Chapter 7

Dinner was an awkward affair.

Upon a large table lay a banquet fit for a king, yet Yasaka found it hard to muster up any sort of appetite. From her left she spied haughty crimson eyes that glinted in amusement, whilst from her right she was assaulted by a constant barrage of curious questions and will-intentioned inquiries.

Behind her stood two of her Karasu-Tengu guards, still as statues and with faces just as stoic. It was starting to become increasingly claustrophobic.

She took a deep breath, centering her thoughts, before speaking.

///

"A-ahem! Is the food to your liking?"

Lifting his face up from a bowl of rice, Enkidu looked up at his host with slightly glazed eyes.

"Mmhmm!"

Satisfied that he had said his piece, the boy wasted no time in digging back in. Gilgamesh let out a fond chuckle and proceeded to menacingly swirl her wine.

Yasaka tried once more, although her face had been getting progressively more flustered.

"Err… That's good! I just wanted to ask if, you know, ummm… c-could you do me a favour?"

The end of that sentence was blurted out in haste, although Enkidu still got the gist of it. The fox-woman seemed strangely embarrassed, although for what reason he wasn't too sure.

'Is asking for help that scary?'

"Oh? A favour, is it? Your boldness is almost amusing in its absurdity. Tell me, oh mighty ruler, what reward could you possibly produce that could enlist the aid of one such as I."

The King of Heroes spoke with her usual tone, the one she used when she was speaking to anybody else but him. Enkidu simply frowned.

"Hey, be nice! I wouldn't mind helping out Miss Yasaka, but I would like you to answer juuuust one question first!"

He found himself unconsciously leaning forwards in the middle of his speech, close enough to the woman to observe the strangely shallow breaths Yasaka was taking in. She opened her mouth, before seemingly thinking better of it.

Blonde tresses bobbed up and down as she nodded her head.

"Sweet! I just wanted to know where I could find a tsuchinoko, y'know? And also, if you wouldn't mind, maybe you could inform me about any other interesting Japanese myths? I didn't get to finish that book on Youkai before heading out…"

Yasaka's face flashed through many emotions, mainly bafflement and suspicion, before finally settling on resigned acceptance. She looked over at Gilgamesh, who seemed to be downing an entire glass of red wine with a put-upon expression.

"I-Is that all? I mean, sure! We can do that, definitely… A-anyways, the task I wanted you to carry out was a simple patrol of our borders, so to speak."

An eyebrow was raised in a perfectly-formed arch, yet even this simple gesture was enough to get Yasaka to tense up.

"Elaborate."

"O-of course! There has recently been an increase of foreign activity around Kyoto's borders, and a perimeter of the area would be greatly appreciated to discourage any wrongdoers. I would usually carry out such a task myself, yet the current situation between supernatural factions is … delicate, to say the least. I also don't want them to catch onto our knowledge of them, and as such you would be a much more inconspicuous option."

Gilgamesh peered at the youkai, looking for a hint of deceit. She found none, but it didn't stop the distaste that twisted into a scowl upon her face. Enkidu, as if sensing his friends displeasure, tried his best to cheer her up.

"I'm sure it will be fun, Gilgamesh! I know you have been itching for a fight recently, so just think of it as an opportunity to beat up some bad guys and get rewarded for it! There might even be some loot we can get!"

At the mention of 'loot' her eyes lit up in excitement and covetous greed, before becoming neutral once more. Still, the King of Heroes looked at least a little more amiable, humming in thought.

"I guess I do not have anything better to do. Very well, be eternally grateful, for you are granted the honour of my assistance."

Yasaka's smile was fixed to her face in an unnatural way, although Enkidu didn't seem to notice. He bounced out of his chair and out the door with sunny disposition and boundless energy, smiling all the while.

The King of Heroes stood up as well, dusting herself off before looking Yasaka dead in the eye with an icy gaze.

She waited a moment for the green-haired boy to leave her senses, before her aloof expression shifted into barely concealed irritation.

Glass rattled, a heavy pressure descending upon the room, as the air thrummed with gold.

"Do not think me subservient, mongrel. I acquiesce to your request purely out of my own amusement, nothing more."

Her voice was laced with inhuman majesty, of authority beyond what a mere mortal should possess. Despite the calm tone with which she spoke, none could miss the violence hidden behind her eyes.

"And do not think, under any circumstances, that you can take advantage of my treasure. He is worth infinitely more than any of you, far greater than any plebeian relic you may have hidden in this sorry place."

The sun shined upon her, light rays dancing upon her form in fey patterns. They bent and twisted in dizzying fractals, and Yasaka could only stare in transfixed awe.

"If you lay a single finger upon him, if you deceive him in any way, know this with certainty…"

A cloud passed over the sun, and the room was plunged into silence.

"There will not be a Kyoto left after I am finished with you."

Without another word, Gilgamesh turned on her heels and strode out of the open doors, leaving bulging eyes and choked breaths in her wake.

The two guards snapped to attention a moment later, and with trembling lips spoke as one.

"Y-your orders, Lady Yasaka?"

"Leave them. It seems I have once more been short-sighted in my judgement."

Nine tails waved in the air in an erratic fashion, the only sign of Yasaka's poor mood. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she let out a deep breath, attempting to flush all of the stress from her system.

Sadly, it didn't seem to work.

'I need a fucking drink.'

///

The outskirts of the Youkai dimension were filled with vast, rolling fields filled with crops and flowers. The air here was so pure Enkidu could almost taste it, so much so that the boy was finding it hard to focus on much else.

The urge to simply sit down and bask in the setting sun was a strong one, although he managed to resist, albeit barely. He promised to help, after all!

So far he had not sensed anything suspicious, although he wasn't too sure what he was supposed to be looking for. That fox-woman hadn't really given them much to go off, and the allure of lush grass after trawling through the city didn't really help things either.

Gilgamesh certainly looked bored, the lack of any action clearly getting to her, making her resort to glaring at the local wildlife as a form of entertainment. Not that it did much of anything though, as another tanuki burrowed up his shirt and used his body like a climbing frame.

"I don't know how you can stand those creatures constantly clambering over you all the time. They make my skin crawl."

Enkidu merely looked up at her in confusion, cocking his head like a big puppy.

"Well, I don't see a problem with it. This little guy is just curious, nothing wrong with that!"

He punctuated that sentence by patting the animal's head from where it hung on his shoulder, to which it let out a purring sound before scampering off into the undergrowth.

The King of Heroes looked unconvinced.

"The appeal is lost on me, I must admit. Do you even know where that thing has been? For all you know, it could be tracking dirt all over-"

Enkidu suddenly held up his hand, halting their procession. He sniffed at the air like a bloodhound, frowned, then turned to Gilgamesh and spoke in a hushed whisper.

"Hey, Gil-chan… do you feel that?"

The woman in question furrowed her brow in concentration, yet to her senses nothing was amiss.

She shook her head in the negative.

"That's strange, I'm sure I noticed a presence just now…"

The boy tried again, and this time he was certain. It was exceptionally faint, as if purposely masked, but there was an almost nostalgic scent to the air around him. He turned to the east, eyes set in a squint, and he spied the flicker of something off in the distance.

"There!"

Enkidu rushed towards the sight in an instant, although Gilgamesh didn't seem to share his enthusiasm and lagged behind at a sedate pace.

Whatever he was chasing, it was fast, although not nearly fast enough. With bounding steps he closed the distance, now able to make out a human-like figure with raven wings jutting from their back.

They flapped in imitation of a bird taking flight, although the action was instantly halted in its tracks by a mass of wooden roots that burst from the ground near the target's feet. Ensnared by his attack, the being let out one more pitiful flap of its wings before being pulled to the earth with a crunching sound.

The boy winced in pity.

"Ah, Sorry! Are you alright?"

The being let out a wracking cough, before spitting a mixture of blood and saliva to the side. Turning around, Enkidu was greeted with elfin features twisted into a vicious snarl. He seemed to be male, although of what species he hailed from Enkidu wasn't too sure.

"Don't mock me! You can joke around all you want, child, though it will not change your fate. I was originally content to spare your life and simply leave, but now, now you've PISSED ME OFF! The boss did say not to leave any witnesses…"

A flash of light, and a spear was manifested in the creature's hand. He used it to cut himself free from his shackles, before hurling it at the green-haired boy in that same motion.

Enkidu watched with a sort of detached fascination as the projectile came hurtling his way, examining its material and composition with a critical eye.

'What's it made of? Light? If so, how is he able to hold it like a tangible object?'

So entranced was he, so lost in his own head, that he failed to move out of the way in time.

The tip of the spear sunk into his stomach with a wet noise.

Seeing this, the owner of the weapon let out a slightly hysterical laugh, his grin a sadistic mockery of a normal smile. He rose shakily from his prone position on the ground, before slowly stalking forward.

"Hahaha! Nothing to say anymore, you little bastard?! You might have caught me off guard before, but a fallen angel such as I could never be defeated by one as pitiful as you! At least try to put up a fight, it's hardly entertaining when you fall so easily!"

The fallen angel drew ever closer, gloating all the while, until he was face to face with his target. A pale hand reached out towards the spear already lodged in Enkidu's stomach, attempting to pull it free.

It didn't budge.

Thinking it a fluke, he tried again, this time with more force behind the action.

It didn't budge.

A cold chill was starting to seep into the man's bones, the shiver of creeping dread, as he gripped the base with both hands and heaved as hard as he could. Muscles tensed and teeth ground together as he put in every ounce of effort he had available into retrieving the spear.

It. Didn't. Budge.

Soft fingers grasped the man's throat, and the man looked up into swirling eyes filled with alien emotion. He tried to move away, but his clammy hands were frozen in fear.

"That wasn't very nice."

The fallen angel let out a quiet whimper, before the fingers tightened and he found himself slammed into the ground with dizzying force. Hard dirt cracked and gave way as his body impacted the earth, a spiderweb of fissures emanating from a human-shaped crater.

"You should be more polite next time sir, I was just trying to have a chat."

Dusting off his hands, Enkidu looked down at the spread-eagled form of the fallen angel with exasperation. The spear was ejected from his stomach without a thought, the hole closing up instantly and the weapon disappearing into motes of light before he could get ahold of it.

'I wanted to have a closer look at that too…'

A faint whistling sound emanated from behind him, although this time he was ready.

The volley of light spears impacted with a conjured earthen wall, stopping them with a thud and breaking line of sight with his assailants.

Distant shouts echoed from behind the barrier, loud and full of rage, although what exactly they were saying was unintelligible.

The boy remained calm and unperturbed however, his face a perfect mask of serenity.

He didn't necessarily enjoy fighting, but he was not averse to it either. Just like everything in the world, violence had its place, and he would be a fool to ignore its uses. When all else failed, there was only one thing left to turn to.

Enkidu's flesh writhed in anticipation, and a small smile found its way onto his lips.

From the sky they came, a murder of crows bathed in unholy light and adorned in black robes. Each held up a radiant javelin, poised aloft with vicious intentions. The air buzzed with magical energy, and the moon, round and full, crested over the horizon like an all-seeing eye.

He stared upwards and basked in its glory.

'My body is made of mud and clay'

Faces full of misplaced arrogance and pride twisted to shock in an instant, for the boy was already before them.

High up in the air and silhouetted by the heavenly body, his being seemed almost divine in nature, and a second of hesitation was all that was afforded to the fallen-angels before the inevitable.

"STOP HI-"

A hand wreathed in verdant energy clamped around the neck of the leader like a vice, strong and unyielding in its grip. The woman panicked instantly, attempting frantically to shake off her unwanted ride, although her efforts proved fruitless. Her body felt drained and sluggish, as if all her energy was being sapped out, and with a final weak protest her wings stilled and her body started plummeting towards the ground.

"H-how?"

Her companions could only stare in horror as their leader was seemingly defeated in an instant. With an echoing crash, she was driven into the earth with back-breaking force, a shrill scream all that left her before she slipped into unconsciousness.

Wings of dripping clay flapped once, the boy lifting himself from the body of his victim. From pulsing flesh something emerged, slipping into a waiting hand without ceremony. Made of gleaming ivory, and adorned with a barbed tip, Enkidu hefted his newly created spear up towards the heavens, before launching it into the sky.

With a screaming wail it tore through the air, embedding itself through the thigh of one of the many fallen-angels with a spray of blood.

His harrowing scream finally broke them from their stupor, although it was already too late.

Glowing eyes narrowed in concentration as Enkidu funnelled his very essence into his surroundings, harmonising with the call of nature that reverberated within his very bones. A field of lilies formed around feet that had sunk into the primal essence of the world.

"FIRE!"

In that single moment it took for their magic to coalesce into holy light, the ground rumbled like a hungry giant, and from the cracked dirt the points of a hundred identical weapons emerged.

With but a thought, it was all over.

The night air was polluted by the screams of angels, falling once more to the earth.

///

Gilgamesh came upon a scene not dissimilar to a warzone. The ground was littered with cracks and craters, with scorch marks peppering the area like a bad rash. Yet strangely, even through all this destruction, an abundance of grass and flowers grew upwards from the tarnished soil.

In the middle of the field, surrounded on all sides by winged bodies, sat her greatest treasure. Despite the destruction of the area, the boy looked completely content and free of any injury or exhaustion. He lay cross-legged, humming a haunting melody whilst a host of wildlife sat before him. Birds, deer, raccoons and even a black snake formed a circle around his form, each head bowed in reverence as soft notes washed over their ears.

Despite all that she had witnessed, the scene before her was hard to put into words.

They could not do it justice.

"Enkidu."

The boy perked up, head swivelling towards the location of the sound before a bright smile adorned a cherubic face.

"Gil-chan, you caught up! Come, have a seat, this time I have a story to tell you!"

The animals shuffled over until there was a small spot presumably for her, and with a fond sigh the King of Heroes walked over and relaxed into her place.

Under the moonlight, and in a field full of bodies, Enkidu recounted his tale.

With slowly reddening cheeks, Gilgamesh could only sink further and further into a pit of muddled bafflement and confusion as she listened to the boy's words.

'How did all this happen in 10 minutes?!'