36 A Nya to save the day

Part 1

3rd Person POV

Sitting back to back, a green-eyed boy and a red-eyed young girl were trying to rest their exhausted bodies. Both of them had their attires covered in blood, however, there were no visible wounds on them.

Beside them, a figure of a girl laid sleeping soundly. She had purple hair, and a sweater was used to cover some of the visible parts that her ragged outfit could not cover.

Opening and closing her hand, the girl seemed a little distracted.

"Shiki-sensei, you noticed?" The girl muttered.

The boy, Nora, was fiddling around some straw dolls and a piece of paper with strange symbols, but he stopped his actions when he heard his companion speaking.

"You mean that?" Nora asked back. "Tomoe-san, I don't think that you should worry about it."

Biting her lips, the girl, Tomoe found it hard to speak.

"However, you should've noticed by now, she and I are..." "Red is a good color, and there is nothing wrong with wearing..."

They both spoke at the same time, however, they did not seem to be speaking about the same topic.

"Eh? Who and who? Eh?" "Wearing? Shiki-sensei... did you...?"

Confused, the boy and the girl started to recall what they said first to confirm who misunderstood the other one. The boy lost because he started to sweat bullets.

"Oh, huh, yeah, I noticed. No problem there, yes, I cannot see any problem." Nora hastily said.

"Shiki-sensei has no idea what Tomoe was talking about, right?" Tomoe muttered with half-closed eyes with arms crossed.

She had turned around and gave Nora a judging look, however, when she felt the damp feeling on her chest, she looked down and noticed that her shirt was slightly translucent. What followed was a blushed Tomoe covering herself with her hands and a slightly cold stare directed at Nora.

"A bribe- I mean, this is an apology." Nora said.

Extending her hand, Tomoe grabbed a chocolate bar that he was giving her.

"All good?" He asked.

Nodding, Tomoe bit the chocolate bar, and noticed that it was similar to the sweets she ate before, the wrapping was rather simple even so she did not expect it to be handmade as well.

"These damn hormones, no, at times like this I have to blame this damn ecchi world, it is almost like an unknown something forces me through these events. I am thankful, but..." Nora kept blabbering for a while in a low tone of voice.

Thinking that she should tactfully ignore what he said, Tomoe did not say anything.

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"I see, you meant about her horns huh." Nora muttered. "I have indeed noticed that she had them, and your aura was similar as well."

Nora was gently touched the sleeping girl's forehead. Currently, she had no horns so his hand only caressed her smooth skin.

"You know about Onis, right?" Tomoe asked. "They are known as a ruthless, violent, vicious, and cunning bunch. Are you not afraid?"

Pondering for a moment, Nora did not take long to think.

"Nah, I know about them, or rather. I know about their past deeds. However, I cannot judge them based on that. Besides, I believe your worry is not about my view on them as a whole, but what I think about you, isn't that right?" Nora said. "Regardless of the past deeds that the onis did, such as eating humans, and causing a war that almost wiped them out after making the rest of Youkais their enemies. It is something unrelated to the current me and you, so have a little trust in me."

After saying his piece, Nora stood up and patted Tomoe on her head, he walked until he found himself in front of a black-cloaked person tied up with vines, said individual appeared to be unconscious since he was not moving. After removing his hood, pale-skinned youth with red hair could be seen, but Nora hardly paid attention to that.

"I will be back soon. Just call me if she wakes up, I will come running." Nora muttered. "Of course, if you need help you can call me as well."

Finished saying that, he dragged the red-haired youth to one of the tunnels.

Tomoe had an idea what he might want to do, and she considered stopping him for a moment, but before he turned his back to her, she caught a glimpse of a pair of determined eyes, although the thing that made her hesitate was the sheer coldness contained in them. She felt conflicted, she wanted to stop that younger than her boy from doing that kind of thing, but part of her only wanted to help her friend, and in her mind, she thought that perhaps she could take his place so he does not have to do it. Nevertheless, Tomoe was not sure if she wanted to get in his way.

Several complicated thoughts course her mind, but she decided to let things as they are. Either way, they could not leave the unconscious girl alone so Nora would've denied her help using that as an excuse. Reaching that conclusion, she bit the cholate bar once again, the slight sweetness and slight bitterness of the chocolate made her forget about difficult topics. For now, she will happily eat the snack while recalling the words of her new friend. He knew about her kin misdeeds, yet he will not judge her for that. She was glad to have met him, along with Musashi, her number of friends was going up.

"I wonder how Musashi is doing, that girl has a terrible sense of direction. I hope that Himejima-san and Art-san did not trust that girl's words when she bragged about to let her lead the way to leave this place easily." Tomoe spoke. "That girl, she brags about it, but she gets lost 7 out of 10 times, and she somehow confidently says that she found the way 3 times while forgetting the 7 times she got lost."

Scratching her head, the girl wearing a middle-school uniform could almost picture such a thing.

Musashi's POV

A young girl with silver hair that had a pinkish hue was facing a dilemma. She had confidently said that she would lead her current party to the right way to reunite with their stranded members, however... she had no idea where that was. It had been a while, and the only thing they found were enemies. Grotesque animals with a creepy and ominous aura had found themselves slaying thanks to the combination and hard work of her party.

It was a close call when the rats attacked them, but thankfully they were your regular rats and not the enhanced-but-grotesque version. That said, they became quite the issue given that they were crazy and had an absurd number. They had truly been lucky that the green-eyed boy had managed to keep them away from them.

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...

It seemed that her luck was up, they had stopped trusting her.

A girl with black hair and red eyes pointed in one direction, she was called Suzaku Himejima and she was part of her improvised party.

"I say we should go left." Suzaku spoke.

Some weariness could be detected on her voice, she had been the MVP during their rat subjugation so she was the one who got the most tired since she fought more.

The last member of the party, Art, shook his head. Musashi couldn't quite get what was wrong with this strange person, but his mannerism was strange. The fact he used a mask, and his voice sounded monotonous was also suspicious but Musashi did not feel like overstepping her boundaries. For some reason, she found herself draw to the boy from before, but not for this person. It was odd since she liked-

"I don't want to keep walking in circles, I think going straight is better, I can feel some presence that way, they are faint, but it is better than going some other way." Art explained.

Using a concise argument, he tried to use logic to convince them. Initially, he was not the type to talk, but after he noticed that everyone's help was crucial to get out of this place, he started to communicate more. That said, he only spoke in situations like this. Musashi was unable to get anything else out of him despite several tries to act as the mood maker. However, her efforts were not useless since she managed to get along with the black-haired girl.

"Etto... How about going right?" Musashi timidly suggested. "Ah, no, eh... forget it."

Nevertheless, when the two people turned to look at her (Art was difficult to judge given his mask), Musashi did not say anything else.

A little depressed, she went a bit far away and started to draw on the ground with the branch Nora had given to her. Thanks to her fine control over Touki, she managed to keep it intact despite the fights.

Once she sank the branch too deep onto the ground, water started to pour out. With a silent scream, she quickly used her foot to push and press more earth on the place where the water came out. Sweat poured out of her as well until she could not see water leaking anymore. Luckily, nothing went wrong. Nevertheless, she managed to learn that these tunnels were close to a subterranean river or something along those lines. Perhaps that river could lead them outside these caves.

"Everyone~" Musashi cheerily called out.

With wide strides, Musashi walked to her party member's location and put her arms around Suzaku and Art's necks.

"You two seem troubled, how about you listen to the beautiful detective Musashi's advice?" Musashi said.

The girl started to speak about her theory, however, she completely left out how she almost caused the water to fill the cave they were into because of her actions.

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"That's worrisome, if we were to cause too much damage to the walls, water could come pouring out. We should be careful when we fight. That said, now we have a clue to find our way out." Suzaku muttered. "That was some useful information, well done, Musashi-san."

With a pondering expression, the black-haired girl tapped her chin with her fingers.

"I can't leave until I..." Art said in a low tone. "Thank you for the warning, I will be careful. I don't want this place to collapse just yet."

Hearing their praises, Musashi pushed out her chest and smiled proudly. She wanted to ask for more words of praise but something must've happened. It was almost like the walls trembled, no, the whole passage did.

"Someone is going wild in their fights..." Art commented.

He seemed to be uninterested in such a thing since he still kept his attention to the path he chose. On the other hand, Suzaku had a concerned expression.

"Nora..." Suzaku muttered in a down-hearted tone.

It appeared to be that she had a close relationship with that boy, or at least she thought that way. Musashi had an urge to ask about it but she read the atmosphere and didn't mention the topic. Instead, she tried to find the source of the vibrations from the tremors. If those were from a fight and it was her dear friend protecting the boy, they had to lend a hand.

"Damn it!" Art suddenly cursed aloud.

It made Musashi and Suzaku turn their heads to Art, just to see him tightening his fist.

"...The presence from before is gone. Another presence appeared and the first disappeared no long after." Art explained.

Frowning, Musashi tried to extend her senses in that direction but she was unable to detect anything. It seemed that Art had a larger detection range using his senses.

He gave a restless feeling and Art looked like he would dash in that direction in no time at all. That said, the tremors came from the direction Suzaku originally suggested, so this could become a difficult topic to discuss. It wouldn't be strange that her companions noticed the same thing she did. In fact, Suzaku was already staring at the left path while giving a similar feeling to Art.

Biting her lips, Suzaku saw Art before sighing.

"...Let's go straight. Nora... He is strong, I know he will be fine so we should look for your sister." Suzaku resolutely said.

Her words surprised Musashi, and for the looks of it, Art as well, he just turned his masked face to Suzaku and did not say anything for a second.

"...Honestly, I thought we would have to part ways here." Art commented as he crossed his arms.

Musashi thought the same, she knew her friend would be ok so she was going to suggest letting Suzaku go to Tomoe and the boy, while she would go with Art.

"He would probably get angry at me if I were to prioritize his safety over a helpless girl." Suzaku said with a bitter smile. "I don't think I would be able to face him if I did that."

The silver-haired girl with a pinkish hue had to revise her opinion of the boy, she only thought of him as a cute boy who could make heavenly sweets, but he had a rather mature and gentle personality as well.

"He would do that?" Art questioned. "Then, he is quite naive I must say."

That earned him a glare from Suzaku but Art just shrugged his shoulders.

"It is the truth, if he tries to help anyone that much, he will get in trouble at some point. Not everyone will be grateful for his actions, or even worse, some might take advantage of him because of it." Art said as he turned around. "The worst kind are those who take his help for granted and would even loath him if he does not do it."

He started to walk with hurried steps to the path he had felt the presence.

His words sounded harsh and a little cold given his grim view of people, but perhaps Art was not trying to lecture anyone other than himself. Musashi originally thought he was complaining about that boy's naivety, but he might just be ranting about his own experiences and comparing them to Nora's. Suzaku must've thought the same thing since she did not lash out to Art like she had done a couple of times their opinions differed. The black-haired girl limited herself to follow after Art.

Watching as they left, Musashi only had one thought. They wouldn't have forgotten about her, would they? They had been acting like she was not here, and they did not even ask if she wanted to go help her friend.

Going after Suzaku, Musashi felt a little lonely. However, it was not because they did not even stop to check if she was following them, not at all.

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...

By the time the group arrived at the location Art had said to feel the presence, there was no one there. Claw marks had been left all around the cave's walls, and blood stains as well.

The place they found lacked any signature of life, and Suzaku had even used a spell to confirm it.

A large iron door blocked their access to what seemed to be a room.

"I judge you to be, evil" Art muttered.

A strange spectacle unfolded in front of Musashi and Suzaku. Art did not waste any more time after Suzaku cast her spell, he only stood in front of the thick iron door and began muttering a series of words in a foreign language, which Musashi was barely able to follow what he meant. She was not very good at it so she only understood completely the last part. After he did that, he held the branch Nora gave him that got covered in a golden aura and used it to easily slash apart the door.

It was a really strange spectacle, she recalled a certain swordswoman from her organization that could do the same thing given the same circumstances, but Musashi could tell that Art was not as skilled as that big breasted swordmaster. The movements of the masked guy were not the ones of an amateur but they lacked refinement, and he seemed to have honed his skills in fights and not by following a discipline, and yet he cut apart that heavy metal door.

The only thing that occurred to her was that the golden aura was not your regular ability. It made her want to cross swords with the guy once, she was curious about it and she thought it would be helpful in her sword training to fight such a person. Nevertheless, it would have to wait until some other time.

When the door fell, a nauseous smell of blood slapped her in the face. It was a concentrated and thick smell.

One look inside and Musashi got frozen on her spot. Suzaku covered her mouth and put on a sad face. Art had tightened his fists hard enough to shatter the branch. What Musashi saw there was-

Part 2

3rd Person POV

Standing with her eyes closed, a black-haired woman who had a black kimono with spiderwebs designs was opening and closing the palms of her hands, and every time she did an almost impossible to see thread extended from the sleeve of her kimono.

In front of her, a girl wearing a maid dress who had an awkward bandage tied to her arm was watching with a worried expression a smol white cat that was stubbornly trying to find an opening to enter the wreckage of an old well.

"Shirone-sama..." The girl wearing a maid dress, Marion, muttered in a concerned tone.

However, Shirone, the white cat did not stop when her name was called and continued to try and get inside the wreckage but she failed to find a way in.

"Nora, Nora..." Shirone's desperate voice sounded a bit pitiful.

"Shion-sama, isn't there anything we can do?" Marion asked.

Changing targets, Marion spoke to the only other person she knew.

Besides them, several people were using spells around the well. They were trying to make a way but changing the terrain was not an easy task for diverse reasons.

"I already sent Kaguya-sama and Yuzuru-sama to survey the zone, it is not one-hundred percent certain that they went down that place, and even if that is the case, there must be another way, an exit so they are looking for it now. I know that these kinds of tunnels are not made to have only one exit, there should be at least two other places to use as a way out, they are just well hidden." Shion explained.

That explanation, however, was not what Marion was seeking. She continued to look at Shirone with a concerned expression.

"But, Shirone-sama is..." Marion commented.

Shaking her head, Shion opened her eyes and sent a concerned glace in the way of the catgirl.

"She is worried, but she didn't listen to me either. I am afraid that only Shiki-sama would make listening to her, or..." Shion responded before she turned her head in another direction.

Suddenly smiling, the young-looking woman sighed in relief.

"Yes, she can certainly help to calm her down." Shion said.

Marion had no idea what the black-haired woman meant since she did not elaborate further. However, it wouldn't be long before she found out.

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"SHIRONE-NYA! I CAN FEEL THAT YOU NEED ONEE-CHAN-NYA! THESE PEOPLE WON'T STOP MY SISTERLY LOVE-NYA!" A youthful voice yelled. "Nya? You are not stopping me-nya? Follow you? Nya? Sure... nya."

However, despite the claims of not being stopped, she seemed to have been easily let in. Not long after, a black-haired girl wearing a black kimono with white cat paws design was guided to the wreckage of the well. Nonetheless, she was not alone, a large group of girls from different ages followed after her. They looked everywhere with glistening eyes and curious expressions... a few of them seemed to be up to some mischief, but one glare from the black-haired girl was enough to make the girls restrain themselves. There seemed to be a clear relationship within the group.

Midway, the black-haired girl got impatient for some reason and ran in the direction of the well, and it did not take her long to arrive, she proceeded to grab the white cat and hug her. Shirone was bewildered at the beginning, but soon she changed into her human form and put a strong bravado of not saying anything.

"It's alright-nya. Onee-chan is here, she won't go anywhere so you can rest assured-nya." The black-haired girl, Kuroka, embraced her sister.

Shirone's strong bravado did not last long before tears started to spills from her eyes and she hugged back her sister.

"Onee-chan *sob* Nora is not here, I was afraid, he was gone, you were gone... I thought you didn't like Shirone anymore *sob* I didn't know what to do..." Shirone spoke in broken sentences.

The girl tried to maintain a composed demeanor, but she was actually scared on the inside. She might act brave, but she is just a small girl who has a sensitive heart that gets lonely easily.

Kuroka was surprised to be called 'Onee-chan' so easily, but she did not interrupt her sister's words, she let her speak as she gently caressed her hair. Despite her usual silly appearance, anyone who looked at her face and how she tried to appease her Imouto would say that she was a splendid Onee-chan.

Watching from some distance away with a warm expression, Shion nodded. Marion beside her noticed that and couldn't help but ask.

"Did you inform the Himejimas about the girls?" Marion said in a curious tone.

Did the black-haired woman predicted this and talked to the exorcist? She had some guts and persuasive power since she managed to convince an exorcist group to let a group of Youkais from an unknown origin into their camp.

"Who knows, I did not leave this place at any time, and you should be completely aware of that." Shion smiled mysteriously.

The girl with the maid outfit was aware, and that is why she asked. It was strange that no one made a fuss. Lowering her line of sight, Marion noticed the threads coming out of Shion's sleeves. It raised a question, how had Shion be aware of the girls' arrival. Shion looked and Marion looking at the threads so she decided to come clean.

"I am communicating in real-time with some spiders. They are my eyes... as for your question, I simply lied saying that Shiki-sama had been expecting her, and how Suzaku-sama was eager to meet Kuroka-sama again given that they were friends." Shion stuck her tongue out.

Mario was speechless, wasn't she basically admitting that she lied to get what she wanted?

"Sometimes, you have to do these kinds of things. This is nothing, when we used to travel with Saya-sama, we all did many similar kinds of stuff, and you could say that on this occasion I only half lied, Saya-sama was able to shamelessly say even more crazy stuff that was so far away from the truth." Shion muttered in a joyful tone.

She had to admit it, Marion had been had. She initially believed to have found a serious and reliable person after meeting Shion, but it seemed that she lacked a few screws as well. Her soon-to-be Master also had a slightly chaotic personality, but it seemed that it was hereditary.

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...

Holding Shirone who went back to her cat form in her arms, Kuroka listened carefully to the explanation of Nora's whereabouts.

Biting her lips, she looked in the well's direction before shaking her head.

"Shizuku-nya..." Kuroka called out.

Instantly, Shizuku who was wearing her kunoichi outfit appeared.

"Do I need to look for Shiki-sama?" Shizuku asked.

The blonde-haired girl seemed ready to depart at any time.

"That spell-nya, can you use it again-nya?" Kuroka questioned.

Furrowing her eyebrows, Shizuku did not reply at once, her nonchalant and jester air was gone, the girl pondered for a long time before talking again.

"...I have never been taught how to use it, or any of the abilities related to my father. I cannot guarantee the result, if things go wrong, I could level the whole mountain and crush Shiki-sama to dead." Shizuku warned in a somber tone. "I have a 98% chance of losing control and going berserk. I will leave the decision to you."

Shizuku spoke in a serious tone, the aura she gave off was even a little dignified, something that Nora would find difficult to accept if he was here. Nonetheless, Kuroka had witnessed her like this before so she was not surprised. Shion who was aware of the girl's identity was not surprised either and Marion who never met her before assume that this was her usual self.

Shion did not interfere with Kuroka's actions, the most she will do is to offer her support. The black-haired girl was important for Nora so she was worth protecting and helping out. Going for what she heard from her friend Sora, the girl was a candidate for Nora's mate so Shion would protect Saya's daughter-in-law, however, the person in question might not appreciate that she helped the catgirl too much.

"Black cats are lucky-nya, so everything will be ok-nya." Kuroka said, at last, she seemed to be looking forward to whatever Shizuku might do.

The blonde-haired girl, however, had her aura back to her nonchalant self and was sweating.

"...who told you that black cats are lucky? They are signs of bad luck, you know?" Shizuku retorted.

Even for someone like her, that claim seemed reckless, yes, even for someone like her.

"Oi." Shizuku complained, but no one around her could tell what she was trying to do.

"Ahem! Nora-nya told me that I was his lucky catgirl... although he might've said that Shirone-nya was included." Kuroka spoke in a sweet tone. "That aside, let us look for an appropriate place-nya. Nora-nya believed in you, and I will do it too-nya."

Blinking bewildered, Shizuku smiled a second later.

"Alrighty! You lot! Get your paws moving! We are going wild here, but we cannot involve humans or anyone innocent. I will probably cause a mess, so your job is to prevent that mess from spreading, you hear me!?" Shizuku exclaimed.

Pointing at the group that followed Kuroka, she unilaterally ordered them. The girls were somehow moved so they got hyped up and cheerfully raised their hands.

"YES-NYA!"

"FOLLOW SUBORDINATE NUMBER 1-NYA!"

"LET'S ALL FIND ANEGO'S MATE-NYA! THEN SHE CAN SHARE HIM WITH US-NYA."

Different yells were heard, and one rather worrisome shout at the end, but Kuroka decided to punish that catgirl at heart later, for now, she needed to find her favorite boy (the only boy) and reunite with him.

Leading the girls, Shizuku was more hyped than usual. Kuroka took Shirone with her, but before she left, the girl bowed in Shion's direction and directed a confused look at Marion.

For some reason, Marion felt nervous for a moment but she quickly got rid of those thoughts. She was feeling rather useless and that burdened her mind.

"If you are feeling useless, then you should find something to do. I understand human limitations, but even so, if you plan to follow Shiki-sama then you need to be more active. Wounds like yours, they are just scratches. Of course, that is only comparing them to Shiki-sama's." Shion commented. "I had the opportunity to fight under his orders, and I happened to catch sight of it. He was riddled with injuries, yet he continued to press forward. It reminded me of his mother. They are both the foolish type, so they will get into trouble more times than you would think. I recommend that you leave now if you are feeling intimidated, but if you feel like you want to prove something to Yasaka-sama... don't give up. Right now, you won't be able to help Shiki-sama in a fight, but you can look for other ways to do it."

Shion directed those words at Marion and walked away, on a closer look, most of the threads from her sleeves were gone. She had started to leave in the direction of the remaining one.

"...thank you for the advice." Marion muttered, but she was not sure if the youkai had heard her.

She tried to digest everything she heard before she thought of what she could do.

Watching as the Himejima's moved from one place to another, she started to consider the possibilities of assisting him in the aftermath. She had never thought of giving up serving him, and if the choice was on her hands, she was not going to run away.

MC's POV

In a foul mood, I walked back dragging the red-haired youth. Unfortunately, he did not know much. I might not know the most 'persuasive' way to extract information, but I think I was able to get what could be gotten from him. I prevented him from screaming by pressing his vocal vowels so I managed to keep things quiet enough. Even when stabbed him whenever he resisted answering, and then mended the wound, he gave up after repeating the process a couple of times.

Tomoe-san gave me a complicated look, but I foreign ignorance. I wanted to learn if they knew about Kaa-san, but this guy was useless. I did learn a few things about these people. They were apparently part of a shady cult, one rather dangerous if you ask me. However, in my old world, there were some crazy cultists already, I can't even begin to imagine how much did the danger bar was raised in a world where supernatural stuff is real. Well, I never witness any supernatural happenings in my old world so I am basing my reasoning on that.

"How is she?" I asked.

I did not want Tomoe-san to touch the topic of what I did so after throwing the guy on the ground, I immediately went to check on Akiko, but I asked for anything that could've happened while I was away.

"No, she is sleeping soundly." Tomoe-san replied.

Sighing, I was not sure what to do with her somber tone. It must be shocking imagine what I did.

Ah, I think I have just what I need to cheer her up so I started to look for it in my pouch. It did not take too much time for me to pull it out and hand it to her.

"Huh? What... is... this?" Tomoe-san asked.

The girl had a pair of glistening eyes as she stared at the game console I put on her hands. This one belongs to me so I don't have to worry if something happens to it. I don't have the guts to give her an extra one I have of Shirone. She will kill me if I lost it. That girl is quite merciless sometimes.

"It is a handheld console, you can play games with it. I mentioned it to you before, right? You can try it while we wait for this girl to wake up." I said.

Tomoe-san was awkwardly trying to use it so I decided to give her a hand.

"Ohhhhh!" Tomoe-san cheered when I turned it on.

I didn't know what to say. She will be surprised a lot.

Part 3

3rd Person POV

"Are you sure you want to start right away? I will be fulfilling what I said, but don't you want to rest some more? You were at death's door just about an hour ago, your body is not in conditions to move just yet." Nora muttered with concern.

A purple-haired was trying to stubbornly stand up, and she had trouble in doing so.

"I can't just uselessly lay down here, I might not be able to run, but even if I have to crawl, I will make myself useful." Akiko said in a determined tone. "My enemy is right there after all."

She sent a vicious glare at the unconscious figure of the red-haired youth that was tied with vines.

Tomoe who was remained silent was using the game console to play, but her mind was not on it since she would glance at Nora and Akiko's exchange from time to time. The red-eyed girl was worried but saved her opinion regarding the actions that the purple-haired intended to do.

*Sigh*

Nora shook his head but he nonetheless helped Akiko to stand up. It was awkward given the height difference, but no one minded it. Akiko had a thankful expression as she looked at Nora.

"Thank you..." Akiko whispered.

In response, Nora sighed again.

When he arrived at the youth's location, he did not stop but instead dragged the youth with him as he walked. Akiko was confused, but she did not question the boy. However, she later understood what he wanted to do.

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...

"Feel free to do as you please." Nora spoke.

He had thrown some seeds on the ground and plants had grown and tied the youth on the cave's walls.

He observed Akiko's eager expression, but he questioned whether she will be able to do the deed. He pulled a knife from his pouch and put it on Akiko's hands. However, the girl was unable to grip the knife tightly.

"...kuh." Akiko groaned and tears spilled from her eyes.

She begrudgingly tried to tighten the grip over and over, but she failed every time. Her glare at the youth was as vicious as it could get, but she was unable to do anything.

When she was feeling frustrated, a hand appeared and held hers helping her to hold the knife in a proper grip.

"To be honest, I wish that you didn't have to go through this. I can do it in your stead. I was thinking of doing that since the beginning." Nora said.

Shaking her head, Akiko did not accept.

"Regardless of your reasons, it is my revenge. I want to do it with my own hands." Akiko replied.

Close to the youth, the girl directed one last grim look at one of the guys who tormented her and she pushed her arms. She and Nora instantly stabbed the youth's throat. He woke up, but he could not even scream.

The girl smiled widely when she saw him agonizing, and her blue eyes took a red tinge for a split of a second, but it soon disappeared. Nora who noticed this did not say anything, but he inwardly wondered if she was originally such a sadistic person.

"How does it feel to be on the helpless side for once?" Akiko whispered to the youth. "I can remember that you laughed at me when I cried because I could do nothing to escape. Hey, why don't you cry? Ah, never mind. You are already doing it... remember that feeling, as you fall straight to hell."

Twisting the knife, she caused some pain to her ex-captor before his eyes lost their light.

"...Sorry." Akiko apologized.

Directing an apologetic smile at the boy, she felt a little restless and what he might say to her. However, he only helped her to lean to the other side of the cave's walls before pulling a towel from his pouch. He did not hesitate in his actions and started to wipe off the blood from the girl's face.

"...you did what you had to do. There is no need to apologize. Someone like me who has taken other people's lives has no right to judge you, not to mention that I have no idea what you went through. Right now, you need people to support you, not to scold you. However, I am not sure if I should be praising you so... I will only ask this. How do you feel?" Nora asked with a wry smile.

Akiko was frankly a little bewildered. Was this person really a child? However, she was only surprised and curious, the girl did not care whether he was a child or someone acting like one. Her feelings would not change, she was thankful to him. Akiko was partly surprised at the way she acted, for a moment, hatred took over her mind and she could only think of causing pain to her enemy. Nevertheless, now that he was dead, she was back to normal. It was a bitter feeling that she could not deny when her 'dear' siblings called her a monster anymore. That said-

"I feel refreshed." Akiko exclaimed.

Nora had stopped his actions at some point and extended his hand with a towel to Akiko, who was confused why he was doing that until he awkwardly pointed at her body. Her ragged outfit was covered in blood, but thanks to its tattered state, a great deal of blood had fallen on her skin.

Nodding at him for his thoughtfulness or perhaps his shyness to put his hands on her while she was distracted, Akiko started to wipe herself clean.

"That's is all that matters." Nora said.

Akiko remembered that he had said something about a deal, and she wanted to ask for more details about it and inform him on her way to pay him back, but he got distracted while staring at the empty tunnel. He looked serious for a moment and when he turned to look at her, Nora hesitated before speaking.

"It might be inconsiderate of me given your weakened state, but I think we need to move. Some people came with us before we got separated, so reuniting with them is important. If you could-" Nora spoke but he was interrupted.

"It is ok." Akiko said at once.

"Huh?" Nora bewildered muttered.

"Anything you wish, I will follow. Well, it is not like I can do much on my own though." Akiko stuck out her tongue. "However, even if I were in my best condition, I will follow what you ask of me."

Her serious tone made Nora swallow any other questions he could've asked so he only offered a hand, and Akiko gladly took it. Helping the girl, they both walked back to talk with Tomoe.

...

...

...

"Shiki-sensei, are you sure they are this way?" Tomoe questioned.

After a brief talk to the red-eyed girl, they had agreed to reunite with their friends. It had been a while since they had separated, and some anxiousness was starting to bother Tomoe so she gladly agreed to it. She wanted to help Akiko to walk given that they were of similar heights, but she was outrightly rejected so Tomoe took upon herself to walk forward in case they found anything nasty. Nevertheless, they continued to advance by calmly following Nora's navigation. The girl had wondered about it before, but he seemed to know a specific way to follow, or he was the type to never hesitate and follow his guts whenever he took a decision.

"Hmm, yes." Nora replied as such and he kept his mouth shut.

He had been rather silent since he came back with Akiko so Tomoe wondered if something bad had happened during that time. The bloody stains on his clothes were enough to tell her what happened to the red-haired youth so she had an idea what might've happened there, yet he did not seem to be affected by the earlier deaths of cultists.

Since he was not speaking a lot, Tomoe assumed that he was not in the mood so she also talked less.

...

...

...

Continuos time walking led the group to join their other members. However, the mood was not precisely joyous. Sitting side by side, just outside a room, Suzaku and Musashi had downcast expressions. Sounds were heard from the room, and Art was not present.

Nora put Akiko down beside Suzaku before kneeling in front of her, Tomoe who felt the strange mood did the same thing but she kneeled in front of Musashi.

"Hey, I am glad you are ok." Nora spoke in a gentle tone.

Raising her chin with his hand, he flashed a smile to the girl who had tears running down her face.

"They are..." Suzaku muttered but she did not finish her words.

She started to sob and Nora took her into a hug. Musashi bit her lip and tried to contain her sobs, but Tomoe mimicked Nora and hugged her, before also crying.

"They *sob* ...are all, dead." Suzaku spoke.

"I see." Nora replied and patted her back until she calmed down.

Akiko kept her mouth shut, more than once she thought about saying something when she noticed that Nora's mood was strange, but words failed to reach her mouth so she just quietly waited for whatever is going to happen next.

...

...

...

"You are good? Ok, I will go check that 'guy'." Nora said as he released the girl in his arms.

She clung to him and did not let him go initially, but he gently patted her back until she let him go. Suzaku looked at him with a sad face and she opened her mouth, but Nora put a finger on her lip to signal her to not say anything.

"I know that you want me to stay here, but I cannot do that." Nora spoke. "It will be ok, I can handle it."

He stood up and caressed Tomoe and Musashi's hair for a bit before going inside the room. Before even taking the first step inside, his face warped into a stoic look.

Akiko who did not let her eyes lose Nora for one second was able to see it and she felt that he was preventing any emotion from being shown. The girl questioned whether he did it to hide what he was thinking or he just used it to deal with what he was seeing. She could easily detect a bloody smell so she had an idea of what could be found there.

...

...

...

"Do you need a hand?" Nora muttered as he walked amidst the room.

Being careful with each step, he did not step on any of the numerous bodies laying around.

"...Is that sarcasm?" Art's reply sounded thorny.

Nevertheless, Nora walked until he found himself before Art who's outfit was bloody all over. He had stained with blood his wear as he kept moving around the bodies.

"No." Nora shook his head and looked behind him to confirm that no one heard them. "But, you are practically blind. Are you hoping to find her body using your other senses? If you really want to confirm whether your little sister is here or not, you need someone else to help you. Don't let your stubbornness get in the way to help your Imouto, you made a contract with me, so make use of it. Ask me to help you, I will be your eyes."

Nora scolded slightly before kneeling beside the body Art was checking.

"Tell me how she looks again." Nora said.

Art kept the silence going for a bit before speaking.

"She has blonde straight hair that reaches her shoulders, and blue eyes, she is younger than you for a couple of years so she is shorter than you." Art replied.

"This one has black hair." Nora commented before moving onto another body.

His movements were not slow, not fast, he steadily checked and confirmed the characteristics of each body.

Art found 'his' actions rather useless now that Nora was actively doing the confirmation.

"Do you know about Sacred Gears?" Art suddenly spoke.

"Tools made by the Biblical God and granted to humans. Only humans or those who had have human heritage can be said to have one." Nora indifferently replied but his hands did not stop.

Anger was plastered on Nora's face while he checked the next body, but Art did not see this. Taking a deep breath, a sigh escaped Nora's lips as he saw the remains of a young child.

"Yeah, that is how it usually is. However, some people have found a way to extract those from humans and use them. Devils, Fallen Angels, and even other humans." Art explained. "My Sacred Gear is a bit unique so people have no interest in it, however, Alice's... it is not your regular one. It is one of the fragments of a Sacred Gear above the rest of them, a Longinus. A Sacred Gear with the power to kill even Gods."

This time, Nora paused his actions and turned to look at Art. Unconcerned by the gaze, Art continued.

"I have done my best to keep her safe, but people still sought her. While we both are being chased, I always feared for her safety the most. Now, that fear has become a reality." Art gloomily said.

"I see." Nora muttered and resumed his actions.

It irritated Art a little since 'he' thought that Nora did not care.

"You don't really care huh. I guess that is to be expected from a devil." Art criticized.

Ignoring the words said by Art, Nora continued to check the pile of dead bodies.

"At the end, you only seek to get your end of the deal. My life was it? I am sorry to inform you that-" Art spoke in a condescending tone, but his words were cut short by Nora.

"You are dying? Yeah, I know. Your body is holding up, but it is in a messy state. Your sacred gear or perhaps those operations you received are the cause, but your body is shutting down." Nora turned around. "It is not something you see often when you hear someone offering their lives to you after all."

Shrugging his shoulders, he moved onto the next body.

"Then why did you accept my offer? It is useless to have me around when I will probably die in a few months." Art questioned.

"You know, I only said that you were dying, I never said you were going to die. I should be able to fix you up, I think, huh, probably." Nora spoke in an uncertain tone.

Not convinced, Art snorted.

"Too bad, without my sister I have no reason to play with you." Art said.

"You are in luck then, she is not here." Nora spoke as he stood up.

Sighing deeply he gave one last look at the bodies he arranged neatly on rows after moving them while he checked.

"Missing people huh, Suzaku-sa, ahem, Suzaku mentioned something about it, but it seems the cause were those cultists all along." Nora pulled a towel to clean himself from the blood, and he threw one to Art. "Raising the range always has a greater burden, and even though I got used compared to when I started *sigh* eyes of mine, please hold on."

Whispering in an inaudible voice, Nora stared at the walls.

"Earth, earth, water, huh? Water, how scary. Water, water, earth. Cultists sleeping quarters, bathroom, kitchen, weird altar, cultists detected. Oh, those mushrooms? The guys from before, good." Nora mumbled. "Say there, how do you feel about hunting down some cultists? If we catch them, they might give us some Intel about your Imouto, well, we might need to force it out ourselves but you catch my drift."

Art who was silently rejoicing about the possibility of 'his' sister being alive since she was not among the bodies here took a while to answer, but 'he' got reinvigorated quickly.

"Lead the way, I will be right behind you." Art replied.

...

...

...

"Nora!? What happened to your eyes?" Suzaku almost screamed.

Seeing Nora whose eyes were bleeding scared her greatly, and her worry gauge was filled at once. The rest of the people who noticed him also sent him worried looks, but one purple-haired one sent a threatening look to Art who was behind him, Akiko wondered if the masked 'guy' was the one who harmed her savior.

"We got more important stuff to take care of." Nora spoke. "I will give chase to the cultists, those who cannot fight, stay here. But that look is from someone who would chase me in secret huh."

A unanimous nod was given to the boy who scratched his head.

"I will not trouble you, please take me with you." Akiko practically dragged her body close to Nora.

The boy quickly went to pick her up.

"How reckless, how do you plan to fight? I might not be able to help you." Nora questioned.

However, the purple-haired girl responded not with words but with actions. She took the knife Nora and she had used before and after tearing down a part of her ragged outfit, she tied the knife to her hand using her mouth to make a tight knot.

"I might not be able to hold it like a normal person, but even like this, I should be able to do something." Akiko flashed him a smile.

The boy smiled wryly at her reckless approach.

"Shiki-sensei, Tomoe will lend you her powers. Those people are dangerous and what they did here is something Tomoe cannot forgive easily." Tomoe declared.

"Eh? Sensei? Eh? What happened to the two of you when we separated? Ahhh! I don't know." Musashi shook her head. "Boy! This Musashi cannot forgive this either, I might lack my katana, but I am still a pretty skilled swordswoman. Take me along."

Three people already expressed their support and eagerness to join the fray, and the boy was sure what kind of answer he would get from the remaining one.

"Fufu, Nora is getting along nicely with a lot of people while I was gone." Suzaku flashed a smile that was not quite a smile. "You can count on me, I am Nora's 'friend' so I will always lend you a hand."

Nora sweatdropped at Suzaku's actions but he nodded nonetheless. Replying would probably make him lose no matter what he said.

"Disarm them first, we need to get some information from them." Nora said. "I will lead the way."

Suzaku got close to Nora to help him hold Akiko.

"Don't touch me." Akiko instantly said.

She clung onto Nora more. Action that made Suzaku irritated but she put on a polite and sweet smile regardless.

"Let this Musashi help you... or not, please, don't look at me with those cold eyes." Musashi who was full of drive was instantly defeated by the glare she received.

"...this party stands no chance, at this rate we will be wiped out." Art bluntly commented.

"Hey, now. Don't jinx us." Nora rebuked.

Nonetheless, he received a snort from Art.

Perhaps, Art was not far off from the truth.

...

...

...

After some coaxing from Nora, Akiko was handed to Tomoe, the purple-haired girl was reluctant, but she was not unwilling to be carried by Tomoe. Nonetheless, she expressed absolute disapproval to be handed to anyone else. She even claimed to prefer crawling so she meant business.

In that manner, Nora took the lead, Musashi and Art followed behind him, while Tomoe who carried Akiko was on the back with Suzaku as support.

Part 4

MC's POV

I have to admit that while Art was just being sarcastic, he was half right. The way we were acting would make us get wiped out.

Akiko-san is particularly a tough case. No matter how much I would like to believe that I am becoming so handsome that the girls fall for me just by winking at it is not realistic to do so. Her attachment to Tomoe-san and me is not normal. Well, finding us more reliable is not strange, but the way she outright rejected Suzaku-san and Musashi-san is quite concerning. Her distrust for strangers must've been warped thanks to what happened to her. That said, for now, I am worried about her general mental health and... that she was too eager to kill that youth. Social disorders and an unusual thirst for blood make a dangerous combination.

My next worry is Suzaku-san, Musashi-san, and Art, their auras were quite disturbed when I found them, and even now there are some worrisome reactions. That room affected them more than what they think, and I hope they can fight perfectly fine.

I am not sure what to feel when I think that the most reliable member right now is Tomoe-san, the girl whose buttocks got stuck because she wanted to prove that she was slim when she thought I implied that she was fat.

*Sigh*

I continued to run at a pace that everyone was able to follow as I navigated this place. My eyes are killing me from overworking my ability, but I need to avoid a fight against those creatures or the delay would allow the cultists to escape. For several reasons, I sealed that room again using a few plants just in case the creatures wanted to feast on the bodies lying there.

As I ran, I tried to recover my Ki by gathering it in my hands like I used to do in the facility. Part of my attention is focused on it so I have been able to recover my Ki reserves somehow. I basically emptied them when I tried to save Akiko-san. I started to recover it by meditating where we saved the girl, but it was not enough time for a full recovery. Even though I thought the process was slow, I received a begrudging glare from Tomoe-san who perfectly (?) used the term 'cheat' when she told me that it was fast enough.

...

...

...

There were a few things that bothered me. Putting aside the new feeling of hatred against these people I developed. I lacking their firepower for the scale of things they are doing. It might be me overthinking like always, but this was probably directed by someone of much higher standing. The man I faced before seems like he is above the others, but preferred to run before trying to kill us. Someone like that is not the type to have planned such a large-scale plan.

I had observed him transforming his subordinate into that monster by making him swallow a little thing with a marble-like appearance but seed-sized. If wiping us out was truly what he sought, he could've made more of his people swallow those. He is sloppy, given that they had been trying to erase any evidence of their involvement or actions so far, I have found more than enough stuff laying around carelessly with my Clairvoyance. I think he is the perfect person to catch and make him spill stuff. His life being threatened should be a good incentive.

3er Person POV

Killing their stepping sounds as much as they could, Nora's group approached the cultists. They were in sight so the green-eyed boy's group turned off their lighting to avoid being discovered. However, what had the cultists busy enough to not detect anyone coming close was their concentration on their current task, and that was the activation of a magic circle.

"How could you lose the catalyst!? Without it, reaching the reunion point is impossible. This thing will send us to some random location."

"Sir, I could swear to Our Glorious God that I left it here. I wouldn't dare to play with such a thing."

"I would kill you right now if you didn't know how to use it better than everyone here..."

An almost hysterical voice yelled to someone. The louder voice belonged to a black-cloaked man who had several mushrooms growing from his left arm and said left arm remained hanging no matter how the man moved.

"Where are those fools!? They had to bring the seeds we managed to nurture here. Our enemies will catch up to us soon... *Tsk*"

The figure kept throwing complaints one after another, and the other guy who had the same outfit could only listen or agree with what the other party said.

They were not the only ones there, close to 30 other people wearing the same outfits were gathered there. Each one took care of a different task. They were located in a wide and large space so there was more than enough place to move around. Crates laid around the place, and many items were kept inside. There was even the sound of water and located at one side of the space, a deep opening where water was running could be seen if you leaned close. However, everyone in the space seemed to keep their distance from such a place. An old sign that warned everyone of the danger from getting close was dangerous was stationed there, although it looked that parts of the sign were faded and it did not explain why it was like that.

"Sir, what about the girl...?"

"Ah, she? I am not sure why she was brought here, but the Deacon never mentioned anything about her, he didn't even appear. Let her be, it was probably for his strange hobby of collecting young girls, it was nothing to take note of if we were not informed."

"But, Sir, what if the Deacon comes...?"

"He is just a crazy guy who was thrown out from the church of those guys, he only got his post because he gave us information. He has no real power backing him up so you have nothing to fear. He might be able to use the power given to him to punish us if we disobeyed a command from a Bishop, but never for a selfish reason."

Their conversation continued in such a manner when they noticed a small party of their people approaching.

"Sir, we have brought everything as you asked, we are ready to depart at any time."

The last man who spoke had the hood of his cloak lowered and had a happy smile as carried the bag in his hands, but as he raised it to show it to the man with mushrooms on his arm, he paused.

It was not simply because he did not want to walk forward or anything of that level, the man just collapsed on the spot, and the small party that came with him were the same. They all reacted the same way... because an arrow had lodged itself on their heads one after another.

It did not take long for the man with the mushrooms to react by rolling on the ground.

"ATTACK! THEY ARE HERE, GET YOUR ARSES MOVING! KILL THEM!"

Yelling in an incredibly loud and fearful voice, the man used one crate as a covering and ordered the rest of the people.

It did not take long for more arrows to rain down on those who did not take cover. While many of those failed, the ones who landed on someone released vines that strangled them.

From the cave tunnel that the arrows came from, two figures dashed at full speed and attacked the closest black-cloaked figures. Musashi and Art were the firsts to go out, and they did not take long before they caused casualties on their enemy's side. The two who carried sword-shaped branches did not stay close to the tunnel but instead spread aside.

Following their action, a large firebird flew from the cave tunnel and engulfed another enemy.

Spells such as dark spears or balls with an ominous aura were thrown at Musashi and Art, but Musashi numbly evaded and Art slashed them apart with 'his' golden aura.

When he noticed that things were beginning to look like what happened before, the man with mushrooms went to look for the bag from the first man that was killed. Fearing to suffer the same fate as the man, he crawled, not daring to raise his head too high.

"You want to kill us? It won't be that easy. Hehe."

Grimly laughing, he tasted dusk a few times given his paralyzed arm made him lose his balance, but he did not stop his advance.

A new pair left the tunnel, Suzaku and Nora walked side by side. Nora was holding his bow and Suzaku had several flying Firebirds around her.

"Suzaku, aim at that guy crawling." Nora muttered.

Pointing in one direction, Nora then continues to shoot arrows. Suzaku soon followed his words and sent the flying shikigamis away.

Lastly, the last pair of the group left the tunnel.

"We should stay inside, we might get in their way." Tomoe exasperatedly said.

"I know that I am dead weight, that is why you don't have to worry about me. Just throw me near them. I will do the rest." Akiko recklessly proposed.

Face palming, middle-schooler summoned all her patience to not knock the crazy girl on the head. Before the girl made her do something she continuously considered, Tomoe strode to Nora's side.

"Sensei, I can't. Please take this child, she is all yours." Tomoe handed over Akiko before joining Musashi on her effort.

"Oi, what kind of misunderstanding are you trying to cause?" Nora complained.

Before he could mutter more complaints, he stopped shooting arrows to give covering fire to Musashi and Art and extended his arm to one side before he wrote in the air a sign, when he finished, a fireball of the size of his head was sent flying in that direction.

A sneaky black-cloaked individual was getting closer to them and planned to attack them while they were distracted but Nora had been aware of him.

"You took a very long time to get here, next time come faster. I was getting tired of waiting to give you that." Nora glared at the man.

"Ahhhhh!"

The man screamed from the pain of getting his face hit by the attack, and he covered his face. Nora planed to shot the man, but he stopped with a frown on his face when Akiko dragged her body to the man and started to attack him.

"Stop! Hiiiii! Forgive me! No-ooo..."

It did not take long for the cries of pain to stop. Nora sighed when Akiko who was covered in blood had turned around with a bloody smile but when she noticed him, Akiko immediately put an ashamed expression.

"I am sorry..." Akiko muttered in a pitiful tone.

Shaking his head, Nora did not comment and shot an arrow that hit its mark, the head of a magic-user that was making the bodies of his dead comrades rise.

"Nora, these people are dangerous... Necromancy is not your everyday magic. Learning about it is difficult, yet this small group had one, no, two!" Suzaku hastily pointed at another individual.

Nora immediately shot him, but he had a wall-like shield made of magic to stop the arrow. It withstood several more arrows and Suzaku's Firebirds throwing themselves at it before it broke down. There were no more arrows and the magician almost sighed in relief before Art had jumped on him and slashed his body apart with 'his' golden aura.

"I know that I am asking for too much, but that man, the one who you told us to keep alive until you interrogated him. Could you let him in our custody for more questioning?" Suzaku asked.

"Damn it, Suzaku!" Nora yelled.

It made Suzaku jump in surprise, she did not expect such words from her simple but shameless request. However, when she fearfully looked at Nora's face, she did not see him looking at her, but into another direction, and following his gaze she saw-

At some point, the man Nora had warned her about had grabbed the bag and feed the severely injured-but-not-dead cultists with the contents of the bag.

Just like before, ominous auras sprouted everywhere.

"Tomoe, Musashi, Art!" Nora called out. "Use the opportunity while they are transforming to attack them."

Biting her lips, Suzaku cursed her carelessness.

"Now it is not the time to worry about strange stuff, kill as many of those guys as you can... there are less than a third but we must get that number close to zero. The cultist can provide buffs to the creature's and that is more than we can handle." Nora pulled another quiver of arrows from his pouch.

Nodding at that, Suzaku and Nora worked together on killing cultists.

...

...

...

"We should've incinerated the bodies too." Nora said with a bitter smile.

Most of the crates were destroyed, embedded in one of the walls, the man with mushrooms was lodged and did not move. When the creatures were transforming, one went berserker and sent him flying, and now his fate was unknown.

Everyone from Nora's party had taken their distance from the transforming creatures, or rather, creatures.

"Sensei, isn't this what you told me about before? Nightmare mode! Yes, Tomoe can understand it clearly now." Tomoe nodded deeply moved (?).

"Glad you are taking this so nonchalantly." Nora sighed with a defeated expression.

"Nora, putting that idiot aside. What do you think we should do? I still can't leave this place, but we can't move forward with that thing on the way." Art pointed forward.

It had been a few minutes since the creature's appeared, an abnormality occurred. One of them had begun to prey on the other ones, and it continued to do so until there was only one creature left. When that happened, its appetite did not seem to be gone yet so it started to eat the dead bodies of what you would call his former colleges. When it first transformed, it had lost its hands, and instead, a pair of sickles had grown there. A large mouth had opened on his chest... and every time he ate another creature, a new extension grew from his back, similar to a torso with arms and legs. The current creature looked similar to a centipede. One made from humans parts.

"You plan to leave it alone!? Are you insane? That thing is not your everyday monster, if you let it roam freely and it somehow escapes this underground area, who knows how many casualties there will be!" Suzaku angrily exclaimed.

Art did not bother to pay attention to Suzaku and 'he' only looked at Nora, or rather, the masked 'guy' just turned 'his' head to him. However, the boy was not paying attention to them, he stared at the ceiling and had a difficult expression for a moment.

"How about we calm down? I don't think he meant that, he is just being realistic about fighting it, we lack the proper equipment to take it down. I don't have a good sword, ah, I am not saying this wooden sword is bad, so please do not get angry, boy." Musashi stood between Suzaku and Art.

Fearing that they start fighting among themselves, Musashi tried to pacify each side. Her goodwill was not a bad thing, but unfortunately, Art was not the type to read the intentions of others, or rather, 'he' had few things 'he' cared about.

"I am sorry, but I cannot stay here knowing that my sister is close by. I have priorities, and unfortunately worrying about strangers is not among them." Art bluntly said.

Before Musashi could once again try to say something, Suzaku lashed out.

"Don't you fight one before? You even helped us to take care of it, fighting side by side." Suzaku chewed out.

"Do you think I did it willingly? I was just fighting for my life out there."Art raised 'his' voice.

"Enough! Tomoe will not allow this to continue. Save it for later, you two are not children to start quarreling in this kind of situation." Tomoe intervened. "I will make you stop with my own hands if I have to."

Using a louder tone, Tomoe pushed Musashi away and yelled. Her strong tone surprised her friend as much as being pushed and made Musashi put on a doubt expression. Tomoe was usually docile and collected; it was strange that she acted like this.

Feeling that everything was strange, she checked on Akiko and she looked to be in pain with her hands on her head. One hand was put on top of the purple-haired girl, and she calmed down, her expression even looked calm and at ease.

Nora who had suddenly done that had a shiny magatama in his hands. Musashi has to use all her willpower to not scream the name of it, but she managed to shut her mouth. They had forbidden her to speak about those with anyone outside her organization, and that included the boy. However, she sighed in relief when she noticed what the boy was doing. It did not take him long to repeat his actions with Suzaku, Tomoe, and Art. After being in contact with the shiny magatama, they furrowed their eyebrows, and some even had apologetic expressions. The boy even put it on Musashi's hands for her to hold it as well. She wondered if he was unaware of the small stone's worth or he simply trusted her, but Musashi decided to think brightly and assume that he thought of her as a friend.

"What was that?" Art asked in a low tone.

Suzaku shook her head and pulled out an Ofuda from her pocket, the talisman had several kanjis that made even the diligent and intellectual Tomoe have trouble reading it. Suzaku recited a short verse in a whisper before it lit up and it expanded in a dome-like shape, covering the area where the party was.

"Everyone was acting rather aggressive, and I believe that that thing cause it." Nora pointed at the creature. "It is not simply laying there because it is sleeping; it has stopped moving because it wanted to distort our behavior, probably."

"So it made us unconsciously edgier? Does the range extend for a long-distance?" Art questioned.

"Do you think I have all the answers? Let us just assume that its range can reach far, so, will you lend a hand? I do not believe the c**p you said before about not caring about other people so don't use that excuses with me." Nora stared straight into Art's mask. "Do remember that one of the reasons you are alive and kicking is because I saved you and put you in perfect shape. I wouldn't do the same thing for a cold-blooded psychopath."

The sound of a clicking tongue was heard from behind the mask, and Art just nodded.

"So he even made that... to quiet down, as expected, the My Lord is amazing." Akiko muttered in a low tone.

No one paid attention to her except Nora who decided to ignore it.

"Tomoe-san, Musashi-san... you two?" Nora asked yet the answer he was looking for was given before he finished his question.

"I got your back!" Musashi said.

The girl put the wooden sword on her shoulder and gave a fearless smile. Nora thought that she looked rather dashing, but he saved his thoughts for himself or the girl might start boasting about herself again.

Tomoe nodded strongly, and Suzaku opened her eyes and smiled sweetly. Akiko forced herself and she stood up, forming a fist, she also nodded.

"A group of fools, huh." Nora smiled. "I will mark one place and we must keep it in there. I have a plan."

The boy did not explain, but there was not a voice that complained or did no contradict his words. The green-eyed boy found it odd, but he had other things to worry about at the moment.

3rd Person POV

"You damn monster *cough*"

An aged voice groaned in pain. His black cloak was a mess, and he was hanging on a tree. Threads were used to keep him in place, and his movements were sealed. However, he wouldn't be able to move even if he was free. His hands and feet were no longer attached to his body, and they were dispersed around the area. A fierce battle had occurred on this forest, and broken trees were laying all around.

Standing in front of him, with a folding fan used to cover her face, Shion observed his every movement.

"Oh my, that is not nice. Calling a lady such as myself like that. You truly lack manners." Shion said.

She raised a hand, and a thread was shot from there, it enveloped the older man and it tightened around him.

"Ahhh!"

The man screamed more but Shion Did not even bat an eyelid.

"Deacons these days are surprisingly weak." Shion commented.

"How did you know I was one...?"

Using the little strength that remained in his body, the man asked. He might look like a suspicious person, but the woman in front of him had attacked him and clearly identified his affiliation.

"You misunderstand, I am not interested in answering back and you do not have the right to question me." Shion coldly said. "You would get in the way of Shiki-sama so you must die."

Without waiting for the reply from the man, Shion pulled the thread and it tightened even stronger on the guy. It dug into his flesh and bones until it severed his whole body apart.

"Now, all that is left is to rescue that silly child. Sending the girls away was a good idea, I did not expect this kind of man to be walking around here, if he joined the rest down there, then Shiki-sama would've died. A deacon is more than he can handle now." Shion muttered.

She was about to walk away but she faltered and had to kneel.

"...perhaps it is the same for me. I am getting rusty." Shion said. "Just fighting for a short while left like this..."

She remained in her position for a long time.

3rd Person POV

"Are you sure?" Tomoe's hesitant voice was directed at Nora.

"Go wild." He replied.

Sighing, Tomoe grabbed Nora and threw him away, no, the correct phrase would be, threw him over the human-centipede. The creature was busy engaging Musashi and Suzaku who were working together to distract it. However, Nora did not fly away just for the fun of it, on his hands, he had a vine that kept growing longer as flew over the creature. Tomoe was holding the other end and she held it so it was not pulled along with the boy.

Landing safely on the other side, the boy immediately planted a tree, where he proceeded to tie the vine.

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On the way to the third vine, the creature reacted. It might be dull to not notice anything until now, it could've been worse and discovered the group's actions earlier, but it was not necessarily a good thing either, now it would change its focus on Nora who was flying on the air.

Using an inhuman movement of completely turning its torso 180 grades, the creature sent one of his sickle-like arms at Nora. It sent him flying and crashing against the warning sign, breaking it upon contact as he fell to the river.

"NORA!" "Boy!" "Sensei!" "MY LORD!"

Suzaku and the rest of the group yelled screamed, however, the black-haired girl did not maintain her position. She ran after him, but the creature found her flustered self easy to target so it crawled after her. Before it swung down its arms again, Art who was waiting for a moment to land a critical hit with 'his' sacred gear finally moved. 'He', who had been charging 'his' aura on 'his' wooden sword, jumped on the 'back' of the creature, evading the hands it had grown that tried to stop 'him' and slashed down the creature. Aiming at the neck of the human-centipede, Art swung down 'his' blade, but the creature reacted by tilting its body slightly so the slash only severed one of the sickle-like arms and part of the torso.

"GUuuuuuuAaaaaa."

A growl of pain was heard and the creature changed targets once again. It moved rather dull, only targeting those who hurt it or when it saw them with their guard down, however, it was easy to distract. Proved by Akiko who in a fit of rage grabbed a large crate about her size and threw it at it, her state became a bit crazed as she thoughtlessly attacked the creature. The crate crashed on its body, but it did not cause any damage. That, however, made it change targets again. In that manner, Tomoe started to throw anything such as crates or the trees that Nora grew at the creature, she was even more aggressive than how she usually acted, but Musashi, who knew her for a long time, did not point it out. Instead, she looked in the direction where Nora fell and bit her lips, then she turned her eyes to the creature.

Now that the centipede was missing one of those sickles, one of its sides was more vulnerable, so she ran around and targeted that side while it tried to attack Tomoe who swiftly evaded it. Art had the same idea since Musashi found 'him' running alongside her. She couldn't see the other party's eyes but she got the feeling that they both could coordinate without speaking. Each swinging their wooden blades (covered with their auras to make them sharper and resilient) they easily managed to sever those arms and legs it used to stand. However, they numbered dozens so it would take more than a few to cause the creature any significant damage.

It was a sudden unfortunate situation, but Art was on 'his' way to dodge before a groan escaped 'his' lips. Putting a hand on 'his' chest, 'he' did not move and stood there.

"...why now!?" Art complained.

Musashi wanted to lend a hand but she was already too far away to do that. Swinging its sickle down, the creature hit Art who awkwardly managed to put the blade in front of 'him' to receive the impact, however, the shockwave sent 'him' flying as well, following the same route as Nora, 'he' fell.

Musashi was discouraged and Tomoe as well, Suzaku had stopped attacking long ago and stared down looking for Nora but it was too dark to see anything.

"Oi, what the heck? Do you guys want to kill me or something? Don't you know that you need to throw ropes or something? You don't throw Arts!" Nora's voice sounded a bit far away, but he sounded to be in a good condition, enough to complain.

The sorrowful face that Suzaku had turned into a bright smile and she sighed in relief. Tomoe and Musashi did the same. Akiko who was going crazy by looking for things to throw also got a bit of her sanity back.

"Tomoe..." Musashi called out.

Tomoe nodded and pulled a strip of paper. It had a complicated magic circle written on it and just looking at it made the girl hesitate before she almost ripped it. Her actions were stopped by-

"Everyone, stay away from that thing!" Nora shouted. "Do not ask, just do it!"

Climbing the cliff-like fall, he slipped so he used his feet to push himself backward before he planted his feet on the air, and propelled forward enough to land on the ground safely. It made a strange sight, given that he had his tails wrapped around Art's waist. Unfortunately, the other 'guy' could not land like Nora, and 'he' crashed.

No one paid attention to that, they all followed Nora's words when there was a tremor, and the ceiling started to crack.

"Nyaaaaaaa!"

A strange cry full of willpower (?) was heard, and the ceiling fell. Different from before, it was not a collapse. It was proved by the pieces which crushed the creature, along with another creature made of rocks that had over three meters. It resembled a fox of over 3 meters but it was made of stones and earth... and it had a young girl riding on its back.

After the ceiling fell, sunlight peeked from the hole.

"Nya! Kuroka enters the scene-nya!" The young girl, Kuroka, stood proudly. "That thingie is the one. Shizuku-nya, attack!"

Pointing at the creature that had trouble getting up, Kuroka exclaimed. Following that, the stone fox pounded on the creature and used its claws to rip apart the creature.

To avoid getting mixed in the fight, Kuroka jumped away, and seeing that the ominous and creepy creature stood no chance, she began to look around with a tinge of anticipation.

Widening her eyes, she was quickly embraced by Nora.

"Weren't you training? It is dangerous here, Kuroka-chan." Nora light-heartedly reproached.

Despite his words, the longing from his tone could not be hidden so Kuroka did not take it to heart and hugged him back. However, they had to separate as there was something that pushed them apart.

"...I am here too." Shirone (cat form) said.

Jumping out from Kuroka's clothes, she changed into her human form before extending both hands to grab one another cat and pulling them to hug her.

"It is moving, but... shouldn't we finish with the creature ourselves?" Tomoe spoke for the rest of the group.

It made Nora turn around and watch as the rampaging stone fox had completely ripped apart the creature. It showed signs of the flesh joining back, but it was futile. The stone fox summoned rocks that flew and smashed apart any intent to recover. Nevertheless, it did not look like the stone fox was being careful, but rather, it was simply a feral action guided by instincts. The stone fox did not even notice how a piece of flesh was sent flying into the river.

Furrowing his eyebrows, Nora thought of following that piece of flesh but he hastily turned around to look behind him.

"Nya? What happened-nya? A bad guy-nya?" Kuroka noticed his actions and asked.

Shaking his head, the boy spoke.

"Do you think we are needed?" Nora pointed at the stone fox.

Tomoe shook her head vehemently.

"Shizuku-nya! Stop, come here-nya." Kuroka shouted.

When there was no other foe, the stone fox had turned to the black-cloaked individual stuck on the wall so Kuroka called out. The stone fox obeyed and started to get closer but it also began to break apart and by the time it reached the catgirl, only Shizuku with an exhausted look was left.

She could not mutter another word as she fell forward, Nora, Shirone, and Kuroka stopped her fall and made her lie down on the ground.

Giving one last hug to Kuroka, Nora walked to the guy on the wall.

"I know that you are awake, you cannot run so spill the beans. The girl, where is she?" Nora created an uncle and pointed it at the guy.

Giving priority to the little girl missing he asked first, however, he did not forget the other things he wanted to ask.

Behind him, while he was busy doing that. The rest of the group met each other, and they all looked each other in the eyes.

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Author's Notes

Sorry, way too many blackouts, today, or rather yesterday I got three, two at home and one at work so the signal was terrible along with the lack of battery on my phone.

Onto the story, you guys might've noticed a certain something I am hinting since a while ago, well, I will reveal it on the next chapter but I do wonder if you guessed, do leave your guess you where, I will read it, and going by that, who answered it right, I will do a short story of his or her chosen character.

That aside, this time it might look messy during the fight. It was the first time I wrote about so many characters fighting so I probably screwed up a lot. Gimme your advices about it so I could improve… or you can just tell what I did wrong.

Good day to you. Feel free to share your thoughts regarding the chapter.