Chapter 6: The Metro
Roland and Amaterasu began their slow descent into the unknown darkness of the subway tunnel. The further they went downwards, the quieter it became and the only thing that could be heard, apart from Roland's hissing flare, were the placid sounds of water droplets dripping onto the surface which echoed throughout the empty space. Roland hoped to come across a substation or some sort of potential power source to bring light to the tunnel, as he was getting ever more fearful of the ghastly atmosphere. Amaterasu was also on very high alert, sensing the presence of an unknown dark force lying before them. But she did not know at what moment they will encounter it.
After some 10 minutes of traversing in the seemingly endless void, a freezing cold breath of wind breezed by the duo. Roland instantly froze as his stomach churned and his heart raced as panic almost settled in his mind, but he attempted to control it and let it get to him. Amaterasu slowly got into her defensive position. She had anticipated this since freezing wind and low temperatures coming out of the blue could only indicate one thing, demonic activity.
Roland gripped his blade hard and prepared himself for an enemy that he has never fought before. In front of them, a small cyclone of black and purple mist had shaped. And from the mist, materialized three green apelike creatures with paper masks covering their faces and wielded flutes constructed from bamboo. Amaterasu relaxed a bit as she realized they were the same old enemy from the past. The green demonic imps spun around like ballerinas to give themselves some distance to get into formation and then proceeded to aim their flutes at Roland and Amaterasu. Roland kept his cool and got ready to strike.
But Amaterasu had beat him to it, she leaped into the air and struck one of the imps with her reflector twice in a row. That imp screeched in pain and got launched into the air where it was power slashed in half. Amaterasu then focused on the remaining imps who were got off guard by her initial strike. They also proved no match for Amaterasu as they were the weakest of the demons that existed. Amaterasu preformed the same strikes towards the other two imps, and both were cut into pieces. Their remains then bloomed into pile of various fauna that sprinkled the surface, an after effect when Amaterasu defeats an enemy.
Roland just stood there shocked and speechless. He did not know what to make of the spectacle that occurred just before him and had so many questions for Amaterasu but knew that she would not be able to answer them.
"What in the void were those things!" He suddenly exclaimed.
Amaterasu just stared back at him, unsure how to respond. Meanwhile, Roland got his act back together and made his next decision.
"We have to get the hell out of here and fast…come on let's go." He said quickly and started pacing onward. Amaterasu skipped after him while still being in a state of readiness regarding what may come next.
"You made short work them I must say. I at least feel a bit relieved that I have you to take care of them." Roland complimented.
Amaterasu did not respond to that either as she was too focused getting ready for another potential attack. Roland's flare started to glow dimmer and hiss less until it burned out entirely, leaving the two in near darkness with only Amaterasu's white mane and reflector emanating only a small amount of light.
"Shit! Not now!"
Roland discarded the dead flare and scrambled around in his book bag to retrieve another one. Unfortunately, this exact moment made them vulnerable to the forces of darkness, allowing an opportunity to launch another attack. Amaterasu felt the incoming hostiles nearby and got herself ready once more.
Another three green imps emerged in front them, with an additional fourth one of a different variation. It was a slightly larger brown imp this time wielding a wooden guitar. Roland hastily was trying to ignite the new flare, but it was taking longer than usual. The freezing conditions in the tunnel as a result of the demonic presence made establishing any source of light or heat stiffer. Amaterasu jumped in front of Roland to cover him while he fiddled with his flare. The imps proceeded to spread out in order to give them an advantage in angles of attack and coverage. But like last time, these types of demons were not formidable opponents for Amaterasu as she lunged, struck, and annihilated them one by one. By the time she was finished with them, Roland finally managed to set his flare alight.
"What did I miss?" He asked with a hint of exhaustion from trying to light the flare under stress.
Amaterasu slightly rolled her eyes and waited for Roland to start moving again.
"We must find a substation here or else we won't last much longer!" Roland started his stride forward through the tunnel with the goddess by his side.
After another 15 minutes of walking which felt more like hours, Roland spotted a door with an electrical hazard warning plastered on it above them at the tunnel walkway.
"Finally! Quickly, we must get some light in this place, or we'll be minced."
Roland climbed up the walkway and opened the door leading to a room full of transformers and electrical equipment. He carefully recited all the plastered signs and instructions on the machinery to get an idea on how to start this contraption. First, he needed to start the gas turbine generator to supply the transformers electrical power which will then distribute it throughout this area of the metro. Roland attempted to start the generator, but it was to no avail. He tried to diagnose the problem and eventually found out that the starter batteries were completely drained of power.
"Hey pooch, do you think you can do something with these batteries?" Roland asked and pointed to the batteries, he figured that she may have some divine trick up her sleeve.
Amaterasu came closer to the machine and examined it. She thought for a moment and then remembered the time when she first utilized her thunderbolt technique to power up Gen's clockwork contraption. She assumed that this was a similar case and proceeded to swish her tail in a zigzag pattern onto the batteries. There was a sudden burst of bright plasma from the batteries and the console of the generator lit up. This event also made Roland flinch a little.
"Woah! Damn, you're full of surprises, aren't you?"
The goddess gave a small smirk as a response to Roland's statement. Meanwhile, he was in the process of starting the machine. After flipping switches and pushing various buttons as directed by the instructions, the turbine started spooling up and roared to life. Once the turbine reached its optimal revolutions per minute, Roland flips one last switch to enable the generator. This activated the transformers in the background as indicated by their distinct 50 hertz hum. The lights soon flickered back on, finally putting an end to the gloom that reigned throughout the tunnels.
"Now this, is much better." Roland gave off a sigh of relief; Amaterasu felt the same way as well.
"Come on, we should not waste any more time here."
Roland hastily left the room and started heading downwards the now lit tunnel, but Amaterasu had other ideas. She blocked Roland's path and proceeded to stretch her body and allowed her to float backwards by a short amount, giving enough room for Roland to mount her. With Amaterasu's advantage in speed and mobility, they were sure enough going to make it to their destination at a faster pace.
"Wait…you want me to ride you?" Roland had to think for a moment on what she was asking him with her actions.
The goddess nods and motioned her body again as a form of further insistence.
"Er…ok then…I hope you know what you're doing."
The awkwardness sets into Roland as he never had thought that riding on a wolf as if it were a horse was ever a good idea. He gently grips her fur and sits just behind her shoulders. To his surprise, his weight did not seem to have an effect on her at all.
"Well, giddy up then pooch!"
Even though Amaterasu had no clue what Roland meant, she took as a sign that he was ready to travel. She then sprinted down the tunnel which caught Roland off guard as he was holding on to her fur for dear life. Flowers were also trailing behind her as she ran through the linear tunnel.
"You're…going a bit too fast!" Roland was trying not to lose his grip on her while she galloped along.
Amaterasu barked in response telling him to "shut up", as it was his idea to "not waste any more time" in the first place. Afterall, she was merely doing him a favor.
It took only five minutes to finally reach the next station. The station was in an even more corroded state than the one Roland and Amaterasu departed from. The duo still had a decent distance to cover before reaching their destination. The goddess wasted no time in stopping and continued her marathon.
After trekking along the tunnel for some time and passing another two stations, Roland slightly tugged her fur, signaling Amaterasu to slow down.
"Easy girl! We're almost here."
Amaterasu does as he commanded and decreased her pace. The two finally approached the station where they were intending on reaching. Roland looked up at the signage on the station which read "Guardian Sapling-River of Heavens Shrine".
"At last, we've arrived." Roland said with a whiff of relief as he disembarked the wolf. He then proceeded to climb on to the platform, along with Amaterasu who gracefully hopped onto it ahead of him.
"Stay silent now, there're likely guards on the surface." Roland whispered as he started creeping towards the exit.
Amaterasu indeed can confirm that there was a human presence above judging by their scent. But in addition to that, she also picked up something a lot bigger and more noticeable that perceived like a threat, yet she could not decipher what it was. Nevertheless, Amaterasu shall find out soon enough as she and Roland peak their heads out of the station exit and meet the minimal comfort of the murky sunlight, which they hadn't felt for a decent amount of time.
