Disclaimer: I do not own Danmachi or anything created by the author Fujino Omori; all rights go to him. I only own my original characters Sleipnir, Ikuchi, Sylphie, and all the others.
Speech: "Why do you have 5 almost-finished chapters in reserve?" Happa asks.
Thoughts: 'What about them?'
Screaming/Demonic Voice: "I know that you want to keep your word count down man, but jeez louise!"
Magic: Shimizu answers. "You do have a point, we could make a compromise for the time being. 1 shorter chapter - per Week!
Runes: 'How long is shorter?' - "Fuin!"
Writing: 'My original goal of 5'000-8'000 words. Let's hope I won't start overshooting it again.'
Hapa Note: This chapter is over 9k lmao.
Chapter 25 Multilayered War
Evening - Daedalus Streets - Akiri POV
'I was wondering when they would catch on to our resident Beto Beto. It's as if it wasn't a big enough clue that every time Shin-chan tried to sneak into the Dungeon the guards were distracted by loud stomping…' Akiri could only sigh as he shook his head while they followed the Beto Beto.
Akiri could also feel Sly staring at him, but right now he could not shift his attention to him. He had summoned his illusion domain at full power to fight the mana of the spirit who held this territory, which only grew in potency the deeper they went. If he didn't shield Sly, Sylphie and even the Beto Beto, they would likely be overwhelmed by the opposing mana.
The spirit who holds this domain is tier 3 like him. From its territory it is likely much younger than him, but that does not mean they could let their guards down; as trespassers all spirit-kin have to be careful. 'Fortunately, with Shin-chan being Takemikazuchi's child, Take's distress provides a very strong exception directly tied to the spiritual laws which in turn gives me some leeway even in a foreign territory.'
With the Beto Beto in the lead Akiri peered through the residual mana the other spirit left behind. It was difficult to spot at first, but now that they are deeper in the territory, he sees it clearly. The mana is directly affecting the mortals around them, and not in a good way. It is as if a giant black cloud was hanging above them, draining all their positive emotions.
He narrowed his eyes at this discovery and looked to the others. "This territory is tied to a tier 3 malicious spirit. Sly, Sylphie, Chigusa, and Welf, do not leave my illusion domain for whatever reason. Just the residual mana left behind by it could affect your emotions."
With the warning issued he refocused on following the Beto Beto and being vigilant. Akiri maintained a watchful eye and his mana pressure peeled for any changes in the surrounding mana.
Behind him Sly asked Sylphie. "What would happen if we entered this territory without Akiri-san's protection?"
"In the periphery, the corrupted mana will corrode your emotions. Taking good ones and replacing them with negative ones tied to the malicious spirit." Her focus turned to Sly.
"Closer to its home, without tight control over your mana, the mana pressure of the corrupted mana will infect parts of your mana. The severity of corruption can vary, but once the corrupted mana overwhelms the normal mana pool of a spirit, they will become a corrupted spirit. Which is bad as corrupted mana is far more chaotic and more difficult to control, which will make spending it with spells very difficult. The last stage of corruption is the transformation into a malicious spirit. A spirit can only become a malicious spirit if their entire mana pool is corrupted and their very being starts producing malicious mana." A heavy shiver passes through Sylphie entire body at the mention. "Any spirit who falls in said category is better of dead, as their is no cure to that state."
Sly was deathly quiet after these words. Sylphie added solemnly looking to the other adventurers, "The same can happen to you two. However, as mortals, your emotions and mana control are the most affected. I'm not sure how, but I know it can be purged."
Chigusa shifted from one foot to the other. "Why has this spirit settled here? And what could have happened to make Take so furious?"
None had an answer, he chose to keep quiet. The residual mana was weakening. They were past the worst of it, not far from the orphanage. As they got closer Akiri could feel the raw ire in the very mana of the atmosphere as his tails unconsciously tensed. The sight before them did not help; the street in front of them showed signs of battle.
Next to the two-story orphanage, a stone building sits with a clear 10cm wide cut from top to bottom with water pooling at its foundation. Scattered about the street there are several small craters, some with water pooled at their bottom, as well as other signs of damage to other buildings. At the center of the street there is a large crater filled to the brim with water, but the orphanage itself remains without any damage. Within its doors a blond girl and boy hold each other with a lady behind them.
As soon as they got closer Akiri felt a bone chilling presence looking upon him, rooting him to the spot before it faded away. The next moment a bright column of light descended in front of them, as Takemikazuchi stepped out of the Second Layer.
His white robes had purple stains and cloth on one sleeve showed a clean cut, a red sheen gleamed on the edge of his midnight-black katana. Gone was the softened expression he often wore when conversing with his familia. Ice-cold and focused eyes gazed upon the party, like one would expect from a god of war. This Take was not the jovial martial artist, but the one who would command armies without a shred of hesitation.
As Take's fierce gaze glided over them, something shuffled out of Akiri's illusion, but it was too fast to spot even for him. Take's eyes on the other hand followed it before he returned his focus to them. "A malicious kappa has taken Roux, an orphan under my protection. I fought and injured it in the Second Layer, but it escaped."
Behind him, a happy call resounded. "Take's back! You sure showed that monster! It jumped us and was really scary! It ran after us, but you knocked it back. It went all 'Rawhh!' And took Roux, before you went all serious!" The human child then runs up to Take's side and grabs his sleeve with a beaming smile to Sly and the others. "And then guess what happened! Take held out his hand and a sword suddenly flew into it!" The child grins and looks up to Take as the other child, a chienthrope girl comes up and looks up as well. "Then you fought the monster! Have you saved Roux?"
The sharpness leaves Take's eyes as he looks down to boy and crouches in front of both children. "I am sorry Ryu, Fina, it managed to escape, but we will definitely catch it. Please stay with Miss Martel."
He turned his gaze to them. "Beto Beto, could you please escort the orphans out of the territory?" With a few stomps and a surge of magic pressure in reassurance, the pair of boots stomped over to the children and began to lead them away, but not before the party could hear, "Living boots? Is this magic!?" "They are soo cute!"
Akiri's tails twitched at the last comment, but he kept his focus on Take as he continued. "The kappa escaped with Roux. With you as backup, I will pursue it. Are you prepared?"
Akiri was worried. Kappa were sometimes seen as kami of rivers or seas, but if the river they lived in was treated badly and nobody made them offerings… 'This just got even more serious. Kappa are vicious. Growing with either their river or, if they grew corrupted, the blood of children they dragged into their river in an attempt to cleanse themselves from the corrupted mana.'
Fighting a tier 3 on normal ground would be annoying enough, but Akiri would be at a heavy disadvantage in their territory. 'To think Takemikazuchi managed to chase it away with the strength of a civilian. His skill is truly tremendous.'
Chigusa spoke up first, voice firm. "Yes Take! We must save him! I won't let an orphan suffer at the hands of such a monster! Not again!"
Sly's tails shifted nervously, his voice uncertain. "If you and Akiri-san will have me I'll help as much as I can."
Welf and Sylphie remained quiet but stood firmer. Only Akiri remained. He took a deep breath, this would be difficult, but with Takemikazuchi helping them it could work. 'I will shield Sly and Sylphie.'
7.15 - Maria's Orphanage - Sly POV
They all followed after Take immediately and their pace was fast. They were returning into the heart of the kappa's territory. Since the first time he fought a monster he had never been this nervous. Sly could not even use his magic pressure to tell if there were spirits around. As soon as he tried using it to see past Akiri's illusion, it was dispersed.
'How can we defeat a spirit? Hakase's lesson covered benign spirits, but she didn't delve into malicious ones. Won't it just escape to the Second Layer? Will Akiri and Take be enough to deal with it if that happens?'
Welf and Chigusa stood close to him. They had been shooting him concerned glances since Sylphie told him about the effect corrupted mana could have on him. The pressure he felt beyond Akiri's illusion only grew stronger, it terrified him. Nonetheless, he continued, hiding his fear, and swearing to himself to protect them.
Welf asked the first question and freed him from his trepidation. "Takemikazuchi-sama how do we fight the Kappa?"
The god took a deep breath before answering without wavering in his strides. "Spirits are tough to battle. They have incredible magic control and the ability to freely manipulate their spells, but this is also their weakness. Welf, if you can, counter it's magic! The less mana it has the better. Chigusa, use magic arrows to aggravate any injury we cause. Kappa are a kind of tortoise spirit, even weakened to tier 2, its defence will very high. Magical weapons are our best bet. From what I experienced, only my Futsu-no-Mitami managed to pierce its skin. Kogitsune-Maru should manage the same. Once the kappa gets desperate it will likely take the battle to the Second Layer, as it did against me to increase its strength. I can't take mortals with me, but I will try to bring Sleipnir along. Once we leave, escape from the malicious territory before it infects your entire mana pool."
Take's words had a calming effect on their nerves, but the closer they got the more anxious they got. The few civilians that ventured the streets glared at their party, even cursing them. Every time they called him his tails twitched unwillingly and his ears lowered.
"Adventurer scum."
"Robbing my cucumbers!"
"Fighting in the streets! You destroyed my house!"
Sly could only tune out their calls and follow Take, but it was hard to stay unaffected. 'They are not themselves. These are not their normal thoughts… But how can they say what isn't already there? … this feels just like the Far East…'
Before Sly could reminisce, he saw the river. The last 100m from the river were the worst, nobody was on the streets anymore, and signs of decay and refuse were everywhere.
Just as they reached the river 20m wide and stretching from east to west 5m below their feet. Inside the river, floating pieces of rubble and dirt could be seen everywhere. The corrupted mana condensed above it to such an extent that even the mortals instinctively avoided this area.
Take held up his left hand, his right gripping his katana with Akiri at his side. Both scanned the river with the party behind, gripping their weapons. The first to spot the half-elf girl was Take. She was floating in the center of the River, but the Kappa was nowhere in sight. However, this quickly changed.
A ripple spread from the center of the river, before the water rose in a tidal wave 10 meters above their walkway, rushing towards them. They all jumped back and climbed a large building to avoid the wave while their previous position was taken by a 1m Kappa.
It stood on two feet, had a giant black tortoiseshell on its back, webbed feet, and hands with 5 cm long claws. Its head was adorned with a sharp beak and covered by an old dungeon iron helmet, with a clean cut on one side leaking blood. Its skin was a disgusting denim blue as were its eyes.
With a guttural croak, it released its malicious mana, and thrust it upon Akiri's illusory domain turning everything outside of his domain a slight black. Using this distraction it rushed them with madness gleaming in its eyes.
Take met its charge only drawing his blade at the last moment as he dodged its lunge, while calling out "Zekka!" Without any delay, he drew Futsu-no-Mitami and cut a third of the way through its right arm down to the bone.
With a croak, the Kappa jumped away and breathed a swath of water at them a gurgle distantly resembling a spell. "I am the River! - Water Kingdom!" The water fired at Take in a thin line, he dodged to the side.
The stream continued towards Sly. He dodged to the side and saw how it cut through the building they were standing on without pause, travelling almost 50 meters before dissipating. 'Do not get hit by this thing's magic! Any touch can infect your mana!' Akiri's warning came a second later.
Quickly Akiri jumped beside Take fighting the Kappa head-on with his claws and tails. Sly narrowed his eyes at the warning and the clash he watched between a tier 3 spirit on Genkai in its domain against a warrior like Take and another tier 3 spirit as support.
'Strength isn't a wise option here considering the risk contact poses for me, but my other options aren't precise enough. Then..!' With a quiet foxfire, Kogitsune-Maru lit alight in a deep blue glow. With a quick field repair with Welf, Sly had added another layer of hellhound leather over the previous one. He rushed forward while exclaiming, "Welf, tag team! Chigusa piercing and strafing shots!"
Welf followed a step behind him when Sly entered the fray. They kept their distance, acting like they had while with Bedrin's party. Welf used his longer reach to stab, without getting too close to the kappa. All his attacks were blocked with its claws, but they left nicks in them. The scorching spiritual weapon proved more than enough to hurt it from its first successful cut drawing a black line cutting into its brackish green flesh and creating openings for Take and Akiri to exploit.
The Kappa retreated and blocked Take's attacks with its claws while using its bulk to tank Akiri's attacks on his armoured back. However, Akiri was the faster and kept slipping past its guard, causing multiple small scratches. However, the visible bone on its arm withstood all of Akiri's attacks, and the kappa kept his guard raised against Take.
However, it barely spent any attention on Sly as he stayed at the edge of his weapon's reach. Sly threw the Kappa off-balance by finally taking an extra step in to land a direct strike that used the full length of Kogitsune-Maru's blade to bite into its guard, chipping the bone and boiling the blood flowing from the wound. The kappa violently countered with a vicious claw against the closest target, which happened to be Akiri. The claw pierced his front leg leaving a gash with small purple veins all around it.
Despite the pain, Akiri struck back, giving Take the window to punish it in the next moment with another direct attack against the bone of its right arm. This game continued for a few more seconds until they got closer to the river. Without breaking their conflict, it garbled again. "I am the River! - Water Kingdom!" A large tsunami of water swept at them, forcing them to retreat, but instead of crashing against the walkway as the previous did, it revolved around the Kappa, creating a layer of water.
From within the Kappa slashed at them with its claws throwing out jets of water and rubble at them, all infused with its mana. This forced them on the defensive. Akiri and Sly retreating in the face of such a numerous assault. Only Take stood his ground and even forced his way closer with a glint in his eyes!
With each step he dodged another water jet always barely moving from his position. After around ten water jets the kappa threw larger and larger ones at Take growing increasingly desperate to keep the god at bay, but Take wouldn't be stopped by a mere spirit!
Reading its desperation Sly threw Kogitsune-Maru to Welf, while he helped Chigusa with his foxfire. She began shooting burning arrows in addition to using her technique Piasu Isshi. Few got past its water attacks, but those that did sank multiple centimeters into its flesh.
The moment it turned its attention to them a giant jet of water flew forth. Without any time to think he pushed Chigusa away and took the brunt of the attack. Sly skidded back to the edge of the illusion and the direct hit caved in his breastplate, bruising his entire torso. The pain wasn't even the worst. The malicious mana stuck to his own mana, infecting it, and flooding him with red-hot emotions. Pain, Fear, Terror, FURY, HATRED!
His emotions spiralled out of control, leaving him blinded by red flashes of anger, pain and confusion. Immediately, Sylphie saw how black lines webbed across his tails. She rushed over with her wind wires to pull him deeper into Akiri's illusion domain. The Kappa used this distraction to punch Akiri back and try to grapple Take.
It overextended.
Take merely narrowed his eyes down at the spirit, stepped back, and used the pommel of Futsu-no-Mitama to bludgeon the wrist of one of the clawed hands to knock the attack off balance. The Kappa's eyes widened as it looked up at the god before Take let one hand leave his sword and slam into the Kappa's cheek, sending it reeling back. That was when Take jumped over it, turned around, and jumped a second time. Grappling the Kappa before him in a vice in between his legs, Take somersaulted backwards. With a loud call of "Mikazuchi!" its armoured head crashed against the hard stone floor and created a large crack in the helmet.
Take vaulted himself back on his feet with both arms and immediately took a hard step in towards the incapacitated Kappa's direction to empower an overhead swing with another scream. "Amabureika!" (Armorbreaker) echoed out as his katana's black blade turned a bright yellow and crashed against the shell of the dazed Kappa creating a large crack.
The spirit wailed loudly, and another wave of water pushed Take away before the Kappa returned to its feet and threw jets of water at all of them. Welf could only smirk; he had waited for this and countered after rolling away from the first water jet. "Burn, dark magics - Will-o-Wisp!" A small purple serpent of fire flew towards the Kappa, wrapped around the jets of water, and incinerated them forcing a blast of steam to crash against it and break its magical barrage.
Despite that success, Chigusa was too slow to dodge the watery assault, only barely managing to call out. "Ventus Falcem!" Activating the wind runes on her bow, to soften the blow, but even that wasn't enough as the impact pushed through her wind and into her torso, breaking at least two of her ribs, before throwing her into the corrupted river.
Sylphie managed to keep both herself and Sly out of harm's way, but he was still lost in the negative emotions raging inside his head. At least until he heard the strangled scream of Chigusa. It pierced through his confusion, as his concern for his sister gave him a second of clarity. Ignoring all else he used that moment to see where she fell, out of Akiri's domain. A shot of adrenaline coursed through him in a moment of crisis, not for himself but for his sister.
The crisis was underlined by the resounding clang of a bell that echoed through the district over and over.
'How can I save Chigusa? I can't let these emotions run wild anymore I need to help her! Think kitsune think! This malicious mana has taken hold of almost a fourth of my mana. I no longer have control over it. How can I get rid of it in time to help sister? Wait, why would I need to take control over it? I can just expel all the infected mana in a single go! I only need perfect mana control for that, and my mana control is as close to perfect as it will get. I just need to isolate all the mana I do control as a buffer around the malicious mana and then I can use all of it in a single spell!'
With a plan of action set he forcibly stretched his tails to their limit, took hold of his entire mana capacity with his perfect magic control, and contained all the infected mana with a layer of uninfected mana. The sound of bell chimes intensified and with a scream, a 1m wide ball of white flames with a purple-black tint swept out of his tails towards the Kappa, and Sly turned to rush after Chigusa.
With the adrenaline still high he mumbled another chant in several seconds. "Hiding trickster, oh cunning fox spirit, refracting prism, by the father of the eight-legged horse, I command thee to affect the judgement of reality - ILLUSIO!"
The kitsune enveloped himself in his own illusion mana and kept ironclad control over it. Then he jumped after Chigusa into the corrupted river. Battling the malicious mana trying to infect his illusion, a new chorus of bell chimes echoed out from the river as Sly forded forward with determination, pure mana control, and the strength of his falna through the heavy mana-laden water.
His eyes twitched as he caught sight of Chigusa with a grimace. 'She has already started sinking! Damn, she must be unconscious!'
He dived and used his mana pressure to keep track of her while keeping his hold on his mana steady, but his illusion domain was getting smaller. A few agonising and panicked seconds passed as Sly grabbed hold of her and immediately kicked up to have both breach the surface. By now his illusion domain was almost entirely eaten away, barely covering him and Chigusa. A quick look around revealed the battle had stopped; only Roux still floated in the river.
With a shudder, he felt the corrupted mana pushing against his own, but so long as he kept his perfect control he could resist. With another strike of a bell, Sly forced the last vestige of his illusion to remain around Chigusa. Sly continued his efforts, using one of his tails to keep Chigusa afloat and the second to grab Roux. It took great effort to haul all three of them out of the river as well as the two very water-logged tails, but with Welf's assistance all four mortals made it to "shore" and both still conscious men sat panting.
Another grimace broke across Sly's face as he could feel his mana whittling down as he maintained his illusory domain to protect his friends. 'Please be quick Takemikazuchi-sama, Akiri-san, and Sylphie! I don't know how long I can hold on!'
"HEY!" Welf roared as he stood up grabbing Chigusa and Roux while nudging Sly's side with a foot. "WE'RE LEAVING NOW! UP SLY!"
Sly blinked looking up to Welf, but then nodded as he grabbed Kogitsune-Maru which Welf had dropped to help the three out of the river. Both raced off to escape the Kappa's domain.
Daedalus Streets - Freya POV
She could only narrow her eyes as she looked at the state of the district. The streets were quiet. The past couple of weeks an aura had taken hold of the district bringing a very sullen, and morose atmosphere. And now she knew why as she looked forward traversing at high speed.
Atop one of Ottar's shoulders, Freya rode forward to battle catching more eyes than she normally would, but today it wasn't due to her charm. Today the souls of the mortals who saw her were filled with awe and trepidation. It felt indescribable to let loose and travel in her own gear after so long.
Her armor glinted in a perpetually shining gold of spirit metal, held together by straps of spirit leather, form-fitting and tight. However, different from the measly amazons, it took great care to protect her entire figure while retaining her mobility.
A magic cape of firebird feathers adorned her back, and two firebird wings graced the tip of her helmet. In one hand, atop Ottar's shoulder, the golden spear Gungnir glittered with constantly shifting runes and on her opposite arm a spiritual shield glowing with runes Acatl once gifted her rested on her forearm.
Then a sudden loud bell chime echoed through the district, interrupting Freya's musing and causing her to blink. 'Limit off?' A grin curled across her face. 'Interesting, I wonder who is ringing?'
The thundering, running footfalls of Ottar heralded her coming as they progressed towards where Take-kun and his children were fighting. With her piercing gaze from atop Babel Freya knew the most direct route and directed Ottar to and fro with taps on the appropriate shoulder to provide directions.
As they approached the battlefield, Freya took a quick, assessing glance with her Discerning Eye at the surroundings; signs of battle scarred the riverbanks and the buildings nearby. Her vision was unimpeded as Orario was her domain.
A special splintered soul caught her eye once more. She'd noticed a while ago when it was broken, almost beyond repair. Now, it had started to heal. The color was shifting and uncertain, not telling what the final result would be like. However, one thing was certain; the strain of the Dungeon and adventurers was melding it into a new shape. Of the original 8 cracks, one had healed. The second crack showed signs of repair, but it wasn't there yet. But the strain was beautiful, a true display of art! Conversely, traces of purple lines also intruded into the cracks undermining the effort it had made.
She then noted the orange beige soul of the sister seemed to have a connection to the splintered soul; deep red lines representing tense emotions jetted out of the splintered soul to the sister's. On the other hand, Freya also noted that there were also purple lines connected to the splintered soul that pulsed with disgusting intent from their opponent's disgusting, wiggling purple soul. As the clang of a bell resounded once more, the splintered soul pursued the orange one into the river.
"Oh my, oh my. How fascinating!" An intrigued smile stretched across her beautiful lips before her gaze passed over the remaining souls of the battle.
The surrounding souls only shined brighter due to its absence. A soul she had noted previous seemed to have an even larger flame burning within like the heart of a forge while the always present spirits, one an unassuming black and the other a purple-green soul of chaotic energy tightly bound by unshakable wind chains, danced about the field as gold Take-kun took the fight to the malicious spirit.
A small frown distorts her otherwise perfect face. 'Now why would she place such a potentially dangerous spirit near her student? A test or future trial?' A faint grin curled at the corners of her lips.
The next moment divine tongue resounded throughout Orario once more before the spirits and Take left. However, that left behind the mortal souls in the spirit's territory. "My, what a blunder my Take-kun! Ottar, sweetie, would you be so good as to collect the adventurers Take brought with him? Bring them out of this territory. The bells will lead you to them."
Her eldest stopped in his tracks at the river for a second to look at her, a frown on his face. "Will you be alright Freya-sama? This spirit feels dangerous." She gave a gentle nod, wondering how long it had been since he worried about her. "It shall be done my Lady."
Without any further pause Freya dismounted Ottar, and her boar of war dashed forward following the bell chimes. It was time she joined Takemikazuchi. A huge grin appeared on her face, her soul singing in joy at the prospect of battle.
"Ouranos, I am entering the Second Layer to destroy the malicious spirit who dared to enter my domain!"
Just before Sly freed himself – First Layer, Daedalus River - Akiri POV
On the ground away from the Kappa, Akiri dodged its desperate magic attacks with narrowing eyes. 'This isn't going well; Shin has been incapacitated! I can't protect them all forever! We need to force this damned spirit back to the Second Layer!'
"Burn, dark magics - Will-o-Wisp!" Immediately the counterspell worked wonders, instantly breaking the Kappa's unrelenting assault before a scream pierced my ears. A giant purple fireball raced past me and into the spirit. 'Shin managed to free himself!'
With one worry lifted Akiri rushed at the Kappa, using his own illusion mana to suppress the stunned spirit. Welf at his side, Takemikazuchi took the chance to draw his blade anew. "Zekka!" His calm call was like a thunder strike, removing the Kappa's right arm.
The tide had turned; the Kappa immediately recognized this as its astonished eyes looked up at Take in terror. It completely disengaged its attack and dived into the river, but its presence disappeared mere seconds later as it fled into the Second Layer.
"We must pursue." Take said, his voice laden with ice. Without looking at Akiri he stuck his katana into the ground, looked up into the sky and called out in the divine tongue .
"Ouranos! The malicious Kappa has retreated into the Second Layer again! I request permission to pursue!"
"Permission granted!" An ancient voice reverberated through Orario.
Without any pause the god of war pursued; Take flexed out an open hand causing the hilt of his katana to shoot to his palm and he disappeared in a beam of golden light. A tingling feeling of arcanum shrouded the area, shocking Akiri to his core. 'To think Takemikazuchi has taken this so seriously! I couldn't understand his words! They must have been in the divine tongue, but to demand the use of arcanum! I better follow!'
He tried to find Sly to take him along, but Sly had left his domain. Akiri discovered him seconds later diving into the river. 'I don't have time to take him with us. I must help Takemikazuchi, but Shin needs help. Without protection, even with his control, the majority of his mana will be infected. It seems I'll have to resort to that!'
Sylphie looked at him worriedly, with only a few seconds before the shift into the Second Layer he reached out to the only remaining fighter. 'Welf-san! Take Sly and the others as far from this territory as you can! He won't resist the corrupted mana for long! I'll help him once we kill the Kappa!'
This got the attention of Welf, and he ran towards the river, leaving his severely damaged greatsword behind and only taking Kogistune-Maru with him. Sylphie on the other hand looked at him in shock. She understood his intentions immediately.
The next moment the world around them shifted. They were now in the inner sanctum of the Kappa's territory, the entirety of the river, and the surroundings reflected that. All the malicious mana was concentrated here and was seeping from the Second Layer into the first. The streets were run down and flooded with purple water. Purple malicious mana rose over the streets, discarded toys floated in the streets next to rubbish, the buildings were crumbling, and mildew had taken hold of any leftover wood or cloth.
This visage was disgusting to his senses; it was a blight on the Second Layer! It would not be standing much longer if Akiri had anything to say about that. He instantly commanded the Second Layer; it was his home just as much as the Kappa's! 'Hiding kogitsune, by the cunning kitsune, guiding light, benign caress, mystic presence, as thou holy messenger, I affect the judgment of reality! - Illusio!'
With his spell complete, his mana pressure pushed back the disgusting malicious mana. It stretched 90 m in all directions and held steady. Even if this was the kappa's territory, it had angered a god and left itself vulnerable to retribution and this disregarded the fact that he was far older! Finally, he could use all his might. 'This measly Kappa dared to injure Shin! You never should have taken this battle here!'
While he and Sylphie were still adjusting to the Second Layer, Take was taking the fight to the kappa. Here, the blade showed the true majesty of a spiritual weapon. Futsu-no-Mitami's normally black blade had continued to take on a redder sheen. Now, however, a bright yellow aura seemed to enchant the edge of the blade. Using this katana, Take absorbed the malicious mana with every cut, purified it and channeled it into his body, strengthening him. It was even clearly visible!
Sickly, dark purple mana was torn, absorbed into the edge with a yellow flash, and ejected out of the katana's hilt as yellow energy that crawled up Take's arms forming bits of Far Eastern armor with each ejection. By this point, full gauntlets and pauldrons had formed from the mana he absorbed thus far.
The battle had started with the Kappa blocking all his slashes with its higher defense, but if it didn't change its tactics an inevitable defeat was in its future. This loop would strengthen Take's mortal body until not even its shell could protect it!
The Kappa knew this and sought distance from the very start. It pushed against Akiri's illusion with its own mana, starting a struggle for dominance between them, as it warbled a spell. "I am the River! Accursed land-dwellers polluting my essence, your feigned ignorance brings more blood into my veins! Sacrifice so that my kingdom may rise! - Water Kingdom!"
The entire domain shook, watery soldiers, walls, castles adorned with palisades rose around the Kappa and Take, and another around Akiri's illusion separating them. Atop these walls cursed archers firing flowing arrows of water at Akiri and Sylphie.
Sylphie used his domain's protection to chant her own magic. "I am the wind that binds - Fujin! I am the wind that binds - Fujin! I am the wind that binds - Fujin! …
Without the limitation of her small reserve, she continuously summoned wind wires. In the First Layer she could at most keep 10 active, but in the Second Layer she could summon 20 wires of wind thick as an arm and they were far denser as well. The difference in strength was dramatic!
Out of her twenty wires she combined three wires into one with a razorsharp edged whip to cut down the watery soldiers and five more condensed into a wind net so she could block water arrows flying their way.
Akiri saw all this. 'It isn't enough yet. If we can't get past the walls the Kappa builds, it will escape again. My second spell needs to turn the tide!'
He closed his eyes in concentration, picturing his fellow messengers and the guardians of their home. "I am the holy messenger, one of the eternal shadows, my duty is my life, like those before me. A foreign trespasser obstructs my way, my loyal guardians stand by my side and overcome this trial! - Shinseina Komainu!"
Every word resonated in the Second Layer, calling something from beyond the territory. They rose from the shadows of his illusion; 10 midnight black guardian foxes with glowing white eyes. With a mental command they rushed the water walls around him.
They were as fast and strong as Akiri, but required his direct control. He was the puppeteer of this force. Within his illusion domain Akiri sensed everything and could guide their every action. Their mana density was also far higher than his illusion, which made resisting the malicious mana of the Kappa's spells child's play.
5 guardians climbed the wall keeping them from Take, while the others kept the soldiers at bay. The archers continued firing, and were dispersed once the shadows reached them.
Without archers Sylphie began spinning her wind wires. Adding one after another with her hands, until she manipulated a total of ten. "Leave this palisade to me!"
With a heave Sylphie threw the rapidly spinning wind wires. Once they left her hands their rotation speed accelerated as they fused before a tornado of wind grew to a staggering height of 50 meters.
This pulled in all the water soldiers and archers, which only increased its size, before it crashed against the palisade. It crumbled after enduring 10 seconds of the ferocious magic attack and continued forward to crash against a second palisade at the edge of the real battlefield.
Sylphie was breathing rapidly but beaming at the kogitsune. "Impressive…, right?"
Akiri would need to reevaluate her potential, she hadn't shown such adaptability in the Dungeon before. "Well done Sylphie! Now, to deal with the Kappa once and for all."
Both spirits spearheaded a rush with shadow guardians at their flanks towards the battle ahead. While they destroyed the first wall, Take fought more water soldiers in the second fortress, absorbing their mana with his blade one after another pursuing the Kappa who erected a wall of water between them. Which Take absorbed with a leap and a cry of. "Kokuu!"
The wall split clean in half while his blade absorbed the mana, further empowered him. At this point Take's arms, chest, and legs were adorned with an armor resembling the gusoku style and the god himself seemed to give off a bright white aura. He was then swarmed by countless water soldiers, but none could match his skill and technique; they all fell with a single well aimed strike.
Take avoided the arrows by advancing in a zig-zagging pattern between the soldiers and only had to deviate from this when the Kappa's own water blasts needed to be avoided. It had retreated onto a 20m tall fort in the middle of the arena where it fired highly pressurized water blasts. Those Take avoided, as even a slight mistake could pass through his guard and not be absorbed. It happened in the first battle, and he had learned his lesson.
His approach was further slowed by the barrage of normal water arrows numbering in the dozens every few seconds. Take was forced to use Sorasu to deflect the incoming attacks, but with his spiritual sword this only fueled his strength.
During the momentary standstill, a golden beam of light descended from the sky, landing 10 m to his side. The beam was broken by a single golden spear as it pierced the closest water soldier and jumping after her spear was none other than the Queen of Valkyries, in all her armored glory. With a grin Freya regarded Take, "Take-kun looks like you're in quite the predicament."
Takemikazuchi continued absorbing further attacks, only giving his fellow god the barest of attention, as did she. "Freya, how unexpected for you to bother yourself with such a lowly spirit."
Freya weaves between the soldiers and water projectiles with the grace of a dance master as each step brings her closer to Take. Immediately she throws Gungnir with one step and dodges around an attack with another step, only for it to return to her hand right after. This destroys at least one water construct on both sides every time she executes the maneuver. "This is my domain after all Take-kun, and you know I take good care of what is mine."
A particularly vicious pressurized water blast forces Freya to use her shield. The golden shield absorbs the magical attack and purifies it, giving the runes a blue glow. With a joyful laugh, Freya fights her way to his side until they are back-to-back with her playfully leaning against Take more than she needs to.
This begins forcing Take to keep pace with her momentum. "You never knew when somebody actually needed help. Always barging into conflicts that could have been resolved on their own!"
With precise steps and pressure against Take's back, Freya forces him to twirl with her in a lethal circle of spear and blade and her grin grows. With single motion Freya thrusts her shield forward against one of the soldier's attacks and finally releases the pent-up magic in her shield. A water blast rockets forth and tears an opening in the formation of the oncoming soldiers in a 50m cone of raging water. "Still playing hard to get Take-kun? What matters is that I resolved them. Now let's join up with your spirits and put an end to this menace!"
Her words were punctuated by the crash of a tornado, before a large wind net extended above the two gods and provided cover from the barrage of arrows. This was followed by Akiri's guardians rushing into their clearing and scaling the walls to take out the archers. Akiri himself only needed a moment to adapt to Freya's presence and grouped up alongside them. His forces and mana domain pushed towards the central tower and he ignored the burning feeling every time he attacked the malicious water soldiers.
Regardless, they fought their way to the water fort. At its base Take stabbed his katana into the magic construct and began absorbing it. Freya spearheaded a defensive perimeter around Take, together with Akiri, Sylphie, and the 10 guardians; warding off any attacks from the Kappa or its soldiers during this process which took his undivided attention. Uninterrupted, Take caused the dark purple magic to dissipate within only 60 seconds and the entire fort collapsed.
The Kappa fell to the watery ground and Sylphie used 5 more of her wind wires to capture it in a wind net. Freya threw Gungnir, piercing its one leftover arm to the ground. It began struggling wildly, but once it caught sight of Take getting closer, it summoned everything it had and unleashed a guttural croak. In an instant, the malicious water it used for its spell and its surrounding domain coalesced into a series of tidal waves to blast the god and two spirits away.
Akiri's illusion domain held fast for a few seconds, but the corrupted water below their feet also rose to the Kappa's aid. With every moment, more of the water soldiers and waves laced with malicious mana push against him, while also slowing the approach of Takemikazuchi and Freya, who had recalled Gungnir.
Take could only scowl as he began to be pushed back by countless waves that covered the skill disparity of the soldiers well. However, Take's gaze could see the battle was not entirely turning against them. This was a last desperate attempt for escape, but Sylphie was preventing that end. After a moment he catches himself and smiles as his Futsu-no-Mitami absorbs more and more mana, feeding his momentum. With Freya at his back taking out all that got close to them, be they soldiers or projectiles, he closed the gap between him and the Kappa to only 20m.
As the pressure on Akiri increases, his domain begins to shrink. The Kappa isn't fighting purely with its own mana, but also with the mana capacity of its entire territory to overwhelm him. Only 15 m separate Take from the Kappa.
Akiri's domain shrinks until it is only 30m wide. All his kumainu circle around him using their mana to strengthen the illusion domain. Sylphie has long since taken to flying above the chaos and focusing on her magic to maintain the integrity of the wind net, keeping the Kappa in place. Take had advanced another 5m towards the struggling Kappa.
With his domain shrinking to 10m his kumainu dispersed one after another. The malicious mana had infected his own and the toll was becoming apparent. Out of the corner of her eyes, Sylphie noticed that Akiri was beginning to falter. "Akiri! You need to hold on!" Take is 5 m away.
As Akiri's domain continues to shrink, his emotions grow more volatile, his selfishness is the loudest. 'You aren't using all you have. Hasn't the kit given you access to his mana? No! I have promised not to abuse his trust!' Take is 3 m away.
His domain only spans 5 meters. His desperation grew, and the urge for survival screamed at him to do something. 'Only a little is enough! Just take it!' Take is 2 m away.
The next moment a large chunk of his mana gets infected, and his selfishness and desperation overpower his reason. Without pause he uses the connection he has to Sly to drain half of the kitsune's remaining mana to strengthen his illusion. Take is 1 m away.
Visible purple marks appear on his tails, but his domain remains stable at 5 meters. However, he continues to take mana from Sly, he can't stop!
By now Futsu-no-Mitami is glowing a blinding white, and Take looms over the Kappa. Takemikazuchi raises his blade with a steady, cold gaze fixed upon the malicious spirit. "Amabureika!" (Armorbreaker) The jet-black katana has turned pure white as it crashes against the Kappa's helmet, cleaves it clean in half, and continues all the way through. With a loud BOOM a large crater forms as the Kappa parts in half and water rushes into the crater at Take's feet.
The mana shock wave together with the death of its master cleanses the territory of the Kappa rapidly like a cleansing ripple on a pond's surface. The effect is not restricted to the Second Layer as the lake below their feet returns to a deep blue color and the mana rids itself of its corruption. No, instead it continues to the First Layer where the previously dirty river is cleansed and all the people in the Daedalus District feel as if a heavy fog over their minds is lifted and replaced with satisfaction, as if they just achieved something monumental.
Daedalus District - Welf POV
Rushing through the winding streets of Daedalus, Welf is the only functional member left. Sly is out of it, barely keeping his illusion intact, and merely following his lead, Chigusa is in arms bridal style, and Roux is resting over Welf's shoulders. They had no time to be gentle and it isn't like they could complain.
The clang of bells still resonated around them, but it grew quieter every ring. Whatever it was that gave Sly the boost he needed was unfortunately growing weaker with every further ring and the illusion around them was fading as well.
"Come on, keep it together Sly! We're almost there!" Welf called out, as the corrupted mana around them lessened slightly. This coincided with a quake of the ground, then a second, a third, and soon they stumbled to a stop.
Welf felt like an earthquake was encroaching on them from behind and looked back to see a figure breaking through one of the buildings they just ran around. The wall crumbled and the biggest adventurer he'd ever seen continued his sprint, appearing next to them before his brain could even register it.
The adventurer immediately scooped Sly and Chigusa under his left arm and placed Welf and Roux up under his right. "What do you think you're doing?!" Welf yelled.
Then Welf got his first clear look at the adventurer. He was a 2.1m tall very, very muscular boaz with two enormous greatswords strapped to his back. The realization had Welf gapping. 'What the hell?! What is the King doing here?!'
Ottar spoke calmly. "My lady came to exterminate the spirit. She tasked me to evacuate you." Without any further warning Ottar launched into a full-blown sprint. Wind immediately blasted into Welf's face at the sheer speed they were going. Not a moment later Sly's illusion broke from an Ignis Fatuus. Blood trickled from his lips as he barely maintained consciousness. Welf's narrowed his eyes trying to maintain vision against the wind as the side of a building quickly approached them. Welf shouted, "HEY LOOK OUT!"
Suddenly the world around Welf disappeared as he felt they were all rocketed into the air over the building and could look down upon a part of the district. Daedalus rushed past his eyes at a blinding speed, his ears almost popped as a loud boom assaulted them. Welf's eyes widened at the sheer distance of the King's leap as they landed outside Daedalus Street on the roof of one of Orario's buildings on main streets to Babel.
Ottar deposited the three adventurers on the ground and carefully laid Roux down. Welf was the only one who had enough strength to stand a bit shakily. Immediately, Ottar took out a high-potion and used it to treat Chigusa, whose armor was in pieces after his sprint and leap, before observing Sly, as the purple lines spider-webbed across more than half of his tails with a startled gasp from the very much visible two-tailed kitsune. Welf rushed to Sly's side as he began to convulse. Welf used one hand to keep his tails from hitting Chigusa and Roux, and the other gripped his arm to steady him.
The force behind the tails and the vice grip Sly had on his arm was painful. "Sly can you hear me?"
Sly's eyes opened with startling anger. His grip on Welf's arm tightened and he snarled. "Where the hell are you Akiri to take my mana without my permission!?"
With his two tails Sly broke out of Welf's grip and pushed him off. He immediately stood up and looked around, only noticing Ottar now. "What are you doing to sister! Get away from her!"
This reaction went beyond Welf's expectations, fortunately, Kogitsune-Maru was in his hand, and firmly out of Sly's when he jumped at Ottar.
The giant of a man lifted one hand and caught Sly by his caved-in breastplate, ignoring his attempts to claw at his arm. "You took the brunt of the corrupted mana on yourself with your spell during Limit Off. Without its boost, you are not thinking clearly. Expel it! Now!"
Welf was spurred into action at Ottar's words. He couldn't interfere directly but prepared his magic. He remembered Sylphie's warning, Sly couldn't expel the corrupted mana like mortals could.
No moment too soon, as Sly smiled mockingly at Ottar. "If you want my magic, you'll get it! FOXFIRE!"
Deep purple mana gathered above each of Sly's tails, but before they could fully form Welf countered with Will-o-Wisp. His fiery serpent caused the spell to implode and stopped Sly from using his mana. "Ottar-san, he mustn't expel his magic, it would only corrupt him further."
Sly was only fighting more ferociously against the immovable hold Ottar had on him, now failing to muster his magic. As Ottar finally looked at the multiple tails. "So that's the case. Smith, how would you treat him?"
Ottar's gaze was piercing, but calm. Welf took a deep breath and recounted the warning Sylphie had given them, before entering the territory and how Sly managed to expel it during the battle. Sly would be furious at him, but he'd rather have a furious friend than a corrupted one.
"Take control of his mana? Not likely in his state…" However, Ottar's musing were cut short as a gentle breeze of mana washed over them originating from the Kappa's territory.
"Freya-sama claimed victory."
With the calming wave of mana, Sly finally gave up his resistance. A few seconds later a single tear dropped from his eye, before the corruption drained from his tails, and a small brush of mana returned to him as he finally fell unconscious.
Ottar placed him down, next to Chigusa. "My task is complete." Ottar turned back to the Daedalus Streets ready to leave, but Welf quickly asked one more question. "Wait Ottar-san. What was that about Limit Off? What did Sly do?"
An almost fond gleam appeared in the boaz's eyes, as he left his parting words. "He had an adventure. His will to protect you enabled him to break past his limits long enough to escape."
2nd Layer - Akiri POV
The death of the Kappa finally freed Akiri from the burden of the malicious mana, but almost twenty percent of his mana was infected in the last struggle, and his intent to feed on Sly's mana remains. Sylphie shakes his shoulders and even punches his muzzle. "Stop Akiri, you are taking too much!" But he can't stop! Such wonderful power and such potential lies in the mana of the kit, if he takes all of it he might even ascend to tier 4! He might even get closer to her!
Take steps in front of Akiri and levels the same steely gaze he held for the entire battle upon the malicious spirit. "Control yourself! Cease your feeding or I shall rend another spirit from existence today! How are you to teach Sly, if you can't even save yourself?"
Their words barely meet his ears, but trigger a memory. An old promise, an oath he couldn't break. With a slight stumble he stopped. Sly had less than a fifth of his mana left, and he still needed to do something more. 'What would Sadao think if he saw this? I promised to look after him but took far too much mana! Worse, almost all his remaining mana is infected! I need to act before it's too late; I need to do better. As he would have wished…'
Freya observed this interaction at a respectful distance. Only using her senses to observe the change in the little spirit's soul. From the edge of its soul purple veins of corruption dug their way towards the center, only for the white lines of a powerful oath to grow out of the center of its soul to halt the crawl of the purple lines at the halfway point. This kept a precarious balance between the spirit's nature and its corruption.
In the back of Akiri's mind he knows of this balance but acts despite it. He deserved this. 'I should have been more careful. My overconfidence got me here. I will take in all the corrupted mana from Sly and end the contract we made.'
Without any further delay, Akiri latched onto the tether between him and Sly and once more forcibly connected them. He used the tether to tell Sly. 'I am sorry Sly; I took too much. Sadao, would be disappointed in me. I am not worthy of being your guide. I will take in all the corrupted mana that has infected you.' Without waiting for an answer, he took in all the remaining corrupted mana Sly had before releasing the tenth Sly had used to make their connection. 'Always remember that Spiritual Axioms can be outsmarted.'
Taking corrupted mana from somebody else was very painful, like willingly injecting lava into his blood, but he deserved it. In the end, almost 30 percent of his mana was infected. With a solemn look, he returned his focus to those around him. 'Thank you for your help Takemikazuchi-sama, Sylphie. It will take me a long time to get rid of this corruption…'
He turned around to leave. He wasn't needed anymore. He had almost broken his oath. However, Sylphie didn't accept that. "Where do you think you're going Akiri! Do you think because you made a mistake Sly will want you to leave? Or that you don't matter without magic? You just saved my butt! Even if I have to drag you along, I guarantee you will return!"
Startled, his tails stood tensely rigid. 'But my actions could have turned Shin into a malicious spirit! How can you simply ignore that? How can I act as if nothing happened!?'
Sylphie wanted to retort but Take beat her to it. "There is no reason to ask what ifs. You made a mistake Akiri, and even I make mistakes. I underestimated how vast the territory of this Kappa was. The important thing isn't what mistakes we make, but what we learn from them. You are still welcome."
He was beyond words. Every contract he had before this always ended if he made a mistake. Messengers are ultimately replaceable. Gods do not pay attention to them and use them however they see fit and even older spirits see them as lesser. Even his last mistress rather saw him gone than at her side. 'I have no words… Thank you Takemikazuchi-sama, I will help for as long as I can. I will answer calls, but I need to rest in the Second Layer while I recover and won't be able to use any magic until I have overcome this corruption.'
Author's Note
As mentioned in the last chapter the title of this chapter changed a few times as Freya wasn't even a part of the first draft. When we introduced her I even wanted to make the title something silly like "So you have chosen Death" or "Courting Death", as the malicious spirit fought not one but two gods of war at the same time.