Yugo and I ran in the opposite direction of the crowds toward the southern end of Miyafokuu Prefecture. Thanks to the efforts of the Galerose Family in directing traffic and guiding the people to safety, our trip there wasn’t nearly as hectic as I’d assumed it would’ve been the moment we started on our way there.
As we ran, though I couldn’t help but wonder why Yugo wanted me specifically. Sure, he said I had the potential to surpass him and that other Curse Users didn’t manage as well as he thought I had, but that couldn’t have been the only reason. He did eventually reveal a separate motive, but it was hard to take seriously.
“I’ll be the first person in Minashire to raise a Curse User to the peak of power! Do you know how famous I’ll be? The ladies will love me!”
That was all he’d said about it. Given how he spoke and acted thus far, I assumed it was just a joke. I said as much, and he went on to confirm that it was before lecturing me on the history of Curse Users and the nature of Contracts. For someone so aloof, Yugo seemed to love talking about Myths and Curses like an overenthusiastic teacher.
Perhaps that makes him a decent fit to be my teacher, then? He can’t be worse than the Horsemen, can he?
“THERE IS NO MAN ALIVE THAT CAN MAKE YOU STRONGER THAN YOU PRESENTLY ARE. IF YOU WANT POWER, IT WILL COME FROM ME. I KNOW IT. YOU KNOW IT. THE NEWCOMER KNOWS IT. ANYONE WHO WOULD TRY TO TELL YOU OTHERWISE IS LYING TO YOU.”
Yugo’d gone on to start talking about the other two recruits of the Seekers, acting as though I’d verbally agreed to join them. I wasn’t able to pay attention, though, focused on Fallen Star as I was.
He never said to ignore you. He said that I should use you. Like a tool. Because once I’ve gotten stronger and you’ve outlived your usefulness, I’ll discard you like an old hammer.
Fallen Star laughed, humor coating his every word. “AND WHAT WILL YOU BE WITHOUT ME, RUI PAYNE?”
Free.
“WRONG. TO REMOVE ME FROM YOU IS TO REMOVE THE SUN FROM THE DAY. THE MOON FROM THE NIGHT. THE WATER FROM THE OCEAN. RUI PAYNE WITHOUT FALLEN STAR IS AN OXYMORON.”
It took about ten more minutes to finally get to the hot zone. We were in an area similar to the one where I’d fought my first Jikininki. Unlike the tall, cloud-piercing skyscrapers of northern Miyafokuu, these in south Miyafokuu were smaller, boxier buildings lined with much more greenery. Just like before, the ominous quiet was the first thing I noticed as soon as we crossed the taped-off checkpoint into this section of the city. New to this visit, though, was the overwhelming stench of rot and fire. It didn’t take much searching for us to inevitably find the source.
Further down the street, in that same flower shop where that Jikininki slammed me through the glass was a heap of bodies melded together by a black, slimy pulsating mass. I tried to scan the bodies, but they were all lifeless with horrified expressions permanently etched into their faces. Yugo grimaced at the sight as he did his best to understand what we were even looking at.
“These used to be Bounty Hunters. They were in the Level 30 range. The Myths they hunted were in their 40s.” He kicked at the slimy mass. “Jikininki eat by turning their victims into this fleshy substance you see here and consuming them after they’ve turned into balls of meat. You don’t normally see it, though. Not in public places like this. These Jikininki are bolder.”
“How do you know all that? You an expert on these guys?”
“It’s my first Myth, The Historian. He knows pretty much everything about everything.”
“What do you mean ‘first’ Myth? People can only have one Myth. If you tried to take on another, you’d die.”
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Yugo smiled. “And yet, here I am with two Myths! The Historian and the Minashire–”
Both of us turned as the loud screeches from a swarm of Jikininki sounded from behind us. There were at least ten of them, and they clearly weren’t fond of us standing so close to their meal. I reached for my sword but was stopped by a hand from Yugo. He stepped in front of me and pointed his left hand in the shape of a gun at the Jikininki swarm.
“Hey, Rui. Pick a color: Red or Blue?”
The Jikininki roared and crawl-ran towards the two of us. I reached for my sword, unwilling to stand by and get myself turned into a meatball.
“Come on, come on!”
“Yugo, we don’t have time for–”
“I said pick!”
“Red!”
Yugo smiled as he shot his finger gun. “Good choice!”
Just like that, the entire street was enveloped in a torrent of flame. It put my blast against that single Jikininki to shame, and unlike me with mine, Yugo hadn’t broken a sweat. There was a gap between myself and Yugo. Not a gap… a canyon. And he said I’d have it crossed before winter?! There was no way in hell that was possible.
“If I had to place it, I’d say that was a Level 200-ish blast,” He said, turning and chinning at me. “You’ll be there in a few weeks if that attack you did earlier is anything to go by.”
”You sure know how to promise big,” I noted, making no effort to hide my doubt. I’d seen Level 200s. I’d killed a few… under extenuating circumstances. Still, this wasn’t the power of a Level 200.
“I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t!” Yugo declared. He walked toward the charred corpses of the Jikininki, piling them in the street like firewood. “You can redeem these guys. I don’t need Galerose money.” He paused. “I could certainly use their goodwill, though, so I think I’m gonna go my own way for a bit. Where there’s a swarm there’s a hive, right? I’ve gotta put a plug on this whole Jikininki thing.”
“Is the threat that bad?”
“Ehhh,” Yugo shrugged. “The Galeroses don’t need me to do this for them. Like I said though: Galerose goodwill. Between you and me, Averyl wasn’t happy with me trying to listen in on your conversation with her. Taking care of this is my way of saying sorry.”
So that’s why she distorted the hallways earlier…?
“What do you need me here for then if you’re gonna handle the Jikininki by yourself?”
Yugo thumbed to an alleyway nearby. “There are some stragglers nearby,” He turned back to me. “I didn’t recruit you for your boyish charm. You’ve gotta earn your keep! Here’s what we’re gonna do.” Yugo pointed out towards the highway further south of Miyafokuu. “I’m gonna take care of the hive,” He thumbed back at the alleyway. “And I need you to handle the stragglers without cutting any of your arms off. That isn’t a joke, either. It’s a challenge: Take care of them without exchanging any body parts for power. Bring the Jikininki corpses back here, and you can turn them in to Averyl and tell her all about how sorry I am for eavesdropping. Once that’s done we can get something to eat then I’ll take you to the Seekers HQ. Deal?”
“I think I can do that… I already have a Skill to take care of the Jikininki.” I gave Yugo a questioning look. “But I never told you how my ability worked. How do you know what [SACRIFICE] does?”
“One second you were struggling against the Jikininki, the next your arm flies off and you can suddenly wield fire. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to connect those dots.”
“I… suppose,” I allowed, somewhat embarrassed. I challenged him… for my pride. “But I never agreed to join the Seekers! You can’t just assume that I’m–”
Yugo turned back toward the outskirts of Miyafokuu, his face turning serious. “Ah, seems I’m on a time limit! Let’s take care of these guys before they start destroying the city more, yeah?”
“Hey! I wasn’t done–”
“Perfect, I’ll be back in twenty! If you can’t handle these Jikininki though…” Yugo smiled sheepishly. “We might need to see other people. I have faith in you though, Rui! Do your best!” He tapped my forehead. “You too, Fallen Star. Don’t let Rui lose to these guys!”