It didn’t take long for me to find the Jikininki. I ran down the dimly lit alleyway Yugo led me toward and found a lone Jikininki struggling to open a backdoor into a shop with its massive clawed hands. It pounded on the door, screeching as it failed to make any meaningful progress. I didn’t hesitate. I dashed for the Jikininki, closing the distance and blasting the Myth with a fire blast large enough to fill the rest of the alleyway. It wasn’t as impressive as that explosion Yugo made earlier, but I was still proud of what I could do at just Level 22.

Just like before, the creature was left a charred corpse before it ever had a chance to fight back. Rather than observe my handiwork, I turned my attention to the door the Jikininki had been banging on. The steel door had deep dents and scratch marks but held strong despite the creature’s power.

I wonder why it wanted to–

A sliding peephole that hadn’t been there moments ago formed inside the door like a scene out of a gangster movie. Rather than a gruff old man, though, the voice that reached out to me was that of a child.

“You’re the guy who beat them up?” The kid asked.

I stepped closer, matching their tone so as not to draw any more Jikininki toward us. “I am…? What are you doing here? The city was evacuated earlier this morning, and another siren went off no more than five minutes ago.”

“Yeah, I know. The people that live here are all old and slow so they couldn’t leave when the sirens went off.” She knocked on the door. “My Hag Myth told me to draw these things called ‘St. Brigid’s Crosses’ on the doors because it keeps bad people out.”

“That’s good,” I said. “Stay inside, I’ll take care of the Jikininki.”

“Okay. Good luck! We’re cheering for you!”

***

Just around the corner in front of the building, two Jikininki scratched and pounded at the front door to the residential building just like the one in the alleyway had. Unlike that Jikininki, though – or the one I’d fought earlier for that matter–, these two were distinctly taller and more muscular. They were still lanky and gray, but their clawed fingers were each a foot long, and their faces were distinctly more humanoid. Rather than jump in like before, I decided to scan the one closer to me.

NAME: JIKININKI

APPROXIMATE LEVEL: 44

CLASSIFICATION: COMBAT-TYPE

I’m guessing these are the ones that killed those Bounty Hunters.

No wonder. These two moved like they knew what they were doing, and they pounded the door with much more force than the ones I’d previously encountered. I needed to blast them both with fire, but I couldn’t afford to overuse the ability as my [AURIC STAMINA] wasn’t high enough that I could spam moves like that.

“Hey!” I shouted, unsheathing my sword as I awaited their response.

The two Jikininki turned to me, tilting their heads in unnatural ways to get a good look at me. The first Jikininki, the taller one, screeched and pointed a single reddish-black claw at me. The other, the shorter and slightly skinnier one, roared into the sky and ran on all fours like a Black Dog straight out of Bukimiburgh. It’d be nostalgic if I wasn’t in the middle of a fight.

As soon as it got close, I hit it with another fire blast. To my surprise, the creature didn’t go down. It wasn’t unscathed, however; it limped when it moved and there were patches of seared skin all over the creature’s body, but it was otherwise fine.

So these guys are resistant to fire. That makes this harder.

My only saving grace was that these guys, despite being more coordinated than the other Jikininki, were still quite clumsy. The taller Jikininki was still pounding away at the door where the kid and the older residents were holding out, but there was no telling when they’d decide to team up and fight me as a pair. Odds were that’d happen as soon as the Jikininki across from me was close to death, so I needed to remove that possibility ASAP before it could come to fruition.

Thankfully, the Jikininki telegraphed every attack it threw. I dodged each of its inelegant attacks with swift slashes to its body. I had no way of knowing what the creature’s [VITALITY] was, but given how fast it healed from my attacks it was higher than I needed it to be. Since there was no chance I’d be overpowering this enemy, I instead decided to tire it out; forcing it to chase me around while leaving myself exposed just enough for it to think it had a chance of landing a good hit on me. It was like a dance that only I knew the steps to. We went back and forth like that for a few minutes before Jikininki started to show the first signs of exhaustion.

I need to make this quick.

The Jikininki panted with each slash and its screeches were far less confident than they’d been earlier. I waited for the creature to slash at me one more time and dodged out of the way, grabbing the creature’s wrist with my right hand and the back of its neck with my left. I slammed it into the ground and blasted it point blank with my fire blast. The Jikininki didn’t get back up.

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I only have one more of those fire blasts left in me.

I looked up to find the taller Jikininki standing next to the door, staring at me. It pointed a single claw at me once again, except this time it walked towards me while leering at me. Something about this Jikininki felt a bit different, even from the one that I’d just killed. I decided to scan it just to be safe.

NAME: JIKININKI KING

APPROXIMATE LEVEL: 50

CLASSIFICATION: COMBAT

Fifty?! Yugo didn’t say–

Boom. In an instant, my body was on fire. No, not my body. My shirt. It’d burned away in an instant, exposing my brand to the world. An indescribable anger filled me at that, an anger that must’ve made its way to my face as the Jikininki King snickered along with it.

I placed a hand on my sword, but the Myth closed the distance between us in a blink, grabbing my arm and slamming me into the ground over and over again. Thankfully I managed to break away, but the Jikininki King was much faster than me. Whenever I’d make distance the Myth was right there to close the gap and attack me before I could defend.

“YOU ARE NOT AN UNBOUND, RUI PAYNE.”

I’m not going to [SACRIFICE] something in every single fight. Besides, I’m not supposed to use it on myself here. I’m not gonna let myself be demeaned by that disheveled weirdo because I couldn’t beat a few Myths.

“RECALL THAT YOU HAVE TWO ENTRIES IN YOUR SKILL CODEX BEYOND YOUR TEMPORARY FIRE MANIPULATION.”

“Tch.”

I knew Fallen Star was right. As much as I hated to admit it, Fallen Star was usually right. Despite that, hell, because of that, I didn’t want to use it. Yugo was clear that I’d be able to reach unreal power if I just tapped into Fallen Star’s aura, and I’d come to the same unfortunate conclusion earlier myself. The thought of using Fallen Star reminded me of Ares’ parting words to me and the potential truth behind them.

“No matter where you go, you will always be Fallen Star.”

I’d been forced to kill innocent people with Fallen Star. I’d been forced to kill my own mother with Fallen Star. Fallen Star was created by a cult of lunatics to destroy the world. To consume it. It was a monster that they created and forced into my body the day I was born, and that monster lived inside me.

I didn’t want to be that monster. I didn’t want to be their monster, but if I wanted to accomplish any of my goals; removing Fallen Star, killing the Horsemen, and freeing myself from this Fate, I’d need to make moral concessions. Tapping into Fallen Star took me one step closer to becoming the Fallen Star the Cult wants me to be, and I’d do anything to prevent that reality from coming true. It was why I’d vowed not to use it unless I absolutely had to; The lower my level was, the safer the world was.

“YOU ARE NOT ANGRY ENOUGH, RUI PAYNE. YOU ARE NOT BLOODY ENOUGH.”

I barely dodged a clawed uppercut from the Jikininki King, but wasn’t fast enough to dodge a hook to my side. I flew with the momentum, using it to create distance between us as I gathered my thoughts.

I’ve spent the past six years waiting to kill the Horsemen and remove you from my body. Every moment from the day my mother… I’ve been in hell for the past six years. You don’t get to tell me I’m not ‘angry enough’!

Fallen Star’s voice changed. The perpetually amused Curse suddenly spoke with palpable disgust and vitreal, and perhaps it was because of our connection, but I felt every single one of its emotions.

“IF YOU WERE AS ANGRY AS YOU CLAIMED TO BE, YOU WOULD NOT BE AFRAID TO UTILIZE MY POWER. DUE TO YOUR APPREHENSION, THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE CONTINUE TO DRAW BREATH IN OUR WORLD. ARES, THE MAN WHO DOOMED YOU TO YOUR FATE. ZELOS, THE MAN WHO USED US BOTH AS HIS PUPPET OF DEATH. LIMOS, THE WOMAN WHO MANIPULATED YOUR MOTHER INTO JOINING THE CULT IN THE FIRST PLACE. THANATOS, THE WOMAN WHO DEFILED YOUR INFANT BODY AND REDUCED YOU TO WHAT YOU ARE. YOU CALLED ME A TOOL, NO? IF YOU WERE TRULY ANGRY, IF YOU WERE TRULY PREPARED TO GET BLOODY, YOU WOULD HAVE USED EVERY TOOL AT YOUR DISPOSAL TO DESTROY THE HORSEMEN – EVEN IF THAT ENDED IN YOUR DEATH. I HAVE ENJOYED ENTERTAINING YOUR STUBBORN, PRIDEFUL REFUSAL TO ACCEPT ME. MAKE NO MISTAKE THOUGH, RUI PAYNE: MY PATIENCE IS NOT LIMITLESS. IF YOU WILL NOT USE MY POWER, I WILL FORCE YOU TO USE IT. MAKE A CHOICE, AND MAKE IT NOW: WILL YOU USE MY POWER OR NOT?”

I stared up at the Jikininki trudging towards me. It looked down at me like I was nothing… like it’d already won the fight and it was merely toying with me. That Jikininki could’ve been Zelos. It could’ve been Limos. It could’ve been Thanatos. It could’ve been Ares.

“Who do you think you’re looking down on?” I spat. The Jikininki said nothing, smirking down as it stood over me.

Fallen Star’s fury blended with my own, so much so that it was impossible to tell where mine ended and his began. My apprehension towards Fallen Star vanished as I considered where I was going with my life. The Horsemen were at Yugo’s level at the very least, and I was on the clock! If Zelos suddenly decided he needed me to destroy some innocent village, it didn’t matter what level I was. He’d control me and force me to do it. Ares could pop in and do the exact same thing, activating my brand and forcing me into my Colossal form while Zelos piloted me like a destructive mech. I couldn’t afford to delay. I needed power, and I needed them gone. I wouldn’t allow them to abuse my power like they did in the past. More than that, I’d make them pay. I’d make them suffer. All four of them.

Make no mistake, once they’re dead I’m getting rid of you.

Fallen Star’s anger hadn’t subsided, but the emotion wasn’t present in his voice. When he spoke, he did so in his familiar, condescending tone.

“BABY STEPS, RUI. BABY STEPS.”