“Ikken Hissatsu. Bunkatsu.”
Light flashed. A sliver of silver appeared within the darkness. Kotohime appeared behind the emissary, slowly sliding her katana back into its sheath.
Click.
“GRRAAAAA!!!”
The emissary roared, not in anger, but in pain. The darkness split, and for the first time, Iris was almost fully revealed, if only for a second. Once the second had passed, the Void regenerated itself, and then the emissary turned to face Kotohime, black spears shooting from its back.
Undeterred by such an attack, Kotohime channeled massive amounts of youki into her blade, which glowed a vibrant blue. She swung the katana in majestic arcs, slashing the void spears apart by overwhelming it with her own youki. The emissary, while strong, had a limited amount of power, and Kotohime overpowered it.
“Lilian!”
“K-Kevin…”
It was only upon getting closer to her that Kevin noticed how truly exhausted Lilian was. From a distance, Lilian appeared like she was hanging on by a thread, but from up close, he realized that Lilian was already gone. Only her stubborn refusal to give up kept her from falling. Her half-lidded eyes flickered between pain and turmoil.
Kevin grabbed her by the shoulders and forced Lilian to look into his eyes.
“Listen to me, Lilian, I need you to hang on for just a little longer. I have a plan to save Iris, but I need your help.”
“My… help?”
“Yes, can you help me?”
Lilian blinked several times. Her eyes gained a bit of vibrancy. She nodded once.
“Good. Listen. You remember how we defeated Fan?”
During the summer, Fan, a member of the Shénshèng Clan, had attacked him and Lilian not once but twice. During her second attempt, Lilian had forced her youki into Kevin, allowing him to counter Fan’s illusions.
“Yes, I remember.”
“We’re going to do something similar, except instead of simply channeling youki through my body, I want you to store it all in here.”
Kevin held up his left hand. Lilian stared at the hand, uncomprehending for a moment, until, with a start, her eyes widened.
“You can’t do that! Kevin, if you do that, then your hand might, it could…”
“I know, but I don’t have much of a choice.” Kevin’s smile silenced whatever protests Lilian might have had. “If I don’t do this, then Iris will be completely consumed by the Void. I want to save her, and I know that you do, too. So, let’s save her together.”
Kevin’s hand had the power to open barriers made of youki. Through experimentation, he had learned that he could also absorb youki to a certain extent, and then release it. There seemed to be a limit to what he could absorb, though he didn’t know what that limit was.
Tears fell from Lilian’s eyes. She no doubt knew what his plan was, just as she knew the most likely outcome. However, she also knew that, beyond anything else, this might be their only hope of saving Iris.
“Okay.” Lilian sniffed and wiped the tears before they fell down her cheeks. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
“Right.” Kevin held out his arm. “I’m ready.”
Lilian closed her eyes, a grimace plastered on her face. She channeled her youki into her tails, then wrapped those same tails around Kevin’s arm and forced her youki into him.
Kevin gritted his teeth as agony surged through his arm. He bit back a cry, and then he tasted blood on his tongue from biting the inside of his cheek. He hung on, riding out the wave of agony until, mercifully, the pain vanished and numbness took its place.
“There,” Lilian said, “it’s done.”
Kevin opened his eyes, which he didn’t remember closing, and stared at his arm.
It was glowing.
Bright white light emitted from his arm like sunbeams through a window. His arm looked almost like a giant glow stick.
And in the center, located on the underside of his forearm, the image of a silver key was etched upon his skin.
***
“Water Art: Blade of the Water Lily.”
Kotohime’s katana became encased in water. The blue liquid rotated around the blade at incredible speeds, and she used it to slice into the beast, which gave an enraged scream and attempted to swat her away. But Kotohime was quick. She deftly backpedaled before the emissary’s hand could touch her.
“Ikken Hisatsu. Ougi.”
The ground underneath Kotohime’s feet cratered as she launched herself forward. She spun around, her blade parallel with the ground. A ripple spread from her katana, traveling through the air like a mirage. It passed through the beast, then exploded with the fury of an angry goddess. The emissary roared as its chest was ripped open. Unfortunately, in spite of the damage it had taken, the chest regenerated within seconds.
Over and over again Kotohime sliced into the beast, careful not to cut apart the person trapped within it. Over and over again the damage she did to it was regenerated. Kotohime didn’t want to admit to being disheartened, but what else could she feel when faced with an inability to dish out permanent harm to her foe?
Fortunately, the beast was slow, and it was ponderous, and its attacks lacked intelligence. While the Void may have indeed been sentient, that didn’t mean its sentience was on the same level as a yōkai or a human. It could not think. It could not plan. It simply hungered. That was how Kotohime had managed to fight against this thing without receiving any damage, despite holding back a great deal.
The beast fired a large beam of darkness at her, void fire condensed into beam form. Kotohime narrowed her profile, slid her blade into its sheath, and then unsheathed the blade and swung it at speeds that broke the sound barrier.
“Ikken Hissatsu. Bunkatsu.”
The void beam was split down the middle. It traveled on either side of her, slamming into what had once been Monstrang’s base, bathing it in all-consuming fire.
“Ikken Hissatsu.”
Spinning in a counterclockwise circle, Kotohime tore through the wave of black fire that shot from the emissary’s mouth. Her blade was liberally coated with her own youki. It protected her sword, kept it from being consumed.
“Eien Ni.”
And then Kotohime was right in front of the emissary, her blade cutting into its abominable flesh without pause, without reprieve. Her katana was nothing but mere flashes of light as she tore the beast apart.
However, the beast was not the sort that would just stand there and take it. Unintelligent it might have been, it still had a limited form of sentience. Its maw opened wide and it launched a beam of void fire at her point-blank.
Kotohime was engulfed.
And then she turned into water.
“Ha… ha…” Appearing several feet away, Kotohime blinked as sweat stung her eyes. “I hope Kevin-sama finishes whatever he needs to soon, or I…”
“Kotohime! Get out of the way!”
The shout came from behind her. Kotohime leapt to the side just as Kevin darted past her. She started in surprise. This was his plan? A frontal assault? What was he—
The beast saw him as well. Its maddened roar was a prelude to a dozen black orbs of the Void appearing around it—orbs that were launched at Kevin, who was undeterred and continued running.
Kotohime thought to yell out to him. Her mouth had even opened to shout at him, to tell him to get away, to dodge.
Yet she couldn’t.
Because she witnessed Kevin do the impossible.
Shouting a war cry of his own, Kevin smacked one of the orbs away. Two more orbs came at him. Kevin swerved to avoid one, but he couldn’t avoid the other. So, he punched it. His fist slammed into the void orb, which exploded and dissolved as its power was extinguished.
W-what is…
Kotohime couldn’t understand it. She knew that Kevin had a strange power in his left hand, but it shouldn’t have been able to do this. So, then, how was he…
That’s when she noticed it.
His left hand.
It was glowing.
I see. He had Lilian-sama force her youki into his left hand and is using it to defeat the void attacks. Celestial youki is the Void’s opposite, and so he’s countering the Void’s power with Lilian-sama’s power.
It was an ingenious plan, and it was also incredibly stupid. Humans weren’t meant to have youki shoved into their bodies. Doing so could irreparably damage them. Yet he was willing to do this to save Iris.
This boy…
His other hand held the silver gun, and he fired off forty rounds into the other void spheres, eliminating them by stint of overwhelming firepower.
Kevin reached the beast. Kotohime felt her breathing still, wondering what sort of trick he had up his sleeve now. How would he save Iris from this cruel fate?
And that’s when he surprised her yet again. He plunged his hand straight into the beast. Kotohime’s eyes became intumescent, swelling to the point where they might rupture. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She couldn’t, however, because her voice had caught in her throat, becoming constricted as if a vice had wrapped around her neck.
Tears streamed from Kevin’s eyes. His howling rent Kotohime’s soul. He screamed and cried in pain, his agony clear as day on his face.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
Yet he continued to push his arm into the beast’s chest. The beast seemed almost as surprised as Kotohime, for it made no move to stop him.
“Are you just going to stay in there for the rest of your life?!”
Kotohime could only imagine the pain he was in. His arm was being consumed by the Void. Not even having your hand covered in celestial youki would adequately protect it from such a flagrant action as shoving your hand into a void beast’s chest.
“Dang it, Iris! If you don’t get out of there right now, I’m going to come in there and drag you out!”
And yet Kevin didn’t stop. He pushed and pushed and pushed and then…
***
When Iris opened her eyes, it was to find herself in an unfamiliar surrounding. She was lying on her back, on a bed bathed in crimson silk, and with a canopy of translucent material like ethereal gloss above her head.
She was not alone either.
Someone was with her.
Iris gazed upon a face that she knew as well as her own, on a visage that she had stared at countless times. Eyes like emeralds smiled at her. Strands of fire framed a face that could have been mistaken for a beautiful fae. Lips that she longed to kiss curved in delightful artistry.
“Lily…”
Her words were halted when Lilian dipped her head and claimed her mouth with a kiss. Iris should have been surprised, since it was always she who initiated any kiss between them, but she wasn’t.
She kissed back, enjoying the feel of a tongue sliding into her mouth. She was startled when a hand slid between her legs, but not enough to let that hand stop what it was doing.
“L-Lily…”
“Just let go,” Lilian whispered before nibbling on her ear.
“Hnn!”
Would it be so bad if I did let go?
Lilian switched targets from Iris’s ear to her neck. A finger slipped inside of her. Iris’s hips bucked as pleasure coursed through her body.
If I can stay here like this… stay here with her… then I…
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
“Eh?” Iris was startled when a male voice interrupted her musings.
“Are you just going to stay in there for the rest of your life?!”
“W-what?”
The vision of Lilian dissolved. Iris reached out for it, but her fingers grasped nothing but air. She sat up and looked around. What was…
“Dang it, Iris! If you don’t get out of there right now, I’m going to come in there and drag you out!”
That voice…
She knew that voice. It had become almost as well known to her as Lilian’s. Kevin. But where was he?
“What the hell?!”
Iris screamed in shock when a hand suddenly appeared in front of her and grabbed her by the hair. She cried out in pain, but she could do little else as the hand yanked on her head, pulling her off the bed.
The world around her dissolved. A clear blue sky showed over her head. Iris saw bright blue eyes staring down at her in concern.
And then she saw nothing.
***
Another miracle happened.
Kevin pulled his arm out, an arm that had not been consumed by the Void, and Iris was pulled out with it. He stumbled backwards, falling to the ground, cradling an unconscious vixen in his arms. The beast, without a host to maintain its form, gave one final roar of defiance before dispersing. It vanished with nary a trace, the black ground it stood on the only evidence that it existed.
“Kevin-sama…”
Kotohime knew of Kevin’s incredible resolve. She had watched him train every day, had helped him in his training. She had seen him take beatings and had dished beatings out to him when he asked for a sparring partner. Throughout it all he never complained. He kept coming back again and again and again. It was admirable; however, it still hadn’t prepared her for this. Kevin… he was…
The most admirable human I have ever met.
As Kotohime continued to gaze at Kevin with a fondness that had been slowly growing within her, her joy turned to shock when Kevin fell backwards, his head cracking against the black road.
“KEVIN! IRIS!”
Kotohime rushed to Kevin’s and Iris’s side. Lilian beat her to them. The redhead knelt down and pulled their heads onto her lap. Kotohime looked down at them, studying Kevin for a moment before releasing a soft sigh of relief.
“Do not worry, Lilian-sama. It seems that they are only unconscious. I am sure both of them will wake up soon enough.”
Lilian nodded but didn’t speak. She probably couldn’t speak, and Kotohime didn’t blame her. Were she a younger person, a less experienced person, what happened this day would have shocked her into silence.
Kotohime looked up at the sky and wondered about the future.
***
Justin grimaced as his suit short-circuited while in mid-flight, electricity coursing across its surface like skittering tendrils of arcane power.
He descended for the surface, his knees jarring when he slammed into the earth.
Ouch…
Standing fully erect, Justin gazed at his surroundings. He recognized some of the buildings and used them to pinpoint his location.
Just a little bit further… I’m almost at the extraction point.
Walking hurt, but he carried on, ignoring the pain. Compared to some of the torture he’d endured during his training, this was nothing.
Still…
He had not expected to face a creature like that void beast. Like most humans, Justin knew little of the Void—enough to know that he should fear it but not what to expect. Even so, that creature had been beyond him, a thing that did not belong on this plane of existence. He’d known from the moment the emissary appeared that he would die if he stayed.
Kevin defeated it…
Sure, he hadn’t actually killed it, but still, rescuing Iris and making that monster dissolve was even harder than just killing it—at least, Justin thought so.
Commander Paine isn’t going to like it when I tell him that.
Justin chuckled as he imagined the look Commander Paine would have when he informed the man of what happened. It was sure to be amusing.
Kevin Swift, I look forward to the day we meet again.
CHAPTER 14
A PROMISE
“We suffered a number of civilian casualties. In total, one hundred of the two thousand yōkai who were living with us were killed during the ambush, and another two hundred were grievously injured.”
Kotohime sat in a conference room. Gray walls surrounded a circular table, around which several yōkai sat.
This room was located within a building that sat in the heart of Phoenix, hidden
from humans behind layers of illusions and enchantments, and shielded from satellites and cameras by a number of technological advancements. More than sixty-five percent of the yōkai who’d been living in the previous base were also hidden here, or at least, in the underground community beneath this building. The rest had been evacuated north, to a base hidden beneath the vast forests near Flagstaff.
This place, Kotohime had learned, was Monstrang’s last bastion within Phoenix, his only remaining stronghold. She would have questioned his choice of location, but she felt like she understood his reasoning. Within the center of a city populated by humanity, they were safe—for the most part. Even the Sons and Daughters of Humanity would think twice before attacking a place so heavily populated with human civilians. As distasteful as she found it to be, Kotohime couldn’t deny that, at the moment, they needed every advantage they could get—even if it was distasteful.
“Even one hundred casualties is one hundred too many,” Monstrang grunted.
Mack shrugged, as if to say, “What else can you do?”
“It could have been worse,” Mack said. “They had us dead to rights. We were outmaneuvered, outmatched, and outgunned. The only reason we lost so few is thanks to those kids.”
Monstrang grunted again, while Kotohime smiled.
“Those brats sure are something.” Kiara grinned, tapping her fingers on the table. “Heh, they’ve really grown.”
“I don’t approve of children being made to fight.” Monstrang looked almost put out, though it was hard to tell since his expression rarely changed.
“None of us do,” Kotohime finally spoke up. “However, there isn’t much that we can do. Simply by having them present, they have become involved in this.”
“I suppose.”
“Speaking of, how is the kid?” Mack asked.
“Kevin-sama is fine,” Kotohime said. “Lilian-sama is taking care of him and Iris-sama.”
“That’s good to hear.” Mack leaned back in his seat. “Still, it’s hard to believe he’s in one piece after what he did to rescue that Void Kitsune.”
Kotohime tried not to shift in her seat. Everyone who’d been at that battle had been present to witness what Kevin did. He was the talk of the town, as the old saying went. It made her uncomfortable. She didn’t like the attention he was receiving, even though she knew why he was receiving it.
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