Hi-hi again, sorry for slower update!
Here is next chapter!
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The mountain top, morning;
"This…. This is the year of glory!" Umi said dramatically.
"I'm very sure, we will solve every single mysteries this year, from the simplest until the most complex!" Umi said again.
"That's your resolution last year too, Umi-dono… but it's still better than no resolution." Honoka said with heroic face.
"I proved to be able to do it— but it wasn't the most complex one yet…. So I'll name it… Mystery Solving Resolution Part-2! Please listen and watch, O-mountain god!" Umi said again.
"Yes, listen and watch us, mountain god!" Honoka added.
"Looks like someone is feeling confident today…" Eli sighed as she watches Umi and Honoka standing on the peak, staring into the big landscape with heroic poses.
"At least they managed to do the resolution from three years ago…" Kotori said as she giggles.
"What was it?" Nozomi asked.
"Going to the top of a mountain and say their resolution…" Kotori said.
"Oh…."
"That's why they're very energized to do this… even though they're now always energized on doing anything…" Kotori sighed,
"Seriously though, sometime they're just somehow synchronized with each other and started to do random things together. I can't keep up with them all the time…" Kotori continued.
"Someone need to take care of them… who will hold them back if it's not you?" Nozomi said.
"True… but, still… after knowing that Honoka is a Chimera too—somehow, it makes me feel left out…" Kotori said.
"But… what kind of Chimera is she? We never know when or how it happens to her… she never shows a sign of it too before…" Eli said.
"Yeah, I'm assuming she just missed that detail and ignored it…" Nozomi sighed.
"Everyone does think that way…" Kotori said.
"Speaking of which, where's Niko, Rin, Hanayo, and Maki?" Nozomi asked.
"Ah, they're searching for the hidden hot spring. Rin believed that and she really want to give it a shot. They're also collecting food supplies while on it…" Kotori replied.
"Ah, so we're in charge for taking care of the camps…" Eli said.
"Actually, Ericchi, I wanted to go somewhere too while we're currently on top of mountain…" Nozomi said.
"Oh? Is there any specific spot you're after?" Eli asked.
"Yup, I could feel it… the spiritual power that calls me… you'll accompany me, right? I believe the spirits will want to see you…" Nozomi replied.
"The spirits… that's sounds creepy…" Eli said.
"Hnn… Eli-chan…just wondering, why are you afraid of darkness and ghost if you're a succubus?" Kotori asked.
"E-Eh? Uh… huh…. Why? Well….." Eli flustered,
"For darkness…. Well… we… we have night vision…. And the night vision is very scary… everything will look gray and I can't actually see someone's eyes because it will just be glowing gray…. And…uh… about ghost… I think it was just because of horrors movie that I watched…." Eli said shyly.
"I can imagine that… I guess I should be glad that I'm human and have no night vision…" Kotori replied.
"There's a lot of good thing as human being, one of it is because you are not randomly acting because your instinct want you to do so… second, because now you're a trainer for those two… I'm very sure Honoka-chan is a chimera, after seeing her completely healed like that in a very short time… though we still don't know when or how that happen…" Nozomi said.
"I'm very sure that's one… but yes, I'll do my best to be their... trainer…" Kotori giggled.
Nozomi and Eli smiled at her playfully.
"Now-now, we will go now… take care of the camp, ok? Come on Ericchi!"
Somewhere around the mountain,
Niko, Maki, Rin, and Hanayo wandering around the mountain.
"It should be somewhere around here-nya!" Rin said as she walks a lot further than everyone else.
"Wait there, Rin, don't be so fast… this isn't the same mountain with the one we climb before…" Maki said.
"I know-nya! This is the wild mountain! One that almost never touched by humans! It's really-really-truly-purely-growing by nature-nya!" Rin said.
"Not only that, we might have to deal with wild animals too, I know I can fight them off, but just don't split from group, I need to protect you too… ok?" Maki said.
"What's that, I hear? You're saying like you're responsible for all of us…" Niko said.
"Huh? Of course I do… I have a pride as a werepanther too, ok?" Maki said.
"Big words from you, but I can take care of myself, thank you…" Niko said proudly.
"I've read this online, say that a female panthers are very protective to her younglings, they even avoid any sexual activity or leaving scents while raising her young… I suppose that's what Maki-chan thinks about us…" Hanayo said.
"H-huh? No… not quite… but I suppose if you want to relate that…" Maki blushed slightly.
"I see, that's why Maki-chan doesn't act as aggressive as the others nya…" Rin said.
"We're all different, but anyway, we should move on…" Maki said.
"Yeah! But… uh, Maki-chan, can you smell or feel the hot spring…? I suppose you have a good instinct to use-nya!" Rin said.
"I do… but, are you sure? It might be a lot more fun if you're looking on your own…" Maki said.
"I'm already all exhausted-nya! Let's just use shortcut and tell everyone about it! I can't wait to get in there with everyone!" Rin said.
"Ok then, let me focus on it…." Maki said.
She took a deep breath…
"Here we go…." Maki said as she eventually turning into a red panther. Her clothes stretched and her body getting larger. Maki began to sniff around and following the scent she received.
They began to walk following Maki.
At the other side of the mountain,
Nozomi and Eli walks through the forest, deeper to the woods that looks specifically untouched by human's technology.
"Don't you just feel glad the humans didn't touch this area until now…?" Eli said.
"Mhm-hm, I'm glad, because there are a lot of animals habitat around here… such as, the mountain wolves… we're going to pay a visit to them…" Nozomi said.
"Mountain wolves…. How do you know about it?" Eli asked.
"I told you, I could feel them…" Nozomi replied.
"I thought it was spirits…?" Eli asked.
"It was a spirit that greets me… he requested something from me and I couldn't say no to him…" Nozomi said.
"What is this… request you're talking about…?" Eli asked.
Nozomi remained quiet. She keeps moving on until they reached to a place where there's a lot of wolf pups and teenager one. Eli astonished with what she sees.
"You see, Ericchi…." Nozomi said,
"This is a beginning of a wolf pack…" Nozomi said.
"A beginning…." Eli said in awe.
"Take a look over there…" Nozomi pointed to a direction, Eli turned to it. There's an old-looking wolf resting near the pups.
"That's an alpha female in this wolf pack…" Nozomi said. Eli remained quiet as she watches the female wolf tending her pups.
"We should greet her…" Nozomi said.
"E-Eh? How?" Eli flustered,
Nozomi smiled,
"Open your mouth, Ericchi, let me teach you how they do it…" Nozomi said.
Without more question, Eli opened her mouth, Nozomi placed both of her hands on her shoulder and leaned on her before she began to lick inside her mouth aggressively.
Eli getting more flustered,
I thought she wanted to teach me how the wolf greeting is?
She thought.
Except this is how they do it….
She thought again.
It happened for a while and Eli didn't make a respond to it. She waited for Nozomi to say something until she decides to speak out,
"N-Nohomi?" Eli said with her mouth open.
"A-ah! Sorry!" Nozomi said as she stops,
"It was too good and I forgot to stop…." She continued.
Eli smiled,
"Thought so…" she said.
"But… yes, Ericchi, just open your mouth and let them lick you… you don't need to do the same, accepting their greeting is enough… they won't do it that long though…" Nozomi said with a slight blush.
"Alright…" Eli replied,
"Sheesh, the spirit is laughing at me…" Nozomi said shyly.
"He does?"
"Yes… but anyway, let's get to the business…" Nozomi dragged Eli closer to the wolf pack.
Back into the camp, afternoon;
Honoka, Umi, and Kotori remained quiet as they play cards. It was once again Kotori's turn to take card from Umi. There's two cards left on Umi's hand while Kotori only have one. Kotori about to pick one card— though Umi's face changing into a big happy smile and from that very moment, Kotori quickly picks the other card instead of the one she is about to take,
"I won!" Kotori said happily.
"Ahhhh!" Umi's her jaw dropped.
"There-there, Umi-chan, it's been seven years now and you're still losing…" Honoka said.
"I should add this to my resolution…." Umi said in all seriousness.
"Hehe, Umi-chan… don't worry, it just a card game…" Kotori said.
"A game that I never able to win…" Umi sighed,
"Let's just play another one, Monopoly! I'm glad Nozomi-chan brings this here… I always wanted to test my luck in this…" Kotori said.
"Sure…" Umi replied.
"Ahhh! I never win this one!" Honoka said.
"That because you're suck at managing your money… now let's just do this, shall we?" Umi said.
"Yeah, let's just go for this anyway…" Honoka sighed slightly.
At where Maki and the others are, afternoon;
Maki stopped on an area. Rin, Hanayo and Niko also stopped as they look around. They could see a tall gate and a sign. Maki turned to her human form again,
"Huh? This is where my nose leads us to…? That's not fun… I thought it will be something natural…" Maki said.
"Wait there, the sign looks very old… the gate too…" Niko said.
"Yeah… it looks like it is very old…" Hanayo said.
"Very mysterious-nya…" Rin said.
"Hey! Anybody there?!" Niko yelled.
They waited for a moment— No one make a respond.
"I'll check inside…" Maki said.
"Eh…? How?" Hanayo asked.
Maki remained quiet before she crouched and jumped very high and get inside the gate.
"That's awesome-nya… I wish I can do that…" Rin said.
"Hehe… you're still awesome though, Rin-chan… as human I mean…" Hanayo said.
"Kayochin…" Rin smiled, Hanayo smiled back at her softly.
"Thank you!" Rin said with a bigger smile.
"Hey, Maki… how is it?" Niko asked.
"Wait!" Maki said.
After a moment, the gate opened carefully. Maki pushed the two doors open and it somewhat looks very easy to do it. Rin, Hanayo, and Niko staring at the gate in awe…
"You won't believe what I found…" Maki said with a smile,
At the other side of the mountain,
Eli overwhelmed by the pups as she lay down on the ground. They are all snuggling to her while Nozomi busy taking care of the elder wolf. Apparently, Nozomi is able to communicate with them somehow.
"Oh…dear….. please stop… I can't take it anymore cuteness…." Eli said.
Nozomi giggled,
"There-there, Ericchi… she said you're really looks like their papa…" Nozomi said.
"I'm not even a wolf…" Eli said.
"You have the charm…" Nozomi said with a playful smile.
Eli sighed weakly as she still getting snuggled by the pups.
"Speaking of which, I think those teen wolves also wanted to get to know with you… maybe you can give them some attention too…" Nozomi said.
"What kind of attention?" Eli woke up.
"Brawl with them… you'll have to play the role of the missing alpha male and adult males…" Nozomi said.
"Huh? Okay? Do you want me to transform too? I can do that…" Eli said.
"If you don't mind…." Nozomi smiled mischievously.
Eli sighed again before she began to strip herself, giving all of her clothes to Nozomi and began to transform into a white wolf. By the time she did that, the male teen wolves suddenly ran into her and began to wag their tails happily.
"W-what now?" Eli asked.
"There, Ericchi, you shouldn't turn yourself to a female wolf… Be the male one, you're about to brawl with them…"
Eli turned to the male one. Then in that very moment too, the female wolves running to her too and began to snuggles at her.
"W-whoa?!"
"I guess you're just too charming for them… they wanted to mate with you." Nozomi chuckled.
"W-what the…?"
And that also caused jealousy from the males— they started to growl at her.
"Now, that's the spirit… attack HIM everyone! Show HIM who's the boss!" Nozomi said before all the male wolves began to attack Eli.
"W-whooa-whoa?! Nozomiiiii!"
The day passed,
It's almost night and Eli just returned after she done so much things with the teen wolves, from brawling until hunting together.
"I didn't expect this, but your briefing done perfectly. Look what we got…" Eli said as she turns back to her human form and approach Nozomi. The wolves also returned and they're dragging a big dead bear.
"A bear… that's a rare catch for wolves pack… and dangerous too…" Nozomi said.
"Yeah, I know, but it was very hard to find bigger animals around here… mostly are just rabbits and some birds…" Eli replied as she took her clothes off Nozomi.
"It's still amazing though, you get them a nice food… have you decides on who will be the next alpha? They really need that…"
"There's one..." Eli turned to a biggest male wolf of the pack,
"He is pretty good at things, he'll grow up to be a great wolf…" Eli said with a smile.
"That's good… now they should consider who will be the alpha female… but that will be his choice anyway…" Nozomi said.
"I'm still a bit lost with what happening here, will you tell me?" Eli asked.
Nozomi turned to the elder female wolf.
"Well… the story was all started from a village…" Nozomi started, Eli sat down after she wore all of her clothes back.
"There is this one man— a hunter who befriended with the alpha male of this wolf pack… he was so close to him and they trusted each other…" Nozomi continued as she strokes the elder wolf.
"They always work together to keep their family fed and satisfied. Sometime, they even share their catch with each other… until at one point, this man began to be greedy as he wanted to please his wife with a luxurious life… he tricked him to go to a far place to hunt for a great giant—then capturing his pups and teens wolf as he was gone with his companion…"
"He sold the pups and killed the teenager wolves, skinning them and once again selling them as souvenir… he pretend to not know about it. He pretends to cheer for his victory and mourn on his loss. It was sick… he didn't know that wolves could actually communicate with each other like human communicate with each other. She told everything to the alpha wolf, which is her father… she was lucky to be able to hide when everything happened so fast. "
"…The alpha wolf got angered and pulling a plan to revenge on him— the battle was obviously won by the human side as they're very armed and the guy who betrayed him was…. a werewolf… like me…"
The elder wolf barked again, she seems to be communicating with Nozomi,
"Oh? He was an alpha? Then…."
"Then he is the one that you ate? There's only one alpha in your kind, right?" Eli said.
"I'm sure that's what I've heard too…" Nozomi said.
The elder wolf trying to say something again… Nozomi nodded,
"Ah… she said, she is glad that his power fallen to a person like me. He escaped from the village long ago when the mountain god angered at him and his people. He cursed his village with a doubt curse— a curse where everyone who bath and drinks from the water of the village will start to doubt each other then followed up with insanity that causes those peoples to start killing each other….it was the cost of betrayal to one who trust wholeheartedly…"
"Tell me, where are these pups coming from? I thought they're captured?" Eli asked.
"From her… she mated with one of the teen a while back… those teens are also her child from the one male who got lucky like her. He died of old age a few days ago." Nozomi said.
"Oh…."
"That's how animal family works, Ericchi, don't be so surprised… they have no rules like human…" Nozomi said.
"No it's not that. It just that I'm surprised succubus and incubus aren't the only one with that kind of thing…" Eli said.
"Oh….right, you're not human…"
Eli giggled,
"Put that aside, thanks for sharing the story. I'm glad that our kind is somewhat similar to yours… especially the loyalty to companions, I'll make sure to visit you again later on for advice… maybe you're a lot wiser than I?" Eli said. Nozomi tried to translate it to the elder wolf, they chatted for a while.
"She said, she is afraid that her time isn't going to be long. She feels too old for everything…"
"You're having a short time to live too… we're similar… except, I don't suppose you can extend your life like we do…" Eli said a little weakly.
"No they don't, Ericchi…" Nozomi said a little sadly.
Eli sighed,
"Then…. We should really find out who will be the next alpha male and females right now…" Eli said.
"I'm sure they wanted that too, will you test them again, Ericchi?"
"Yes, I'll help them out, you will too, right Nozomi? You're the actual werewolf…" Eli said.
"Eh? I'll be too strong for them, you do that, you are the one who actually can control your power…"
"Fine, then let's show these teenagers about Papachika's power!" Eli said playfully as she about to take off her clothes again.
"Papachika?" Nozomi snorted.
"What? What's so funny about that?" Eli asked.
"Nothing, but I'll take a notice to that name…. I'll make sure our child will call you that… if I ever want to make child with you anyway…." Nozomi giggled.
"Sure, I'll be happy…" Eli smiled at her.
At the camp,
Kotori, Umi, and Honoka still focusing on monopoly... it seems that Honoka is close to being bankrupt.
"Hnnnnn…..this is hard….. why do you and Kotori has so many houses everywhere?"
"That's because you keep standing on our land…." Kotori said.
"That's obvious… but if you're talking about your luck— it do have something with it, but buying every single land at beginning is a bad idea, you know… should've just get the one that most likely to be stepped on…." Umi said.
"Yes, or one that actually can give you profit…" Kotori said.
"Not to forget about the color too…"Umi said.
"Ehh…well, I thought it should be fine!" Honoka said.
"….and there's no bro this bro that in this game, we are meant to trick each other about trades…" Umi said.
"Hehe, yup, that's also why Eli-chan and Nozomi-chan are very good in this game… they'll never hesitate on tricking others…"
"You've played with them before?" Honoka asked.
"Yup, we played it along with Lilith-chan too… it was really fun because everyone tricks anyone…" Kotori said.
"It's scary how they put up sincere face when talking, it's like we will never know when or how they will do it…" Umi said.
"Hehe, that's why you're also losing in this game if it's against them… even a good understanding to the field won't do much…" Kotori said.
"I can't actually imagine Umi-chan losing in this game… but, are they really that good?" Honoka asked.
"They're killing you very slowly since that's the only available option in this game… so of course, it's really hard to tell…" Umi said.
"Wow…." Honoka said in awe.
In that very moment, Rin ran in along with Hanayo, Maki, and Niko.
"Everyone! We found something great-nya!" Rin said.
"Eh? What do you found?" Kotori asked.
"It's a small village. There's a lot of things in there but no one seems to be alive…" Niko said.
"That doesn't sounds like something great…." Umi said.
"What are you talking about? It's a discovery! We can be rich by reporting the existence of that old abandoned village to the historian…" Niko said.
"Well... true….." Umi replied.
"It's going to be a good thing for education…" Maki said.
"For my opinion though, the village isn't abandoned very long ago, probably about seven or eight years ago…" Hanayo said.
"We also found the hidden hot spring there nya!" Rin said.
"Yeah, but we're not going to use that, let's stick with the one in my vacation house, ok?" Maki said.
"Ehhh? But we found it-nya!" Rin said.
"I'm worried about the hygiene… so let's not bath or drink from the water…" Maki said.
"Then why don't you chimeras do the testing? I'm sure it won't be a trouble for you to get poisoned…" Niko said.
"Huh? Of course, but how should we know if it's bad or not….? We won't feel a thing…" Umi said.
"I should run a real advanced hygiene test, but still, why don't you just look at it for a moment to see how things are in there…?It looks fascinating…" Maki said.
"Right… we should check it out…" Umi said.
"Wait, how about Nozomi and Eli? They haven't returns yet…" Honoka said.
"I'm sure you don't want to know what they're currently doing right now… I mean, seriously, just two of them in the woods? I bet Eli must've been digging her tongue in her hollow by now…" Niko said.
"I'm pretty sure that's possible to happen…." Umi sighed.
"Then I'll stay here…I'm a little tired from the travelling…" Hanayo said.
"Ah— Then Rin is going to stay here with Kayo-chin-nya!" Rin said.
"Alright, Take care of yourselves, we'll be back before night..." Umi said.
"Ok!"
The abandoned village, dusk,
Niko, Maki, Honoka, Kotori, and Umi began to examine the village. They are astonished by the fact that the village is indeed look very mysterious. They wonder what kind of story that kept inside this place.
"I'm surprised that this place looks pretty decent, but everyone abandons this place…. Why?" Maki said as she saw a few modern-looking stuffs such as TV antenna and vacuum cleaner.
"There must be some kind of tragedy in this place. I'll be scared if I'm here alone…." Kotori said.
"That can't be… I don't think there's some kind of tragedy here… it looks too neat…" Niko said.
"Maki, did you smell rotten flesh?" Umi asked.
"I don't know…. everything mixed up in this place, I can't tell what smell is this…." Maki said.
"I guess your nose is just too sharp…." Umi said.
"I'm very sure that's the case…" Maki sighed.
"I can feel something warm!" Honoka said.
"Something warm… that must be the hot spring Rin was talking about…?" Niko asked.
"Sure is…Ahh I wonder how mythical it will looks like.." Kotori said in awe.
"Just don't take a bath there, ok? I'm not sure about the hygiene…" Maki said.
"Hehe, I won't…" Kotori said.
"But I can do that, right?" Honoka asked.
"Yeah, do whatever, not like you'll die from it or anything…" Maki said.
"Yeay!" Honoka cheered.
"I'll need to drink…I'm very thirsty from all the walking…" Umi said.
"That's fine for you I suppose… but check on the water first, ok? Don't drink if it looks too dangerous…" Maki said.
"I'm very sure I'm not that stupid…" Umi smiled faintly,
Maki chuckled.
"Now, let's part away to examine around… see if there's anything interesting. Take care of Kotori, ok? I'll go with this kid…" Maki said as she pat Niko's head.
"Who the heck is 'this kid' huh?!" Niko yelled.
Back at the camp,
Hanayo and Rin decided to spend their time tidying up everything around the camp,
"Kayo-chin! I'm done with the trashes-nya!" Rin said cheerfully.
"Yup, good work, Rin-chan…" Hanayo said with a smile.
"Hehe, Kayo-chin also did a good job there-nya!" Rin said.
"Yup, I have to… we're just borrowing this nature… we must take care of it…" Hanayo said.
"Borrowing…?" Rin tilts her head.
"Hehe, everyone is living here in borrowed time. I really like that concept as I heard it from Meg…" Hanayo said.
"uhhn.. isn't she talking about the..uhm..magical thing she did to Niko-nya?" Rin asked.
"Yes she does, but I was also making a little conversation with her after… it was a very pleasant conversation because she is very polite and kind… even though she is a little cruel at viewing a few things in this world— but I couldn't really disagree with her…" Hanayo replied.
"Like what-nya?" Rin asked.
"Hmmm.. well… this is an argument that often happen between vegetarians and they who eats meats. About hunting… do you think such act is allowed to happen?" Hanayo asked.
"Hmm….I don't know nya? But it already happens from long ago and I haven't see it banned except for the close to extinct animal…so I guess it's fine?" Rin said.
"That's not quite the point, I'm not talking about legal or not. My point is, to hunt and eat what we hunted, does that sounds right to you?" Hanayo asked.
"I think it is, we hunted it and the only right thing is to eat it. We will be wrong if we killed it and not using it for anything-nya…" Rin replied.
"I agree with you, but now, how about the stock animal? They're bred and taken care of to be killed and to be eaten… does that sounds right to you?" Hanayo asked.
"Uh… aren't they bred for that? Human are trying to keep them existed so they can eat it forever-nya…" Rin said.
"Hehe, I said the same things like you… but then, Meg told me, she really wanted to do so to human… to make a human farm… for some reason, it made me feel sick to hear it…. but I think she just wanted me to realize that we're not here as the only powerful race. We're being too proud of ourselves…" Hanayo said with a weak smile.
Rin smiled wryly,
"We're all in fact living in a borrowed time, so we have to take care of what given to us, such as this nature and this freedom… we have to enjoy our life no matter how it is…" Hanayo continued.
"That's not true… I mean, no, not about how you take it, but… I disagree if you think that way-nya!" Rin said angrily.
Hanayo flustered as she remain quiet.
"You're human, you can think, you can do something on your own, you're not a stock animal! It's not wrong to think that we have pride as human, it's not something insane! Lilith-chan, Meg, or Eli-chan, they're all Succubus! They can think whatever about us, but don't let them make you think like you're just a food for them!"
"Rin-chan…." Hanayo called her softly.
"It's not about cruel or not, you're born as human, you're born to have pride as one. You have the right to protect your life, you have the right to decide how your life going to be! Even if they're trying to make us see about how we're weaker to them, about how they become a predator to us, just don't let it affect how your life going to be!" Rin said.
Hanayo staring at Rin in awe.
"The world is made this way, it's not something to think about! Just move on, Kayo-chin! Stand up and live your life as human!" Rin said clearly.
Hanayo smiled at Rin,
"You're right…. you're certainly right…" Hanayo said.
Suddenly, they could hear someone clapping hands. They quickly turned to that person,
"Eli-chan…Nozomi-chan?" Rin and Hanayo said all together.
"We heard that…" Nozomi said as she approach them along with Eli,
"I really like the speech, Rin…" Eli said.
"E-eh?! Uh… I didn't mean to offend you-nya!" Rin said.
"I'm not offended, I'm happy that you can put it straight…" Eli smiled,
"W-what…..?" Rin flustered,
"Since when you two got here…?" Hanayo asked.
"We just got here, but we can hear your conversation from afar… it was pretty loud too…" Nozomi said.
"Yes, that it is…" Eli said with a smile.
"W-wha-wha… Eli-chan, you're not mad at me, right-nya?" Rin asked.
"No, I'm really not… to tell you the truth, Meg is someone like that. She always talks the truth, even about her true feeling. It sounded psychopathic at times, or actually, she might be insane for you, but she is a dreamer for our kind, you know…." Eli said.
"A dreamer…?" Hanayo asked,
"Yes, she have so many dreams, she really wanted to make our kind a lot more prosper than how we are right now… she really loves our kind, her dedication as a succubus is amazing and I can guarantee that she will never betray you…" Eli replied.
"If I may add, Hanayo-chan, it's good that you're taking your conversation with her into something positive and not stressing yourself about it… because even if she tells lies, it will be still you who decide your own act…" Nozomi added.
"Yup, stay positive! Kayo-chin!" Rin said.
Hanayo giggled sweetly.
"Alright…" she said.
"Now-now, where are the others?" Eli asked.
"They are examining our discovery-nya!" Rin said.
"Ah, the secret hot spring?" Eli asked.
"Yup! They should be back sooner because it's almost night time… we should prepare dinner!" Hanayo said,
"Good idea! We really should get the dinner ready so they can just eat right away after their adventure!" Nozomi said.
"Alright, let's figure out what we should cook…" Eli said.
"Instant ramen! I have plenty!" Rin said.
"Eh? Then we should cook the noodles a bit later… let's do the meat and seasoning first…" Nozomi said.
"Yup!"
And they started to work on their cooking….
Back to the abandoned village,
Maki and Niko searching for clues or anything interesting that may be good for being promoted to the historian. Though Maki started to feel a little uneasy as the night is coming,
"We should go back now, it's going to be dark soon…" Maki said.
"Huh? But we haven't found anything good… we can't possibly just say that this village existed, they will laugh at us…" Niko said.
"Well, to begin with, it was the study about what the village have that going to make them interested— or at least, why is it abandoned…" Maki said.
"Still, we have to get to know to this village before reporting it. They might be lying to us if we just simply give them this discovery…" Niko said.
"Sheesh, then we should just come back here later… I started to hate the smell of this place, ok?" Maki said.
"Bleh, you're just trying to chicken out… do you think there will be zombies or anything here?" Niko said mockingly.
"Not that I think that way…" Maki sighed, but as she did it, she could smell something very rotten nearby. She turned around along with Niko to see— a figure, looks like dried dead body standing nearby and quietly watching them as it arrived.
Then walking dead bodies started to appear one by one from the houses. They are gathering around Niko and Maki. At first it was just a slow walking until one of them began to make a very loud scream…
"Oh—Shit…." Niko and Maki said together.
The dead started to run to them in rage, Maki quickly grabs Niko before she jumps up high across them. They thought they will be a slow zombie— but they are not. They're simply acting like they really-really wanted to eat them.
"Shit-shit-shit-shit…" Niko said as she embraced Maki tightly and watching the zombies running after them. Maki quickly run away from them. She stopped at a building and began to roar and scratching the door— trying to call after Kotori, Umi and Honoka. Though they seems didn't make a respond.
The zombies are getting closer, Maki and Niko began to worry. They're very sure that those three are still here.
"I'll go get them, you hold them, k?" Niko said.
Maki nodded,
"Stay alive…" Maki said.
Niko quickly jumped off from Maki— then somehow, she could turn to shadows and slips in through the building. Maki was a little astonished, though she shook that thought off for now— she turned into a werepanther and fight off the zombies on her own.
As Niko got into the building, she began to smell blood scent which is getting very strong as she gets deeper. She began to worry as she could hear loud thumps from here and there. Niko fasten her walks and as she opened the door where the loud noise came from…
"Kotori!" Niko quickly ran to Kotori who lay down on the floor. She is bleeding badly and wounds are all over her body.
"Niko-chan…." Kotori called her softly.
"Kotori! Hang in there!" Niko began to panic. She tried to look around— luckily, she found a medical box hanging nearby. She quickly ran there and picking up a chair to help her getting them. She searched through them and found a bandage— sadly, it doesn't looks like it could be used because it's very dirty and old.
Niko returned again to Kotori, her jacket ripped off here and there— it's like she was getting mauled by a powerful creatures.
"Hang in there! Kotori! I'll find help!" Niko said.
"Mmm… if I'm lucky, someone will help… but… please, stop them before someone else died…" Kotori said weakly.
"Ah— right. Where's Honoka and Umi?" Niko asked.
Kotori pointed to a direction. Niko quickly ran to it and as she open the door…
Honoka and Umi already bathed in blood, though they seem to be fine. Umi turning into a humanoid creature, her face and body still remained as how it is except it looks a lot tougher, glowing eyes, blue veins showing and a pair of long horn grown from her forehead, her legs transformed into goat-like legs and her arms growing longer with furs and sharp black claws. Honoka remained in her human form, though she looks a little changing from her glowing blue eyes.
Niko was really flustered until they began to attack each other again,
"There! You two!" Niko yelled. They didn't listen to her— they keep on fighting each other aggressively.
"Hey! Listen!" Niko yelled again— still no change to them.
She shook her head as she realizes that it will never stop until someone actually can stop them. She tried to think of a way to stop them and the only thing came up on her mind is to call the two in to the trouble…
Without hesitation again, Niko transformed into bats and flew away through the window. She could see Maki tried her best to fight off the zombies and not only that— she could see a large group of zombies keep appearing from houses.
She tried to fly faster to where their camp is— hoping that the two person that she wanted to see already returned there…
As she arrived to the camp…
"Ah! Niko-chan! I'm already very hungry-nya!" Rin said.
"Nozomi! Eli! We need your help!" Niko said, ignoring Rin's greeting.
"What is it, Nikocchi?" Nozomi asked.
"I… I can't explain, but please come! Everyone is in trouble!" Niko said.
Nozomi and Eli turn to each other and nodded,
"Stay here, you two, we will be going…" Eli said. Rin smiled a little wryly for a second,
"Ok!" Rin said with a big smile.
"Good luck…" Hanayo said gently.
Eli, Nozomi, and Niko went off quickly.
Rin sighed,
"I guess we'll have to be the useless part of the team again…"Rin smiled weakly,
"T-there! Rin-chan! You're not useless!" Hanayo said.
"Hehe… thanks, Kayo-chin!"
"Now! We should eat and tidy everything up, I don't think they will want to stay in the camp after everything!"
"You're right nya… then maybe we should prepare their bag to climb down too?"
"Yup! We should! Put in the noodles, Rin-chan!" Hanayo said.
"Ok-nya!" Rin smiled again.
The abandoned village,
Maki struggled to fight off the zombies, they're jumping to her in large amount though Maki dodged them and scratched their heads off. She growled and pounced on them, ripping off their body parts. Though when she did that, another zombies jumped at her and biting her— Maki shook them off and changing her focus to the others. She can't believe that the wounds they created on her didn't heal instantly like the usual wounds. They're all taking a while like it contains some kind of poison that numbing her muscles.
They keep jumping on her and creating wounds on her— Maki started to feel a little exhausted from all the fight. She don't even want to try to eat them looking from how terrible their condition looks like.
Time passed, there's too many of them and each of them are really troublesome as they won't stop before they got ripped into pieces. Maki started to almost losing her spirit to fight them off,
"Maki!" Niko yelled from above.
Maki turned up to see Eli and Niko on the air. Niko is flying with a few bats carrying her, there's a pile of clothing on her arms.
"Jump up here in three okay?" Niko said. A zombie jumped on Maki again and Maki quickly punches him off. Maki responded with a roar.
"One….." Niko yelled. The zombies trying hard to attack Maki, Maki slashed them away from herself.
"Two…" Niko yelled again. Maki getting ready to jump…
"Three!" Maki jump up high, Eli quickly grab her hands.
"Heavy!" Eli said as she was almost falling down, but she managed to fly higher.
"Turn back, you idiot…" Niko said. Maki transformed back to her human form.
"I know! Sheesh!" Maki said.
"At least you can control your transformation nicely…" Eli complimented.
"Thanks…" Maki said.
And as she said that, a noise coming from further down…
The zombies are trying to get them by jumping on each other— creating a mountain of themselves.
"They're really insisting, aren't they?" Niko said.
"It makes it a lot easier to kill them all at once…" Eli said.
"Huh? What are you planning…?" Maki asked.
Eli smiled,
"Check this out…" she said before she snapped her fingers. A very loud noise coming from a far, Nozomi crashes through the village gate along with a group of big, transparent and glowing blue wolves…
"W-what the?!" Maki surprised to see it.
"She said, it's the gift from the spirit we helped today…" Eli said.
"That looks… awesome…" Maki said in awe.
They watched them started to maul and beating up against the zombies at ease. They who got killed by the wolves started to get burnt by blue fire and turning into ashes in seconds— the fire turning back to wolf again and started to attack the other zombies. Nozomi throwing them here and there, leaving them broken on the ground…
After a moment of watching the war happened, Maki began to realize something,
"Ah! How's Kotori and the others?" Maki asked.
"Don't worry about that one, I saved them first before you… they're returning to camp by my command" Eli said.
"By your command? That sounds…. like you're controlling them or something…" Maki said.
"She really is putting them under her charm. She had to do it because they won't listen…" Niko said.
Eli sighed weakly,
"I should've known you are exploring this cursed place… we could've warned you about it…" Eli said.
"You knew about this place?" Maki asked.
"A local told Nozomi about this a while back…" Eli said.
"Local…?" Maki flustered,
"The mountain wolves, I think she were able to communicate with them and their spirits…" Eli said.
"She always has strange friends with her isn't she…." Niko sighed.
"S-She is already strange enough for me…" Maki said.
Eli chuckled,
"Should be glad to have her around—now now, I'll take you back to the camp too, ok? Let's clean those wounds…" Eli said as she lift Maki to her arm.
"Yeah, thanks…." Maki said.
"Niko, please take care of Nozomi's clothes, ok? Tell her to go back to the camp soon after she finished.
"Got it…" Niko replied before Eli flew away with Maki on her arm.
The apothecary, night time,
A short dark purple haired girl with pale skin and light purple eyes working quietly on her table, reading the request on the paper and double checking on her ingredients before she started to mix them. Lilith came by and placed her bag on the corner before she sat down on the available chair close to her.
"Hey… sis…." The girl said.
"Eve, you're busy today too huh?" Lilith said.
"Request keeps coming, I can't keep my hands off these…" she said.
"Take a break for a while, it's not going to be hurt…" Lilith said.
"I want all the jobs for myself… so don't tell me what to do…" Eve said.
"There, you're being a glutton again…" Lilith sighed weakly.
Eve remained quiet.
"Fine… do whatever…" Lilith said.
"That's what I want you to say— but since I'm nice, I'll hear you out…" Eve said.
Lilith rolled her eyes, then sighed again,
"Elichika is getting into a lot of business lately. She is back to the busy person she used to be…" Lilith said.
Eve remained quiet.
"It's very lively of her, I like it… she also has a lot of good friends…. Her parents must be really proud of her—wait…she always be a pride of everyone…" Lilith said.
Eve sighed weakly,
"Why are you not interested on Meg yet, sis?" Eve asked.
"Huh? That's so sudden, but you know it, Eve, I really don't want to be in a long term relationship…" Lilith said.
Eve smirked,
"Besides, look at her, she is still pouting over the loss of her sister… do you think I want to take care of broody ass like her? No way…" Lilith said.
"It would be nice if you could so she can stop bombarding me with questions…" Eve replied.
"See? She is annoying and you agreed…" Lilith said.
"Point is, the questions always be about you— Eve, where's your sister? Eve, has your sister got her meal? Eve, can you tell me your sister's new number? Eve, will you do me a favor for Lil?" Eve said as she mimics Meg's heavy voice.
"If you could stop telling her my new number, that would be nice…" Lilith said.
"Why are you keep changing your number anyway, you can blackmail her…" Eve said.
"She will change her number if I did…" Lilith replied.
"Then just get together, ditch her, make her hate you…" Eve replied.
"That's a death wish… you know how sick her brain is… I know I like to be dominated… but, I prefer a gentle one— not a psychopathic person like her…" Lilith said.
Eve rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"If I ever be in a long term relationship, I want to be with a person who could understand me and treating me well, loving me and tell me that I'm special to that person eternally… male or females, I don't care…and that person has to be able to take the family burden as well…" Lilith said.
"You're still after that person, aren't you?" Eve said.
"That person is a perfection, too bad someone already have that woman… if only I could replace her somehow…" Lilith said.
"You probably need more stalking than talking right now…" Eve said.
"What do you mean?" Lilith asked.
"You want to replace her, right? Then you should practice to act like her, transform to her and replace her somehow…" Eve said.
"That's a brilliant idea, but it's not quite the thing that I wanted… I want to have that person to like me for who I truly am… not because I'm turning to someone else…" Lilith replied.
"You're lusting over that person, it won't be painful to just at least have some nice sex once or twice… it will satisfy you…" Eve replied again.
"….and I'll be addicted to it…." Lilith said sadly.
"Then a kiss… it won't be hard to get it…" Eve said.
Lilith remained quiet to think…
"Just for a minute… or second… that's enough to make you happy, right?" Eve said.
"You're right… it won't be painful…" Lilith said.
"Then go on with your mission… leave me alone…" Eve said.
"I'm not in hurry…" Lilith chuckled
"Ass…" Eve said.
Lilith chuckled again,
"I want to watch my twin sister working, it won't be hurt to have a pair of eyes watching over you, right?" Lilith said.
"Yeah— until you put Sodium in the water…" Eve sighed.
"Ooo! That's fun! Do you have any around?"
"No… of course not… I bought that one for something else…not for you…" Eve said.
"Oh come on! You're nice, right? Entertain your twin sister, it's not going to be hurt!" Lilith approached her sister and embraced her playfully.
"It hurts my time and my wallet, get off here, sis, leave me alone!"
There, hope you still enjoy this~
See you next chapter~!