Chapter Twenty Two: Wednesday's Changes IV
Hibiki certainly did not expect to be in this situation… again. Glancing from his allies – Makoto, Otome, and Naoya – to the demons that blocked their way to the exit on the other side of the station, he could recall a brief memory. Hibiki couldn't ignore the bad feeling that began to weigh down on him. If this situation was anything like the battle with Dubhe, things were not going to go as planned. Suddenly, the exit Makoto pointed out didn't seem as reliable anymore.
"Alright," Makoto said, "let's move out. Escaping is our number one priority, so try not to draw the attention of any demons that haven't noticed us yet."
Makoto's words were almost like a jinx. Just after she had spoken, the ground began to shake once again. It wasn't as bad has the previous one had been, but it was still big enough to elicit a scream of surprise from Otome.
Hibiki gripped onto the railing with one hand for balance and closed his eyes, waiting for the shaking to stop. He could distantly hear the sound of something falling to the ground, but his mind was too disorganized to recognize what that meant.
When the earthquake ceased, Hibiki loosened the tension from his body and slowly opened his eyes. He could see the tiny particles of dust that rose from all the shaking, but he ignored that in favor of checking over his companions.
"Kuh…! The exit!" Makoto exclaimed in distress, catching Hibiki's attention.
His eyes followed Makoto's gaze, and he immediately realized what was wrong. Large metal rods blocked the only exit out of the station and away from the demons. They seem to have been loosened from the ceiling during the quake.
[…oto? Makoto? Are you there?]
The voice pierced the air, snapping Makoto back to attention. She grabbed her phone.
"Fumi?" Makoto questioned, "you're still on the line?"
[I've been on the whole time. Looks like plan A was a failure. You guys didn't even get to execute it.]
Makoto's eyebrows furrowed and creases appeared on her forehead as she thought of another way to get out of this situation.
It was Otome who came up with the solution. "Fumi, is there a terminal nearby?"
Makoto's eyes darted towards her, wide in surprise. "The terminal?" she exclaimed, "but that's still-"
"There's no other choice. Fumi, please connect the Terminal!"
[…We're still restoring it, so it'll take some more time. Can you guys wait?]
"That's fine," Otome responded, "I'm sure we can hold out until the Terminal is ready."
As Otome and Fumi continued to converse, movement from the corner of Hibiki's eye caught his attention. All the demons in the station knew that they were there and were focused on them as they moved closer.
"Makoto!" he called, waiting for her orders.
Makoto surveyed the situation once more before responding. "We have no choice but to buy some time until the terminal is ready. Focus on defending yourself!"
An exasperated sigh sounded from Hibiki's right in response to the decision Makoto made. "Just get rid of them all."
A demon, Nyarlathotep, swiftly appeared behind Wendigo, cutting his body in half with a single chop of his hand.
Naoya, who had been silent the whole time, stood slightly in front of the others with his COMP in his hand. His face was emotionless, and it was only the slight annoyance in his eyes that betrayed his apathetic composure.
Deciding to follow his lead, Hibiki summoned Byakko. With just the two of them, they were able to clear out all of the demons in the station.
If Hibiki was truthful to himself, the demons were weak compared to the Septentriones he had to face. In fact, Hibiki didn't feel tired at all after Byakko used several Ziodyne skills. Hopefully, it was a sign that he was getting stronger.
Even though they could no longer see anymore enemy demons, Hibiki couldn't relax. Instead, he was more cautious. The air suddenly felt heavier and it was getting harder to breathe. Something strong was coming.
"Hmmm… I smell humans… strong humans!"
In the middle of the station, the former empty space was now occupied by a cat-like demon. The demon – recognized as the Neko Shogun – looked as though he had come from the warring states era.
"Oh! How cute! What an adorable demon." Otome's voice instantly destroyed any tension created from the great aura Neko Shogun carried.
Makoto sighed. "Otome, this isn't the time to be admiring a demon, especially one as strong as that."
Otome giggled and said, "I know, I know. I can't underestimate it… Look at how fluffy his ears are!"
Hibiki thought that he imagined Neko Shogun blushing until the demon furiously denied Otome's words in embarrassment. "I'm not cute!" the demon hissed, "I am the fierce Neko Shogun – Meow –!"
Otome just giggled again, making comments on how cute he was with his fur puffed up in agitation.
Seeing how he – unfortunately – wasn't getting anywhere with Otome, Neko Shogun turned to Naoya and Hibiki.
"It's been a while since I've challenged humans to a fight. And you two – Meow – are especially strong, since you defeated those demons easily. Be honoured! – Meow – I've chosen you two to be my sparring partners!"
Hibiki saw the demon take out his sword and step towards him. It was only after that when Hibiki lost sight of him. His eyes couldn't follow the speed that Neko Shogun was moving at.
A black blur moved in front of him, and then a clanging sound resounded in the air.
Nyarlathotep and Neko Shogun were suspended in the air, only a couple of feet away from Hibiki. They were in a blade lock between Neko Shogun's sword and Nyarlathotep's arm. Both were exerting force, trying to outdo the other in their match of strength.
Snapping out of his daze, Hibiki silently ordered Byakko to attack.
Lightning struck towards Neko Shogun but before it hit him, he jumped back, dodging the attack. Not in the least deterred, Byakko roared and summoned another lightning bolt to hit the enemy. This time, instead of dodging, Neko Shogun simply stood there. His sword crackled to life, electricity surrounding it, and then Neko Shogun swung the sword. The energy from his sword left the sword, creating an arc of pure electricity. It collided against Byakko's lightning, nullifying the attack.
The collision was so bright that Hibiki had to shut his eyes closed. When he reopened them, he could see brief glimpses of Nyarlathotep and Neko Shogun clashing. Their individual movements were too fast to see.
Byakko was also involved in the battle, but he made precise, calculated pounces when Neko Shogun showed a drop in his guard. Byakko knew that it wouldn't be wise to try to fight Neko Shogun directly with the speed he had. It was much faster than his own.
Nyarlathotep was prepared for the next clash, his arm already up to block the incoming sword strike. But Neko Shogun positioned his sword so that it slanted sideways, the strike coming in contact with Nyarlathotep's waist. The cat demon let out a meow of surprise; his sword did not cleanly slice through the opponent as he expected it to. Instead, his sword made another clashing sound, vibrating as though it had met with metal.
Nyarlathotep used Neko Shogun's surprise to strike against the sword hard, breaking it in half. At the same time, Byakko had already pounced towards them and his paw swiped at Neko Shogun, making full contact. Neko Shogun flew back and hit the ground with a loud thud.
After a couple of seconds, Neko Shogun slowly stood up and stared at his broken sword. The silence was suffocating as they waited for Neko Shogun's next move. Finally, the corners of his mouth quirked upwards. "Things have changed. Humans aren't weak anymore – Meow –."
"Have you accepted defeat, Neko Shogun?" Naoya asked.
The demon nodded solemnly. "It's my loss – Meow –. Tell me your names so I can remember you – Meow –."
After providing their names, Neko Shogun left peacefully and returned to the Demon World, leaving behind a promise to come to their aid whenever they find themselves in trouble.
"Bye-bye, Lord Kitty!" Otome called out cheerfully just before he disappeared.
"Otome…" Makoto said, sighing.
[Congrats. I don't understand what happened over at your side, but it seems like you were able to handle your weird encounter with a strange demon. Oh… The terminal's ready, by the way.]
"Fumi!" Makoto spoke into her phone, "is the terminal really fixed?"
Instead of a verbal response, Fumi used the controls to bring down the metal pole that would lead them to the terminal.
[Just head on up. The terminal should be working well enough.]
Makoto frowned.
"'Well enough'?" she repeated in apprehension, "what exactly do you mean…?"
Beeps came from the phone instead of a voice, signalling that Fumi hung up.
Otome smiled brightly. "I'm sure we'll be fine. The worst that can happen is… well… If anything happens, I'll fix it. I am a doctor, after all."
Makoto's eyes widened in alarm. "That doesn't sound reassuring at all, Otome!"
"…That's where the situation stands at the moment," Yamato stated, "with the information we've gathered, we now know that the buds are created and ejected from its main body. It appears that what we knew as Dubhe was simply a fully-grown bud of Megrez."
"Tracing the trajectory of the buds indicates that its main body is located offshore," he continued, "in other words, the Pacific Ocean. Its depth is currently unknown, so we cannot deal with it at present. Countermeasures are also being formulated."
"For now," Yamato concluded, "all personnel are to locate the buds and eliminate them. It won't fix the root of the problem, but it will prevent further quakes from occurring. That is all. Dismissed."
At the Chief's word, every JP's member dispersed to return to their stations. The meeting room had been fairly full, so it took quite some time for everyone to exit. With each person moving in different directions, it was as though Hibiki was in a supermarket on a sale day.
Hibiki carefully moved through the gaps in-between the members, slowly making his way towards Yamato. Nearing the edge of the crowd, he noticed that Naoya was already there. They were conversing with each other; speaking in short, straight-to-the-point, business-like sentences.
"…Is it not possible?" Yamato asked.
"Creating a COMP from scratch will take a great amount of material and time. Considering the dire situation we're currently in, there's no point in creating them, especially if you plan on mass-production," Naoya answered.
"Yes," Yamato agreed, "I figured that would be the case. With the Septentriones, we're already tight on time, and it is unlikely you will be able to find effective materials in this dystopian world."
"If you really want to reap the benefits of the COMP, I should be able to add certain functions to Nicaea," Naoya offered, "although I wasn't the one to create it, I've already analyzed the site. Removing its foremost protective layers and altering certain code sequences in the program won't be too difficult. If I start now and all goes well, It should be done by tomorrow."
A pensive look appeared on Yamato's face for a second and he nodded. "Which modifications do you plan on making?"
"Switching the energy consumption from the summoner to the demon won't be possible. That is a fundamental component of Nicaea and trying to interfere with it would only make the whole program fall apart," Naoya informed him, "I can enable the summoners to use demonic skills, but it'll increase the strain on their bodies. Not only do they have to provide energy for their demons, but they'll be using energy to cast these skills, as well. Are you willing to take the risk?"
"That's fine," Yamato responded, "JP's has been long prepared for this moment."
"Very well," Naoya acknowledged, "other than that, I'll include the harmonizer function."
"Excellent," Yamato said, "if you require any assistance, it will be given to you. I will inform Kanno of this decision."
"Now then…" Yamato's eyes slid towards to the side. "Thank you for coming to this meeting, Hibiki."
Hibiki's shoulders jumped in surprise. He glanced at Naoya, blue clashing with red.
"Did you know I was here from the beginning?" he asked, faintly wondering if he'd get in trouble for listening in on their conversation. Hibiki had gotten a little lost in Naoya's explanation, but in the end, he understood the basis.
Yamato chuckled. "You'll have to be a little more discreet if you plan on sneaking up on me."
"I'll be taking my leave now," Naoya said, "there's quite a bit of work needed to be done."
Yamato nodded. "You can return the same way you arrived. The terminal should be functioning properly now."
With that, Naoya left, leaving Yamato and Hibiki alone in the conference room.
"I heard about your encounter with demons on your way here," Yamato told Hibiki.
"It was fine," Hibiki answered truthfully, "the demons weren't that strong."
"I see. Based on your exceptional performance, I'm sure then that this task won't be difficult."
Hibiki looked at Yamato questioningly.
"While the other members deal with Megrez's buds, I have another task for you," Yamato continued, "that is, if you're willing the accept it."
"I'll accept it," Hibiki consented. He had already agreed to do whatever he could to help out, so that they could find a way to save this world.
Yamato smiled. "That simplifies things considerably. Do you recall the Nagoya riot? It seems that there are still a few civilians who are acting up. We don't need another situation added to Megrez's problem. So, I'd like your team to handle these civilians. You can decide on which method you will enforce."
"All right," Hibiki replied. It was better if he resolved the problem instead of a JP's team. If JP's got involved, things would no doubt lead to violence.
"You're quick on the uptake," Yamato said, "I'll be sure to contact you soon once countermeasures are finalized."
Feeling as though the conversation was ending, Hibiki prepared himself to leave.
"Oh," Yamato added, "there's one more thing I wish to speak to you about."
As Hibiki refocused his attention, he noticed that the air in the room suddenly felt colder. When he looked up at Yamato, the Chief's gaze seemed harsher and his posture was stiffer.
"I don't like to beat around the bush, so I'll just ask: In your encounter with the Megrez bud… did you meet that man?"
That man? Hibiki repeated in his head. Confusion crossed his face, as he searched through his memories. The description Yamato gave him was way too vague.
"Do you mean… the Anguished One?" Hibiki questioned. That was the only person he knew that was suspicious enough to rouse Yamato's attention.
"So you did meet him," Yamato confirmed, "I received the report from Sako. Why did he appear in front of you? Why did he call you the 'Shining One'?"
Stunned at the sudden show of distrust, Hibiki could only let out a weak "I don't know."
"I see. So you have no clue either." Yamato's shoulders dropped, tension leaving his body. The coldness in his eyes disappeared, but it still held a deep seriousness. "Do you mind telling me more about that man?"
"What do you want to know?" Hibiki asked, starting to feel more comfortable now that Yamato wasn't acting as though he was an enemy.
"What was his appearance?"
Hibiki answered all of his questions with as much detail as he could remember. With each passing question, Hibiki could tell that something was being confirmed in Yamato's mind.
"There's no mistake," Yamato muttered to himself before asking one final question, "was there anything else he said? Perhaps something unusual?"
Hibiki was about to deny his inquiry but then, all of a sudden, he remembered something that was a little odd.
"Indeed you are right, Cain."
Who was the Anguished One talking to? There was no one in their group who had the name 'Cain.'
"He did say the name 'Cain,'" Hibiki said.
Yamato repeated the word in bemusement. "And who was he referring to when he said this name?"
Hibiki wasn't absolutely sure, but as he double-checked his memory, it seemed to be the only possible conclusion.
"I think…" Hibiki responded hesitantly, "it could have been Naoya. Naoya was telling us how the bud wasn't Megrez's real body. The Anguished One confirmed it and then said 'Cain.'"
Yamato hummed in contemplation.
"Do you know that man?" Hibiki asked. He was curious. The Anguished One seemed to almost change Yamato completely.
"Perhaps," Yamato responded, not giving a definite answer, "if he truly is the man I think he is, you'll meet him again soon enough. Anyways, the information you provided is of great value. I have to thank you for that."
"To be honest, I have a high opinion of you all," Yamato stated, changing the topic, "I would never have thought that civilians would have the capability to fight against the Septentriones. Especially you, Hibiki. You have the ability to draw out the strengths of your friends."
Hibiki fidgeted. It was always a little embarrassing and slightly awkward when someone praised him.
"You're an intriguing one… Maybe even dangerous."
Hibiki frowned slightly at though words. Was that a compliment?
Yamato laughed, and it was only then that Hibiki realized he had unintentionally spoken his thoughts aloud.
"Indeed it is," he answered, "you have my admiration, after all. I'm interested to see how much you can achieve."
"A lot," Hibiki replied, looking determined, "I'm definitely going to find a way to end this calamity."
Yamato gave him an appraising look. "I'm looking forward to it."
The Chief nodded in farewell and walked out of the room, leaving Hibiki alone with his thoughts.
"A terminal?" Kazuya repeated in interest.
He regarded Kaido, who was leaning back against the door, and prudently gauged his mood. Kaido's animosity-filled gaze was locked onto Joe, who just stood in one spot, laughing sheepishly. Kazuya had a feeling that even Joe knew the danger he was in. The fact that his laugh eventually trailed off, leaving only a nervous smile on his face, was a clear clue.
Atsuro had given up on trying to lessen Kaido's wrath. Instead, he was on Joe's bed with his laptop prepped up and on his lap. Kazuya, himself, was sitting beside his best friend, as he held his phone to his ear. He quickly turned on the speakerphone so that everyone could hear Fumi's explanation.
[Yeah. I've returned it to its full capacity. You'll be able to instantly move between Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya.]
"Sweet," Joe commented, the topic catching his attention, "can I go to Timor with this?"
[Weren't you listening? I already said that the only cities you can go to are Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya. The terminal isn't so miraculous as to allow you to go anywhere you want. It only works if there is a terminal in both locations; the starting place and the destination. Not only that, but the two terminals have to be connected. We don't even have the code for Timie… or maybe we do. Eh.]
"Aw man…" Joe said, "now that's a real shame."
"Hold on. How exactly does the terminal work?" Atsuro asked, eyes shining from curiosity.
[Hmm… Well, the terminal wasn't actually fully developed by JP's. It's created form OOPArts passed down from the Chief's family. His ancestors were missionaries to Tang China during the Nara period…]
Atsuro typed furiously on his laptop, swiftly jotting down the main ideas. He paused only to make a comment. "OOPArts, huh… So Yamato's ancestors had parts that were too advanced for their time period."
[Impressive. I didn't think that you'd actually know that.]
Atsuro laughed bashfully and responded, "knowing that type of information kind of comes in the package with being Naoya's number one apprentice."
[These OOPArts are interesting because of the neutral oscillation in particle physics. When amplifying it to a certain level, a physical change occurs in the affected matter–]
"What the hell are you talking about?" Kaido interrupted. His face was incredulous; all he could hear was the woman spouting absolute nonsense.
[Huh? Did I say something wrong? What part of my explanation made it hard for you to understand?]
Atsuro immediately took the handle to translate Fumi's words into simpler, easily understood words.
"What Fumi's saying," Atsuro explained, "is that the terminal breaks down the matter's data, converts that to a signal, and sends it. Then the technology on the other side – in this case, the second terminal – receives the signal, converts it back to data, and then reconstructs the matter to its original state."
[Exactly. I'm more concerned to as why you couldn't understand such a simple concept.]
Kaido's eyes narrowed in anger.
"Thanks, Fumi, for explaining all that for us," Kazuya said, preventing her from making another demeaning comment.
Kaido scoffed, his anger dissipating, as he just looked away, no longer interested in the conversation. As long as the terminal functioned and was useful, he didn't give a damn as to how it worked.
[No problem. We should chat some more later, Kazuya.]
"Sure," Kazuya agreed easily before hanging up.
"I didn't think that creating something like the terminal was possible," Atsuro raved, "I could bring this home and… Think of all the possibilities! We could make so many advancements, Kazuya! We could improve the technology, better society, advance humankind! …Oh… But we won't be able to do much by ourselves. We'd need funding and materials. I wonder if we could maybe show this to Commander Fushimi, and then he could talk about it with the higher-ups…"
Joe laughed, jolting Atsuro out of his thoughts. Atsuro's face began to pale when he recounted the words he had just spoken out loud. Luckily, Joe didn't notice at all.
"You've got some pretty big dreams there, Atsuro!" Joe said, "although, the terminal exists already, so I don't you'll have to recreate it or anything. That is, unless you're from another world that doesn't have it!"
Joe continued to laughed, not taking his own comment seriously. Atsuro also laughed nervously, internally thanking the fact that this was one of the topics Joe was slow-minded on.
Kaido rolled his eyes at the stupid mistake Atsuro made, while Kazuya smiled uncertainly at their laughing moment. It was the first time he saw Joe laugh so freely, although, he looked as though he was ready to collapse with the way he clutched his stomach.
Kazuya's worry disappeared when a knock sounded, forcing Joe's laughter to die out. The door handle twisted and then stopped.
"…Kaido. Move away from the door," the voice on the other side demanded.
Kaido promptly walked to the other side of the room and leaned – once again – on the wall to his right.
The door swung open and Naoya walked in, surveying the place and its occupants.
"Naoya!" Kazuya exclaimed, "you're back already?"
"I am," Naoya answered shortly. His eyes landed on the person beside his cousin, "Atsuro, we've got work to do."
"Huh?" Atsuro replied in surprise, "what do you mean 'we have work?'"
"You've been exploring the Nicaea site, haven't you?" Naoya asked.
Atsuro nodded, still unsure as to where this was going. "I have…"
"Why don't you show me everything you've learned? I've been tasked to alter the functions of the program and improve it," Naoya explained, briefly.
"And you want my help?" Atsuro said in uncertainty.
Naoya sighed. "You are my apprentice… unless you wish to revoke your position?"
"N-Naoya…" Even though the older man had said the same thing a few times already in the past, it always touched his heart whenever he heard those words come out of Naoya's mouth.
Naoya walked to doorway. "Hurry up, Atsuro. We haven't got all day."
"W-wait a second…" Atsuro replied. He closed his laptop, returned it to his bag, slung the bag over his head and onto his shoulders, and checked that he still had his COMP with him in a record of eight seconds.
"Have fun, Atsuro," Kazuya called. He was used to Naoya's abrupt entrances and abrupt departures.
Atsuro waved to his friend with a smile. "See ya, Kazuya!"
The two of them disappeared behind the corner, leaving the other three in silence.
"Well, what should we do now?" Joe asked.
"Is your phone recharged?" Kazuya asked back "if so, we could go take a walk and maybe find Hibiki. If Naoya's back, then Hibiki should be back as well."
A/N: Well, I've finally forced myself to start updating and I'm starting to get into the story again. I wasn't actually planning on the scene with Yamato asking Hibiki about the Anguished One. I was also most certainly not planning to reveal the suspicion of Naoya's identity as Cain. Well, things happened and I'll just have to work with that.
This chapter is 1 000 words longer than the usual chapters! I just had to add the last section of the chapter with Kazuya. It was a nice way to end the chapter.
I just want to make a connection between this chapter and the previous one. The quake that occurred in Kaido's view in the last chapter is the first earthquake that Hibiki felt. Essentially, by the time Kaido is running to search for Joe (again), this chapter occurs at the same time. The quake that occurred with Atsuro in the previous chapter is the second earthquake that Hibiki feels. It's the one where there exit is blocked and they need to use the terminal. I just thought that it would be interesting to know if you haven't realized it yet.
Devil Survivor's Wednesday might last for another two chapters. The next one may be the final, but the max. is two chapters. After that, we can finally continue to Thursday.