Chapter 35 - Siding with Demons (Patreon)

The walk back to the safehouse had been nothing short of surreal.

Tanya and Maude walked through the entire citadel, their hoods off, utterly disregarding who or what saw them. Olfric didn’t need to be a military tactician to know that the Shimizu must have stationed spies in and around Haviskali, and definitely within the citadel. He doubted Tanya didn’t think of that, so unless she was betting on the spies restraining themselves from attacking in broad daylight within the citadel, he didn’t know how else were they going to escape the attack that was soon to follow. On the other hand, the Shimizu had brazenly launched an all-out  war on Zuken’s mansion and brought it down to the ground. Compared to that, Tanya was a small fish, at least the moment she was out of the Citadel’s defenses.

“Elena,” he murmured, “that Charming thing you did on the monsters in the anomaly, do they also work on bremetans?”

The changeling met his eyes, as if to say, What if it does?

“Chances are, we might be attacked. When that happens, don’t hold back. Charm them and escape. I’ll follow suit.”

“And them?” She asked.

“We can’t trust them.”

“I’m not leaving without Maude.”

“She’s not Maude,” he hissed, looking ahead just to see if they could hear him. He had intentionally maintained a distance between the two and themselves, just to avoid being caught in the crossfire should  anything happen. Regardless of how Maude appeared and interacted, he couldn’t forget the fact that she had been possessed and she had physically assaulted him in the anomaly. And even if she survived the possession, where was she until now? And how did Tanya, who was supposedly trapped in the borderland, meet Maude and gain the favor of this elusive Lady Kandra?

It was like everytime he got close to finding an answer, the number of questions doubled.

And as if things weren’t already bad enough, Maude and Tanya took a right-turn, and instead of crossing the street, walked into a narrow lane that led towards the old stockyard buildings of the old district. Every step they took got them further and further away from the crowds, away from the traffic and the platforms. It wasn’t like he expected someone to run past him screaming or something, but it did make him wish he had brought his sword alongside. Unfortunately, weapons were a big no-no inside the citadel, so all he had was his lifeforce and a lifetime of physical training to call upon. He wasn’t weak without his sword by any means but he always preferred having a weapon to channel lifeforce through.

“Where are we going?” He voiced out aloud.

“Are you afraid?” Tanya asked without looking back, amusement lining her voice.

“Just curious,” he said. And afraid, not that he’d ever admit it. It didn’t help that she didn’t respond and kept on walking.

The four of them soon found themselves facing a four-storey apartment building that looked like it had been abandoned mid-construction. One could see the floors and interiors vividly, with glass and stone raised in the oddest of places — a half-assed terramancy at work. There was a dark, lingering aura all around it, the kind that made people and animals avoid a place without giving much consideration to why. The same kind that stopped people from getting close to the desert, or made them avoid certain stretches of road. And there was a reason that they didn’t.

Bad things happened in places like these.

Elena gripped his arm tightly, saying nothing.

“This is the right address, isn’t it?” Maude asked.

“Seems like it,” said Tanya.

“Will someone explain to me what’s going on?” Olfric demanded. “Why are we here?”

Tanya sighed and turned back to face him. “Look, I understand you’ve got questions. And trust me, I’ll answer them all. But first, we need to welcome the guests that followed us from the Citadel.”

Olfric clenched his fists. “You knew we were followed.”

“Naturally,” said Maude. “Shimizu spies were all around the street and the Citadel, just waiting for you to reveal your hideout.”

“Our—”

“Hideout, yes,” said Tanya. “Obviously they noticed us and followed us instead. After all, I’m the bigger target. So, we brought them here. This building is cursed and needs to be purified and renovated. Naturally, the best place to lead them to.”

Well, now he knew what that odd feeling was.

“Why?”

Tanya looked at him like he had asked a stupid question. “To kill them, of course.”

They walked into the desolate building, passed the outer construction site and into the main hallway, shivering as a cold wind blew around them. The air smelled like mildew and like something rotting, setting Olfric’s teeth on edge.

“Charming place,” Elena noted.

“I try,” said Tanya dryly.

“Can you stop this nonsensical chatter?” He demanded, growing annoyed. That the two women were treating this like a spa visit was getting on his nerves.

“You’ve really changed, haven’t you?” asked Maude, eyeing him. “Don’t tell me losing a kami has made you this paranoid.”

“I don’t socialize with people I’ve seen get possessed by monsters,” he shot back, before glaring at Tanya. “Or deviants, for that matter.”

Tanya cocked her head, and for some reason, that spooked the hell out of him. Maybe it was the atmosphere, or maybe because of the way her features had just cracked, revealing something beneath it that wasn’t very Asukan, something that could do worse to him than the nightmares that had plagued his dreams ever since his return from that horrible anomaly mission.

“Fine,” she said. “You  heard everything I mentioned inside. I’m Tanya Shimizu,  the original heiress of my clan. My half-brother Ultaf, nasty sonofabitch that he is, wants me chained  and imprisoned and experimented upon for the rest of my natural life, so I escaped and have been on the run until this fuckery happened. And now they’ve taken Zuken captive because he suffers from the dangerous disease known as compassion, and it is up to us to get him back. Any questions?”

“Just two,” said Elena, “How did you find Maude, and how did you contact this… Lady person?”

Tanya snorted. “You’re not gonna believe me if I said it.”

“Try us,” said Olfric.

“Say, Olfric,” asked  Maude. “Do you remember the demon that chased and possessed you?”

Olfric stiffened. Remember? Not a day passed when he didn’t get nightmares of that possession. Whatever that demon did to him in those precious moments had damaged him for good.

He gave her a jerky nod. “What of it?”

“If I were to say that I could get you a powerful kami, and then help you get Zuken back, would you be willing to cut down your prejudices and work with that same demon you fought back then?”

“Oh, is that all?” he snarked, “You sure you don’t want me to invite them for dinner at the town banquet hall too?”

“You aren’t nearly as funny as you think you are.” Maude retorted dryly.

“I had to come up with some kind of response to your offer to corrupt my soul and enslave me into following a demon. Bad jokes seemed appropriate.”

“Olfric —” Tanya began.

“Shut up!” He snapped. “Yokai do not help Asukans and they certainly do not fight for them. I was there. I saw what it did to you. I saw what you became. You might think it’s all you inside but are you really? I don’t know what kind of fucked-up shit you think you’re up to, or how you got Tanya to work with you, but I’m not staying another second in this madness. Come on, Elena, let’s—”

“Stop.”

Something about Tanya’s voice made him freeze. He looked at her, and met her eyes, which had transformed into a poisonous white, triggering his worst memories from the anomaly. Had she always been like this? Was this the creature, the deviant that peered through her blue eyes every time they exchanged words?

“If you wish to leave, you’re free to do that. But know this, there is nothing you can do to free Zuken. The Shimizu are one of the Sacred Eight, and they will stop at nothing until they get me. Not even Zuken Banksi could stand against their wrath. What will you, the clanless, kami-less Olfric do to them? What can you do?”

He said nothing.

“Maude wasn’t lying, Olfric. Join us. If you do and swear to not betray us, we can get you a kami. A powerful water-type, as strong as the one you had. Perhaps stronger. We have an army, and yes, you’ll be an integral part of it. We’ll defeat the Shimizu together and I’ll become the next Clan Lord. A member of the Sacred Eight. Your own family has rejected you, but I’m willing to take you in. All you’ve to do is join us.”

His eyes flashed. “And I guess selling my soul is part of the fine print?”

Maude laughed. It was a hollow thing. “For that to happen, someone would have to be interested in your soul in the first place.”

His brows furrowed. “You’re telling me I won’t be possessed?”

“You have my word,” said Tanya.

“Your words mean nothing to me.”

“Which is apt, because you too, mean nothing to me,” Tanya said cooly. “Do not mistake this to be about you, Olfric Bergott. Whatever reasons Zuken had to hire me and confirm my identity, he protected me in the end. This is me trying to pay him back. And part of that is saving Elena. You… you’re just the extra. Join us or walk away, it makes no difference either way to me.”

“Huh, why me?”

“Because you’ve something that will help us get Zuken back,” said Maude. “And also because Zuken would want that. And because I still consider you a friend.”

“In that order?” Tanya inquired.

“Piss off,” said Maude.

“Enough with you too,” said Olfric, growing increasingly anxious with every passing second. His clenched fingers were now drawing blood. “If I’m an extra, why am I even here in the first place? Unless you’re pretending I could stop you from taking Elena away, forced or otherwise.”

“I told you,” said Tanya, “I don’t care. Maude however, does. She thinks you’re a headstrong fool that’ll end up needlessly dying in this conflict. You silly man, you don’t even understand the game you’ve been drawn into. Walk away if you will, it changes nothing. But if you don’t, if you even have a little trust for Maude, then accept this offer. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll end up finding what you’re looking for.”

“And what do you think I’m looking for?”

Her lips twisted into a not-smile. “A way to access the true power drawn from the harmony between bremetan and spirit. Not the trickle of mana you can pull out past the restraints of Eternal Light, but the real deal. Power without restraint. Force without balance.”

“How— how—” He gaped. He had never shared his private research with anyone. There was no way for her to know what he had been obsessed about.

“The reiki that possessed you told me that,” she admitted. “Possession, no matter how weak, creates a bond between the spirit and the victim. One that goes deeper than you think. In that one moment, Mizo understood you fully, your true desires. I believe you too, had a grasp of what she truly wanted in that speck of a moment.”

He said nothing.

“If…” he gritted his teeth. “And I mean if I do this, I join you, what happens afterwards? These… yokai, they’re gonna just let me go? Just like that?”

“Of course,” she said. “I told you, I’ll become the next Shimizu Lord. And I will need people on my side. People like Zuken. People like you.”

“And Aguilar?  I’d have thought he’d be on your side before others.”

She smiled. It was genuine this time. Almost… bremetan. “You’ve got it backward. He isn’t on my side. I am on his.”

And now he didn’t know what to think.

The sounds of people jumping upon the rooftops attracted his attention.

“The abductors are coming. If you wish to run, you should do so right away.”

“And Elena—”

“She stays,” said Maude. “We need her to get Banksi out.” She looked at the changeling. “You will stay, won’t you?”

Elena shrugged. “I don’t have a choice. It’s not that I can fight or anything.”

Maude smiled. “Believe me, you are quite integral to this mission.”

Elena narrowed her eyes, and then nodded.

“You better be,” said Tanya, annoyed. “She’s been tight-lipped about you.” She then looked at Olfric expectantly.

Olfric looked at Elena’s pleading expression, then at Tanya’s unrelenting gaze, and finally at Maude’s inscrutable demeanor. He could have told himself that he was in this because he didn’t want to walk away from Zuken. He could have lied to himself that he couldn’t trust Elena’s safety in Maude’s hands. He could have sold himself the idea that he was only there until Zuken was safe, and that he could infiltrate into their society in the process and gain intelligence for the Army.

But he didn’t.

For he was a man seeking power. Sure his immediate needs were altruistic to a degree. Maybe even for good reasons. But he wasn’t going to lie to himself or anyone else about his actions. If he did this, if he joined the yokai, he’d know it, he’d accept it in his heart that he was willingly leaving the safety of the Eternal Light for the murky shadows and all that dwelt within.

Worse things had been done for power.

Maybe it would turn him into a monster. Maybe he’d find what he was looking for. Maybe they were one and the same. The only way to know it was to move forward.

“Fine,” he said. “I’m in. I know I’m damning myself by choosing this, and… Susanoo, forgive me, if this has a chance to save Zuken, I’m in.”

Maude grinned and came forward to embrace him with a hug. Olfric stiffened, but after a moment, accepted it and hugged her back.

“Trust me, you’ll love it.”

“I’d love it more if I had a weapon right now.”

“Why? Does being saved by two women make you feel emasculated?” asked Tanya.

Olfric glared at her.

The aeromancer laughed, and pulled something out of her pocket and tossed it at him without so much as a preamble. Olfric caught it, and found it was a small, dark purple ball, and a moment later, he realized what he was holding.

This was the same liquid metallic slime that had latched onto Aguilar when they had dragged his sorry ass from the anomaly back to Zuken’s mansion. The damned thing had once tried to chew Olfric whole that one time when he had tried to pull it off Aguilar’s comatose body. He had never quite seen what Aguilar did with that slime but knowing him, he was up to no good.

“This is…”

“Lukas’s pet, or a part of it,” said Tanya, with a sliver of apprehension in her tone. “I suppose you could call it the pet’s baby, only it didn’t reproduce because it can’t, so it’s more like a fragment of the original with limited functionality.” She turned to Maude. “I got that bit right, didn’t I?”

Maude pointed a finger at herself. “Naturopath. The Outsider’s mysteries are beyond me.”

Tanya rolled her eyes.

Olfric frowned. The way Maude responded to that statement made him wonder how she knew Aguilar to have that degree of familiarity with his weapon. Slime-metal weapon. Whatever. He glanced at the sphere in his hand, and hesitated. The object was no doubt made of the same liquid metal, but there was something else about it. It was as if it was sleeping, and thrived in doing so. That disturbing its sleep would result in… something.

He dismissed that feeling. As suspicious he was about Tanya and Maude, he knew they didn’t need to trick him. And certainly not a kami-less, weaponless him.

“What does it do?”

Tanya paused mid-step and turned to smile at him. “It does whatever you want it to.”

“I— I don’t understand.”

She grinned, and extended her hand out of her large sleeves, revealing a band of the same metal.

“Watch.”

She flicked her wrist, and the wristband exploded into a long whip, with jagged protrusions coming out of it.

“This tool only does one thing. Copy.”

“Copy?”

“Copy,” she repeated. “You have to grant it access to your surface memories and remember the weapon you wish to use. Its shape, size, weight, properties, abilities, sigils — the better you remember, the better it copies.”

Olfric gawked at her.

“Don’t look at me. It’s  Lukas’s personal design.”

He arched an eyebrow. The Outsider made this? Using multiple elements was one thing, but a weaponsmith? That was new.

Looking at the strange sphere in his hand, he pondered on Tanya’s words. Initially he had debated making a copy of his personal sword, but after a moment, he settled on a far more appropriate weapon to manifest for the demonstration.

There were no doubt conditions required to invoke a change in the sphere. A tool that ‘copied’ the memory of a weapon to transform into its replica was a dangerous thing to have in one’s arsenal. Especially if he were to include the other factors she had mentioned in her explanation.

Properties. Abilities. Sigils.

Copying Tanya’s gesture from earlier, he closed his eyes and brought up his own memories and thoughts to the forefront, and felt an alien presence establishing a feather-light touch on his mind. Olfric shivered and suppressed the urge to fight back with extreme prejudice, and instead allowed the alien, slime-like presence slither across his mind.

The sphere elongated, sharpened and altered itself to form a sharp, curved scythe, a familiar set of sigils engraved upon its surface. The other end had morphed into a cylindrical hilt that was further connected to a long chain that ended with another weighted hilt.

A kusarigama.

“Isn’t that —” Maude began.

“My grand-aunt’s weapon,” he murmured, staring at the weapon with awe. Just like Tanya had said, the metal had copied the weapon down pat.

“Shahxith’s original bearer, she was a master of using it. She taught me to fight as a child. Father had always said I’d get her kusarigama after I became the next Bergott lord.”

“That looks like a nasty thing,” Tanya observed. There was a teasing tinge to her voice. “Are you sure you can handle it without cutting your head off?”

Olfric smirked. “Let’s find out.”