Slayer: Last time I left you all off with a cliff hanger.
Gin: Wait what Happened to you anyway?
Shadow: Not important! What is important is to say that for the first time in this story… We'll have a different point of view! At least for a bit.
Mizore: Well that's interesting… But why are we doing that?
Slayer: Oh you'll see.
Bladedancer: (Kicks down door) Hey what's up?!
Slayer: Don't kick down my door! I just had this place repaired.
Bladedancer: Oh sorry about that but it's time for my debut!
Slayer: I just fixed this place up you Ingrate!
Mizore: Who is this person?
Slayer: The main character of the TOTDG series
Bladedancer: Alright here are some fireworks to celebrate! (Fires fireworks)
Slayer: (Looks at burning roof and floor) Do that again and I'll steal your blood echoes!
Bladedancer: I'd like to see you try!
Slayer: That's what the last one said.
Shadow: No one CARES! We have a story to get to and an antidote to find!
Tsukune: Wait what kind of antidote?
Shadow: (Smiles evilly) Don't worry for now Slayer get on with it! We've almost went over the word limit for the commenter section!
Slayer: True… Now thank you to everyone for giving this story and a chance and you to those who reviewed, like, and followed.
Shadow: Slayer Infinium doesn't own anything except OC's and reality building concepts. Everything else belongs to their respective owners. Now without further ado…
Everyone: Let's begin the story!
"Nero"
Thoughts/talking to inner voice
'Masamune'
Chapter Seven: The Tale Begins
The Yuki-Onna
It had been an hour since we've brought Hunter back to the school. And despite giving him all of his blood vials his wounds had still not healed. In fact I think the overdose on blood vials had maybe made it worse. Right now we're all in the clinic watching him as he panted and sweated. He looked like he was in extreme pain, and all I could do was sit there and hold his hand. Everyone once in a while he'd yell out in his sleep something about a demon. More than likely he was remembering his encounters with those horrid creatures he told about before. While I was on his left side, I looked over to Shirone who was on his right. The poor girl was crying while holding onto his hand as if he'd die at any second.
The others were just as somber but not as worried as the two of us. After all we were much closer to the voidwalker. I finally decided that worrying and moping around wasn't going to fix anything. I got up and moved to Shirone and pulled the girl into a tight embrace. The small Nekoshou buried her face into my chest as I stroked her head the way Hunter does. She calmed down after a while and eventually fell asleep in my arms. Picking her up I made to move out of the room.
Tsukune looked at me confused. "Where're you going Mizore san?" Stopping right outside the door I turned to him with determination in my eyes.
"First I'm dropping Shirone off in my room; the poor girl has it rougher than us. Even myself…" I mumbled that last part so they didn't hear me. "After which I'm going to see the chairman. Hunter's wounds aren't healing no matter what we do. That is worrying me. They're healing as slow as a human. And Hunter has always shown great regenerative abilities… I'm hoping he'll be able to help us find out what's wrong."
"There's no need for that." All of us jumped at the voice. Turning around we all calmed down when we saw the chairman. Though it was only a bit since he still creeped most of us out.
He continued talking once we calmed down slightly. "Good evening everyone, I'm here to check on our resident Voidwalker. His condition also worries me since he has a job to do." He looked at Tsukune who fidgeted under his gaze. Turning back to my boyfriend he walked up to his sweeting form. Putting a rather young hand on his forehead; we all saw his body glow before it was transferred to Hunter. When the light died down we all saw that he was exactly as before.
"That's not good. That's not good at all!" Hearing the chairman panic like that only made my fears worse.
I spoke up with a terrified voice. "What's wrong with him? Please tell me!" Everyone looked worried but mostly sorrowful as the chair man turned to me. Sighing he answered me.
"He was shot with a powerful dark maker bullet. They have the same strength as Hunter's quicksilver bullets which are hardened and empowered with his blood. However they have the extra bonus of a very unique poison. The poison makes it so any unnatural healing ability is made void. Useless, along with all healing spells, items, or even blood transfusions which Hunter uses. Not even the soul arts would work for healing a wound like this. And since it shut off his healing before being hit with the bombs…"
I answered with eyes wide. "He has an awfully large chance of dying doesn't he?" He nodded his head solemnly. Tears bristled at my eyes, it just wasn't fair! We had finally gotten together, and I was with my perfect husband. I, I didn't want to lose him! He was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Him and his crazy actions, to his wonderful kind and protective side; I don't want that to go away. I wanted to introduce him to my mother and show him around the village. I have no doubt that his master over three types of elemental magic, including ice would astound them. He was also strong, incredibly so. Any opposition to us marrying could be crushed by him.
But now… Looking back over to him I could only pray to his patron the Outsider that he'll watch over him. Though I wouldn't rely on him, turning back to the chairman I asked him what we could do.
He put his hand to his chin in thought. "Hmm… Well I suppose there is one cure… But I don't think you'd be able to obtain it with the strength you all have now. Perhaps if you could convince Ginei and if I could get some others than maybe you pull it off alive." He seemed stuck in thought before folding his arms and nodding to us. "Alright I have an idea but only those willing to risk life and limb should go. I'll ask the Outsider to see if he can also send some help." He grimaced slightly after that.
"Expect all help to be rather strange though." All of us nodded our heads at him before turning to each other. We knew what we were going to do. Tsukune was the one to voice our decision.
"All of us are going. Hunter would do the same for use. Plus he has saved us many times already. This is the least that we can do." The chairman seemed to smile at that before turning to leave. Before that though he gave us one last bit of advice.
"From now on I suggest you start training. The one who attack Hunter was just an enforcer. I can't tell you how overpowered you'd be when an actual soldier appears." With that he left and let that statement hang in the air. That man Hunter fought was just an enforcer. And based on what the chairman said an actual soldier would be even stronger. I grimaced at that, Hunter barely defeated him. Though I also had some hope. After all hunter didn't have his sword and he didn't have the enemies strength added to his own before.
For now all I can do is hope. Looking back at Hunter I walked over still holding Shirone in my arms. Bending over carefully so I didn't drop her I kissed Hunter on the lips. I pulled back after a few seconds with my face being red. Still I made a promise to his unconscious form.
"That was my first kiss you know. I hope to forever treasure it. But now I promise to look after your sister and to get strong enough to fight by your side." With that I left while everyone stared at me in shock. Although Hunter seemed a bit more clam after my kiss. I could only hope that was a good sign.
You wouldn't harm a line break would you?
The Voidwalker
Opening my eyes I could see a blue sky with huge white puffy clouds going across its giant expanse. However feeling the ground underneath me all I could feel was soft snow. Sitting up and looking down to it I grab a small handful within a gloved hand. Holding it up I didn't feel any cold coming from it. Instead it felt warm, it was like the warmness I got being around Mizore. Looking more around I raised an eyebrow when I saw yellow cat tails springing forth from the snowy ground.
Walking over to one I plucked it and gave it an appraisal. What I felt from it was the joy I got from being around Shirone. It was strange, but I didn't mind it. Looking around once more I saw a red crystal floating in the sky with lightning, wind, and ice flowing around it. There was also another equally large crystal next to it that had nothing floating around it. Looking more towards the ground I could see that the vast expanse of snow and cattails went on forever.
'It's nice isn't it?' Looking behind me towards the familiar voice I looked to see a very cute girl. Her hair color was white in a medium length bob cut, with a few bangs framing her face. Her skin was fairly pale though about as pale as Mizore's actually.
She wore a white long sleeved shirt and a green vest over it. On top of that was a opened long twin tailed coat colored green as well. She wore a thigh length green skirt with white tights. On her feet were brown dress shoes. She was short, and had a petite figure; although the coat hugs to her form nicely enough.
I smiled as I felt her familiar energy. "Well it's nice to meet you in person Masamune." She gave me a friendly smile when she realized I already knew who she was.
'Nice of you to recognize me right away, but I'm sure you have some questions about this place.' I smirked before answering her.
"Actually not as much as you would think; I can already guess as to where I am, what the snow is from, and what the cattails are from. However what bothers me is that second crystal in the sky, and the incoming darkness over in that direction." Pointing towards an incoming advance of pure blackness I questioned her on that one. She sighed before talking again.
"Well let's start off with the basics. Yes this is your very own inner world. Also as you may have guessed the snow represents your love towards Mizore, and the cattails represents the love towards Shirone. Before you met those two this place according to your dark half was basically a copy of Yarnham. It was what was giving you nightmares from before." I grimaced at that but smiled when I felt her hand on my shoulder.
She smiled back before continuing. "The cattails came after you let Shirone into your heart. Now as you may have also guessed the crystal with the elements around it represents your power. As for the other that's Shizu Gun-meister's power. You've yet to absorb it into your own power." Nodding my head I quickly willed myself to increase my already above average strength. After I bit I was done using up the blood echoes. Looking back up my eyes widened in surprise as the two crystals smashed into each other. Both shattered and eventually reformed into another larger one. Even the elements flowing around it had gotten bigger.
However looking down I clenched and unclenched my hand. For some reason the amount of power I got was greater than I would be normally. And I'm not saying that because Shizu was so strong. No I meant the power up I got was larger than it should have been.
As if sensing my confusion Masamune spoke up. 'It is because you're in your inner world. Your very soul to be precise.' I looked back to her giving her my full attention. 'You see normally you would have to waste some of the echoes' to push the energies together not being able to fully see or feel them. In here you can do both, you always unintentionally let some of the power flow away.' She paused letting me digest that before continuing.
'But in here you know exactly how much you have so none disappears. Before when you missed some your darker half would collect it into its self. But now you can take your full power.' Nodding my head in understanding I looked back towards the great darkness invading this place. Looking back at her I pointed my thumb at it with a raised eyebrow.
Smiling sadly she looked down to her feet. 'That my dear wielder is the dark maker poison running its course in your body. Right now your darker half my counterpart is doing what she can to keep it at bay. But once it reaches here we'll be in for a rather tough fight. Already the darkness summons your inner demons and nightmares to fight us. Right now she can only keep the dark clouds back. But we don't know for how long.' I pursed my lips at this information. Truly this is the worse predicament ever. I was going to die, to myself basically.
Looking back to the sad girl I placed my hand on her head. Looking at me in surprise I gave her a small smile.
"Don't worry I believe we can fight off whatever comes our way. Together we can't be beat it, because after all you and Nero are a part of me." She looked both happy and yet confused.
'Umm… Hunter who's Nero?' I took my hand from her head which made her pout a bit. I then used it to scratch the back of my head sheepishly.
"Um I figured calling my darker half, my darker half was a bit redundant and too long. So I decided to call her Nero."
She smiled happily while clasping her hands together. 'I'm sure she'll love to have a name of her own. Now I think we should begin training.' I looked at her confused.
"Training?" She nodded her head enthusiastically.
'Yes! You'll get stronger in here if you train; you still need to train to be able to use me correctly. Plus you'll need the extra strength when the darkness comes.' Looking back at the ominous cloud I couldn't help but agree with that statement. So seeing that this was my soul I quickly summoned Masamune's sealed form.
"Okay so where do we start?" Looking at me with a happy look she summoned her released sword before answering.
'Alright first you need to unseal me, this is called Shikai. To do this just say… Cut Masamune! Then I should transform, there is a state above shikai but that's for later.' Nodding my head I held the sword out above me before chanting…
"Cut! Masamune" In a bright light the sword went into shikai. "That was a bit easier than I thought it would be. Anyway now what?" She was about to say something before she paused with her eyes wide. I was about to ask what was wrong before she went over to me, grabbed me, and turned me around. Slicing her sword through the air it shimmered before it revealed an image with Mizore holding Shirone. To say I was confused was an understatement.
Especially since I also saw my unconscious body in the schools infirmary. Before I could ask what was going on my eyes widened in shock when Mizore kissed me on the lips.
I could practically feel that all the way in here! Then I heard the promise she made. I gave a small chuckle as my chest grew warm, and much to my surprise the darkness went further away from where we were at. I smiled while thanking Mizore from the bottom of my heart. Feeling like I now had enough motivation I swung my sword through the image making it disappear, much to Masamune's shock.
I then turned towards her. "So I think we should start now don't you?"
You wouldn't harm a line break would you?
The Dragon
Man Today was going to be rather bland. I got a call in from the outsider of all people. I can't even remember the last time I talked to him. Wait actually I do.
I chuckled as I walked towards the massive creepy school in front of me.
Ahh it still isn't as awesome as Beacon. Smiling insanely everyone around me gave me a wide birth of room.
I was wearing a dark white duster, with a blue long sleeved shirt underneath with silver metal plates over it; on my hands were blue fingerless gloves, I also wore white pants and combat boots. The boots were also blue in color and had sliver plates over the most vulnerable areas. Over my face was a skull mask. I was currently walking casually towards the school. I was there to help the Outsider's favorite champion.
The only reason I was doing this was to have this favor returned to me at a later time. I am after all the great Bladedancer! Though I think the one I'm helping is actually stronger than I am at the moment.
If it wasn't for these seals… Ah doesn't matter in the end I guess.
I turned around and took out a small piece of paper that had directions to the chairman's office. After a bit of walking I finally made it to my destination. Once inside I saw five other kids one looked my age while three looked a year younger, and one looked thirteen. I folded my arms while I stared at the white cloaked priest. I raised an eyebrow at his glowing eyes but spoke up.
"The Outsider basically gave me the rundown on the situation. What I need to know is where we're going and who's coming with." The man nodded his head while leaning back into his chair.
"Well first off we'll be needing your dimensional talents to go to a specific dimension. I'll give you the coordinates after the meeting." I nodded my head in understanding and let him continue. "Once there I'll need you to find the cure to a very specific poison. You see the student was hit with a dark maker bullet; which means that he was poisoned by Ingato wolo poldo."
The boy with short dark brown hair questioned the man. "What does that mean?" I sighed and translated it for him.
"It means Deep wound poison in Abyssal." He contemplated that before shrugging.
"Yeah that first part doesn't sound like deep at all." I slapped my face before reprimanding him.
"That's because it's a different language moron!" His eyebrow twitched but didn't say anything.
I turned back to the chairman as three of the girls in the room glared at me. I sent them a pained smile before restarting the former conversation.
"I can see why you called me then. After all there is only one cure in this reality. But to get it…" The chairman sighed at that.
"Yes I know you'll have to bypass the Abyss and get to the places close to it. However once there, the cure should be easy to find, it is a fairly common plant you're looking for after all." I nodded my head and spoke again.
"Well if that's the case I don't need coordinates I've already been there a couple of times." I then shudder at the memory. "Not a friendly place to say the least."
"Anyway…" I said while turning towards the others. "I take these guys are coming with me or something? Because if they are they should know that this will take a couple of weeks." At this I looked directly at the group. A girl with light purple hair was the first to step forward. To be honest she kind of reminded me of my half-sister.
"We all decided to go already no matter how dangerous it could be. Hunter is a good friend and he would do the same for any of us. So just tell us what we need and we'll go with you." I smiled and nodded my head at their determination. But then I smirked as I realized something.
"You're his girlfriend aren't you?" The girl freezes as her face turns bright red.
"What…girlfriend?" I laughed at that a bit.
Shaking my head I got out a pen and paper from my void pocket and wrote down what they'll need. I then handed it to the purple haired girl. Taking it gratefully the chairman than excused them so they could get ready. This left the two of us alone. I turned back to him.
"Well I'm guessing those were his friends? Surprising I thought he wouldn't let that many people in." The Chairman chuckled a bit before answering.
"Well to be honest it's only his Mizore the purple haired Yuki-Onna, and his adopted sister that he's truly opened up to. She a white haired Nekoshou that he saved, very heroically I might add." I smirked at this.
"Well it seems as though we have more in common than I first thought." For a second I decided to let my right eye flash white for a moment. "I'm glad I'll be able to count on him in the future." With that I bowed before leaving the office. I still wanted to have a look around the school. After all it's not every day you're in a school designed specifically for yokai.
However that begs the question… Why is there a human boy here?
You wouldn't harm a line break would you?
The Voidwalker
It had been a couple hours since I began training with Masamune. And so far… She's pretty much has kicked my but all over the snowy field.
"Argh!" I once again cried out in pain after she kicked me in the chest. Call me crazy, err crazier. But I do believe she's somehow taken my fighting style, and refined it to an even higher degree than what I've currently got. Which is weird since I'm the one who originally came up with it. My only guess is that since she's a part of my soul her strength not only increases with mine, but! Also she trains by herself as well. And since she has nothing else to do in here besides train… Well She's probably a lot stronger than me right now.
"Well that's going to leave a mark." This sarcastic response was from my downed body. Looking at her face she pouted angrily before rushing me. I barely had enough time to roll backwards onto my feet as she axe-kicked my last location. And judging by the small hole she created it probably would've broken many a rib if I stayed there. To be honest the only strength I'm getting here is spiritual and magic, and also experience. I'll have to train my body to be able to handle the strain later. Gripping onto my Masamune, which still sounds weird mind you… I charged at her while trying to use the speed technique shunpo. Masamune had taught me how to use it earlier. Now all I had to do was practice.
However… While dashing to her side I ended up tripping and falling face first into the snow. I also believe a cattail went inside my mouth. Besides my pained groan the only thing I heard was my "partners" melodic laughing. It was a nice laugh, but not as nice as Mizore's, or Shirone's. But it was a close third. Propping myself up with my arms I spat out the offending plant. Based off my sister or not those things taste nasty. And now I grimace at that thought. It didn't exactly come out right. Jumping to my feet and dusting myself off I turned towards my opponent.
"That Shunpo is still a little tricky you know. Any more advice on it?" She thought for a moment before shaking her head.
'Nope sorry I've told you everything about it. Besides you're picking up on it quicker than most people.' I blushed a bit because of the praise. But then I narrowed my eyes at her.
"Wait what other people? There's only three people within this inner world of mine, and I doubt you know anyone else. So where could you hear that little bit of info?" That's when she looked at the sky while whistling innocently. With my eye twitching I sighed while slumping my shoulders. This was definantly a piece of my soul alright. Wincing as I felt my side I could tell a nasty bruise was probably going to form. This training was rather intense. Masamune held nothing back but yet stopped every now and then to give me advice. It was definantly different then the way I'm used to getting stronger. In all honesty when you can just upgrade yourself with blood, you tend to not do any training.
That was also said to me. Everything I know came from plain old battle experience and me trying to see what works. It truly was another story when one offers you actual advice. And not just looking over to a corpse when you use a certain way to kill the thing. Blocking another sword strike I quickly made her sword slip to the side as I slash upwards. However showing her agility once more she leaned far enough that the blade sailed harmlessly over her. I then felt weightless as she swept my legs from underneath me. Falling on my back I rolled out of the way as she stabbed at my last location. Jumping to my feet I swung once more only to be parried and have the hilt of her sword slammed into my face.
"Owww…" I held my now bleeding nose as I snapped it back into place. I gave a muffled sigh. "This is going to be a long training session." With that I was once again kicked in the chest. Flying backwards I flipped myself up right and sent energy down to my hands and feet. Gripping the ground I slowed my momentum down, just fast enough to cart wheel out of the way of another sword thrust. Recovering quickly I charged back at her and went in for multiple thrusts in quick succession. If this was another fight with Xenolith I'd probably have won by now. Especially with how fast my attacks were just now. However…
Reacting quickly she managed to knock my blade to the side after a bit. Scowling I used that momentum to quickly turn myself in the direction of the deflection. This allowed me to try and bisect her. To be honest I really wasn't worried about harming her at this point.
Moving quickly she bent backwards as the blade sailed over her head. She then stood straight up and gave me a good right hook to the face.
Spitting out saliva and blood I flew for a bit. I eventually landed and rolled to a stop. However I was beat, I couldn't even move. Seeing me like this and breathing a little hard herself she smiled at me.
'Alright let's take a little break and begin again in an hour.' I could only nod my head at that.
I wonder what the others are up to? Hopefully they don't do something too dangerous for me.
You wouldn't harm a line break would you?
The Yuki-Onna
I suddenly sneezed rather hard for some reason. Sniffling a bit I looked over at the sleeping form of Shirone. Luckily I didn't wake the emotionally exhausted girl.
That's odd, I know I can't get a cold and I don't have allergies… Maybe there is something to that old myth. The myth I was referring to is the one where you sneeze when someone's talking about you. Shaking my head I get ready for bed, it was already rather late and I would need my strength. I'm not exactly sure where we'll be going. But based on what they were talking about the trip wouldn't be easy. Slipping on my pajamas I crawled into bed. Feeling another body Shirone curled up close to me.
Smiling at her I wrapped an arm around her protectively. I then whispered lightly into her ear.
"Don't worry Shirone, until your brother's better I'll protect you." I closed my eyes soon after.
The next time I opened them was early in the morning. To be honest I was hoping that last night was a bad dream. But looking down to the still sleeping form of Shirone, I knew it wasn't. Sighing I got up and quickly got changed into the clothes I picked out for today.
Black tights with black long boots, and a white skirt, I also had on a long black sleeved shirt with a white vest over it. I wore this because the material was better made than the schools uniform. Plus based on what Bladedancer said this was not going to be a walk in the park. Nothing like the school skirmishes that we get into every now and then. By the time I was done getting dressed Shirone had woken up. She blinked repeatedly in order to get her eyes adjusted to the light. Upon spotting me she tilted her head in confusion.
"Mizore sempai why am I in your room?" I looked at her sadly before going over to her, and wrapping her smaller body in a hug. She seemed confused for a couple seconds, before her eyes widened as she remembered. I heard a few sniffles before she talked.
"I won't cry… Onii-chan needs me to be strong now, so I can't cry." I pulled her in tighter; I was actually surprised with how brave she was trying to be. However as much as I hate to say it, Shirone needed Hunter more than I did. Maybe hates too harsh of a word but, she had already lost one older sibling. Losing another so soon would completely devastate her. She was only holding up thanks to Hunter meeting her so soon afterword's. So in order to save him we'll all need to work together with this Bladedancer.
I thought about him for a few moments, trying to piece together his character. So far he seemed nice enough, also strong to. But what he said about Hunter owing him a favor for this worried me. What would he want? When would he want it? And would it be something Hunter would accept. These questions flew around in my head as I caught Shirone up to speed. And continued to do so even after the two of us were ready and packed. I protested against it but she was adamant that she help Hunter.
"He saved both my life and my light. So now it's time for me to save him!" Her words had left little room for argument. So I reluctantly nodded my head as we left to the front gates. That was where we would be meeting everyone. Once there I looked to see who came. Tsukune was there despite still being human. Moka was there as well, most likely to make sure he doesn't die. Also Kurumu and Yukari were there. However what surprised me the most was Gin. While Gin and Yukari were wearing their usual school clothes for some reason, the others had actually changed. Tsukune was now sporting blue jeans, a white undershirt, and an unbuttoned grey long sleeved shirt over it.
Moka was wearing a pink skirt, a red shirt, and a dark red short cropped jacket over it. Kurumu had on a yellow skirt with a blue long sleeved shirt and white tights. As for our guide, he just had on what he had worn yesterday.
Next to me Shirone wore a two tailed white coat, with the top two buttons unbuttoned. She also wore underneath a white long sleeved shirt. She also had on a short black skirt, black tights, and white combat boots. On her hands were the gloves she always wore.
I guess this is as good as we're going to get. I sighed before turning my attention to Bladedancer who began talking.
"Alright rookies! Listen up because I'm only saying this once! This trip will not be like your regular school trips. Where we're going is not someplace even I liked to go to at full power. However that is where the plant for the antidote exists. The place is called Outslan or Far Gone. It is an underground cavern filled with dead trees, cliffs, and ravenous beasts who won't hesitate to eat your face. Nothing there is friendly, nowhere there is truly safe, and the place is filled with poisonous clouds!~" That got the others besides Gin and Shirone to gulp. I and Shirone were prepared to go to the ends of the earth for this. As for Gin… I guess as a true S class monster he's used to this.
Not saying that Moka isn't, but she really only shows it when the Rosario's off.
Now that I think of it didn't Hunter say Gin could become an S+ monster soon? I looked over at gin and wondered if he had gotten stronger. However my attention was diverted back to Bladedancer. In his hand was now a paper bag.
"Alright everyone step forward and take two bottles here. These will allow you to breathe in the poisonous air for six hours. Which means you should take one every five, just in case you know?" We all nodded before grabbing said bottles. They looked like ordinary prescription bottles; however the pills were blue, round, and the size of a small ladybug.
"Now then these are an antidote I created from the last time I was there. Don't worry I tested them out myself, anyway I'll now explain what you might encounter over there." We all gave him our full attention, after all we didn't want to be caught off guard now. "First off you all say your monsters right?" We all nodded towards him except Tsukune who looked to the side. "Well forget that!" We all looked at him in shock, but he was looking deadly serious.
"In Outslan you'll find out what real monsters are. There are more than just beasts roaming around. There are sentient creatures as well; however all of them have been corrupted by the Abyss's last ruler. There are darker creatures there even I haven't seen yet. Always, and I mean always keep up your guard." All of us were now rather worried about what we might find, however we all steeled our resolve and looked on in determination.
Seeing our faces our now new company leader nodded his head with a smile. "Well determination will get you most of the way but, if everyone's ready we should leave before Hunter's condition worsens." Turning around as we picked up our bags he swiped his finger down through the air. The space then rippled and a black vortex suddenly appeared. It also had what seemed to be some white rotating in the opposite direction. It certainly was different than Hunter's portals.
He turned towards us. "Alright then everyone who still wants to come, follow in after me. Word of warning though, don't get separated from me. For if you do, you might just wander off into a different dimension. In that case there'd be no telling where you might end up." Turning back to his portal he stepped through. The rest of us soon filled in. The inside of the dimensional tunnel was actually rather interesting. It was like standing in the middle of a sea of darkness. It seemed to go on forever and yet there were exits.
Looking back for a second to make sure we were all there, Bladedancer faced forward and started walking. All of us followed shortly after. Along the way we had nothing better to do but talk. The others ended up talking, but me and Shirone talked to Bladedancer. Turned out he was a lot more like Hunter than we thought. He even had a Nekomata as a younger sister. He didn't exactly go into details, and never gave out names but he still seemed nice enough.
However I was still a bit wary of him, and asked what kind of favor he wanted.
He just smiled. "It seems you two truly do care for him. He should feel lucky." That made me and Shirone blush a bit before he continued. "To be honest the favor I want is just help when I need it the most. You see I'm constantly forced to fight in a restricted form. Because my real form causes too much destruction, and wide spread panic. I still remember that poor goblin village…" He trailed off a bit leaving the two of us rather confused. Shaking his head he finally continued.
"Oh well no point dwelling on the past. Even if they called me apocalypse incarnate. Anyway Hunter doesn't have to worry about being restricted. So when we need it I just want his help is all." Besides the whole apocalypse incarnate thing, the rest of what he said actually made sense. And if that was just what he wanted than I was okay with that. Looking down to Shirone it seemed that she thought the same. The three of us were rather silent after that.
For what seemed like hours of walking later, we finally were able to make out what looked like a light.
"That my companions is the exit to this dark tunnel. However before we go in I need those without night-vision to step forward." That made me, Tsukune, and Yukari step forward. Grabbing three techy looking goggles from his void pocket, he handed each of us one. He then quickly explained what they were needed for. "Remember I said Outslan is an underground cavern. These are Night-vision goggles. Put them on before exiting the portal. Oh yeah these are also my own design so be careful with them. They're a lot more expensive to make than regular goggles." Agreeing the three of us put on the goggles. There was a bright light which forced my eyes shut.
Slowly opening them I saw that nothing had actually changed. However those around me I could now see perfectly even in the dark cave. Seeing that they worked, he nodded his head and continued onwards. Finally reaching the exit he stepped out first. The rest of us just followed shortly after. When looking around only one word came to mind.
"Horrible." When Shirone said that everyone turned towards her. "This place, the chakra flowing in the air is… Evil." Bladedancer grimaced but nodded his head.
"How do you think I feel? I can sense all energy, in terms of mental, spiritual, life, and magic energy… This place is the worst kind to ever find yourself in." Taking a better look around I had to agree, even if I could only feel the eeriness of the place. The trees were dead and rotting, with some kind of unidentifiable fungus growing on them. The ceiling of the cavern was at least four hundred yards up, and I couldn't see any of the caverns walls. This indicated that the place certainly was massive.
"Alright then listen up, as I said this place is full of toxic fumes. Make sure to take a pill each time you see any type of fog. However always avoid the purple at all costs." Yukari spoke up at that.
"Why the purple fog specifically?" He sighed before answering.
"Well the others are poison and toxic clouds. While the purple is acidic, sure it won't kill you immediately. But if you stay too long in it, the cloud will eat at your skin until only bones are left. And eventually even those would dissolve." That got everyone to start sweating a bit. However judging by the thinking pose he took he wasn't done.
"I believe in my true form I could last about twenty minutes." He then looked at Moka and then to Gin. "You two could probably last ten." He turned towards me and Shirone next, then to Kurumu. "You three could probably last eight. As for the witch girl I can guess about five." When it came to Tsukune he narrowed his eyes. "As for you I can only guess about three. If the voidwalker was here he'd last about as long as me." Based on how he said it, I could tell that he already knew that Tsukune was a human.
Luckily he hasn't said anything so far. But that could change soon; I need to make sure to tell him about the situation soon. Digging out what looked like a picture, he pulled out a photo of a strange looking plant. The stem was bright green in color, and had five black bands running up it. The flower itself was made up of ten diamond shaped petals. The tips were colored purple, the middle yellow, and the part attaching them to the stem was colored red. The center was colored bright blue.
I had to speak up at this. "Um not to doubt you but… That flower, looks more poisonous than anything else." Everyone nodded in agreement even Bladedancer, which got me a little worried.
"Yep it is actually poisonous, but only on its own. You see on its own, it would kill the ingestee within six minutes. However! If that person happened to be already poisoned by a magical poison… Than the poison from this flower the known as the Jin Trati, or hollow gale; will eat away at that poison, before poisoning the host. This poison I already have an antidote for. However this plant can only survive here. Even if I were to take some and store it away… the plant would rot in a week." I narrowed my eyes thoughtfully at that, what he said explained why he already didn't have any flowers on hand.
Knowing the kind of people guys like him and Bladedancer were… They'd try and keep any and all antidotes for any poison on hand. They also tend to try and develop immunities for different poisons.
However for the deep wound poison, it seems no one can develop immunity for. If that's the case I need to train up my defense. Suddenly all of us were driven from our thoughts by a blood curdling scream.
"Arghhh!" It was animal like in nature, but it wasn't a scream in pain. No it was a scream in anger, a territorial scream. We all turned to Bladedancer to see what it was.
Shaking his head he answered. "Remember this place was one of the first places Manus conquered. And even after being dead for more than a few thousand years… His influence is still strong here. What you heard was one of the many normal animals, which have been completely corrupted. All of them look completely different from each other. And all of them have different attributes, well all but three actually." His face became deathly serious as he finished explaining.
"All of them are immune to all of the clouds, they can all at least use minor Abyssal magic, and they all can inflict illusions on your mind. So remember to keep your mind strong." He sighed at seeing our troubled faces. "I told you this place would be dark, and completely horrible." That was fair I guess, he did say that at the beginning. But even so, none of us expected it to be as bad as this. Looking over at Shirone I grimaced. The poor girl was breathing heavily and shaking. It seemed as though this place was really getting to her. Her ability to feel and sense the energy in the air was a double edged sword here.
Bladedancer seemed to be holding up though, however he was used to such things. More than likely Hunter wouldn't be bothered either. But those two guys are on a completely different level than the rest of us. The amount of fighting these two have is vastly different between us. True Gin and inner Moka might have quite a bit. But still pales to them, more than likely they are both used to such energies.
It seemed as though Bladedancer picked up on Shirone's fear as well. "Don't worry so much about the energy; it belongs to an already dead monster. Everything you feel is just left over, no need to worry so much about it. Unlike the animals and people who were here. We've arrived when this energy is completely harmless to us. However it's just enough to keep the clouds here for the immediate… Forever…" Those words made all of us along with Shirone sweat drop a bit.
He smiled however at having lightened the mood though. "Well like I said this place is absolutely dark and horrible. But as long as you stick close to me, I won't allow any of you to die. Now then we should get to it, time is a wasting. The longer we take the worst your friend's condition gets." With those words our resolve returned, he smirked at this before turning around.
"Well it's time to get a move on, remember stay close to me." Nodding all of us followed after him. Fortunately for us, and especially Shirone; the feeling in the air didn't get any worse than what it was. However it didn't get better either. A win lose type of deal I guess. Still I find it funny how the trees, kind of look like the school's trees.
Also thanks to Bladedancer's sensing abilities, we've so far been able to avoid anything dangerous. Of course, that just added to our paranoia the longer we walked on. I could tell that we all felt, as if something would happen any second now. Especially with this group, after all we've been known to have terrible luck. In that retrospect there's no way the quiet will last too long.
"Alright then I think we'll call it a day for now. You guys will set up camp here; I'll go and set up a barrier." Deciding to just go along with his experience we didn't say anything. Instead we just went about doing what he said. He went off somewhere while taking out four pieces of paper. Gin and Tsukune went to gather some fire wood, Kurumu and Moka started getting things out for dinner, and the rest of us set up tents. However my mind started to wander to Hunter as we completed our tasks.
I hope we can get this done quickly; Hunter's condition worsens every day, by every hour. I guess for now we just have to trust our guide.
You wouldn't harm a line break would you?
Unknown
Watching the group was a pair of glowing purple eyes. There was the sound of quiet growling as well. But what was worrisome was the sound of dripping water. A voice was heard, dark, rough, and gravely.
"Well now what a surprise, it seems as though I've finally have found prey worth hunting. The other creatures of this…" The voice trailed off as the eyes darted around. "Place… Have been rather dull, and boring; much too weak for my tastes. But they seem strong and rather delectable. All except that one setting up the barrier, he seems rather nasty." An eye could be seen rising a bit as said person sneezed. Walking forward a bit the sound of something being dragged could be heard.
Gripped in a clawed hand was what seemed like the tip of a tail. The tail itself was attached to a much larger creature. However it was unrecognizable. Not that it was unfamiliar but… It was completely ripped to shreds; pieces of flesh and bone being dragged across the ground. Ribs, spinal cords, lungs, jaw, and even intestines were all on the ground. The sound of dripping water was actually, from the blood spilling out of the still beating heart. The heart however was starting to slow down. But still it kept on pumping blood till its last beat.
Slayer: Well here it is the last chapter that will be posted for quite a while. You see things in life have gotten in the way. Much to my dismay but what can you do sometimes? Anyway this chapter was quite different wasn't it? Still what is this creature with purple eyes, which is so vicious? Find out… In about two chapters, or one, it depends on what happens.
Bladedancer: Yep and once again I'm here to fight everyone else's battle. The job of an interdimensional mercenary is never done.
Shadow: What do think of my job? I'm always on the move no rest, no breaks. Seriously when will I have a vacation? I'm currently trying to fund a war by selling interdimensional wares.
Slayer: Yeah? Who cares I'm currently poisoned and dying. Also might I add that poison is from your home?!
Shadow: You wrote it not me.
Slayer: Meh… True enough I suppose. Anyway it's two o-clock right now. It's late and I want to go to bed. Well as usual thanks for reading and giving this story a chance. And for those reading from before thanks for supporting. Well good night and keep being awesome!