In this chapter, Tao, Ichiro, and Yuzuru will form a trio. And yes, Ichiro specializes in lawful demons (and angels) and Yuzuru specializes in chaotic ones.
Neutral demons are more Tao's speciality. She wants a world where all three races can live in peace, after all.
That's why she's our main protagonist, basically.
Chapter 4: Power Trio
Since Yuzuru was nowhere to be found, Sahori figured their best bet would be to ask his sister.
She of all people would know where he was.
"Would you know where your brother is? I believe he was the last person to see Ichiro before he disappeared." asked Sahori.
She didn't suspect foul play, but it was worth asking.
"He said he was going to a desert. It's where Tao and Ichiro ended up." answered Miyaru.
"So, Tao's in the middle of a desert? That's not good." remarked the redhead. What if she was caught in the middle of a sandstorm?
And she couldn't survive without water for too long. Though she might find an oasis if she was lucky.
"I'm certain my brother will keep them safe." said Miyaru. After all, he was working with people that were keeping the world safe from demons.
"Why did he go in alone?" asked Sahori.
That seemed like a foolhardy idea.
"Well, he doesn't necessarily fight alone. He mentioned using the demon summoning program to summon demons." explained Miyaru.
"Why would someone want to summon demons? That sounds evil." noted the redhead.
"Now that I know where Tao is, I think I'll try to rescue her." spoke Sahori.
That was what friends were for. Looking out for each other.
"I don't think you should go alone." warned Yosuke.
She didn't know what was out there.
"You're welcome to come with me then." answered the redhead.
"Really? Just the two of us?" asked the teenage boy.
"We could bring your friends. Something tells me there's a limit as to how many friends you can bring with you in situations oike this, however." pointed out Sahori.
"Yeah…we can't have more than four of us fighting at the same time." nodded Yosuke.
"I see." spoke Sahori.
If that was the case, she wondered who she should bring with her.
Who would be best suited for entering the desert?
She imagined somebody who could manipulate ice.
For now, she decided she would ask Miyaru if she knew how to get to that desert.
Surely there had to be a way to traverse dimensions.
"Can you help me go after my friends?" asked Sahori.
"You're going to Da'at? That's risky." spoke Miyaru.
"I know. But my friends are in danger." informed the redhead.
"There is a device, but it can only take two people at a time." explained the brunette girl.
It needed some time to recharge after that.
Bethel was working on it so they could transport more people, however.
They wished to take the fight to the demons, though they were willing to negotiate with them if they requested to do so.
Not all demons were their enemies.
Meanwhile…
"There you are! I've been looking for you two! I'm glad you're both alright." noted Yuzuru.
He had recruited more demons to help search for them, which worked.
He had to instruct his Preta that they weren't for eating, however.
"We do our best to survive out here." explained Ichiro.
"Wait…you're an angel now?" asked Yuzuru.
"I might have merged with someone else." explained Tao.
"It appears that now YHVH is dead, gods can merge with humans and form a symbiotic relationship with them." noted Yuzuru.
"I don't feel good knowing God is dead." answered Ichiro. This may or may not be the reason demons were starting to leak into Japan.
"I don't know about that. How do you feel, Tao?" asked the bespectacled boy.
"I've felt pretty good since bonding with Aogami." explained Tao.
"I guess being a Nahobino is good for humans then." noted Ichiro.
"Unfortunately, that wouldn't be possible while YHVH was still alive." explained Yuzuru.
It was possible for a demon to have a parasitic relationship with their host, however.
But he could tell Aogami was one of the good guys. So perhaps being a Nahobino was a dream come true for Tao.
Suddenly, Ichiro noticed a mermaid was looking at him.
He had gone to a nearby oasis to drink water.
He wasn't sure whether this demon was friendly or not.
"I don't recall seeing humans here often." thought the mermaid.
The scary demons intimidated them.
She didn't have any intention of hurting humans, however. Perhaps because she looked like one?
"Be careful. These demons are known for causing ships to crash." warned Holly.
"It isn't on purpose!" exclaimed the mermaid.
Ichiro decided to negotiate with her, since she wasn't attacking yet.
"I think you're lovely." spoke the blonde boy.
The mermaid giggled.
"You flatter me." spoke the girl.
"I also like your green hair." said Ichiro.
The mermaid giggled again.
"I think I just might join your team." remarked the mermaid.
"I didn't think you would do well with a lady." noted Yuzuru.
Uo until now, he seemed to have terrible luck.
"My luck was bound to turn around sooner or later." spoke Ichiro. "And besides, I already had one lady on my side before you got here."
"True. This demon seems rather chaotic, though." noted Yuzuru.
"I'm flexible." answered the mermaid.
"I personally think you're funny." remarked Tao.
"Really? That's actually kind of sweet." noted Ichiro. Perhaps there was a girl that would be nice to him.
Yuzuru had recruited another demon to his cause.
This one resembled a little girl, but he quickly realized it wasn't.
It was an Acheri, and they were known for casting a shadow.
Luckily, this demon was friendly, so she agreed to join his cause.
Ichiro recruited a harpy. It seemed appropriate since he had recruited a fish girl.
As Tao continued to traverse the desert, Aogami warned them that there was a powerful demon up ahead.
"Should we kill it?" asked the girl.
"Well, it would do Bethel a favor to take it down if it were malicious. Something tells me this isn't something that each of us can take on alone, however." warned Yuzuru.
"I wasn't planning to." noted Ichiro.
This demon was a minotaur.
"Funny, I get the feeling this demon was in a previous Shin Megami Tensei game." remarked Tao. One that took place in a kingdom, not in a modern setting.
And it had somehow made its way into a Shin Megami Tensei V fanfic.
Perhaps a reference to earlier installments in the series wasn't a bad thing, however. Wasn't nostalgia nice?
"Regardless, we need to be careful. Minotaurs have superhuman strength." warned Yuzuru. They were decidedly stronger than an average human.
Using the demon summoning program was giving them strength, however. So they still had a fighting chance.
"I guess we won't be able to negotiate with this one." noted Ichiro.
"I'm afraid not all demons can be reasoned with." explained the boy with the glasses.
There was only one of them, but as it stood, this was essentially a boss-level demon.
They approached it carefully.
Unsurprisingly, the minotaur sniffed them out. It was hard to sneak up on a demon with a strong sense of smell.
He immediately smelled the scent of humans.
Admittedly, he hadn't really been expecting them to be where demons called home, but he wouldn't complain about that. At all.
"Tasty humans! I look forward to this! But what's this? It appears that a Bethel agent is with them." noted the minotaur.
It would be best if he approached with caution. Bethel agents killed demons like him. They said it was for protecting humanity, but he wondered if it was just for sport.
Still, killing a Bethel agent would probably do his fellow demons a favor. And he would be avenging the fallen.
So he decided he would fight them.
And yes, he charged towards them. You couldn't expect anything less from a demon resembling a bull.
Our heroes moved out of the way.
"Ironically, I heard there was a demon known as Matador." noted Yuzuru. He would be of a great help for fighting the bull demon.
Unfortunately, he wasn't high leveled enough to summon him.
And even if he was, he would have to summon him first.
"That is ironic." remarked Ichiro.
"He's difficult to hit unless you can slow him down. This demon probably won't be hard to hit though." noted Yuzuru.
"Maybe, but he's strong." answered Tao.
He swung his fist at Ichiro, sending him flying.
"Ow!" exclaimed the blonde boy.
Tao decided it would be best to protect her friend.
There was no point in allowing him to be eaten. One human probably wasn't going to be enough to keep the minotaur full. He seemed like a big eater.
Luckily, Aogami had taught her a few simple spells.
They weren't very powerful, but that was alright since she didn't have too much MP.
She decided to cast Bufu.
"Ow! Typical angels, trying to deprive us of our food." exclaimed the minotaur. Why did they have to be so protective of humanity? To be honest, sometimes humans deserved to die.
Something told him this was no ordinary angel, however. Usually angels attacked with light.
Though considering he detected his prey by scent, being blinded temporarily honestly wasn't such a big deal.
"Wait, I sense some sort of demon inside of the girl." questioned the minotaur.
"Think of it as a kindred spirit." spoke Tao.
"I should be grateful that God is dead. He created the angels that oppress us demons." noted the bull demon. Things were far more peaceful for him now that he was gone. He did not realize that YHVH had also created the demons, however.
Luckily, Lucifer had led them to victory, more or less. Now they had the freedom to do what they want. Not all demons got along with each other, however.
In retaliation for being struck with ice, the minotaur decided to attack Tao next…but she flew away.
"I suppose punching and kicking isn't going to work." noted the bull.
Perhaps he should try tossing something instead?
That would be a good idea.
Alternatively, he could try attacking the Bethel agent.
He probably knew how to handle the situation best. And he was the one who had the most experience fighting demons.
However, Yuzuru was too quick for him, and he avoided his punch. He almost hit him though.
"His snout looks like a human skull. It's unsettling." remarked Ichiro. It made him feel happy that he had an angel for protection.
"Demons can be intimidating. You'll need to be brave if you wish to fight them." pointed out Holly.
"Well, I don't have to fight alone." admitted the blonde boy.
He decided to strike the minotaur, cutting his cheek.
"Fighting back, are we? You seemed to be cowering in a corner up until now." spoke the minotaur.
"The demons I've faced up until now haven't been this strong." explained Ichiro.
"Trust me, there are far stronger demons out there than I." warned the bull. He couldn't take the throne from Lucifer even if he wanted to. Not even if he found a human to bond with.
The blonde boy found the idea unsettling.
He attempted to stomp on Ichiro, but he moved out of the way.
However, he then proceeded to kick Yuzuru.
He was knocked off his feet.
"Perhaps it would be best if I summon demons." noted the bespectacled boy. Some demons were just too powerful to be faced alone. There was a demon out there that referred to him as the demon king, and he had the power to be given that title.
Hayatoro seemed like a good choice.
So he summoned a demon.
"It looks like I'll be fighting other demons. Why would they want to side with humans though? Aren't humans food to be eaten?" asked the Minotaur.
"I will admit I'm a carnivore myself, but I don't see it that way." explained Hayatoro.
"I honestly wish you wouldn't side with the humans. I feel guilty about having to fight my own kind." nodded the minotaur.
"If there was another option, I would take it." said the wolf demon.
Hayatoro bit into the minotaur.
However, he grabbed him and tossed him aside.
Ichiro summoned his mermaid.
She froze the minotaur with ice.
"Not again!" exclaimed the bull. At this rate he was going to be a popsicle.
His Onmoraki attempted to join the fray, but Holly explained that fire would not work against this type of demon.
"Aww…" spoke the onion demon.
On the other hand, summoning his harpy wasn't such a bad idea.
Blowing him away would keep him at a distance, and he was a close-range fighter.
This worked fairly well.
"How many demons do they have?" asked the bull. He was starting to feel like he was outnumbered, even if he didn't have to worry about being cooked by a living onion.
As the minotaur shielded himself from the wind, a certain Bethel agent attacked.
Yuzuru stabbed the minotaur in the head, dealing a finishing blow.
"I just wanted a bite to eat. Was that really too much to ask?" asked the minotaur as he began to die. He knew that they too were trying to survive in the desert of Minato. So he honestly didn't think they were so different.
"I'm sorry, but there's more to humans than just being food." explained Yuzuru. Though to be honest, perhaps humans and demons weren't so different.
"I suppose you may have a point." agreed the minotaur as he drew his last breath.
Yuzuru registered the demon to his compendium.
"That was some fine work, but you should keep in mind there are far stronger demons out there. So don't celebrate just yet." warned Aogami.
"Well, at least we know we can work together pretty well." spoke Tao.
"That's one less demon we have to worry about seeping into our world." noted Yuzuru.
"I personally feel comfortable around angels." remarked Ichiro. Maybe because the first indivisuaknhe had met in the Netherworld happened to be one.
"Not all angels are good. But I respect your opinion on them. They can be very helpful." remarked the boy wearing glasses. They did commonly work with Bethel, after all.
"Ironically, I could say the same regarding demons." admitted Tao.
"Mm-hmm. I suppose I'll want to tell the prime minister if we can get back alive about my demon companion." noted Yuzuru.
"I'm glad we can negotiate them and not always have to resort to fighting." nodded the angel who was formerly human.
"For a man-eating monster I felt he was rather complex." noted Tao. Perhaps the minotaur had his reasons for being an enemy of humans.
"I suppose. But we could not allow him to continue eating humans. We don't have to be proud of killing him, but it had to be done." explained Yuzuru.
"I suppose you're right." agreed the angel.
Now that the minotaur was slain, it was time to head back home.
Could they make it back?
I guess it's only a matter of time before our heroes encounter the hydra. Then again, there are other demons I can feature in this fanfic aside from the giant snake.
I figured a minotaur would make for as good of a first boss fight as any. You probably remember him from Shin Megami Tensei IV.
He wasn't present in Apocalypse though. King Frost ended up being the first boss instead.