Notes: Pride cometh before a fall.

Chapter 12

12 Years Ago

"Suguru, I was thinking…" Satoru trailed off. The two had just begun their hard ride south to get to the Star Plasma Vessel's location.

"Well that's a first," the necromancer quipped back at his friend.

Surprisingly, Satoru did not rise to the bait the way he usually would. "What if the Vessel doesn't want to assimilate? It's basically death, right? Should we call the whole thing off?"

Suguru's eyebrows rose high at the suggestion. "You think that's a good idea? I mean, sure it sucks for her and all, but the barrier is basically the most important thing in the world. We might have to fight Lady Tengen, and if the barrier falls, even Sukuna!"

"You scared?" Satoru asked, glancing at his friend from behind his dark spectacles. "Don't worry! We should be fine. We're the strongest."

xXxXx

"I see," Kuroi said. She, Riko, and their two bodyguards sat in the main room of the inn. They were eating a hearty dinner after their long travels, and Satoru had just finished telling them about the bounty he had seen between buildings in the town.

Riko looked more put out than fearful. "I just wish… I had time to do a few more things first," she admitted.

Suguru looked at her sadly. Seeing both the Vessel and his best friend's reactions, Satoru felt contemplative. "Maybe we can. We'll just have to be strategic about it. Suguru, where's that map?"

The necromancer unfurled it on the table.

"It will take us two days at a moderate pace to reach Tengen's barrier, but we're already a day ahead of schedule due to our rush here to get Kuroi," Satoru said, tracing the lines between Osuna and the barrier location. "Instead of taking two days to reach it, we can take three and hit up some good spots along the way."

Riko looked a bit happier at the news. Suguru looked slightly worried, and Kuroi looked even more worried. "What about the bounty?" she asked. "Won't it be a continual issue?"

"It will be annoying for sure, but as long as Suguru and I keep our guards up, there's no way any rogue mage or assassin could get past us," Satoru assured her.

The caretaker did not seem entirely convinced, but Riko's enthusiasm won her over to the plan. That night, Satoru did not sleep a wink and did not spot any threats with his Six Eyes. The next day, they reached the coast in the afternoon and stopped at a pristine beach. He still felt plenty energized, despite running his magic constantly to scan for threats and splashed in the water with Riko while Suguru and Kuroi relaxed on the beach.

That night, while the three of them slept under the stars, he once again remained awake. The only threats that approached were a few weak mages, devils and demons, easily dispatched by him. Maybe he should get some shut-eye. His eyes flickered closed and then opened again.

Suguru shook him. "I can take over for a bit," he whispered so as not to wake the two females.

"Thanks," Satoru said gratefully. He lay down but found sleep elusive despite his exhaustion. He probably only got an hour or two before the sun rose and with it the rest of their party.

Another easy day of riding left them near some famous hot springs in the evening. "Ah, I needed this," Satoru sighed as he and Suguru relaxed in one pool. Kuroi and Riko were nearby preparing to enter one hidden from view of the men by some rocks.

"Don't either of you dare look!" the Star Plasma Vessel demanded as she tiptoed over and slipped into the other spring.

Satoru scoffed. "As if I'd want to turn around and see your scrawny a-"

Suguru shoved his head underwater and the white-haired mage spluttered before coming back up and attempting some revenge by dunking his friend. From the sound of it, some splashing was also going on in the other spring as well.

Refreshed and relaxed, the four ate dinner at an inn nearby and booked rooms there as well. Two for the sake of propriety, though Satoru and Suguru ended up keeping watch on the floor of the women's room for the more important sake of safety. Though Suguru urged him to sleep, Satoru insisted he stay up. The Six Eyes could catch any threat, unlike any guards Suguru could post with his technique. He could sense if they were killed but not see what they saw. Plus it would be good for at least one of them to have good rest instead of both sleeping half nights, he decided. Suguru had argued at first but ultimately acquiesced.

As the sun rose on their third day on the road, they made good time toward the barrier.

"Oh look, a shrine!" Riko exclaimed, pointing ahead of them.

"I think that's the entrance to Tengen's barrier," Suguru said. "The shrine is a war memorial of sorts to honor those who died sealing Sukuna and establishing the new regime. Want to stop at it before we enter the barrier?"

Riko was starting to look put out again. Her fate was now well and truly hanging over her. "Yes, we should," she stated with determination.

When the group reached the shrine, she was the first to dismount and ascend the stone steps to the shrine. The red paint of the shrine was well-maintained, and all the roof tiles were in order as well. A weathered rock stood in the middle of the shrine. Despite being covered by the roof and walls on three sides, it was so worn by the elements and time that if anything had once been carved into it, it was now long worn away.

Satoru ran a hand over the stone, but even his touch and Six Eyes could not decipher what was on it. A list of names of the fallen? A composition of the bravery of the survivors, or the heroism of the sealers? An ode to the new regime of a united Nara kingdom?

Suguru approached and bowed deeply before the stone. Riko and Kuroi approached and followed his lead. Satoru alone had not bowed before the memorial. As the three spoke quietly (or were they praying?), he walked to one end of the raised stone brick platform the shrine was built on. A lifesize statue stood there, nearly as tall as he himself was. He knew it to be the likeness of Sugawara no Michizane. The man wore a formal kimono and hakama, the folds of the clothing intricately carved into the stone. He held a staff aloft, one end pointing toward the other side of the platform.

Turning to follow the gesture, he saw a far more fearsome statue on the other end. It was taller than Satoru by nearly another half of his height, a truly looming presence. The top of the white-haired mage's head barely reached the middle of its chest. Two of the statue's four arms were held out in front, hands clasped in what looked to be a seal for magic of some sort. The other two arms each held a weapon. A trident in one hand and a more dagger-like weapon with an oddly shaped hilt in the other. The face of the statue was worn, but the side which appeared better preserved clearly showed two left eyes, one smaller eye slightly below the main one.

So this was the depiction of Ryomen Sukuna. He looked half human, half devil to Satoru. None of the texts he had read dared to depict the great foe of humanity in picture form, and their textual descriptions of him varied from source to source. Satoru wondered if this statue could be considered wholly accurate.

His ponderings were interrupted by Suguru's hand on his shoulder. "We're ready to go." The necromancer took a long look at the statue and shuddered. "You think he really looked like that?"

Satoru shrugged, turning back toward the shrine. The path forward lay past it, and they would be unable to take the horses. Tengen would have adjusted the external barrier just past the shrine to only allow them and Riko. Even Kuroi would have to part here with them. "Who knows?"

"Lady Tengen might," Suguru replied smartly.

While the female mage had held the barrier created with the help of many others for eight centuries, it was the only thing written of her in the histories. It was possible she had only entered the battlefield after the dark god had been weakened significantly, in order to keep her own magic high enough to support the initial creation of the barrier.

Kuroi and Riko both wept as they said their goodbyes. Satoru slouched, just wanting them to get past the barrier finally so he could release his magic and rest his tired eyes. They were dry and burning from lack of sleep and his head ached from the strain of constantly utilizing his ocular birthright to its max.

Finally, the two parted from their embrace, clinging to each other's arms for just a minute longer. Riko walked solemnly over and stood between Suguru and Satoru, taking a deep breath. "I'm ready."

Satoru could feel the air shift as they passed through the barrier. It felt somehow thicker and heavier. Even with that ominous feeling hanging over their small group, he sighed with relief and deactivated his magic. The area they entered seemed to be an outlying shrine area. There were small outbuildings scattered around the stone brick platform area. No weeds or moss grew on or between the stones. It was all very well maintained.

"Satoru, thanks for all your hard work," Suguru complimented.

"Finally, no more babysitting," was all he said in reply, releasing his magic and taking in the full unsettling feeling of the place - no longer separated from it by Infinity's thin barrier.

"What?!" Riko shrieked from beside him. She crossed her arms and pouted. "I thought you were having fun."

Sharp pain flooded through Satoru, pain as he had never felt before in his life. The childhood beatings he had taken for disobedience before learning how to activate Infinity had been nothing compared to the hot iron burning inside his chest right now. Infinity activated by pure instinct, and he protected himself from further internal damage, looking down in disbelief to see an everyday katana piercing through his chest, just below his heart and lungs.

Riko and Suguru both gasped and the former took steps backward in shock. It was impossible. The three of them were inside Tengen's barrier, only those she willed in and out could pass - them and her acolytes and other pre-registered guests.

Now that he had protected himself from further injury, Satoru turned his head, sweat trickling down his face from the pain. A muscular, dark-haired, green-eyed man with a scar through one side of his mouth was crouched behind him, still holding the katana embedded in his flesh.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" he asked. His Six Eyes were good. If he had seen this man, it had been long ago, before he had mastered them to the extent he had now.

"Don't sweat it," the man replied. "I'm not one to remember some guy's name either."

Suguru acted, a rip in space opening and a large, toothy worm demon emerging to swallow the man whole. "Satoru!" he shouted as he took several steps toward his injured friend, concern lacing through his exclamation.

Satoru reached back and drew the sword out of himself, dropping it to the ground. It was coated bright red with his blood, but the wound in his chest was not bleeding. He held out a hand to stop Suguru's approach. "I'm fine," he insisted. "I reinforced myself as soon as the blade struck to make sure it didn't do further damage. The initial strike missed my vital organs. Really, I'm good."

Suguru wasn't looking convinced, so Satoru added another argument, as the worm demon lay on the ground near them digesting its food. "Amanai is the priority. I'll take care of this. Get to Lady Tengen as quickly as you can."

Reluctantly, Suguru moved protectively toward Riko. "Don't let your guard down," he insisted.

Satoru removed his dark spectacles and shoved them into an inner pocket in his haori. "Who do you think you're talking to?" he replied with a smile.

As Suguru and Amanai retreated further into the barrier toward Tengen's inner sanctuary and the inner barrier trapping Sukuna, the spurting of blood and ripping of flesh sounded from the undead worm demon. The tip of a sword protruded from its gut, and soon the assassin - for that was what he must be, Satoru thought - stood. The sword he held now gave off the clear aura of a magically imbued tool, unlike the magicless one Satoru had been stabbed with prior. There was also an ugly-looking worm creature wrapping itself around the dark-haired man.

"Where'd the Star Plasma Vessel go?" he asked, steam rising from his dark fitted shirt and loose-fitting pants as the demon behind him disintegrated in undeath. "I was hoping to finish you off with that strike. Hope I haven't lost my edge."

As the assassin finished speaking, a surge of Blue from Satoru whizzed through the top of the torii he had been standing on. "Is that right?" Satoru asked with a grimace.

Spinning around, he saw the assassin now standing on a small outbuilding behind him. He's not just fast. I knew there was something weird about this guy. He has no aura of mana at all. It's all innate physical prowess. I can't use the Six Eyes to read his moves like I could with a normal human.

The assassin shoved his sword back into the worm creature wrapped around him and removed a different one; one that shone with a pure white light. Whatever it was, it was very powerful. Satoru deduced he must have some sort of master-servant bond with the magical creature, to allow him to use it as a bag of holding for his various weapons. The assassin moved in quickly but took Satoru's next blast of Blue head-on, flying through one of the nearby outbuildings.

He knows about my magic. That's why he lays low. He has to have a plan, and I'm betting it involves the magic weapon he just took out. "Is that your secret weapon? Too bad you can't get close enough to use it," he taunted, only to realize as the dust settled that the man was not in the building he had just been thrown through.

Satoru debated if he should try to rely on instinct, since he would be unable to sense any mana. Then he remembered that a magical creature was wrapped around him. Though it wasn't very strong, it would give off a faint aura where the man would not.

The plan was a failure from the start. Six Eyes straining, he couldn't follow the mana signature of the creature due to the high speed it was moving at. Satoru wondered how he could possibly be so fast. He let out a breath. "Got no choice." Forming the seals needed to strengthen his magic, he created Blue at its maximum output and unceremoniously blasted the orb of convergence through all the buildings surrounding him, destroying them and giving the man nowhere to hide. Now he could see around the entire paved courtyard, though Blue had left a large channel in the ground circling around him.

Movement from the forest caught his eye. A dark cloud, low to the ground, was moving toward him. It was an insect swarm. The tiny dots of mana each of the insects contained speckled across the sky, obscuring everything. They must have been stored inside the creature just like the weapons were. The assassin was using them to block Satoru's vision. No sweat, he could use Blue again to clear his view. But the assassin's real target was Amanai.

That realization had him spinning to run toward the interior barrier when he sensed it: the magic tool the man had pulled out earlier, which had glowed with pure white mana. The dark-haired assassin was already right behind him. Satoru's Six Eyes could perceive the threat, but his body could not move to dodge in time, even if the man hadn't had such a level of preternatural speed.

It was as if the world itself had slowed. The Six Eyes took in every detail of the weapon - a dagger with a symbol carved into the base of the blade, middle prong twice as long as the shorter one jutting out from one side. The opposite side was a ragged rent, as though there had been a third prong which had been broken off at some point in the past. The white-haired mage strengthened his Infinity to the max - it would ward off the blade, no matter how powerful the magic it possessed was.

It didn't.

The blade met his throat, middle prong piercing it through. Blood poured from the wound. If Satoru had thought the earlier stab to the gut had hurt, this one was far worse. Something vital had been severed. Satoru tried and failed to activate Limitless to close off the wound, eyes wide in shock, panic, and pain. The blade was somehow preventing him from using magic.

Arms trembling, Satoru's hands grabbed onto the base of the blade, deep cuts forming on his hands as he struggled to remove the blade from his throat. The dagger did not budge an inch - the assassin's grip was too strong.

Finally, the man ripped the blade free of Satoru's throat. His mauled throat attempted to gasp for air, but he only weakly spluttered blood from his mouth. Before he could draw even half a breath, the blade was plunging into him again, slightly lower this time. Then it was ripping down his body from collarbone to hip. Blood sprayed. The pain was so intense he couldn't even fathom it. The thought of trying to activate Infinity slipped from his grasp. All he could do now was try it. Try to grasp the high-level healing spell that had always eluded him the same as Red had.

The dagger pulled free of his abdomen again, but the assassin wasn't done. It plunged into his leg now. Once, twice, three times. Satoru was falling now, face-first toward the assassin, legs no longer able to support his mangled body. He couldn't breathe, could hardly think besides heal, heal, heal. Before his head hit the ground, a different dagger stabbed his skull, just barely breaking through the bone. It hadn't quite entered his brain, though by that point Satoru wasn't able to process much.

He lay on the ground, unable to so much as twitch a finger, blood slowly spreading out around him in a pool from his many deep wounds. Heal, heal, heal, was the only thing he could think. His brain was fuzzing over - vision long since grayed out when the Six Eyes had been affected by the dagger's power.

Over the buzzing of agony throughout his body, his ears picked up a splatter of blood. The assassin had flicked Satoru's blood off the weapon with a sharp gesture, and his footsteps were sounding away, further into the barrier, toward Suguru and Riko. "Yeah, I haven't lost it," the dying young man heard him say as he strode after his real target - the Star Plasma Vessel.