The full moon sat high in the sky, and despite how most of his encounters went, Faer did not find himself fighting in the hidden 25th hour for his life.
No.
This time it was not long after 10pm.
In truth the dark skinned teen fully expected that he would perish here in this field.
"Hah… hah… hah.." shoulders heaving, Faer fought to stay on his feet, bleary-eyed trying to scan his surroundings for something he could use to plan out an attack or escape.
Each plan he had, he had to summarily discard as the Crimson and Ivory katanas his opponent wielded were something he couldn't account for as nothing he had was durable enough to take the hit. And with his foe's speed…
…
It was useless, clenching his hand around his knife Faer could do little more than listen to his heart beat in his ears as his opponent took her time.
His life was a privilege that was extended on courtesy from an opponent who seemed to be somewhere between reproachful of his behavior and disgusted that he was standing in the presence of a higher being.
Of course this wasn't the first time that he had found himself woefully out matched, and if he survived it wouldn't be the last either but the key word here was if.
And here in this riverside valley, there could be no if.
"You've done your best to survive against me. Tis a shame that you were born human." His opponent called to him. a young woman, fiend or demon, an oni, a god?… She was massively stronger than him. It didn't matter that she wasn't something that wasn't properly described by the Demon Compendium.
The gap in their strength was like comparing a candle to raging forest fire.
Long, white hair with tints of pink that had remained unsullied during their fight, if it could be called that framed white horns that crested her hairline and reddish-pink eyes that balefully glared into him and bell-ribbon hair accessories that had remained surprisingly quiet during the fight with a red oni mask which seemed mundane at first glance.
Clad in a black short kimono with a red underlayer and a golden trim tied together with a green obi sash that covered the seifuku styled red leotard that hid the young oni's deceptively powerful and agile frame. Though if one paid attention it might be alluded to with the thigh high tabi socks that rippled with muscle every time she moved. In truth, she also didn't cut an intimidating presence with her short stature that reached 5 '3 at best even with the platform sandals she wore to boost her height.
Objectively speaking, she was also probably the cutest thing he had seen in his short life as well.
There had been a red and white prayer rope that was tied to the obi around her waist but prior to Pixie being unsummoned, the diminutive woman had managed to cut it with a well placed Garu.
Which had been the lynch pin of a plan that fell apart the moment it had been enacted.
The closest and only moment he had an opportunity to defeat her… but seeing as though he was standing not 10 feet away from his severed left arm with his Evoker… Well…
If it weren't for his own enhanced constitution he wouldn't be standing.
It was only just enough.
In terms of combat she was a far more technical fighter than anyone else Faer had ever tested himself against. Without sacrificing any of the strength that someone lesser might've had to to achieve the level of finesse that she had.
The Contractor had considered himself to be constantly achieving a new peak whenever he fought but this woman… he couldn't see himself defeating her.
She blatantly surpassed the Reaper that he had fought. It wasn't a close comparison. The aura she radiated was something between「compliance」 and「threat」while the demand for「death」that the Reaper put out was intense, Faer had no problem seeing her defeating the super shadow with her superior everything.
He also didn't have the numbers to stall and create exploitable extensions.
Nor the magical potency to blast her hard enough to make an attack count.
He was outmatched, outgunned, disarmed and disarmed.
"Hehe…", shifting the red blade to rest over her shoulder the girl takes an appraising look at him.
Her gaze had been enough to make him realize that he was spiraling. Faer forced himself to take a calming breath.
Why shouldn't he panic though?
With every breath he took Faer could sense his demise in six different ways. He only breathed because the woman in front of him allowed him to.
Down an arm the only thing he could see was that death came to visit as a beautiful person.
"Snrk! That was terrible."
"What?"
Did he speak aloud?
"Know thine place, human. Lusting before death to and over a superior being ready to kill you no less! The gaul…" Despite the clear tone of disgust in her tone the white haired girl had a slight blush on her face. "This lady will cut you down."
「Threat!」
Her words had been the only warning Faer had, before he tried to quickly step back to reset his stance with his knife up.
"—Hyah!"
The Contractor's attempt at mounting a defense failed.
The preternatural blades the woman held cut into him and through his knife with the precision and speed of an auto tooler. His enhanced perception only catches the end state of each cut before another almost magically opens before his eyes.
The flurry red and white arced attacks ended in the span of a blink and Faer found himself staring up at the night sky.
Leaning over him the woman peers at him with arrogance as she places one of her red platform sandals upon his chest as if he were a mountain she conquered as opposed to the insect she crushed carelessly.
Triumphant, the girl's eyes glow red, as a grin stretches across her face, entirely too smug as if she were playing a joke as opposed to killing someone.
"Even if you chose the wrong side to fight for, human, know that this lady will not soon forget your convictions. You died with honor which is more than what most can claim."
"G-ah!"
With a furious stomp and complete disregard for keeping her clothing free of blood the monstrous woman slammed her foot through Faer's chest crushing the right side of his chest.
Through blinding pain Faer had managed to flicker his eyes down to his chest before managing to meet the eyes of his killer with beyond herculean effort as the pain and panic from losing his ability to breathe set in.
…
"...?"
In the midst of his panic, Faer realized that she was saying something but what she said was something lost to his ears.
Whatever mental fortitude he had gathered had broken like glass as the woman yanked her foot out of his chest cavity.
"-"
With whatever her parting words were the woman left him there, facing the sky and moon. Fa- had found himself staring down at the riverside valley that he had just fought in.
His body staring glassy eyed at the sky as his chest failed to rise and fall.
This seems familiar. Like he had seen this somewhere else.
Whether or not it was a long time ago, he didn't know. Or maybe more accurately, couldn't remember.
If before - could remember his past like reading a book. In this moment it was like reading a single sentence summary.
The moon rose and set, and eventually the darkness turned to light.
Nothing changed. The body remained in the clearing, untouched. But the mind, the spirit was vacant.
Not a soul called this body home, and for a time it had to be this way.
Light turned to dark, dark to light.
The body closer to looking like it may be alive if in the middle of a surgery.
Dark to light, light to dark. Upon the next dawn breathing resumed, as the chest cavity of the body repaired itself.
Light to dark, light to dark.
A third day.
A resurrection. To some it might seem miraculous. It was not. The result was not the forgone conclusion of a divine power but the desperate attempt at preservation an animal's instinct might take to heal from grievous wounds.
But power soon enough would take root in this vessel.
…
Consciousness doesn't resume with a sudden start, but in stages.
"Is that a gun? Woah, what happened to that knife, it looks like it got cut clean in half! How did the ground get craters like this—it looks like it's straight out of a manga!" the voice of an excited girl called out.
Given that the mind is healthy.
The sound of grass being stepped on carelessly echoed around through the valley.
"Woah, this guy got really messed up!"
Or enough stimulus.
"He's all bruised and stuff and his arm looks really messed up. Good thing I have this stick!"
More shuffling.
…
Something prodded Faer's side. Once, twice, three times.
Pausing for a moment as it did so again, with a shorter pause between each set of pokes.
"When out in - make sure that you - - - - - - - off. Be ready to fight incase…"
Half forgotten memories fade through the mind of the young adult who immediately tried to throw himself to the side.
…!
Only to immediately freeze as the severe bruising that covered his upper body made his body lock up in pain. It was as if his wounds were still open, if not worse, even with how much they had managed to heal in the meantime.
"G—ah. Shit…"
"Ahh!" the voice screamed, before the owner of it presumably fell to the ground, startled by the sudden movement.
Cracking his eyes open, Faer took in his surroundings again, but save for the little girl dressed in a green track jacket and shorts holding a stick, nothing else had changed.
… So he survived then… what luck he had. That oni, Ayame. She had him dead to rights so how- his regeneration…
As fragmented thoughts bounced around the older boy's head, the younger girl moved into his line of sight looking back and forth at the scarred dirt. "Hey Mister, what happened here? You look real rough." The girl inquired as she got a strange look in her eye.
Suspicion? Realization?
Given no time to take stock of the situation Faer looked to the side. "I was investigating something, and I came across…"
The Contractor wasn't sure if he could say, let alone would say something to the child.
"A Demon! A monster," the girl says, catching on faster than Faer expected. "IbetalltheoldfolkhavebeensayingthattheYōkaihavebeenstealingbadkid-"
Realization it was then.
"Slow down a moment, breathe." The young adult interrupts as the girl's face goes red and the girl starts running out of air.
With a giant gasp of air the girl wearing the green and yellow striped track jacket jumped to her feet. Moving faster than what Faer thought might be safe for a normal human.
"Right! Thanks, Mister!" The girl grins, then a serious look crossed her face, "Mister, did you see the Yōkai have a little girl with short black hair and a bad sense of humor!? She's my best friend and I think she's been kidnapped but not even her parents believe me!" As she explained her situation the little girl progressively got closer until she was in the face of the now sitting up Faer.
There was a lot to unpack with all of what she said.
Especially since Faer had originally been following up on the trail of those Shinto-Revivalist goons. Inaba had been where he lost the traffic trail, so he assumed that they had some place to lay low here, somewhere.
He hadn't seen the van or someone like Shiki, but he was sure that there had to be something here since this place was close to a hypothetical place in myth that he learned about in school.
That being the seal to the underworld in Japanese mythology. Since these guys fashioned themselves after it at the very least and Faer knew that the supernatural was real, he was sure that there would be a clue somewhere around here.
It had been days before he found something close to a lead.
Then he ran into the Oni last night as he was trailing those suspicious guys beneath the bridge, way back south. But what was this little girl doing all the way out here?
"Right, if that's the case, then it must be true that they have magic abilities to keep people from remembering stuff then." Faer said leadingly but completely unsure how to talk to someone this much younger than him.
Even if by some metrics she was older than him.
"YEAH! I thought so too! You must be a Magic Detective! Like Black Belt X Manhunt: City Crawl! You definitely have the hard boiled detective look to you, ruined clothes aside! Actually forget that you gotta be a traveling martial artist who's looking to avenge his master!" the… imaginative young girl explains as she sways back and forth.
Well, if he did have a master…
"My master, he was still yet swifter than myself. I have much to learn." Faer says, simply closing his eyes.
Those words had felt like perhaps they had been the truth. Are the truth. A faded remnant from a dream he had once.
"As expected of Mister who had an epic battle beneath the full moon. Er- well the full moon was three days ago. But it's still impressive!"
Three days ago. Shit, that wasn't good… but that oni-Ayame she was a threat he wouldn't be able to neutralize if she was a part of this Shinto-Revivalist shebang.
And she likely was.
Three days was a long time to lose out on planning and with being down an ar-
Wait…
Faer glanced to his left shoulder not expecting to see his amputated arm or at least to see a scarred over stump.
But no, though it was currently bruised to all hell, it was still attached… Idly the Contractor clenched his left hand into a fist, "Three days? I'm behind schedule, I need to get going…"
Climbing to his feet the young adult picked up his discarded gun and looked at the cleanly cut knife…
Visions of the red and white blades flashed through his mind as Faer remembered how easily the knife was destroyed.
It served him well.
Turning to the steep grass covered hill of the valley Faer moved to step off. However the girl who hadn't introduced herself had run in front of him arms spread wide. "Wait! You can't leave! You need to help me save Yukiko, remember?!"
He hadn't promised anything like that. However, there was one thing that was bound to be true, this girl had to know this town better than him.
…
He might go on to regret this. Especially if she could see Pixie…
"Yeah, I suppose I do? Don't I? Right, then, if I am to help you save your friend, you should know my name at least instead of calling me Mister." he prodded. Faer did suppose if he was going to help her she should at least know his name.
"Should I call you Uncle then?" the guileless girl asked with a tilted head.
With a sigh the older boy replied in the most deadpan tone he could manage, "I'm not that old."
"R-right," the sheepish girl says rubbing at the back of her neck, "I'm sorry it's just you're so tall I assumed that you had to be at least in your 30s."
What a sassy child. Faer can honestly say he never felt it like this before. It was the feeling of wanting to wring your hands around something and squeeze. Particularly her neck.
Odd. Especially since he didn't even want to kill her…
"My name is Jaecar Faer. I should be 18 years old, I fight monsters for a living." The dark skinned boy says moving past his feeling of unease.
"Oh. Right… I'm Satonaka Chie, er I'm in the 8th grade and I like steak and Kung fu. Please take care of me, Shisou." Chie introduces as she takes a deep bow with her hands straight down at her sides.
Teacher? Where did she get that from?
"I thought we were going to save your friend, how did I become your mentor?" It wasn't as if deciding to take an untrained civilian was a terrible idea, no… there were only so many ways this could go wrong.
"Well, I figured that if you can fight and come out alive from such a dangerous situation, then even if you didn't finish your training, your master must have taught you a secret technique that made you sure of your odds. Right?
And if I am tagging along with you, then I must be your plucky sidekick with a heart of goal who will help you finish your training as you teach me and we avenge your master!"
How she managed to say that all in one go Faer wasn't sure but…
"Are you sure you want that? Fighting is scary, one moment you think you're in control and the next you could be trying to breathe through a crushed windpipe." The Contractor says plainly as he stares into the bowl haired girl's eyes.
It wasn't his best lead for trying to dissuade someone, and honestly doesn't think Chie wants to back down from this, and to the clueless girl's credit she met his eyes evenly.
In a better situation the best solution would be to not listen to her nonsense. Use what he already knows to set up another plan. Make recon, complete planning, isolate a primary target, raid it when most people aren't paying attention.
Hell, he should still formalize a plan like that. But, how can he make something like that work if he's been chasing the tail end of their cloaks this whole time? Faer needed to catch up, get ahead so he could set this metaphorical raid.
Not only was he behind but the enemy knew he was coming as well. For all he knew they could be moving their base of operations, or they already did having heard about his arrival.
All this to say nothing about how they had fighters like Shiki and Monsters like Ayame. Strength clearly had only brought him so far, and small battlefield tricks wouldn't be enough to deal with Ayame, Faer knew that much given how he lost his arm.
Maybe he needed to have the whole area leveled? But the planning and funds for that might be a bit beyond the UN to get him in a timely manner even with the black card they gave him.
The fire power he imagined conventional weapons would need to be effective would be insane considering it was likely that the Shinto-Revivalists probably had fighters that were massively faster than sound.
He didn't imagine that he'd be able to get missiles capable of leveling a few square miles.
…
With a sigh Faer looked back to the girl who had gotten nervous as he was lost in his thoughts. Upon making eye contact with Chie, her resolve hardened before his eyes.
He would be responsible for her life…
"I can handle it, Shisou!"
Was he really going to gamble his mission success on a girl who thought this was going to be a Kung Fu movie?
…
"If I do this, you stay when I tell you to stay. I mean it. These people that took your friend aren't the kind of people the police can handle, hell I can barely handle them.
You break my trust on this, I will find a way to keep you safe, but you won't like it."
It was as if those words had been everything she had ever wanted to hear because the tomboy did a backflip in joy as she whooped in joy. Before leaping into Faer's midsection clinging to him with a hug, "You won't regret this, I promise!"
For both their sakes he hoped she was right.
【Name: Faer Jaecar】
【Level 11】
『HP: 347/347』
『MP: 78/78』
『Str: 10』
『Agi: 10(17)』
『End: 13』
『Int: 8(110fps)』
『Mag: 6』
『Dex: 9』
『Luk: 7』
Available Stat Points: 21
Conflict Points:10165
【Perseverance Lvl 61/100: Is that… all… you got? Your entire life you've been against the odds from Aneurysms to amputation, you're sturdy gain END 15% for each life and death situation you survive, +61% chance to resist stun. +35% auto resist knockout. +.6% to survive a killing blow from superior foe.】
【CQB Hand to Hand (Adept) 1/50: Surviving a battlefield and maneuvering is your bread and butter. You have dipped your toe in blood, the temperature isn't too bad. A average martial artist.】
【Skill: No-Tilt Knife Throwing has been subsumed by the following: CQB Hand to Hand (Adept).】
Faer found himself with his "protégé" in a Chinese restaurant eating a bowl that was supposed to transport him to the meat dimension… But in truth it was pretty lackluster.
It wasn't something that he normally cared to mention but his diet was usually an affair of this size, even if he only ate once a day on average…
Not that it was a bad place, the restaurant was clean, just a bit plain, with an open window pane design, a few booths, a bar to eat up close. Nothing special, at least that's what Faer's instincts led him to believe.
"Shisou… you're incredible! You ate that entire bowl like it was nothing!" Chie gushes with veritable stars in her eyes. "Everything from your pacing to the bite sizes… I see, part of my training is figuring out how to keep a steady pace that's easy enough on my stamina but difficult enough to train my technique!"
If the girl had any doubts of who he was, before Faer was sure they were all but gone now and that whatever image the girl held in her head of him it was cemented.
What was really on his mind was that encounter he had last ni- a few nights ago. No matter what he did, it was useless. To be frank it was starting to really piss him off to know that he was getting stronger, but it was like he kept back sliding even with the strength he gained.
Hell he was easily 3x stronger now from where he was his first night here, a better, more dangerous fight by metrics that he wasn't even sure how to quantify, but it seemed like nothing really made a difference.
The only fight that felt like a victory as of late was the Reaper one and that was only just with SEES' support.
Exhaling a slow breath careful to keep his agitation off his face Faer brought his attention back to his stats as the girl across the table continued to eat with gusto but with an ever declining speed.
…
He had 21 points saved up. And while he was sure that they might not have been the largest difference, the fact is that up to this point he's been hamstringing himself by not using them.
Faer could have been stronger, reacted a little faster, maybe squeezed out one more Spirit Gun if he had more energy. Something…
It was embarrassing in retrospect.
A plan means nothing if the one enacting it is too weak to see it through. Weak was never an adjective Faer thought he would describe himself as since this last month and some change had seen him doing things he logically knew he could never in his old life.
If Faer Jaecar can not defeat what is in front of him, he must try to find a version of him that can and find the steps in between.
It was like a bolt of lightning ran down his spine at those words. Much like the other remnants of his old identity, some things had been drilled so deep into his psyche that even without the pillars that held the foundation it remained beneath.
【Simulation Training Unlocked】
【Simulation Training: Warriors one and all have fought battles, wars, in their head. Introspection has always been a great way to figure out who you really are. Only certain stats can be trained here, certain skills may not function correctly here. Cost: 1-? Conflict Points】
"Chie." The girl looked up from trying to finish her food, her cheeks stuffed and her face slightly green.
"I'm going to be learning as I teach you. The truth is, if I had a master, I wouldn't know. I forgot everything about my life prior to a month ago." Faer wouldn't build this relationship on a lie, he would be honest with the young girl.
"However, if there is one thing I do know, my first lesson to you will be this: "No hesitation. If you hesitate, you have already lost."" He wanted to avoid being hasty with his points but now more than ever, with Chie relying on him, he couldn't afford to hold something back.
It almost got him killed and it would get her killed. Even if his unspoken reason for taking her on was based around taking advantage of her, to learn what she knew about the area the teen realized that his mindset would only lead to unnecessary destruction.
And it was all too likely there would be no Kirijo Group to clean up the mess when he was done.
With that said…
【Name: Faer Jaecar】
【Level 11】
『HP: 369/369』
『MP: 103/103』
『Str: 14』
『Agi: 14(17)』
『End: 17』
『Int: 12(150fps)』
『Mag: 10』
『Dex: 9』
『Luk: 7』
Available Stat Points: 0
Conflict Points:10165
"Shisou, you're already dropping ancient wisdom! Guh, wait until I finish eating so I can show you how far I got with my own training!"
Actually…
【Simulation Activated: -5 conflict points.】
It looked like he was on the street outside the shop where he and Chie had just been eating. It was weird, he instinctively knew this place was both real and fake.
For now though the operations of this world would remain an enigma as the little girl he said he would train stood in front of him. "Shisou? Oh is this that thing you said you did when we first met?"
What?
"Alright then Shisou, I know you're pretty incredible but I won't hold back just because you want to get a baseline!" The girl said as she took her hands out of her track jacket to dramatically point at Faer.
"I would expect nothing less…" The Contractor had no idea what to expect. So for now keeping his eyes peeled would be the best way to start.
There wasn't a large gap between the two of them so as Chie closed it and opened up with a 540 kick Faer was only mildly surprised with her speed.
For a regular human it would be a debilitating attack. For him though it was nothing, especially because he could see his handiwork all over the attack.
Forgoing natural structure for the fluidity that only practicality discovered in combat would provide. Or at least someone who would teach it.
So his counter was simple, especially since even with her speed, she was nowhere near close to Akihiko, let alone that speed demon Ayame. He blocked the overhead strike and threw the girl into a backflip, round house kicking her away, making her skid along the concrete.
Not to be deterred though, the brunette ended her impromptu rock skipping impression with a handspring. Landing in a stance to help her bleed off the excess momentum.
For an opening exchange it wasn't bad. Darting at the girl Faer jabbed out a palm strike to her chin, which was avoided with a head tilt. Before swinging a rather weak hook to the girl's stomach who managed to block the strike.
Though not without pain showing, it was a set up, "Ah-tatatatatatatatat," Chie screamed out as a series of jabs alternating from the solar plexus to brachial and trachea were launched by the dozen within the span of a few seconds.
With a triple kick finisher… Faer was still actually practicing that one….
Popping his neck as the kung fu enthusiast now visibly needed to catch her breath from her furious assault. Stumbling back the girl tried to reset her strength for a second wind.
"I-Hah I'm n-not hah… Done…" Chie panted out. Collapsing down to stretch her legs Faer felt something change about her presence…
"Galactic… Punt!"
With a small skip the girl leapt and even though her form was terrible during the attack the spinning back kick that the girl sent his way felt dangerous. Even as he stepped aside from it he could feel the wind blow past him.
Watching her recovery, it was equally trash but it seemed that this girl had real and serious talent. But he was absolutely fixing that back kick.
【Simulation Complete:】
The fight, if it could be called that, was short, the Contractor thought. The distance between their skill and strength was like comparing a Silverback Gorilla to a teenage girl…
Which was pretty apt all things considered.
"There's no need for that, Chie, I already know where you stand. Tonight, I want you to show me the landmarks around this town, then tomorrow we'll start the search for your friend." The teen announced as he crossed his arms and leaned back in the booth.
"What about my training?" The training nut of a girl asked as she shook back and forth at the idea of getting stronger.
"We'll do it on the fly. You have… potential to you, I wouldn't be surprised if someday you were capable of something absurd." Faer revealed, while she hadn't actually hurt him in any meaningful way in the simulation, she did kick him hard enough for him to feel it, barely.
Which meant to a regular human, she was likely going to break a few bones if she went all out.
"Then why wait!?" Chie whined, slamming her hands onto the table, garnering a look from the owner who gave the duo a harsh stare. One that the Contractor met evenly until the man looked away.
Looking back to his protégé the mentor states, "Do you want to finish your food, find your friend, or train? You can only choose one at the moment." Staring deep into the girl's eyes she flinches away noticing something within the older boy's stare.
Staring down at her half full bowl the girl lets out a pitiful groan. "I'm sorry. It's-this… all of this 's a lot. I mean Yukiko is gone, you're offering me my dream, kinda, no one is noticing the other weird stuff. I'm just excited to be able to do something about it."
Faer supposed that was fair. He can't say that he'd have done the same with him being fundamentally different from her, but it was understandable that the girl wouldn't be able to focus, given what it was she wanted and what she felt she needed to do. If he was going to be her mentor in any way he would need to show the martial arts loving girl a way forward.
Again another thing that felt like it should belong. What was it about this place that allowed so much about his past to click into place?