Chapter 22: When You Bypass A Puzzle, The Boss Gets Angry
The deadline for naming a Reason was fast approaching. When the Divine Messenger called out to the heavens beyond, Kagutsuchi would accept no more names. It was required for at least two Reasons to be named for the Messenger to be available; there were three named Reasons. And… two people were searching directly for the Messenger. It was possible for an unnamed Reason to be accepted if the bearer's will was strong enough to reach Kagutsuchi, but that possibility was slim.
But then, his possibility for naming a Reason in the first place was slim already. It bothered Futomimi as he descended back to the entrance of Mifunashiro. Kagutsuchi watched him along the way, a merciless blue light that didn't care what was going on as long as its rules were obeyed. When he got to the lowest section of this valley by Asakusa, he stopped and looked up at the star of Creation. It was near its faintest stage, harmless to look at. It didn't care about manikins, humans, angels, or demons. That could work for or against him.
Why do you dare grasp for the power of Creation as an accidental creation?
"Accident or not, we are alive," Futomimi replied.
Silence answered. Maybe he'd just imagined that. It was a long march through the dark tunnels to get back home when all of them were weakened and scared from their imprisonment. A gentle people did not deserve such tribulations, even if most of them were fragmentary beings. Couldn't they be completed with the power of Creation? The children he'd left here had been safe; couldn't they have a good future?
Futomimi looked down from the star; it filled his head with strange thoughts about Creation. Should he try to meditate out here instead of within the holy land? As he was thinking it over, he noticed something moving out of the corner of his eye: a straw hat shifting on the ground, almost being blown away. He looked past that and saw someone lying on the ground motionless.
Images overlapped each other within his mind. This was a person he'd seen in his visions, the man who was divided from his true self. After retrieving the hat before it blew away, Futomimi crouched by him and put a hand on his back. A forbidden name, skimming across the depths of omniscience; there was a sense that this was the first blow in an unseen conflict. There was also a familiar feeling to him.
"You're one of us," Futomimi said quietly. This man looked more like a human than even himself, but his body was clay rather than flesh. In that case, he knew how to help. He'd found a way to heal himself with in prison, out of necessity. He knew how to use the spell for others, but there was a feeling that it'd only work for manikins. Placing both hands on him to be sure, Futomimi focused on healing him.
After a minute, he woke up. "What just happened?" he grumbled after sitting up, holding his head in his hands.
"I'm not aware of that," he said. "I simply found you here. I am Futomimi. Do you have a name?"
"Hijiri," he replied without hesitation. "Where are we?"
"Just outside of Mifunashiro. Don't you recognize it?" When Hijiri seemed puzzled, Futomimi tried to explain, "We came from this place with the emergence of the Vortex..."
Hijiri suddenly cringed and his whole self shifted. "Don't, please don't continue," he said in a weakened voice.
"Pardon?" Futomimi sat by him, trying to sense what was going on.
"You heard me?" he asked, tilting his head.
He nodded. "Yes. Are you his true self then?"
"You could say that," he said. "I shouldn't be communicating with anyone, it's been so long. So long on an endless task..." he suddenly laughed. "But maybe, I've found a loophole at last?" His odd smile rapidly faded into seriousness. "Hijiri was addressed with my name, that shouldn't happen. I must remain separate, because I must, and because the curse has become too much for a mortal mind to bear. Don't let him see the truth of himself, we must keep working."
It was hearing those truths that hurt Hijiri so bad. Futomimi nodded. "All right. You may still stay around Asakusa if you like; I don't think the others will notice."
"If I can get back to a terminal, I could have my way out," he said. Something made him look at him right then. "Actually, while I can speak with you, I recall reading about you. You're seeking a Reason for Creation on behalf of all manikins."
"Yes, even yourself," he said.
He shook his head. "I wouldn't be allowed a peaceful life; my task would drive my soul to another world in strife. The odds are stacked against you, but you've got more of a chance than I do. While I shouldn't be capable of this, I seem to have some time, maybe enough for defiance. Let me help you."
"There isn't much time," Futomimi said.
"Right. A name will be clearest out here under Kagutsuchi's light. You must begin by verbally agreeing to play by Kagutsuchi's rules. Be warned, that statement will be as binding as any contract. Breaking one of the rules will be punished and make your Reason less likely to be accepted."
Following his instincts, Futomimi placed his hands on his knees. "I don't know what its rules are."
"Of course you wouldn't, you're entering the game of Creation on minimal requirements. I believe you will be informed one way or another once you have a named Reason. If not, find Hijiri when I'm hidden again, he can help you look them up with the terminals. Agree to the rules, then think over the ideals behind your Reason."
Kagutsuchi didn't care… Futomimi didn't like it, but for the sake of his people, he could do this. "I agree to play by your rules, Kagutsuchi."
Even with his eyes half-closed, the blue light seemed to fill his mind, shifting thoughts… it was already examining him and his ideals. Though the light, he heard the other manikin speak again. "It may be harder to name a selfless Reason because it wants you to create your world. Don't let up. You are doing as it asks, yet defying it at the same time. This will be a harsh trial for you."
A world where his people could live in peace and safety. All who lived should be acknowledged as good to begin with, rather than assumed to be bad or worthless unless proved otherwise. A world where people all worked for the common good. Everyone has kindness inside them. Everyone; don't warp it into cruelty, don't allow pain to be a pleasure. I want to know what it is to love and be loved in the purest sense, not hated, not feared, not desired carnally. Love was the acceptance of others in spite of their flaws, unconditional.
Don't warp the ideal of love.
Why does something so right feel like it is going against the grain of the world?
The world… the world he most wanted to see come about…. don't give up… the Reason behind this world is…
"J-J-Jiyuu."
Words of power rippled through the air; Chiaki could feel them now. A fourth Reason had been named; was it Ms. Takao? She wasn't sure how she felt about competing against her teacher. Chiaki hoped that they'd all see the greatness behind Yosuga and accept that she should win the rights of Creation.
When she had come to Asakusa to look for the Divine Messenger, she'd spotted Hikawa and a red dragon challenge a trumpeter. But it was very clearly not the Messenger since it was the Fiend Trumpeter, the angel from hell. Chiaki was amused to watch them fail completely at the battle. She would have dismissed such violence as horrible before Conception, but now she saw it as where a person's will and strength could truly shine.
Once Hikawa had fallen, she moved on to find the actual Divine Trumpeter. It was difficult because the angel insisted on hiding herself from sight. Chiaki had to rely on faint traces of radiance to locate her. "Divine Trumpeter, I know you're here," she said.
She appeared with a laugh, a pink-haired angel with a human visage, large white wings, and brass chains braided like a tasseled belt. A strange trumpet was in her left hand, much like what the Fiend Trumpeter had. "Hmm hmm, you're just in time. Hello, bearer of Yosuga. What are you seeking?"
Chiaki could just ask her to allow the gods to be called, but it would look better to Kagutsuchi if she solved its riddle without any doubts. "Before that, what is your purpose?"
"For now, allowing the gods to be summoned for the rites of Creation as the Divine Messenger," the trumpeter said. "More generally, I am to preach the words of God in apocalyptic times, to give the people one final chance to be saved. But I also sound the trumpet to begin such divine wars; I always hope I can save more than I must allow to perish."
That seemed enough to fulfill the requirement of finding the one of living revelations. But then, "You can trigger an apocalypse with that trumpet?"
She looked at it, tapping its long neck. "It's my trumpet. I use it for many things; it all depends on how I play it. A dirge, a lullaby, a requiem, praise of the Holy One, the orders of battle: I know many songs."
With that bit of doubt out of mind, Chiaki said, "I see. Well, I want to call upon the gods, so would you do your thing as the Divine Messenger?"
Trumpeter nodded. "Certainly. Four Reasons have been named; three Reasons are unnamed, in various degrees of indefinite form. There may be seven Reasons taken up to Kagutsuchi, there may only be the four. Whatever occurs in this stage of the rites will decide which Reasons are true and strong, and which Reasons are false and weak. Kagutsuchi, I shall play for you as your Messenger."
Facing the star of Creation, she played a powerful song that would echo throughout the Vortex World.
While climbing yet another staircase, the interior of the Obelisk suddenly reverberated with the song of a trumpet. Something about it made Naoki's horn tingle. It felt like something to be respected, not interrupted. All around him, the soul of the next world stirred as if trying to wake from a dream. It sought guidance, no longer knowing itself.
It took a few seconds after the song ended for those feelings to pass. "What was that?" Okuninushi asked. "It felt like a call to war, but not."
"Yeah," Naoki said. "I think the next stage of Creation is beginning with that song."
"That would be correct," Baphomet said. "Someone finally located the Divine Messenger. Although I do agree, that was a peculiar instrument to use for that rite. By that alone, I can tell there's something strange about that angel."
"It was certainly a powerful horn, even discounting where we are," Kushinada said.
"What's weird about that instrument?" Naoki said.
"If we felt it as a call to war, it is very likely to be an apocalyptic instrument. I'm surprised Kagutsuchi would allow such a thing into its realm."
The angels and fiends were already fighting over his soul, so Naoki wondered what that would change. They'd have to keep alert. For the time being, he still wanted to reach Yuko. That meant continuing to climb these stairs and elevators, fighting battles along the way.
They got near the largest of the moon phase puzzles yet when single monkey demon with a sword leapt down from a nearby column. "I challenge you, come on!" he called, waving his sword.
"You again?" Naoki asked, disrupting him from starting the fight.
"Wh-what are you talking about?" the onkot asked, readying himself to attack.
"We have fought a lot of these little guys," Kushinada said.
He rubbed his neck near his horn. "Right, but there's something different about this one. We've fought him three times throughout this tower, always on his own. What are you up to that you're forcing yourself to revive so rapidly, enough that I can recognize you from the rest?"
"Well I've beaten all the other onkots already," he said. "A lot of the other demons in this tower too, except the Moirae sisters. You guys are the other big challenge I've faced in a long while, so I'm gonna keep fighting you until I succeed!"
From the other encounters, Naoki had a feeling this was the third demon that Futomimi had mentioned, the small swordsman. But the onkot hadn't given them a chance to talk yet; Kagutsuchi was currently at its darkest, which might be affecting matters. Okuninushi looked down at the onkot with some admiration. "That's easy to imagine, but I don't think repeatedly losing is going to make you much stronger."
"But it might give him insight in how to win without needing more power," Naoki pointed out. "With the number of times I died to Matador and Daisoujou, I know that works."
"Well dying repeatedly does give you some insights," he admitted.
The onkot nodded. "Yeah, that's it! Although I do want to be stronger, I can find a way around any challenge, even you guys."
"If you want to get stronger, why don't you join us instead?" Naoki asked. "We're going to challenge the Moirae sisters once we find them and you are pretty good."
"Oh yeah?" the onkot lowered his sword, thinking.
"I'm not one of his followers, but I do see promise in his ways," Baphomet said, moving his fingers like he was plucking the air. "Come on, when the world is at its darkest, won't you seek to aide the Demifiend?"
"He's really the Demifiend, heir to Lucifer?" he asked, still unsure but swayed by Baphomet's words.
"I still have a long way to prove myself," Naoki said. And he hadn't decided on the matter either, but that could be left out of the discussion for now. "Which does include training myself and those who follow me to be stronger. I'm not worried about the Moirae, but if we have you along too, they'd have to really surprise us to win."
"You guys have been strong enough that I can believe that," the onkot said, then bowed his head. "Great, then it's decided! I'm Onkot of the Yoma clan, my sword is yours now."
This could be a fun battle now. "Thank you. I'm the Demifiend, I'm counting on you."
Appearing back in the world, Pascal tried not to be nervous. He had a new mission since Isamu had abandoned him. Did he really deserve this second chance? Kagutsuchi was kind to allow for it. Pascal had to give this his all, no, more than that since it hadn't been enough last time.
But first, Kagutsuchi had another objective for him. Sniffing the air and ground, he found a particular radiance of angels. There was also the scent of the girl Isamu had known, different than before. Pascal trailed the radiance until he heard the sound of chains shifting. Giving a bark, he called out, "Show yourself, Messenger!"
The Divine Trumpeter reappeared. "Hmm? Oh, hello little cutie! I don't believe I've seen you around before." She smiled and came over to try rubbing his chin.
That would be nice… no, he had to resist chin rubs. "I'm one of Kagutsuchi's servants, as you are!"
"I've already sounded the calling of the gods," she said, trying again.
Pascal backed off. "Yes, but why use a trumpet of the apocalypse to do so? The demons are already thick with schemes and the angels are on edge. That kind of chaos is not allowed within the birthplace of worlds."
"It's my trumpet," she said, showing it off with a twirl. "I got asked to be the Messenger, so of course I'm going to use my trumpet to do so. I thought it was as simple as that."
"You don't have any other instruments you could have used?" he asked.
She shook her head. "Nope. I'm a trumpeter, what other instrument would I use?"
There was a sense in Pascal's mind, probably her's too from the look she had, of a sigh of resignation. "Well, it seems you can't be faulted for that," he said. "But be careful with that thing from now on. If things get out of hand, the soul of the unborn world could die."
"All right, I will," she said, giving a curtsey. "May I pet you now?"
"Err, no, sorry," Pascal said, wagging his tail at the offer. "I have things to do. Bye."
"Goodbye, little cutie," she said with a bright smile and small wave.
From where she was, it was just a short jog over to his main mission. There were two men standing out in the sands here; one was looking unwell, but it was the other that Pascal was looking for. "There's a terminal just inside here, you should be okay there," he said, then glanced down at him approaching.
Pascal wagged his tail. "Hello! I am Pascal of Kagutsuchi, here to protect you as the bearer of Jiyuu. Glad to meet you, Futomimi!"
He smiled as if relieved of some worry. "Ah, I see. Thank you, Pascal, although I don't mean to get into trouble." He even offered a chin rub as Pascal's armor didn't offer many places to pet.
This was good. Pascal would prove himself good; he would protect Futomimi from anything.
After many phases of Kagutsuchi, they finally arrived at the top section of the Obelisk. There were three floors that Naoki sensed. The one they arrived on was a large open ring, allowing the stream of magatsuhi to flow upward. In contrast, the remaining two were large flat floors with very little obstructing a battle. They found the three fate sisters on the middle floor of the area, playing a game of poker with a dis. "Are you copying chips, Clotho?" Lachesis asked, frowning at her.
"No," the one in white said, before glancing their way. She squealed and dropped her cards, scattering the stacks of plastic chips by her. "Aah, how did you all get up here?!"
"We climbed up," Naoki said.
"You knew he was here, you greeted him upon entering," Baphomet said, smiling to mock them.
"We had a great many puzzles set along the way to stop invaders like you," Atropos said, throwing her cards down in disgust. "Many of Nihilo's best were here too."
"The puzzles were boring, we skipped them all," Naoki said.
"Those demons really didn't seem like the best to me," Onkot said.
"Well we were going to play with you, but it seems like we have to get serious about this," Lachesis said angrily, getting to her feet with her sisters. The dis bowed out, heading to the edge of the room.
Naoki started off with Tornado, partly to clear out the cards and chips from the middle of the floor. The Moirae sisters worked together well; Atropos quickly raised their magic power, while Clotho healed and Lachesis pelted them with various spells. However, Naoki, Onkot, and Okuninushi all had Tarukaja to boost their physical attack power. One quick round of that and their charged attacks tore through the three fates. Kushinada, Feng Huang, and especially Baphomet were able to add to the fray well with their magic.
The sisters got healed up twice in quick succession. Clotho was a strong healer, but the second heal seemed oddly familiar… Sophia, there was a magatama in the room. And somehow, the dis back in the corner was using it to boost her abilities.
Without a second thought, Naoki snarled and left the Moirae to his followers and Baphomet. The dis took a couple steps back, willing to step off the edge onto the lower floor's ring to get away. He threw a Shock at her to avoid that before he could reach her. On a cord from her cape clasp, the magatama was uncoiling as if it'd just become aware of his presence too. Gaea modified his motions so that he put all his force from running into a punch to her chest, then grabbed the cord and yanked it off her. She'd died by the time he had Sophia in hand and swallowed it.
Instead of slipping into broken thoughts, Gaea and Kamudo pushed his awareness into that calm trance, letting him continue the battle without paying heed to Sophia settling in. Not that it took much longer. Without the dis giving them extra healing, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos couldn't match the six of them. Naoki's inability to give orders in this state didn't even matter since the demons with him could be trusted on their own.
Their souls remained, though, bright and raw with rage. "No, no, we can't let you win like this! We won't let you win!" They bound themselves together and reemerged as a golden idol bearing a twisted clock. Norn was far more powerful united than separate. "Your fate is to die at our hands and we will not alter that for any fluke! See how short your future is!"
Kashima Naoki, this is what could be.
He didn't have the presence of mind to be surprised at that. The power of the fused fates was enough to warp time for a brief moment. In that moment, a dark figure emerged below the idol. The glowing markings were familiar, but this person wasn't the same as himself. It was another failed Demifiend.
Yes… that's me.
The Demifiend turned to him immediately and screamed like a feral beast, unleashing a far more devastating Tornado on everyone in the room, including himself. Naoki's magatama cut through his consciousness; something had to be done because the other's magical prowess was immense. "Daisoujou, keep us alive. Matador, Hell Biker, we need you."
Ignoring Norn and the appearing fiends, Naoki focused back on the Demifiend. His magatama tried unlocking more skills, find something to gain any edge with. Sophia had healing spells, but Daisoujou, Kushinada, and Feng Huang had that well covered now. Instead, Naoki needed to do as much damage as he could. Focus and… Chaos Blade, those seemed to be his best chance. His mind slipped back into the battle trance now that he had a plan for himself.
...I must kill you.
But the other's thoughts were invading his mind. The magatama resonated… wait, he didn't have Gaea. Nor Iyomante, Kamudo, or Murakumo. Little wonder, he was focused on magic. Ice was coming; Naoki flipped Miasma to the fore, not quite reaching the other yet.
I was abandoned. Even Kagutsuchi left me in disgust. I must kill you and prove myself to Lucifer.
Ice struck him to no avail. Norn wasn't nearby now. Other attacks had to be dodged; other demons had to be avoided. Just take out this one.
I can… I can do this? I doubted then too. I wasn't sure what was right, I couldn't decide. I-I was weak then too. I was scared of the monster I was becoming. It could have been over with, I could have at least restored the world. But I had no resolve and was abandoned entirely.
Naoki summoned a blade out of his own life and slashed through the other's body.
...kill me, please, I can't stand this anymore…
While Chaos Blade wasn't enough to finish the Demifiend off, Naoki willed the blade to remain in his hand to cut the other's head off.
…thank you. Don't become me. Take what little power I found for myself.
The trance dropped suddenly, leaving Naoki looking down at the human corpse in front of him. The glowing lines ignited, burning the other Demifiend's body and head to ashes. For some reason, he couldn't look away from that. His mind was filled with a different blankness, barely comprehending what he'd done. He'd killed someone human enough to leave behind a body that had to be burned away.
"Demi?" Okuninushi walked up behind him. "You okay? That was intense."
Naoki turned from the growing pile of ashes and checked over the others. They were all more tired than usual after battle. While it might have been from the climb, even Daisoujou, Hell Biker, and Matador seemed worn down. "Yeah," Naoki lied, trying to get a hold of himself. "How long was that? I didn't think it was taking much time."
"It felt long," Okuninushi said. "The Moirae were nothing to be concerned about, although Norn was far more trouble. But then there was that mimic you were focused on; he took a whole phase to take down."
"That was a grueling ordeal even if my only duty was healing," Daisoujou said. He'd set his bell in his lap to rub one of his hands.
"That was no mimic," Naoki said.
He did grant us a skill: Concentrate. We weren't aware of this one. It seems to work like Focus, but with magic instead. This could prove invaluable, so his sacrifice was worth it. He wanted to die, don't worry about him.
It was a frightening realization, that he really was a monster who could kill without a second's thought. But the other Demifiend had asked to be killed, or he would have killed Naoki. And if he didn't accept these truths about himself, he could end up just like him, a feral abandoned creature that neither heaven nor hell wanted.
You can't face Kagutsuchi full of fear and doubt, without resolve.
"That was quite a battle, but I wouldn't mind a long break after that," Onkot said. He'd even set his sword in his belt holder when he was always seeking a fight.
"It might be nice to drop back in to Nyx's Lounge to rest," Kushinada suggested.
"I have to get back to Shibuya anyhow, so that would be fine," Baphomet said.
"I'm going up to get Yuko out of here," Naoki said to them. "Leave that to me and we can go to Shibuya after."
They agreed to that. Even if he'd wanted to bring one up, the elevator block up to the top floor of the Obelisk was small, only enough for himself to stand on. On that floor, a ring of angled openings gave a wide view of the Vortex World as well as Kagutsuchi overhead. The room did not hold much, mostly a block pyramid dais in the center. In a dense stream of magatsuhi, Yuko hovered over the point of the dais upside-down. She was in a deep trance, tied into Nihilo's Nightmare System in order to keep the global flow of magatsuhi under their control. Somewhere nearby, the spirit of a butterfly demon hovered in waiting.
How did he get her out of this? He closed his eyes to sense deeper with his horn, to find a weakness. The flow of magatsuhi tied Yuko in place; its strength kept her from waking out of her trance. In her trance, she followed orders from Hikawa to direct the global flow as he wished.
To affect the flow of magatsuhi like this, you'll have to be in a trance yourself. Then pull it like strings to take her out of there.
"How…?" Naoki asked quietly.
Then it happened just like before, parts of his mind shutting off to amplify what powers he needed. Unlike the battle trance, this didn't make him violent. Magatsuhi became sharply defined; he tasted it but wasn't allowed to retrieve identities of those tastes. His hands did not reach far around, but his mind still caught hold of the flow. Seeing Yuko bundled up with yarn, Naoki unlatched a couple strands to pull her closer, then untangled her. Once she was detached, the Nightmare System began to unravel. He helped that along so that the unnatural flow ended. Magatsuhi in the Vortex World shifted to his influence, starting to fill back in the desert around Ikebukuro.
Not long after Naoki left that trance, Yuko woke back up as well. "Naoki, you did come. Thank you."
"You okay?" he asked, quietly relieved that she didn't seem too shocked at his appearance now. Maybe she'd already known.
"I'm really tired," she said, putting a hand on the pyramid behind her. Naoki offered her a hand to help her stand up. "Hikawa drained me of my power to set up the Nightmare System. I wasn't to be anything more than a medium to the magatsuhi of the world, eventually a sacrifice."
"We should find somewhere you'd be safe from him," Naoki said, although he had no idea where to suggest. Yoyogi Park might work because the fairies were guarding it, but then they'd have to convince that clan to let Yuko stay with them.
"It won't matter," Yuko said, looking up towards the ring of skylight that let Kagutsuchi's light in here strongly. "Hikawa was badly injured while you were climbing this Obelisk; he won't be capable of much for a while. Besides, I have something now that he can't take from me. I found a god that even he does not know about."
Her magatsuhi didn't taste right, a tearful darkness that he'd never seen in her before. "Yuko?"
"I'll be fine, as long as I have Aradia," she said, her voice growing faint. Her self seemed fainter as well.
"Hey," Naoki said, taking her shoulder. What was happening to her?
Whoa, step back there. She's being taken by her god.
He did as his magatama suggested even though Yuko swayed like she might collapse. Something in the light shifted; a different power entered the room. But although the entity was there, it didn't feel powerful enough to be recognizable as a god. It didn't have a hundredth of the presence that Gozu-Tennoh had. It might have been nothing but a glowing butterfly.
Then Yuko's face was totally erased. A sickening shine spread across her head; her arm raised with the stiff jitteriness of a marionette. "You Fool of Chaos, do you have the hope to be the star's candle in the darkness of hell?"
"What?" he asked, confused by the question.
"Or do you seek to sever yourself from the strings of the malicious sprites?" Aradia asked. "Are you willing to brutalize your own heart for darkness or for life? You will lose all that you love no matter what path you follow."
"You let Yuko go," Naoki demanded. He didn't know what kind of god this was, but it was clearly insane.
Aradia drew Yuko's body back in a skid. "She called to me willingly. I responded. Do not fear, Fool of Chaos, I will protect her. Keep hope within your heart and you may find meaning to the senseless tragedy playing out around you. I mean you no harm. Take this as a sign of my gratitude for undoing this nightmare."
Something popped by his right ear. Vimana. Before he could properly react, the magatama got into his ear and blanked out his mind to what was going on.
There was the Demifiend who had been turned to salt. He grew to love fighting, chasing challenges across the Vortex World and feeling closest to something like Yosuga. While he felt like he was losing memories of his past, he didn't care. He kept growing powerful. He would not let anything hold him back, not even Lucifer. After repeatedly ignoring invitations into the labyrinth, he sought to show the demon lord that he did not need anything from him.
The blond child reacted in disgust and turned away. Powerful but useless, he should be abandoned. The angels captured the Demifiend's soul when he died and tried to make him suffer for his sins before deciding to simply eradicate him as an example.
There was the Demifiend who had been turned to ashes. He could not get over his aversion to fighting. When his friends called upon Reasons he couldn't agree with, he kept searching for one that he could. Being half-demon, he could not form his own. He avoided fighting whenever he could, even finding a way around Matador so he challenged no fiends at all. When the road to Kagutsuchi appeared, he went reluctantly because he did not know what else to do.
Well before that, Lucifer had given up on him and left. A Demifiend that would not acknowledge his demon side was completely unacceptable. Kagutsuchi could not believe that the only one to reach it was so uncertain; the star of Creation left and took its light with it. Left alone in a dark dead world, the Demifiend had nothing he could do but reflect on where he went wrong until he could barely think at all.
And there was…
...a version of himself, older and looking human again. He stood within a silent cathedral, looking out at a devastated city beyond. "Hmm?" He turned and looked right at where Naoki felt himself to be. His older self then stretched a hand out. "I wish to speak with you; please come."
"How…?" Naoki started to reach out, but the vision abruptly ended.
A/N: Well, that's the end for the bad ending Demifiend! Also, I did not come up with the name for Futomimi's Reasons; it was borrowed from a short story by someone else. I don't know if it was posted here, but it is on archiveofourown if you want to poke around for it. That one had a good ending for the manikins, but it's not going to play out like that here.