After a day of searching around for clues about Yumi, they all came to the conclusion that whatever Nerine did succeeded. However, the problem was none of them knew which of the things she tried was the correct one. So they were no closer to having an easy fix if it happened again, just that Nerine could fix it.

But dropping their tail proved to be the simpler case. Trying to find Yumi was harder than they imagined given her rapidly expanding reputation in the region. They were in no short supply of rumors and tips, the problem was there were too many.

Gathered up around a local tavern, they all finished their investigations. With food paid for by way of Nerine’s ability, they sat to collect themselves again. The area known to them as Shimane wasn’t by any means small and searching on foot with nothing but luck would take forever. Though it sort of felt like it still might take that long the way things were going.

Saki pulled apart the bread into pieces to eat. “Anything useful we can use?”

“Plenty of people were willing to talk, but each story is different from the last. One says they cut a mountain in half, another claims there’s a mountain of demon corpses. The only consistency seems to be the exaggerations of the stories.”

“Considering this is demon territory, any human forced to live here probably wishes for someone that can slay all of the demons.”

Nodding in agreement with Saki, Nerine felt the same thing while talking to the villagers. There was a worrisome atmosphere about it though. “We may already be too late though.”

“You think the damn war’s going to happen either way?” Seiji asked.

“You can see it in their eyes. They’ve got hope. Depending on how the demons that run this area feel about that, they could see a rebellious attitude appear. I fear conflict’s going to happen regardless of what we do now.”

“Either way, we still need to find our friends, even if we are going to be sucked in a damn war.”

Finishing off his bowl of soup, Seiji took a pause as they commiserated about the likelihood of a war breaking out. Once they looked like they had stopped, he threw in what he learned. “There’s some really powerful woman spotted in the next village over.”

Both of the women stopped and stared at him. “Why didn’t you start with that?” Saki complained.

“It may not be Yumi and is about as trustworthy as anything of the other shit you’ve been tossing out.”

Saki had to pause, accepting that he was right. However, it was also the only thing that they had that was actionable as well. “Everything else we’ve got is too vague to work with. A rumor in another village we can at least track down.”

“Anything else about the rumor?” asked Nerine.

“They said she saved the village, but left sure as shit without accepting any reward.”

“Yumi wouldn’t have much need for a reward, that’s not why she’s here. It’s worth a shot.”

“Yes, I agree. If nothing else, there may be better leads there as well.”

“We’re hitting the road!” cheered Seiji, looking ready to leave immediately. However, unlike the two women, he finished his meal already while they were talking. They still had their lunch that they wanted to eat. A little dejected, he sat back down. “We wait…”

Chapter 415 – Chasing Rumors

Thanks to Nerine’s self made cart and horse, they made good time getting to the next village where Seiji’s rumor pointed them. Only about an hour of hard riding spent with horses that never tired. However, as to be expected, they arrived too late.

Getting new clues was their only course of action. So they split up, taking the village quickly for any bit of talk, since they had directly met the woman in question. Nerine shouted out to the two when she discovered something more than the general bits that they were all getting. “Can you repeat what you told me?” she asked, with the others gathered.

“Y-yes? Umm…I saw the woman you’re asking about. She killed the bandits that suddenly moved in with the death of the Reaper. She moved too fast, it all just looked like a white blur.”

“A white blur?” Saki noted, she knew it wasn’t much to work with, but it had some promise. “Yumi’s powers are white and to a normal human, it’d be a blur. Was there anyone else with the woman?”

“Not that I saw, but it all happened so fast. She was gone before we could even thank her.”

“What direction did she leave in?”

The villager turned and pointed down the dirt road out towards a large mountain in the distance. It had a strangely cleaved look to split it in two. It looked nothing natural. “Towards the Cleaved Mountain.”

“Is that where the bandits are?”

“No, there’s some stories that say some really old demon lives there, but no one’s seen them.”

“Is it strong?”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“If you believe the stories, they’re one of the original demons.”

Nerine, Seiji and Saki all looked at each other with the same conclusion reached. It sounded powerful and if it was Yumi, then she could be going up against something impossible. They quickly bowed and thanked the woman for the help rushing out of the village. At a safe distance, Nerine summoned their ride and they sped off.

Unfortunately for them, the mountain appeared to be further away than it looked. They could all see it, even Nerine could make it out, though to a lesser degree of fidelity than the others. Yet driving into the night didn’t get them to the mountain. It did however lead them into a forest.

Saki halted Nerine suddenly as she looked out ahead of them through the trees. Seiji looked over at her with the same sort of feeling to confirm it for her. She jumped down and put a hand to the earth.

“What’s wrong?” Nerine asked, not liking the looks on either of their faces.

“There’s something serious ahead. I can feel the ground shaking from all the way over here, but I can’t even hear the fighting.”

“Yeah, there’s some weird shit in the air.” While Seiji didn’t have the same sensitivity that Saki practiced, through his own senses he could feel something amiss. The power being thrown about was enough to make his skin crawl. “I’m not sure this is Yumi…this feels different.”

Pulling the horses up alongside them, Nerine tried to get them back on board. “We won’t know for certain until we actually see who this woman is.”

“We’re walking the rest of the way.”

“Saki?”

“I agree with Saki, Nerine. It’s all shitty up there and I don’t want you getting hurt if we go charging into the middle of the battle.”

“I can fend for myself just fine.”

“Do it, please!”

Her power disappeared, reverting back to a normal human. ‘Seiji actually looks unnerved, maybe even scared. What is it that they’re sensing?’ Just looking at them was enough for Nerine to feel sick. She didn't even know what it was that they were picking up, but it unsettled her. ‘Could it be something more than they can handle?’ That was the worst fear she had. If they couldn’t handle it, then it would be up to her, but if she prepared poorly she would be dead so fast. Her mind spun with possible strategies, yet with nothing good to work with she had no possible countermeasures to create. She needed to see the threat first.

Before they found the threat, they had a different story to solve. Dead demons littered the area around the foothills of the mountain. They looked around for any signs of Yumi or their friends. Unfortunately, nothing really made anything clear. Nerine, the expert of the group, managed to get a little bit of analysis from what happened. “It happened fast and ruthlessly. Looks like they didn’t stand a chance.”

“Anything that might indicate it was Yumi?”

“Everything was killed with a blade, but if it was a metal or energy one I don’t know.”

“We continue,” urged Saki looking at the mountain. It stood with an ominous message for them. A dark invitation from it pulled them towards it. Yet at the same time, a thick miasma of dread filled the air. A warning perhaps, only the strong should approach.

They didn’t have any choice, strong or not, they needed answers more than anything. They needed to know if their searching finally was over or if it was a shadow of someone else that they chased.

The next site of death turned out more grim than the previous. Weapons of unnatural size used to slay the demons quickly. Nerine wasn’t needed for understanding how they died. The evidence was before them. “Answers where the weapons were,” she noted from the scene.

A dark shadow fell over Saki’s eyes looking at the scene, as though it came from a horror film. “I’m with Seiji, this doesn’t look like Yumi’s doing. I can’t imagine her doing this.”

“Yori maybe?” Seiji suggested, even knowing that they were following a woman, not a man.

“Raged fueled to find his sister, I could believe he might, but we’re following a woman.”

Nerine watched the two trying to deny something even darker. She guessed that they knew it as well as her, just wanted to avoid such a thought. ‘If Yumi has been taken over by one of her personalities…if it was a brutal and lethal personality, maybe…’ However, Nerine kept the thought merely to herself. There was just too much unknown still. Whatever happened, they all seemed to agree that Yumi in normal circumstances wouldn't do anything like this. “We are already here. And they could also be the cause for all the rumors and the spark of war.”

“Yes,” Saki reluctantly agreed, “Even if it’s not Yumi, we probably should know who it is. Good or bad, we may have to face them at some point. We are stuck in this world until a resolution is found. I don’t want to face a world completely overrun by demons…”

They marched on in agreement, even if they hesitated on wanting that knowledge. Part of them feared it could still actually be Yumi and didn’t want that confirmation. And still they hoped it was someone else. Yet regardless of who it turned out to be, they faced a troubling future with the way things turned.

Then they reached the worst yet, while also the most mysterious. No dead demons, but also nearly nothing in the entire area. Massive craters filled the scene before them. A destructive battle had taken place and worse even Nerine could feel the earth shaking now. Ahead of them, a deadly light show hinted out the power being welded. Yet at such a distance, they shouldn’t have even been able to see it.

Nerine could feel the sweat sticking to her body just seeing it. “Is this what you’ve been feeling the whole time?”

“Yeah…and this shit’s getting even worse this close,” moaned Seiji looking actually a little ill. “This is the first time I’ve actually not wanted to fight whatever that is.”

“Agreed…”

Roughly swallowing, Nerine turned away from the lights trying to focus on what was before them rather than the bouncing ground. As she tried to figure it out, she noticed that it eventually stopped. “Unless they moved locations, this wasn’t caused by what’s happening ahead.”

Still distracted, Saki had trouble focusing on what Nerine saw. She eventually snapped herself together to look at it. “Craters…the damage here is on a completely different scale than back there.” They all knew that nothing they saw could rule out Yumi. The destructive power that she used during the battle of Atlantis proved enough how strong she could be. This easily matched and exceeded that.

The answer to it all lay ahead. Resolving themselves to push on, they marched. Though as they got closer to the site of the battle things seemed to be quieting down. The destructive forces they felt earlier seemed to be nearly gone. And that could only mean one thing. They rushed hurriedly to find out if they were too late to see who it was.

Before them a completely destroyed mansion laid in ruins along with deep cleaved marks through the earth. The scale of the damage appeared less than before, but they knew the power being thrown around easily out classed them.

Nerine looked in awe at the damage and expected to see more. ‘Such power, yet their control is this precise. The damage could have been far worse. I don’t believe this is Yumi either, she doesn’t have this sort of skill yet…’

Leaving them to focus on a dark figure that stood amongst the ruins with something massive behind them. Carved up and taken apart, it was hard to know what it used to be other than likely a demon. To have slain something of size and power, they all feared what sort of person this woman was.

A deep voice came out of the ruins having noticed them. “Who goes there? Demon servants?”

“Not us!” Saki yelped, surprised by her own panic. She stepped forward along with the others not wanting to present an aggressive or suspicious aura, anymore than sneaking about already caused. “We were just following some rumors.”

“Rumors?” Turning to face them, their face was completely blacked out in the night with only pure bright blue eyes piercing the dark. Blood soaked into their armor or what remained of it after the battle. And in their hand, a bloody katana that hummed power. She stood tall with a fierce presence matching the ominous power they felt. “Of me?”

“That’s right. We’re seeking our friends.”

“I do not know you.”

“Y-yes, it seems they aren’t here.”

“If that is all, then I shall leave.” The woman turned away, already walking without even waiting on another response.

To Saki’s surprise and worry, Seiji stepped forward. So much for not wanting to fight it seemed. He stared at the woman for a moment and then asked, “You seem somehow similar.”

“As I said, I don’t know you.”

“What is your name?”

The woman paused and tilted her blood drenched face towards him, peeling away the darkness. Her eyes narrowed, examining him in silence. The tension mounted as Saki and Nerine were not sure if he had just picked a fight with the wrong person. Then to their relief, she answered Seiji. “I’m called Masa.”