Chapter 18: Monk in Yellow and Wheels of Fire
The Ikebukuro terminal room was quiet. Naoki checked over it with his horn, finding the place clean and normal. Good, Isamu had moved elsewhere. Although, where was he now? Naoki wasn't sure what the blast from the Nightmare System would do to a human. He was sure that this place was a desert of magatsuhi now. Just in case, he took a moment to sense outside the door.
"We should be safe, the pull's not going to drain us now," he said to assure his followers.
"Still doesn't feel right here," Uzume said.
Out in the halls, there were a group of Mantra demons with Thor. "No seriously, what now?" an ikusa asked, still bewildered.
"Do what you like," Thor said. "The Mantra is done for and there's no point to defending a dead city."
"Shouldn't we be gathering up who's left and getting revenge?" an oni asked. "Most of us left the prison to join the battle, but there should still be some there."
"Against someone who can do this?" Thor said. "Sometimes it's better to wait for a prime moment to attack." Then he turned and came towards the terminal room. Their eyes met; Thor's face was hidden, but Naoki felt that he was frowning. "I hope you got what you were looking for."
"More or less," he said, feeling a bit of guilt over causing this. Then again, he'd only been temporary allies and didn't want to see Gozu-Tennoh succeed. "Hikawa slipped from our grasp, but we will destroy him and his absurd Reason."
That satisfied him for the moment. "Good." He then brushed past Arahabaki to enter the terminal room.
The other demons started grumbling to each other; Naoki ignored them and headed to the grand entrance. The torches were still burning. Overhead, a red glow lingered as what little magatsuhi left here continued to flow out. What about the manikin slaves held captive there? They'd be difficult to sense from this distance. On the other hand, he knew the Candelabrum of Eternity was beyond the door to the east. That could wait.
Inside the Mantra's former headquarters, the air felt parched. A lingering taste of death remained even though no bodies were in sight. There were a few remains of celebration around: broken mugs, spilled drinks, scattered cards. While it disturbed him, he had to keep in mind that these demons would have brought back human sacrifice as a normal thing. Nihilo was no good for any world, but neither was Mantra.
The cells were still locked when they arrived at the basement. But with the nue guard gone, Naoki found a control panel on its dais. It had switches to move the bars on each individual cell. While the switches were under locked cover, there was only one key dropped nearby and it worked for the whole panel. The manikins down here gathered at the doors, hanging back and whispering to each other. Like the others, they were wary but strangely in awe. They probably didn't expect someone to do this.
One of them was eventually brave enough to approach their group. "What happened?"
"The Assembly of Nihilo launched their Nightmare System and killed almost all of the Mantra demons by draining their magatsuhi," Naoki explained.
"See, it's just like he said," one of those holding back said. "Just like this guy."
"So, what do you mean to do with us?" their spokesman asked.
"Let you go to do what you like," Naoki said. "You can take what others of your kin are still here too, wherever they are. If you head south, you'll find a cemetery with an entrance to sewer tunnels; there's a group of manikins hiding out there."
"Really, you're not going to take us for your own?"
Unlocking the last switch, he shook his head. "Don't need to."
"Oh, thank you very much then," the spokesman said, giving him an awkward bow.
One of the female manikins came forward. "Um, if you don't mind, could we ask you to save our leader Futomimi?"
They had a leader? "Is he in a different cell here?" Naoki asked.
"No, he was taken to Kabukicho Prison along with most of our kin," she said. "See, he's a prophet. He even predicted the fall of Mantra just like this, that their lives would flow upward like water and even Gozu-Tennoh would die."
"That did happen." What kind of things could a prophet find out? He was most interested in getting a way to the Obelisk, but his own visions weren't something he could control. Perhaps Futomimi could, and would do the small favor of locating the Obelisk in exchange for freeing him and the other manikins.
"We don't have a chance to rescue him even with the Mantra gone," the spokesman for these manikins said. "But I remember hearing about you, that your group defeated Thor without trouble. You should be strong enough."
How complicated was this path to finding Yuko going to get? Whatever that answer was, he just needed to keep going. "All right. Do you know how we can reach Kabukicho?"
He was met with blank stares until a manikin came from the other hall of cells. "Um, I've seen them set out with groups on the raised highway outside of here. They've made a few trips out there and back, so the path from there should be clear."
"Sure, I'll see what I can do," Naoki said.
As they headed out of the headquarters, Sarutahiko asked, "Why'd you go and set those mud dolls free?"
Because they were struggling enough as it was and he may as well use his power to do some good no matter how small. But would they really understand? "Just because," he answered.
"There's no reason to do it or not," Matador said, not really caring. "Although if you do enough for little people like that, they might just start worshiping you."
"There, that's as good a reason as any," Naoki said, making his demons laugh. He felt sick at the idea; he was fine enough with their gratitude. "Be ready; we're going after the two fiends here since we're in the area."
"Hmm, do you wish me to fight by your side for this?" Matador asked. "Or should I go help keep an eye out for angels?"
He wanted to win this game of candelabrum, but then losing and getting captured by Michael again was something to avoid at all costs. "Go keep an eye out. I'll call you back if I need the extra strength."
"At your service," Matador said, giving a bow before he faded away.
"We're battling other fiends?" Sarutahiko asked, curious and interested.
"Of course, it's a competition among his clan," Arahabaki said with a chuckling echo. "We get the honor of participating as his followers."
Uzume nodded. "A battle like these are why Matador follows Demi's orders now. He'll win the right to command these other two when we defeat them."
The swordsman grinned and pumped a fist in the air. "Alright, sounds great!"
"Like before, we'll take this as normal," Naoki said, taking out the candelabrum. Tiny black embers hung on the wicks. "I just hope I don't die again." Although he fully expected to.
Following his senses and the candelabrum's guidance, they found their way into a darkened hall littered with debris. Naoki had to walk carefully to avoid the shattered glass around them. It looked like this used to be an office complex, full of tiny rooms with desks and fallen supplies. Somewhere in here, a bell occasionally chimed. It was an eerie thing in the otherwise silent place.
Right when they turned a corner to where the candelabrum led them, the bell sounded again. On a large crate shoved into a dead end, a skeleton wearing the golden robes of a monk was sitting patiently. The bell they'd been hearing was in one of his hands; another golden candelabrum was sitting beside him, its black flames reaching out towards his. Like Matador had thought, Daisoujou was perfectly fine in spite of the Nightmare System attack.
How did he start this challenge? The monk didn't move, but Naoki felt Daisoujou's attention move his way. After a moment of silence, the monk asked, "Are you afraid of death?" He rang his small bell.
Intense radiance filled his body and Naoki died.
Humans weren't supposed to die more than once in a lifetime; they were expecting Demifiend to die repeatedly here. "A dozen times, at least," Red Rider said.
"You think he's so stubborn?" White Rider asked.
Red nodded. "He clung to what remained of his identity long enough for us to escape the hold of Heaven. He's stubborn and this is an unnatural lesson for humans."
Pale Rider came back to their side. "Perhaps, but he's cautious too," he said. "I give him four times before he backs off to think things over."
"It won't be nearly enough to let go of a fear of death," White said. "And he could prove clever, finding a way around Hamaon and Mudoon. The monk really doesn't have a lot of powerful attacks; all it would take is discovering the usefulness of Tetraja."
"It would be nice if he loses his fear here and now so we don't have to resort to such cheap tactics," Pale said. "The more times he dies, the more chances we have to lose him." He nodded and immediately took off again to claim Demifiend's soul after another swift death.
"Four deaths in a row might not be enough for that," Red said, agreeing with White.
"Have either of you run into Trumpeter recently?" Black Rider asked, coming in from looking around. "He told me that he meant to be here for this."
"No, not since we parted to scout this world," White said.
"Not since before he fought Matador," Red said.
"Can't say that I've seen him," Matador said, keeping quiet as usual. They normally didn't get along, but the situation here was more important than personal conflicts.
Black tugged at his horse's mane. "Hmm. I overheard something, that there is a second trumpeter in this world currently."
"That would anger him," Red said. They didn't have Divine side counterparts to worry about, but Trumpeter did. Only Pale had angels of death to compare with and a good number of those had fallen as well.
"One would think we'd spot a Divine trumpeter if it's been here as long as we have," White said.
"I wonder if it's an apocalyptic trumpeter like him or just a regular one," Red said. If their enemy had sent that down into this Vortex World, things could get far more interesting.
Pale returned to them. "I hope not because even a small skirmish will increase the danger of this plan."
A familiar light filtered into the spiritual realm they were in. "Heads up, they're coming," Red said, drawing his sword.
"Trumpeter had better show up, that's quite a force," Black said, keeping his scales close to his chest.
With little warning, a blue figure stood among them. "We just need to defend against them, right?" Raziel asked.
While Red acknowledged that this outsider was a fierce warrior, he couldn't let himself trust the wraith too much. He wouldn't grasp the full gravity of the situation. "Of course, you helping?"
"Sure," Raziel said, choosing a point to make a stand from himself.
It didn't make up for not having Trumpeter here, but the extra help would be good. This was Lucifer's orders; they wouldn't hold back.
The sixth time Naoki came back to life, he felt like he could still hear the tremendous din. His skin tingled from the Mudoon as well. Holding a hand up to his demons, he took a deep breath and tried to keep his heart from racing. "We need to back off from this one."
"Another tough foe?" Uzume asked. The other two were disappointed.
"I don't know because he starts off with instant kill spells," Naoki said. Anathema protected him from Mudoon, but then made him more vulnerable to Hamaon. And since Daisoujou always asked if he was afraid of death, it didn't seem like a good plan to face him with Anathema in the fore. "More importantly, there's a messy conflict going on here between the angels and I think the four Riders. Matador too."
"They would be really intent on stopping you," Sarutahiko said quietly.
"Since they are distracted, we can slip out and try Hell Biker instead," Naoki said. "Pale Rider will follow me, he assured me of that. At least, I'm pretty sure it was that one."
Since Hell Biker was on the raised highway, they had to leave the underground area and head for the on-ramp. The dark asphalt felt odd on his bare feet, warmer than the sands. At least Kagutsuchi didn't put out heat as much as the sun, because this walk and battle might be painful otherwise. The roar of a motorcycle's engine could be heard, treading all over the native quiet of the Vortex World. This fiend would definitely be easy to find.
It wasn't long after they got on the highway itself that the motorcycle came their way. The smoke trailing behind it was tremendous, mostly due to the literally blazing wheels carrying a sparsely framed bike that nearly hugged the road. It spun into a stop near them, causing Naoki to cover his face from the smoke. Knocking a kickstand to the ground, Hell Biker got off his amazing bike and came over to them. He wore a leather jacket and helmet, looking like he'd be ready to brawl at a moment's notice.
"Hell yeah, good to see you kid!" Hell Biker called, coming over and slapping him on the shoulder.
Caught off-guard, Naoki made sure he kept facing this fiend. "Sure. You have the Candelabrum of Dignity."
He waved a gloved hand at that. "Yeah, yeah, but more important than that, I'm glad to have you along for our crazy games." He chuckled. "Our clan's got a bunch of old fogies formed from ancient fears or hatreds; even the supposedly newer guys like Matador and David grew out of old ideas. Now I'm emerged from a modern concept and you used to be human, but I like having another modern fiend around that isn't a frikkin nutcase like Chemtrail. You can be sure I've got your back no matter what happens."
"Thanks," Naoki said, not sure what to make of his friendliness. That did not seem that fiendish. Then again, if Hell Biker accepted him as a peer, it could be helpful in the future.
"You know how to ride a bike?" he asked.
"Yes, but I've never ridden any like that," he said. Even discounting the flaming wheels, that was not a style of bike he had seen in person. It was the kind that he would have never been able to afford, but it would be something of a dream to own.
Hell Biker tugged him over. "Well come on then, give her a whirl."
"Your bike?" Naoki asked. This was unexpected… but it would be so awesome, he couldn't pass up a chance like this.
"That's what I said," Hell Biker said. "Consider it my challenge for our game: if you can impress me on the bike, I won't even fight you over the candelabrum." He laughed. "Clever, huh? I've tried to get the apocalypse four to switch from horses to bikes, but they won't hear of it! You're the only fiend who's got a chance at Dignity."
Did that mean if he failed to impress Hell Biker, then he'd lose Sovereignty? Even so, he couldn't say no to this. "Nice, I'll take you up on that."
His demons would wait on him (although Arahabaki was already wandering off to get away from the two sweethearts). Hell Biker got on the bike behind Naoki and made sure he knew the layout of the gauges and gears. Switching Shiranui to the fore to resist the flames and heat, he set off down the road. This low bike had a much different feel and balance than the motorcycle he had owned. Then again, that had been a simple bike his parents had gotten him, just something to get from here to there. This bike made him feel like he could own the road, whether cruising along lazily or blazing ahead.
After a few passes up and down the raised highway, Hell Biker tapped his shoulder as he turned the bike around. "You do well enough for an ordinary ride, but I'm sure you know this one isn't ordinary at all. If you really have the knack, this bike will take roads where there are none. Ordinary human reflexes can't handle that. But those little parasites in your soul, they can handle it. They can never lie to you since they're made purely for your benefit. You should have enough of them to go wherever you like, make this a world without limits."
"Even to the Obelisk?" Naoki asked. If that was true, then he didn't need to find a path. He could make one.
"Of course, that place has some crazy power to it," Hell Biker said. "There's loads of cliffs and voids in the way, no surface road directly there. You think you have it in you?"
Sure, that's no problem. Just listen to us and you'll get anywhere you want.
I have given you something that could vault you far beyond what you could have been otherwise. It's up to you how far you go.
This wasn't the time to be thinking of what he shouldn't do, but what he could. He was still in control of himself. Gripping the handlebars tighter to ready himself, Naoki nodded. "Yeah, I got it."
"Good, cause you're on your own now," Hell Biker said. He vanished for a moment, then pulled up next to him on an identical bike. Giving a wave of his hand, he was ready to go whenever Naoki did.
Find a mental place like that large battle in the Kalpa. The eleven magatama could fit into his thoughts easily; they always could, but he'd been barring them out. But this was a challenge where he needed them. He needed to win this game if he was going to go after the chance to rescue his family from the angels. More immediately, he could finish his tasks here much quicker if he could keep this bike. He could not fail.
Naoki sped down the highway, followed closely by Hell Biker. It curled down the sands towards a valley full of cursed ground. Don't worry about that, it couldn't touch them on the bikes. Past the valley, there was a large expanse of landless void that made up the gap to the Ginza area. He needed to be going faster, as fast as he could. And there was a small patch of land rising up before the void; Naoki hit that and the bike flew into the air.
While it wasn't quite enough to bridge the whole gap, the bike was equipped for such issues. Pulling a handlebar switch that wasn't on normal bikes caused the fiery wheels to flare up and act as though they were their own road. Sand erupted around them when the two bikes hit ground. Now, where was the Obelisk in the Vortex World?
His magatama immediately gave him the answer, as well as the route he needed to take to get there. The Obelisk was a structure that didn't look like it belonged in Tokyo. Made of strange black stone that shone with magatsuhi, it stretched up as if it wanted to meet Kagutsuchi. There were no apparent defense mechanisms outside to keep people from entering, aside from how tough this area was to reach. From the patches of human civilization here, there might be an underground train tunnel or something from another area.
Hell Biker whirled around him when Naoki stopped, coming close enough to give him a hi-five. "Nicely done!" the skeleton said over the two engines. He waved his hand and made a golden candelabrum appear. "Then I'll accept you as the victor of my challenge. You can keep that bike too; it'll come and go as any other item you store." Hell Biker lightly punched his shoulder. "I am the Fiend Hell Biker, I will ride with you anywhere!"
The way you've done contracts so far is workable, but now that you know your formal name, there is a contract specifically for you.
He had been trying to grasp who he had been, but using this would mean acknowledging what he was. But in this Vortex World, it could work. "I am the Demifiend, I'll use your power well."
Throwing his head back, Hell Biker laughed boisterously. "We expect nothing less of you. Then you have business here? You could use a spell to summon your followers to you immediately, but I have never used any."
That might be something to ask Yuriko about, but he needed two candelabrum to reach the next Kalpa, presumably where she would be waiting. "I do have some business to finish around Ikebukuro first," Naoki said, then thought of something. "Actually, there is something you could help me with. I don't know if I can manage it myself, but I have a feeling you can."
"You are pure beauty and charm, from tip," he poked at the tip of her nose, "to toe. Everyone should recognize that."
Uzume giggled. "You got all the charm and power I could ever ask for, darling."
"You two are being way too cute, cut back on that," Arahabaki said as he drifted by.
She was in such a good mood that she didn't care what he said. "Regretting the move from a cute girl to a clay figure?"
"No, I get to help Demi be more badass by showing him how," he said.
"He's doing well on his own," Sarutahiko said, looking off down the highway where Demi and Hell Biker had disappeared. He frowned for a moment.
"What's the matter?" Uzume asked. She already had an arm around his shoulder, so she put her head near his. "You never had a normal contract? At least this waiting is better than being stuck in a computer."
He shook his head. "It's not that. I was just wondering about something."
Before she could ask him to explain, Demi returned to them with a plan that promised some fun.
When would he come back? Daisoujou was patient; he would wait here as long as necessary. The conditions of his challenge were simple. If Demifiend entered his battle with any hesitancy or fear of death, then Daisoujou was to kill him off immediately. Enough deaths should jar him out of a human mindset. That is, if he was worthy of being the Demifiend. If Demifiend entered his battle with confidence, then Daisoujou was to battle him normally without using instant kill spells. A worthy candidate should have no trouble defeating him that way.
The sound of a motorcycle faintly entered his hearing. Beyond normal hearing, he could tell that the battle between the other fiends and the angels was dying off. The latter were retreating with their ragged forces. They must have been sent as a sacrificial distraction so the Seraph Michael had another shot at Demifiend's soul. Maybe they realized the boy was no longer around.
The sound of glass exploding as a motorcycle burst into the building reached him. Daisoujou rang his bell, wondering what Hell Biker was up to now. From the sound of it, he was actually driving through the halls. Such a reckless youth. Flickers of firelight appeared on the walls.
In the next moment, the motorcycle barreled into his little dead end and smashed right into his crate to stop. Daisoujou briefly saw the Demifiend as he jumped off the bike; what fear he had was reasonable and his confidence was far greater than previous attempts. Then he got thrown down the dead end towards the main hall. While that initial ambush was highly damaging, Daisoujou didn't let that ruffle him. He corrected his poise so that he would come to a stop sitting upright, before he slammed into anything else.
An arahabaki crashed into him, quickly followed by an expertly placed sword strike. And he died. It was marvelous coordination. Daisoujou had known Demifiend had those followers, but they'd still slipped beneath his notice because their leader was not with them. While his fear of death hadn't been totally discarded, he felt that Lucifer would approve of this method of winning.
When Daisoujou gathered himself enough to appear in spirit, Demifiend had already retrieved the Candelabrum of Eternity from the new pile of rubble. "You have done well," Daisoujou said. "And excellent timing as well; things have quieted down."
Demifiend raised an eyebrow at that. "You kept asking if I was afraid of death, but you all seem afraid of me dying and getting lost to the angels."
"More the latter than the former," he admitted. "It would be a pity to see you succumb to them."
"Or to lose what you all have already invested in me?" he asked. This one was very sharp.
Daisoujou rang his bell in lieu of a response to that. "In recognition of your superior strategy, Eternity is now yours, as well as myself. I am the Fiend Daisoujou; allow me perform your funeral for you."
To his credit, he didn't outwardly show a human reaction to that. "I am the Demifiend, I'll use your power well."
Behind Demifiend, Hell Biker tapped his cheekbone and stuck up his thumb. Even if he was old, Daisoujou understood the signal. They'd snared him just as planned. "Excellent."
Naoki's next goal was Kabukicho Prison, in order to keep his word to the manikins. But now that he had the two candelabrum, it made sense to go back into the labyrinth and see if Yuriko would teach him how to call his contracted demons to him no matter where he ended up. And before even that, Sarutahiko had a suggestion for him. "I'd like you to fuse me and Uzume together."
"Really?" Uzume asked, her expression bright.
That was a weird expression of love. "You sure about that?" Naoki asked.
Sarutahiko nodded. "Absolutely, I'd love to be a greater part of her."
Nodding enthusiastically, Uzume added, "It'll be great, I'm sure!"
Recalling that Hua Po had said the same kind of thing for fusing with Zhen, which led to Arahabaki here, Naoki was inclined to believe them. "All right, there's one right here."
"Thank goodness, I was hoping for that," Arahabaki said.
But as they were heading to the terminal area of Ikebukuro, Naoki sensed something different: there was a human there. About his age, a girl; hoping this would go better than things had with Isamu recently, Naoki walked over there quicker to catch her. "Chiaki, good to see you again."
"Hello Naoki," she said, smiling as she came over with her guardian Persephone. It didn't last long as she glanced at the others with him. "Um, interesting crowd you have with you." She didn't sound that interested.
While Hell Biker had vanished off to return to the highway until called, Daisoujou was hovering along after his other demons. "They're under my command," he said. "What are you doing here?"
"Actually, I was looking for you," she said, pushing her hair back. "I made it all the way to Asakusa before coming here, since I wanted to ask you something about this cathedral place here."
What for? Only the one demon seemed to be with her. "I was just about to go in there. Want to come along?"
"Sure, that should work."
The minister here had the same kind of look and scent as the one in Ginza. Perhaps it was part of their organization. While the minister checked over his palms to make sure the fusion would be successful, Naoki visualized the demon that would result: Lady Kushinada. She excelled in magic and luck, with varied support skills and potential to pick up Agi-type spells. Her basic healing spell was far better than what Uzume had currently, although Daisoujou outclassed them both for healing. Still, the fiends came and went if he didn't specify what he wanted them to do. Having a healer who'd definitely stick by his side was good. He was limited on how many skills he could pass on to her, so he chose Sarutahiko's Tarukaja and Uzume's Mazio and Mazan.
An elegant lady came out of the fusion, although she definitely wasn't human because of her blue skin and faintly glowing green eyes. "I am the Lady Kushinada, it's a pleasure to serve at your side."
After nodding to her, Naoki turned to Chiaki. "So what did you want?"
"I want to be fused with Persephone so I'm not so helpless wandering around in this world," she said.
She was choosing to be half-demon? "What?" he asked in disbelief.
"We need someone to claim responsibility and observe her in case something goes wrong," the minister said. "Such a fusion is more unpredictable than usual."
"I don't think that's a good idea," Naoki said.
She tried to look calm, but he could taste the anger at his refusal. "Why not? You must know how rough this world can be. We need everything we can get to keep going."
"She should be able to protect you as long as you keep close and know her weaknesses," he said.
"I need to be able to do more than just keep safe," Chiaki insisted. "I need to personify my chosen Reason of Yosuga so that the demons don't doubt in me."
"Your Reason," Naoki said, feeling a familiar sensation from his horn. He didn't slip into a trance, but he knew one would come. "Let's go somewhere else and discuss this."