With their personal dealings out of the way, Imuru started the next phase of their conversation.
"Well, all of you brace yourselves…" Imuru began, his voice wavering slightly as his mind raced.
⟨How do I even go about this…?⟩
"Following my time conversing with Huln… an issue arose. Collon sensed there was something off a while back, so he shadowed me to the territory. While there, he found the culprit of his worry: a demon. A powerful one at that. I…well, he killed himself after a grueling battle against me. We believe there are others likely working with him. We weren't certain before, but at the end of my fight, he said something that made me certain. Everyone should be prepared."
The information settled heavily over the pavilion. Each leader silently absorbed the weight of the revelation, deciphering the implications into clarity before formulating their replies.
"A grueling battle? For you?" Kemono repeated, an intense, feral curiosity coloring his voice as he tried to visualize the combat dynamics.
"That's deeply concerning," Vunaru admitted, her ears twitching. "If it was actually an issue for you, some wild beasts out there must really have it out for us."
"Oh, my." Mikimi's eyes averted to the ceiling, her fan tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Hate us? Perhaps more so Imuru."
"I hope everyone will take this warning and tighten their defenses," Collon added, his expression turning grimly serious. "I fought Zazarah initially before I was defeated. He's a natural demon, so we should all be wary. And he probably has a leader."
"Ugh!" Vunaru grabbed her head in frustration. "A natural demon! The worst opponents are always the ones that follow an evolutionary path. Without proper equipment or something drastic, it's always a nightmare to challenge those types of beings. I won't be backing down, though. I don't mind a challenge." A fearless, sharp-fanged grin broke across her face.
Kemono's face contorted into a cocky, knowing smile. He leaned back in his seat, crossing his massive arms over his chest. "I, too, follow the path of the demon."
This instantly caught Vunaru's attention. Her eyes snapped right over to him. "Do you? Well… that would certainly explain your crazy power growth over this past year." She let out a sharp tch sound.
"Guess we'll be needing every bit of that power for what's to come."
"Back on the topic… the Demon Kings," Imuru forced himself to continue, trying to keep his voice steady. "This might be shocking, but the ones Murk mentioned are supposedly under Cherishnot, inside a Demon Gate."
" " "A Demon Gate?!" " "
The exclamation erupted from the table in shocked unison. They stared at Imuru, completely blindsided; there wasn't much else they could say to a revelation of that magnitude.
Vunaru leaned forward, a look of absolute disbelief on her face as she whispered, "Under Cherishnot…?"
Kemono slammed his hands on the table, rising up from his chair in pure defiance. "Point me in the direction! I, Beast Master Kemono, will obliterate that gate myself! If there's no gate they can't escape."
"Fufu~ Our newly entertaining Great Force ally, it would not be that easy to simply destroy a gate," Mikimi chided softly. "It would be far less taxing to… simply close it."
"Before we can get to the gate, we must first get past the barrier," Murk added, his casual tone cutting through the panic. "Furthermore, the earth around it has been reinforced. Even I can't get past it."
"The Demon Kings are right under Cherishnot…" Collon mumbled to himself, staring blankly at the table, unsure of what to think. "A Demon King is nothing to frown upon. If they return to this location, there is absolutely nothing we could possibly do to stop them."
"Please!" Mikimi snapped her handheld fan shut with a sharp clack. "Going muscle to muscle with such forces will only yield one outcome. However, I have an idea. If we can physically get to the Demon Gate, then I assure you…" She flipped her fan back open, hovering it gracefully over the lower half of her face, "…I can implement it."
Everyone around the table looked at Mikimi with stunned surprise. Under normal circumstances, such absolute confidence would seem entirely misplaced, but the unwavering faith she held in her own words and expression said it all.
"How nice. But we are deadlocked," Murk commented dryly.
"Getting past the barrier, you mean?" Mikimi inquired, her fox ears twitching playfully. "Hmph. Sounds like a fascinating challenge."
"I'm not sure what to say, but if you can actually get past that barrier and close that gate, then we owe you a lot, fox," Vunaru said, her voice genuine.
It was an incredible sight, everyone setting aside their centuries of bad blood to come together, actively brainstorming a way through the barrier. Subconsciously, Imuru knew he should have been happy.
He should have been proud.
But he just wasn't.
Deep inside, a quiet, selfish torment was tearing him apart. Subconsciously, he wanted to be the one to protect them. He was needed for this; he wanted to see this conflict through to the end with his own power. He couldn't bear the thought of watching anyone at this table get hurt.
But now, after that fateful confrontation, he was terrified. He was utterly scared of
being weak.
He found he couldn't even bring himself to utter the demon's name. A cold sweat broke out across his skin. His body began to tremble violently, his breathing hitching in his throat, at the very thought of the demon.
"Imuru. Hey, Imuru!"
A firm voice snapped Imuru out of his spiraling daze. He blinked, the suffocating constriction in his chest loosening and his drifting and foggy mind clearing. The faces around the roundtable blurred back into focus. They were all looking at him, waiting.
Taking a steadying breath to mask his trembling, Imuru stood up. "Right. Follow me," he managed to say, his voice tighter than usual. "I'll take you down to the underground entrance."
Leaving the pavilion behind, Imuru guided the Great Forces deep beneath the surface, to Section 1 Part A, the branch off that leads to a cliff down to a pitch black passageway that held the barrier.
In the designated sector, the atmosphere shifted from a quiet cavern to a heavily fortified military outpost. The area outside the gate's perimeter was under intense, suffocating surveillance. To everyone's mild surprise, the guard detail wasn't just composed of Imuru's trusted elite; Murk's soldiers were stationed right alongside them. The two factions worked hand-in-hand, their eyes scanning every shadow and crevice for the slightest hint of suspicious activity or structural anomalies.
The group traveled down the cliff; at the end of the chamber, it was dominated by what appeared to be an endless, pitch-black abyss, the access point to the passageway.
Mikimi stepped forward. She approached the edge of the darkness, her playful demeanor giving way to a look of practiced focus. Slowly, she extended her hand into the empty air.
The moment her fingertips made contact with the invisible boundary, the cavern erupted in light. The barrier shimmered violently, a flash of a multitude of colors cascading and rippling outward across the cave walls like a spectrum of oil on water.
"Oh, my." Mikimi murmured, briefly captivated by the mesmerizing aesthetic of the defense seal. But the fascination lasted only a second before she got to work.
The group watched her closely.
Mikimi's hand fell to her side. A shroud of jet-black flames, resembling a starless night sky, erupted around Mikimi's body, enveloping her completely. For a tense heartbeat, the dark fire raged; and then, just as quickly, it vanished. Mikimi remained standing exactly where she was.
"My, my, my. To be expected of a demon king. It's only natural for it to be such a refined barrier," Mikimi mused, tapping her fan against her chin. "As is to be expected from a Demon King's handiwork. Well then…"
Mikimi looked down at the stone beneath her boots. A sharp, brilliant spark ignited at her side, a sphere of vivid blue fox-fire. With a flick of her wrist, she maneuvered the flame a few meters behind her where it ballooned in size, casting eerie, dancing shadows against.
The assembled rulers watched her every move, intensely curious to see how she planned to bypass a barrier that had just shrugged off high-tier spatial magic.
Then, Mikimi simply tilted her head. Her entire body began to sink, melting seamlessly into the darkness of her own shadow until she disappeared from the cavern entirely.
Before anyone could even question where she had gone, a collective gasp of astonishment rippled through the group. On the exact opposite side of the shimmering, multicolored barrier, a shadow stretched, and Mikimi elegantly rose out of it, dusting off her robes with a triumphant, foxes' grin.
"Mikimi!" Imuru's eyes widened in surprise at the feat. Everyone hurried up close to the barrier.
Mikimi huffed, smiling in eager amazement. "That was unexpected!"
"Unexpected?" Vunaru repeated.
"Precisely! I could only make so many assumptions on what this barrier could and couldn't do; my studies are only so much. I never get actual practice."
"Hmm." An intrigued hand reached Murk's mouth at Mikimi's explanation. "Studies…"
"Wait, wait!" Imuru panicky tried to calm down all the excitement. "This is great and all… but to have you go on your own is unsafe."
"Teach us," Murk suggested.
At Murk's strange tone of eagerness, Vunaru glared at him from the corner of eyes as if he held ulterior motives.
Opening her hand held fan and concealing her lower face, Mikimi made a faint reply, "I will not," she mumbled, avoiding eye contact.
"Mikimi?" Imuru called her name.
Mikimi shut her hand held fan. "Unfortunately, there's no time for such things. Teaching is one thing, actually being capable of learning it is another."
"Can't you just get us on your side?" Vunaru inquired, pressing her face up against the barrier.
"No, I cannot." Mikimi bowed. "Please leave this to me. If my objective is deemed too unsafe I will return, I assure."
At her words everyone quickly marked their disapproval of this course in action, everyone but Huln. "There is no choice." Huln voice cute through the saturation of disapprovals. "The power of Demon King must not be allowed to fall upon the forest again."
"If she gets hurt we won't be able to reach her," Collon firmly protested. "We don't know what's in there. Uh, Murk, what else do you know?"
"I never questioned him…" Murk replied, turning away from the group.
Despite their fears and worry there was nothing else they could do, but allow her to leave. Imuru didn't watch as she went, he silently averted his gaze away.
Alone, she started her journey in the darkness. The air was damp, the ceiling dripping with eyes cold water of condensation; the passageway mossy wet beneath her feet. An unpleasant experience for the Kitsune Highest; she wasn't much of a field operative herself after all, but for this day, she became one for her allies.
⟨Carrying out an operation like this on such short notice… What was I thinking?⟩ She sighed. ⟨This may be the first time in my life I'll ever question my decisions.⟩
Her skin shivers. ⟨So many bugs.⟩ Even in complete darkness Mikimi could hear everything around; the subtle rubbing of exoskeletons against the earth, the slimy writhing against the wet moss… combining to an unpleasant experience. "Yuck!..."
Continuing forward after her brief pause to audibly express her disgust of the ecosystem. Mikimi entered a section of the cave that began to glow; all together, it was more like dots… or, "Bugs!" Mikimi spat out staring up at the ceiling dauntingly. She clenched her arms close to her body, as she courageously began to traverse through the area.
Due to the bioluminescence of the bugs' biology, the passageway glowed with a soft, blue light, pulsing in unison. It was almost beautiful for Mikimi, if only it weren't produced by bugs.
Despite her deep-seated fear of the bugs, Mikimi managed to force herself forward, carrying on without anything going wrong. But as she crawled further toward the end of the passageway, a strange, wet sound caught her attention.
What she saw at the exit drew her to a complete halt.
Standing directly at the cross-section where the other passageways met was a creature familiar at a glance: a Great Bear. But there was something horribly, fundamentally wrong with it. Its body seemed to be falling apart from the inside out, its organs and tissues activity pushing through the fur to the surface. Across its body were flesh pulsing like a beating heart.
Most terrifying of all, the monstrosity could speak... or at least, it tried to. From a distorted, human-like mouth split open just underneath its neck, it repeated a single phrase, over and over: "The pain... the pain... the pain…"
Mikimi stared down at the creature with mild curiosity. "...I wonder—uh!?"
From the silent whisper of her words, the Great Bear's neck snapped to her direction. With a glare from its beaming crimson eyes, an overwhelming aura was sent down her passageway crashing into Mikimi.
The wave lasted for only a few seconds, the creature bearing its teeth at her. From the ceiling above the bugs began to fall one-by-one, killed by the overwhelming power of the Great Bears aura.
Mikimi blinked the effects fading from her body, she was far too strong for it to have any major effects. "Transmuation? My oh my, what an unfortunate fate. Did you wonder too close to the gate?"
The Great Bear roared from its gut, then charged at Mikimi.
Mikimi clicked her tongue, the second the creature brought down its pawn at her, she teleported behind it with [[-Spatial Movement-]].
"I adore your enthusiasm, but I must be on my way!" Mikimi expressed, taking off in a hurry down one of the passageways.
Only a few hundred meters from the first encounter, Mikimi was forced to another stop. From the side of the passageway came a loud crash, as something intercepted her, a red demon, covered in serpents; each one a part of its body.
"My, is a confrontation predetermined?... In that case…"
Mikimi launched forward at the demon. Before it could even react to formulate an offensive, Mikimi tore right through it without the drop of friction, her body radiating small silver particles; her aura.
The demon dropped dead.
Looking back at her handy work with profound smugness she smirked. The section of the body she ripped through had a silver burning prolonging effect. "That worked… and was highly combat effective. Hm hm~ Even so I doubt I'll be able to run through all my opponents. If they are not of greater level that is."
Turning to leave after her success the small crunch of small shifting earth beneath something's feet drew her attention. Over her shoulder Mikimi flashed a glance.
"Oho~~~." Behind her were an enormous group of demons familiar in form to the one she defeated only a few seconds ago.
[[-Phenomenon-]], in an instant Mikimi's presence vanished from sight. Her steps concealed by her skill Mikimi bolted off ⟨So much company!⟩.
She ran and ran, following her senses toward the rich demonic energy she felt. At her pace she was drawing closer to her objective.
Minutes down the line Mikimi came across a deep descent. Not hesitating for a second, she took the leap, landing at the bottom on her feet.
After her brief pause, Mikimi was off again.
Nearly an hour of lonely silence but the soft squeeze of wet moss beneath her feet; of turns and turns, where at times she felt as if she was going in circles, one final straight path finally led her to where she needed to be, opening up to an area of glowing area of crystallized rock. The area was filled with the faint yet visible raw white Perivállon, the weakest of the wavelength.
"Perivállon Crystallization." She noted, her eyes filled with profound enthusiasm. Just past this white blanket, was the higher wavelength of raw Perivállon; crimson red, and beyond this field, laid what she was looking for: A massive double door in the wall at the edge of the chamber, with strange intricate markings engraved into it: the demon gate.
At the foot of the door, was the clear corruption of the demon realm leaking out, from the ajar gate; transmuting the crystallized surface into a strange pulsing substance that beat with a rhythmic pattern of a heart. Even from where she stood, close to a half a kilometre away the nauseating effects could be felt.
Unpleasantly, Mikimi's stomach contents flooded to her mouth, and was promptly swallowed back. "Oh, my…"
She wasn't used to the feeling. The raw Perivállon was fine, but transmuting effects of the demon gate wasn't something she'd experience during her lifetime. Despite her attuned senses with [[-Extraordinary Perception-]] Enhanced sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell. Good enough she can hear the micro sound waves of a leaf drop and combined with [[-Perivállon Sense-]] that already gives her 360° awareness without the need of sight, but also provides a perfect picture of enemies actions and movements. Even if they are in a cloud of dust as it uses the natural displacement of Perivállon in the surroundings to pinpoint someone down. Using this one can even differentiate between falling leaves; her senses were excellent with these two [[
Despite her jumbled sense it didn't stop Mikimi from being fascinated by the sight of the gate. She took it all in its terrifying glory and all. "Behind that gate…" She pondered. It was tempting to go inside… or maybe to just have a peak of what the realm holds.
"What silly thoughts…" She mumbled. Her eyes darted around the area briefly with suspicion; after all considering the circumstances this would be considered enemy territory.
Whilst Mikimi thought of her next steps; without her knowledge, she was not alone in the area. The demon Kinkaru stood atop the ceiling, his crimson form concealed.
⟨Wretch! How did she get past the barrier?! I can't sensed that it had been dispelled…⟩ Kinkaru complained in his thoughts with furious anger. ⟨I should kill her now.⟩ This was what he wanted, but he couldn't act recklessly, attacking now would be foolish even for him.
Mikimi began to move forward toward the gate. Kinkaru gritted his sharp teeth, glaring down at Mikimi observing her steps.
Kinkaru snickered with some confidence. ⟨It does not matter. A demon gate can always be open. What a pointless endeavor.⟩
An arm's length from the gate, Mikimi raised her hands to close the enormous gate to the demon realm. Inches from touching it, Mikimi's hands rapidly began to transform, and she drew them back quickly.
"Ouch!" Mikimi flinched, glancing at her palms in surprise. A deep howling sound from the ajar gate, forced her attention. Her expression of fascination was completely devoid on her face, replaced by wariness.
"Perhaps I will not have that look…"
An outflow of silver aura glowed out from Mikimi chaotically; only for a few seconds. Getting her aura under control, Mikimi raised her hand up to the gate, and with her aura countering the effects, she pressed her palm flat against the gate.
"...."
"...."
The massive gate only moved less than an inch as another issue came to the surface. The weight of the gate itself, weighing nearly over fifty tons, moving this would not be an easy feat.
She strained against the gate momentarily, giving in to the struggle as she gasped. "Kah~! Again!" Mikimi slammed her palms against the gate, her hands becoming a violent tremble like a leaf in a strong gust.
At first was the absolute stillness of the gate, her best seeming to not be enough. Her aura flared up, and she gave it her all and beyond; the extra strength she thought she didn't possess bursting to the surface. At each shift of movement the gate made an unnatural sound like a deep growling animal, as if it were alive.
Mikimi threw her entire strength into it, for a final push, gritting her teeth she excreted as much as she could. Pushing her body against the gate, it slowly began to reach full closure. At the brim to its closure an occurrence occurred; the outside corruption from the demon gate was drawn back inside, swallowed as the gate came to a deafening close. The final squeeze sent one pulse of crimson shockwave outwards conjuring hurricane-like winds in the underground that knocked Mikimi right off her feet.
"Ugh~~~!" Mikimi gripped onto the gate to keep herself on her feet, bending over; resting her other hand on her knee, huffing and puffing. "Thank the Creator God." She lifted her head. "To finish this…"
[[
[[-Spatial Coordinates: The Almagest-]]
By superimposing a mental grid over reality, she can instantly manipulate the spatial coordinates of any object or person, instantly relocating them to any destination she has personally visited or viewed on a map.
If she so fits she can project a literal three-dimensional XYZ axis onto her targets. By altering these values, she can seamlessly phase enemies through the environment, drop them from the sky, or in extreme scenarios, banish them to the vacuum of space.
But at this time, what she needed was to move the demon gate. A simple task compared to pushing the door close itself.
With the inhalation of a controlled breath... It was gone. Just like that…What was left in its place was merely the natural formulation of Perivállon Crystallization, and a vacuum that forced in a powerful pressure of air to fill it out.
Long prepared for this, Mikimi braced herself, taking the results without fuss.
"Phew!" She propped up her hands on her hips, giving her tail a flick for her success. "Knowledge is indeed power." ⟨To think it would work… A demon gate is not specifically locked to a location; if that was the case, I would've needed power to shift the entire demon realm. As long as it is closed, then I can alter the spatial coordinates, forcing it to another location.⟩
Mikimi took her hand held fan, concealing her lower face with it. "My oh my. Does that mean I saved the whole Sacred Forest?!" She slowly realized what this meant. "Fufu~"
⟨Wha—!?⟩ Kinkaru's eyes quivered, and widened in stunned disbelief. ⟨The gate?! The gate is gone! No, no, no. That can't be possible. What sort of skill did she use?⟩
⟨Tch. So be it…⟩ Kinkaru unfolded his arms displeased. He frowned upon his decision but this went far worse than what he could've imagined. ⟨The only choice… is to kill her now.⟩
["Kinkaru!"]
It was a clear voice in Kinkaru's head through the thought communication skill [[-Blood Mind-]], halting him right in his place.
["Hmph? MikMik? I don't have time for this! Just prepare yourself," Kinkaru said harshly.]
["So brash…" MikMik calmly remarked. "Did Zazarah's death shake you that much?"]
["What is the point of this?" Kinkaru replied, annoyed. "Speak your purpose now!...before she leaves."]
["No, we wait. A certain person is on the hunt… she's very close and heading this way. When she kills the demon Lord, then we make our move," MikMik suggested.]
["What?" Kinkaru was confused by this. "Fine. This better not be a mistake MikMik…" He glared down at Mikimi, "We're letting a dangerous one go."]
"?"
Mikimi paused, her eyes swinging up toward Kinkaru's general location. For a moment he could swear he felt her piercing gaze peering right at him. The tension from his body released, as Mikimi continued on; at this moment it seemed there was no need for him to take action.
With close attention Kinkaru watched her return to the darkness of the chamber, mumbling, "I wished I brought my writing tools," on her way out.
He waited patiently until she was out of his 72 meters [[-Sensory Field-]]. He dropped to the ground, looking to where the gate once was, still unsure if what was being reflected in his eyes (or lack thereof) was true.
⟨To think someone here would actually possess such a skill. Hmm. This may be more complicated than I thought. We only have information on what only two of the Great Forces can do. The Kitsune Highest and the Undead King as allies… then there's him; that damn lizard, if he goes against us, then his deal with my lord is off.⟩
["MikMik! This person, who are they?" Kinkaru inquired to continue his conversation with MikMik.]
["A warrior from the church of the Creator God," MikMik replied.]
["?... Don't you think you should've told me that before?!" Kinkaru loudly translated his thoughts to MikMik. "Who? Specifics MikMik. We can't have the church snooping around here, we'll be ruined. And we can't dispose of this person either…"]
["Even after Zazarah's death you haven't changed. Don't worry, I assure you she has only one target in mind…" MikMik grinned sinisterly. "That title will be that boy's undoing."]
["If only he knew."]