The passers-by turn head to look at me as I cross the street. My ears and my tail are safely hidden beneath my cloak, but my horn is too long for the hood to cover completely. I suppose that’s what earns me so much attention.

There are indeed majin, walking about here and there in the city, but compared to humans, they are few and far between. There is no doubt that the inhabitants here aren’t all that used to seeing non-humans – and when they do see one, they don’t seem particularly pleased about it.

When I approach the doors, the guard on the right raises his arm to stop me. “Girl, this is the High-Sea Verse mercenary group. It’s not a place for children. You should leave now.”

[…I’m not a child.]Continue reading

Aldenfell.

It’s a very large city. Much larger than even Jodene Fortress. There are countless humans everywhere, walking this way and that, even this late in the evening. From my current vantage point, sitting on the roof of its tallest tower, another major difference between this place and the fortresses of the Planar Prison is evident. That is, the houses here seem to have been built quite haphazardly, without any regard for convenience or organization. They are strewn about everywhere without any obvious pattern, leading to a maze-like array of twisting alleys and streets. I’m not sure about the other fortresses, but at least Islandis Fortress and Jodene Fortress seemed more regular.

I expect finding the headquarters of the High-Sea Verse mercenary group in this mess will be quite a chore, but I’ve at least got enough information to start looking.

Indeed, the book of maps I bought in Islandis Fortress is even more comprehensive that I’d first expected. Earlier, I’d stopped my search upon finding the map of the Thread, but when I perused the entire book again, I discovered that there is in fact a whole map dedicated to Lamos alone, with further information about its capital – including a picture of the crest of the High-Sea Verse, what should be a stylized boat floating on a wavy line, with a sword for a mast. In my opinion, the building I’m looking for should be displaying that crest; I have only to find it.Continue reading

Night fell some hours ago, already.

I’m walking toward Aldenfell, capital of Lamos, after detouring in a large circle through the plains around Getsbane so that its inhabitants wouldn’t notice me.

I would reach the capital in around five or six minutes, if I ran at top speed, but I’m not in such a hurry that I’d waste my energy like that. Finding Nerys won’t be a matter of one or two days, in any case, so I can take my time.

So I take the time to admire the dark, peaceful countryside around me.Continue reading

My eyes slowly open, and I raise my head to look around me.

I don’t know when she came back from the small town, but Sif is there, sitting in front of me, looking at me with a small smile on her lips. Behind her, the sun is already halfway down the horizon, tinting the sky in shades of pink and orange and red. I’m still seated in the grass, my back against the tree, its coarse bark rubbing against my skin.

Hmm?

Did I… Did I fall asleep?Continue reading

Sif’s face flickers through a variety of expressions, until she ends up just blankly staring at me. “Your family?”

I nod.

“I see…” She nods back for a few moments, then instead shakes her head, squinting her eyes. She takes a deep breath. “No, actually, I don’t see. At all. I’m trying to imagine it. I really am. But I just can’t picture it. Do you have… siblings?”

[…Sister.]Continue reading

I look at the fragments of the demon-sealing stone in my hand, at the corpse of the apostle squad leader at my feet, and at his angry comrades rushing toward me, and I ask myself…

What the fuck am I doing?

…I have no answer to that question, myself.

Akasha casting that fog spell was quite a boon to me. This sort of environment is simply perfect for my concealment magic to show off its strength. So, as soon as the fight started, I disappeared and headed right the opposite way from her, because it would have been suicide to get involved in a fight of her level.Continue reading

I don’t know how long I stand like that, with my eyes closed, savouring the moment.

As the tide of emotion slowly recedes, the smell of Caldera is gradually replaced by another.

The smell of demons.

It’s a very distinctive smell. One I wouldn’t mistake for anything else. I’ve spent nearly three centuries killing and eating creatures who carry that smell, after all, and I exude it myself. Sif doesn’t. Nor do any of the other people I’ve met in the Planar Prison.

Continue reading

Now that this annoying demon-sealing stone is gone, I fix my broken meridians and heal my wounds, then regrow my left arm, while Sif leads us deeper into the ruins of the castle.

“Ah, this should be it. I’m glad he didn’t lie to me.”

I don’t know who Sif is referring to, but she looks relieved when we arrive to a metal trapdoor set into the stony ground. It should have probably been hidden under a piece of furniture, once, but the only thing left of that now are the fragments of pulverized wood spread around it. Instead, a large piece of rubble that must have once been part of the wall next to it, judging from the gap in it, is lying halfway on top of the trapdoor, preventing it from opening.

Sif tries to anyway, using only her right hand, her left held close against her chest, but it doesn’t budge. She sets her shoulder against the piece of rubble and strains for a second, but it budges even less.Continue reading

I walk away from the hall at a brisk pace, my limbs a bit shaky under the qi pressure radiating from inside the room.

I’m glad I relinquished my front-row seat. I don’t think I would have survived more than a second or two of the spectacle that’s about to take place. To be perfectly honest, I was almost tempted to stay and watch the battle – it might be instructive for my own cultivation – but when I saw Akasha’s smile, I changed my mind.

It was a pretty scary smile.

So, when those three were focused on each other, I used my concealment magic and made myself scarce. I had a few moments of trepidation, at first, wondering if it would even work against monsters like them.Continue reading

The clouds around me are blown into tatters as I fly through them, the speed of my passage creating a vortex of wind in my wake strong enough to tear them apart. The landscape visibly rolls back behind me, much faster than it should at this height.

I know my increased speed is sign of my flurried heart, but of course, that doesn’t mean I’m going to slow down. Not showing weakness or doubt is something I only bother to do in front of my subordinates, in my image as their leader.

And time is short.

Why did they attack the laboratory now, of all times?Continue reading