Chapter 28: Future Sight
The dead trees made Yoyogi look different than other places in the Vortex World. Sakahagi wondered if they would still make for good cover to ambush unsuspecting fairies from. Although if he were them, he'd hide out within the construction site instead. That place would be harder for an invader to ambush in, easier for the invader to be ambushed.
Looking at the half-constructed tower, he felt a seething anger just at the brink of boiling over. Little annoyances built up over years, thoughts hidden out of a desire for conformity and respect. And then a company that wouldn't normally be an opponent bought up this natural refuge to build upon… it was not only disrespectful, but something seemed unethical about it all. Nobody raised a fuss until construction began because almost no one knew the plans. Another log for the fire of hatred but not enough to spark…
Sakahagi shook his head, dismissing those thoughts. They came and went, things he shouldn't know and didn't know why he did. Perhaps he'd gone too long without hunting or fighting. But that should be solved soon enough. He would get into the park for its treasure one way or another.
Something small got knocked ahead by his foot, something squirming and white. As it tried to crawl away, Sakahagi snatched it out of the sands. He kept hold of it behind its large pincer, keeping it from snapping at him. "Hmph, what are you doing alive here?" he mumbled. "Well you won't be for long."
Before he could get get hold of his knife, the bug stopped squirming for a moment to surround both of them with powerful fire. Sakahagi cursed, dropping into the sand to make sure his trophy coat didn't get torched. But he didn't let go of the bug. It had to pay.
"Unless you can give me that fire, I will squash you," he said as he got up.
Hellish sounds filled his head, growls and fiery crackles. Yet the bug gave into his threats. It granted him not only the fire magic, but also more innate magical power to go with it. There was also an understanding that he could only have that power so long as he held onto the bug.
"Fine, then you're mine." Sakahagi tied it to his coat before heading in. What would roasted fairy smell like?
When Naoki arrived at Asakusa by his motorcycle, it seemed deserted. Like with the Shibuya intersection, he was used to seeing this place as so much busier. Now the famed gate stood in front of a large crater, surrounded by sands and fragments of ruined city. There were some manikins here, clearing the streets of rubble and taking tools to other areas. There were even open shops here, but far fewer than should be here. A junk shop, a healer's fountain, a terminal, and a cathedral entrance: they should be fine waiting out the phases of Kagutsuchi here.
He called Yatagarasu, Mikazuchi, and Hanuman to him, letting the fiends do as they pleased for the time being. "I don't want to cause the manikins trouble, so be respectful of them," he said, mostly to Hanuman.
"They're those clay weaklings, right?" Hanuman asked, scratching his head. "Who'd care about them?"
"I do," Naoki said. "They're strange, yes, but they have a hard enough time as it is."
The golden monkey shrugged at that. "I see it as worthless to bully them around, since they couldn't help me get stronger."
"It's one of Demi's human eccentricities," Yagatarasu said. "A good one at that."
"It's not eccentric to want to protect the weak," Mikazuchi said.
"Says you, kinshin," Hanuman countered.
Under the gate, one of the manikins greeted them. "Welcome to Asakusa, city of the manikins," she said. "I love saying that."
"Hello," Naoki said, waving to her.
"Oh, you were the Demifiend, right?" she asked, waving back. "Good to have you here."
"How are things?" There was enthusiasm here, pride and joy, and some nervousness still.
"There's a lot to be done, but we've got most of it handled," she said, then pointed back outside. "The thing we don't got handled is the four big oni that were in the tunnels we used to get here. They used to be in the Mantra, but Thor kicked them out and they weren't there when the headquarters got attacked. While Futomimi got us through without alerting them, he said they were in there. There's also a few manikins that don't seem to be here. They might still be in there too."
"I can take care of the oni for you," Naoki said. Four oni shouldn't be bad compared to what he fought off in the Second Kalpa.
"That's great, thank you!" she said, clapping her hands together. "Be careful, they're tough ones and it's dark and confusing down there."
In the direction she had pointed him to, there was a train station entrance still standing even though a large sand dune sat behind it. The station itself was clean, hardly damaged at all in spite of the regular lights not working. Some emergency lamps managed to be on, letting faint blue light in the area. Past the platforms, the tunnels continued on in complete darkness. While Naoki could sense the rocky tunnels and rough ladders, he cast Lightoma for his demons. The manikin said this place was confusing, but its structure wasn't grating on his mind.
It might have once been train tunnels, but they were more maze-like now. On the second level down, he sensed a ring of tunnel around a large room; three other halls wandered away from the ring. There were also invisible holes and glowing cursed floors around. But in that encircled room, there was a varied group: Kamurogi, Nirvana, four oni, three manikins, and one angel, Divine Trumpeter. That was who they were looking for except the divine.
This could be bad. Still, Naoki decided to intervene. There were multiple ways into the central room, including a hall behind the oni. They had to use Liftoma to get past a cursed area. "There's a strong angel in there with the four oni, so we might end up fighting her too," Naoki told his demons. "And these oni are different. We can still take them."
"Of course," Mikazuchi said.
To sneak up on them, Naoki pushed his Lightoma orb back. The two magatama were being held by the strongest of the four oni and the angel. "What is wrong with you?" one of the oni, Fuu-ki, asked in anger.
"I don't believe anything is," the trumpeter replied. While they seemed to be in conflict, she wasn't concerned.
"If you're gonna fight, then fight!" The strongest of them, Ongyo-ki, swung his black polearm at the angel. It looked like it should hit, but something warped the weapon so it didn't touch her.
"I said I'd protect them, not that I'd fight." She was keeping herself between the oni and the manikins.
Maybe he should wipe out all five of them while they were focused on each other. If it wasn't for the manikins, he'd go ahead with that. As the angel had a magatama, he could track her down for it later. Naoki turned back to his demons. "Hit just the oni, before they notice."
They had defeated three of the Riders, so it was no surprise that their combined sneak attack took out three of the powerful oni. Only the black one was left after the eruption of light and sound; he completely shut out physical attacks and so three of them didn't hit him as hard. "Hey, what gives?" Ongyo-ki asked, turning around to face them instead. "We're in the middle of a battle here, buzz off."
"We're taking over this battle," Naoki said. "And it looks like you won't stand a chance."
"Hah, that's what you think!" He spun his polearm around, forming a haze around himself. Three illusions appeared to stand in place of his allies. Behind him, the angel turned to the manikins and encouraged them to leave the room. "I'll avenge my followers and utterly humiliate you!"
"Illusions mean nothing," Naoki said. As his single attack skills were limited, he simply used Thunderclap against the real one, allowing the others to target him. That dispelled the illusion and it didn't take long to dispatch him as well. Kamurogi dropped to the ground and was soon in his possession.
The angel and the manikins had left. Since they were headed to Asakusa, it was easy to catch up with them. Naoki opted to hang back. The magatama should be claimed as soon as he could, yes, but he didn't want to take on the trumpeter rashly. Putting Sophia in the fore should keep him from being killed right off, but she felt like she might have the power to do so with other attacks.
"Great, we're finally out of there!" one of the manikins said as they climbed the stairwell filled with the blue light of Kagutsuchi.
"I like being underground, but I'm glad to be out of there too," another said. "Thank you."
"It's no trouble; I'm glad I could find you," the angel said cheerfully. The tone of it made her sound air-headed.
"But where's the town? It's supposed to be here."
She patted his back. "Just head out and turn around, it's not far." She followed them most of the way to the town gate, but stopped well before reaching it. Once she'd seen them enter the gate, she turned back to them. "Hello there, thank you so much for distracting those oni for us! I tried to tell the three of them to run for it while I had them distracted, but they didn't know where to go."
Now that she was addressing him directly, Naoki realized that her voice was familiar. "You're the one who keeps talking to me before I see the future."
The trumpeter smiled and flew closer. "Yay, you noticed! Yes, that's me. I've been watching you for a while."
"What's going on?" Yatagarasu whispered to him.
"I don't know," he whispered back. Then he looked back to the trumpeter. "Don't you have orders to kill me on sight?"
She paused and tilted her head. "Hmm, do I? I don't recall any such orders."
"That's weird," Naoki said. "It's fine by me."
"Okay then." The trumpeter giggled. "Did you come to me about the magatama? I was trying to teach it a new trick, although I don't know if it worked. But then I'd also like to send you a lot further into the future once, to speak with somebody."
"Myself in the far future?" Naoki asked.
"That's right. He had something he wanted to say to you. Are you ready for such a trip? The magatama will trigger it once you take it."
While Naoki wasn't sure how this was going to work, there was a pull from the magatama to join him regardless of what was about to happen. "I don't know, but let's go for it."
"Are you sure about this?" Yagatarasu asked.
"Yes, though I do want you to keep an eye on this trumpeter," Naoki said. And the Riders would be watching too; he could feel them out of sight.
"No need to be formal, you may call me Elzbieta," the trumpeter said, taking Nirvana out of a hidden pocket in her robes to hand over. "Kashima Naoki, see what the future may bring you."
While he knew he should be cautious, especially with her having messed with it, the draw was too strong and Naoki took Nirvana without hesitation. It didn't hurt to swallow, although his mind blanked out for a moment. Like coming out of the dark tunnels into an even brighter light. After a moment, it changed into the glow of candles and storms. Thunder rumbled overhead; rain pattered against a large long roof. A portal like the one Baphomet used to call Mara was under his feet.
"Good, you came," a man in his forties said.
Licking his lips, Naoki sensed familiar skills within him. However, he didn't have the power of a demon. They were in the same place as before, a church in a ruined city. Death could be felt here. This too had once been Tokyo. "Yes." He opened his eyes and found himself as a rather ordinary looking man. You wouldn't be able to pick him out of a crowd easily. But with all the occult gear arranged for this summoning, he clearly wasn't ordinary.
He even had a paper charm on his wrist like Hikawa had, only purple in color. When the older Naoki tapped it, he said, "You have eighteen of your magatama. When did I call you from in the Vortex World? Just keep in mind that things may not have gone the same way for me as they have for you."
"I've just arrived in Asakusa to check on the manikins," Naoki told him. What else might let him know the approximate time frame? "I saved Yuko from the Obelisk, but then Aradia stole her away and Hikawa's in hiding to recover from some injury. I've completed the Second Kalpa and just recently defeated three of the Riders, White, Red, and Black."
"That's about when I hoped for," he said. "Have you made a decision on what Reason you'll follow, if any?"
Shaking his head, he answered, "I know which ones I'm not following, but I still have to ask Yuko what her's is about."
"I see. I'm afraid I can't really tell you about that. Your time is already flowing differently than what I experienced. For instance, I haven't met Elzbieta until just recently. She's the one that let me call on you." He then waved him over to one of the pews that was in better shape. "You may come off of that and sit down, we might be talking for a while."
"What's going on here?" he asked, going to sit with him. While he could sense a power like Expel magic in this structure, it did nothing to him while he had Sophia protecting him. There was also that taste of death in the air, lingering like mold. "You have skills but only a human's power."
"That's what my decisions led to," his older self said. "When I was in your position, I had little to base them on. There was what everyone was telling me, but they all proved willing to lie to and manipulate me. I ended up deciding to restore the world to what it had been." He shook his head. "It didn't work out because it could not go back to that state."
"Why not? Kagutsuchi is supposed to have the power of Creation, so that should be the simple answer."
He tapped his charm. "But its deeper purpose is to change worlds, make history forget things that are inconvenient to the one in charge. The world we grew up in had a mundane character. As such, science and technology triumphed over magic; beings like demons and angels had a difficult time existing. But to trigger the Conception, the Amala drums had to be connected to this world. It came back seeming just how it had been, but it had irreversibly been changed to a world with a stronger supernatural element."
"That's why this place has power?" Naoki asked.
"Yes. It's not enough to affect me, but is enough to let me hide this summoning. At first, few people noticed the change. I had destroyed Kagutsuchi when it challenged me over the unorthodox Reason I brought, so Lucifer allowed me to keep my abilities with a warning that my true enemy would appear in the future. But not the magatama; they were removed, as well as other demonic traits like my extra senses. Although those weren't too useful to me."
He rubbed the back of his neck. "Really? They've been valuable to me, even if it can overwhelm me sometimes."
"Lucifer might have tweaked them between you and me," he said. "I could get some information about demons when I focused on them, but any time I needed such facts, I couldn't read them. When I brought the world back, I didn't think I really needed those powers. Life went on as normal for a few years. I went to college and had a teaching job for a few years."
"What'd you teach?" he asked, curious about it.
Smiling warmly, he said, "Elementary school, mostly math and helping to introduce science to them. It took a lot of effort to make those subjects appealing enough that they learned it well, but I had fun with it. I was even leading a homeroom that last year." Then he turned more serious. "When I was taking my homeroom students out to catch caterpillars for study, things took a turn for the worse. Some hostile angels appeared and attacked the park we were visiting. In trying to protect my students, I got beaten into a coma."
He was telling the truth. "That's awful. Do you know what they were after?"
"Me," he said. "But if they were trying to eliminate me before they established a foothold in Japan, they failed to finish me off. Our family visited me in the hospital often, and one day..." he paused on thinking of something. "I know the magatama have some bad effects. Do you recall the names of our cousins?"
He shook his head. "Not anymore. But I knew their souls when I encountered them."
"Well, I'm not sure if you'd recognize her name if I said it, but the older girl came to see me alone one day after school. It was her senior year of high school at the time. She met Lucifer that day and he confirmed that it was the angels that attacked me. He also offered her the magatama so she could get revenge for me."
"He turned her into this?" Naoki asked, angered at that. Maybe she had been the same age he was now, but he still wouldn't want her to live through what he was.
"Not exactly," his older self said. "If he'd done that, she'd have been too obvious a target. But the magatama are meant as a bridge between demon and human. They're more difficult to understand and absorb to someone who isn't a mix of the two. She had a rough time adapting to their powers, but she made it work and fought against the angels that were trying to control our world." He glanced towards the windows. "When I came out of the coma, things weren't this bad. But Tokyo was a dangerous war zone between the angels and demons. Even the hospital I was in had been abandoned; I was lucky to awaken when I did or I wouldn't have survived."
"Where is she now?" The storm drowned out any sounds that might have been outside, although Naoki didn't sense anything moving near the church.
He shrugged. "I'm not sure. The human population has been decimated here in Japan; we don't know about the rest of the world anymore. Lately, the demonic and angelic forces have seemed ragged and thin as well. She is probably still out there fighting with the former. She's gotten really tough through this, surviving through the hell on Earth out there. At this point, I'd be grateful for a truce so the daily violence finally stops. But both sides are fighting tooth and nail to the bitter end, as always."
The words felt ominous. "I've heard it's been a long-standing stalemate where neither side can take dominance for long."
"That's the way it is," he confirmed. "Elzbieta and I wanted you to know about the various futures so you're not making decisions blindly. Even true restoration would have its flaws as our world was flawed already."
"The flaws still aren't worth Conception, or even all this," Naoki said.
"I would prefer the mundane flaws as well," his older self said.
"But what's the deal with Elzbieta?" he asked. "I've only spoken to her face-to-face once and I already know she's not a normal angel. She seems to be helping me, even to get to you, when all the other angels are out to destroy my very soul."
"Are they?" he asked, concerned.
Naoki nodded. "Metatron even broke into the Amala Labyrinth after me and from talk I've heard, that angel is rarely seen.
"I've never seen Metatron myself," he said. "I've certainly heard him. When most of the city was still standing, he had taken over the radio stations and was constantly broadcasting a program that brainwashed those who listened too long." He held a hand up, looking at the space around them. "Can you sense the death here?"
"Yes, but it feels like it was some time ago," he said, taking another taste of it. "Months."
"Those who listened to Metatron's program regularly tore down the building that had been here and built this church and others as a result," he said, pointing out a stained glass mural at the front. It seemed like it could be Metatron, from his silver-feathered wings to the braided pale gold hair. "They were in a frenzy, working as long as their bodies would handle. While many died in the construction process, many more were pushed into choosing suicide here to give their souls up for the angels. They were promised Paradise for the sacrifice, but our cousin has told me they're little more than drones praising the God of Law now. The devastation of Tokyo here, and perhaps the world, was the result of those sacrifices."
"So what about Elzbieta?" Naoki reminded him. "Is she some kind of spy for Lucifer?
He was briefly embarrassed to have been caught rambling. "Oh… no. She has no contact with Lucifer as far as I know. And she's not really a spy. She's more of a saboteur."
"What's she sabotaging?" Maybe Lucifer's plans? But then if Kagutsuchi or the god of law had also ordered the angels to destroy him, employing a spy or saboteur didn't make sense.
"The simplest answer seems to be both sides," he said. "She's giving you a chance to force Lucifer into a situation where you could question him before you committed to helping or denying him. But on her request, you have to figure out that chance yourself. If you can sense the death in here, you should be capable of noticing it. She also plans on obstructing the other angels, but she has to blend in with them to make her plans work. There's also… if you really want," he slowed over the last sentence, bothered by whatever this option was.
"If I want to what?" Naoki asked.
"If you decide to restore the world, there is a way this war might be held back," he said. "It could buy everyone the chance to adapt to a less mundane world and give humanity a better fighting chance. I've learned that the time the angels invaded the park was the first time they operated openly in the world, and they found their way into the world because of me. If you want to restore the world, you need a way to hide from not just the angels, but Lucifer and his forces as well because they would hunt you back down. Elzbieta has a way to do that."
"How's that?" He had a hunch that it was something harsh.
His older self rubbed his neck, then looked over at him. "It's embarrassing to admit this even to you as my younger self. But, the angels found me because I still bear a love for Lucifer. He did horrible things to me in the Vortex World. One of the worst, to others, is that he tricked me into viewing him like family. The way he chose to appear..."
"Like Grandfather," Naoki said.
He nodded. "Yes, and in the way he dealt with me even though he didn't speak with me directly, he got himself into the hole in my heart made from the abrupt loss of my entire family. That kind of bond to the first of the fallen angels is noticeable to the senses demons and angels have. Of course, I tried to hide it. There was no way I was getting hired as an elementary school teacher if the school knew I was like that."
"Right," Naoki said, looking at his lap. His face felt warm with shame, but he couldn't deny his feelings either, no matter how he tried thinking about it. "I'm grateful for when he's helped even as I'm suspicious of his motives in doing so."
His older self patted Naoki's shoulder. "There was one time when the young woman with him said that I'd inherit his will; that was one of the things that pushed me away from following him. I haven't seen Lucifer since I started on the road to Kagutsuchi, when they appeared and said that they'd accepted my choice. But sometimes I wonder if they were disappointed or even hated me for choosing as I did. I was left with my powers, but no other help; he even passed on my magatama to my cousin."
There was regret in his words. Past them, Naoki tasted something more troubling. There was a festering emotion in his older self that was bubbling up into something conscious. It was a desire to return to what had been lost. Much like the Demifiend he'd met in the Obelisk, this other self might become willing to kill him if he thought it'd get Lucifer's attention. Was… was it possible that he'd lied about not knowing where his cousin who'd joined Lucifer was?
"I want..." the emotion nearly surged, but he got it back under control, "Actually, I want to tell you to go with Lucifer so you don't end up in a situation like mine. But that should really be your decision, not something you'd resent someone else for pushing you into. The thing is, if you decide the restore the world and want to hide from the angels and demons, you should ask Elzbieta to remove the hold Lucifer has over your heart."
"She can do that?" Naoki asked.
"Apparently so. But since it's a love that needs to be rooted out, losing your bond to Lucifer might erase all the bonds of love in your heart, including to our family."
"Are you kidding me?" It couldn't be real. Although, love was a powerful emotion and it would take drastic measures to try removing it by magic. Aradia had mentioned that he could lose all that he loved, whatever he chose. But his older self might be lying; he'd admitted to wanting to convince him to Lucifer's side.
Yes, that's hard to say. We feel there could be some truth to it, but it would fit his wishes to ally you with Lucifer. Of course, it would also fit with his wishes to kill you off. He might be restraining himself as he's not sure defeating you would work. Don't provoke him.
Normally, Naoki considered himself hard to provoke. But the magatama had proved to him otherwise; the wrong triggers could be disastrous. His older self was keeping calm so far. "No. But our family is very close. They might not be sure if they can believe such a crazy story at first, but your parents should understand and help you get back to normal. My parents believed me when they first saw me work some small magic."
"I'm sure they would help," he said. "It seems like there's no actual good way to deal with this."
"It all started with the destruction of the world," he said. "It was never a situation that could have 'good' in it from the start. I hope you can still make the best of it by, well, in whatever way you see fit."
"Did you have to deal with a more demonic side of yourself coming out at full Kagutsuchi?" Naoki asked.
He nodded. "But it was at new when the road appeared, so I may have been lucky to decide then. Sometimes I still get in strange moods in the full moon; the memories of that time are stronger then too. How are you handling it?"
"Not too well," he admitted. "Every little thought or impulse seems like a good thing to act on, and I enjoy hurting others way too much like that, whether violently or not. But the demons act like that's all normal and all the humans in the Vortex World, well, they seem to be crazy now in one way or another. I haven't even seen Chiaki for a while, but last time I did, she wanted to fuse herself with a demon and was worried about having power and authority."
"That is a bad thing about the midway state you're in," he said, understanding the issue completely. "How cooperative are your magatama? They're a bridge between your two selves trying to make you one. If anything can help give you more reason during a full Kagutsuchi, it'd be the magatama keeping a link to your rational mind open. I never even found all twenty-four, but I recall them helping with that later on."
"They cursed me badly once, but they've been mostly cooperative," he said. "I got Satan recently and it's been able to analyze situations with me, giving me a better idea of how things really are. They do have their own agenda, of course, but I trust them as my life is theirs, and theirs mine."
"You ought to appreciate their presence," his older self said. Although his countenance was calm, he fiddled with his fingers and his jealousy flared up. "I told her that, but she couldn't even hear them properly. I can't take them back now."
"How was she the last time you saw her?" Naoki said, suspicious again. "Our cousin."
"She was surviving like anyone else here. Probably better than others since she can heal herself." His eyes drifted away and he was still fidgeting with his fingers.
He's lying.
"You're lying," Naoki said, bracing himself to leave his seat quickly. "What did you do to her?"
His eyes narrowed and his hand went to a knife he had hidden. "That's none of your business! She had my magatama, I know they were mine. You know how it is. I want them back."
"How could you do anything to hurt her?" he snapped. Although, he knew exactly how. It seemed that even if his demonic traits were taken away, he still had that powerful desire for the parasites.
It'd even be enough for him to do something completely reckless if he thought he had a chance. By the time his older self had his knife drawn, Naoki had already leapt back to the summoning circle. His stronger magic magatama quickly instructed him on how to invoke the magic to send himself back. The church faded into a red haze as the older Naoki threw his knife at him. The silver streak never made it to him.
Naoki expected the Vortex World to appear in a haze quickly. Instead, things turned dark and cold as something jerked him off-course. Where was he going now? When?
Before any place appeared, someone appeared before him and collapsed onto the ground. It was yet another Demifiend, his black markings glowing red. He was bleeding from dozens of long nails sticking out of his body. However, he had the most powerful presence of any of the ones that he'd encountered yet.
"Fuck guns..." the Demifiend mumbled deliriously. "And fuck that Steven, what the hell is he even doing?"
"Who?" Naoki asked, not sure about getting close to him. He did attempt Diarahan on him, although it seemed his injuries were far too much to be healed.
He did have it in him to push himself into sitting, looking not quite at him. "Doesn't matter, I'm dead already. I just wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of certainty. You… you might just be another chance. Good."
"What happened to you?"
He shook his head. "Don't have time for that. But I can tell you from experience, get all of your magatama before the Vortex World ends. Then go visit the Cathedral of Shadows and do what they tell you. Anything less just isn't enough." He snorted. "I did that, I did everything I was supposed to and that still wasn't enough. Guess losing to Lucifer that first time was an ill omen. Here, give this to him if you get the chance." He brought out a small notebook and held it up to him.
When Naoki glanced at the cover, there was writing there he didn't recognize. Even the letters used were strange. "What is it?"
"Notes about us, you wouldn't understand yet," he said. The Demifiend looked up at him and Naoki noticed there was something strange to his red eyes. There was a feeling that he was a lot older than he appeared, far more than he should be. "He'll understand, but it's a coin toss if he wants to accept it. For your sake, and for the sake of our plan, I hope to hell that he does. I could have done this, I should have. But he undermined his own plan without realizing it."
Oh shit, he's right…
"I just met another version of myself that could be," Naoki said. "He said he backed out when he learned he was to inherit Lucifer's will. But, you accepted it?"
He smiled bitterly. "Heh, even you see it. This is a maze of bad choices and you're the one who has the most influence on the results. I may be strong, but it's not the right strength to break the stalemate. But I'm not afraid of death; I've conquered death. Oh, but if you ever end up in a place called the Diamond Realm…" his form started fading into black magatsuhi. "Seriously, fuck Steven, do not take him lightly. Don't worry, I'll get you home." He waved a hand through the air even as he vanished completely.
Everything went white. Then he felt the grit of sand on his feet, the cool blue light of Kagutsuchi. While much of the Vortex World was quiet, there was lively noise coming out of Asakusa from the working manikins. There was also noise closer to him. Black Rider had appeared; his scales softly clattered. "What have you done to him?"
"I sent his spirit to the future for a brief bit," Elzbieta said, unconcerned by the Rider's presence. "He's already back, actually."
Hang on, the skill she gave us is something we don't recognize. It's called Whisper and has some connection to your contracts with other demons. It does… hmm…
"What's Whisper?" Naoki asked, figuring that might be faster.
"It's a means to pass along orders that can't be intercepted by opponents," she said. "We trumpeters are specialized forces, since we relay orders and manipulate specific seals. Whisper can be used with your demon contracts to give instructions to your followers at a great distance, or even close by if you don't wish to be overheard."
"I could have used something like that just recently," Naoki said. It would have been nice for the battle against the three Riders, since he could have told Mikazuchi he was coming back with Black Rider. "Thanks."
She smiled. "No problem! I mostly wanted to see if I could do it."
"What is going on here?" Black Rider asked, still keeping his scales ready for casting.
"She is an odd angel, that's certain," Naoki said. "But she has helped."
"She serves our enemy," Black said.
"Do I?" Elzbieta asked, tilting her head. "All well, I did my duty as the Divine Messenger and haven't gotten any new orders yet. I think I'll keep an eye on these manikins. Most of them are such sweeties, but they need the help more than anybody. I hear you have a lot of difficult things to do; good luck, Naoki!" She flew away then, humming as she went.
"Good luck to you too," Naoki called back. Then he decided to try out Whisper with Black Rider. He didn't need to actually speak; it was something like sending a text message. 'She's the one enabling my visions of the future.'
"She is?" Black asked, looking down at him.
"She's what?" Yagatarasu asked.
"I just tried out her skill to speak to Black specifically," Naoki told them. Then he passed the notebook to Black. "Would you pass this along to Lucifer? It's apparently from himself."
The skeleton glanced at the cover and was surprised. "I… I see. Very well, I'll get it to him."
Now to wait on the full Kagutsuchi… it was at half waning, so there was plenty of time to look around here and see what the manikins were up to.
A/N: If I had been thinking of Strange Journey when I started writing this, I could have used Mastema in place of Elzbieta. He has the right questionable status to fulfill this particular role. But then, there is something Elzbieta can do that would be trickier to pull off with Mastema, so it worked out.