This Is Misfortune: The Devil Has Latched Onto Me

The shaman sat in his fortune-telling shop as usual.

He doesn't have many customers; he only gets one or two a day.

For him, this frequency was just right.

He wouldn't be bored out of his mind all day, nor would he feel annoyed by the large number of people.

He received a message telling him to wait at the store in the afternoon, as someone would come and take him somewhere.

The shaman was overjoyed; he had taken the bait.

He beckoned, and Crow perched on a nearby bird perch immediately flew over and landed on his hand.

The Crow tilted its head and looked at him. "What is it?"

"We're going somewhere later, could you help me pack these things away?"

The shaman pointed to the items on the shelves in the shop, which were filled with all sorts of strange and unusual objects, some of which even exuded an ominous aura.

The Crow took flight, flapped its wings, and diligently flew to the shelf. With a flick of its wings, it stored the items on the shelf into its spatial storage.

The Crow landed on the wooden table again, its long, slender claws resting on the soft pillow. "This?"

The witch picked up the crystal ball and said, "Put it away too."

The Crow then put the soft pillow away.

After it finished, it flew back to its perch.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door; guests had arrived.

The Crow flapped its wings as usual and said, "Welcome."

This is what it saw people in the shops across the street saying, and it found it amusing, so it learned it and says it every time someone comes in.

Mike was startled. Upon closer inspection, he noticed the Crow on the bird perch. Wait, can Crow talk?

However, considering that these birds are highly intelligent and might be able to mimic human speech, he was less afraid.

He was more afraid of humans than animals.

Mike has always been introverted. In this society, introversion seems to be a bad personality trait. His lack of outgoingness means he is unpopular, unsociable, and has few friends.

Some people who enjoy bullying others especially like this kind of personality.

Mike was lucky; although he was practically invisible in class, no one bullied him.

The reason he came to this fortune-telling shop today was because he heard from his female classmates that the shop was very accurate and that the owner was a handsome guy.

Mike heard the first part. "A very accurate fortune teller."

Remembering his family situation, Mike found himself here after class, almost as if possessed.

Mike saw a person with their back to him dressed in a very retro, wizard-like, mysterious outfit; it seemed this person was the fortune teller of the shop.

"Um, I'd like to have my fortune told."

Mike spoke very softly.

Wu slightly turned her head, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. "The guests have arrived at just the right time. I'll be leaving in a little while; it seems this is fate's choice."

"Please."

The shaman walked behind the wooden table and sat down in a chair.

Mike belatedly realized that the fortune teller had been leaving earlier and that his arrival had disrupted the fortune teller's schedule.

He felt somewhat ashamed, but his concern for his family still led him to sit opposite the fortune teller.

"I'd like to have a divination done about family matters."

Wu held the red crystal ball and looked at Mike, a very introverted and reserved boy, probably only seventeen years old, with short, curly brown hair.

She has a pretty, unremarkable appearance.

He was of average height and nothing particularly striking about him.

However, his eyes were very clear.

What should I do?

This was Mike's first time visiting a fortune-telling shop.

I'm not very clear about the procedures related to divination.

The shaman could see a strong, eerie aura emanating from this person, and wondered where it came from. Since the person wanted to have their family divined, then...

Has your family been behaving strangely lately?

Mike looked up in surprise, seemingly not expecting the other person to have guessed even this, and a sense of anticipation began to rise within him.

Perhaps this fortune teller really can solve his problem.

"Yes." Mike, sounding a bit troubled, poured out his worries. "Lately, my mother has been acting strangely. She wasn't religious before, but ever since she joined a denomination, she's started acting strangely."

After Mike finished speaking, he glanced at the fortune teller. "Ah, of course, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with these things; freedom of belief is a right."

"But recently, her spirits have been low, and she has lost a lot of weight. She keeps saying that her prayers have been answered by the gods, and that the gods will protect us."

"They also keep a statue of a deity in their home."

"One night, when I got up to get a drink of water, I passed by that statue and saw it move. It gave me a bad feeling."

Mike tried his best to describe his feelings, but he wasn't usually good at communicating, and after stammering through his description, he still couldn't express his true feelings.

The shaman already knew what had happened.

His mother must have also joined the Eternal Kingdom organization and become a believer.

Surprisingly, there are quite a few strange things about this organization, and they're not the kind that's mass-produced.

Although their levels are not high, most of them are at the Wraith Class or Wandering Soul, and only a few are at the level of Green Face beings, like the few believers that Skywing A dealt with last time. The strangeness on them was at the level of Green Face.

They can utilize so many strange things and even control them to some extent.

This organization is not simple.

Mike said somewhat regretfully, "Perhaps I didn't say it well, and you might think I'm worrying unnecessarily, but..."

The shaman interrupted him, "Guest, I see a cloud of mist on you."

fog?

Mike was puzzled. He looked down at himself; where was the fog?

"Misfortune is looming over you."

Mike suddenly looked up at the fortune teller, and seemed to see a hint of pity in the fortune teller's eyes.

"Misfortune? What misfortune?" he asked hastily.

The shaman stretched out his hand, cradling the crystal ball in his palm. "What do you see?"

Mike leaned slightly forward and looked at the crystal ball. In the smooth reflection of the crystal ball, he saw himself.

He was enveloped by a ring of twisted, churning black mist. Within that mist, there seemed to be countless indistinct, distorted faces, roaring and howling, constantly trying to attack him.

Mike's eyes widened.

His hands began to tremble, and he frantically touched his body—nothing, nothing at all.

He didn't see the fog, nor the terrifying faces.

Only through the crystal ball could he see these sights he couldn't see before. "Is this misfortune? Fortune teller, am I possessed by a demon?"