Sayo took a deep breath as she relaxed against a tree, rubbing her gloved hands. Preparing traps with only the moonlight to guide her was anything but easy. But the woods were always like a second home to her, so it was more than easy to improvise using the environment to her advantage. Then again, considering the fact that the three pursuers were most likely used to the comforts of technology just like Hajime, she clearly had the upper hand in that situation. Looking at the stars, she contemplated her own role as a shrine maiden and just how much it had changed with the ages. Once, these priestesses were seen as shamans who supposedly communicated with the gods, partook in sacred rituals long forgotten, and in some cases they even acted as village protectors. Now in modern times, while they were relegated to similar shrine duties, they were regarded as an element of a bygone era - a pretty face to welcome secular visitors at Shinto temples, read their fortune and sell souvenirs. Most of those girls did not even have spiritual powers, nor did they experience the dangers of an actual exorcism. Such a shame, the more man got accustomed to technology, the less he was aware of the supernatural threats lurking in the shadows.
She was alerted by voices coming from the mountain's edge. Instinctively, she jumped up the tree, hiding between the branches, trying her best not to make any sudden noises. Soon enough, the trio were walking up the footpath, their bickering only getting louder. Sayo shook her head, did they not have any respect for the animals resting there?
"I can't believe you're dragging me around through this dumpster!" Bochiborof whined as he tried to avoid stepping on rocks. "Not even the woods in the Darkness civilization were this filled with useless crap!"
"We're in the middle of nature, there's no room for cleanliness or order," Demon Sora reminded them.
"Are you sure we're even on the right path? We don't have time to run around in circles all night!" Demon Edo added, impatience getting the best of him.
"Yes, now shut your trap, I can feel her flowery scent getting stronger, I'm certain we'll catch them!"
"I think I'll go surveil from above, we'll cover more ground that way."
Sayo froze upon hearing that suggestion. If Demon Edo were to hover over the forest, he would immediately see the traps she had prepared.
"Idiot, we're not splitting up!" the plushie chastised him, to the priestess's relief. "We need to outnumber them, so we have to stay together."
"I'm sorry, Bochiborof-dono, but this wild goose chase is starting to drive me nuts!" the winged one confessed. "I'd rather we went back to Sagakin and continued feasting on those pathetic mortals."
"You need to be more patient. Once we've brought those two to Demon Subaru-sama, not only will we fall in his good grace once more, but we'll have all the time in the world to massacre those foolish humans!"
"That's assuming Shinobu and her kooky cult don't finish the job while we're gone."
"Wait, her scent has gotten stronger!" Demon Sora informed her two companions and they all stopped beneath the tree Sayo was hiding in. "She's really close, but it's strange, I don't sense Hajime with her."
"Do you think they split up?" Demon Edo wondered.
"Hahaha, of course not, they wouldn't be that foolish!" Bochiborof laughed.
Sayo untied the net hanging from the tree, unleashing hundreds of river stones upon them.
"Watch out, it's an avalanche!" the Funky Knightmare alerted his demonic subordinates, the three of them running back as the rocky landslide fell after them.
Demon Sora tripped over a wire, releasing a tree's thick branch which smacked her back and threw her into Demon Edo, both of them falling off of the mountain's edge. Before Bochiborof could process what happened, he stepped over some leaves and fell into a hole which also threw him out of the mountain, after his cohorts. Sayo climbed down, relieved that the intruders had been dealt with.
Still, she had to be certain, so she quickly went to the mountain's edge with her binoculars to make sure that they had indeed crashed. All of a sudden, Demon Edo flew right back and pinned her to the ground, foaming at the mouth like a rabid beast.
"So she was right, you really were hiding here, you bitch!"
"Get off of me in this instant!" Sayo demanded.
"Tell me where you're hiding Hajime before I'll rip your worthless guts out!" the winged fiend demanded.
"As if you wouldn't do it anyway."
"Stop stalling and tell me already, I'm losing my patience here!"
"Alright, he's right..." The priestess reached for a small bag in her yukata and took out a handful of salt. "...here!" She tossed the salt straight into Demon Edo's face, who shrieked in pain and fell on his back.
"It burns, it burns so bad, what did you do to me?!"
"It's sacred salt, used for countless generations to repel evil spirits," Sayo explained as she got back on her feet. "But I sense that you are not an actual demon, there is a human soul lingering somewhere beneath Shishima's foul aura. Tell me, what sort of pact did he trick you into signing?"
"Pact? I made no such thing, he merely blessed me with this new life, which is far greater than my previous one!"
"You are misguided, this life is not suited for mortal souls. You were not meant to become a demon. Although this newfound power seems worth it, trust me, it's not! As a demon, you will never be able to rest again or find true inner peace. You will be consumed from the inside by an endless thirst for bloodshed and an increasing ambition for more power. Nothing will ever be enough, you will keep devouring, both literally and figuratively, until you will lose the remainder of your true self."
"Spare me your lies, my master is following his end of the bargain," Demon Edo claimed as he also got back up, the sore on his face beginning to slowly fade away. "If I keep on doing my job, I get to stay alive, keep my youth and see my best friend again. I have no use for inner peace or whatever bullshit you're trying to sell me!"
"So he reanimated a corpse and demonized it... Listen, whatever he is offering you is merely an illusion, a trick to keep you as his loyal servant. Please, let me help your soul find peace in the afterlife-"
"I'm just about through listening to you! If you won't give Hajime to me, I'll just kill you and find him myself!"
Sayo reached into her yukata again, but she was unsure if she were to waste the sacred salt on him. Her supply was fairly limited, and she had to find a shrine in order to get more. Instead, she took out her deck, which glowed in the night. Grinning, Demon Edo showed his own deck and two dueling tables arose from the ground between them. They both went to them, set their cards and made the shields materialize, thus beginning their duel.
"I summon Mypad, Start Dash." The blue humanoid wielding an iPad and sitting on a floating platform appeared by Demon Edo's side.
"I cast Scale of Bravery and Love, discard Dorago the Great, Dragon World and draw two cards," Sayo said.
"Mypad reduces his cost by 1, so I summon Pakurio, show me your hand!" A pink tricloptic Cyber Lord relaxing on a yellow armchair appeared next to the blue humanoid and forced the opponent to reveal her hand, which contained: Linnevenus, M Demon Dragon, Honenbe, Skeletal Guardian, Scale of Bravery and Love, Dorgan Churis and Magnum, Shortshot. "I send Magnum to your shields, you won't be locking down my creature shield triggers that easily!"
"Bad Action Dynamite 2, I summon Dorgan Churis for 3 mana only. Since he's a speed attacker, I attack with Dorgan Churis and Revolution Change into Demonkazura, Evil Revolutionary Grudge Weed!" A blue mouse donning the fossilized skull and claws of a dragon appeared and rushed at the opposing shields, then it turned around and hi fived a plant dragon which took his place. "With Demonkazura's effect, I discard Linnevenus and destroy your Mypad. Now go, double break his shields!" Giving a battle cry, the creature spread its leafy wings and flew headfirst through the opponent's shields.
"Shield trigger, I cast Tune Again and send Demonkazura back to your hand!" Demon Edo responded and a blue aura surrounded the plant dragon, making it disappear. "My turn, I summon a second Pakurio." A second pink Cyber Lord appeared, forcing Sayo to reveal her hand once more: Demonkazura, Evil Revolutionary Grudge Weed, Dorgan Churis and Honenbe, Skeletal Guardian. "Oh no, I'm not letting you do that freaky combo again – Dorgan Churis goes to your shields!"
"My turn, I charge mana and end."
"Kehehe, you've run out of steam already? How sad, I don't understand how Shinobu lost to you, it must've been a fluke. Regardless, I expand All For One, Machine of D!" Their surroundings transformed into a blue laboratory with two test tubes and a floating wrench in the middle. "I end my turn and with All For One's effect I destroy a Pakurio and replace him with VV-8, Forbidden Machine." The floating wrench crashed the pink fetus, its remains being sucked into one of the two test tubes, while a white cycloptic robot with motorcycle wheels for hands and feet appeared in the other tube. "With VV-8's effect I check the top five cards of my deck, take two in my hand and leave the rest on him as seals."
"I summon Honenbe, Skeletal Guardian." A purple skull with four bat wings appeared, causing the top three cards of Sayo's deck to go into her graveyard, those being Dogiragon Buster, Blue Leader, Beroringa, Third Seed and Evil Heat, Screaming Demon Dragon, the latter of which was returned to her hand.
"Fueling your graveyard will do you no good now, priestess! This game is as good as mine!" Demon Edo drew his next card and smiled with malicious glee. "I summon Giga Speed, D2W2!" A two-headed white tank armored with drills appeared in the battle zone. "Since he's a Water Command, I take off a seal from VV-8. Now with his own effect, I can return a card in the battle zone back to its owner's hand, so I choose to return a seal back to my hand. Also, since I have a D2 Field in the battle zone, I can also return a creature to its owner's hand, so I'll send back your Honenbe. I end my turn and with All For One's effect, I destroy Pakurio and replace him with a second Giga Speed, unsealing VV-8, Forbidden Machine and granting me an extra turn!" A second tank appeared, and then the test tube's glass was shattered, freeing the white cycloptic robot. "Now my extra turn begins, I summon Onikamas, Strange Flow and Shuff, Eureka. With Shuff's effect I choose the number 2, meaning you can't cast spells which cost 2 until the start of my next turn. VV-8, triple break her shields! Giga Speed, double break her shields! And with my second Giga Speed I break your final shields!"
One by one, the three machines rammed through all of the opponent's shields, rendering her defenseless. As she picked up all the cards, she turned to her opponent, looked him straight in the eye and spoke firmly, "Shield trigger, I expand Mad Dead Wood, Seductive of D!"
"You also have a D2 Field?!" Demon Edo uttered, taken aback by the revelation.
The blue laboratory disappeared, being replaced by a forest of toxic plants filled with gravestones, a giant Venus Flytrap in its center, holding a lipstick.
"My turn begins, I activate Mad Dead Wood's Denjara Switch. Now all creatures in the battle zone will be sent to the bottom of our decks." The plant opened the lipstick and used it to color its lips dark red, after which it descended upon the battle zone and devoured all of the opposing creatures. "Then all non-evolution creatures from our graveyards will be put into the battle zone." One by one, Dorago the Great, Linnevenus, Beroringa and Dogiragon Buster arose from the gravestones. "With Dorago's effect, we can't put non-Dragon creatures in the battle zone, meaning you won't be able to revive anything!" The winged fiend clenched his fangs in frustration, as that basically meant that he had lost his field and his opponent had regained hers. "My turn, I summon Evil Heat, Screaming Demon Dragon." The dark purple dragon with pink flowers growing out of its skin appeared, causing the top card of her deck to fall into her graveyard, that being Falconer, Lightfang Ninja, which she then returned to her hand. "Dogiragon Buster gives speed attacker to all of my multicolored creatures, himself included. I attack with Dogiragon Buster and Revolution Change into another Dogiragon Buster! Final Revolution, I put Rafululu, Sound Faerie from my hand into the battle zone, now you can't cast spells until the start of my next turn! Go, Dogiragon Buster, break his final shields!"
The blue armored dragon rushed towards Demon Edo and slashed his remaining three shields with the sword it wielded in its mouth. He gave a long stare at the shield triggers which he could have used to get rid of Dorago the Great and end his opponent's turn, none of which bypassed the lockdown imposed on him.
"Evil Heat, attack and Revolution Change into Demonkazura!" Sayo ordered, the dark purple Demon Command Dragon flying towards her opponent and then turning around and hi fiving the quadrupedal green dragon which shared its race. "Let this message be clear as day: Whoever else comes after us will meet the same fate as you, if not worse. There are no second chances with me. Demonkazura, todomeda!"
The creature fired two blood red beams from the flowers on its necks, which blasted Demon Edo and his cards away, throwing him off the mountain. At last, Sayo had dealt with their pursuers, if only temporarily. As the duel ended, the sights returned to the regular dark woods and the creatures disappeared. The priestess packed her cards and took off the gloves to witness that her palms had gotten strangely sweaty.
Giggling to herself, she returned to the cave to find Hajime sleeping without a care in the world. Thankfully the campfire did not go out, so she fetched a small box of chicken legs from her travel bag, put them on a stick and placed them above the flames. Those would be enough to feed the two of them in the morning. She recalled seeing a railway from the corner of her eye as they flew in the mountains. It was in a valley, not too far from their shelter. If they were fast enough, they would reach it before noon. Maybe Hajime's suggestion of seeking refuge in Tokyo was not a bad idea. Being a large city, Shishima would have a harder time tracking them down, and she would be able to return to the Shinto temple where she had spent her childhood and early teenage years. It occurred to her that despite her travels and experience in dealing with the supernatural, she still had a lot to learn. Maybe her old master would impart some wisdom to aid her in this mission. Just recalling that sadistic glare from those demonic eyes was enough scare anyone, regardless of their training. And yet, she was not the only one who needed to get stronger...
Sayo recalled the first time she saw Hajime. She had just infiltrated the college campus and sneaked upstairs, following the foul aura of evil that she sensed. And then she stumbled upon the duel between him and the human apparition that Shishima took. Although the blond gave his best in the match, it soon became clear to her that the demon was toying with him. She would have to duel him personally and teach him an important lesson when it came to facing a flexible control deck. Alas, the food was ready, so she fetched a small plate and left the chicken legs near the sleeping youth. Seeing that the night was still young and she was not truly tired yet, Sayo decided to go cleanse herself in the nearby river. Perhaps a bath would help her clear her thoughts and get some proper rest.
