by Nikita Thorn
It seemed once they had discovered the identity of the attackers, the story was now moving forward. Soon, a collective cry went up in front of the door, followed by dull thuds on the ground.
The immediate absence of banging and shouting became oppressively obvious.
“Okay, that’s different,” said Mairin. In the abrupt silence, she had unconsciously lowered her voice into a whisper. “How did you know we had to loot?”
“Normally, enemies that spawn endlessly are never lootable,” Ippei said. “To avoid easy farming, you see.” Seiki wondered why he had not thought about it.
“And these guys give you a very small window for you to loot before their bodies automatically disperse,” the samurai added. “Which is also strange for lootable enemies.”
The kitsune girl narrowed her eyes. “When did you notice?”
“After a few.”
Mairin frowned. “But you kept quiet all this time and had us kill, like, thirty?”
“Hey, I just wanted you guys to grind a bit. At least now you’re Level 11, and that gives us a slightly better chance.” He nodded toward the door. “To deal with whatever instantly killed those guys outside.”
Just then, a voice—which sounded like a booming whisper—cried out from afar, “At last, I’ve found you!” A wind lifted and violently shook the house.
The voice laughed, much nearer now, as if it had just traveled fifty feet in a second. “Come out now, Lady Iyo. You know what I’m after.”
“Who’s that?” asked Mairin.
“Danna-sama, this is it,” Iyo whispered. “This is the day you told me would come.”
She would say nothing more, and Seiki slowly unbolted the door. He pulled it open, noting that the bodies of fallen men outside had not automatically evaporated like the previous ones, but were left on the ground in a listless pile of black, blocking the doorway, perhaps for effect.
Ippei bent down and dispersed them. All in all, he collected another seven Shinshioka metal nameplates, which he put in a pile near the door. “They were just following orders, you know,” the samurai said.
The light from the doorway made a dim path into the darkness outside, and Seiki understood now what the clearing in front of the house was for. High in the sky, the moon had mysteriously appeared, bright and white, casting its pale shadow onto the newcomer in the middle of the clearing. At first glance, he seemed to be a very large man in dark purplish armor, not unlike the standard Shinshioka set, but his eyes glowed red and shone like embers in the night.
Kagenote [Level 16]. HP 2120/2120.
“A demon?” said Ippei in slight surprise.
“Who are these, Lady Iyo?” asked the figure when he saw Seiki and his friends in the doorway.
Mairin turned to Iyo. “So both the Shogun and the Demonic Clan are after you?”
“My husband had many enemies,” said Iyo again, sadly.
“Sounds like Seiki,” Mairin said with a giggle.
“Hey!” Seiki protested.
“I didn’t know there was Demonic Clan stuff out the East Gate,” said Ippei. “I thought it was all clan wars and saving villagers in distress.”
“Kagenote, Hand of the Shadow,” said Iyo.
“So you remember me,” said the demon, his face splitting in a smile. How the demon managed to hear her from thirty feet away was a complete mystery.
“And I believe you remember this sword as well.” In Kagenote’s hand was a long sword, blacker than the darkness around it and on which no light reflected, as if it was but a slit in the fabric of reality. He swung it around once, and Seiki could swear he could feel the air being sliced through the cold vibration that traveled through the distance and touched his skin.
The demon seemed to be in the mood for conversation. “It does look different now than when I pried it off your dead husband’s hand,” said Kagenote with a laugh, as he eyed his black blade. “One thing for certain is that it has lost its shine.” He laughed again, seemingly pleased with his own sense of humor.
“This guy is, like a copy of that demon lord thing from the escort quest we did a long time ago?” whispered Mairin.
“Apparently,” said Ippei, before adding, “I know all the demon mini-bosses from the War Events, but this isn’t one of them.” He observed the demon with interest. “This quest is turning out better than I thought.”
“If he doesn’t immediately kill us with that sword,” said Mairin.
Kagenote was still laughing as he continued, “All light turns to shadow when it is left in the darkness for too long. Your husband’s famed light blade as well, Lady Iyo.”
“Okay, we got it the first time,” shouted Ippei. “No need to spell it out.”
The demon took no notice and turned toward the house. “Give me the child, Lady Iyo. You know our lord has promised to give him a…” He paused. “Royal treatment.” His cackle rang out in the darkness.
Mairin looked at Iyo. “So the Shogun wants some poems but this guy wants your baby? Story makes no sense.”
Seiki carefully studied the Hand of the Shadow, who was about two feet taller than a normal man. He was not an elite, and his health level was not extremely high. This most likely meant that the challenge lay in the corrupted light sword in his hand, which—considering its elaborate introduction—surely hid a few nasty surprises.
Seiki took a deep breath. “I’ve got to tank this,” he said.
Ippei looked at him. “I don’t think so.”
“It’s a demon,” Seiki explained. “You need the Hikari to hurt it. That was how Lieutenant Kato had defeated the demon lord back then, so you shouldn’t be wasting energy on non-damaging abilities like Brace and Parry.”
Ippei was at Level 12, and Mairin had reached Level 11. So now, if his friends—with their light weapons—managed to land their biggest hits five or six times each, they should be able to take care of the thing. Full energy meant at least three special moves, and with an energy potion, they should be able to pull this off, as long as Seiki managed to stay alive long enough.
“Don’t bother with heals,” Seiki told Mairin. “I’ll drink and, if I die, kite for as long as possible, and I’ll run back.”
Mairin seemed a little doubtful. Seiki only now noticed that she had a fan thrust through her obi as her main weapon, which she switched out for her light-infused orb of some sort that she had received from the Shogun at the same time as their Hikari swords.
“I suppose we can try that,” said Ippei. “If it’s too much for you, I’ll step in.”
Seiki had no idea if this plan was even a good one but, since none of them could really afford to take hits at this point, he thought the best thing they could aim for was massive burst damage to end it as quickly as possible.
With the Jade Steel gripped tightly in his hand, and his eyes on the demon, he took a resolute step out of the house.
Kagenote watched him with interest, before his lips parted in a smile. “Are you sure you want to fight me with that puny sword, human?”
This confirmed his suspicion that they needed a light-infused weapon for this fight, and Seiki could not help but note that despite the demon’s threat, he was actually giving them a hint.
“It’s the only one I’ve got right now,” said Seiki. He stopped halfway between the door and the demon, and he checked the ground. The ankle-length grass would cut his Slide speed by a little, but not much. In the dark, he could not quite make out where the demon’s body ended and where his armor started, or whether he was dealing with magic or physical abilities.
There was only one way to find out.
Cool night air rushed against his skin as he sprinted toward the demon with Sweeping Blade, which had pretty much become his standard opening now against unknown humanoid enemies. The move was natural to use and had a relatively high chance of connecting. The half-circle sweep had a decent range and made dodging to Seiki’s right-hand side impossible, which usually left h
is opponent with two options: parry or dodge to the left. Both these cases allowed for another rather effective combination. And if Seiki could read the opponent’s reaction in time, his left hand could join the grip of the sword at the last second to turn the attack into a Focused Strike instead—which would often connect before it could be parried.
As he had expected, Kagenote raised his blade to parry, and Seiki quickly drew the Jade Steel back and pushed forward with Focused Strike. He was once again delighted by the extra range the Jade Steel offered him, and he could feel the impact from the tip of the sword against the demon’s leather armor. The demon was quick and, even before Seiki could complete his move, the black blade was already slashing at him. Seiki had to cancel his attack and Slide away to avoid being cut down.
Kagenote [Level 16]. HP 2120/2120.
Seiki was pretty sure the move had at least connected. He looked at the number again in slight confusion, before noticing the demon’s armor: Shadow-Forged Leather Cuirass. 94% durability.
“No specials yet,” said Seiki to his friends, as the demon turned its attention on him. “Get the armor first.” This added an extra challenge, since having to destroy the demon’s armor first almost doubled the amount of damage they had to do.
Now at closer range, Seiki could see that the demon had disproportionately large hands, which were immediately put to good use. When the demon spun around, his left hand seemed to suddenly extend, and it shot toward Seiki like a gigantic paddle with five sharp blade-like nails. At the same time, the black sword stabbed down at him from the other side. Out of instinct, Seiki dropped to a crouch and slid out of the way. The shadow sword struck the ground beside Seiki, and for a brief moment he involuntary shivered.
Ippei was attacking from behind, and he landed two slashes on the demon’s back.
“The armguard has less overall durability,” shouted Mairin, noticing that her area ability Fox Dust had damaged more than one piece of armor.
“Go for the chest piece,” Ippei decided. “It will give us a bigger target later.”
The demon’s red eyes wandered toward the samurai, and Seiki screamed, “Here!” as he rushed in again with Focused Strike. The demon slashed out with his black shadow sword. With this kind of difference in level, Seiki still did not dare to Parry, and he leapt backward to avoid the attack. Again, the air seemed to tremble around him. It did no damage, but sent a strange cold shiver down Seiki’s spine.
Kagenote [Level 16]. HP 2120/2120. Shadow-Forged Leather Cuirass. 82% durability.
The white fox was making a leap at the demon’s armor from the side. Seiki attacked again to keep the enemy engaged, connecting with an energy-less Sweeping Blade, which left a shallow cut on the cuirass. The Jade Steel, despite not being light-infused or named, was actually a very fine blade; the range felt strangely satisfying and, although it could not directly damage the demon, it could damage the armor.
The black blade swished through the air, and each time Seiki felt a shiver. There was no time to ponder what it could be. Seiki pressed in with two more attacks, before using the recharged Slide to get himself out of harm’s way.
Kagenote [Level 16]. HP 2120/2120. Shadow-Forged Leather Cuirass. 51% durability.
With them using energy only sparingly, it was taking a long time, but Seiki was focused. Ultimately, the demon was much more predictable than players, and open spaces were to a ronin’s advantage. As long as the enemy stuck to physical abilities, Seiki knew how to stay alive.
With the demon’s attention on Seiki, Ippei and Mairin could attack at will from the sides, and they were quickly whittling away at the chest piece. Seiki had been keeping close track of numbers and, as soon as Mairin landed another one of her dashing Bites, Seiki rushed in with a sliding Focused Strike.
“Okay, this could be it,” said Seiki. The moment he felt the impact on the tip of his sword, he tried something he had never tried before: stepping his right foot forward to put himself in the correct position to follow-up with an Upslash, while the tip of his sword was still pierced through the demon’s armor.
Seiki ignored what to expect. The worst case would be that the resistance would be too great that he would not be able to finish the move. The best case would be the discovery of another burst damage combination that he somehow had not thought of before.
The result was something in between.
With energy surging through his arms, Seiki could feel the Jade Steel forcing its way diagonally through the demon’s chest armor. Upslash was powerful enough to cut thin metal, and Seiki could sense the multiple impacts from the strips of metal woven into the leather piece. But the move was losing speed fast. Even before he could finish the full swing of Upslash, the demon had swept his clawed hand at him, and Seiki had to drop low and roll away.
Kagenote [Level 16]. HP 2120/2120. Shadow-Forged Leather Armor. 0% durability.
He caught a glimpse of Ippei swinging his blade at the demon’s back, and suddenly it was as if a layer of shadow had fallen off the demon’s torso. And the whole thing burst into dust.
Seiki had not anticipated an explosion, and he especially had not anticipated the impact of the exploding armor to hit like a truck. He was already on the ground, and the noiseless explosion slammed into him and sent him skidding a few feet away from the demon, dropping his health below a fifth.
Seiki gulped down the cool night air to quickly clear his mind. He could not see what had happened to Mairin, but Ippei was also on the ground, with his health below a third. And since it was the samurai who had landed the latest blow, Kagenote was heading toward him with his sword raised.
It was usually unexpected events like these that broke the rhythm and turned things on their head.
“Hey, over here!” Seiki lunged forward and launched a blind attack at the demon’s foot. Luckily, that got the demon’s attention back.
With a scoff, the demon spun around and slashed down with his shadow blade. Stuck in an unfavorable position, Seiki could only pull up the Jade Steel in a Parry.
As to be expected, the attack would have been fatal and the Jade Steel almost seared his hands as it flew off to the side. But the shadow blade was not a normal weapon after all. Seiki felt a wave of emptiness wash over him and, for a split second, he felt like he was free-falling. A violent shiver passed through him and his mind went completely blank. The next thing he saw was the black sword stabbing down at his throat, with Ippei yelling at him to get out of the way.
Seiki threw himself to the side as soon as he recovered his wits. The black sword pierced down into the dirt beside him, sending out a wave of trembling air.
From behind the demon, Ippei let out a shout and his Hikari glowed bright with light as he slashed at the demon’s bare back with Swerve Cut, followed immediately by a Focused Strike.
“I think the sword has a stun,” said Ippei, who had witnessed what happened. “So I don’t think you can Parry.”
Kagenote [Level 16]. HP 1288/2120.
Seiki clenched his jaw as he tried to force his mind to focus again.
With the Shout boosting Ippei’s moves, the samurai’s damage output was too high, and the demon turned around and swung his black sword at him. Kagenote was much faster now with the armor gone, and Ippei let out a surprised cry as he dodged aside. The clawed left hand immediately followed, and Ippei had to scramble out of the way. Mairin was somehow still missing.
Seiki had no time to properly get to his feet, but his Slide had recharged. So, he shot forward in full force as he aimed for the back of the demon’s left knee, hoping that basic laws of physics would apply. The impact would be unavoidable, and Seiki had prepared for this move to possibly kill him; yet, he was banking on the fact that all the intention leading up to the contact was all on his part and none on his opponent’s.
Kagenote had not been prepared for the attack. And as Seiki slammed his forearm into the back of his knee, it buckled and sent the demon staggering, allowing Ippei enough
time to regain his balance. The samurai took this opportunity to stab his light blade into the demon’s back once again, earning an angry snarl.
That is how far Seiki’s plan went. The demon was still standing, though, and Seiki had to grab hold of the demon’s left leg while kicking at his other foot, to trip his adversary. Like most monsters he had fought, direct contact with the demon started to rapidly drain Seiki’s health, and in half a second his Strength of Will had kicked in.
He grunted, let go and rolled out of the way as the demon toppled over. Mairin was nowhere to be seen, so he could not expect any heals. Seiki quickly grabbed his potion and drank down the refreshing liquid, feeling the instant burst of health and energy flowing through him.
Ippei had presumably downed his potion too, and he was now stabbing repeatedly at the demon from behind, who once again sent his blade flying. Seiki made a dash for the Jade Steel sword on the ground and ran back as the demon turned around and swept his blade at Ippei.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Mairin in fox form running back from the house at half health and half energy. She had been at point blank of the explosion; so, with her light armor, the blast must have killed her.
Since Seiki’s Jade Steel was dealing no damage, it was impossible to keep the demon’s attention on him for long. “Go all out on attacks,” said Seiki, as he sprinted and jumped on the Kagenote’s back before the demon could completely get up. He pierced his Jade Steel through the demon’s right shoulder, sending the demon crashing face-first onto the ground once more. The normal sword did not hurt the demon, but at least it could immobilize him for a bit.
The white fox Dashed by with her Bite, followed by her white smoky Fox Dust, which—now fueled by the light orb she was carrying—sparkled silver around the roaring demon under Seiki’s feet.
By now, Seiki was a hundred percent certain that this was the worst tanking job anyone had ever done. Even through the footwear, Seiki’s health was still draining rapidly, and he would not be able to hold for a long time. Suddenly, the demon jumped to his feet with surprising strength, throwing Seiki off his back, before spinning around and striking out with his clawed left hand. Seiki propelled himself into a Slide, the sharp nails missing him by only a few inches, and the demon leapt after him.