Mari opened the bathroom door to find it empty. She set her clothes aside and turned on the faucet, letting the tub fill with water. Sitting on the cold bathroom floor, she stared blankly ahead, thinking about everything that had just happened—the harsh reality of the life this body had endured.
"Well, that woman didn't believe you at all," Grim said, his voice cutting through the silence.
"Yeah, she didn't. But there's nothing I can do about that for now," Mari replied, dipping her hand into the bathtub, feeling the warm water swirl around her fingers. "At least… I have powers now."
"Tell me, what type of magical spells do you have?" Mari asked the floating book without looking at it.
"Well, there are lots of spells," Grim replied, his pages fluttering lazily. "Most are simple — like distinguishing salt from sugar. Only a few are combat-related, and even fewer are truly powerful.
Mari violently turned her head to look at Grim, who was invisible, so she just stared into the air like an idiot.
"What do you mean you have only a few combat-related spells? I thought you were a grimoire of an archmage or something," she said, voice sharp with disbelief.
"Well, I never said I was any kind of combat grimoire, nor that my master was a combat archmage, did I?" Grim replied, his tone dripping with smugness.
"Ah, fuck you— you stupid piece of shit book," Mari snapped back, rolling her eyes.
"Well, you can't fuck me—I'm a book, child," Grim retorted, sounding utterly amused.
"Huh, that's even worse," Mari muttered. "Okay, do you have any illusion spells? Or something that messes with people's nightmares, forcing them not to sleep properly?" She glanced at the bathtub as it filled with warm water.
"Yes, I do… but what are you going to use it on—oh, I get it," Grim said slowly, a note of mischievous understanding creeping into his voice.
"Yeah, I'm going to use it on him. Anyway get out of the bathroom," Mari replied, standing up and rolling her shoulders.
"Why?" Grim asked, genuinely puzzled.
"I'm going to take a bath, and I don't want you here," Mari said flatly.
Grim let out a theatrical gasp, fluttering indignantly in the air.
"Excuse you! I am a revered magical artifact, not some voyeuristic creep!"
Mari rolled her eyes, already pulling her hoodie off. "Revered magical artifact or not, you're still a floating book with an mind and I want privacy. Out."
"Fine, fine. I shall respect your mortal modesty. But for the record, I have no interest in your squishy tiny body of an human "
He floated toward the door, muttering as he went, "The archmage used to bathe with lava and phoenix feathers, but sure—water."
Mari rolled her eyes. "Out, Grim."
Grim grumbled something ancient and likely rude in an eldritch tongue before vanishing from sight, his voice lingering faintly:"Books deserve respect…"
Mari rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "Yeah, well, maybe if you had better spells…"
"…Phoenix feathers, my ass," she muttered, pulling off her clothes.
She dipped her foot into the water, finally letting herself relax for the first time scene she has come into this life .
- - -
"Oh, you're done," Grim said, his voice echoing softly beside her as Mari stepped into the dim hallway, now in a simple blue T-shirt and sweatpants. She was rubbing her long, damp hair with a towel, trying to remove the last stubborn traces of dried blood.
"Yeah," Mari replied, her voice low and a bit tired.
"You should stay invisible," she added as she turned the corner quietly. "If someone sees you floating around, that'd be a whole new headache I really don't need right now."
"As much as it wounds my ego to be hidden like some lowly spellbook, I do agree. Mundanes tend to panic when confronted with floating ancient artifacts… or worse, try to sell me." Grim muttered with a dramatic sigh.
Mari snorted a laugh despite herself. "You'd probably go for, like, ten bucks. Maybe less."
"Insulting and inaccurate. I am easily worth—"
"Yeah, yeah, priceless, legendary, bound to the stars, blah blah," Mari cut in as she peeked around the hallway, making sure no adults were nearby. "Anyway, just keep a low profile. I've got enough going on without my snarky talking book making things worse."
"You wound me, child. Deeply."
"Good."
As the book turned invisible and Mari turned the corner, still towel-drying her damp hair, the last thing she expected was a fist slamming into her face.
CRACK.
Pain burst through her cheekbone as her head snapped to the side, and she stumbled backward before collapsing onto the cold hallway floor. Her vision swam with stars.
Her towel fell from her hands.
She groaned, trying to push herself up. Footsteps echoed in front of her.
A familiar, cruel voice sneered above her.
"Still acting like you're better than us, demon girl?" sneered James. He stood above her with two or three children behind him—one girl and another boy.
"What the—what do you want?" Mari asked, trying to push herself up. It was the first time someone had hit her this hard, and this body, even with Alucard's power, was still weak and untrained.
The girl behind James giggled cruelly. "Look at her—still pretending she's human."
"Yeah," said the other boy. "She should just leave. No one wants her here anyway."
"still acting you did nothing demon girl ?" james said as he kick her on her side .Mari gasped as James's foot slammed into her side, the impact knocking the breath from her lungs. She crumpled onto the floor again, clutching her ribs, pain blooming through her chest.
" Because of a demon like me?" Mari wheezed, her voice sharp with disbelief and growing fury. "You're blaming your own problems on a me?"
James scoffed. "Don't play dumb. Your creepy yellow eyes, your hair, the way adults look at you like you're cursed yeah, it's your fault no one wants to adopt from here anymore."
Mari really wanted to use the spell, but she knew she had to stay calm. If all the kids started screaming or acting weird around her after meeting her, it could cause a lot of problems in the near future. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to fight back.
Catching James off guard, she lunged forward, punching him in the face. The other two kids' eyes widened, but they moved quickly, grabbing her by her arms, forcing her to see an angry James looking at her.
Before James could strike again, heavy footsteps echoed down the alley, accompanied by hurried breathing.
"Guys, Madam is coming!" another boy shouted, panting heavily as he glanced back nervously.
"Looks like you're lucky this time, demon girl," the first boy muttered, releasing Mari's arms. Both of them quickly scrambled to their feet and disappeared down a side street, leaving Mari alone with her pounding heart and bruised cheek.
Mari watched them go, the anger bubbling inside her not yet quelled — but for now, she was safe.
This was the last time those three would ever sleep properly, Mari thought with a dark satisfaction. At first, she only cast the spell for one week—after all, they were just kids. But after feeling the twisted justice settle inside her, she decided to extend it. One year.
A creepy smile curled on her lips as she imagined their restless nights stretching endlessly ahead.
Let them learn what it means to cross me.