It was time for the winter break. After arriving at the docks, I saw that my dad was already there, waiting for me in his leather jacket and dark blue jeans.
"Hey son, how was the ship ride?" he said as he gave me a tight hug after I put my bags in the back of the truck. "It was excellent; the sea was calm and the cold weather was nice." I said, returning the hug. "That's good—hop in the truck; we don't have much time; we need to get to the airport; our flight leaves in two hours," he said, getting into the truck.
"So where are we flying to? All your messages indicated that we should pack for two weeks. I asked this question while putting on my seat belt. "We are going to be flying to Germany to spend time with my sister, your aunt Gwen, who is already there waiting for us," he said as we started driving down the road toward the Domino City airport. "That's good; we have not seen her in a while." I was eating the breakfast burrito he bought me on the way to the airport.
"Yeah, she got a job to restore a small castle for some family that inherited it, so they set her up in the town on the outskirts of the forest, where the castle is," he said as we were arriving at the airport. "So, explain the tattoo on your arm. I don't mind, but your mom is going to grill us both when she sees it," he said, pulling into the parking spot. "That is complicated to explain; is it fine if I tell you both at the same time later?" I asked.
"That's fine; you can tell us both later, and don't worry, you are not in trouble with me," he said as we grabbed our bags from the back of the truck, made our way to the plane, and spent the next few hours talking about what we both had been up to the past few months.
After a few hours, Dad wakes me up as we land, and we both get off the plane, retrieve our luggage from the pickup, and make our way to the parking lot, where Aunt Gwen is waiting for us.
"Hey kiddo, long time no see how have you been?" she said as she ruffled my hair like she always does. "I'm good! Dad said you are supposed to be restoring an old castle. Can you give me a tour of it later?" I said as we got in the car. "Yes, I can, but let me briefly explain. Originally, this castle was constructed in 800 BCE and served as the residence of a formidable Herzog, or duke, and his family. This family ruled over this region with unwavering authority and, according to legend, commanded powerful monsters alongside their army, a tale reminiscent of various burial sites in Egypt and other parts of the world.
However, one day, a powerful hero and his companions arrived on the back of a black dragon to dethrone the Herzog and save the people from his rule. It is said that they succeeded, but at the cost of the hero's dragon companion. The castle remained abandoned until recently, when a new family with ties to the old royal bloodline was discovered and learned of their connection to the duke, leading to their acquisition of the castle. They subsequently hired me and my team to restore it. Isn't that exciting? However, the castle remained abandoned for an extended period, as anyone who ventured onto its grounds disappeared without a trace.
She said. "Are you saying the castle has been haunted since the hero won, and no one has tried to purify it?" I asked, "Oh, people of almost every religion have been saints, but after they arrived, they also disappeared, so everyone has given up on this place," she said as we got onto the Autobahn.
"So with all these legends, why did you accept this job?" I asked.
"The money they offered is obviously 250,000,000 USD after I fix it up, and they will also cover all the repairs. Additionally, I don't fully believe all the stories; I only accept that there was a rebellion, the guy was overthrown, and the place was left abandoned, and that's it," she said as we arrived at her house. As soon as I exited the house and carried our luggage inside, the aroma of a hearty beef stew and freshly baked bread enveloped me.
After unpacking my bags and getting into more comfortable clothes, I made my way down to the dining room for dinner.
Arriving at the table, I see my mom waiting for me and gives me a hug after she sees me. "Oh, how I missed you! How was school? You will be telling me about that tattoo after dinner," she said with a warm smile, which turned into a stern voice at the end. "Ok mom." I said as we all sat down to eat.
After a tasty, hearty meal where we all caught up with what we all have been up to, I said, "before I explain the tattoo, let me go get something from my bags real quick." I said before going up to the room and getting the spell pen that queen made for me before heading back downstairs. "Aunt Gwen, is there any room with a large open floor I can use?" I asked, "There is the parlor room right down the hall, but why do you need to explain a simple tattoo?" she asked confused. "It's difficult to comprehend how I acquired the tattoo without demonstrating it to you." I said as I waved for all three of them to follow me to the parlor room.
I started explaining the tattoo after moving some furniture with my dad. "So to start, all three of you know about Duel Monsters and the story of how Mr. Pegasus created it, correct?" I asked almost rhetorically. "Yes, dear, I heard of it while I was in college," mom said with a small smile. "Good so you know he based it on monsters from the past well they are very real and I got this tattoo when I made a deal to save one from item that was destroying the tree she was living in." I said while showing them the tattoo.
"Son, I don't want to sound harsh, but magic is not real." My dad made that statement, and my aunt nodded in agreement. "Well, that is why we needed to do it in the larger room." I said this while conjuring a small fireball above my palm. "Wow, how are you doing that?" Mom said those words as she got up and took a closer look. "This magic comes from the spirit I made the deal with, and all the magic I could do before the deal involved a pair of gloves with runes made from existing spells and traps." I said, a little embarrassed.
"So let me get this straight, you can use magic for a while and have been practicing it without either of us knowing?" Dad asked, sounding a little upset and worried. "Yeah, Dad, but not for long. Most of my magic is derived from occult books in the library and historical uses of magic, particularly runes and spells I learned from a spell book I found. I've been using what I feel is safe for now." I said, trying to reassure him.
"Plus, I am not practicing alone; I have three excellent teachers who are extremely wise in their respective fields of expertise. Are you all ready to meet them?" I asked.
"Yes, son, I think we all are," he said with a small sigh. After he said that, I pulled out the pen and all the cards the spirits are in and began to draw a spell circle that would allow for normal people to see and interact with the spirits inside of it.
"Okay, it's all set up and active. I know it looks like a chalk circle to you, but the majority of the magic is intended to allow people who cannot see spirits to interact with them. So first, let me introduce you to the first spirit and one I have known the longest." After saying this, I placed Revendread Executor's card into the circle, and with a flash of purple light, he appeared, extending his hand to shake theirs. After a moment of shock, my dad was the first to respond by standing up and shaking his hand. "This is Executor; he was originally known as Slayer, and he is one of the heroes from his world who is dealing with a zombie outbreak and has helped me improve my close combat skills." I said these words with a bit of joy.
"Well, it's nice to meet you please look after my son and keep him out of trouble, please," my mom asked, with executer giving a nod and a thumbs up. executer then disappeared back into his card. "Okay, the next one is the second spirit I befriended and one of the three good boys." I said as I put Doomdog Octhros into the circle.
Doomdog Octhros appeared to be asleep in the circle, accompanied by a puff of smoke. "Oh, I thought he was awake." I said, a little embarrassed. "Oh my god, he is so cute!" aunt Gwen spoke as she reached down and began to pet him. After giving her a moment, I pulled his card out and he disappeared. The experience left her feeling sad about his absence.
I introduced them to each other's spirits, but they said they needed time to process it before we went to the castle tomorrow.