On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Two Hundred And Eighty-Six / Side Ninety-Five – Eri Mori

I could feel the claws sink deep, the pain from the fires of Foehn burning my nails, spreading to my hands, but the pain was a welcome one, reminding me I had arms and legs again. It hurts this Kijo bitch more than it does me, too. I could feel my mouth twisting into a feral grin, and fangs poked at my lips. “Die, you bitch, just fucking die! Flay me will you? Well I’m not a cruel woman, I’ll give you a merciful death!”

The Kijo flailed, rake scraping my cheek, drawing blood, but repairing that only cost me pain, so it was trivial. There’s no pain greater than the thought of that fox bastard getting his vile hands on my soul… I twisted, and flame shot from the Kijo’s eyes, ears, nose and mouth, the greedy citrine flames eating into dying flesh and bone. Leaping into the air gracefully I landed, watching as the bitch died.

“Eri…” Shaeula called, her voice breaking, and that snapped me out of my anger. I turned, to see her still being restrained, the arm that had been broken by the thrown gourd once more snapped and twisted behind her back by the Red Oni, while the Blue had her other arm locked, and she was dangling in the air, her small feet kicking angrily. Her fury had been fierce, as around her was a disaster site, flickering flames still burning fitfully, great gouges in the earth where her winds had scoured it soaked with blood and body parts of wounded Yokai. “Eri…” she managed again. “You … live?”

The pain in my heart then was worse than when I lost my arm. Seeing her so grief-stricken and careworn I felt sick, and once more realised it was my recklessness when I insisted on following Akio and Shaeula here that had caused her so much pain. Though even through the sick feeling in my heart, I also felt warmth too. That you’d care so much for me, a selfish girl who is so jealous and uncaring… maybe that’s as much a miracle as meeting Ginneka and surviving.

“Sorry Shaeula.” I breathed out, apologetic, but smiling and shedding tears, so happy I was to have survived. “I… guess it must have been hard to watch. But you shouldn’t have done… this.” I gestured at the chaos. Urakaze, her regal-looking yet frightening mother, was watching her with her cold eyes, and the four-tailed fox was smirking, obviously enjoying herself, blowing more lungfuls of vile smoke. I left behind the dead Kijo, moving towards them, and as I did so, the Kijo Matriarch rushed towards me, talons outstretched, aiming for my throat.

“Another sister cries out for vengeance, you vile creature! Were you Ginneka all this time, fooling me? I shall send your soul…” her words were cut off by a glowing golden light, the beam flashing between them. I felt a searing sensation on my skin, and the smell of burning hair and keratin was quite vile, as the fur on my ears and tail smouldered. The Matriarch reared back, her nails trimmed by the blast, and her head swung to glare at the fox who had cast her beam of golden light between us. “What are you doing? You dare…”

“Of course I dare.” She grinned. “Have some dignity, Matriarch. You agreed to the terms of the wager. Now abide by them!”

“I had no wish to abide by…” she began, only for the Red Oni to bark a laugh. “Har. Har. Har. Pathetic. I feel sad that Kijo are considered Oni. You don’t think I wanted to tear them apart? But… things have changed. Although…” he glowered at Shaeula, and I noticed he had a livid burn across one cheek. “... have you calmed down, little weasel? You’re lucky you’re her daughter” he inclined his head at Urakaze.

“Ya, that’s no joke.” Blue agreed. She was bleeding from her arms where blades of wind had cut her skin shallowly. “You agreed too. Ya knew she was going to die, ya had accepted that, I thought.” She released Shaeula, who tumbled to the ground.

“I…” Shaeula bit her lip, apologetic. I raced over to her, pulling her up into a hug, tears spilling from my eyes, and Shaeula sank into my grip. “I… forgot myself. Mother, honoured Yokai of the Hyakki Yagyō, I do-do apologise. But seeing the cruel torture of Eri, I could not-not stand silent.” Her gaze, her eyes still bloodshot, red within the amber, her face and fur covered in gore, turned to the raging Matriarch. “You Kijo… I shall not-not forgive you.” she spat.

“Oh Shaeula. I’m sorry I worried you.” I ignored the raging Matriarch and her growing band of sisters, who were gathering behind her, as the foxwoman and the Oni were keeping her back. “I… I was a fool. But…”

“No, I was the fool. I allowed you to come with us. Akio and I should have came alone. But enough-enough of that.” She declared, stunned and happy, her eyes curiously taking in my ears, and her small hand grabbed my swaying tail, which made me yelp, the sensation uncanny. “What of this-this? And you said Ginneka? That was that harlot Akio killed, just what-what…?”

“That is quite the story I would like-wish to hear myself.” Urakaze said. The White and Black Kamaitachi had risen, though they were in rather a sorry state after Shaeula’s aborted rampage. “However, are you not forgetting something important-vital, my daughter?”

Shit, Akio! With a curse on my lips I turned my head to see that Akio and that vile Kitsune were still fighting, if you could call it that. Akio was fumbling blind and deaf, his attacks missing the smirking fox, although his expression was strained now, unhappy. Even as he stepped aside from the blasts of wind Akio was throwing out, he looked at us, his mouth twisted into an expression of disdain.

“Well, looks like the girl survived her battle. Unexpected.” He said with a sneer.

“Yes, so you shall not-not ever have Eri in your clutches, fox.” Shaeula spat, once more wrenching her broken arm back into place and working Ether Healing, her expression pained yet happy. All around us the Yokai Shaeula had felled during her rampage were being tended to by others, the worst, near-dying ones dragged off to Yokai who could heal, apparently. “You might as well give up, your battle is quite-quite pointless.”

“Pointless?” Even as the Kitsune effortlessly dodged a volley of wind-blades hurled seemingly at random by Akio, he shrugged, golden tail twitching happily. “Hardly. Nothing has changed, not really.” His smile was vile, and I clenched my fist, wishing I could drive my nails into him. As I did, my body quivered, pain spiking through me, and I barely kept it from my face, forcing the agony down deep inside. Lucky I’ve had practise getting hurt, I guess…

“How so?” Shaeula asked. “Even if you win, Eri shall not-not… oh.” Shaeula raised one eyebrow in understanding.

“Yes, you get it. I’d expect no less from the daughter of the superior biting winds.” The fox darted away from another ring of attacks, this time golden-yellow fireballs, but he slipped easily though the inevitable gaps in the seemingly blind barrage. “Before, I was just playing around with the poor, senseless fool. Senseless indeed. Without sight, hearing, smell, touch or even taste, I am amazed he is still fighting, even if all he can do is throw out attacks in all directions desperately, hoping for a miracle. Usually they break by now…” he scowled. “Well, now I will get serious. I wanted him to stay alive to…” he dodged another volley, this time earthen spikes ripping free from the ground in all directions, like a thicket of spears. “… see you in my arms, cute human. But… well, now I’ll simply kill him. That should entertain the crowd. We Yokai do so love a sad ending.”

Piece of shit. But… how can Akio beat him without his senses? He’s even worse off than I was…

“Of course, you could agree to become my woman. Seeing you looking like one of the Bakaneko is rather exciting. Shapeshifting… is there a more precious gift a girl can have? Endless possibilities to fulfil male lust.”

The female Yokai other than the Kitsune with her four tails looked at him with disdain, Blue even going so far as to spit a steaming gobbet of saliva on the floor angrily. I snarled, claws growing from my fingers, though that brought the sudden pain my body was experiencing back into focus, and beside me Shaeula looked ready to leap forwards, though the Red Oni put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

“But…” the fox taunted us, sliding through another barrage of wild attacks. “… that would have been enough, but… now I think you should offer yourself to me too, daughter of Urakaze. Shaeula, was it? I think a pair of up-and-coming Yokai like us would be good together. I watched your struggles while I was toying with this fool here. You’ve got potential.” He sneered. “Don’t waste your time with this trash.”

“You would reach-grasp for my daughter? Bold indeed.” Urakaze declared, her anger plain to see, and I shivered, glad it wasn’t directed at us. Maybe she’ll get angry enough to do something about this mess? I wasn’t like Shaeula or Akio, I didn’t have great combat senses, but I could tell Yokai like that four-tailed fox bitch, the Red and Blue Oni, Urakaze and the Kijo Matriarch were on a different plane of power to the rest of us. She could squash that Kitsune like a bug, I’m sure.

“Why not? Wouldn’t a proud Kitsune like me make a better lover for your darling daughter who has returned to the Parade, than this human I am toying with? I am a generous fox, I will even let her bring her ‘beloved sister’ with her, and cherish them both together. It isn’t a bad deal, is it?”

There was a long silence, before the dangerous aura around Urakaze diminished. “Shaeula can decide for herself. I have no rights-authority to dictate to her. After all, I left her with her father-prince, and have had little-nothing to do with her since.”

“As reasonable as ever. Some old hags could learn from you.” the Kitsune bowed, shooting a gaze at the cackling foxwoman, whose tails were swishing with great joy. “So, what do you think? Will you take my hand and spare your former lover? Or shall I get serious and actually start killing him?”

What… what should we do? I exchanged my own glance with Shaeula, who merely snorted, amused. “Really, Eri, do not-not worry. I told you, I had no concerns over my battle with my cousin, nor Akio’s against this… pathetic fox.” She taunted the Kitsune. “We worried only for you, and somehow you prevailed, although…” she eyed my tail and ears warily. “I must-must know how.” Her eyes were glowing, and there was a look of worry on her face. Seeing that, the pain that wracked my body returned, and my skin squirmed, a faint mist of silvery aether rising from me. With a great effort I forced the pain down once again, though it was harder than before. “But, how can Akio…” I don’t want to doubt him, but… the Kitsune is toying with him…

“Oh Eri. Look closely and you shall see there is nothing at all-all to concern yourself about. Well, you need-need to show Akio a smile when he can see once more. Do not-not worry him. We can… do something about it.”

As I thought, she’s noticed there’s something very wrong with my body. Well, I’ll take it over being dead or left a limbless husk, even so… holding back tears was difficult.

“Are you ignoring me? Not a good idea. I think I’ll take inspiration from the Kijo and take one of his limbs to show you just how serious I am…”

“Fool.” Shaeula sighed. “You may have good-good eyes for females, but your skill in battle is lamentable. Seventy-First? If so, the Hyakki Yagyō is not-not what I expected.”

“You bitch, you’ll see, I…” he began to rant angrily, still dodging the attacks from Akio effortlessly.

“Watch closely, Eri, and you shall see.” She whispered, and on looking at the next wild volley of blasts of air that flew in all directions, I looked closely, wondering what she… oh. I see. Yes. Akio, he’s… he’s still fighting hard.

It was then I noticed something else, flocks of Tengu and other flying Yokai were heading to the north, looking agitated. “What… what’s going on?” I asked, clutching at my wrist. “The Parade seems disturbed.”

“I wonder why?” Red grinned. His already crimson skin was now nearly dark purple from the amount of alcohol he had drunk. “It’s been one rather eventful night. First you lot go and kill my stupid miserable idiot of a bro, and then it turns out you…” he nodded at Shaeula. “… are the lost daughter of Urakaze here.”

“Then ya go crazy when ya friend here is dying. But even she entertains. Not sure how, but ya remind me of that thieving cat. I almost want to smack ya for that wine the cat stole from me…”

“Now we have that uppity fox talking big, and some intruders tried to invade the Parade too. Those carousing on the outside were caught out, and a lot died. Rather horribly too. Anyone that gets close to the crazy woman there seems to rot away and turn to some sort of gooey slime.”

Crazy woman? Goo? Uh… Shaeula was obviously thinking what I was thinking, as her expression changed.

“Don’t ya worry.” Blue said, mistaking her expression for fear. “We ain’t stupid, ya know. We’ll just shoot them down from the air. Tengu archers are pretty good, ya know.”

“No, you misunderstand. It is surely Hyacinth, my maid.” Shaeula said urgently. “She is coming to our-our rescue. Stop your attacks, I shall go placate her at once-once!” she turned to me. “Eri, remain here-here. Someone must watch Akio put that worthless, arrogant fox-fox in his place.” She then addressed her mother, after eying the Kijo Matriarch and her large group of angry Kijo that had gathered, glaring murderously at me. “Mother, you must-must keep Eri safe while I am gone. If you do not-not…” she showed a bold smile. “I will fight until I am dust and ashes. Even you, my mother who I have longed to see for many-many years.” With that she hurried off, chasing the flying Tengu, while many of the crowd who were curious followed her.

“Ya, this is quite the night.” Blue repeated. “What kind of maid can kill so horribly?”

“Well… Hyacinth is strange, but…” I could feel my face heating up. I remembered being there for her first time, and we had served Akio together since as well. Though calling it serving is wrong, it’s making love. Both parties giving and taking. “… she would do anything for Akio and Shaeula.” And me too, though I’m too embarrassed to say it.

“She is a Fae? One of Shaetanao’s?” Urakaze asked, and I shrugged.

“I don’t think so, no. She was… Unseelie? I think they said. Though not anymore, apparently.” I didn’t really understand the difference myself. Only that Unseelie were supposed to be evil, and the Fae good, though it apparently wasn’t anywhere as near clear-cut in reality. Hyacinth isn’t evil. She’s… well, not quite all there, mentally, and she is quick to resort to violence, but she balances it by being loving and devoted. No, I like her.

Urakaze seemed surprised, but we were interrupted by the extremely angry voice of that Kitsune bastard. “I don’t appreciate being ignored.” He snarled. “And your daughter ran off. How… disrespectful.” His eyes were now blood-red, and looking at them I felt uncomfortable, my skin prickling, though the sensation was a relief compared to the waves of pain stirring deep within me. “At least you are watching. You can tell her why this one has no arms when she returns!” his tail stood on end, also glowing a ruddy crimson, the fur changing. “I don’t just… know… curses!” he grimaced, his form changing to a massive, red-furred fox with matching eyes, the size of a family car. “See if you can ignore me when I bite off his arms!” he roared, and cheers erupted from the crowd that was getting bored by the sudden lack of action.

Oh Akio, I hope what Shaeula noticed was right, or else… Clenching my fists, nails digging into my trembling, spasming palms, I watched as the fox roared forwards rapidly, dodging between the thrown blasts of wind, fire and earth, jaws agape, drool dripping to the scarred and disarrayed ground. “Time to… argh!” the Fox stumbled, barely avoiding several brilliant streaks of bright energy. One leg was pierced through the thigh, blood gouting, while a second blast took an ear, only a hasty dip of the head preventing the lance of light boring into the Kitsune’s brain. It hopped backwards as spikes reared from the ground below, leg giving way as it landed, stumbling. “What, how… a lucky strike? No, that’s impossible…” he howled, and I realised Shaeula was right. Akio, he…

********

Well, this is bad. I couldn’t see or hear, nor even speak apparently, though how could I even tell? The strange thing was, despite this situation, my Foresight was only showing danger to those around me, not myself. I could feel a pallor of death hanging over Eri, thick and cloying, and that made me desperate to finish this battle. All right then. So I can’t see or hear, but I can still smell the bastard.

The curse on me was slowly being eaten away by my Spiritually Pure Physique and the spirit water, but it was constantly being refreshed by the Kitsune, so it was probably a losing battle to hope for that sort of victory quickly. Though if I can injure or kill that bastard, or force him to direct his energies elsewhere…

I unleashed wind and fire in the direction I could smell him. Duels like these were pointless and I didn’t approve of fighting to the death for petty reasons, but that Kitsune… he threatened Eri. That’s not going to stand. For that and that alone he’ll die, or if by some miracle he avoids that, he’ll be begging at her feet for forgiveness, because… I flared my Eye to see if I could see using it, but unfortunately it did nothing. More attacks, this time earth element, and suddenly my sense of smell was gone too, just leaving taste. Bastard. I have no time for this. Eri was due to fight next, and I needed to finish up here. If I win, then… worst case, Eri should be saved by Kin Restoration. Ugh, even knowing that, the thought of Eri fighting and suffering…

I still had taste. Taste was similar to smell, and though in humans it was weak, mine was twenty times stronger than the best a human could have, such as a wine sommelier while I was running Body Enhancement. It was faint, but I could still pick up traces of the scent of the Kitsune that way. My sense of time was slipping with few external stimuli, but I continued to fight, casting a wider net with my attacks to cover for the lack of precise positional data of the enemy. Still, I could at least tell he wasn’t closing in on me, but toying with me from a distance.

Arrogant bastard. If I had those sorts of curses on an opponent, I’d just finish it. I’ll make him regret… huh? Suddenly I couldn’t even taste anything, and all my senses were shut down, a pitch black void surrounding my mind. For a moment I panicked, before my Eye flared, and I could see something, at least internally, my statistics illuminated in orange flame. Thank the gods. If not for that, my mind might have shattered.

Though now I had a bigger problem. With no way of tracking my opponent, I was a sitting duck. Yeah, I think I might well be out of my depths here. The only thing I could do was hurl around blasts of elemental energy in all directions, forcing the fox to back off. Though I’ll run dry quickly if I do that. And I can’t use water element and diminish my stock unnecessarily…

This I continued to do, blindly groping in the still, silent darkness, for what could have been seconds or hours, it was impossible to tell without sensory stimulus. It was then my Foresight started screaming, the gloom around Eri even more pronounced, her fate surely tragic. Shit, this… this is no good. There must be something I can do to win this. Perhaps the Matriarch has gone back on her word and attacked Eri, or… fuck, why can’t I see or hear? Shit… panic was rising again, and I continued to attack at random. It was then, as my hysteria, despite even my impressive Resilience, was peaking, that the orange letters that were keeping me company changed, new messages scrolling to replace them, signalling I was still alive, still existed.

Aether was suddenly being pulled from me, sucked into Kin Bonding, Lovers’ Link and more. It was as if I was a drink, and a thirsty child was sucking at me through a long straw, supping deeply. Even so, I know this touch. It’s Eri…

Your Skill, Kin Bonding and Restoration, has advanced from Rank 4 to Rank 5, reaching the first wall. Your ability to share strength and knowledge with your bonded kin further grows in power, and all skills that strengthen bonds will grow in power noticeably. Those who are bonded sufficiently deeply to you may draw elemental essence and aether from you, though the efficiency is not high. Lovers’ Link subsumed into Kin Bonding and Restoration has increased in power. You may now share a second Rank of Lovers’ Link with those you truly love. It is now possible for the Lovers’ Link of those who are deeply connected with you to exceed Rank 10.

Eri. Feeling her pulling on me, her bonds with me strengthened, I noticed several oddities. Firstly, I could feel the stirrings of that stupid cat, Ginneka. She had been trapped within me by her own usurpation of my skill, her brother too, though her brother was a spirit light in a more traditional sense, while Ginneka seemed almost fully conscious. The way Eri was pulling at me, I could feel Foehn and my solar plexus chakra trembling, some flame being drawn in as well.

Then there was Eri’s emotions. In times of stress or heightened emotions, such feelings sometimes passed though the bonds we shared. The emotions flowing to me were a tangled jumble. Resentment and fear, despair and resignation, then hope and a thirst for vengeance. It was like a rainbow of emotion, from the deep red of doom to the shining purple of hope. But… I can feel that cat mixed in. Why?

As more and more aether was plundered from me, I would have shaken my head if I could feel it. Well, perhaps I did, as I must have been moving my body and attacking. Although to be fair, all I know is I am still alive, so it isn’t impossible that I’m just how the Red Oni declared, missing my arms and legs, helpless. No, there’s no point being defeatist. Eri is struggling desperately, somehow, somewhere… I can’t let this sensory deprivation break my mind. In a way, this was a stroke of good fortune… Fortune. That’s it…

Shaeula had blessed us with the fortunate winds, so right now, I was extremely lucky. If there was no way for skill to suffice, then I could rely on luck. Splitting my thoughts in two, I let half of my mind attack fiercely in one direction at random, while my other half would attack more weakly in various other random directions, preserving my energy and masking what I was doing. Of course, that’s only a stopgap measure. Sooner or later I’ll get unlucky, and leave an opening the Kitsune will exploit. But if it buys me enough time…

I have no taste, touch, smell, hearing or sight. Deprived of senses, it was impossible to fight back. I didn’t even know if I was still fighting, but now I had the constant drawing of aether from Eri to remind me I was still alive. It had diminished noticeably but was still present, a trickle leaving me. And while I’m alive, there’s still hope. If my five senses are sealed then… some animals had other senses that humans didn’t. For example, the ability to sense electrical or magnetic fields. I’d need lightning element for that, though. However… they weren’t the only abilities animals had that people didn’t. Echolocation. It’s technically a type of hearing, so it might not work. Even so, it’s worth a shot. And then… detecting heat, Thermoception, right? Is that a type of sight or touch? I don’t know, but I do know I can do that with flame or light element, I bet…

Splitting my thoughts still further, I added in the multiple gentle, nearly invisible threads of wind I was weaving to my attack rotations, as well as soft cascades of light and heat, trying to discern temperatures. I was running multiple processes at once, many more than I had ever attempted before, and it should have hurt my brain, but again I was unable to feel pain right now. I guess I should thank that stupid Kitsune for that, if nothing else. I also seemed to have leeway since my brain was not processing any of the myriad of sensory data it usually had to.

Your Skill, Split Thoughts has increased from Rank 2 to Rank 3. You can further process additional information threads, and the performance of each thread increases. Your ability to act under conditions of extreme stress is heightened, and your Resilience has increased significantly. You can better control aether and elemental energies.

As I laboured to control the processes and filter the data I was rewarded with more amber letters, again affirming I was still alive, still me. A picture was forming around me. Echolocation failed, as I suspected, and so did Thermoception, as I feared, but it was as if the wind energy was picking up something. A pattern was forming, shimmering green around me, reminding me of the famous film about the virtual world where the machines locked up all the humans and used them as batteries, which was fairly dumb, as just burning them for heat would have worked better. It was patches of green of varying sizes and intensity, and from the deeper patches, when I threw attacks that way, I had a good feeling, pleasurable, similar to that feeling when I hit the jackpot on roulette, or other fortunate happenings the winds brought me. No way? Am I… detecting luck right now?

Soundwaves might have been hearing, and thermal imaging sight, but luck, that was a sixth sense, not one that had been stolen from me. Even as more amber letters declared that my Fortune had increased by two, I homed in on several deep green patches, concentrating my efforts that way. After several rounds of those, I could see a deep green outline of a fox. Wait, has he changed form? He's a proper fox now. Well… I had been saving my light element, so now I knew where to aim, I focused it as intensely as I could and unleashed it as brilliant, searing, concentrated laser beams, aiming for my target. Too bad for you, I ‘see’ you now…

********

As the Kitsune staggered, I let out a cheer. Akio was fighting back, just as Shaeula said he would, and while I had always believed in Akio, I did feel a bit scared for him when the fox declared he was going to finally attack him in earnest. But now the tables had turned.

“You won’t get lucky a second… ugh agh!” the boastful, angry words were cut off by more lasers, these ones so blue as to be almost invisible. Another leg was pierced, this one almost entirely severed, and the next bolt furrowed along his back as he twisted, burning flesh and fur, before striking the Kitsune’s tail, severing it with a searing hiss. As he rolled, desperately biting at the severed stump of his prized tail, I let out a bright laugh, surprising myself at the malice in it. “Well, whose losing their limbs now, you shitty fox?” I gloated, and for a brief moment I wished Ginneka could be here to see it. Sure, she got killed by Akio, but… there’s no shame in that. She might feel better about her loss after seeing this…

“Har. You look like a Yokai, smell like a Yokai. You even hold grudges like a Yokai.” Red grinned, stamping his foot, entertained, the death of his erstwhile brother and Oni troops forgotten. “This has been one hell of a party.”

“It ain’t over yet, ya idiot.” Blue sighed. “He’s putting up a fight, sure, but ya think that Kitsune got to Seventy-One by being a pushover?”

“True.” The voluptuous leader the of the Kitsune giggled, belying her mature appearance, her tails swinging as if to mock the now-tailless fox, puffing on her pipe. “He has many other curses, he should start using them. He’s too used to having his own way. And… well, they wouldn’t work on me, but even so, most opponents will panic and break when they lose their senses. Even though that hasn’t happened…” she pursed her luscious lips, and I felt myself drawn to her beauty, before blinking, shaking my head to clear it. Shit, is she bewitching me? Fucking foxes. I can see why Shaeula hates them now…

“Well…” the Kitsune continued, amused at my resistance, or so I thought. “it seems that your man can’t quite strike a killing blow. So if he takes distance and uses more curse talismans, ones that cause actual harm, he should still… oh, well, looks like that won’t be happening. Such a mistake…”

“I’m going to kill you!” the enraged, tailless Kitsune roared, and I realised that we had never been given his name. Oh well, I don’t care to know it anyway. I’d rather spend time with the two pervert kings from my class at school… “I don’t even care about those stupid bitches anymore, I just… stop that!” he roared, lasers interrupting his angry ranting. Twisting his body to narrowly avoid the beams he returned to his humanoid form, one furry ear still missing, his fur soaked with blood, and his tail too, a mere stump where it used to protrude from his robes. Well, his arms and legs are healed, but… I guess he isn’t as good at repairing himself when he shifts forms as Ginneka is…

“Hey, you dumb bastard! He can’t hear you, right? Did you forget you took his hearing? I bet you did. You’re vulgar, stupid and lazy! I would call you a fox, but what fox has no tail?” I mocked, venting on him.

“You … whore.” He said coldly, turning, the talisman he was brandishing in his hand forgotten. “… I’ve changed my mind, I no longer want you. You call me vulgar? I’ll give you to the Kijo and…” he staggered, three bolts of light piercing his torso, Stumbling, ruby and silver blood scattering, he brandished the talisman. “Four corner barrier!” he declared, and a pyramid of energy flared into existence around him, as he slumped to the ground, gushing blood, panting heavily. More light flashed from Akio, but the gleaming triangular barriers deflected them.

“Such a bad loser.” Red observed.

“Ya, he’s an enemy of women, to be sure.” Blue agreed, before turning to me. “The grudge between ya and the Kijo Matriarch is her business, not his. Ya fought until the end, so if he tries anything, I’ll give him a smack for ya.”

That surprised me. “Thank you.” I managed, looking down shyly.

“And look, here comes ya friend.” Blue continued. “Well, damn, ya both be right, she is a maid! And who’s the big guy with him?”

Shaeula was pushing her way through the crowd, followed by Hyacinth, her maid outfit torn and her body pierced with numerous arrows which had been snapped off, the shafts still embedded in her. Even so, her silver-violet eyes were bright, and when she saw me, she giggled happily, before turning her attention to Akio, an expression of grief flashing over her mercurial features. Behind her was Grulgor, and the massive troll was missing an arm and half his face, though even now flesh was bubbling and regrowing, and he seemed to be paying it no mind.

“Did I miss-miss much?” Shaeula asked, eyeing the battlefield curiously, before breaking out in a rich laugh. “Oh, so the fox is forced to hide in his den? Akio is robbed of his senses, and he still can do nothing but-but cower in fear. And what happened to his tail? Perhaps he decided to cease being a fox and become something far-far less worthless?”

“My, saying such things, you shall surely hurt my feelings.” The Kitsune who had started this mess chuckled. “Not all of us Kitsune are trouble, I assure you.”

“Ya be the most trouble of all.” Blue sighed. “So…” she eyed Hyacinth. “… I don’t see how ya can kill so many Yokai? Ya don’t look so tough.”

“A maid must be prepared tooo kill the enemies ooof the master and mistress at all times.” Hyacinth said proudly, heedless of the many injuries she had taken. On seeing Urakaze, she curtsied, her ghastly, bloodied face in stark contrast to her servile demeanour. “You must be the mooother of mistress Shaeula. It is an honooor to meet you!”

“Not Unseelie. But definitely not-never Seelie.” Urakaze muttered. “Well, it seems my daughter has quite the loyal-strong servant.”

As they talked, I looked at Shaeula, who nodded. “It was just-just as we suspected. Grulgor and Hyacinth came to aid us when the twins and the other female woke up. The situation there is grave. You…” she turned her attention to Yamato-san, who was lurking quietly, trying to be forgotten, numb to the whole chaotic situation. “… have caused much trouble. Covering this disaster up will not-not be possible. To say nothing of the deaths…”

“He has angered the Hyakki Yagyō too.” Red observed. “From what I hear, it was this man-thing that was outside hallowed ground and led to this situation. Sad. Hey, Urakaze? I’m out of sake! Fill me up!” she shot him a flat look, but did refill his bowl, of which he then took a deep sip. “Ah, that’s good. Well, there is time to talk afterwards. First… the battle will be ending soon.”

That seemed to be the case, as Akio’s attacks could not breach the pyramidical barrier, nor could the Kitsune attack out of it. Even so, he had prepared a half-dozen ominous-looking paper talismans, and he was grinning balefully, face covered in shadows from the golden light of the pyramid making him look terribly evil, as did the blood that soaked his torso and lower body from his deep wounds. On seeing the crowd looking his way, he sneered. “You all laughed at me when I got hurt. And yes, I was careless. This man is far more trouble than I expected. But then, so was your daughter, Urakaze, and that mortal girl aping that idiotic cat. I should not be mocked alone. After all…” he sneered. “… I shall be the only one to triumph!” he began a chant, sibilant and tongue-twisting, as if he was reciting multiple sentences in multiple languages at once, and the talismans began to glow in a multitude of dark, angry colours, deep, bloody reds, virulent greens, mouldy yellow, bruised purple and more…

“Six Curses of the Flesh and Spirit.” The female Kitsune lashed her tails, impressed. “I wasn’t aware he knew such an art. It is rather excessive…” she sucked on the stem of her pipe, thinking. “… but perhaps now is the time for overkill. After all, he’s been humiliated enough, poor little boy.”

“Do not-not worry.” Shaeula took my hand, soft and warm. “Akio will not-not be beaten.” She grinned, tapping under her eye, which was now glowing a brilliant amber. “I have seen it. And that is not-not all I have seen.” Her expression changed, and she leaned in to whisper in my ear, serious. “So, exactly what-what is wrong with your body? Your chakra network has changed, and it is not-not fixed, but squirms and dances like snakes through long grass. Your body itself shudders and twists too. It must-must be painful.” She squeezed my hand gently, and I fought the urge to burst into tears. Yes, it does hurt. But pain means I’m alive, right?

“Well, I’m only borrowing Ginneka’s ability to shapeshift and change my body. And apparently I’m a weak piece of crap so I wasn’t even strong enough on my own to do it. I’m draining energy from Akio constantly to stop myself from disintegrating. But… I’m still here. So I can live with it.”

At the invective, Shaeula expression hardened. “That cat, she is lucky she is dead-dead, else I would pull out her fur a strand at a time, insulting you so-so. Here, allow me to aid you.” Shaeula placed a hand on my belly, reminiscent of when I was first learning the exercises that would help me master my chakra network, and I felt a warm glow as her aether flooded me, the pain dying down to a dull, quivering ache, my body stabilising.

“Thanks.” I whispered, and she shook her head.

“No thanks is needed between us. After all, you did-did whatever you needed to win, and save me from the despair of knowing my arrogance and softheartedness had killed you. So, smile. As the Red Oni says, this shall-shall be over soon.”

Hyacinth and Grulgor had taken up positions beside us, and across from us the Kijo had gathered, nigh on two-score of them now, a most intimidating force. Even so, I paid them little mind, as all that mattered was Akio, whose lasers had stopped, and the chanting Kitsune, who was finishing up his baleful sing-song curses, the six talismans arrayed in a ring around him.

Come on, Akio! Win! Please win! I don’t want it to end here, not after I crawled back from death just to see you again! Hyacinth and Shaeula seemed certain Akio would triumph, as did Grulgor, so I wondered if it was just me who had doubts. It isn’t that I don’t believe in him. Nobody believes in Akio more than me, except maybe Aiko. But… I can feel the evil in that spell from here, and Akio has stopped attacking.

“Very well then!” the Kitsune howled, the barrier around him shattering like glass, shards falling before disintegrating to aether. “Rot. Age. Wither. Be Tormented. Crazed. Extinguished! Flesh is weak, and Spirit fails! I curse…” brilliant yellow flames suddenly exploded from below him, talismans doused in the burning fire. On seeing the flames, I felt shivery, as though I too was wielding them. Foehn. One of the skills Ginneka tried to steal…

“Wait, what… how… impossible…” the Kitsune wailed. Two of the talismans towards the top of the formation were unscathed, so he unleased them desperately. “Wither, turn to dust and be blown away! Craze, go mad, bite and claw at yourself until you…” two beams of energy flared out as the talismans decomposed to ashes, only for Akio to step aside, and a single lance of light bored through the forehead of the Kitsune, whose eyes immediately went glassy, as he slumped into the raging inferno and was consumed.

“It’s hardly impossible.” Akio said, and I realised he could speak again! “I simply finally managed to purify the curses. It was touch and go though. You nearly had me.” He watched the fox burn away to nothing, grimacing as a huge surge of ether was drawn to him. “But when you stopped moving, sure, you couldn’t be hurt by my attacks thanks to whatever barrier you conjured, but…” he bent down and tapped the floor. “I could dig through the ground using earth element until I was underneath you, and then I just had to let the Foehn flow through and wait.” His grin was triumphant, cocky, savage and I loved it. Relief flooded through me and I raced towards him, quickly followed by Shaeula and Hyacinth, but I was first to reach him.

“Akio!” I hurled myself into my arms, in tears, as the watching Parade exploded into furious cheering and exuberant celebration, barring the Kijo, of course. “I was so worried. I thought you were going to die! I thought I was dead!”

“Don’t worry, I was never in any danger from him. I think.” He amended. “Although… Eri, you were the one that saved me in the darkness and silence of my own mind. I could feel you, and feeling you made me realise I was still alive, that the universe held more than just me. Though I’m curious…” he trailed off, looking at me with an amused expression. “… just when did my Eri become a catgirl? Care to explain? Although… it’s cute…” he grabbed my new cat-ears and ruffled them, and I turned pink with embarrassment, all the pain and discomfort forgotten.

“Well, that’s… quite a story.” I managed.

“But it will have to wait.” Shaeula agreed, hugging us both. Hyacinth hesitated, not wishing to overstep her bounds in public, before Akio opened an arm to her and Shaeula hauled her into the group hug.

“Akio, congratulations on your victory. And winning me a new rank.” She snickered, before spitting over at the flaming pile of ashes that was the Kitsune. The gobbet flew a great distance before landing, and I had to shake my head at the wastefulness of using elemental energy just to insult a dead foe, no matter how much of a hateful, perverted prick he was. He’s dead, it’s just a waste of time to think about him anymore.

“So, Hyacinth. You made it? Grulgor too?” Akio asked, trying to catch up on what he missed. “You look… awful?”

She giggled. “It is ooonly some arrows, master. Hyacinth will live and serve, I prooomise.”

“So, how’s the situation outside?” he continued, and she shook her head, saddened.

“It is bad. Toooooo many dead, and it is distressing your honourable parents.” She sighed. “And nooow…”

“No, this will not stand!” We were interrupted by the roar of the Kijo Matriarch, who was eyeing us all with baleful fury. “Two of my sisters lie dead, many of the Parade have been slain or maimed, and you all stand here, watching like cowards? No, I shall not accept this! Never!” as she worked herself up into a rage, her sisters behind her brandishing an assortment of cruel weapons of torture, I felt a chill. I thought it was over, but… well, at least this time we have Hyacinth and Grulgor. Although… that likely meant we would just kill a few more before we finally fell…