*Warning* This is a Fanmade Story created by Levelgap; the characters, events, places and other images might be inaccurate or outright false and if you don't like those, kindly turn back and look for other professionally made stories.
Disclaimers : I don't own anything that will be seen here. They are owned by their respective owners.
Chapter 16 : The Capability To Fight Back
Kazagumo got to the second floor through the stairs. He saw a room that was slightly open near the stairs.
Getting inside it, he saw a large set of equipments for streaming. Inside that room is also his associate, Mioda Naomi.
"What the fuck happened to you!?" Kazagumo said in astonishment as he kneeled besides the woman and take off the rope tying her up.
But when he was trying to pull the rope out, Naomi groaned in pain. This is because the rope was getting more tighter when he tried to pull it out.
"Careful! Your just making it worse!"
"Then what should I do!?"
Kazagumo stopped doing it. He can't just snap the rope because almost every length of the rope was in knot. There are no gaps that he can take to snap unless he pull one of the length up.
"... Just lean me on the wall, I'll do the rest." Naomi said which Kazagumo quickly agrees.
He grabs both of her shoulder and leaned her on the nearest wall, then he stands up while looking around.
"Where is the weird girl?" He asks as he recalled the child's look who was wearing a weird metallic facemask and a visor.
"She left this room. I don't know where she goes after that." Naomi answered as she moves her arms behind her for awhile.
Something slid between her sleeves. It was a small ornamental knife.
Grabbing it with her hand, she laid on the floor sideways.
"Take the knife." She said.
Kazagumo understanding what she wants him to do, takes the knife she was grabbing behind her and uses it to slice through the rope.
It easily slides through the rope, cutting all the knots until she can move her arms freely.
Kazagumo passed the knife back to her when her arms are freed. Then she took care of the rope that was binding her legs before finally standing up.
"Ah!" She hissed in pain as she can still feel the stinging on her wrist and her legs that was bounded by those ropes.
"Anyway, I'll go and take a look around the house. You stay here. If I saw the brat, I'll take care of the rest!" Kazagumo said as he turned his back and go to the hallway where he can see the way to the other rooms.
"Wait! You need to be careful. That kid might be an expert." Naomi warned his associate.
"... Heh, I can take care of myself. I'm a Monk, remember?"
After saying that, he leaves the room.
Monk. Different from a mage, a hermit uses Chi to enact feats impossible to human.
A Mage is someone who uses Mana to enact their own will to the world. Monk was someone who can only use their body as a weapon.
They can also use some weapons or other objects and pour it with their Chi so it will become stronger. It is much more practical than using Mana to reinforce an object.
But Kazagumo was a Monk focused on the use of fist. So he doesn't bring any weapons with him.
Naomi is still unsure how Kazagumo can fare against the mystery girl. She is thinking that the girl might be a Monk or a Hermit.
Hermit. Just like a Monk, they also use Chi. But instead of using it to boost themselves, Hermits also use it like how Mages uses Mana to enact their will to the world.
She thinks the girl might have use some sort of strange technique to escape her perception. And it was known that an expert Hermit can easily defeat an expert Monk due to the disparity in the variety of their techniques.
"... I need to join him quickly." She said before using her Mana to enact her will.
She reinforced her body's regeneration process using her Mana. Reinforcement magic is one of the basic that can be used to achieve many feats. One of it is increasing her recovery.
She didn't manage to do this awhile ago because she was distracted at how quick Ayumi incapacitated her. It only took less than thirty seconds before she was tied up like that. The stinging pain of being bounded tightly by a rope also added to that factor so she can't reinforced herself.
She sits in there while waiting for her to recover enough to help Kazagumo on his search.
"I can't!"
Ayumi quickly refused the Arctic Fox's suggestion to her.
"But why refuse. You are being threatened by people much weaker than you. Isn't it appropriate to fight back?" The Arctic Fox asks with a confused tone in it's voice.
Ayumi knows that the Arctic Fox is right. Her house was being intruded by two unknown strangers and it seems like they have a hostile intent to her. It was much more appropriate to fight back if she have the strength to do so.
"But even so... I think it was fine to just call the police right?" That is what she is thinking.
Even if she was strong enough to wipe the floor against her enemies, it was ingrained to her since her past life to just call the authorities when she was in some grave trouble or something.
She was also scared of causing grave bodily harm on the two intruders. She might be accused of reckless assault instead of a justified self-defense if she just beat them up like that.
"Aren't those the normal peacekeeping people wearing those blue uniforms? They can't do anything to your assailants. They have powers while those people you wanted to call doesn't." The Arctic Fox rejected her suggestion immediately.
Ayumi bit her lips as she thinks more about that.
She have a suspicion that something is weird with those two people but having been confirmed by the Arctic Fox, she was now certain that they truly have powers beyond human minds.
She doesn't want to believe it. She wants to think that those two are just normal people that can be easily taken by the local enforcement.
But she can't deny the reality. Even if she called the police, they might not be able to do anything at all.
"Oh... I also heard from the young Shirakami that they are a part of the Senryuu-dou. I think I heard her mutter that they are a notorious crime group that the government can't carelessly provoke." The Arctic Fox continued, giving her more information about the intruders of her house.
"Shirakami?" Ayumi was curious about who was the Arctic Fox talking about.
"The current caretaker of this pendant." The Arctic Fox simply replied before it sniffs into the air. "Now that I think about her, I can smell her blood on one of those thugs. It seems like she might have gotten hurt, or killed by them." The Arctic Fox continued as he looks at her again.
"Killed!?"
"Hush young one. Your assailants may hear your voice." The Arctic Fox said to her.
"... Actually, this room is soundproofed. Nothing can get pass here other than light." Ayumi tried to explain that to the Arctic Fox.
It seems like the Arctic Fox doesn't know about that. He looks around the room once again, take a once over again, before finally turning his gaze back at her.
"... I see. I just noticed this but it seems that I was awaken because of this room." The Arctic Fox said with a nod of it's head.
Ayumi just waited for the Arctic Fox to explain. Which the Arctic Fox entertains.
"This room seems to be brimming with a primal energy that I can't understand. It was too neutral to be malicious or good. And it seems like these primal energy was coming to you." The Arctic Fox said as he stares at her like he peering deep inside her soul. "You seem to not comprehend what I am speaking of. Then I will just simplify it. The power hidden inside you was the one covering this whole room."
Ayumi finally understands what the Arctic Fox is talking about. In fact, she also have a suspicion what is it talking about.
'It might have something to do with my Essence?' She thought to herself.
She recalled the description of her Status, Essence.
Essence : The overall aptitude to harness and resist supernatural phenomena. Increasing this makes it more easier to influence the world and also resist supernatural influence.
It stated that it makes it possible for her to do supernatural things and also resist those things. But how does this happen?
It's to convert the numerical value of the system into a coherent form of energy that the people of this world uses. Mana, Chi, Divine Power, Spiritual Energy, Life Force, Psionic, Cosmic Energy, etc.
And what can be compared to know how strong she is through numerical values?
Just like how it compares to other of her status.
A score of ten is already a peak human capability. Going beyond that makes them a superhuman.
So for Essence, it can be compared to a talented magician or Chi using martial artist.
A talented magician can easily learn magic spells and other things that a magician can do. It's also the case to anyone that uses a different form of power.
She have a 560 score on her Essence. This essentially makes her 56x more powerful than those talented people. She also have 56x more resistance than those talented people.
And that's not all. Those people can only use one type of power. Mana for mages. Psionic for psychic. Chi for Martial Artist. Etc.
This also makes it understandable why the Arctic Fox can't understand what it can feel inside Ayumi. Her Essence was essentially neutral to it's senses.
This is because this neutral energy can be converted into any other energy when Ayumi finally have an ability that can cause a phenomena to the world.
In short, her Essence can turn into a Mana if she uses magic. Chi if she uses some sort of technique. Psionic Energy if she wants to use psychic powers. And a lot of things.
That is what the Essence entails.
Of course she didn't come to that much of a conclusion. She just thought that the Essence status might be the one that the Arctic Fox was feeling.
While she was thinking like that, she heard the doorknob to this room being opened. Though it was locked so it failed. It seems like whoever was on the other side of the door, they were trying to break into the room.
"It seems like our conversation is over. You must prepare to fight them." The Arctic Fox declared at her.
"... But..."
"If you don't fight back, they will take your life. I have already failed to save the Shirakami Clan. I don't want to see you who awakened me to die in my sight!" The Arctic Fox snarled. "If I could, I would have helped you. But I am only a soul without any physical body. So you should fend for yourself. You don't have to worry, the power inside you will surely help you in defeating those thugs." The Arctic Fox gently said, finally calming down.
Ayumi was still hesitant to fight. She knows she is strong and it seems like the other person was also someone who have powers. She was being intruded so it would be fine to defend herself.
But she can't take her mind into it. If she can punch someone, she still won't do it because her mind subconsciously tells her that "It was wrong to do so". Even when it was natural if it was for protecting her life, she lives too peacefully and in isolation that she can't will herself to hurt someone.
She heard the door being slammed but it seems like the door held firm. Then she heard it was being smashes repeatedly.
The door stood firmly. Like a wall that can't be bended.
'I have a door that was Mithril plated. It doesn't even get a scratch when I tried to test it's endurance with a full strength kick. Maybe it was fine to stay here in this room until they get tired of it?' She thought to herself, her cowardly heart rising through her.
"Young one! What are you dallying for! Are you going to stand there and just wait for things to happen!?" The Arctic Fox snarled at her way again.
"!?"
She was surprised. The Arctic Fox seems to be angry for her sake. It wants her to fight so she can protect herself.
"You have the power! Use it to protect yourself! Are you going to stand idly there!? Do you want to die like that!?" The Arctic Fox continued snarling at her, it's teeth now bared in her way.
Strangely, she wasn't scared of that. In reality, she was only timid in front of any people. If it comes to animals, she can easily interact with them. So for awhile now, she doesn't become too timid when she was conversing with the Arctic Fox.
The Arctic Fox doesn't know that this room was also ridiculously sturdy. It just thought that it was just a special room that can contain the mysterious supernatural energy dwelling inside Ayumi.
Still, the words of the Arctic Fox stirred something inside Ayumi.
She can still remember how when the people started bullying her in her past life, she was still fighting back. Talking back at them or hurting them in turn when they get physical to her. As time pass, she slowly became more and more timid. Her strength slowly wanes as she became too depressed while people continue bullying her due to how fat or smelly she is.
And then, she shuts herself in her room. She doesn't fight back. She runs away and stays inside her room.
She became a coward because of the people's persistence to keep putting her down. They keep breaking her confidence just for their own amusement or they are just plainly irritated to her existence.
She can't help having that kind of constitution. She hated herself because of her own flaws. A flaw that turned her into a shut in.
The words of the Arctic Fox broke the chain that she wraps herself in. She wanted to run away and hide on all the troublesome things. Isolating herself and letting the others just move on by forgetting her.
But now. She felt that it was wrong. She was already new person. She wasn't the Sakaguchi Kotomi of her past life. She was Hoshimachi Ayumi of this world.
She was already living her second life. So why shouldn't she change herself?
This is what she is thinking to herself.
'I can't see myself as a violent person. But, if the Arctic Fox said is true, then these people are too dangerous. I don't have the heart to hurt them, so maybe I should try to force them to retreat.' She thought to herself before finally deciding to fight back.
She doesn't want to beat them up using her fist or something. As she said, she wasn't that violent and she is still too timid to do that kind of thing.
So she decided to do one thing that she can do.
Buying an ability!
[Basic Psychokinesis] 100 FP
[Intermediate Psychokinesis] 200 FP
When she bought those abilities, she suddenly learned something integral to herself. Like it was already a natural part of herself.
The Arctic Fox felt something changed in her air. Though it only thinks that it have something to do with her deciding to do what must be done.
"... Here I go!" Ayumi said to encourage herself as she took a step forward.
"URAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Another punch clad with Chi was sent to the door. Another strong impact blasts through the door's surface.
But it didn't budge. His punches doesn't manage to do anything at all. Not even a scratch was made.
"Fucking... is this door enchanted too much!?" Kazagumo spat in anger.
He tried to take a stance again and readied his fist to shoot through the door again. Chi cladding his fist as an aura of malice came out of him.
But before he did that, the door opens.
This makes him stops momentarily. It really is just a moment because he was still processing how the door just opens.
He was trying to get inside because he thinks the girl and the pendant was inside the room. Normally, he would have punch before even confirming who was on the other side. He knows an enemy can only get out of that room.
But he still remembered that the enemy is just a child. If he killed the girl, he'll have a hard time finding the pendant that the girl was hiding.
And he doesn't want to make this much more troublesome. So he stops for a moment.
But quickly after stopping momentarily, he decided to continue his strike. This time with a weaker output.
He saw Naomi being apprehended and tied in a quick manner, less than a minute before he got the telepathic call to help her. So he thinks this much will only break the bones of the girl and incapacitate her. This will also make it possible for him to torture her for the location of the pendant.
Normally, unless they are a clairvoyant, a normal person on the Other Side would be taken by surprise on his punch. Even if they know it was coming, his punches was pretty quick. Also, they are still opening the door so they don't know what he will do.
But he was surprised when his body became too heavy for him to move. It's like a weight was suddenly put on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry for doing this."
He tried moving his gaze to the person beyond the door. But he can't due to the intense weight that was bearing on his body. He was slowly getting into a kneeling position due to how heavy it felt.
"Gghk! GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He roared a warcry while using the full Chi in his body to strengthen himself.
But instead of feeling lighter, he suddenly felt much heavier. It was so heavy that he lost his stability and just fell straight to the floor.
The floor itself broke, planting his whole upper body in it.
"Huh!? I'm sorry I didn't intend to do that!" He heard the girl said in a panic.
The girl, Ayumi, was surprised when Kazagumo's upper body planted itself on the floor. She was so surprised that she momentarily disabled the use of her new ability.
She predicted that Kazagumo will charge at her in a burst due to her seeing some strange shimmering through his body. So she strengthen the hold of her Psychokinesis on his body.
Due to disabling the use of her Psychokinesis, Kazagumo moves only by instinct when he feels the mysterious weight vanishing.
He tried to put some force on his feet to do a half flip, with his leg reaching the position where Ayumi is located. Due to still reeling in pain so he didn't hold back at all and use his full power in that action.
But a split second when his feet raises to the ground, his feet planted on the floor due to the intense weight that suddenly bears above it.
"Gurghk!?" He was confused what is happening because he still didn't manage to raise his head.
Then his whole body felt that unbearable weight again. This time, each of his limbs was also feeling it, making it impossible for him to move at all.
Ayumi predicted his movement when Kazagumo just move his muscle for a moment. So with her prediction, she quickly stops his action, this time with the necessary strength of her Psychokinesis.
When Ayumi bought the ability, she also got the knowledge on how to use it like it was already a part of her life. So she manages finely control her ability. Though she thinks there are more things that she can do if she upgraded this ability.
"I am sorry once again. Can you please leave me alone. I don't want to hurt you." Ayumi stated when she was sure that Kazagumo was incapacitated with her hold.
Kazagumo moves his head sideways and glared at her way.
"Fuck!" He spat at her as he tried to move any part of his body. His actions are all a failure though.
While she was trying to make him submit, she heard footsteps on her streaming room. Looking there, she saw that the girl that she tied awhile ago was coming out.
It seems like Naomi is ready because she was holding an ornamental knife. She was going to throw that in her way.
But quicker than when she was making a stance to throw it, she felt some sort of force yanking the knife out of her hand before some sort of force sweeps her feet out of the ground, making her fall on her back.
"I'm sorry once again." Ayumi apologizes with an apologetic look before looking at them with a determined expression. "Please leave me alone. I don't want to hurt the both of you." She said with a bow on their way.
But the both of them still wanted to fight. They have many ways to fight against other members of the Other Side.
But before they could even come to that, their clothes were suddenly ripped out of their body.
"Please I don't want to hurt you. It might be terrible but I'll start with your clothes. It's also to ensure that your not hiding anything to hurt me." She said to them while still feeling regretful about what she is doing.
And she did just that. She broke each pieces of their clothes, dismantling whatever objects or device that they have in them. Thus, leaving them in their undergarments.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Kazagumo tried to struggle in vain as he screamed in rage.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!?" But Naomi's scream was different, this one with embarrassment.
Using her Psychokinesis and her incredible talent, she manages to multitask dismantling any hidden weapons they have. She notices that Kazagumo only have a smartphone in him while Naomi have a lot of different things inside her clothes.
"Will you please give up now. Please tell me if you want to give up now and I'll gladly escort you out of the premises. Please, I don't want to hurt the both of you." She said wait an apologetic expression. "If you don't give up... well, I'll just throw you out in the street like that. I don't want to do that so-"
"I surrender!" Naomi shrilled in fear as she tried to cover herself.
Though she can't because each of her limbs was now being held by her Psychokinesis.
"Naomi!? What are you doing!?" Kazagumo yelled madly.
"We can't do anything. Can't you feel it?" Naomi said to her in a pleading tone. "She was releasing a force impossible for a normal person!"
When she said that, Kazagumo just noticed it now. He tried moving his gaze on the form of Ayumi.
Though she was still in her streaming equipment so they can't see her face. But he can see something that other people can't see. That's an aura.
"What the fuck is that!?" He cried in astonishment.
What he was seeing is an aura of unknown power. Covering his whole vision is an energy he can't describe other than neutral.
It felt like Chi but it also felt different. It also felt like Mana and Psionic and any other forms of energy.
Currently, only the Psionic feeling are moving around and coiling against their body.
He is not really seeing it. It was more like a sense to feel the supernatural energies of this world. Though he doesn't know any other feeling other than Chi, he somehow can tell that it was Psionic that was engulfing him through unknown reasons.
And the amount of power that she was releasing was immeasurable. It can't be quantified by them at all.
'This is much stronger than our Oyabun. Much stronger than Vincent. No, she is much stronger than a Mythical Beast!' He thought with a shudder. 'Is this girl even human!?' His thought continued in that direction and he finally trembled at that thought.
Kazagumo and Naomi have many experiences on the Other Side. Getting in contact with other members of the Other Side.
Like the Magus Supreme, Vincent Valencia. The leader of Senryuu-dou who was also known as the Thousand Year Dragonlord, Senryuu Jin. In one of his missions, he even encountered the famed Yamata no Orochi and only manage to escape with three of his associates, one of them being Naomi.
He saw their strength and he thinks that they are one of the strongest of the world.
Seeing someone much stronger than them causes him to become fearful not for his life, but for the whole Senryuu-dou.
It seems like Naomi wasn't surrendering because of embarrassment. She was surrendering because the girl finally decided to show her true power.
A power unimaginable to any humans.
"I see. Then I shall see you out." Ayumi said in relief.
Then she took off her hold on them before using her Psychokinesis to carry them to the outside.
The both of them can do nothing but to surrender themselves to her.
'We can't let the girl target our faction'
'We must make sure that she doesn't turn her eyes on the clan!'
The both of them thought as they tried to think of some ways to appease the girl.
But they can't think of anything else when they got out of the house.
The car that was parked nearby suddenly moves in front of the gate. This is once again because of Ayumi's Psychokinesis.
The door of this car opened and the both of them were gently pulled in there before the strange force lifting them up vanishes.
The both of them tried to get up and say something to her but she was just staring at them. Though they can't see what is her expression, due to their impression of her now, they think that she was looking at them menacingly.
"Please leave me alone." She said politely while she was still staring at them.
She was staring at them because she wants to make sure that the two of them won't suddenly attack her when she turned her back on them.
The both of them are unnerved at her stare. They are so uncomfortable that after awhile, they finally decided to just leave it at that.
"... I'm sorry..." Naomi said before she quickly get to the driver's seat.
Then she drives out of the residence without turning back.
"... Are you sure this is fine."
When they got outside of the residential areas, Kazagumo finally talks to her.
"... That... being told us to get out. We can only do that." Naomi said while her hands was still trembling.
The two of them can't believe that she was a human. No human can hold that much power.
"... We must report this to Oyabun." Kazagumo said, all his aggressiveness is now gone.
"That was obvious." Naomi replied back with a tired voice.
They don't care even if they are only in their undergarments. They can just tell their henchmen to take them some new clothes somewhere.
For now, they should go back to Kyoto and report this to their boss.
"... What about that Shirakami girl..."
"... I don't know. But if she comes on the clan, sacrifice yourself."
"... I understand..."
With that cold statement, Kazagumo can't help but accept his fate.
They think that the keeper of that pendant was a friend of Ayumi. And because Kazagumo was the one who killed the unconscious girl, he must sacrifice himself to appease the anger of that girl. If it wasn't enough, Naomi was also willing to be the next.
Their loyalty to Senryuu-dou was too high. They would choose their own death than the destruction of the clan.
They can only hope she doesn't come on their way.
"... That was naive. They will come back at you." The Arctic Fox chided her.
After finishing all of that, she cleaned up all the mess in her house. Though her doors and the lock on her gate was busted so she needs to repair that. She was planning to call some people to repair her house. She thinks no one will be able to get inside the Forbidden Room.
'Or I should just repair it by myself?' She was also thinking like that before focusing back to her conversation with the Arctic Fox.
She just told the Arctic Fox what happened and he heavily disagrees with her actions.
"But it seems like you won't change your ways. Just remember that you must be decisive when fighting someone. It will help you in your life if you take this advice to heart." The Arctic Fox told her in a sagely manner.
"... Anyway, what will you do now?" Ayumi tried asking the Arctic Fox.
"Hmm... well, I have finally awakened after a long time of slumbering. It would be a great time to go to the Spirit World."
"The Spirit World?"
"It is the place of spirits and demons. On the other side of this world, there lies the Spirit World. Existing in this same world, but it was a different plane of existence. I can only sustain my existence inside this room. If I want to move around, I need to get inside the Spirit World." The Arctic Fox said to her.
"... Why are you in the pendant anyway?" Ayumi was curious about that so she asks.
"Hmm... it was a long story. Would you like to hear this one's tale before I cross over the Spirit World?" The Arctic Wolf ask back.
"You can cross over?"
"Yes. If it's inside this place, I can use the mysterious energy surrounding this room to make a portal to the Spirit World. I am sure you can also do that given enough time." The Arctic Fox explained. "But enough about that. Do you want to hear this old one's tale or should I be going on my way?"
"... Well, I still have a lot of time remaining and it seems like my internet provider was broken so I think I'll just pass the time hearing your story." Ayumi said before sitting on the floor.
"Then let us start. To how I got inside the pendant. And how I met the clan of Shirakami."
With that, his tale begins.
**End of Chapter 16**
[Status]
Physique : 585
Fitness : 520
Wisdom : 610
Creativity : 610
Talent : 915
Charisma : 620
Essence : 560
VP : 10,293
[Abilities]
Game : FPS God
2D Modelling God
3D Modelling God
Animation God
Baggage God
Cooking God
Cover God
Disguise God
Evasion God
House Chores God
Prediction God
Programming God
Intermediate Psychokinesis
Voice Acting God
FP : 1,820
A/N
So next is the last chapter for the second arc. After that is the third arc.
Sorry for the long delay of this chapter. Well, I think the next update will also be delayed so I am sorry in advance if that happens.
I hope this chapter doesn't feel forced. Ayumi is hard to give a motivation to take action. She was too timid and scared to do that.
I need to pull something up just to make it possible, and I think it is still forcing it.
Anyway, that's that. I hope you have fun in this story!~
Review if you like, helpful comments are welcome and thanks for reading this!~~