by Nikita Thorn
“We need more clues,” said Mairin.
“We’re about to get more right now,” said Seiki. “Someone’s coming.”
Like guilty children, they ducked behind the nearest pillar and waited. Footsteps approached, and a door slid open to the left of the Shogun’s raised stage.
Captain Tsukuda stepped in, a surprised look on his face as he noticed the setup of the Banquet Hall. Kneeling down next to the nearest floor table, he did exactly what Mairin had done and unwrapped the sake bottle to check, which resulted in an even more perplexed expression.
He was about to store it in his inventory, when he suddenly stopped and looked up. Seiki was very certain none of them had moved, but the man had clearly suspected he was not alone.
“Who’s there?” Captain Tsukuda slowly stood up, looking in their direction, his hand reaching toward the hilt of his sword.
Seiki grimaced as he got to his feet and stepped out from behind the pillar. “It’s us, Captain Tsukuda.”
His friends followed him out a bit sheepishly.
Captain Tsukuda stared at them with the expression of a man waking up to a leaking pipe and a flooded kitchen. “You again? Didn’t Kato get you out?”
“He tried,” said Mairin. “Not the Lieutenant’s fault.”
Shaking his head, the man let go of his weapon and made his way across the hall toward them. “Get out,” he said, yanking the painted sakura panel open. “Before you cause any more trouble for me messing with things you don’t understand.”
“Yes, sir,” said Seiki, not entirely sure why he was a little desperate not to disappoint the captain.
Even Ippei had nothing else to say and simply followed him back toward the hidden door.
“Is it too late to go back for more clues?” said Mairin.
Tsukuda was about to say something, when he suddenly froze. “Deliver this for me,” he said under his breath. He thrust a leather pouch into Mairin’s hand and shoved her into the pillar. Seiki and Ippei let out grunts as she tumbled onto them. With a yelp, the kitsune turned into a white fox just in time not to crowd them all off the landing, and Seiki luckily stretched out his hands against the inside of the pillar before he could fall off. The panel clicked shut from outside, leaving them in darkness once more.
The left edge of the panel where it was supposed to open suddenly glowed white, and Seiki peered through the semi-transparent screen to see Captain Tsukuda running his hand along its vertical length.
Koueki-Sealed Door. This door has been sealed with a powerful enchantment.
“Go now,” the man said in a hasty whisper, before spinning around to face the Banquet Hall.
“Who is that?” cried Tsukuda, his hand once again on the hilt of his weapon.
A voice laughed a cold laugh. “Is that how you treat an old acquaintance, Tsukuda?”
“Show yourself,” cried the captain.
Seiki leaned closer to the sealed panel, squeezing tight to one side to allow his friends room to peer through as well.
From the other side of the Banquet Hall, a man emerged, dressed in all black like a ninja, a lower-face scarf hiding most of his features.
“So Yajima sent you back,” the newcomer let out a scoff.
Seiki suddenly recognized the voice. “It’s the man who was talking to the nobleman in the servant’s house,” he whispered to his friend.
“So this is your doing. I shouldn’t be surprised.” Tsukuda stepped forward, his sword leaving its scabbard with a bright shink. It was the Hikari, and its blade was glowing silver.
The newcomer had stepped forward into the light, past the rows of feast tables. His face, now visible, was human enough, but his skin was purplish gray, and his eyes glowed bright red. His mouth twisted into a nasty smile. “I’m disappointed in your manners, Captain Tsukuda.”
The demon, too, reached for his weapon, and it was a short blade made entirely of black metal. On the hilt, glowing as bright as his eyes, was a red jewel.
Kagenoannaisha [Rank 3 Demon]
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“You couldn’t kill me last time. What makes you think you have a chance now?” said the demon. “Not to mention that you wouldn’t try anything rash before figuring out what is going on here, would you?”
Tsukuda gritted his teeth, but hesitated to attack.
The demon smiled as he picked up the unwrapped sake bottle that had been left on the floor, his other hand lifting the ceramic cup from the nearest table. “How about we drink to this happy reunion, Captain Tsukuda?”
With his black dagger, he sliced off the lid of the bottle.
“This is a fine selection we’ve got here.” Sheathing his dagger, the demon lifted the bottle, letting its content fall into the ceramic cup. What came out was a thick, dark red, stream of slime that writhed as if it was alive.
“What’s this?” said Tsukuda.
The demon smiled as he glanced at the squirming slime in the cup. “Here’s to you, Captain.” He swept out his free hand and the red liquid shot forward like a snake snatching its prey.
Tsukuda stepped up, his sword swished through the air, slicing the red mass in half. Seiki nearly jumped as one half splattered right in front of the pillar, still writhing.
Tsukuda turned to look at the squirming blob on the floor. “What is this?” he asked again.
“This is a kegachimushi. Never heard of it, Captain? It’s somewhat of a peculiarity. Some say it’s a disease. But you would most likely agree with me that the definition is not quite accurate.” He reached down to pick up another bottle, cut open the lid, and poured its content out, this time directly on the floor.
Another kegachimushi dropped out, splattering flat on the wood floor, before gathering itself together. Then, like the first, it shot forward at the swordsman in the middle of the hall. Tsukuda sliced it again, splitting it into halves.
“But maybe they have a point,” continued the demon casually as he picked up yet another bottle. “Since these things are always looking for a willing host. And they’re quite difficult to kill as well.”
He smashed the bottle in his hand over another bottle, releasing two more kegachimushi onto the floor as he inched forward.
Seiki stared at half the slimy blob on the floor just outside the panel. It was moving across the floor, in a stream of dark red that looked like flowing blood, toward another half of its kind. The two merged into one whole again, and it raised itself off the ground, swaying left and right as if looking for a scent, before it leaned toward the direction of the swordsman.
“Watch out,” Seiki shouted as the kegachimushi shot off the ground toward the swordsman. Tsukuda showed no sign of having heard the warning, as he was already fending off several flying blobs of red. The kegachimushi slammed into the back of his arm. The ooze clung to his armguard, and a second later it started to sizzle. The man gasped in pain.
The demon laughed. “Like I said, they’re looking for a wiling host and won’t stop until they fully merge with one. And if the host is unwilling, they tend to force their way in.”
Gritting his teeth, Tsukuda drew his dagger with his other hand and stabbed at the sizzling ooze. It gave no fight and dropped off at once, but it was no nearer death than before and continued to writhe at his feet.
During the delay, another pair of kegachimushi had managed to combine, and launched at Tsukuda from the other side. He whirled around, sliced the creature with his dagger. Half splattered off to the floor, but the other half managed to wrap itself around his hand. The man let out a cry as he let his dagger drop. He drew his sword back, slicing two more flying blobs in one go, before using it to stab at the slime on his hand.
It fell off like a slug, and Tsukuda backed away, his injured hand leaving a trail of blood on the ground.
Around him, the slimes were already gathering, and the largest had grown to about four times its original size. It was not going to be a fight. It was going to be a slow and b
loody death.
“He’s got no chance!” Seiki was no longer thinking as he grabbed his energy and smashed it at the sealed panel. The enchantment threw him back, slamming him against the back of the pillar, but he struck again.
“Maybe it’s seven times,” Ippei said as he, too, struck it with the best Focused Strike he could manage in the limited space. Fox Dust burst everywhere as they launched all they had at the enchantment. In the Banquet Hall, Tsukuda let out a cry. Seiki grabbed more energy for another strike, and suddenly the painted panel gave way with a loud crack.
They stumbled into the hall, in time to see Tsukuda swinging his Hikari at the demon. The man had abandoned the attempt to defend himself from the kegachimushi, and now several were clinging onto his legs and back. Tsukuda was panting heavily, his armor dripping blood, but his attacks were relentless.
The demon, however, seemed amused, as he backed away casually, smashing the sake bottles lined up on the tables in his path to release more of the ooze. At the interruption, the demon glanced over. “Ah, we have rats. Looks like they’ve come out to die.”
Tsukuda took this chance to rush at the demon, his sword aiming for the heart. The Hikari glowed bright as it seemed to pierce through his skin, but then, with a scoff, the demon twisted, and the blade glanced off his chest. “Pathetic,” he snarled as he lifted his leg to kick at the swordsman’s stomach, sending him crashing into the rows of tables.
Seiki tore his eyes from the scene. Without a weapon, all he could hope to do was to take advantage of any distractions. He grabbed hold of one of the nearest floor tables, letting the sake bottle and the rest of the utensils roll off harmlessly onto the tatami floor. It was heavier than he expected, and for that he was glad.
Leaping over the tables, Seiki rushed at the demon, who still had his back turned as he scoffed at his injured opponent on the floor. “You’re usually better than this, Tsukuda,” the demon said.
Seiki held his breath. His target was only a few feet away now. He knew Tsukuda was trying to catch his eyes, but he had no time for that as he slammed the table over the demon’s head.
There was no impact. The weight in his hand suddenly lightened, and he found himself swinging half a table through the air. The other half had been sliced clean off, and dropped with a dull thud onto the floor.
His mind screamed a warning as a shadow flashed to his left. He had not even seen the demon move. Out of instinct, he ducked low, and an arm swished over his head. Seiki activated a short Slide as he twisted his body around, slamming half the table in his hand into the demon’s torso.
This one, at least, found its target, but he might as well have been smashing the thing against a concrete pillar. The shadow flashed again, and without any real grasp of how the demon was moving, Seiki braced himself for what was about to follow.
A sharp streak of ice shot through his side, and for a moment Seiki felt as if his lungs had frozen solid. The next thing he knew, he was crashing through broken tables, gasping for breath. As his vision cleared, he realized his health had dropped below a fifth. Standing over him was the demon, who was shaking his head in mock pity.
“It seems Shinshioka rats have some spirit in them,” said the demon, his purplish gray lips twisting in a smile. “Let me introduce myself, then, since we have not met. They call me Kagenoannaisha, the Shadow Usher.”
The demon crouched down beside him. Seiki struggled to move, but his body had gone completely numb.
“Why don’t we make this a bit more interesting for your captain?” Icy cold fingers grabbed his arm as the demon held it up, and Seiki shivered while the demon dragged the tip of his red-jeweled dagger over his armguard, cutting through his armor, just shallow enough to draw blood.
Then, he grabbed one of the fallen sake bottles, smashed it on the debris and poured the red slime over the fresh wound.
The slime seeped through the tear in his armor. If Seiki’s lungs had been working properly, he would have screamed, mostly in horror at the sight, as he could see the kegachimushi wriggling while it tried to work its way into his bloodstream.
“If you struggle, it hurts much—” The demon’s sentence was cut short as Ippei slammed into him with the nearest table he could grab, letting out a Battle Shout that added a few more points to Seiki’s stats as well.
With a grunt, the demon dropped his arm. Seiki took his chance to gather energy and push it toward the cut. Like a slug, the kegachimushi ate up some of it, before slithering off when it was too much.
A shadow flashed again as the demon appeared behind Ippei, grabbed the samurai by his collar and threw him against the nearest pillar, sending him crashing through a row of tables along the way. “Don’t worry. It will be your turn soon.”
The demon returned to Seiki’s side and yanked up his arm, frowning as he noticed that the kegachimushi had been repelled. Then his eyes wandered. “I see. Nice little trick here.”
He grabbed the Volunteer’s Badge from Seiki’s belt, snapped it off, and tossed it aside. Seiki stared as he realized one of his Charm Slot was now empty. No enemy had ever had the power to completely remove his equipment from its slot. Despite its meager stats, Seiki could feel the loss of defense, and it made him feel even more vulnerable.
A satisfied smile returned to the demon’s lips. “Better. Now let’s try again, shall we?”
He grabbed another bottle and smashed it open. Before the writhing kegachimushi dropped out of it, however, a warmth filled Seiki’s chest, and he no longer struggled to breathe. The second wave cleared the numbness from his body, and the third filled his health and energy, and Seiki rolled away and burst into a Slide.
Behind him, a sword swished through the air. When Seiki was far enough to look back, the demon had leapt several feet away to the side, his dagger ready in hand.
“Nope. You only had one chance,” said Mairin. “Sorry, Seiki. We were a bit… busy.”
His friends were standing where the demon once was, covered in blood, which must have been their own, as they must have been battling the kegachimushi all this time. Ippei had in his hand a broken table leg, and Mairin was holding a bottle of potion which she had presumably just used.
Next to them was Captain Tsukuda, who was back on his feet, his health back to more than two-thirds again.
The demon eyed them. “You think you can defeat me?”
“No,” said a familiar voice from the other side of the hall. “But at least now the odds are slightly better.”
Lieutenant Kato had appeared in front of the broken painted panel on the pillar. Seiki guessed he had followed them through the secret tunnel.
The Shadow Usher growled at the interruption, and Tsukuda took this chance to rush at the demon with his sword. Lieutenant Kato ran over to join him.
Just as Lieutenant Kato had said, even with improved odds, a Rank 3 named demon was a handful, even for two skilled swordsmen. Kagenoannaisha moved in a blur, his short blade proving to be at no disadvantage against the longer light-infused swords, as he took pleasure in inflicting shallow cuts on his opponents.
The kegachimushi were attracted to fresh wounds and sprung off from the ground, forcing both Kato and Tsukuda to split their attention to fend them off.
“At least we can fight these things, right?” said Seiki uncertainly as he eyed the writhing blobs by his feet. With more and more of them released, the floor was now covered with patches of red ooze. Seiki’s skin crawled just from the sight of them all wriggling in every direction.
“This is horrible,” said Mairin.
“It is,” Ippei agreed.
“Maybe we can try to keep the slimes off them?” Seiki suggested. Without weapons, however, they were at a loss.
“Gotta bash them then?” Grimacing, Seiki grabbed the nearest floor table and whacked one of the largest blobs. It gave a strange splattering sound as it split into two.
Kegachimushi [Level 15]. HP 64/64.
Kegachimushi [Level 1
5]. HP 64/64.
“Wait,” cried Seiki as he continued to bring the table down at the ooze, slowly coming to the realization that there was a system to it. “You split it and its health diminishes.” They were also Level 15, meaning they were attuned to their group.
“I guess slimes gotta be slimes.” Ippei tossed his broken table leg aside and grabbed a brand new one.
The kegachimushi patch got smaller and smaller as Seiki continued to hit it, until it was but a tiny drop of red slime.
Kegachimushi [Level 15]. HP 1/1.
Seiki slammed the table onto it one last time, and it dispersed into black smoke.
Kegachimushi slain. 2 XP gained.
The development did not make Seiki any happier, as his eyes fell across hundreds more red blobs all over the tatami floor, all of which were struggling to recombine. Mairin seemed to be having a slightly easier time with her Dash, which was an area ability.
“This is kinda fun,” said the kitsune.
Seiki turned toward Ippei, who had an uneasy look on his face.
“This is looking impossible,” said the samurai.
In the middle of the hall, Kagenoannaisha was slowly backing away from the two swordsmen, but was also slashing his dagger across the numerous sake bottles on the tables as he retreated. Captain Tsukuda grunted. With a cry, he rushed at his opponent, and at the last second he seemed to vanish, only to reappear behind the demon, his sword landing a long cut across his back.
Lieutenant Kato rushed in as the demon staggered, forcing Kagenoannaisha to raise his short black blade to defend himself for the first time.
Tsukuda wasted no second as he struck out with what looked very much like Sweeping Blade, pushing the demon back toward his companion while Lieutenant Kato raised his sword with both hands and stabbed down in a Vertical Spike stun, directly through the demon’s foot.
“Futile.” The demon’s voice turned cold. Air crackled around him as he shrugged off the effect of the ability. He raised his hand, and Seiki hastily cast the Protection shield on the lieutenant just as the demon’s hand descended in a slap. Kato raised his arm to defend himself, but it was as if he was hit by an invisible truck and he flew halfway across the hall.