Suzaku crawled to the front of the tent and quietly unzipped it. She glanced back at her wielder. My greatness is sorry she could not let you in on this. You are still too inexperienced to take on any demon.
The moon wasn’t visible tonight, blocked by the clouds of an incoming storm. Suzaku stepped out of the tent and lit a flame above her finger. As she checked her left and right, she declared the coast to be clear and headed toward the demon’s office.
Her senses hadn’t picked anything up yet, and soon enough, she stood on the office’s porch. She placed her hand on the doorknob and gave it a turn. To her greatness’ surprise, it opened.
The door creaked. She peered her head through the doorway, bringing her fire-tipped finger in along with it. In the corner of the room beside a bookshelf was the safe. The rest of her body followed inside.
She didn’t expect the floor to squeak as loud as it did. She brushed off the paranoia and made her way over to the safe. She bent down and prodded it before trying to pull on its handle. Unlike the door, it didn’t open.
Fire will work, Suzaku told herself. She pressed her fire-tipped finger in front of the safe’s door and gradually increased the intensity of her flame. The metal door melted with ease, making a hole large enough for her hand to reach inside. She grabbed the pile of contracts and quickly began sifting through them like a book. Where is the idiot’s name...
“Are you enjoying yourself, Vermillion Bird?”
Suzaku froze.
“I wasn’t sure if it was you initially, but this confirms it. Looking for the contracts, are you?”
Suzaku shifted to a crouching position; adrenaline rampant through her body. She dropped the contracts and activated her Ghost Mansion before turning her body, thrusting her blade at the demon.
A gust of wind pushed Master Cliff back, guarding the exit as he moaned. “You’re weak.” Threads of ether channeled within his grimoire, cloaking him in wind that shredded his suit like paper, revealing a set of plump lips that stretched across his stomach. His long blonde hair flew in the air, probing his ear canals. His eyes rolled back from the euphoric pleasure. “I would love to eat a being such as yourself.”
Suzaku was ready to strike again but suddenly felt a stronger gust hit her backside about to push her forward. The lips on the demon’s stomach opened, revealing its hundred teeth and salivating entrance that waited for its next meal.
Not a chance! As she was sent flying toward the gaping mouth, she brought her blade to her front.
***
The rain seemed to have gotten stronger in just a matter of seconds. Yushia swallowed his fear and approached the office.
Wood and glass shattered outward as a body flew through the walls of the office, followed by a strong wind. Yushia threw his arms up to his face as shards of glass stuck to his skin. He set his arms back and down and looked over to his side, spotting Suzaku lying breathless, face buried in mud as she bled profusely.
“Suzaku!” he shouted. He ran to her and removed her body from the mud, holding her in his lap. “What are you doing here!? Wake up!”
Her eyes widened. She took a heavy gasp for air and took several more. As her breath steadied, she stared up at her distressed wielder. “You idiot! Why did you come?”
“Are you joking?” Yushia asked. “How could I not!?”
Master Cliff stepped out of the office through the hole that was made. “Ah... Who would’ve thought a mere Cerulean would be chosen by the Vermillion Bird? It sure did shock me when I saw you come back with it.”
Yushia looked away from Suzaku and at Master Cliff. His body became paralyzed initially when he saw the stomach of Master Cliff housing the mouth of a monster. Its tongue lolled out, dragging along the ground.
Suzaku’s voice trembled. “Look at my greatness, idiot.”
Her words were no use as Yushia’s attention remained glued on the demon that stood in the rain. It wasn’t until Suzaku pinched his arm that he finally snapped back to his senses and set his gaze down.
“Can you fight?” she asked.
“I can fight!” Yushia said, trembling. His heart raced, practically beating out of his chest now.
The way his body reacted told Suzaku otherwise. The demon was approaching them; time was running out. A decision had to be made soon. She looked back up at her wielder and asked again, “Can you fight?” She took hold of her wielder’s arms and forced him to stop his tremors. “The wielder of my greatness’ blade shall not waver! Do you understand?”
Yushia clenched his teeth and took a deep breath. His body stopped shaking. “I understand. I can fight!”
“Quit your foolish talking!” Cliff shouted. “My feast awaits me, Cerulean! Hand her over!”
Yushia’s fingers slipped between Suzaku’s as the rings on their hands warmed. Her body wrapped itself in vibrant red ether as she entered her Ghost Mansion. Yushia felt his strength invigorate holding her. As raindrops fell on Suzaku’s blade, their liquid forms became vapor.
Master Cliff suddenly stopped several meters away, wary of the weapon the Cerulean held. The hair inside his ears traveled deeper within, with no signs of stopping.
“What’s he doing?” Yushia whispered.
Suzaku squinted her eyes as she focused her sight on the hideous lips. They parted, inflating his stomach as threads of green ether channeled inside. “Get away from the demon’s line of sight!”
The mouth on Master Cliff’s stomach suddenly puckered its lips. The ether it had shot out flew toward the Cerulean, slicing the air in its path. It’d do the same to the boy as well.
“Shit!” Yushia shouted. Unable to dodge, the bolt of green ether flew into his gut and left his stomach red as it dissipated into the air. Then, a gust of wind sent him flying across the camp, crashing him down on an empty tent.
“Stand up, idiot!” Suzaku shouted. “Losing is not an option! Your dreams and my greatness’ dreams are on the line here!”
It was difficult, but he rpse. He glanced up and saw Master Cliff sprinting at full force with the mouth on his stomach gaping.
“I’LL DEVOUR YOU!” Master Cliff screeched. “I’LL TAKE THE VERMILLION BIRD’S POWER MYSELF!”
It was terrifying, to say the least—watching a crazed man running at you with killing intent. Yushia bent down, jumping over Master Cliff as he crashed into another tent. The tarp fell on the master’s head, disorienting him.
“Calm your nerves!” Suzaku demanded as her wielder landed with grace. “Listen to my greatness, for she will guide you—”
He was afraid—so afraid of not being able to do anything. Yushia thought back to the time he had frozen didn’t run away with Shiashia as her father had instructed. He couldn’t make the same mistake of freezing up again. He took a deep breath and charged at Master Cliff with his dagger to his side, letting out a cry of rage. “I can fight! I can fight!”
“Nonsense!” Master Cliff shouted. He removed the tarp from his head. He quickly brought his hand out and showed it to the Cerulean. Threads of green ether channeled in his palm before shooting out a blast of wind in the boy’s chest, sending him flying back much higher and further into the air. “The Ceruleans of today are nothing compared to the Ceruleans of two-hundred years ago!”
Yushia’s eyes shut as he lost consciousness. His life had come back to him when his body struck against the shaft of a tree. His eyes could barely stay open, however, as he hid in the thick forests.
“You idiot!” Suzaku shouted. As much as she wanted to go off on her wielder, she had to hold back. “Are you okay? Can you stand?”
Had his adrenaline saved him? If he were to survive the night, he’d surely be sore the next morning. Yushia struggled to stand and started by rising to one knee. He used his right arm to lift the rest of himself up but stopped when he felt a sharp pain. He looked down and stared at the sharp fractured bone sticking out of him.
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He was unlucky this time. Without cushioning, he had broken his right arm—the one that held Suzaku. He couldn’t possibly fight now.
“What were you thinking!?” Suzaku scolded again.
“I... I saw a chance and I took it,” Yushia responded, his breath heavy. His face cringed as he forced himself to stand.
Suzaku had to calm herself down. The worst thing she could do now was let her emotions get the best of her. She left her Ghost Mansion and hid her wielder behind a bush. Her body hovered above his arm, blocking it from the rain as she used her graceful flames to ease the pain of his fractured arm. “Can you still fight?”
Are you seriously asking me that now? Yushia said. His answer was the same. “I can.”
Master Cliff’s ears picked up the sound of mumbling. He turned in its direction and smiled as the lips on his stomach parted to channel ether. If he were to eat the Vermillion Bird, would her age have made her taste better? The thought alone gave him a hard-on. As the ether finished channeling, the lips on his stomach puckered and blew a powerful gust of wind, knocking both the Vermillion Bird and the Cerulean out of the bush and into the air and deeper into the forests.
“Inanis damn that demon!” Suzaku said. She braced herself and landed in a thick bed of moss. She heard her wielder’s moans across from her and crawled over to him to continue healing him. As she readied her flames, she clicked her tongue. The arm had suffered too much now and was beyond what her flames were capable of.
Her greatness’ wielder coughed up blood and grasped her hand with his left. His painful moans turned into disgruntled pants. Did her eyes deceive her? His dying state told her greatness that he was incapable of fighting now, but the light in his eyes glowed brighter than any sky she’d ever seen. Reluctantly, she wrapped her body in red ether and activated her Ghost Mansion again, transfiguring into a beautiful black blade.
Yushia’s heart matched the tapping of the rain as it fell on him. His broken arm felt numb, and the limp in his leg vanished as he pressed his toes curled into the soft mud.
Stand, my love. Those were the words he heard; words he needed.
Suzaku could hardly believe the phenomenon taking place. Her wielder’s body didn’t channel ether, but within him, she felt the properties of something grander taking effect, empowering her flames. Her wielder’s veins glowed a pulsating blue, dimly lighting his surroundings in the same color.
I will, Yushia responded.
Master Cliff tilted his head at the blue light in the distance. He opened his mouth, shooting a blast of wind.
Yushia dodged the attack and ran, his body weaving through the tight forest.
“SHOW YOURSELF!” Master Cliff demanded. His eyes wandered aimlessly. The bushes rustling gave away the boy’s location, but he was moving too fast. :Landing a direct shot was impossible!
The power Yushia felt suddenly vanished. He slipped on the mud and slid behind another bush, gasping for air. “Are you okay, Suzaku?”
For a moment, she stayed silent. The power she felt earlier was like no other, something Inanis herself would not allow her children to have. “What was that? That power my greatness felt?”
He was unsure what she meant. “What are you talking about? What power?”
“Do not act stupid in front of my greatness! My greatness speaks of the powers you used to heal your arm and move with such agility!”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Yushia replied. He looked at his arms, and truthfully speaking, he hadn’t remembered them being broken. Which one had broken anyway?
“They were!” If she could punch him, she would. But despite her anger, she knew her wielder wasn’t lying. The connection they’d made after forming a pact allowed her to gauge his feelings, and his were oblivious. “Forget it! Let us focus on the demon! If we are going to defeat it, we will have to drive it out of its host!”
Yushia peeked over the bush, spotting Master Cliff who dared not enter the forest. “How do we do that?”
“If you can pierce the demon’s skin, my greatness will use her flames to chase it out. If it wants to live, it will have to leave. From there, we will finish it off.”
He gulped and nodded.
The infamous blue pupils and yellow irises of a Cerulean were impossible not to recognize, even in the darkness. As Master Cliff met the Cerulean’s eyes, the mouth on his stomach released another blast of wind in his direction.
Yushia leaped to the side, dodging the attack. He knew it’d take time for Master Cliff to perform the same attack. He roared at the top of his lungs and dashed back into the camp swinging Suzaku wildly. His swift slices through the air had inadvertently created an impenetrable wall of cleaves. If any of them landed, they would be enough for subjugation.
Unable to channel his ether in time, Master Cliff was forced to evade each swing. He staggered backward and nearly met the Vermillion Bird’s sharp point. He planted his feet into the ground and brought his palm out, shooting a weak blast of wind that made the Cerulean fall on his back. “Enough games!”
Yushia quickly stood again and loosened his grip around Suzaku.
“You shitty Cerulean,” Master Cliff mumbled, hastily flipping through the pages of his grimoire. He kept an eye on the boy, taking several steps back as he searched for a spell.
Bringing his blade to the back of his head, Yushia twisted his body. His eyes settled on the demon’s chest. “Forgive me, Suzaku!”
Immediately, she knew what her wielder was planning. Never had she been thrown before, and never had she thought someone would be bold enough to perform such a disgraceful act. “Do not even think about it!”
Regardless of her words, Yushia ignored her and launched his body forward, Suzaku left his hands and flew. Her blade traveled in the air only briefly before forcing her out of her Ghost Mansion and back into her human form.
“You idiot!” Suzaku yelled. Her feet slid in the mud, bringing her closer to the demon. She activated her Ghost Mansion again in her right arm and began sprinting toward it without a second thought.
Even Master Cliff was shocked. The mouth on his stomach opened wide, welcoming the Vermillion Bird.
Yushia’s legs worked overtime, suddenly sprinting past Suzaku. Before Master Cliff could realize it, he was suddenly tackled and taken to the ground. Yushia forced his forearm under his master’s neck and put him in a headlock, strangling him in the process. “Suzaku!” he shouted, reaching out with his right hand.
Her angered face lightened, eyes wide with pride. She undid her Ghost Mansion and grabbed her wielder’s hand before entering it again, this time in her fully bladed form.
Yushia drove Suzaku’s blade between Master Cliff’s forehead and pierced through his brain. “Do it!”
With all the ether she could muster, Suzaku brought fire down on the demon, setting its head ablaze. Its hair smoked and burnt away like straw as she let her flames roar. Desperate to survive, the lips on the demon’s stomach vomited blood, and with it, a tiny, humanoid beast with purple skin.
“There it is!” Suzaku shouted. “Kill it!”
The lesser demon had been scorched with burn marks covering every inch of its body. It tried running away but was stopped by Yushia as he pressed his foot down on it.
Yushia’s breath was heavy. Was it finally over? Was it this little thing that had kept him a slave for the past five years?
The demon spewed unintelligible words. It pointed repeatedly at Master Cliff’s body as it continued rambling.
“It is speaking the language of demons,” Suzaku said. “My greatness is not fluent but she can pick up a few words. It began cursing at you, and then to its host.”
The rain had stopped at this point, and their battle was over. The sun began rising and shooed the dark clouds away. With one fell swoop, Yushia sliced the lesser demon’s body into two and turned it to ashes that disappeared into the sky. A dark-red Shijin Orb took its place.
The color made Yushia gulp as he removed his foot. Something so weak had given him so much trouble, and he at least expected a lighter color. Inanis damn it, he thought. What other threats stronger than this one waited for him?
Suzaku left her Ghost Mansion. She bent over to pick up the Shijin orb and bit a chunk out of it and acknowledged the worry on her wielder’s face. “Worry not. Though my greatness hates to appraise a demon, she must admit its Shijin Orb tastes better than a Gelatin’s.” Soon after finishing her meal, power resonated in her body. “It has arrived.”
“What has?” Yushia asked.
“Another one of my greatness’ mansions is coming back already. Who knew it would be so soon.”
Suzaku pulled down the front of her overalls to show her wielder her chest. Another ring was formed, intertwining itself with the other rings to make three. She cringed at the excruciating pain until it eventually subsided.
Yushia felt it on his chest too, the feeling of his chest being carved into. He pulled on his overalls and found the rings in the same spot as Suzaku’s.
“It hardly feels any different than before,” she said. “It is a weaker Mansion, but that is because it came from a weak being.” While her greatness was happy, we wielder was not. “What’s wrong?”
The color of the Shijin orb weighed on Yushia’s mind. “The road ahead of us won’t be easy, will it?”
“Of course not. Everything will be an upward slope from now on, so it is best that you learn the ropes of wielding my greatness quick.”
He clenched his fists and smiled. He knew it wouldn’t be easy, but at least he’d be one step closer to his wife. That alone was worth any price. “Your new Mansion... What does it do?”
“My greatness is glad you asked.” Suzaku pointed to Cliff’s body, which had another wispy Shijin Orb hovering above his body. “Eat it,” she said. She picked up the Shijin orb and handed it to her wielder. “This is the Well Mansion. It represents your body, and you will heal at a faster rate. If my greatness correctly, you will feel lighter on your feet, but that is only by a small margin.”
Yushia stared at the red Shijin orb in his hand. It didn’t feel right eating someone else. Suzaku’s insistence told him it was fine, however, and he had no reason to doubt her. He brought it to his lips to took a bite, gagging as he nearly spat it out. He took several more bites and swallowed each time with great effort until there was no more to eat.
“You will get used to it eventually,” Suzaku sighed. Probably.
The two headed back to the office. The slave contracts had been scattered everywhere because of the demon’s wind. After some searching, Yushia found his and gave it to Suzaku so she could burn it.
It felt as though a boulder had crumbled on his shoulders. He faced Suzaku’s smug smile as she threw the ashes from the contract into the air to celebrate.
I’m free now, he told himself.