No Place For The Weak

"What do you mean you still haven't mastered your magic?" Mamiko was indignant after realizing that her expectations had been too high. "I expected someone who managed to face Jack to be a first-class mage."

"Look, I've been trained, and I can use enough for a battle, but I wouldn't say I've completely mastered it."

"Who trained you?"

"Heinrich Belchior."

"Heinrich Belchior..."

"Do you knew him?"

"No, but I feel like I've seen that name somewhere before... Either way, it's absurd that you've made it this far without fully mastering it."

"I'm trying my best..." Peter scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed.

"And what about you?"

"As a user of a Mors fragment, I don't need to worry about learning magic, but to be honest, I also don't think I've fully mastered the power of the Black Parade."

"So even Mors fragments have names for their powers?"

Magdalena emerged from Reaper’s shadow, holding hands with him as they walked together. "Actually, no. He was the one who decided to call my pocket dimension Black Parade."

"Why do you ask? Are names important?"

"Of course they are! How do you expect to use magic if you don’t even know its name? It’s like calling for someone without knowing their name."

"That’s not true. You can just yell at someone to get their attention," Peter commented.

"But names serve that exact purpose. They turn something ordinary into something unique. If you call out to someone, it doesn’t mean the person you actually wanted to come will respond."

"But it’s not impossible for two people to have the same name."

"Think of it this way: I am Mamiko Switchblade. Even if there are other Mamiko Switchblades in the world, if you call for Mamiko Switchblade while thinking of me, that name is unique to me because I am that Mamiko Switchblade."

Peter whispered in Reaper’s ear, "Hey, is it just me, or is she making no sense?"

"I’ll let you off this time. I didn’t really get it either."

"I can hear you, you idiots. What I'm trying to say is that if you want to master your magic, you first need to give it a name. A normal punch is nothing special, but a ‘Mamiko Punch!’ has way more impact."

"Now that you mention it, I just remembered something. When I was fighting Jack, there was a moment when I hit him with a lariat, and in the heat of the moment, I yelled ‘Burning Lariat.’ That was actually my best move against him."

"Why not name your magic Burning Lariat then?"

"But that doesn’t make sense if I’m not using a lariat!"

"That could be a starting point. Why don’t you try thinking of something?"

"Burning... Burning..." Peter began repeating to himself while coming up with suggestions.

"You don’t have to overthink it. When the right moment comes, the name should come to you naturally."

"What’s the name of your magic?" Reaper asked.

"Huh? Well, it’s not exactly a secret, but I don’t see why I should say it so casually."

"Does it have something to do with that eyepatch of yours? I bet it’s sealing the ‘Tyrant’s Eye’ or something. Is your power coming from your left eye?"

"What? No! I don’t have anything like that. My eyepatch is just an aesthetic choice..."

"Aesthetic choice?"

"It has nothing to do with wanting to look like Yoru!" She ended up exposing herself.

"We don’t even know who Yoru is..."

"Ah! Forget what I just said!"

"..."

"Anyway, if you ever feel like your magic won’t be enough against a demon, you can try this." Mamiko pulled a gun from her bag and handed it to Peter.

"Hey! You stole this from him?!"

"Huh?"

"This pistol! It’s one of the guns the Undertaker Jack used!"

"Because everyone in the Mercenary Guild have a gun like this? It’s a welcome gift that Yoru gives you when you’re recruited. Even though most mages don’t need one, it’s useful for dealing with lesser demons."

Peter examined the pistol in his hands. "I don’t know if this really suits my style, but I’ll hold onto it just in case."

...

The forest began to narrow as they started to see a veil of rocks in the distance, with an opening marking the entrance to a cave. The cave’s entrance was covered in moss, stained with traces of blood.

"We arrived, this is the place."

"So, do we have a plan before going in?"

"Hmm… I don’t have one."

"You dragged us all the way here without thinking of anything?"

"It's not that critical of a situation. The target of my hunt has been spotted in the area, with reports saying it's becoming increasingly anthropomorphic and gathering lesser demons."

"Gathering lesser demons..." Upon noticing the pattern of behavior, Peter felt a certain unease. "That's dangerous. We need to do something."

"I have a bad feeling about caves. You're sure we're not going to run into any trouble down there, right?"

"I can't guarantee anything. Besides the target, there should be about ten lesser demons gathered. They're not a big problem, but they're still annoying to deal with."

"That's why you need us, right? To handle the minions while you take on the boss?"

"Boss? Never heard anyone call a demon that before, but yeah, that's one way to think about it. I could handle this hunt on my own, but having some backup makes my job easier."

"Alright, what are we waiting for? Let's go." Peter was a little anxious.

They entered the cave, winding through damp corridors that reflected the glow of the torches Peter had created. After a few minutes, they reached a sort of hall, where a few holes in the ceiling allowed sunlight to filter through. Several corridors stretched ahead, forming what looked like an underground tunnel network.

"Now what? Is this some kind of labyrinth?"

"Maybe. We need to proceed carefully."

"Hey, Mamiko, was the demon in the report described as looking like a woman?"

"Yeah, how do you know?"

"Like that over there?"

Reaper pointed toward one of the corridors. A middle-aged woman was emerging from it, a black dress covering her body, with long blonde hair and pale skin. It would be an unbelievable coincidence to find a lost woman in the middle of this cave. It was obvious—this wasn't human. It was trying to take on a human form.

It didn’t take long for the disguise to crumble away. Two horns pierced through its forehead from the inside out, protruding like spikes. The skin on the right side of its body began to crumble, and its right arm extended, sprouting long, sharp claws, while a thin membrane formed between its wrist and torso, resembling that of a bat.

   Let not the last grain of wheat be lost in filth
   Let not the last wine be wasted upon the ground
   The belly cries for mercy and trembles
   Pain consumes, the body chills, and the eyes grow dim

Enter Knappheit, the Sin of Hunger.

"Finally, this is my target."

"BWAHAHAHAHA!" The demon dragged its deformed arm along the ground as it laughed menacingly. "Humans... fools..."

"Finally, a demon that talks! This is my chance—I have a few questions."

"You can't be serious."

"Of course I am! It's important for my research."

"Fine, but just to be safe, cut off its legs first."

"Feed me... more..." The demon spoke again in a hoarse voice. The sound of footsteps began echoing from the tunnels behind the demon. "More, more, more, more, more, more, more!!!"

Behind Knappheit, several lesser demons began to emerge. They resembled human-sized bats with long horns on their foreheads. They crawled forward using their front limbs, emitting buzzing sounds that resembled eerie laughter.

"One... two... ten. Looks like the reports were accurate."

A new group of bat demons emerged from the corridor to the side.

"Hmm... twenty? This is going to be a pain. I'll have to go all out, but I can still handle it."

Another group of bat demons emerged from the other corridor.

"Th-Thirty?! I really hope you two can actually fight..."

"Please stop counting."

More footsteps echoed, and new demons crawled in from all the tunnels. At least fifty demons were now gathered, piling up at the tunnel entrances.

"This is definitely not what I expected! Damn it! We're screwed—let’s run!"

"Huh? We're not going to fight?" Peter was the only one who didn’t seem intimidated by the number of enemies.

"Quick, this way!"

The entrance they had used was too risky for an escape route, so Mamiko quickly instructed them to follow her through a side tunnel. Three demons were blocking the way.

"Pump Kick!" Mamiko leaped and struck the first demon with the sole of her boots, snapping its neck with the impact.

"Black Parade!" As Reaper ran, Magdalena extended the scythe to him through his shadow. With a fluid motion of his hands, Reaper slashed below the second demon’s chest, cutting it in two.

"..." Peter threw a punch at the head of the last of the three demons. His flame-infused strike was powerful, but it lacked any dramatic impact.

"Flame boy!" Magdalena’s voice rang out from her cloak form. "You're so boring! Don’t be afraid to be flashy!"

They ran desperately through the dark tunnel as a horde of demons began forming behind them. Suddenly, the walls stretched outward, and they found themselves in a wider space within the cave, illuminated by lamps that suggested it was once part of an old mining structure.

As they ran, Mamiko stumbled slightly, causing her porcelain doll to fall to the ground.

"Mami!" The girl turned back and snatched her doll up just as the demons started emerging from the tunnel.

Among them, Knappheit appeared again, charging forward awkwardly as it abandoned its human form completely, reverting to a full bat-demon. Once in its true form, Knappheit lunged at Mamiko with incredible speed, leaving the girl no chance to escape.

Thwump ~~~ Thwump!!!!!

"Blargh!!!..." Mamiko tried to dodge, but she failed. Knappheit's claws tore through the side of her body, piercing multiple points along her torso. Mamiko froze—escaping from this situation was impossible.

"Nooooo!!!!!!!!!!"

As Peter screamed in despair, Knappheit’s face twisted into a grotesque grin of satisfaction.