Later that night, at the shadowy castle, Kurai stood in the middle of what was once a beautiful garden. Its vegetation, once a lush green, was anything but now. The statues that decorated the garden looked much better in their prime. They would have been amongst the most extraordinary pieces of art that mankind had ever created. But now, even the ones who had created them would have a hard time recognizing them for what they once were.
Kurai casually held a staff made of pitch-black darkness with one hand. The staff had a purple orb on top of it, emanating energy as she calmly read a book. The book floated stationary in the air, enveloped by a small aura of ominous energy.
After reading it for a few seconds, Kurai turned away from the book and focused her attention on one of the many broken statues in the garden. She closed her eyes and chanted, "Great Master, grant me the power to fight, [Chains of Regression]!" As she cast the spell, a small droplet of black liquid leaked out of her eyes and stained her cloak.
From around the statue, three portals made of dark magic appeared on the ground. Soon, dark metal chains poured out of the portals and restrained the statue.
When she opened her eyes, Kurai noticed grains of dust on the chains. She waved her hand to dispel the chains and witnessed a cloud of dust, which was once the statue, staying in the air before it slowly dirtied the grass around it. She couldn't restrain herself from a groan of frustration that soon followed. Urgh, for how many hours longer will I need to keep looking? I just want ONE non-lethal spell! If I actually wanted to kill someone, I would just ask Henry to borrow one of his guns and be done with it. Why would I need to turn them into dust? That's way too overkill! Sparks of dark energy flared out from the purple orb on top of her staff.
When she noticed what was happening, Kurai took deep breaths in and out for a solid minute. Calm down...remember what Ambrosius said: Deep breaths lead to calm which leads to focus and leads to me not losing control of my magic. It was a lesson that, although it seemed basic on the surface, Kurai sometimes had a much harder time truly taking to heart than she would like to admit.
After calming herself down, she released her grip on the staff. Before it could hit the ground, the staff dissolved and entered her shadow. It's okay...even if it has been 343 tries already, I can resume the search another day. Who knows? I might not even need it. Sure, konchu-shonen might not be a darkspawn made for combat, but he's still a level above the nekomata I had summoned. So surely, he should be fine...right?
Before Kurai started to have second thoughts about his chances of survival, she heard a sound from behind her. When she turned around, she laid eyes on Judai, who stood there with one of his feet on top of a broken stick.
As she acknowledged his presence, Kurai breathed a sigh of relief. Speaking of the devil... She lowered her guard. "Phew, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" She walked up to Judai, the floating book following at her side with every step. "In any case, if you're here before I summoned you, it means that you've got something out of your investigation. Report."
Kurai stopped a few feet away from Judai. He gave a light bow before her. "While trying to locate the one responsible for nekomata's disappearance, I was ambushed in the middle of my search."
Judai paused for a few seconds to let the news sink in for Kurai before continuing. "Although I managed to escape, I wasn't able to see their face. But I did manage to get a glimpse of their clothes and hair. They were both white. Excuse me for not being able to gather more information."
Kurai sighed. "It's... okay, don't worry about it. The fact that you managed to survive an encounter with them is more than enough. You can go. If the need for you arises, I'll call you."
Judai gave her a light bow before turning away and entering the castle, where its shadows soon obscured him from sight.
Now alone, Kurai waved her hands to summon a familiar bean bag from her shadow. After getting comfortable with it, she remembered that the book was still there. She snapped her fingers and the magic that kept the book floating disappeared, making it fall onto her lap. White hair and clothes... I mean, at least it won't be hard to find them. If it was only her clothes, it would be a fool's errand to search for them since the culprit could always change clothes. But if her hair is also white... that should speed up the search, although...
She looked down at the book of spells on her lap. What should I do when said individual is identified might be another matter entirely.
She raised her hand to her chin in thought. Killing is off the question, period. Imprisonment, maybe? But that should only be an option if talking it out is not an option with them... and even then, only temporary.
She looked up at the full moon in the sky, admiring the view while thinking about what to do. Bargaining? Hmm... what do I have that they would want? And even if I have it, who's to say that they won't just attempt to kill me the moment I let my guard down, or worse, they become aware of Yoshino and try to target her instead!
Kurai shook her head, got up from the bean bag, and walked away from it with the book in hand. That won't happen. Even if I'm somehow unable to protect her... I know he will!
Kurai stopped in her tracks as a terrifying thought sneaked its way into her mind. Wait... is it possible that they may have the Crystal of Darkness? It wouldn't be too far off. They could have killed nekomata for looking for it and ambushed konchu because they most likely knew they were probably searching for them and decided to strike first?
A sweatdrop trailed down Kurai's face as another unsettling thought entered her mind. How much does this enemy know about me? Sure, the darkspawn won't reveal any information to them, but... is that enough? They should already know that I am somewhere around this city since they fought not one, but two darkspawns in two consecutive days, appearing in the same city. Sure, if I'm lucky, they might just assume that either one might just be a stray that has nothing to do with me, or better yet, they assume that both nekomata and konchu are strays and I'm just being paranoid all along!
She considered that for a moment before shaking her head. No, better not to risk it. I should probably call for their help with this. Even if it might be overkill for them all to come here, also... resuming my workout routine could prove useful in the future. I think I still have the workout music saved.
She raised her left arm, and from its shadow, her staff rose before she grabbed it. "Great Master, grant me the power to call for your servants, [Dark Reunion]!" Black liquid leaked from her eyes as she focused her magic on the purple orb.
While she was occupied with her spell, Judai observed her from the shadows before he had seen enough and left her truly alone.
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Back at the hotel, Judai entered through the balcony in his fly transformation.
When he transformed back into his human form and stepped inside the room, he was met by a depressed-faced Life. Life sat on his armchair in such a way that it looked like he was about to become one with it. If Henry saw this, he probably would assume it was the human race's next step for evolution... or at least that's what I imagine considering all he had told me about America and its people.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
When he was about a meter away from Life, Judai looked to his sides in case this was a trap before addressing the soon-to-be first half-man, half-armchair in the world. "What happened? Can I help?" he asked in a monotone tone, not out of decency, but because he felt it would bite him later if he ignored him.
Life groaned upon finally noticing Judai's presence. "No, it's nothing that should concern you." He took a deep breath before continuing. "In any case, if you're back, I'm assuming that the false report was a success, yes?"
Judai nodded. "Yes, although... we may have a problem." He said, his expression not fitting the news he had just given.
Life rolled his eyes. "Oh, good, that's EXACTLY what I need right now..." He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration for a few seconds. "Go on."
Judai considered for a moment how he should tell Life the news before arriving at a way he felt confident enough about. "Well, you see, upon giving the fake report to my old master, she decided to use the spell [Dark Reunion] to communicate with the other darkspawns across the world for them to come to her aid since her range to recall them only extends to Japan."
Now understanding better, Life nodded. "I see. Would you know anything about the darkspawns in her service? No need to give me names or abilities, but if you had to describe each one with a few words, how would you call them?"
Judai raised a hand to his chin in thought. "If I had to describe them in a few words... cowboy, wizard, cultivator, and tokusatsu."
Life slowly nodded. "Okay... I get the cowboy and the wizard, but what about the cultivator and sentai ones? I assume the cultivator one is a farmer? Which is odd, but I've seen how powerful nature magic can be. But what even is a 'Tokusatsu'?"
"Actually, it's not that kind of cultivator, but the martial arts kind. As for what sentai is... it's best if I showed an example from VideoSiteRed. Would you have a phone for me to borrow?"
As Life felt familiar with what that name referenced, he pulled out his phone and searched for any apps with that name. If that name is what I think it is, there should be an app with that name on my phone... found it!
"Here." Life handed over his phone to Judai, the app he wanted already opened.
"Okay, let me just search here real quick... here, that should do it." Judai handed back Life his phone once he had searched and played the first video that had shown up.
As Life watched the video, he instinctively raised his hand to cover his mouth and suppress laughter. Those spandex suits, those dramatic poses, the giant robot they used against monsters of similar size... Life knew what this was, and that brought its share of concerns. "Judai... would this toku-guy have a giant robot at his disposal?"
Judai shook his head in denial, which made Life let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. "Good... that's good." Life turned off and pocketed his phone before a thought crossed his mind. "By the way... unrelated question here, but, how exactly does your magic work?"
Judai tilted his head at Life, giving him a confused expression. Life saw a red question mark appear diagonally above Judai's head before disappearing just as quickly as it had shown up. "Er, is that a joke that I'm not getting? Excuse me, but with the power you showed me, shouldn't the one to ask that question be me?"
Seeing his point, Life decided to elaborate. "Well, you see, the magic that I used was indeed dark magic, but I'm afraid that I learned it from somewhere else—a place where their ways of teaching may differ from what you know. Or not. I can only confirm that by asking you."
"I see... very well, I may not be an expert on the subject, but I'll do my best." Judai took a deep breath. "Let's see, this information might not be 100% accurate. I once heard it from Kurai in passing, but wasn't really paying my full attention since it wasn't addressed to me specifically. Please take what I'm about to say as incomplete information of..."
"Yeah, yeah, just get on with it!" A slightly annoyed Life motioned for Judai to get to the point.
Judai stuttered a few words before he complied. "R-right, sorry. In any case, dark magic is, at its core, the magic of what it once was. She also said it was related to the number zero somehow. Er... I guess it would be easier if I gave you an example, if you don't mind, of course."
Life waved with one hand for him to continue.
"For example, the house you entered was a recreation of what once was the house of a family where I recently collected negative energy for my old master, Kurai."
"Hmm, I see. So if I had to assume from how happy that fake couple was in your fake home, to collect the negative energy from that place you had to interfere with their lives, correct?" Life asked.
"Er... no, I'm afraid that's the wrong assumption. Kurai has something you might have heard of as morals. By her orders, I can't attack or harass innocent people in any way unless provoked when going outside to collect negative energy." Judai awkwardly corrected Life.
Life raised his hand. "Wait, wait, you say that she orders you guys not to attack or harass innocents, but how come Yoshino was attacked by you guys two consecutive times?"
"Well, you see, although I can't say for sure how the first time may have happened, I can say for sure that at least in my case, I actually didn't disobey any of her orders." Judai pointed at his own shoulder. "Yoshino shot me before I touched her, meaning that by all accounts, she provoked me, which gave me enough leeway to retaliate."
"I see, abusing a technicality to get around the orders of your superiors..." Life smirked and winked at Judai. "I'll keep that in mind."
Judai slowly nodded, his posture making it look as if he had regretted what he just said. "U-understood. Now let's see, where was I... Oh yeah, when I asked her how I should collect negative energy with those conditions, she said the world out there is already a dangerous place where I could go around the country and sense negative energy."
Judai sighed. "Credit where it's due... it didn't take long for her to be proven right."
Raising his hand to his chin, he continued, "Nothing noteworthy happened in the next few years. It was usually just me going around collecting negative energy from various places in Japan and returning to my old master. The most recent place was the real version of the house where I sensed negative energy coming from the family who lived there."
Life raised an intrigued eyebrow. "Would the form you are taking be from any people that lived in that house?"
Judai nodded as he calmly raised his hand to his chest. "Yes, because my kind is made of dark magic, our very being can be affected physically and mentally to various degrees depending on how long we have been affected by the negative energies we are exposed to. Because of this, not only my appearance but also my mental capabilities changed over time."
"Hmm, about your original form... could you show it to me? I now wish to see your real form," Life calmly asked as his curiosity rose.
Judai looked away, ashamed for some reason. "I can, but I must warn you, even Kurai hadn't been able to look directly at me at first. Would you still wish that I show it to you?"
His curiosity now fully piqued, Life silently nodded.
"Very well." Judai closed his eyes and breathed in for a second. Small sparks of dark energy started to come out around his body. After a few seconds, a dark circle appeared on the floor below him. The dark circle rose, enveloping Judai in its darkness before forming a dark pillar.
A few seconds later, the pillar shattered, scattering black shards around the room. Life needed to lean his head to the right to dodge a big shard that lodged itself on the armchair. As he got a better look at the shard near his head, he witnessed it slowly evaporating, leaving behind a trail of black smoke.
"Excuse me for the wait," an unfamiliar voice said, making Life turn to where the voice came from. What he saw could only be described as an eldritch fusion of many different kinds of insects. The most grotesque part of their body was its face. The creature had eyes similar to those of a fly and a mosquito's stinger where its mouth would be. On closer inspection, Life saw dark smoke escaping from the creature's stinger. Certainly not the most beautiful creature Life had seen, but he had seen FAR worse.
Life shrugged. "Hmm... it's kind of gross, but not really that disturbing. Do you have advantages in this form?"
Judai blinked a few times at how passive Life's reaction was to his true form before he recovered. "Not really, no. In fact, I argue that my human form is technically better because I can blend in without sacrificing any of my strength."
"Is that so... you can change back now if that's the case and also return to Kurai before she suspects anything. If anything noteworthy happens, report it to me, preferably while not being followed, understood?" Life smirked at that last part, clearly referencing how he had tracked down and captured Judai.
Judai, either oblivious or just knowing better than to talk back, transformed back into a human and nodded. Without further words exchanged, he jumped off the room's balcony and transformed into a small fly mid-fall.
Life, now alone again with his thoughts, sighed before getting up from the armchair and going straight to bed, still in his clothes.