Chapter 36: A Sacred Place

"Welcome, Demifiend," Mido said as he entered the cathedral. He was trying to contain his excitement. "You've accomplished a lot recently."

"Yes, but I'm here about the magatama," Naoki said. "I've found all of them. It's all going a lot smoother with them at hand."

"Good, we were hoping for that," he said, taking something out of storage. It appeared to come from the inside of his robes although there was no way a katana that large could fit under there. "We would like for you to return this sword to its owner, Masakado Taira. The destruction of the world came so suddenly that it blinded everyone in the world save for the two who conspired to carry it out. Thus, this may not accomplish much now, but you should listen to your city's guardian about what has gone on."

"Masakado," he said to himself, accepting the katana. Even with the situation he was in, this was nearly unbelievable. He'd always enjoyed tales of that hero in school and now he had a chance to meet him? But, what would he think of what was going on? "All right, I'll do that. Where is he?"

"His grave has appeared near the Obelisk," Mido explained. "On a cliff overlooking it. You should have no difficulties reaching it, but expect to be challenged for the right to speak with him."

"That's fine," Naoki said. "Thank you, I'll head right out for that."

"Good, but could I ask you for a small favor?" Mido asked. "On my behalf. You see, I've been keeping tabs on what you and Hikawa have been doing, as part of my studies into demonology and fusion. So I've noticed that you've recently had a contract with four seraphs, Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel."

"Yes, but they were taken forcibly from me," he said.

That didn't dampen the minister's enthusiasm at all. "That's unfortunate, but since you have done that, you have a unique opportunity that I've not seen come about in this manner. I know we were talking about how to acquire a contract with Anubis for you, but this could be far greater than that. There is an angel known as the Voice of God. We know that he operates under the God of Law's direct command, but it is rare that he is sent into a conflict like this himself."

"Are you talking about Metatron?" Naoki asked, having gotten a tip from his magatama. They spoke with one voice now. Actually, he and them spoke with one voice now.

"Exactly. Even if he is an extraordinary angel, he is still basically a demon like all the rest. Therefore, it is entirely possible to fuse Metatron and claim a contract with him. At least, his shade. In this case, it may actually be impossible to make a contract with Metatron himself. But it would take an extraordinary summoner to call upon one of his shades, one like yourself, actually. I could assist you with that if you wish. Just take heed that it will be quite costly since your contracts with the four seraphs was forcibly broken."

"Not right now, but I'll think about it," he said. Contracting a shade of Metatron… he didn't want to think about attempting a contract with the original Metatron even if he had grown far stronger than when he last encountered the angel. He might be wary of the trickery that Michael had fallen to. But such a shade had to be powerful as well, and it would be a good little mockery to keep around.

But for now, taking care of this meeting with Masakado. He left the cathedral through the entrance in Ikebukuro; it was close to the terminal and Naoki didn't want to return to Asakusa if he could help it. There wasn't a main terminal in the Obelisk, but he knew there was one near it. He transported his group there, to an abandoned Nihilo building that must have connected to the ones in Ginza. The grave should be somewhere out here, on a cliff overlooking the Obelisk. Then…

Looking around, there was only one place matching that description. A few other cliffs and rises could be seen, but this one was next to the remnants of this town, with its edges right at the basin the Obelisk sat in. Traveling around the base brought them to a slope that could be climbed to the top of it. While a number of demons out here watched them, only the angels dared to fight them. As Naoki was now, these angels of the Divine clan were little threat.

"Naoki, what are you going to do about Lucifer?" Amaterasu asked, not able to hold herself back anymore.

Trumpeter had left them at some point, probably not seeing a reason to continue following directly after them. "I haven't fully decided that," Naoki said. "There's a lot of things to consider. But I have some options that I didn't have before. I've been thinking it all over."

"I don't think you can bring that one guy's Reason to Kagutsuchi," Wu Kong said. "If that Heavenstone is proof that the girl's Reason of Yosuga was validated, he had nothing like that."

"I know," Naoki said. "Futomimi would have been able to force it if he got to Kagutsuchi in person, but he had no god as far as I know and barely got his Reason named. Even then, we had to discuss it to get it to be reasonable. If I tried, it wouldn't come out the same, plus the lack of even a false god might not work out. The future I saw involving Aradia, weak as she is and with an unnamed Reason, was pretty bad."

"The remaining two Reasons seem sucky too, from what I've seen," Wu Kong said.

"I agree on that," Amaterasu said. "I wouldn't want to see Shijima or Musubi become successful. But then, Lucifer means to have you fight Kagutsuchi, right? This world is in a stage between death and birth. If you kill the one with the power of Creation, what's going to happen to your world?"

"I have another choice," Naoki said, not wanting to argue that point right now. It was true: Lucifer would have him destroy his world entirely. But if it got rid of the real problem here in the Amala Universe, the being that allowed his world to die and get dragged here in the first place, it could be… was it worth it?

"What's that?" she asked, hopeful for something.

"If I really push for it, I could simply restore the world to like it was before Conception," he explained. "But, not entirely. My world was very mundane, without demons or angels. If I restore it now, that will change. You demons and all will be able to slip into the world and change its character. Of course, that will bring the angels there, which will trigger a war between sides. It will keep the terminals as well, which will keep it connected to Amala and hang the possibility of Conception happening again over our heads."

"That's not so bad," Wu Kong said. "You humans adapt well to changes around you."

Naoki shook his head. "Perhaps, but I liked it how it was. I would miss having demons around. Still, we had enough problems being without them. There's also the fact that," how did he say this? Especially without making Amaterasu upset. "The connection I have to Lucifer would not be severed entirely by restoring the world. Angels could use that to find me. Actually, you guys could probably find me because of that even if we didn't have contracts between us. In order to not trigger a cosmic war because of my presence, I'd have to wipe my heart clean, of all relationships I have."

"But that's horrible," Amaterasu said. "You'd lose so many of your emotions doing that."

"If that's what it takes to keep the world safe enough that we can adapt to demons being normal," he said, "I know I'd do it. Aradia said that I'd lose everything I loved back at the Obelisk. And that's true, I realized. Now it's a matter of what good I can do and what I'm willing to sacrifice for it."

"You didn't even have a choice in becoming the Demifiend," she said, thinking it over. "Why should you be the one to sacrifice something so dear to you?"

"Hey, at least he's trying to make the best of it that he can," Wu Kong said. "He's made himself powerful enough to make his own choices at this point rather than just going along with things. Demi, as long as you stick by your decisions and don't regret them, I'm sure you'll turn out just fine whatever the cost."

"Thanks, Wu Kong," he said.

Amaterasu wasn't entirely satisfied with this. But given who they were visiting, she still had hope for him. Naoki was trying to figure out how to handle this meeting himself. Would Masakado even listen to someone like himself, or did he have his own agenda in this?

At the top of the cliff, the monument that served as Masakado's grave had survived. There were a few flowers left, dried up in being left out in the sands. It seemed like even demons respected this place as it was even quieter up here. As Naoki approached with the sheathed katana in hand, the weapon let off a bright glow and transported them to a whole different space. It was like the fiend's battlefield, but overtaken by a large stone temple standing on four pillars.

The entrance was raised so that they couldn't enter the temple as it was. It seemed that the pillars would need to be lowered in order to do what they came to do. Down in the pit before them, there was a number of winding paths and teleport panels. Strong demons patrolled around; stone statues of the Heavenly Kings were standing before the two pillars closest to them. Presumably the other two Kings were at the other two pillars. And the demons here… a shaggy Barong walked back and forth on a path just below, another shade of Yagatarasu was perched on a small pillar keeping an eye on him… these were sacred beasts or beings. There didn't seem to be any angels among them.

"This is like the Kalpas, but it's a sacred place," Naoki thought aloud.

"That's the kind of respect Masakado earned even though he began life as a human," Amaterasu said, happy with pride.

"Yeah, but too bad you can't fly anymore," Wu Kong said, hovering around to Naoki's other side. "If you could, this would be a cakewalk."

"Well we don't want things too easy now," he said, smiling at the idea.

He laughed at that. "Right! Lead the way then."

The road to Kagutsuchi wasn't even up, but people and factions were dropping like flies. Hikawa didn't have to do anything to help that along. Snapping his fingers, he came up with the word he wanted. "It's unfulfilling, that's what it is," he told Samael as they passed through the long halls. "People tried to stop Conception when it was too late; that made it enjoyable to win. At this point, I could win simply for being the sole remaining Reason bearer when I've not been able to do anything since losing control of the Nightmare System."

"You set yourself up so there was little chance you could fail," Samael said.

He nodded. "True, that did work as intended. But this is why I don't like strategy games once I've mastered them. All the excitement is in the set-up, and then finishing it off becomes a bore."

"You've not won yet even if the path seems clear."

"Yes, but now it's just avoiding Demifiend as long as possible. Hmph, if I'm going to be playing cat and mouse, I'd rather not be the mouse like this. There is that fool with Musubi; he could be fun to toy with." Maybe if he got the road up and distracted Demifiend with Noah, that could fix this lacking. Then it'd feel like he fully earned the win.

While he was thinking and walking, Samael floated ahead to listen to something. Then he slowed in front of him. "Hikawa, listen carefully."

"Hmm?" He paused and did as asked. There was a mechanical sound moving around in another hall, quick and potentially loud. "Almost sounds like a jet engine. What is that?"

"I'm not sure, but it comes fast," Samael said, moving to defend him.

In seconds, there was a demon that somehow was a hybrid between man and jet plane hovering just feet from them. From the dark presence that accompanied the strange being, it was a Fiend. "Halt, you… Anti-Messiah!" It kicked its feet at nothing.

"Excuse me?" Hikawa asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You are the antithesis of all that is good in either Chaos or Law," the fiend declared. "You are the stone that causes ripples of conspiracies with every step you take, warping the world into a wreck that crumbles and rusts out in the wild fields of creation so that rats infest the body and ruin even more until there's nothing left to restore even by the most unnaturally or naturally talented of mechanics out there. And everybody hates rats, so I told everybody else to scoot on out of here. You are all aloooooooone in the world, Anti-Messiah, ha hah!"

At the mention of conspiracies, Hikawa automatically shut out the fiend's ramblings. Conspiracies were useful tools, but the believers weren't worth wasting breath on most of the time. "Fine by me," he said.

"You're gonna lose!" the fiend sang, then dashed off again. Sickly looking smoke got left behind, growing into a venomous fog.

"That was strange," Samael said, his tail twitching. "Should we be cautious?"

"I don't think so," Hikawa said. "Unless that fiend gets in our way, it seems too childish to accomplish anything of worth. We can deal with the exhaust if it turns out venomous."

But as they continued on, something became clear: all demons aside from Samael and the strange fiend had indeed abandoned the Diet Building.

Now that the four heavenly kings were defeated, the pillars began lowering into the ground, kicking up dust as they did. Naoki wound his way back up the ramps and teleporters to get to the upper paths again, heading to the sole entrance to the temple. The interior held many wall scrolls and rolled up scrolls; a glance at a few showed they talked about history, tactics of war, and philosophy. In the center of the room, there was a man in regal clothes; he could have been an ancient emperor.

"Hello, Masakado," Amaterasu said with a smile, going over to sit near him.

He nodded to her greeting, "Hello, Amaterasu," then he looked over at her. "Why do you look like a man this time?"

She laughed. "I have some silly spirits in my lineage. But I'm just along for the ride now; my summoner's the one who wanted to meet you."

"Hello, Lord Masakado," Naoki said, feeling it appropriate. He offered the katana as well. "I was told to return this to you."

He nodded and accepted it. "Thank you. Although, there is little I can do about Tokyo's situation at this time. There's really only one human left in this world, the one who led to the world's destruction in the first place. The others were transformed like yourself or are controlled by gods not of this land. As I am, my power is derived from the people of Tokyo."

"I see," he said.

"So then, why have you come out of your way to meet with me?" Masakado asked, testing him.

In truth, it was because of hints from his failed predecessors that Masakado had something to offer him, something that could be vital. But he felt like that wasn't going to be the right thing to say. Naoki shrugged. "Just because, I guess. I did need some time to consider things, and your guardians out there did make for a good fight."

"Then you came out here for sport?" Masakado chuckled at that. "I don't sense cruelty in your use of power, that's good. Have you been able to make a decision?"

"I'm still looking into a few things," he said.

"You can go ahead and tell him about what's going on, Demi," Amaterasu said. "It'll be fine."

"Do you mind?" Naoki asked.

He shook his head. "Go ahead, what's troubling you?"

In explaining his situation, Naoki could figure out a few things himself. Restoring the world was a tempting option. But the things he'd have to sacrifice for it, from the personal to the world-affecting, could do more harm than good. He had parted peacefully with his family; it might not be so bad to let that be the last contact with them when the alternative was returning to them thinking that they were strangers. Not only that, but Lucifer would simply take the magatama back and move on to another world to find his Demifiend. It already irked him to think someone else would have them. Plus, whoever that was was going to have an even worse time than him given what he'd done to the seraphs.

But some of that didn't feel entirely right to say to Masakado. It definitely turn the old hero against him. "I've already lost some options that I liked. And whatever I do, I'm going to lose something. In the same way, the world I return to will not be the one I left. I don't think any option I have left is ideal in any manner."

"It will end up that your choice will decide the fate of the world," Masakado said.

"Yeah," he said. He was the unofficial judge of Reasons.

"I myself would prefer the world be restored, but it does place heavy burdens on you," he said. "I can sense that you're already considered a cursed person."

Then someone else entered the area, the ghostly presence of Aleph. "Masakado, we can't simply think of Tokyo's future in this situation."

Surprised at his arrival, Masakado addressed him with great respect. "Ah, Aleph, you've escaped."

Aleph nodded. "It's due to his intervention that I did, as escape was beyond me alone. He's working with me now."

"Is that so?" Masakado looked back to Naoki with a different level of respect. "But what do you mean by we can't think of Tokyo's future?"

"If we simply consider this Tokyo's fate, restoration is marginally the better choice," Aleph said. "But it will be dragged headlong into the conflict of Law and Chaos if it is restored. However, we must consider that we are currently within the Amala universe. This is a place that gives an easy excuse to kill entire worlds. It is true that we would need to accept the sacrifice of this Tokyo and this world, both of which are already dead. But in doing so, we can end Kagutsuchi's games and stop countless other worlds from going through needless deaths and rebirths."

"Right, it's become a matter of choosing what's good for this world or what's good for all worlds," Naoki said. "I know I'm bound to end up cursed one way or another, if I'm not already. And I'll have to sacrifice something personal as well. But then, I know I can adapt to what changes must be made. I've already managed to adapt to being what I am currently."

"But choosing to stop Kagutsuchi's control over Amala means working with Lucifer," Masakado said. "He cannot be trusted in the least."

Naoki had to bite his lip to keep from saying something reflexively to that. Fortunately, Aleph was quick to respond. "Yes, Lucifer is not trustworthy. Except, there is a way for Naoki here to change that. We're working together now since he needs guidance and I need someone who can do things within the physical realms. And Lucifer is determined to get his plan with the Demifiend working. He needs Naoki at this point. With that and other facts, I have a plan that, if it works, will give us the means to better keep the deeper corruptions of the universe in check. In other words, we can't trust Lucifer now, but it is possible that we can change Lucifer and make him someone we can trust. Naoki is key to that, if he's willing to make the sacrifices necessary and take the greater risk of this not working as planned."

"How are you going to do that?" Masakado asked.

Aleph shook his head. "I'm sorry, but due to the nature of what must be done, it is something I will only share with Naoki when he is certain of his decision. Masakado, please trust us. It may not seem like it, but he is one like myself."

"I can tell that," Masakado said. "Naoki, it seems your actions have consequences beyond yourself. You have power beyond what humans can normally attain, power that could easily corrupt you. Do you swear that you will keep the well-being of others in mind, not matter which path you choose?"

"Yes, I swear that," he said.

"Good, then here." He reached into his pocket and pulled out something familiar: a white bug with long pincers… another magatama? "As I said before, there is little I can do with Tokyo in this state. But I can grant you a portion of my power as you are willing to use it for the sake of others."

His power? Even with all that Naoki had been through, this was mystifying. "Thank you, it's a great honor." He took the magatama; there was a sense to it that was like his own, but it didn't cause the maddening need to acquire it. It even tapped at his hand harmlessly, not trying to connect in any manner it can. He swallowed it to see what would happen.

At first, nothing did. Masakado replied to him, "It is the last I can do for you. Once you leave this place, my connection to this world will fade until the moment of creation or destruction. Whatever happens to you, I hope that you can retain your humanity."

They parted shortly after that, Aleph going back to his studies. In coming out of the temple, Naoki checked again and saw what the new magatama, Masakados, had done for him. It had gone through all of the other powers he had and made a large amount of the passives into permanent abilities. With that, he did not have to keep Iyomante in the fore to nullify sleep enchantments. He would always nullify sleep enchantments. That went for other ailments, and instant death from Hama and Mudo, and elemental magics, and physical skills… in fact, if he shifted Masakados to the fore instead, he got an immense boost in his native powers and about the only thing that could touch him was almighty attacks.

Naoki put his hands to his face. "What… this is only a portion of his power?"

"Is it a lot?" Wu Kong asked.

"I am more invincible than you, for one thing," he said.

He made a face at that. "What? No way! Nobody matches Wu Kong, much less surpasses me."

"I do, you'd better accept it," Naoki said jokingly.

"Oh yeah? Lemme see about that." Wu Kong then thrust his arm towards Naoki's stomach. He blocked, feeling some of the power behind it but not getting hurt at all. After taking or avoiding several more attacks from his follower, Naoki then punched back knowing that he could not hurt Wu Kong either. But he should notice the power behind it. Nearby, Amaterasu kept out of the way and laughed at them tussling like this.

"How's that?" Naoki asked.

"Whoa, you have gotten way better just with that bug," he said, impressed. "Then you've really got nothing to worry about now, boss, you just do whatever you feel is right. But then, I've been thinking myself about what to do. The heavenly kings here are beefy, you know, the pinnacle of fighting men."

"Right, they were good sports on top of that," he said.

Wu Kong nodded. "So I was thinking, maybe I ought to stay around here to continue my training. You helped me well beyond what I could have accomplished alone, like any great summoner should be able to do for a demon. But I need to strike out on my own eventually and prove I can keep this. And one day, I'm gonna track down the original Wu Kong and show him just what a shade can accomplish. You think I could beat him?"

"Sure, why not?" Naoki said. The original would be more powerful, but there were ways around that kind of disparity.

He grinned at that. "I will, and then I'll come track you down to tell you the tale of it! So, you mind if we split ways here?"

"No, if that's what you want, you go on and work to beat your original," he said, offering a handshake. "I release you from our contract, Wu Kong, it's been a pleasure to work with you."

He accepted the handshake eagerly. "I release you from our contract, Demifiend, same to you. Just don't you ever forget me; I won't forget you."

"I certainly won't forget," he said, waving to him as he jumped back down into the pit to find the heavenly kings. Naoki then looked over at Amaterasu. "It seems like it's down to you and me now, since the fiends don't like sticking around."

She smiled at him. "Yes, but we'll be just fine. Naoki..."

Odd, she'd not used his human name ever. He raised an eyebrow at that. "Yes?"

"I know a lot's happened to you recently, but I hope you're able to think through calmly what would be best for everyone, not just yourself," she said.

Was she still dissatisfied with things? "At this point, there might not be a best solution for everyone," he said. "People have already lost, even when they didn't deserve it. Maybe I can make for a situation where better solutions can be found."

"That might be," she said, worried. "Sorry, Demi, it must be a tough decision. It's tough enough trying to figure out how to support you through this."

And it was tough knowing how he should respond to her, even with his magatama being one with him now. He smiled, though, and patted her arm. "Hey, I'm just glad you're still with with me. Your loyalty is a boon to me; you've always been by my side since you found me clueless and lost in the hospital."

"Of course, I'm not about to abandon you any time soon," she said, seeming happier. "Then, where to now?"

"The labyrinth," he said. "It's about time I finish off what Kalpas I can."

"Ah," she said, although that proved she still had her doubts.