Shoso Strip

“Stand aside, Himeno. You and I both know that this is the only way we can assure your safety.” He slowly stepped forward, eyes narrowed on Yuya and Junepai. Himeno stepped to the side, blocking his line of sight.

“Why are you doing this? You didn’t have to get involved!”

“Why are you standing in my way? I’m trying to protect you.”

“I didn’t ask you to do that.” She grit her teeth, “I’ll stop you myself if need be.”

“We both know you aren’t in any shape to do so.”

“The foreigner is already dead, right? Then you don’t have to kill these two! He was the one who accepted the contract.” She pleaded with him.

“Move.”

She rushed forward, forcing through the pain swelling throughout her body. Shindo stepped to the side with a sigh, chopping at Himeno's nape, her body going limp on the dirt floor.

“Apologies, Himeno, you will thank me later.”

He turned his attention toward the other two.

“Come on, Junepai, let’s run.” Yuya took a few steps backward.

“Nah, we won’t make it that way. I’ll fight him; you run.” Junepai hobbled forward, hands held in front of him.

“Fighting in your shape is pointless. If you stand still, I can make your death painless.”

“Screw off, weirdo.”

The wind around them grew thick, a gentle blue aura gathering around Shindo's blade.

“I apologize.” He charged forward, Katana raised in the air, the wind surrounding his blade whistling as he brought it down with incredible speed. His blade met something as solid as rock, stopping before it could meet its true target.

“You should really make sure your opponent is dead before running off like that. It’s kinda rude.”

Standing before him, in almost perfect physical condition, was no other than NN. There was blood on his neck from where his wound had previously been, except it’d been perfectly sealed away. If it weren’t for the blood, you wouldn’t be able to tell he was struck. His body was enveloped in a thick red aura, his skin as solid as rock.

“How-” His body moved on its own, leaping several feet away.

“Wow, you’re surprisingly spry for your age,” NN remarked.

Shindo could feel something burn on his cheek, crimson liquid pouring from an open gash. He looked upward at his hand, a knife held within his grasp, dripping with his blood.

Has he gotten stronger?

Shindo held his sword with both hands, I can’t play around here.

Then, everything went dark. This was the phenomenon he’d always heard of, a phenomenon in which he himself had never experienced until this very moment. His life flashed before his very eyes, every beautiful, ugly, sad, and happy memory repeated in his head. He couldn’t comprehend exactly what was happening, but what he knew for sure was that he’d been staring death right in the eye.

His eyes closed on their own, and he expected never to open them again, but nothing came. He hesitated, then reopened his eyes.

NN was standing mere inches away, his knife held before his throat, the smallest push away from slicing through his flesh.

“I think there are more over here!” A voice echoed toward them.

“Lucky.” He simply stated, sheathing his blade beneath his arm guard. He stepped away, and it was only then that Shindo realized his blade had been sliced clean in half, and on cue, the other half of his blade fell from the sky and planted itself in the dirt just a few feet away.

He turned with widened eyes, his heart thudding out of his chest, and his legs giving out. He held a hand over his neck. He’s a monster!

Several figures emerged from the shadows, most of them injured.

“We found more of them!”

The group rushed toward them, huddling around Himeno and NN.

“Is this all of us?” He asked, looking around.

“There are more of us camped out up north, but aside from them, yeah. We managed to keep casualties to a minimum, but a lot of them are injured. As a matter of fact, we’re the only non-injured members of the party.”

“I see.” NN calmly spoke, “Then we shouldn’t waste any more time, right, Shindo?”

He was still in shock, barely coming to a second later.

“Huh? Oh yeah, right.” He stood slowly, looking down at his broken Katana. “We should regroup, allow our injured to rest, then move onward.”

They did as Shindo said. He carried Himeno toward the rest of the group, laying her in the dirt to rest, whilst Yuya and NN held Junepai around their shoulders. They settled beside a tree, NN turning to Yuya and gesturing toward the large metal rod on the side of his backpack. He slid it out and held it in his hands, staring at it in awe. From the bottom all the way to the top, it was just a regular piece of metal, except for the button near the center. On top was a strange arch, a spinning circle at its center.

“What’s this for?” Yuya asked.

“It helps replenish a person's mana. Just hold it toward your target and press the button. It uses magical energy from both the user and the atmosphere. Considering how dead this place is, it’ll be mostly dependent on your mana.” He helped Junepai sit up on the tree, stepping away.

“If you start to feel sleepy, then stop. That’s your body telling you you’re low on mana.”

“Right.” Yuya took a couple of steps back and held the rod downward, pointing the arch at Junepai. He pressed the button, the wind around him bursting, a powerful energy gathering before it. A bright yellow light blasted outward, striking Junepai's chest. He grit his teeth and groaned in pain.

“Is he alright?”

“He’s fine, just keep going.”

Yuya struggled to hold up the metal object, his body being pushed back through the dirt, but he held his ground. A few seconds later, he could feel himself start to get tired. Immediately, he let go of the button, slinking down and falling onto his knees.

“Sheesh.” He panted.

Junepai groaned a bit, then stood.

“Thanks.”

“Yeah, yeah, no problem.” He wobbled to his feet. “Is this how you were feeling?”

“Yeah, you get used to it after a while.”

“Should I be feeling dizzy?”

“It’ll go away soon.”

“Right.”

They stood for a few more seconds, awaiting Yuya's full recovery.

“Ok, ok, I think I’m good.” He shook his head.

“Good, we need to get a move on, we were set back by that attack. On the upside, I’m not sensing any other monsters in our immediate vicinity.”

“Hey, NN, what happened with that guy? The one with the sword I mean.” Junepai questioned.

“He attempted to kill me on Himeno's behalf, as you can see, he failed.” He stated plainly, “But don’t worry about him. Once this dungeon is clear, we will have our target.” He spoke with confidence.

“How can you be so sure?”

“All I have to do is plant a seed.” His answer was confusingly cryptic. “Let’s regroup. I’d rather not waste any more time in here.”

Once regrouped, they continued toward the heart, keeping an eye out for any more monsters that may stand in their way, yet none came.
As more time progressed, NN found himself straying further from his group and toward Himeno. Once beside her, he leaned over and began to speak. “I forgive Shindo. I understand his desire to protect you, but you two should understand that it isn’t you I’m after. All I wanted was the monster; you have nothing to worry about.” He spoke calmly, his tone eerily monotone.

“Wanted?” She repeated.

“It’s no wonder he attacked me; you two weren’t aware. That’s why I’m here to explain it now.”

“Explain what?” Her tone was becoming increasingly annoyed.

“We found the creature. It was a little less than a week ago, we were going to inform you, but we got caught up in other things. However, that’s not even the biggest news; we absolved you of your crimes, despite your involvement with hiding the creature.”

Her eyes widened with fear, her head turning toward him.

“My involvement? Be serious, I had no involvement with this case.”

NN only smiled at her, “That’s the correct attitude to have. You had no involvement at all. Be sure to always keep that in mind.” He slowed his walk speed, slipping back into his own trio, and leaving Himeno to her own fearful thoughts. She felt as if she was back in that cage, the one that always visited her in her dreams.

“The hearts up this way!” A voice could be heard shouting to them.

NN and his group rushed to the front, staring down what appeared to be a weeping woman. She hugged herself tightly, her skin glowing white, black root-like veins stretching through the entirety of her being. At the center of these roots was a black heart. Her eyes were as white as her skin, and her hair was so long it cascaded down to her feet.

“Do you think it’ll attack?” Shindo asked, stepping beside the trio.

“Probably not. I don’t sense the shadow beast's presence anymore. Actually, I haven’t felt any other monster's presence since you cut me down. It’s odd, but it’s almost as if all the monsters in this dungeon were tied to its presence.” He sauntered toward the weeping woman, unsheathing his knife and plunging it into the heart of the weeping woman. Her weeping suddenly turned to shrill screams, the black roots splintering into her body like glass until she was all black. The world began to rumble, the black in the sky spreading over to the white. Black roots splintered downward, shattering everything.

Suddenly, they were all standing back in the train station, the black pulsing circle they leapt into now gone.

“We’re back? Just like that?” Yuya looked around with both amazement and confusion.

Himeno immediately started toward the exit.

“Wait, we need to do your physical evaluation!” A voice called for her, but she ignored it.

NN watched as she fled, the expression on his face stone cold.

On the surface, Himeno pushed through the pain in her body. She could feel something tug on her arm.

“Himeno, wait!” Shindo shouted, “Whatever you plan to do, do it quickly, and run for the hills. If that man comes for you, you’ll die.”