Demonic Times of Yako
Chapter 14: We Could All Die
Warning: This chapter contains some bloody content and a sexually suggestive part. While not enough to make it a mature fanfic this chapter may be considered particularly darker than usual. I assure you it is in no way disturbing but if you are sensitive to bloody fights you may want to skip this chapter. The intensity has been increased for this chapter but if you skip it I will provide a summary of what happened next chapter.
Godai kept his eyes on the road as he tried his best to listen to the conversation behind him. Neuro and the others sat in the back of the limo excluding Aijara of the Osaka Museum who sat next to Godai. The atmosphere back there was gripping as Neuro hardly spoke, giving Yako plenty to worry about. Looking at Rom Piku, she asked with eyes what could be done but neither knew the answer.
"Neuro…are you going to be okay?" Yako asked, smiling gently.
"I'll be fine," he replied calmly, almost as if there was never a problem in the first place. "I have enough energy to watch over you and to retreat. Sai will be an easy target but Hireki is the true threat." Neuro explained.
"Just to warn you, Hireki is friends with someone named Lolita," Rom Piku stated. "I've read parts and pieces of Sai's and Ai's mind when they attacked us on the train. Lolita isn't a demon though so I guess we'll be okay."
"Wait, did you just say Lolita?" Godai asked, stopping the car at the red light.
"Yes," Rom Piku said.
"That's my girlfriend!!" Godai yelled. "She's dating a demon?!"
"You would be incorrect," Neuro said, giving Godai a shred of hope. "She was never your girlfriend from the beginning." Hope shredded to pieces. "She was obviously using you to get any kind of information on us. Luckily my Evil Stalker tells me you haven't said anything too crucial or else you could have placed us in harm's way. Maybe I should neuter you. Maybe damage you in a way that no woman would even consider dating you."
"I'm sorry! Dammit! I just lost a girlfriend you asshole!" Godai snapped. "What do I have to live for anymore?"
"If you're going to be depressed, do it after this case then you can kill yourself wherever you want," Neuro grinned, kicking the back of Godai's chair, annoying him to no end. Yako was glad to see the puzzle eater back to his normal self, obviously whatever they were up against had the uncanny ability to strike fear in Neuro. If that was true, Yako was more scared than ever but what did Neuro have to lose that caused him so to silently calculate everything?
"I never really imagined anyone stronger than you Neuro," Yako said. "Especially if you ate the best puzzles in Hell, technically there should be no way for Hireki to expand his powers."
"The reason you can't imagine someone stronger is because Sai and myself are your range of knowledge. As for Hireki, you are ignorant of his ability," Neuro grinned. "The puzzle eater is an enigmatic being that few understand. Our origins and true nature are unknown even to us. Numerous demons have researched and eventually an essential discovery was made." Yako and Rom Piku leaned closer, making sure to pay close attention to what Neuro would say.
"Each puzzle eater is born with a unique ability. Hireki is no different," Neuro continued, crossing his leg over atop the other. "His ability is to absorb whatever power and knowledge of a person who he kills or eats the mystery of. That's why he was after you." Looking at Rom Piku, Neuro's explanation was beginning to clear the air about the enemy they were facing. Hireki had been growing in strength from gaining more unique abilities from demons and humans. Yako began to suspect that Sai may be next if he can't get Neuro yet. "If he did kill Rom Piku and take her power he would be able to read every movement and thought I would make along with solving my mystery instantly. Rom Piku is one of his keys to my death."
"Well…what special ability do you have?" Yako asked.
"I've decided to not tell you," Neuro smirked, patted her roughly on her head. "If Hireki did manage to catch you he could easily torture the information out of you. For now the best tactic is to keep it a secret lest he prepare himself better when I finally use it." It was coming together now, the puzzle eaters, the esoteric race that plagued the Demon World.
Appearing from nowhere, the only discovered similarities between them were their need for mysteries, unique ability and special forms specialized for every puzzle eater. But how could a creature, any organism for that matter, suddenly appear out of nowhere with no parents? Neuro then popped five cards from his sleeve, unfolding them before the girls. "In Hell we have a ranking system of power," Neuro explained. "Every day the system is updated to reveal who is the strongest in the Demon World. The top five in this system are known as the Hell Royals."
"The Hell Royals?" the girls muttered, watching as Neuro flipped the girls over, revealing pictures of demons on it. Neuro was one of them.
"The Hell Royals, from strongest to weakest include: Satan, Mauka, Hireki, myself, and S. In case you're worried, I do have an advantage over Hireki. During my reign as the strongest puzzle eater I managed to obtain the Seven Tools of the Demon Emperor."
"Exactly what are those?" Yako asked.
"Simply put, ancient weapons that existed before Satan's banishment to Hell. They were created by the demons that inhabited Hell beforehand. I have authority over them and can use their excessive power against Hireki," Neuro explained, speaking confidently.
"Who are Mauka and S?" Yako asked, picking the cards from Neuro's hand.
"Mauka would be the daughter of the devil, though she is most likely still in the Demon World. S is an infamous mercenary that has been hired by the devil multiple times," Neuro revealed, burning the remaining cards."
"Yo, we're here," Godai said, parking the car into the empty lot.
"I didn't even notice it was night," Yako said.
"That's because your brain is too slow to register change in your environment," Neuro smiled as everyone walked towards the large building. Malice and blood lust gripped at Yako's throat the closer they came to the building. She tugged onto Neuro's coat, informing him of the horrible aura emitted from the museum.
"That's why I'm lucky I picked you," Neuro fiendishly smiled. "Your mental sensitivity works as an effective radar, especially since I can no longer sense other demons without using my energy." The old man walked ahead of the group, pulling out his key to the museum. "Let me just unlock this door and you can search for clues and such," Aijara said, shuffling through the forty keys he kept in his pocket.
"How many goddamn museums you own?!" Godai shouted, waiting impatiently to get in. Click.
"You may enter!" Aijara proudly said, clearing the way for the group. As they walked in they could hear the mutterings and snarling of the museum employees around them. Yako, utterly shocked, could see dozens of people surrounding them as they walked in. "Isn't it strange to have this many employees?" Yako whispered to Neuro.
"I…where did…all these people come from?" Aijara asked. "These aren't my employees!"
"What the shit is going on here you old fuck?!" Godai exclaimed, grabbing the old man by his collar. Rom Piku began to step back as she hastily looked around the room, reading the minds of every person inside. "They're….they're all demons!" she panicked. "We're surrounded! There's at least…one hundred in here!"
GAAAAAH!! Everyone turned to Godai, hearing the noise come from him. The old man he held by the collar now had spikes going through his head, disfiguring his entire upper body. The ex-gangster dropped him to the floor, realizing that the "employees" had transformed into their true forms, demons. Neuro, in no mood to even kid or smile, glared at every beast with the objective of slaughtering them. "It would appear that Hireki has hired mercenaries of his own to deal with us. Prepare to die!" Before he dashed in to fight he glanced coldly at Godai. "Protect those girls with your life you shitless parasite."
Godai grinned as he nodded, gladly accepting the command. Reaching into his pocket he whipped out his favorite kind of weapon, a sharp knife with blood already stained across its silver edges. "You're all gonna die mother fuckers!" he snarled, backing up along the girls. Yako and Rom Piku stayed back to back, holding each others' hands. "This is dangerous," Rom Piku said. "Run the second you get a chance Yako."
"We're going to live," Yako said. "We can trust Neuro and Godai."
Leaping into the air, the demons began their rampage. Neuro ripped his glove off and released a new weapon. "Evil Tormentor!" he declared as his hand morphed into a oozing, muscle-bound hand cannon with blades and chainsaws popping out of every corner. The skinless two-legged lizards leapt through the air, sliced into dust by Neuro's power. Monsters of all shapes came at him: boxes with eighty eyes and six pairs of teeth, flying eyes with tentacles, miniature dragons with spikes instead of scales.
Godai shoved, punched, kicked, and stabbed whoever came towards him. Grabbing a chair and desks, he began to wildly swing them about, cracking skulls and spilling blood all over the walls and floors. A winged raptor flew towards the girls, its mouth wide open to swallow their heads. "Yako, run for it!!" Rom Piku said, trying her best to push the girl out of the way. Godai jumped between them instead, taking the hit. The demon bit tightly onto his shoulder but that didn't stop him. He began to feel a surge of adrenaline pump through his body. "This reminds me of the good old days," Godai grinned. Spinning his knife in his hands he stabbed the demon's eye and ripped it off his body. "You girls better get the fuck out of my way! I'm going to do something so fucking crazy it would kill ya."
They listened, finding an opening to run. Hiding next to the vending machines, they poked their heads out to see what Godai was doing. He pulled out a bottle of booze from his pocket and poured it all over the demon's carcass. "Time for an old trick," he said, wrapping a chain around the demon's leg. Pulling out his lighter, he flicked it near the monster's body. It burst into flames! Godai grabbed the chain and began swinging the flaming corpse as he ran towards the remaining demons, lighting most of them on fire. "You can do it Godai!!" the girls cheered.
"FUCK YEAH!!"
Suddenly a flying monster, resembling a pterodactyl, ripped the blazing weapon out of his hands, leaving him defenseless and cornered. "Who the shit needs a weapon anyway?! Bring it the fuck on!" Raising his hand into the air to deliver a punch, he felt something slip into his palm. Godai looked at the new sword in his hand. Neuro grinned as he handed him the sword. "Evil Sword," Neuro smirked. "It grows based on the bloodlust you have."
Accordingly, it expanded to ten feet. "Yeah!! This is what I need!!" Godai excitedly said as he began to cut demons in half. "You better watch your ass Neuro or I might cut you by accident!!"
"HELP!!" Yako said, standing in a circle of monsters. Godai looked in shock, bewildered by her stupidity. "What the hell are you doing out of hiding you dumb bitch?! You could get killed!!" he shouted, slashing the monsters around her and holding her close to him. Yako grinned maliciously as she whipped her out like a javelin. "Thanks Godai," she smiled. Suddenly he felt something stab through his shoulders. Trembling in pain, he could see Yako's hand going through his body. Unfortunately it was no longer Yako. Sai stood next to him, pulling his arm out of shoulder.
The real Yako screamed loudly as she was grabbed by a dozen flying, spiked lizards carrying her away to the top of the museum. "YAKO!!" Rom Piku screamed, trying her best to pull Yako by the leg. A foot to the skull from one of the monsters stopped her. Neuro looked up, watching her flying higher and higher away. "Yako!" he leapt into the air, prepared to cut through her captors until Sai appeared before him in mid air.
"It's been a while Neuro," he said, kicking the demon back to the floor. Crashing to the ground, Sai quickly dashed for Neuro, grabbing him by the neck. "What are…you going to do to Yako?" Neuro asked.
"Hireki is going to use her as a hostage so he can get your mystery," Sai explained, slashing at Neuro's throat. Luckily Neuro grabbed his wrist and snapped it. Pointing his Evil Tormentor at Sai, he blasted him with multiple spikes. He leapt back into the air to retrieve Yako but to no avail. Sai managed to follow him and kick him back down. "Sje's already gone Neuro. It's too late!!"
The distance between the ground and Yako was no longer survivable if she fell but she had no choice if she wanted a chance of living. Touching her hair clips, they began to rumble again. As before a barrier of gale surrounded her, shredding the demons that grasped onto her to nothing. She began to fall.
"Come on Mr. Godai!" Rom Piku said, kicking him in the ribs as he laid injured on the ground. "We have to catch Yako before she falls!" Grunting in response, he bit his tongue to relieve himself of the blinding pain in his shoulder. The two ran to the center of the museum and held their arms out. "Come on Yako!!"
Unexpectedly, against all the odds, the worst happened. The museum began to violently shake as literally hundreds of more demons oozed out of every hallway and opening. Many came out of the walls and leapt onto the ground. Hundreds aimed for Neuro alone, piling on top of him. Godai felt dozens of arms and legs wrapped around his body, pulling him away. More flying monstrosities grabbed onto Yako before she hit the ground, flying faster towards the roof this time. "YAKO!!" Rom Piku screamed. She then felt claws grabbing at her legs and arms, dragging her away. The demons drooled in hunger over Godai as they held him to the ground. "Let's eat him!!" they hissed, beginning to scratch at his skin. Rom Piku was soon to suffer a worst fate.
"Let's eat her when I'm done having my fun," a horned devil said. "Undress her!!" Yako activated her hair clips as much as she could, as many times as she could. Quickly they began to crack again, falling to the ground. "This can't be….this can't be happening!!" Yako said to herself, watching the demons crush Neuro with their weight. He tried to slash as many off as he could but nothing worked, dozens more leapt onto him. If he used an Emperor Tool it would surely kill Yako and Rom Piku. Yako turned; she could see Rom Piku fidgeting for her life as the demon stood above her, grabbing her shirt.
A tear rolling down her cheek, Rom Piku tightly closed her eyes. "God, Satan…I don't care!" she told herself. "If I have to die for us to live, give me the power to do so!! I want to save Yako!! Somebody save us!!" It happened. Something miraculous occurred. Something beyond any of their expectations. Feeling a burning sensation crawl along her brain, Rom Piku screamed in pain. "AAAAuuuUUUaaaaAAAAUuuuuuUUUUHHHHH!!"
Her pupils and irises vanished from her eyes. She began to glow a light blue as her hair rose towards the roof. "I'll kill you…." She muttered. "I'll kill you. I'll kill you. I'll kill you. I'll kill you. I'll kill you. I'll kill you. I'll kill you. I'LL KILL YOU ALL!!"
A horrible, piercing sound rung from her head. She felt like she was suddenly God, she felt a connection with every demon in that room, all the hundreds of monsters that attacked them. He could feel their brains pulsing in her hands. "I…I can control their minds!" she said. A long grin stretched across her face. She didn't know where this sudden power came from but all she knew was that somehow Hireki had saved her. He had helped her and pumped her with power so she could save herself. Looking over at the dreaded demons, she showed them her vicious smile. "DIE!!"
The demons felt their brains quake inside their skulls. Suddenly it exploded! Their heads began to burst and splatter across the place as brains oozed out of their ears and noses. Sai was forced to constantly change his brain structure in order to not react to Rom Piku's control.
The monsters around Yako died as well, dropping her. Rom Piku couldn't kill them all, her body lost all energy and she collapsed. That was good enough. Neuro freed himself from the demons that piled on top of him and raised his hand into the air. The twisted hatred and rage boiled in his eyes and distorted his face as blood dripped from his fanged mouth. "Seven Tools of the Emperor!! HELL'S BELLS!!" A large bell appeared behind Neuro. It beat like a heart, covered in veins and bloodied muscle. Neuro grabbed it and turned it on its side. Thousands of black, spiked vines burst free from it, vines harder than any metal on Earth. They pierced the walls and every monster in sight. Sai's body was completely destroyed in the process, stabbed and sliced by too many vines. Every demon in the walls and on the ground found themselves pierced. The vines were now wrapped around the foundation of the building, its very structure.
With a simple squeeze, Neuro could easily constrict the building with so much force that it would collapse and turn into dust in an instant. Yako felt a pair of vines slowly come at her, wrapping around her gently and placing her safely onto the ground.
Neuro dropped the bell and walked over to Sai, who regenerated but still found himself pierced with vines. Neuro's heart was completely black and merciless now. He never recalled such rage in his entire existence. "I will destroy you now, slowly and without stopping until every cell in your body feels it," he deeply growled. "You wonder what you are?! I will torture you so horribly you will believe you were pain and Hell in physical form!!"
Yako trembled as she heard the rage in his voice. She never saw him like this before but she could understand why. Neuro never got angry or sad when he thought he would die or lose a fight. She knew that from HAL, Sai, and numerous other events. What else made him so enraged at this moment….except the feeling that he failed to protect the ones he cared about? Yako was right too. If it weren't for Rom Piku, the worst would have happened to everybody. Neuro pointed his Evil Tormentor at Sai's head, snarling as he prepared to strike. Suddenly a sharp feeling came into his chest. Neuro patted the spot, feeling pain as a human for the first time. An entire sword had stabbed through him.
Looking up, Neuro could see that the sword was attached to an extensive chain that came from the roof. This could only be Hireki. Neuro felt himself being lifted to the roof as Hireki pulled the chain.
"I see you have the Devil's Blade," Neuro coldly said. When he looked at Hireki, oddly enough he could see a wetness in his eyes.
"I'm sorry Neuro…" Hireki said, tears falling down his face. "I never thought the demons would go against my orders. I never wanted that poor Rom Piku girl to nearly get violated! Luckily I helped her in time though a part of me may regret it later."
"Stop acting like a fucking hero," Neuro growled, lifting himself off the blade. He no longer cared to live, he wanted Hireki dead and anyone connected to him. "You took that risk when you hired those fucking demons. Tonight I will eat the fucking meat from your fucking bones!!"
"While it's true the demons were going too far, that's not going to stop me," Hireki said, snapping his fingers. Demons leapt onto the roof and gathered around Hireki. "Kill everyone down there except Yako," Hireki ordered. "Do not do anything else!! If you so much as violated any of those poor girls I will tear your skeleton out of your body and feed it to you!!"
The demons hissed as they jumped down onto the bottom floor of the museum. Hireki grinned as he punched Neuro in the skull, forcing him to fall on his knees. "Don't move. You know I'm leagues stronger than you. Now tell me everything. Tell me why you came here. What's your interest in Yako? What's your ultimate goal. Tell me everything thing so I can eat your mystery and get one step closer to my plan!! If you don't I will order them to kill Yako."
Neuro realized he had no longer had a choice. He could feel the blood pouring from his chest and dripping from his lips. "Fine…." He said. "I'll tell you everything."
Yako stood over Rom Piku and Godai's unconscious bodies, trying her best to defend them from the horde of demons. "Leave them alone!!" she shouted. The demons looked at each other, deciding that they no longer cared. They were going to kill her along with them. They all dashed at her and over her, their talons, fangs, and claws ready. "Hold up a second!" a voice happily said. Suddenly the demons burned into ash. Yako opened her eyes, seeing a tall, blue haired man standing before her. "Why hello! You must be the lovely Yako! My name is S and Neuro has hired me to protect you!" he politely said, shaking her had. He looked down at Godai and Rom Piku with his bright green eyes. "Let me heal them please," he said, rolling up the sleeves of his dark blue jacket. A drop of red water fell onto their bodies from the edge of his finger. Suddenly their wounds healed instantly. "There we go! All better!" he smiled brightly. "Let me go save Neuro and we can go home where I can fix us some waffles!"
Kicking the ground, he reached the roof in less than second. "Who the hell are you?!" Hireki growled.
"So sorry but I'm here to save my new client. I'm S by the way! Nice to meet you!" Lolita popped out of the shadows and lunged at him with a demon claw. "What's this? A human with demon magic? You've been naughty haven't you Hireki?" S asked playfully, punching her Lolita in the stomach. Unfortunately that wasn't enough to stop her. Hireki began to attack him. S tried his best to dodge both of their slashes and cuts but the fifth Hell Royal could only go so far. "Looks like I'm in trouble too. You better run Neuro," S said.
The light of the moon then vanished. A flickering darkness covered it but with a closer look Neuro could see that it was an army of gargoyles led by a single red-haired woman. "Mauka!!" Hireki hissed, letting go of S. "Hello, hello Hireki!" Mauka laughed. "It would seem like you have my sword with you! The one my father used to kill angels with. Enjoying its power?"
"Get the hell out of here!" Hireki shouted. Mauka grinned as she swiftly kicked him away. Lolita dashed towards her but was knocked out with a single slap. "I will kill you all! You puzzle eaters have been nothing but trouble for my future kingdom!!"
"Shit…" Hireki coughed, holding onto Lolita. "Don't worry, I have enough energy to escape."
"Me too," S said. "Sorry, but I must flee!" He lifted Neuro and then dropped down to the base of the museum, grabbing Yako, Godai, and Rom Piku and running for it. Hireki held tightly onto Lolita as a tornado appeared around him, carrying them away. Neuro decided to use this opportunity to finish off the place. He grabbed any vine he could off the ground and pulled it, causing all the vines attached to the building to squeeze the museum until it finally collapsed.
"That was amazing Master Neuro! No wonder you rank above me," S commented.
"Just take us to our office…" Neuro said, losing all consciousness and feeling.
"Neuro…" Yako said.
"Don't worry Yako, I will do my absolute best to help him recover. You can count on me," S cheerfully said. "This night is over so I want you to rest and relax. I'm here now."
"Thank you S."
This night was truly over.
Author: Phew, this chapter is actually a lot darker than the rest of them. Tell me what you guys think. I'm not completely sure this might have been the correct choice but I was trying to portray the lesser demons as a more barbaric species and that this is how demons from Hell would actually act and the puzzle eaters as a more moral, intellectual species as even Hireki Shin has his good side. I keep feeling like editing this chapter and cutting some stuff out but I want to hear what you guys think. Don't worry, I don't plan to have other chapters this dark.