Chris reminded his heart that there was a plan this time and there was no need for it to be freaking out.

A plan to him was like what a pacifier was to a baby. It just made the world an infinitely better place. Even though the Man upstairs had the tendency to foil his well-thought-out plans, he still believed in their structural power in increasing the chances of something not going tits up.

Maybe his heart was finally fed up with everything going wrong. Reminding himself of the plan had no effect. Chris had a look over at the gentlemen in front.

They held stony expressions.

The song Ryder let play from the stereos was a mellow tune, soft hip-hop mixed with a stripped-back electronic beat. Chris hoped it wasn’t their Swan Song, but it felt like it.

Despite the calm of the music, Ryder was forcing Vanessa to give everything she had. They were rushing through the streets of Yokosuka, making the van’s engine whine in a manner that was a cause for concern.

Takato re-equipped his quilted jacket from his backpack and had his signature gas mask on his lap. Now knowing his past as a firefighter his fashion motif made more sense.

They dropped their abductee at the doors of a hospital before beginning their journey to Furihama Park—the stage for the next battle.

So, the only person with Chris in the backseat was Tayte—not sitting next to him but perched on the seat opposite of him… not that he cared anyway.

Chris scanned Tayte up and down over and over, feeling a bit odd about how still she was. Just looking out the window quietly.

Before they left the hotel, she changed into new thermal pants and put on some wool slippers, although she kept his dress shirt on. She seemed to have listened closely to his instructions and didn’t make any protests.

Finally, he got through to her. All his efforts were paying off.

Chris started smiling and nodded to himself. Then, he frowned, thinking about what could’ve caused her to be so amenable. The fight against Tatsunori must’ve really messed her up…

The van suddenly stopped, jerking its occupants forward and back. Takato was out in an instant and Tayte was hopping out of the vehicle seconds later. Chris shared a look with Ryder.

No words came out.

Chris stepped out of the van and felt the chill of the Japanese winter attack his cheeks and fingertips. The parking lot was filled with a couple of cars (including police cars) and a cacophony of groans resonated from the glitzy amusement park, but that wasn’t all. The sounds of propellers were added to the mix.

Chris looked up and saw the news helicopter hovering over the venue, keeping the full moon company.

The stage had been set indeed.

Takato put on his gas mask and summoned his Relic.

And then, Chris heard something that filled him with dread for reasons he couldn’t quite understand.

“Kamaitachi,” Tayte said and lazily pulled the imposing scythe out of the glowing hole in her chest.

Takato and Tayte marched toward the entrance of Furihama Park.

Chris summoned his Relic and joined them in their dramatic walk. The closer they got the clearer the throaty wails of the victims were.

As a shocker to no one, the park was naval-themed. Just a few steps past the entrance, it was easy to spot multiple massive ship-based rides—a pirate ship pendulum ride, a giant Ferris wheel designed like a boat’s helm, and the eye-popper of the site was the cruise ship-themed rollercoaster that had a loop section with a life-sized Godzilla in the center.

Every attraction was coated with a marine blue and white color palette that radiated lights of the same color.

Many sailor ducks stood guard around the place. The poor things must’ve been having the worst day at work ever.

The nuppeppos infested the park. Way more of them than back at the hostess club. Tons of men, women, and children were cursed to become walking lumps of flesh. They were waddling around, bumping into things, and making a hell lot of noise. Noise Chris thought could only exist in the confines of nightmares where the brain ran rampant and produced improbable things to exist in the real world.

The trio ignored the creatures and moved on until they found their smiling opponent waiting for them near a takoyaki concession stand.

Tayte stood between both young men, and Domingos had his eyes only focused on her.

“Tayte Enberg… quite a relief she’s okay, isn’t it?” Domingos said.

Chris snarled knowing the jab was for him even though Domingos didn’t look over at him when he said it.

Domingos broke eye contact with Tayte to look over at the concession stand. “I was really in the mood for takoyaki… I shouldn’t have turned the guy in charge before forcing him to make me some.” He scratched his head. “Damn it!”

Their opponent was out in the open, yet none of the members of the recently formed party moved a muscle. Chris glanced at his battle partners. Takato’s expression was hidden behind his mask, and Tayte… well, it wasn’t going to tell him anything.

Were they scared…?

Chris knew he definitely was but didn’t dare to show it. He fired at the hulking grave-robber with a scowl.

Domingos simply laughed. “What’s the plan?” he asked.

“There’s still no plan,” Chris replied. “We’re just going to whoop your ass.”

“Ooh.”

“Yeah! Ooh!”

Domingos looked up at the helicopter over them and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “So… we have a 50-pound girl who apparently turns off her brain when fighting, a moron who is too blinded by rage to think clearly, and then, there’s you.” He looked at Chris. “The overthinking one-trick pony. Ooh, I am so scared.”

Tayte stepped forward. “I’ve been meaning to thank you.”

Domingos pulled back. “Come again, little one?”

“Thanks to you, I got to participate in the Tombstone Trials.”

Chris knew at that point he shouldn’t be surprised by anything that came out of the gray-haired girl’s mouth, but he was. He did a double-take while pulling a face showing his utmost confusion.

Domingos released a laughing fit that had him lean onto the concession by his side. “You’re a complete lunatic! Who thanks someone for that? Hah! Whatever! You’re welcome!”

Tayte gripped the end of her scythe and pointed it at Domingos.

“Oh? You ready to start?” Domingos said while leaning forward. He beckoned her over. “Come on now, I’ll let you have the first hit.”

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If only Tayte was a person who did things that were easily understood, but no, she wasn’t, and once again, Chris was dumbfounded by her actions. She turned to Takato by her side and directed the curved glinting black blade at his shoulder.

Takato slowly turned her head to her. “What are you—?”

She swung at him without holding back. Takato barely avoided the abrupt attack with a backstep.

“What the hell?” Takato shouted.

“You said you’ll be willing to do whatever it takes,” Tayte said and pointed her Relic at him. “So, forfeit your Relic over to me.”

Chris’s heart jumped in his chest as his eyes widened, and then Domingos started laughing hysterically again.

“This girl is a riot!” Domingos said.

Takato stared at her for a while and then asked, “Tayte, what are you—?”

“With your Relic, I’ll have a better chance at defeating Domingos—”

“Three against one is a better bet!” He argued and then held up his axe. “You don’t have that much experience with my Relic!”

Tayte’s deranged smile made its long-awaited appearance. “I’ll learn on the fly.”

“Oh!” Domingos shouted and started applauding. “This is part of your genius plan. Brilliant play you three put together here, really. I am tearing up.”

Chris smiled nervously and shifted his focus to Tayte and Takato, having an intense staredown. If this was a play, then Chris received the wrong script.

“Are you going to forfeit the Relic or not?” Tayte asked again.

“Over my dead body,” Takato hissed. “You’ll have to kill me first.”

“But then you’ll never get to see Domingos meet his end.”

The venomous words made Takato pause, allowing the poison to seep in and warp his thinking. Chris could see him struggle with the idea.

Tayte wasn’t quite done, baffling the fight’s participants. She beamed her crazed smile at Domingos. “If we both attack him at once, he’ll be overwhelmed and will forfeit the Relic to make it stop. Let’s see who he’ll forfeit it to first.”

“Why would I do that when I can just kill you both?” Domingos said.

“Because it would be more fuuun!” Tayte whined as she jerked up and down. “But okay, I’ll get him to forfeit his Relic over to me before you get the chance.”

“I am not giving up my Relic to anybody!” Takato declared.

Tayte silently turned over to Takato. “Then, you’re being a fucking idiot.”

Chris stepped around them and stopped as he saw Tayte’s face. Her head was slightly tilted to the side, her eyes were widened, and her lips evened. It was an expression he had never seen before.

Her face was still. No lines or any signs of muscles being put to work. The fact that he couldn’t tell if she was frustrated, excited, or bored had him shuddering and unconsciously taking steps back.

At that moment, Chris concluded in his head that Takato was the protagonist in this story, and he and Tayte were the adversaries who stood in his way and contributed to the story’s controversial ending.

Nobody likes clichés, right?

It was time to put a stop to the madness. “Tayte—”

That’s all he got out before being shot away by a skinny white tornado that sent him to the skies.

###

Tayte watched Chris launch into the air by the oblique tornado. She gripped her Relic’s pole with both hands as she held it up. She pulled her gaze away from Chris before confirming his landing and went on to attack Takato.

She landed a gash on his chest, releasing blood that got on her white shirt and her face. The blood felt comforting on her skin… and not just because it was warm.

The world to her became a whirling blurry mess as she swung her scythe blindly, projecting wind slashes in random directions every now and then.

Tayte’s heartbeat accelerated, her breathing sped up as a result, and then came that comfortable feeling of her insides burning up and her brain sparking up from the beautiful high.

It felt so right but so wrong.

Finally, she stopped and waited for her head to stop spinning.

The cold night winds grew angrier, Takato was down on his back in torn clothes and covered in bloody lash marks, but his mask was intact.

Tayte looked down at the black blade inked with blood; it added to her feeling of ecstasy. The blend of color shone beautifully under the moonlight. She was enamored with the sight of it.

Domingo’s voice coming from her side caught her attention. “You’re just a special kind of crazy, huh?” he said, getting up with lacerated excess skin peeling off his unarmed body underneath. The concession next to him was in slashed pieces.

A bulbous mass of flesh formed over his shoulder, and he charged forward.

Tayte dodged with a roll, done easily with her size compared to his. As Domingos veered and went after her again, she ran in Takato’s direction.

Takato got up and pulled his axe back for an attack, and then Tayte side-stepped out of the way, allowing Domingos to ram into Takato.

Right after Takato flew and slammed into the stand of a water gun game, Tayte swung a wind slash at Domingos, which he evaded. The two charged at each other, but then, Tayte thrust the end of her scythe into the ground and vaulted over Domingos.

Tayte laughed as she saw Takato get up to see, once again, a scythe-wielding small woman running toward him. He blocked Tayte’s first attack with the blade of his axe. He jumped over the second attack, which was a low one, and the third one was out of left field; Tayte threw her scythe out of her hand like it was weightless and pulled her fist back as pure white spinning winds danced around it.

“Kazeken!” She propelled the wind-enhanced fist, and Takato blocked it with the face of his Relic, but the stormy force of the blow had the weapon bash back into his nose.

After that came a crucial couple of seconds where the two needed to bet on their next move. Tayte chose to charge another windy fist, and Takato, taking a page from her playbook, did something out of left field and snatched one of the plastic guns propped on the stand of the carnival game and smashed it on her head.

The world flashed black for Tayte. When she came to, Takato had his Relic pointing at her.

“Cula!” he shouted, and a green lightning shot out of it and struck Tayte in the chest.

She was pushed all the way back to where the battle started.

Takato held the Relic like a baseball bat and started twisting the handle as he counted in a strange language. “Kunye!” he began, and the lightning and the blade increased in size with each number. Revving engine sounds came from the weapon.

Once satisfied with the size the weapon grew into, Takato, literally, skidded across the ground while coated with green lightning, reaching Tayte with abnormal speed.

He was intercepted by Domingos with a lumpy shoulder bash.

Takato flew, rolled back onto his feet, and charged at Domingos. Of course, not wanting to be left out, Tayte called back her weapon and joined in.

It wasn’t clear who was fighting who. It was pure chaos. The battle became a clusterfuck of slicing winds, jagged lightning bolts, and enlarged fleshy punches.

And then Domingos decided to call over the nuppeppos.

###

Chris was deaf once again.

Being caught in the sudden tornado made him lose grip of his shield, and as he nosedived quickly, he had time to picture all the different but equally painful ways he would die as his bones collided with the ground.

Instead, he fell on top of a tent, took the whole blue and white striped thing down, and was nestled in a tangle of fabric as his fall ended.

Chris got up, flummoxed, and escaped from the tent’s confines. Once he began running in the direction where he flew away from, that’s when his hearing decided to take another short vacation.

While dashing in silence, he thought about his landing and refused to consider something like luck, being the reason why he was still able enough to run. There had been a theory that Relic users had increased durability relative to regular humans.

Chris began to notice the nuppeppos around him, and they were all waddling toward something, like following a beacon. They were heading in the same direction he was going.

The destination he reached was overcrowded with the nuppeppos. It was like the minutes leading up to the start of a soccer game in a stadium. The air became stuffy and heavy with all the fat clumped together. He could feel his own breathing being stunted by it.

Chris attempted to squeeze through the narrow openings between the creatures and quickly after knew he had made the wrong move.

A nuppeppo came stumbling forward, Chris tried to evade by moving to his side, but his shoulder got stuck between folds of fat. He was crushed between two of the creatures.

Chris felt himself wheezing bad and was glad he couldn’t hear it, the physical effort required to push away a single nuppeppo from him accounted for all 3 sets of pushups he’d normally do.

He moved as quickly as possible in the crowded area, feeling all the oily, hot, and squishy flesh press onto him. He reached a small clearing in the crowd and spotted Domingos grabbing a nuppeppo by the wrist and whipping it at Takato. He was knocked off his feet.

Domingos detected Chris and gave him a smile, grabbed the wrists of two blobs at once, and sent them tottering in his direction. Chris dodged, but Domingos didn’t stop. He repeated the move multiple times. Turning the battlefield into a nightmare of blobs running and bumping into each other.

It was like being caught in the center of a big shopping store sale. If Chris lost focus for just a moment and allowed himself to fall to the ground,

he would be trampled to death in seconds.

Throughout trying his best to stay on his feet and survive the bloated apocalypse of crushing fat, he somehow ended up by Takato’s side.

They shared a look for a single second before Takatao used his Relic to redirect a nuppeppo at Domingos.

Domingos caught the wrist of the incoming nuppeppo and used its momentum to lift it up in the air, and it landed on his shoulders.

Chris looked at Takato to ensure he was seeing the same insanity. The dumbfounded look on his face seemed to confirm it.

Like a wrestling move, Domingos spun with the blob on his shoulders and then hurled it into the air.