I walked until I reached a chamber. "How does this tunnel exist?" I wondered aloud as my eyes scanned around and in the center of the chamber was a chest atop a stone pedestal.
The atmosphere in the chamber was filled with demonic energy but there nothing in here, which made this feel like a trap and I had no choice but to see how this played out.
I approached the chest slowly and reached out to grab it. Just as my fingers were inches away, a massive shadow swallowed me. I turned, bracing for impact as a massive war hammer came at my side, sending me flying. A wall behind me shattered as my body slammed through it, rubble burying me beneath broken stone.
Slowly, I stood up and the arm that had taken the brunt of the blow shaking but intact. As I emerged from the debris, I caught sight of the demon. It was wolf-like, standing on two muscular legs, adorned with red markings on its forehead and wielding a war hammer that looked as if it could bring down mountains.
But what truly worried me was the sheer scale of demonic energy – usually you can read an opponent by the way their energy gathers before a move but here, the energy enveloped the entire room, making it impossible for me to anticipate its movements. I had to rely on my eyes and my instincts.
"Great." I exhaled slowly and the demon advanced slowly. I had a crazy thought in my head to test the demon and I sprinted straight at it. The demon swung its hammer as I got close and I slid forward, ducking under the swing. I reached its back and threw a punch straight into its spine, the impact landed but the demon barely even flinched. And it instantly retaliated with an elbow, forcing me to leap back just in time.
– The demon wasn't fast but its senses were sharp and the hard body was also a problem which means I needed to change my enhancement pattern.
I began to stretch my muscles, focusing all my energy to enhance my speed and I sprinted toward the demon, switching to enhancing my fist as I closed the distance.
It reacted quickly but I was faster. My punch landed and this time, it actually felt as if I had made contact. The demon staggered back but it quickly regained its footing. I unleashed a barrage of punches, each one landing with more force than the last. When the demon started to adapt to my rhythm, I forced a surge into a haymaker.
The demon flew backward several meters, skidding its hammer across the ground to stop itself. I sprinted after it but the demon let out a roar so powerful the sound waves physically pushed me back. I crossed my arms, digging my feet into the floor to hold my ground but that was my mistake.
The demon was suddenly on me, its speed shifting as it swung the hammer. I raised my palms and redirected the impact, using the hammer like a springboard to launch myself backward. I landed and looked at the creature. Now the red markings on its forehead had been replaced by a third eye.
I focused my enhancement on speed once more and charged at the demon. It took a stance and suddenly its hammer grew larger, the atmosphere around us crackling with a more terrifying energy. The demon swung down with tremendous force, cracking the ground beneath me. I was thrown back by the shockwave and as I tried to retreat, the entire floor began to crumble except for the area near the Keeper.
I scanned the surroundings, my eyes landing on the chest and it was falling too. My body moved before I could even think of a plan, I dove for the chest, using the floating debris to get myself closer to it. I reached the chest just as the demon hurled its hammer at me. In that moment I knew I had no time to flee, the only option was to block. I crossed my arms, focusing all my energy on defense and the hammer struck but broke through my guard and slamming into my chest.
My strength waned as the hammer pinned me down, dragging me toward the depths. Panic also surged through me but I refused to accept drowning because of a book. Just then, the hammer transformed into a book, its familiar shape somehow giving me hope.
I grabbed the handle of the hammer and to my shock, the weapon began to reshape itself and suddenly I was clutching a massive book.
I kicked hard, swimming toward the surface and broke the water, gasping for air. My eyes fell on a pile of sand above the water where the chest had landed and I pushed myself toward it. Just as I reached it, the demon dropped down from above, landing on the same sandy mound.
I was struggling to even my breathing hard and the demon charged at me but my mind wasn't on fighting this thing anymore, all I wanted was to get to that chest.
I ran toward the chest, the demon seemed to have realized what I was trying to do and we got into a race. I dove foward but the demon was right behind me with it's claws up and even if I made it to the chest my guts were gonna get cut out.
That's what I thought but the moment I touched the chest, the demon simply turned into a swirl of black smoke and dissipated into nothingness. I sat there on the sand, gasping for breath and clutching the chest. My heart rate was refusing to slow down, this was so close.
Suddenly, the water and sand disappeared. I was sitting on the floor of a small, empty room. I stood up, shaking the water from my hair and looked at the chest, the keyhole was shaped like an intricate cross.
I approached the door, stepping into the church basement. I glanced around looking for anything I can tirn into a key and spotted a lone wooden chair – it was the only object I couldn't lift. I I grabbed it, closing my eyes and trying to visualize a key that would fit into the lock. I felt my energy flowing outward but the the chair didn't feel like it was reshaping itself.
Opening my eyes, I was frustrated to find that I was right. "Fuck!" I shouted in the empty room. I then walked out of the basement, the church still bustling with activity above. I nodded to Peter as I passed him, making my way toward the exit. Peter looked relieved but didn't stop his prayer.
Suddenly, I heard a scream among the crowd and I turned to see a woman near the window pointing frantically at a flash of blinding light that shot through the church window, shattering glass and aimed at me. I couldn't dodge this thing, the people behind me had already scrambled away but I unsure of what the light would do if it hit the ground.
Without a second thought I dropped the chest and lunged forward, catching the arrow of solid light just before it could strike. The force behind it pushed me backward, my shoes scraping across the wooden floor as everything around me rattled from the impact.
I let out an instinctive roar, focusing every ounce of my spiritual energy into my grip and with a final twist, I snapped the shaft of light. I staggered back, breathing hard. "Everyone, get out!"
People rushed toward the door but it door was locked tight.
"Just give me the chest, Yamada and everyone else won't get hurt!" The voice echoed from outside the church.
Peter ran toward me, grabbing my shoulders and forcing me to look at him. "What have you brought to my church, Kenichi?"
I slapped his hand away, frustration boiling over. "I don't care what you do to these people but you're never getting this chest!"
Peter tried to start another lecture but I cut him off. "Shut up, man. I have a plan and if I act like I care about you guys, I'll just be making this more of a pain than it already is."
I picked up the chest and walked toward the door – this attacker was operating like an amateur, if he was serious about his threats he would've shown it already with atleast one hostage. But all the hostages are here with me and he won't kill them all at one cause even his simple knows that if he did, his chances of getting the chest would vanish.
"Stay in here until I sort this out!" I shouted to the crowd but as soon as I kicked the door they stormed out, pushing me along with them.
Three more flashes of light ignited in the trees and they were aimed at the panicking crowd. They scrambled in fear and I knew I couldn't save everyone but the thought of people dying in front of me ignited my irritation.
I rushed only toward the nearest person, shoving them away and the arrow missed him but tore through my thigh. The impact nearly dropped me to the ground though I forced myself to stay standing. I then channeled the pain into a sprint, heading straight for the source of the fire.
Another volley of light that's meant to keep me back came whistling through the branches. I forced my body to move and dodge every projectile.
The voice of the attacker reached me from the woods, shouting. "My orders were only to stall you before you reached the book! I'm already late, so there's no reason for me to stay here any longer!"
My chest was burning with rage, I looked down and grabbed a fallen branch, my mind fixated on the intent to kill him. The branch reshaped into a spear, which I threw with all my might and it pierced right through the back of his neck and he fell to the ground.
I caught my breath, surprised that my powers had kicked in again and I couldn't return to the church now, so I headed to the road where a cab was just pulling up. I hopped in and ordered the driver to take me to the loading docks in the east.
The cab eventually reached the docks and I walked the rest of the way to the quiet section of the city, that was surrounded by overgrown trees. I climbed the porch steps, trying to settle my breathing and hide the worst of the bloodstains. Inside, the muffled sound of a television was playing, meaning she was surely home.
I knocked on the door and after a moment, Suzume opened it. She looked better than the last time I saw her but her face twisted with worry the moment she spotted me. "Kenichi? Are you okay? What happened to you?"
"Can I come in?" I asked her.
She stepped aside, gesturing into the living room. "Yeah, come in."
I walked in and set the chest down, glancing around her clean apartment – there were no bottles in sight. "I see you've sobered up now?"
Suzume approached, lowering the TV volume but she didn't sit down. Her expression shifted to anger. "So you're here to remind me how miserable I was six days ago? And where were you this whole time? You didn't even come to Keita's funeral."
I sighed, realizing that it has only been six days since it all started but too much has happened that to me it feels like months.
I looked Suzume in the eyes and told her about everything that has happened after the Old Ridgemont incident. This was never in my plans but I needed her help now, which meant I couldn't leave out a single detail.
She sat on the edge of her armchair and her reaction was as expected – shock and disbelief. "So what do you want me to help you with?" she asked afterwards.
"I don't know what's in the book but I need someone I can trust to help me get through it." I said.
Suzume let out an unexpected chuckle and this was the first time I've seen her smile since the incident. "Rephrase your lines, Kenichi. You want someone to read the book and summarise it to you."
"Something like that." I said, scratching the back of my neck.
"Alright. I'll help you but you need to unlock the chest first." Suzume said what I already knew to me.
"I tried but this power only works on its own time." I replied.
"Try again and maybe focus this time." she urged, crossing her arms.
I exhaled slowly, the last time I tried this I was also focused but it didn't work. "Is there anything I can use?" I asked.
Suzume went to her drawer and pulled out a power bank. "Here, use this. I was planning on throwing it out anyway."
I took the power bank and closed my eyes, envisioning a key that could fit into the lock. I felt my energy pouring out and the power bank slowly began to reshape in my hands. When I opened my eyes, I was stunned to see a gleaming key formed from the device. "Holy shit, I did it!" I said, excitement bubbling within me.
Suzume joined in my joy, jumping up and down caught up in the relief for a moment before I paused. "Wait... bu why didn't it work last time?"
"Maybe you weren't focusing enough." Suzume said.
"No, I was focused. I even felt my energy pouring out onto the chair just like—"
Suzume laughed, cutting me off. "Sorry, but… you were trying to reshape a whole chair into a key?"
"It was the closest thing I could lift and I don't understand this technique." I said, exasperated.
"I don't even know much about techniques except for the ones I've read about mangas but I'm pretty sure yours doesn't work like that. And until you fully understand how it really works, try recreating using common, like how you said that the pipe turned into a katana."
I sat back down, the realization hitting me. "Right. Maybe I have to match the scale."
I reached for the chest, the key ready in my hand but my eyes drifted to the television. The news camera was viewing Southport Prison from above, showing smoke rising from the building and some parts of it destroyed.
SABC NEWS: A violent breach has occurred at Southport Prison earlier today. Current reports state that eighty-nine were injured, while thirty-seven death, both inmates and guards. One high-profile prisoner is also missing and the authorities have confirmed the inmate to be Gabriel Latham.