I'm Never Looking at an Atlas Again

The ball was rolling off the roof.

The real doctor Kawaguchi, was going to join the festival of monsters via the express route. I would’ve suggested the elevator. I wasn’t going to take the bet if enough of Captain Kawakami’s clouds would slow her descent. Perhaps some monsters would stop their partying to play hot potato with the lady in the giant orb. My essence clumped quick and shot out of me towards the large spherical prison.

“PETRIFY!”

The ball stopped, locked in space on the edge of the roof.

I thought of using PERSONIFY, but I couldn’t risk if the sphere would be my friend, or roll back in time. That chant required more essence than petrify did. The size of the ball was already taking a large amount of essence, adding that it was a high rank relic, controlling it was taking all of my focus. I couldn’t cast another spell even just to make it talk; it took all I had to get it frozen in place.

Worse than that, I couldn’t see a latch or a key hole or anything. It seemed like it was bolted in without any intention of reopening. We would have to break it. Having it crack on the ground like an egg was not an option. My worst fears were confirmed now. We were facing a true monster, that wouldn’t stop at any cost to complete his goal. I could see now why my father and brother went to such lengths to try and take the top hunter spot from such a man.

“How you doing Rei?”

Meika panted, still cloaked in her essence she had summoned two large shadow panthers, using her third spell they were now all three covered in a shadowy armor.

“I’m holding on. I hope those three get up here soon.“

Meika and the vice-captain of internal affairs faced off against the arch-copy monster. Without a fellow arch monster to keep it wrapped up, we were in trouble. Vice-captain Kirigaya had made the monster slower, herself faster, and the ground slippery. Meika’s panthers kept her pinned and away from me, it felt like I held the ball up at the top of the world. The arch monster was dual wielding swords, and copying the vice-captain’s spells as well as moves. They were locked in a vicious battle. Both bleeding from cheap attacks, and due to the copy monster’s essence, injured on the same parts of the body.

President Sukimoto was busy firing off attacks to protect the roof from being boarded by monsters, guarding his partners back. He was single handedly stopping the three Kawa’s from getting too close.

Asaka was in trouble, but my role model was still talking trash. I have excellent taste in most everything.

“I don’t know how long exactly you’ve been posing as an employee but consider this your internal review. You’re fired.”

She did one thing the arch-monster couldn’t. She activated her relic. The steely blue katana coating the monster’s sword hands in a layer of ice with every slash. The blades becoming brittle and breaking in half, leaking essence from the destroyed ends. The fake screamed and sneered.

“This isn’t over, my chants allow me to copy a person's appearance, movements, personality and essence, but my fifth chant is different.”

It leaped back out of range, closer to the president. Essence clumping all around it, as if the air was reflecting what I didn’t like about myself and the world back at me. This was definitely not as pleasant as Hyottoko’s or Okame’s final chant, the essence made my skin crawl.

“With this I can copy a person’s memories. Now imagine what would happen if I did that to a man who’s memorized a thousand spells.”

It took a step closer to the President, resting it's hand on his back, the essence shot back and forth from the monster. The president of MaMA stopped chanting for a moment, taken over by the arch monster behind him.

Doctor Kawaguchi’s beautiful face morphed and twisted, becoming shiny and smooth, there was a glimpse of the monster beneath, then it morphed again. It’s hair becoming red and curly, an eye patch formed over one eye, a thick cartoonish brow above. It’s clothes changing into a suit with a pretentious little cape. It sounded just like him.

“Now that is much better! You’re really doomed now.”

“That’s my line!”

Keisuke appeared out of thin air, he was wrapped in some metallic essence and kicked the copy monster straight in the chest. Hyottoko would be proud. The minute that it took for the monster to copy Sukimoto’s memories, was enough for the three other hunters to close the distance. Kei teleported again, but he had dropped a bag on the ground.

The bag shimmered for a second, then Daichi swapped places with it. Swinging a giant hammer made from a mechanical-spring essence. He swung hard and knocked the original President off of the roof.

“Daichi! You should’ve joined me when you had the chance!”

The president grew wings. Essence clumped around him, and a mirror image of himself appeared. There were now three Sukimoto’s. Essence was now clumping around the copy monster, and sure enough a fourth Sukimoto appeared. Daichi and Keisuke handled the real president and his mirror image, while Meika and Asaka handled the copy monster, and the copy of the copy.

“Someone please help me! I’m running out of juice here!”

I really was, I knew they were in a desperate situation but, I thought people might like to know when the reason we came here was about to plummet to the ground floor!

“Throw a marble, something! I got maybe another minute in me!”

It was getting harder to focus, the Sukimotos would switch opponents and in that time try to fire off a spell at me, it was blocked by one of them but it still caused me to flinch. Enough of those and my spell wouldn’t hold.

“Hang in there, I’ll try to find an opening!”

Kei yelled, I couldn’t believe I was finally hunting with my brother. Not the time Rei, focus!

“Just a little longer Rei! Chin up!”

Asaka’s voice was also encouraging.

There was suddenly a cool breeze.

“Sorry my dear, it took me a minute to take care of the other guards, and release some of my other clouds so I could have enough focus to chant my fourth epiphany.”

Captain Kawakami had arrived, seated on a cloud that was actually the snout of large dragon. The beast made of storms and wind crackled with lightning, it’s checkered scales of mottled fluffy white to dark stormy black. Its large front claws grabbed the ball with the doctor unconscious inside of it.

“They don’t call me lazy monkey, hidden dragon for nothing.”

He had a great smile, he was a great man. I take back everything bad I ever thought about him. My essence dropped from the ball’s surface. I was going to pass out.

“No one calls you that!”

At least his vice-captain was doing well enough to keep up her act of berating him.

“I’ll call you that whenever you want!”

At my faint voice, he beamed like sunshine.

“We just need to get that thing on the ground!”

“On it!”

The captain steered the large dragon holding the ball away from the roof, and towards the parade below.

The copy monster jumped after it but both versions were cut off.

I took in the situation. President Sukimoto was strong enough to take on Hyottoko on his own. He was pinned down a little by the combined efforts of Keisuke and Daichi, but would they run out of marbles and essence before the president did. I couldn’t say. The boy’s masks had been scraped, their clothes cut and ragged. Daichi had a nasty burn on his side, and Keisuke had a shallow cut from his leg up to his chest and one ugly one on his chin. Luckily, he was wearing robes or his pants would’ve fallen down. No sister wants to see that.

The president and his copy were not in better shape. His pants were also still up thank goodness. The copy was covered in some sort of slime and was missing an arm, the original had marks up and down his body from being pelted by something, his shirt was burned off somehow. Revealing a glowing breast plate of many colors, that even I could recognize as a high-class relic. The essence seemed to seep out of it when the president chanted a spell.

No wonder he was known as the thousand spell hunter, he had the ability to remember a thousand chants but more importantly he had a relic that could store essence. With that he could cast a thousand spells in a day without tiring. That’s how he managed to stay on par with the Hyottoko and how he managed to beat an Arch monster by himself inside of its final epiphany.

Keisuke and Daichi had also figured this out and their strategies revolved around dodging, and antagonizing the president at every turn. The president was used to wearing this relic. He was casting and combining chants without restraint. It was possible to chant in silence, deaf and mute essence users had shown people it was possible, but doing so was another matter. Dual casting was like ripping yourself in half, but looking at the four presidents he may also be used to that as well. The president’s skills were just as obsessive as Keisuke’s ranged essence sense and projection.

I need to help Asaka and Meika with their Sukimotos, so we could all gang up on Sukimoto prime.

“PETRIFY!”

I waited for just the right opening, I didn’t have much left and I already knew from the last time I petrified the copy monster. Arch monsters resisted essence on a whole other level.

“Die you imposter, I said you’re fired!”

Asaka cut the original copy monster’s head off, but the monster didn’t disperse. No mist or essence, it just faded away like stopping a chant. The copy of the copy jumped back, and clumped essence running away from Meika, and soon another President appeared again. Looking right at me. A shiver came down my spine.

“You want to play, Rei?”

“Not with you!”

This thing wasn’t an arch monster for nothing. Dread began to set in. The music and monsters dancing around us was over stimulating. They were too caught up in partying to help us fight these four.

“I’ll play with you!”

“Play with me too!”

Okame’s voice echoed with herself. The flute music grew loud, as her and her copy appeared on the roof.

Daichi and Keisuke were right, Sukimoto’s expression. Chef’s kiss!

Delicious.