“Honestly, Lilian, do you want us to be sued? That’s what’s gonna happen if you keep using someone else’s attack name.”
“Beloved!”
Lilian didn’t remember her body moving. One second she was standing there, and the next she was in Kevin’s arms, their bodies mashed together as if attempting to meld with each other, and her lips attacking his in a ravenous kiss—a physical reassurance that he was here, with her.
Kevin returned the kiss with equal vigor, having clearly been expecting it. Lilian felt a pair of arms tighten around her thin waist, pulling her close. She groaned in complaint as their suits rubbed together. She would have preferred rubbing her bare chest against his. A tongue probed her mouth, and she gladly met it, swirling and hooking her own tongue with it.
Had they not been in a public setting, she would have happily done more, but Lilian knew that now was not the time for gratuitous displays of affection. After satisfying her need to reassure herself, Lilian pulled back.
“I wasn’t gone for that long,” Kevin joked.
“It felt like forever, though.” Lilian pouted at her beloved. “I was worried.”
“Heh. Sorry for worrying you.”
“S’okay. You’re here now, so it’s all good.”
“I’m glad you’re here, too,” Mack interrupted their touching moment, his voice reverberating throughout the tunnel. “Now that we know you’re safe, we can finally get a move on.”
Lilian glared at the usagi for intruding on her touching moment. Didn’t this idiot know anything about romance? Clearly not, otherwise he would have known that you can’t interrupt the main character and their love interest while they’re sharing such a touching scene together!
Well spoken.
“Thank you.”
“Ah—um, L-Lilian?” Jessica gave the kitsune an odd look. “Who are you talking to?”
“Hm?” Lilian glanced curiously at the blond usagi. What was she—oh! “Ufufufu, don’t worry about that. I wasn’t talking to anyone important.”
I resent that.
“Shut up.”
…
“Um, okay,” Jessica mumbled as a small droplet of sweat traveled down her face.
“Don’t worry,” Kevin reassured the girl, “you’ll get used to her antics eventually.”
“… Right.”
***
With Mack leading the way, the giant group of over 1,000 yōkai moved through the tunnel.
It was a winding path with twists and turns galore. The tunnel branched off several times, making it confusing for anybody who didn’t know their way to travel through this place. Fortunately for them, Mack seemed to know his way around quite well. He stood at the front of the group, his ears twitching and bouncing as he surveyed the area, carefully picking which tunnel they would go down.
“Everyone, this way! Try not to get separated!” He called loudly enough for those in the back to hear him.
The group surged forward, the yōkai in back pushing those in front, trying to hurry them along. Several fights almost broke out, but Kotohime, Phoebe, Polydora, and a few yōkai—that he knew by face but not name—kept them from becoming full-fledged brawls.
“Hawa!”
“Lady Camellia, p-please don’t fall on top of people like that!”
“Hawawawawawa!!”
Kevin felt almost relieved when, for once, Camellia did not fall on top of him. He watched, amused, as Frederic flailed around underneath the beautiful woman’s notorious bosom.
“Hmm, think we should help him?” he asked, eying the young man kicking and screaming underneath Lilian’s mom.
“I don’t see why we should,” Lilian huffed. “That jerk tried to hurt you.”
“I was thinking of Camellia, actually.”
“Oh.” Lilian took a second look at Camellia. “Well, I do feel kind of bad for her. I mean, it can’t be pleasant boob planting on top of someone you don’t even know.”
“Those were my thoughts exactly.”
“I think you’re just jealous.” Iris smirked at Kevin. “You’re probably upset that someone stole your position as the Boob Fall King, and you’re trying to mask your jealousy by acting tsundere.”
Kevin raised his eyebrow in a “are you really that stupid?” expression. “I’m not exactly sure what you’re getting at here, but you’re way off the mark, so stop it.”
“Uhuhu, you know, if you want, I could fall on top of you.” Iris gazed upon him with half-narrowed, succubus-like eyes, pools of carmine that would have made other men quake—or cum, whichever came first. “You’d like that, right? You’d enjoy me tripping and planting my twins right into your face, you dirty perv.”
“The only dirty one here is you, siscon.”
“Now that’s just too harsh, Stud. I’m not just a siscon.”
“Then what else are you?”
“I’m also into men, you know? I like you, for example.”
Kevin didn’t know whether he should blush or simply deny her. “I-I am flattered you feel that way, but—”
“Are you saying that you wouldn’t enjoy it if Lilian and I double-teamed you?” Iris grabbed his arm and pressed it into the valley of her breasts as they continued walking. Kevin tried not to let his mind go down the gutter. “I think you’d like that. We could push you onto the bed, rip off your pants, and take your big, fat cock between our tits and—ouch! What was that for?”
“You’re being a pest,” Kevin admonished, rubbing the hand that he had used to karate chop Iris over the head with.
“And you’re being a stubborn ass.”
“Why? Because I have morals?”
“Because you’re letting your humanity get in the way of my happiness!”
“Well, sorry for being human!”
Kevin and Iris glared at each other, until two red fox tails smacked them both in the head.
“Knock it off, both you,” Lilian chastised them. “We’re not in a situation where we can argue right now.”
“You’re right,” Kevin mumbled. “Sorry.”
Lilian smiled at him. “It’s okay. Just try not to argue anymore.”
“Right.”
“He started it,” Iris grumbled, until both Kevin and Lilian smacked her on the head. “OWCH!”
***
Something was wrong with her sister. Iris had always been straightforward and somewhat belligerent—at least, when she wasn’t putting on the seduction act—but she’d never been that straightforward before. Not with Kevin. She’d always left him to Lilian.
She glanced at Iris out of her peripheral vision. Iris walked beside her, on the opposite side and away from Kevin. She’d had to separate them because Iris kept trying to goad Kevin on with her “sexy vixen” act. Her sister walked with the same confident gait as always, but Lilian could see the slight hesitation in her steps and the way her hands were clenched
She also saw the blackness that slowly crawled along her fingers.
It’s happening.
The Void was trying to consume her sister. Iris had been fighting it for months now. Each month had become harder than the next, however, and it was only a matter of time before her sister was forced to confront the Void or be swallowed by it.
I won’t allow that to happen. Lilian strengthened her determination to help her sister. If necessary, I’ll use my powers to push the Void back. I’ll also talk with Kevin again. I have to try harder.
Nodding to herself, Lilian hardened her resolve. She would talk to Kevin and do her best to convince him to let Iris join their relationship.
“We’re almost out of here,” Mack bellowed to be heard. “It’s just through this door.”
Door?
Lilian looked ahead of her. Dominating the path before them was a door, gleaming dully in the low lighting. Thick iron bars ran across it like crisscrossing beams, reminding her of those gigantic vault doors on some of the anime she watched. The door itself stood over them like a monolithic creation from a more ancient
time. Sitting off to the side was a small square device, an old electronic lock, which Mack walked up to and typed a code into.
Hiss!
Hydraulics within the door sprang to life. A series of loud pops made Lilian’s ears twitch. One by one, the bars slid away from the door, which squeaked as metal gears turned. Slowly, ever so slowly like it was in need of a good oiling, the door creaked open.
“I want all of you to file out slowly,” Mack said, still speaking loudly. “Don’t push and don’t shove. We don’t want anyone getting injured here.”
Kotohime, Phoebe, Polydora, and about a dozen other yōkai helped direct traffic. Lilian stuck with Kevin, clutching his hand in hers as they moved out. Beside Kevin, Jessica and her mom walked in silence.
She glanced at Iris again before, without hesitating, she grabbed her sister’s hand. When Iris turned her head to stare, she smiled, which caused a smile to break out on Iris’s face as well.
The large door led into an equally large ramp, which sloped upwards. After what felt like hours of walking up a hill with nothing but drab gray walls on either side, the group stepped out into the light—
Several hundred armored soldiers wearing full US military uniforms stood before them.
—and walked right into an ambush.
***
Kevin’s mind had barely caught up with his body as he grabbed Lilian, Iris, and Jessica, pulling them to the ground and covering them with his body. Mere seconds after he did that, the soldiers opened fire on the civilian yōkai. A threnody of screaming surrounded him on all sides. Everywhere he looked, yōkai were being downed in a hailstorm of bullets. Mrs. Springen had been quick enough to avoid such a fate again, but even that small mercy seemed negligible in the face of what was happening.
“Celestial Art: Barrier that Protects the Princess!”
“Water Art: Shield!”
“Water Art: Tsukuyomi’s Barrier.”
“Aegis!”
Several shields suddenly sprang to life. Around him and those he was protecting, a crackling shield of brilliant gold surrounded them, a half dome of celestial energy. The bullets that would have torn into them disintegrated as they touched the barrier.
“Lilian, Iris,” Kevin shouted to be heard over the hailstorm of gunfire and the yells of frightened yōkai. “Are you two ready?”
“Of course I am!”
“I’m always ready, Stud.”
“Right. Mrs. Springen, do you know any barrier techniques?” Kevin felt disappointment gnaw at him when Mrs. Springen shook her head. She must have been one of the yōkai who’d so fully integrated into human society that she only had her basic abilities to rely on. “In that case, I want you two to stay behind us. Don’t stray too far. Can you do that?”
While Jessica shook with fright, Mrs. Springen hardened her resolve, determination showing on her face.
“Yes.”
“Good.” Kevin took in a deep breath. “Then let’s do this.”
Kevin held his breath for exactly three seconds, and in that time, three things happened: Lilian dropped the barrier, Iris sent a wave of void fire at the incoming soldiers, and Kevin pulled out his black and silver handguns and unleashed a barrage of bullets. The void fire destroyed the purple shields that protected the soldiers, and his bullets tore through their Kevlar vests with ease—youki projectiles could be far more deadly than bullets.
“Celestial Art: Divine Wave!”
Lilian’s tails lit up like a bonfire. She whipped them forward in a sweeping motion, sending two large crescent waves of divine energy into the troops before them. The soldiers were knocked to the ground, and Kevin took aim at the large tanks and military vehicles behind them.
He fired two rounds for each vehicle, one from his black gun and one from the silver gun. The two shots were, of course, the opposing powers of void and celestial youki. Like before— during his fight with Justin—these bullets smashed into each other at the same time as they hit the vehicles. Turrets were destroyed. Metal was punctured. Holes appeared on the hulls. Treads were damaged, the gears that turned them blown to smithereens. Kevin didn’t stop firing until he’d run entirely out of bullets.
He and Lilian shot to their feet—Lilian using a burst of youki to enhance her muscles and him on pure gumption. He quickly reloaded his guns, sliding the cartridges into each one and clicking the butts together, and then unloaded another hailstorm. Having already used up four cartridges, that meant he only had these two and four more strapped to his back, making for six total.
I’ll need to fight conservatively from here on out.
“Celestial Art: Chameleon Masquerade.”
A vicious grin lit Kevin’s face upon seeing the soldiers start in surprise. He knew what this meant. Their foes could no longer see them—he and Lilian were effectively invisible.
Kevin holstered his guns and ran up to his first victim. The young woman who received a brutal blow to the nose didn’t even see him coming. As she cried out and stumbled back, blood flying from her broken nasal passage, he went low and swept her feet out from under her.
While he couldn’t see Lilian due to the effects of her illusion, he saw what she did well enough. Two men standing side by side suddenly had their heads slammed together like someone knocking two coconuts. The helmets broke under the assault, and the soldiers crumbled together to the ground.
“W-what the hell is going on here?!”
“They must be invisible! I heard kitsune can do that!”
“How do we fight an enemy who can—AAAHHH!”
Kevin silenced the one talking, breaking his left arm and slamming a knee into his face. As the soldier went down, Kevin grabbed the machine gun he’d been using and unloaded the entire clip into the nearest group of foes, painting the ground red with his enemies’ blood.
I hate this, Kevin thought, even as he stepped into someone’s guard and broke their neck with a vicious spinning kick. I hate this so much, but what choice do I have?
As he and Lilian continued battling side by side, invisible underneath the Celestial Kitsune’s illusion, Kevin stoically lamented the loss of life.
***
Kotohime stood, surrounded by a pile of growing bodies.
“Sword Art: One Thousand Blades.”
Unsheathing her blade at the speed of sound, Kotohime thrust her katana out in all directions. Flashes of light, too brief for human eyes to follow, lashed out a countless number of times. She then sheathed her blade. As a soft click echoed silently in the chaotic din of battle, blood spurted from numerous grievous wounds.
All around her soldiers fell, screaming in agony as their limbs were sliced off. Some lost arms, others legs, and a few lost their heads. One thing about all these people remained the same.
None of them came out of her technique uninjured.
Several feet away, hopping around in a manner similar to that which his species was named, Mack fought against his foes with technical skills that were, in their own way, worthy of admiration. He leapt and spun and twirled, striking at enemies where they were weakest, his punches and kicks quicker than a whip and twice as deadly. Then he would dart away and blitz his next opponent.
“Shoot, men! It’s just a single woman! Kill the bitch now!”
“What a rude comment,” Kotohime uttered as several soldiers surrounded her.
The soldiers dropped to their knees, rifles at the ready.
“FIRE!”
A hailstorm of bullets flew at Kotohime, penetrating her full of holes—or so her enemies thought. When all their bullets did was go straight through her image, which wavered and vanished into a curtain of mist, the soldiers gawked.
“W-what the hell?!”
“Where did she go?!”
“Ikken Hissatsu.”
A voice said behind them.
“Eien Ni.”
Arcs of carnelian liquid flew through the air almost gracefully. Limbs and various body parts flew with it as a truly uncountable number of sword slashes dic
ed the men, who’d attempted to kill Kotohime, to pieces.
As blood rained to the ground, Kotohome looked around. All of the men who’d attacked her were either dead, dying, or so injured they couldn’t fight back.
Mack hopped up to her.
“How is the escape proceeding?” she asked, thankful for the slight lull in combat.
“Everyone who can flee has. I’ve got Geff and Cammie protecting them, and Lisa and Isla are covering their flanks. The only ones left aside from us are Nathan, Janice, and…” Mack turned his head. Kotohime also turned her head, her lips curving when she saw what the usagi was looking at.
“Ara, ara. It looks like those three are doing quite well.”
***
Kevin was lost in a sea of blood and screams.
Time had long since lost its meaning. Enemies came at him and were then put down. Between his martial arts and spatial awareness, Lilian’s impeccably timed illusions, and Iris’s void techniques, none of their foes stood a chance.
“Void Art: Void Fire!”
Dark flames spread across the enemy forces from behind as Iris, having snuck over under the cover of an illusion, blasted them while he distracted them. Without their vehicles protecting their rear, they had been left vulnerable. Kevin grimaced as he listened to the screams of those who were caught by the flames, their agonized cries as they were consumed by sentient fire rent his soul. Yet he put it out of his mind to focus on the task at hand.
Dropping to the ground, Kevin avoided several bullets while also scooping up a gun sitting near his feet. He didn’t even bother to aim as he sprayed the area with gunfire. It didn’t even matter if he aimed. Every place he fired hit something. When his gun clicked empty, he threw it at the nearest soldier he saw, a distraction for his charge.
Two soldiers took aim at him as he ran, yet they were taken down before they could fire. Kevin saw them get lifted into the air by invisible tails, which threw them across the battlefield and sent them crashing into their allies. He focused on his own opponent, reaching them before they could unclip their pistol. That person went down in a spray of blood when he leapt into the air, grabbed their head, and slammed his knee into their nose. His knee jolted with pain, a sharp ache that faded into a dull throb. He ignored it, like the other pains he felt from minor cuts and bruises. He couldn’t let pain stop him now.
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