stick fully.

The four teens sunk into a state of comprehension, surprising Alec.

Alec stopped, looking at their dazed expressions, quietly leaving the room in case he disturbed them.

After two hours, the four teenagers broke out of their state almost at the same moment.

"Ah?" Tatiana looked around. Alec was gone!

Cyrus scratched his cheek, feeling sheepish. "I guess he left because we were deep within that comprehension state."

Alec headed towards the lake located right in the middle of the compound's heart, which was, incidentally, the same lake that he gazed on the first time when he was a baby, right behind the building they lived in.

In the middle of the day, the sunlight hit the lake just right, causing the clear water of the lake to shine, almost blinding. The water was so clear that one was able to see all the way down to the bottom of the lake.

Inside the lake, there were various fish swimming in harmony. It was such a picturesque sight that one couldn't help but relax upon seeing it.

Alec was no different from everyone else.

On the lake's surface, there were various boats in the distance, carrying different people. Some ladies had parasols, whilst others lay down in the boat, basking upon the gently rocking surface.

There were also some clansmen who were treading on the water's surface, practicing their magic techniques. Alec wondered how they stayed afloat without anything underneath them, then realized that they weren't.

In fact, as they moved, each move mirrored perfectly, stepping forward correctly brought them to another pole that was suspended just below the water, allowing them to keep their balance. One wrong move, and they would tumble into the water.

A splash, and one of the practicing clansmen fell in, swimming to the surface. He pulled himself back up onto the pole, his clothes quickly drying, practicing anew.

Alec watched with wide eyes, never having come to the lakeside during the day time. the sight was almost… magical, in a way. Though he had looked at the lake in the distance, it wasn't the same seeing it up close.

Instead of going onto the water like most were doing, Alec lay down in the grass, feeling the sun's caress on his skin.

He was just about to fall into a light slumber when he heard the rustle of grass, before something plopped onto his body.

Alec paused; previous sleepiness gone. He furrowed his brows, slightly annoyed. Who exactly was getting in the way of his glorious nap? Of all days where he finally allowed himself a brief respite to take a break, and he's disturbed?

He opened his eyes, finding a small, white bunny atop his stomach.

The System, who had been previously annoyed, instantly froze, every single muscle in his body freezing and locking, not moving the slightest bit.

The bunny, upon not finding a reaction, cautiously moved around, little hops across Alec's body.

Alec inwardly screamed.

Was it too late for him to say that he was terrified of rabbits? Why was this here? Why was it *on* him? WHY??

Instantly, Alec regretted every decision he ever made that led him right up to this moment, and then, defaulted to cursing the Mainframe in his head.

Who in the world would expect a little bunny like that to appear right beside the lake? Shouldn't they be in the forest? Deeper in The Great Expanse?

The poor System felt like he was about to pass out. Why?? He thought he was safe after all those years of not meeting a single rabbit in the forest, so why was it here?

Alec inwardly prayed for the rabbit to leave, taking its tiny, terrifying body with it, but it wasn't leaving.

Alec was so still he felt like he was about to get a muscle cramp. On the other hand, the little bunny wasn't as still, hopping up and down his immobile body.

Alec, in a short time frame, went from cursing the Mainframe, to cursing his luck, to cursing his life decisions, to feeling a deep, deep despair.

As the rabbit reached the bottom of his leg, Alec thought it was about to leave, only for it to hop back. Alec was close to tears, damn this juvenile body. The emotional control that he should have had was almost non-existent faced with this encounter.

The rabbit moved up back to his stomach, then moved even further up, causing Alec's breathing to stop.

The bunny hopped forward, nuzzling Alec's face.

Alec… Alec reached out with a shaky hand and patted the bunny with a blank face, feeling his small hands sink into the white, silky fur.

Then, he… well. He was not ashamed to say he panicked. Basically, the bunny was off him now, and Alec was a distance away, eyeing the white ball of fluff with a wariness that would have earned him a medal in paranoia.

When the bunny sniffed, Alec twitched. When the bunny hopped forward, Alec stepped backward. When the bunny charged at him, Alec turned around to flee with all his might.

He felt like he was being chased by a terrifying beast instead of a small bunny, but what could he do? Phobias were phobias, all right?

Only after five minutes when he first started to run did he dare to look back, his heart beating wildly in his chest. It was… it was gone!

He ran for another minute, before realizing that he had left all of his stuff behind.

Alec felt like crying.

Should he go back, or…?

Maybe… maybe it wasn't there anymore?

Alec desperately tried to maintain his expression, taking deep breaths as he psyched himself up. As his heart went back to its normal rate, Alec ever so cautiously made his way back to the lakeside.

Darting behind a tree, the normally grumpy System peeked out with a rare hesitance, bringing his head back behind the tree.

He thumped his head on the tree. Why… WHY WAS IT STILL THERE? DIDN'T IT CHASE HIM JUST NOW?

Oh, god, it must have gone back to lie in wait for him…

Alec was honestly horrified. The devil's spawn was out there, guarding his possessions like a hellhound guarding hell's gates.

He… what was he going to do?

Chapter end

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