I stirred awake softly, the light hurting my eyes as my mother came into view, my head in her lap, her hands caressing my hair gently.
And with wakefulness came the memories, buzzing like TV static in my head, a set of two, one my old memories in full, and the second a replay of the fight, the utter beatdown I received. The moment he-
My mind fritzed, and my hands began to shake.
Fear. Absolute Terror.
My breath hitched, and my chest began to palpitate, as I buried my face in my mother's stomach, wrapping my shaking hands around her.
The shakes didn't stop, but in her warm embrace, they did lessen.
"Its okay, Riser. Mama's here." She cooed, rubbing my back reassuringly, "No one will hurt you while I am around."
Her soothing voice began to calm me down, and slowly, I felt something settle in my gut. I didn't know how long I stayed like that but by the time I came to my senses again, it was evening.
The sun was setting outside, and my mother has slumped against her chair, dozing off, her arms wrapped around me ever protectively.
It filled me with a warm, and fuzzy feeling of love and affection. I nuzzled into her hug one last time before slowly, carefully, squeezing out of it.
We were still in the ryokan, so Magari and co. must have called for my mother after the disaster that was my match against Tannin.
The first time I had felt that much power. I thought I would at least be able to put up a fight, but…other than our flames, which matched in power, he was so far above me in every other aspect it wasn't even a fight. He toyed with me, the whole time.
He held back and still wiped the floor with me.
The thought sent shivers down my spine.
Knowing the difference in theory was much different than experiencing it first-hand. If that is just peak Ultimate Class…how strong are those at Satan Class? Chief God Class? Top Ten Class?
"Scary, isn't it?" I heard a familiar voice call out from the side.
"Ruval!"
"How are you feeling now? Head still all fritzy?" He asked gesturing me to follow him outside.
"Yeah. A little." I pinched my fingers to show.
He nodded understandingly.
"That's what happens when the memories come crashing back. It's like an injection of information all at once, and the brain just can't process that, so you black out."
"Will that always happen or…?"
"Not always. Remember how itchy your regeneration was when you first started?"
I nodded.
"Yeah. I just learnt to ignore it afterwards, same with the pain, though that never fully went away."
"Same thing here. Get your head blown off enough times and you learn to stop focusing on the memories."
"But it's an automatic thing! That's like saying stop swimming to a man caught in the rapids."
"It's exactly like that." He emphasized, "Stop swimming. Sink to the bottom. Stop thinking entirely and learn to react on instinct. It comes with practice, don't worry."
He clapped his hands, rubbing them together and made a 'come on' gesture.
"Let's go. Out with all the questions. I know you have some. We'll do a speed round."
I thought for a moment, hesitating to ask.
"Am I still the same Riser?"
"Yes. That's what Rigal asked the first time too. And yes, you are the same person you were. This isn't a Ship of Theseus situation. You are the exact same Riser Phenex as before, metaphysically, literally, theoretically, every-cally way you can think of. That's just how our bloodline works. So don't harbor any doubts about this stuff or you'll end up like Rigal." I could sense the anger in his voice, "His fifth rating game match was against Tannin. Guess what happened?"
"Does Tannin have a fetish for crushing heads or something?" I joked.
"He's a seasoned warrior. After fighting me so many times, he realized that the easiest way to deal with a Phenex is to blow off our heads.
I was so pissed off that I spent a truly stupid amount of time blowing off my own head till I learnt to counter it, but Rigal…he never learnt it. I still regret not giving him this talk, for not seeing the signs then, that I see so clearly now." His voice turned sombre, "He's never fought again you know? I know how he seems now, but he wasn't always like this. Rigal used to be just as enthusiastic as you about training.
Don't blame Tannin, by the way, anyone else who knew would have done the same. He was just the first to figure it out in this generation, and the rest never did because I overcame the limitation and hid it well."
"That's why I'm telling you this Riser, what I wish I had told him back then. The only way out, is through. Keep moving forward, because if you stop now, it's over."
I understood the severity of the reminder, even more so because I knew what was coming for us in the future.
"Never give up." I repeated to myself.
"There's the Riser I know!" He patted my back, and stood up gesturing me to follow him to the yard.
"What are we doing here?" I asked, though I already had an inkling of exactly what.
"What else? Practice. I'm going to keep blowing your head off till you learn to take it. Here's how we'll do it. I'll blow off your head and the moment you regenerate you take as many steps forward as you can." He pointed to the ten or so feet between us, and smiled sadistically, "When you can reach me in one go, we'll stop."
Dammit! I have other stuff to do. I- He's already preparing a hellfire shot.
"Waitwaitwai-"
BOOM!
Splat!
I blacked out. Again.
And so it began.
----------x----------
(Nurarihyon POV)
Nurarihyon had moved through the Emerald City unseen and unheard, like a phantom in the shadows. Resplendent with all sorts of magics and artifacts, the capital of Oz, the country of magicians, for magicians, by magicians, was a sight to behold, one that he would have very much liked to tour in a time of relief, but that was not today.
Today, he had a mission.
Out through the gates, south of the city, in the wildlands ravaged by the spatial winds of the Dimensional Gap, after half a day of travel, stood a castle. Pink washed and chock full of security spells, much like a military compound.
Entry in and out was restricted only it those who had been keyed into it. The gates wouldn't even open for him. But that was no problem.
He waited another day outside, hiding under the eaves of the portcullis, waiting, watching, until it opened. Someone was coming out. And he rushed in.
Swooping through the corridors and hallways, the labs and dungeons, he scoured each room, each door, till he came upon hers, deep in the heart of the castle. Another wait, another attendant followed in.
Large and richly furnished, with a dozen types of security on top of the general wards, it was a stately room, fit for a king. Or in her case, a queen.
To the side, he could hear the shower running- the witch was in the bath. And he was short on time. While the attendant made the bed, he snooped around the room, swiping through files and documents as he gathered what information he needed. Buried deep under the pile of papers, he found it.
An adoption application. SOS shelters, Vienna, Austria. Pending approval.
Good. The boy would like that news more than most. He spied the dates on the bunch- two months of screenings, tests, the whole kit and caboodle. That also gave him the address of the home and an upcoming appointment with child services and a court date.
Next week.
Thank their distinctly European bureaucracy, the girl was still in the orphanage, from delay after delay on the application.
Just in time for him to swoop in.
Now, all that was left was to find his target and- The bathroom door opened, steam wafting out from it and Nurarihyon put down the papers, not even bothering to replace them where he had found them, before quietly moving to the end of the room.
At least he wouldn't have to wait much longer.
A beautiful woman around the age of forty emerged from the steam, long light brown hair draped over her wet body, and soft almond eyes framed by smile lines. Below he spied all the right curves in the right places and those thighs…He licked his lips.
Just his type. A ripe, mature fruit.
Shame he had to kill her. It was a waste of such delicious booty.
But a deal is a deal.
"Lina, could you get me a bite to eat." She asked the attendant and she nodded, making her way out. The door closed behind her.
Perfect timing. Too perfect, he knew.
He had already been ready to strike by the time she spoke.
"Come out already." Her entire demeanour had changed, "I know you're there. Or would you rather I ring the alarm?"
Nurarihyon complied. He had nothing to fear. She was hardly peak High Class, and escaping the castle would be far easier than entering it.
"It seems I have degenerated in skill if everyone seems to find me these days." He chuckled.
"Do not blame yourself. I am simply used to the lascivious gazes of men." She finished drying her hair and turned to face him, "Nurarihyon?"
"I'm honored that such a beauty knows my name." He walked around her, "A secret admirer, perhaps?" His youki glinted in his hands, a death curse forming on it, attracting her attention.
"Why would the great Daiyoukai of the East want my poor little life?" She put on a lustful façade as she sat down on the bed, crossing her legs suggestively, "When I could offer you so~ much~ more~?"
"Tempting, very tempting." He laughed, tempering his burgeoning lust. As polite and tame as he had become in this new age, people tended to forget that he was a spirit of lust and defilement, over all. Invasion and penetration. Thievery and adultery. Or as they called it these days, NTR. His most famous legends were those were he defiled wives in front of their husbands, daughters before their fathers. A thief of innocence and murderer of love.
"Alas, it is not to be."
"And why is that?" She said but her eyes were colder now, gone was the mask.
Magic gathered at her fingertips and though she tried to hide it, her intent gave it away.
A cold-blooded woman, through and through. Or as the young'uns like to call them, sociopaths.
He didn't mind it of course. A beauty is a beauty, and though she'd taste sweeter if she were shy and demure, a mature aftertaste wasn't bad either.
But a deal is a deal.
"Don't bother." He spoke a line he had always wanted to try, as he flash stepped across her, his finger charting a course across her heart, the death curse constricting like chains. Subtle, nigh impossible to notice. A five finger death hold.
"Omae wa mou shindeiru!"
He picked up her body, and threw her head against the bedframe- but not before he got a few squeezes in of those ample bosoms and thighs- making it appear as if she had slipped, hit her head and died. An honest accident.
Then with a slash of his youki-coated blade, he cut through the recording enchantments, not destroying them, but applying his youjutsu over them, to selectively erase parts that would denote his presence in the picture.
By the end the narrative was clear, both in the security magic recording and the physical reality of it. Glenda slipped, fell, cracked her head on the bedframe and died. A complete accident.
The alarms blared and her head fell over, cracked, staining the cream-coloured sheets red in an entirely different way than he would have preferred.
'Tch! What a waste of a good booty.'
He disappeared again, but this time not without the documents of adoption. Perhaps the boy could use these. Better safe than sorry.
----------x----------
It was five more days before I regained consciousness for long enough to register it.
My hand on Ruval's chest. A punch. Deep within me, an instruction carved into instinct.
MOVE!
I looked up and saw him smiling proudly.
"Congratulations." He clapped slowly, "You did it."
"I …did it?"
"Yup." He patted my back, "Good job."
...
A little off topic, but I had to address the aftermath of the battle for mc. I didn't want to waste a whole chapter on it so y'all get a Nurarihyon interude mixed in.
Tell me what you thought of it.
Three more chapters before timeskip. yes, I dragged it out a little. Sorry. Lots of stuff to address. Can't help it.
Didn't want to rush through it either. So here we are.
Thanks for reading.
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