Nakajima thrust the blade forward with all his might. Reflexively, Loki let go of Izanami and tried to cover his forehead with his right hand, but Nakajima's sword clove it in two and with a feeling of heavy resistance, sunk deep into Loki's forehead.
"GYAAAH!"
Loki's cry shook the very walls of the burial pathway. Holding his forehead with his left hand, sword still embedded therein, Loki staggered to his feet. From the lower protoplasmic mass of his lower body, the demon's bronze upper body underwent a rapid transformation. With an unpleasant slimy sound, his bronze skin crumbled away, and the impaled sword clattered to the ground. Loki's entire body transformed into an undefined, undulating lump.
Standing dumbfounded at his own unexpected power, Nakajima watched as one section of the unstable mass of flesh in front of him started throbbing. Suddenly, as if it was a separate life form of its own, a green heart broke through the skin of the protoplasmic mass and tumbled onto the floor. It started to draw a strange figure on the floor with the stream of green blood flowing on it. As it did so, the air seemed to twist in on itself slightly, centered on the figure the heart was drawing.
"That is Loki! Nakajima, do not let the demon escape!"
Pulled back to his senses by Izanami's voice, Nakajima swiftly picked up the Hi-no-Kagutsuchi sword off the floor and thrust it into the heart of Loki as it tried to escape into the warped space.
After an instant of silence, the heart burst like a popped balloon. The undefined mass of flesh stopped writhing.
The silence was broken the next instant as Nakajima was assaulted by a rumbling roar from deep under the floor of the underground valley. Crimson stones started falling from the high ceiling blanketed in darkness.
Still holding the sword, Nakajima tumbled into the burial chamber, as if crawling through the rumbling underground space. The pots shattered one after another, spilling their pomade on the floor. Out of place amongst the chaos, the gentle smell of flowers wafted throughout the room.
"Yumiko..." As Nakajima tried to make out the glowing white form by the entrance of the burial chamber, his consciousness drifted far away.
EPILOGUE
Thump, Thump.
Something was throbbing. It was a slight rythm, but was definitely there.
Nakajima had already awoken earlier. He had felt warmth, and felt as if he wanted to remain immersed in sleep for just a little longer. As if suddenlystruck by a wave of sentimentality, Nakajima slowly he opened his eyelids. He found that his arms were wrapped around Yumiko. A bittersweet fragrance wafted vibrantly from her body.
"Yumiko..." Hesitantly, Nakajima spoke.
She showed no response to his breath. But she had definitely returned to life. Her formerly rent mouth had returned to its lovely original shope, and her slightly opened lips shivered slightly as she breathed. Her eye sockets were now covered with well-formed eyelids, and her cheeks had a slight pink hue to them.
Nakajima's impatience was enveloped by an untainted presence.
"Don't worry. She will awaken soon enough."
Turning around, Nakajima saw Izanami standing above him. Though her hair was matted with green blood, her shining, beautiful expression, full of kindness, calmed his soul.
The goddess opened her lips. "I will take care of her for a while."
Nakajima was perplexed by her statement.
"It will not be long; only until I strengthen her enough so that she can fight demons."
"Fight demons? But Loki's dead!"
The goddess approached, took Nakajima's hands and looked into his eyes. That instant, white light shone throughout the space in front of his eyes, and all color vanished from his field of vision.
"Look at this scene, Nakajima." Her voice full of worry, Izanami's voice hinted at the gravity of the situation.
As Izanami's fingers grabbed Nakajima's hands, an image clearly formed amongst the white space.
In the Jusho High CAI room that Nakajima was so familiar with, Ohara was sitting at a terminal, desperately talking.
"Loki, why won't you answer!?"
Gripping the microphone as she faced the silent computer, the image of Ohara trembled. Turning the power on and off again and again, she tried to run the demon summoning program. But the host computer's magnetic tapes remained motionless. Only the fans of the air conditioner disturbed the silence of the CAI room.
"Ooh..." Ohara stooped over and grabbed her lower belly. All the blood drained from her face. As if a sign that she was carrying the child of a demon within her, scales had started growing on the white nape of her neck.
"Don't kick!" Ohara whispered as if to scold the new life growing inside her.
As Ohara continued typing on the keyboard with a prayerful look on her face, the magnetic tapes started spinning as if mocking her on a whim.
"Loki, is that you!?" Ohara's eyes glimmered with joy. She tightly gripped the microphone.
"I've been worried about you, Loki!"
At Ohara's words, the magnetic tape slowed its spinning, as if in hesitation. As Ohara cocked her head in suspicion, a low, hoarse voice sounded from the speakers.
"I am Set. Are you the one that calls me?"
"Set? I'm looking for Loki. Loki, please respond. Where are you?" Ohara's hysterical voice echoed throughout the CAI room.
"My name is Set. You are insolent to call the name of another..."
As Izanami let go of Nakajima's hands, the image dispersed, and in its place a gloomy space spread out before his eyes. Sweat from his temples trickled down his neck.
"Set!? That's the most powerful evil god from Egyptian legend!" Nakajima's voice was shaking.
"It's not just Set. Many demons have sensed the pathway you opened to their world, kindling their ambition to conquer the human world. More than just a handful of demons are looking to make an alliance with you...." Izanami's voice was solemn and full of gravity.
Trying to push any indecision out of his mind, Nakajima closed his eyes and spoke.
"This is all my doing, and I have to reap the seeds that I have sown. My mission now is to find a way to close the passageway to the demon world and do so."
"Well spoken." Izanami's expression softened slightly. "It will be difficult, but I am confident your efforts will eventually pay off. I cannot descend to the material world myself so I cannot fight alongside you. However, I will give you Hi-no-Kagutsuchi instead. He is a god that will lend you great power as a sword of flame when you are in danger. Hi-no-Kagutsuchi's power is a force to be reckoned with even amongst the gods of Yamato, and will surely help you."
While listening to Izanami, Nakajima could not help but feel anxious about the still-sleeping Yumiko. Perhaps she knew what he was feeling as the goddess gently put her hand on his shoulder.
"I will give this girl my power. And when she has gotten strong enough to defend herself on her own, I will return her to you. You'll wait that long, right?" Not waiting for an answer to her question, Izanami turned away from Nakajima.
"Soon a messenger from Yomi will come to pick up your friend. Until then, enjoy your brief reunion." With a smile, Izanami quietly lay on top of the dais. As she vanished as if dissolving into the very air, ashes in the form of a human figure remained behind on the stone slab.
"Izanami..." As Nakajima reflexively started toward the disappearing vision of the goddess, a familiar voice called him to a stop.
"Nakajima, you kept your promise to me!" Turning around, he saw Yumiko looking back at him, her chocolate-brown eyes filled with kindness. Delicate and pure, she leapt into Nakajima's waiting arms.
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Digital Devil Story: Reincarnation of the Goddess Page 10
