After making their way upstairs and turning the corner, the club finds themselves staring down what would normally be the third-floor hallway. Before them, two large twisted slabs of engraved rock have replaced the normal double doors. The only thing standing between them and Kairu are these demonic doors covered in carvings of strange symbols. The ground in front of the doors appears stained and cracked, with a dark purple color encroaching on the floor, walls, and ceilings surrounding them.
Katsuki approaches a door and looks for how to open it, before finding both of them with matching twisted snake handles. She grips the handle, sweating nervously while squeezing the eerily cold metal. She looks back at her clubmates, standing ready for the unknown.
“Wasn’t there supposed to be a hallway here? What the hell are those?” Cerys turns to the rest of her friends. “I don’t remember there ever being doors here.”
“You’re raight, these ain’t normah doors. Prob’bly whateva’s behind those ain’t our school anymore.”
Katsuki adds on, “These things are definitely not from here. If… no, when we open this door, we might not come out of them the same way we entered. But if we don’t go in there and beat this guy… there’s one of us who will never come out.” Her face tightens as she thinks of Kirika, with the others matching her distraught appearance. “And if one of us is in danger, then… then we have to help them!” She watches as the others nod, then continues. “So… it’s time, everyone. Let’s go put an end to this crazy invasion!”
Yuuri steps forward, placing her hand out in front of her. Saito is the first to recognize what she’s doing and steps forward to place his hand on top of hers. The others follow, with Katsuki turning around and placing hers on top. The two founders look into each other's eyes and nod. “Alright then, let's do this. Let's finish this and save Kirika! And our school! And most likely the whole world with it!"
Katsuki pushes her hand down with each count, “1...2...3!” She raises her hand up, everyone else following suit. “For the Paranormal Club!” They all chant in unison. Turning around, they find the door already open, with Kairu faceplaming in the open area behind.
“Are these really the best that could be sent to face me? Am I really thought that little of?” He looks at the group with a scowl.
“Hey, nobody sent us but ourselves!” Yuudai yells. “And we’re all we need to take care of your lame butt!” He looks over at Raidou, “And this guy here, too! We need him too, I think!”
The rest groan, but Kairu just reaches his arm out. “Enough jokes, I don’t have the time for comedy when I have such grand plans for this world and its people.”
Cerys steps forward. “What do you mean plans? Aren’t you here to destroy the world like all demons want to do?”
“No, you simple fool. At first, I was here to conquer and claim it for a being even higher than myself, but that changed. As I’ve worked through the shadows, I’ve come to realize a fundamental truth about humans.” He balls his hand into a fist and points at the Paranormal club. “The only thing they can do is fight. Fight to destroy, fight to hurt, fight to kill. All their creations are merely means to the end of conflict itself. The potential being squandered is… unspeakable.”
“So what could a demon like you do to prevent that? You’re supposed to create disorder and chaos.”
“Again, your lack of a mind is showing. To you, our order IS chaos. And through this chaos, we can train your kind as if they were pets, unleashing their potential and creating a world of beautifully organized chaos. And then…” He chuckles. “We use it for our own means and reach farther than your small minds could ever dream of.”
Akina steps forward and shakes her head. “I’ve known demons before. Your ideals are as hollow as your hearts. Delude yourself all you want, but only disaster and ruin can come from the hands of the infernal.”
“Oh? Intriguing hypothesis, Ms. Gedou. But your father isn’t as much of a demon as you think he is. Mortals cannot hope to reach our level, no matter how ferocious they are on the outside. You know nothing of our kind.”
She brushes his remarks off with a flourish of her hand then balls her fists, placing one fist forward and the other close to her lower body, her stance spread wide. “If you won’t reconsider, then you will be erased.”
Kairu pulls his hand back and grasps his forehead in laughter. “Ahahahaha, you think you all can harm me, much less erase me? Don’t make me laugh. You don’t know what erasure is.”
With a flourish he creates a sigil in the air, a flash of light revealing a long twisted slab of dark green wood with the appearance of the body of a bow. It crashes to the ground with a crackling thud, lodging it into the floor itself. Kairu effortlessly grabs the massive bow, which almost matches his own size, and aims it at the club members. With a shake of his hand, as if up his sleeve, a group of arrows drops into his grasp, which he uses immediately by pulling them back onto the stringless bow, a line of energy replacing it. “Until now.” He lets the barrage fly, scattering the club members into various directions.
Raidou, Cerys, and Akina crash behind a pillar to the left, while the rest run to the right. Kairu’s laughter echos through the room, only interrupted by the crashing of more arrows around them.
“This guy’s such a… Wait.” Cerys says, popping her head up and looking over at Raidou. “Hey, Four-Armed Wonderboy. Do demons have balls?”
“Raidou cocks his head, staring at her slowly in confusion from the strange question. “W...What did you say?”
“You know, the things between the legs that hurt when you kick ‘em.”
Raidou looks at her, his face now showing more fear than surprise. He covers himself as he slowly answers. “Look...whatever I did to you...I-”
“Nevermind, idiot. Your reaction tells me all I need to know.” She moves to step out from behind their cover, but Akina clasps her shoulder.
“Stop. Are you trying to die? We can fight this guy without just running into death willingly.”
“Don’t worry, I have a plan. I’m not being stupid.” Cerys shrugs her off and steps into his line of sight.
“Offering yourself up as the first sacrifice?” Kairu lines up a bundle of arrows aimed directly for her heart. “Just know I won’t make this painless.” He lets them go, each whistling towards Cerys.
“Neither will I.” Cerys teleports just as the arrows are about to reach her, appearing behind Kairu. “Everything has a weak point!” She exclaims, winding her leg back and full-force sending her boots into his sensitive underparts.
Kairu falls to his knees, the bow falling forward and slamming into the ground. He clutches his groin, grunting in pain and coughing. “I...I thought you… Japanese were.. All about … honor!”
Cerys stands next to him and kicks him in the side. “I’m British, asshole. Just because I speak the language doesn’t mean I’m from Japan.”
The others step out from their hiding places charged up. “Wow, good job Cerys! Took him down easy!” Yuudai yells.
Cerys smirks. “Yeah, it was nothing. All men have the same weakness. I’m just the one smart enough t-” Her boast is cut off by the sound of her being tripped up and slammed into the floor.
“You forget… I’m a demon.” Kairu says as he climbs up to his feet, holding Cerys by her leg upside down. “Did you really think one little attack could fell me? Fool.”
Cerys looks at him, spitting. “Yeah, I d-”
“For your arrogance.” Kairu says as he slams his fist into Cerys’ face, breaking her nose. “And for your insolence!” He says as he flings her at the others.
Akina rushes in front of the group, catching Cerys, causing them to fly back and fall to the ground. As they finally rest against the wall, Akina holds Cerys in her arms.
The others rush towards the cradled redhead. “A-are you two hurt?!” Yuuri shouts.
“Don’t concern yourself with us. I’ll keep her safe while you go destroy him.” Akina says, turning her attention to Cerys’ unconscious body.
An arrow whizzes by Yuuri’s head, planting itself in the wall. “Did you forget someone, fools?” The group turns back to Kairu, who’s feet are now surrounded with a circle of sparkles. They start rising up his legs, engulfing his body.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“You son of a... “ Yuudai rushes at him, closing the distance quickly. He slams his fist forward… only for a clawed hand to grab it. Yuudai looks up to see Kairu in a completely new outfit: deep-green tight pants with gold trims on the sides that reach his shins, where they meet socks that rundown to ornate shoes; a thin long sash wrapped around his neck, the freed end fluttering menacingly in the non-existent wind, and a jacket covered in golden tassels and a design of an unworldly nature surrounding a circle containing his bow, pointing downwards. With seemingly no effort Kairu jerks Yuudai to the side, causing him to trip and slide across the ground.
The others step back. “H-how can you just toss Yuudai like that? And what… what kind of change just happened!?” Katsuki exclaims.
Mari, however, steps forward and whistles. “Wow, yer jus’ as much of a pretty boy in tha flesh as ya are on tha demon swimsuit calendah, Leraje.”
“Leraje?” Yuuri asks.
“One o’ tha’ high demons of tha Underworld. ‘Kairu’ was just a cover it seems.”
“Hmmph, aren’t you studious.” He flips his hair with the single shake of his head. “I would congratulate you on at least knowing my name, but you apparently don’t know my stature, or you’d be begging for your life right now.”
Raidou rushes up next, his fist reared back. “I don’t care who you are, if you can be punched you can be killed!” Suddenly, mid-stride, his entire body stops, surrounded by a green aura. “W-What the home?” Raidou yells as he’s suddenly turned around and made to stand upright, facing the others.
“Did you forget who summoned you here, you buffoon? You haven’t yet completed your contract, thus you are still under my control. And I can use that control to force you to take any action I wish.” ‘Leraje’ smirks. “For example… killing these pests.”
“You... can’t make… me do... ANYTHING!” Raidou grunts out, his arm shakily rising, his face gritted in effort trying to resist his control.
Leraje exclaims in surprise, “What? How? You’re supposed to be at my complete mercy! How are you resisting this much!?”
“I’m only half demon, ya dumbass!” He says with a smirk, lowering his arm to his side, the green aura wavering around him. “So ya only got half control over me! And the half ya don’t… is the one with all the power!”
“Fine. You can stay there and watch helplessly as I end these precious little lives that you cherish so!” He gives a sinister chuckle as he reaches down for his bow.
“Not if I can help it!” Katsuki says as she grasps her lunchbox, undoing the latch and throwing it at him. The lid flies open mid-air, letting all the blood inside spill out in an arc. As it falls towards him, Katsuki scrunches her face in effort and moves her arm in a downward motion, turning the droplets into needles which rain onto Leraje.
The blood needles fly down into Leraje’s skin, some sticking into him and the rest leaving cuts as they whizz past. He cries out in pain before he angrily stands up, bow in hand, and brushes the ones stuck into him off. “Is that your secret weapon, Miss Blood Mage? If you didn’t come to me you wouldn’t even be worth killing.”
“Maybe Ah’m more ya speed, dahlin’!” Mari yells, shooting a large pink ball of energy directly at him.
“An energy ball? Do you think this is a children’s game, girl?” He points his arrow at it, firing and destroying the ball. The ball explodes and suddenly ten smaller balls shoots out from where the large one was, aimed directly at Leraje. He dodges the shots with a scowl at the trick played on him, but before he can prepare a counter attack he hears footsteps from his side. He swings his head around to look, but it whips right back after a cracking punch from Yuudai straight across his jaw.
Leraje stumbles back, holding his face. “How impressive, you’ve actually hurt me.” He smirks, regaining his aggressive pose. “Maybe once I’m finished with you I can repay that pain to your elven friend!”
“Ah!” Yuuri says, turning and trying to find Saito, rushing to his side when she spots him. “Saito!” She whispers-yells at him.
“What?” he turns, spooked for a moment by her soft loudness.
“Kirika! We’re forgetting about her! We could go get her while they’re fighting him and then we could all leave! That’s what we came for, right?”
Saito looks at her with a hint of a smile on his face. “Let’s go get her and then get out of here, I’m sure the others don’t need our help.” Yuuri nods her head and the two sneak out of there while the fight continues.
“Ah, a patient set of teenagers, what a rare sight.” Leraje says, sitting sentry with his bow, looking for any of the three to make a move. “It is what it is, though. I can wait forever if need be. I can outlast your kind easily! Your lifetimes are but a blink of my eye!”
His rambling is interrupted by Mari, yawning loudly and stretching. “Ya know, tha books never said ya never shut tha feck up. Are yeh tryin’a bore me ta death?” She points her wand at him, ready for action.
“DO NOT INTERRUPT ME, HEATHEN! If you can’t wait for death to claim you, I’ll deliver it unto you myself!” He yells as he snaps his magical bow, sending a flurry of arrows at Mari.
She spins her wand in a full circle in front of her, just in time for the arrows to explode and engulf her in a cloud of smoke. Everyone in the room stares at the smoke surrounding her. “MARIIII!” Katsuki yells, fighting the urge to run at the spot her friend once stood.
The smoke blows away, leaving everyone jaw-dropped as she stands unharmed. “What? Yew ain’t gotta be so loud!”
“What? How the hell did you not even take a BIT of damage from my best arrows!?” Leraje spits out furiously.
Mari raises one foot off the ground and points her knee forward. She holds her wand up with one hand, giving a peace sign over her eye with the other. “Mari Hoshino, of the Hoshino clan. Chaos magician in trainin’ at’cha service!”
“Bah! A chaos magician? Do you think that makes you worth anything?” Leraje says shakily. “I’ll end you, your friends AND your clan!” He rears back another attack, which is also easily blocked by Mari’s shield. He hesitates before firing, however, and a sick smile appears on his face. “Actually, maybe I should let you watch me destroy those things before I send you away. You can’t protect much with that flimsy shield of yours, anyway.” He draws his bow once again, this time holding a spread of arrows between his fingers. One half is aimed towards Yuudai and the other towards Katsuki. “I wonder which one is more precious to you?”
Mari clicks her tongue. “You… You son’va bitch! You-” She’s cut off by his haunting laughter, arrows unleashed. In a split second, she notices some of Cerys’ blood on the ground, bubbling at Katsuki’s feet. She then dives in front of Yuudai, summoning her shield at the same time a wall of blood pops up in front of Katsuki.
After the blood blocks the arrows it falls back on the ground revealing a frazzled and wide eyed Katsuki. Her breaths are shallow and quick, her legs are trembling and her eyes are focused on the pool of blood at her feet.
An arrow lands in the pool of causing Katsuki to fall on her behind. She looks up at Leraje who smirks and spreads his arms. “Looks like one of you realizes the situation you are in.” He shoots another arrow at her legs missing purposely causing her to scoot back. “You will just be the first to die. Don’t worry, the rest of your friends will join you soon.” He notches back another arrow as he stands at her feet. Katsuki shuts her eyes as her death stares her down.
Leraje barely has time to notice before a snap rings throughout the room Cerys’ hands are wrapped around the back of his head. “Some payback, athhole!” She slams her knee against his skull, forcing him to spin away from her. She falls to the ground, landing on her feet in front of him. She bares her teeth at him, red-stained cloth sticking out of her nose.
“You little bi-” Before he can finish, Akina rushes up in front of him, unleashing a full-force fist directly into his stomach. He barely keeps his balance after being lifted off the ground by the force of her blow. He remains upright, though doubled over in pain. “How th-” He doesn’t even have time to blink before he feels arms around his waist.
“Here’s for thinking you could rule over everyone!” Yuudai says as he lifts him, flipping him backwards in a German suplex, crushing him against the floor.
Mari takes her turn to be astonished. “How… How did ya do that? Tha’ was amazin’!” she says with a squeal.
"I might play baseball now but I've tried a lot of sports. Did my fair share of wrestling.” He says, throwing a punch. "And boxing."
“You fucking CHILDREN.” Leraje says, climbing to his knees. “You think you’ve won just because your attacks are FANCY? That’s nothing more than ARROGANCE!” He grasps his bow, leaning on it to try and stand. “You’re all-”
“Shud up, you posh cunt.” Cerys kicks the bow out from his grip, causing him to fall on his hands and knees. She lines up and punts him in the side of the face, dropping him to the ground entirely. “Thath oneth for breaking my nose.”
The bow skitters across the ground, winding up at the feet of Raidou. “Hey, how lucky.” he says as he reaches down to grab it. “I’m just the demon who can break a demonic weapon!”
Leraje turns his head, lifting himself slightly with his now-meager might. “D-Don’t touch my bow! That bow is worth more than this entire city’s lives! I-if you-” The crunch of the bow being split in two silences him. The two halves wither in Raidou’s hands until only dust remains.
“Well, I did it. Let’s see what your ‘IF’ is, geezer.” Raidou wipes his hands on his shirt and smirks.
“I’m right here, Raidou.” Kansaku says as he walks in with an unconscious Yuuri and Saito under his arms. “I see you’re bullying my poor younger brother, here. You do know we don’t allow that on our campus, right?” He says, a slight smile on his face.
The group turns to look at him, staring in disbelief. Katsuki yells out, “W-what the hell did you do to them!?”
“Don’t worry your pretty little red head, girl. I merely incapacitated them, I didn’t kill them. I know you’d be devastated if you lost your friends, just as I would be if I lost my dear younger brother.” He looks around the room at the Paranormies. “This fight doesn’t have to continue and nobody has to die here. Give me my brother, and I’ll give you them.” He looks at the two under his arms, then back at Katsuki. “What do you say?”
“Do we get Kirika back, too?”
“Unfortunately, what my hot-headed brother said is true. If we are to save this world, we will need to use her as the conduit to summon our armies. I’m so sorry, but we cannot give her back to you. However, we can guarantee your safety back into the city. That’s more than fair, what do you think?”
Katsuki looks to the ground, balls her fist, then looks back up. “I’m going to have to decline your offer. Either all of us leave, or…. Or none of us do!” she yells.
“I see. An admirable decision… if more humans were like you all, we wouldn’t have to do this. However… That isn’t the reality we live in. Your kind always needs to be guided towards the right path.” He snaps his fingers, causing the ground to start to shake. “I’ll see you outside. Make sure you get the student council members on your way out.” He let the two students drop out from under his arms and walks back out the door, heading back into the depths of the school with the battered Leraje following him closely behind. The club runs over to their two comrades, confirming they are unharmed.
The walls of the school start to crack under the stress. Akina turns to the rest. “This place is coming down, we gotta get out of here. We’ll figure out what comes next when we’re out.” Katsuki goes to object, but a piece of the ceiling falling in the middle of them stops her. She nods, and starts towards the stairs leading out of the building, the rest of the club pulling themselves together and following.