A Journey Unwanted

[Realm: Álfheimr]

[Location: Heart Kingdom]

[Pulchritudo]

Even from this distance, the Duke’s estate dominated the horizon.

Its sprawling walls and elegant structures seemed almost detached from the rest of the city, as though it had been built to remind everyone beneath it where power truly resided. Most people would have struggled to appreciate just how enormous the estate really was from so far away.

Shuten-dōji was not most people.

Her vision was far sharper than any human’s.

Perched atop a tall, pale structure that appeared to belong to the city’s architects, the oni rested one hand lazily against her hip while overlooking the distant estate. Whether the building was a workshop, guildhall, or something else entirely mattered little to her.

Her interest lay elsewhere, so too did her disappointment.

Waiting had never suited her.

There was only so much entertainment one could find in watching events unfold from afar before stillness became tedious. Doing nothing had always been a talent she lacked, and after only a short while she found herself growing restless.

A breeze tugged gently at her hair and clothing.

"How terribly dull." She sighed.

"You’re beginning to resemble a lost mutt." The sharp voice arrived before its owner stepped into view.

Shuten-dōji barely reacted.

She only spared a lazy glance over one shoulder before her attention drifted back towards the distant estate.

Echidna had arrived; she approached without hurry, emerald eyes fixed on the distant estate before briefly settling upon the oni.

"So?" A faint scoff escaped her. "Do you truly miss the Angel that badly?"

Shuten-dōji smiled without embarrassment.

"Naturally." Her answer came without the slightest hesitation. "Being deprived of such an adorable face truly is one of life’s greatest hardships." She rested her chin against her hand with exaggerated melancholy before the act dissolved into a quiet laugh. "And besides..." Her red eyes never left the estate. "I’ve always found doing absolutely nothing unbearably boring."

Echidna’s expression remained unimpressed.

"So now you simply watch?" She folded her arms. "I fail to understand your fascination with that Angel." Her gaze shifted towards the oni again. "You follow him willingly, you humor him. You allow yourself to be dragged wherever he pleases, and you tolerate his insults." The Mother’s voice grew firmer. "And despite all of that, you never once seem dissatisfied."

Shuten-dōji’s smile softened; it was no longer playful. Instead, it carried an almost nostalgic warmth.

"Yuki is far more than merely fascinating." She spoke slowly, choosing her words with unusual care. "If I’m being honest, I don’t think I possess the vocabulary to properly explain why I find him so interesting."

A brief silence settled between them.

"I’ve tried to put it into words before." She hummed softly to herself. "I failed." Her gaze remained fixed upon the distant estate. "But I told you once already. I’m interested in his journey. More interested than I ever expected I would be."

Echidna studied her without speaking.

("This spirit...") Her emerald eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. ("Whatever she feels towards that Angel, it certainly isn’t simple loyalty.")

There was no fear, obligation or magical coercion. If anything, Shuten-dōji seemed to remain by Mikoto’s side because she genuinely wished to.

That alone made her dangerous.

Mikoto himself was an obvious factor, an overwhelmingly powerful one. Yet he remained understandable. His strength was immense, his personality erratic, but his actions possessed a certain consistency.

Gretel, she remained somewhat unpredictable. Still, she was manageable.

Robert scarcely deserved consideration.

To the Mother of Monsters, he hardly qualified as a variable at all.

Shuten-dōji, however, she was different. She resembled the sort of piece capable of overturning an entire board simply because she felt like moving. Perhaps weaker than Mikoto, yet wild cards possessed dangers strength alone could never replicate.

Echidna still had no understanding of the oni’s true objective.

What exactly did she seek?

What outcome did she desire?

Everything she said sounded almost nonsensical.

Curiosity, entertainment or perhaps mere interest. None of those sounded like motivations powerful beings dedicated themselves to.

("If I am ever to regain my freedom...") Her thoughts sharpened. ("...that Nil woman’s plan must proceed without interruption.") She slowly exhaled. ("Killing an Angel" was never going to be simple. Not even if I still possessed all of my former strength.")

Her emerald eyes drifted across the oni once more; she observed the firmness of Shuten-dōji’s posture. The confidence and the readiness hidden beneath that relaxed demeanor. Most striking of all that foreign energy. It was powerful and old, unlike anything native to this world.

("And if a wild card like her becomes involved, carefully laid plans have a habit of collapsing.") The Mother of Monsters continued studying her in silence.

Her right hand slowly flexed, one finger, then another as muscles tightened and relaxed, then tightened once more.

A calculation played itself out within her mind.

("If I had to estimate... roughly seventy percent.") Her lips pressed into a thin line. ("That should be my current strength.")

It was frustrating, yet it was enough.

Her emerald eyes hardened.

("More than enough...") Her fingers slowly curled into a fist. ("...to kill one troublesome spirit!")

It happened without warning as Echidna moved first. One moment she stood poised at the edge of the rooftop, emerald eyes fixed upon the oni. The next, her arm snapped forward with frightening speed.

It was not a punch; her hand remained open, fingers spread like sharpened claws seeking to pierce flesh. The speed behind the attack was so overwhelming that her arm dissolved into little more than a blur, the air giving a sharp hiss as it was torn apart by the force of the thrust.

She aimed directly for Shuten-dōji’s chest.

Yet before her hand could travel even another inch, a soft clap rang out between them.

Shuten-dōji’s hand had risen just as quickly. Without effort she caught Echidna’s palm squarely within her own. The impact sent a dull tremor through the rooftop beneath their feet.

Neither woman budged.

The oni looked almost disappointed.

"Your bloodlust was practically spilling into the air." Her voice remained light. "You might have surprised someone else, but you truly weren’t hiding your intentions very well."

Not even the slightest trace of surprise crossed her features. It was as though she had expected the attack from the moment Echidna appeared.

Echidna’s expression darkened.

"As though I needed to conceal it to dispose of one troublesome little worm." Her voice dripped with venom. "If I intend to kill something, I have never found subtlety necessary."

Shuten-dōji’s smile remained unchanged.

"Pride has always been the downfall of powerful people."

Her free hand slowly rose, inched between two elegant fingers rested a small white talisman covered from top to bottom in inscriptions unlike any script Echidna had ever encountered; they were completely foreign.

The Mother of Monsters’ eyes narrowed; she did not recognize the symbols nor the power gathering around them.

Shuten-dōji’s smile widened ever so slightly.

"Move."

The single word had scarcely left her lips, and then light exploded around them. It was a brilliant white light that swallowed the rooftop whole, drowning out the city beneath it.

Echidna immediately felt it again, that unfamiliar power that wasn’t mana. Nor anything remotely similar to the forces she understood. For the briefest instant her body lost all sense of direction. There came the unmistakable sensation of being launched upward, ascending violently.

The acceleration was so sudden that even someone of her experience found herself momentarily disoriented. Wind howled past them with deafening force, pressure crushing against her skin as though the very world had been left beneath them.

Just as suddenly the sensation reversed as weight returned. The sky seemed to flip; they were falling fast. The descent lasted only a heartbeat before the earth rushed upward to greet them. The impact was immense, with stone shattered as soil erupted. Trees bent violently away from the collision as a thunderous crash rolled throughout the forest as an enormous crater blossomed beneath them.

Before the lingering light had even fully faded—

Echidna kicked away.

She landed lightly several meters from the crater’s edge, her emerald eyes immediately sweeping across their surroundings.

It was a forest, a dense one. Towering trees surrounded them in every direction, their branches blotting out much of the sky. Leaves drifted back toward the ground after being shaken loose by the impact, while dust and broken stone fell around the freshly formed crater.

Her gaze shifted back toward its center.

Shuten-dōji remained standing exactly where they had landed. She was still relaxed with that same infuriating smile resting upon her lips.

Echidna clicked her tongue.

"So..." Her eyes narrowed. "You’ve got quite the collection of tricks." She gave a derisive scoff. "Do you honestly believe little games like that are enough to spare you from your own demise?"

Shuten-dōji chuckled quietly.

"Well..." She spoke so casually it almost sounded like a simple observation. "I won’t be dying today." There was no arrogance in her tone; she simply stated it as though it were an undeniable fact.

That certainty irritated Echidna far more than confidence ever could.

The Mother of Monsters’ lips curled.

"And now you’re the one speaking with pride." Her voice carried equal parts irritation and amusement.

Her thoughts, however, moved far more quickly.

("The activation was nearly instantaneous...") Her emerald eyes remained fixed upon the oni. ("The moment she uttered that word, the technique completed itself. An unusual power, but every power has limits.")

The thought should have reassured her.

Instead, a frown slowly formed, because experience told her otherwise.

Her mind involuntarily drifted elsewhere.

To the madman responsible for reducing her to this pitiful state.

Then...

To Mikoto.

Neither of them obeyed rules the way the world insisted they should. For a brief moment, uncertainty crept into her thoughts.

She crushed it immediately.

("No...") Her gaze sharpened. ("This spirit isn’t like them.")

She stepped forward.

"I will be the one standing when this ends, spirit."

Shuten-dōji inclined her head ever so slightly.

"You’re more than welcome to try." Her hand slowly moved toward her abdomen.

Without hesitation a circular violet glow, roughly the size of a dinner plate blossomed against her stomach. It floated there like an opening cut into the empty space.

The air surrounding it rippled as Echidna watched closely.

The oni calmly reached into the impossible light; her arm disappeared up to the elbow. Then she began drawing something free; the blade emerged little by little, an elegant odachi. Its extraordinary length forced the motion to continue for several long seconds before the weapon was finally released in its entirety.

As the last inch of steel cleared the glowing circle, the violet light collapsed into nothingness.

Shuten-dōji rested the sword comfortably at her side.

"But..." Her smile softened. "I have learned mercy." She spoke the words almost fondly. "So allow yourself a little peace of mind. As long as you’re weakened, I won’t be using my full strength."

She tilted her head, her smile gaining the smallest hint of smug satisfaction.

"I would much rather enjoy a proper fight than end one before it truly begins."

Silence followed.

A vein slowly surfaced across Echidna’s forehead.

Then another.

The corners of her eye twitched.

Whatever composure she had managed to maintain had just been tested.

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