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Micchi Versus the New World - Chapter 136
🕑 Added 2022-11-26 23:34:49 +0000 UTCAlt link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1V0Lz4qE5rinatx_dEjR1XSbv3cjZojGG4r-yC3VQGW8/edit?usp=share_link
Chapter 136
Although Lady Katrine guaranteed our safety in Roila, I convinced everyone back on the airship it was more like she was guaranteeing her own safety. It scared the shit out of the ordinary citizens at first, seeing an army of us walk in. Hell, they looked like the kids of every school I barged into.
In fact, both sides probably didn't like it. They were pretty much enemies for god knows how long now.
The move was supposed to achieve a couple of things. Mainly, Katrine wanted to kick down any more rebels or Chika loyalists still looking for trouble. Bringing us into the city was pretty much a big 'fuck you' to their faces. The other was that our airship would be protected inside the walls of the city and not at risk from an outdoor attack.
Well, assuming Katrine didn't backstab us. Though we probably didn't have to worry about that. After all, who in their right mind would bring lions into the house and start kicking them?
Even Rugal was iffy about waltzing right into Roila, but after a couple of afternoon drinks at the tavern…
"Come on, surface-dweller! Is that all you people can muster?" A burly demon sidled up to Rugal's table with more giant steins of beer.
Rugal snatched one and grunted. "Your challenge, I accept."
A dozen soldiers erupted into cheers, egging Rugal on as he got roped into another drinking contest. On the opposite end, demons were also rooting for their own who challenged him.
"Micchi, over here!" Ririko hollered from a luxurious VIP booth.
It was pretty obvious she was drunk. Ririko had a male demon in each arm. Incubus was what they were called, the guy version of what Lilim was. They were topless, with the exception of a bow tie around their necks. One was a pretty boy with a baby face and the other looks like he hits the gym everyday.
"The fuck do you want?" I asked.
"Oh, don't look so pissy! We're letting loose today, aren't we? I was just telling 'em about your bat… Show 'em your… what was it called again? Sa… Sa… chiko?" Ririko was slurring so much, she probably plastered.
"Sacchan, and you're drunk. I ain't letting some demons check out my bat."
I was about to leave until two other incubus showed up behind me.
"Join me for once, Mich! We been hanging out a lot, but it keeps ending up in a fist fight!" Ririko exclaimed, raising a glass of wine in my direction.
"If it pleases you," the incubus to my left began, "we can show you an unforgettable night."
"Touch me, and I break more than just the horns on your head, buddy." I growled.
Both demons shuddered.
"Aww, poo. Fine. More for me then!" Ririko mused.
I shuffled past them, paused, and then grabbed the tail of the one who talked to me. The demon froze up and stifled a pained squeal.
"Try anything funny with Ririko, and I'll choke all of you with your own tails. Got it?" I whispered.
"O-Of course…" He gulped.
At the other end of the tavern, Loraine and Jouann were sitting together at a table. Both of them looked up at me when I came over.
"Micchi!" Loraine beamed. "Jouann was just telling me about how you were handling politics together."
"Handling politics, she says… There was no tact, no negotiations… only violence. So much violence…" Jouann muttered with his head in both hands.
"It wasn't that bad, Jo. You can learn a thing or two about yankee diplomacy. How about it?" I grinned.
"No, I don't think I will. Please, excuse me. The bar is calling my name. Sultana, Lady Micchi." He bowed to each of us and left to go grab a drink. Or ten, judging by the look on his face.
As soon as I sat down, Loraine scooted her chair closer to me and took my hands.
"If someone had told me we would one day be sharing drinks alongside demons, I would have thought them crazy. I would ask how you managed this, but I think Jouann has already expressed my disbelief." Loraine cast a glance at the dark elven minister ordering a drink from the demon bartender.
"This is just how it's always been between us where we came from. Fighting's a way of life. Why talk when you can punch it out?" I shrugged.
"Even though it's caused so much pain? Do you regret not being able to live a simple life?" she asked.
"No," I answered without hesitation. "Sure. Fuck my parents. Fuck the system that fucked me and Yui. Fuck Chika for what she's doing. But there ain't a bone in my body that regrets who I am or how I got here."
Loraine squeezed my hands and smiled. It was a reminder of what I gained, coming here. Someone who cared about me. The strength to protect the ones I cared about. What I lost, too.
"Do you think you can face her now?" Loraine asked.
"I can. Because I ain't gonna be fighting her alone," I said.
A shouting match broke out behind us. A drunk demon patron and an equally wasted Jinwan soldier. They were at each other's throats, screaming at the top of their lungs.
"Because of you surface-dwellers my sister's husband came back in a full body cast!"
"Then maybe he should have stayed up here, instead of going down to get his ass kicked!"
The soldier shoved the demon hard. He staggered back into a waitress, causing her to tip over the large steins of beers in her hand. I stood up to shield Loraine from the spill which drenched me from the head down.
Loraine gasped. The waitress went pale. Half the tavern who saw it froze, but the two who caused it were still fighting.
I stormed over and picked them up by the throats. Their eyes went wide, seeing me.
"You motherfuckers got a death wish? Hahh?"
Something hit me over the head. Beer and glass shards rained down, spilling on the floor. I glanced over my shoulder to find another demon holding the broken handle. He flinched, letting it drop to the ground.
I let go of the Jinwan soldier to snatch a glass from the nearby waitress that was still half-full.
"Hey, Tavernkeep. Tab's on the kingdom of Scoth," I said.
The demon tavern keeper jumped over the counter and went for the entrance. He flipped the open sign over to close, then saluted everyone before leaving. I knocked back the beer and smashed the glass over the head of the demon who hit me.
"BAR FIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!" Yui bellowed from the corner of the room.
Almost everyone started wailing on someone. Weapons were left on the ground in favor of fists. Just how I liked it. When a patron threw a punch, I swung one back in return. Rugal wasn't any different. He let loose just as hard, picking a fight with the demon who had challenged him to a drinking contest.
By the time we were done, every single table was broken, a couple of people were hanging from the chandelier, and the floor was littered with bodies whining in pain. A few people had gotten some good hits in and knocked my noggin around. I staggered out of the tavern with my eyes spinning from too much beer and too many punches to the head. At some point, I ended up lying flat on the road and staring up at the cloudy blue sky.
"It doesn't matter where we are or where we go, these two are always the source of my headaches…" Someone's familiar voice sighed.
The other person giggled. "Both of them have been bottling it up for a while now, but it's good that they're getting it out!"
That voice I recognized right away. It was Loraine's.
"Well, I guess I'll put Yui to bed early… Should I call someone to help you carry Micchi?"
"I think the safest option is to let me handle her," Loraine said.
Frey walked into view, carrying Yui on her back as she headed down the road. Meanwhile, a cool hand pressed against my cheek. Before I realized it, Loraine threw my arm around her shoulders, and we were shuffling down the street.
"Sorry," I groaned in bouts of clarity. "When this is… all over, I promise to do better for you."
"Why?" Loraine simply asked.
"Because I've been making trouble for you… Frey just said it herself…"
"That brash, headstrong nature of yours is what I love most. Thanks to you, I faced my tyrant uncle and avenged my father. Something I never thought possible a few years ago. Don't ever change for me or anyone other than yourself," she said.
I choked back tears, but a hiccup made my stomach heave. Hard. Loraine pulled me to the side of the road, and I vomited all of breakfast and lunch in a single go. My mouth and throat stung from digestive juices, but I mostly sobered up from it.
"Okay, I'm good. You head back first. I'm gonna pay our host a visit," I said.
Loraine took a step back and extended both arms to me. I knew exactly what she wanted, so I walked myself in and let her hug me tightly. After what felt like an eternity, she finally let me go with a smile.
"Don't stay out too late!" Loraine wished me well.
"Yeah, yeah…"
I returned to the palace and asked the guards to bring me to Lady Katrine. They didn't have the magic that she had. We had to walk up hundreds of flights of stairs to The Repository. She was talking to a couple of demons in academic robes when we finally reached the top.
"M-Micchi? What are you doing here?" Katrine asked.
"That primordial lifecrystal. I want you to put it in Sacchan. I know you said imbuing it into a weapon is primitive, but hey, simple's the best. If it makes me strong enough to fight Chika, then it'll have been worth it," I said.
She looked at me like I was crazy, then turned to the researchers. "Gather every ritualist still present to the Arcaneum." Then to me with a serious demeanor. "Follow me."
We grabbed the lifecrystal from Katrine's private study, then entered a round chamber with a giant magic circle etched into the otherwise smooth granite floor. It was drawn in all sorts of geometric shapes that made no sense to me. The only thing I could make out were twenty smaller circles spaced out evenly from each other along the outermost ring. A dozen demon spellcasters followed us into the room and took their places in each of the small circles. Others were left empty.
"What's with the peanut gallery?" I asked Katrine.
"You said there is already a lifecrystal within your club. It's possible their energies will clash, so we need help controlling the discharge of volatile magic. Hold it still, and I will begin pushing the crystal into your weapon," Katrine said.
I held Sacchan as firmly as I could with both hands. Katrine came around front with the primordial lifecrystal and lifted it up to the tip of the bat. She pulled out a sharp knife to carve out a piece of wood in the crystal's shape.
"Here goes nothing…" Katrine breathed deeply and pressed the lifecrystal into the hole she carved.
The circle at our feet lit up like someone switched on the neon lights. Magic energies erupted from Sacchan like a volcanic explosion. Lightning surged up the ceiling. A streak of magic struck an unsuspecting demon and sent him flying into the wall.
"Fuck… Is this supposed to happen?" I was having a hard time holding Sacchan. Some weird force was trying to peel my fingers off.
"How… would I know? This is my first time doing this!" Katrine shouted.
The tip of the bat flashed yellow. It blasted Katrine away, and she landed at the feet of one of her demon spellcasters. The loyal guy was about to step off the circle to help when she yelled at him not to.
"Don't leave the circle or we're all dead!" Katrine ordered.
"What the hell do I do now?" I growled.
The lifecrystal was still there. I might be able to push it in myself, but letting go of Sacchan even briefly, and it would go flying away. It took both hands and all my strength to hang on.
Katrine was trying to crawl back until the door we came in from swung open. Ririko flew in like the wind, and her eyes snapped directly to the lifecrystal.
"I thought I saw you coming here. So this is what you're doing?" Ririko asked.
"Back off! I'm taking this crystal to beat Chika back to her senses with!" I yelled over the intensifying magical storm.
Without saying a thing, Ririko stomped up to me, grabbed the end of Sacchan, and slammed an icy fist into the lifecrystal. For a moment, the chamber was calm. Then the ice shattered into shards that cut into her face and the storm raged on again. She cursed under her breath and pushed harder.
"What are you… doing?" I asked through gritted teeth.
"I'm helping! What does it look like?" Ririko fired back, then glanced over her shoulder to Katrine. "You wanna dance or lie around?"
Katrine leaped to her feet and occupied a circle alongside her fellow demons. However, the storm became a lot more violent.
Ripples of magic bursting past Ririko's frozen entombment cut into her face like knives to paper. Cuts deep enough that they wouldn't heal without scarring. She encrusted an icy mask over her face, but it would break off before fully forming.
"It ain't working… We gotta stop! Find another way!" I told Ririko.
The caked up bitch shook her head. Tears ran down her cheeks and turned into droplets of red ice from blood that flaked off.
"Promise me, Micchi! We finish this fight, and you help send me back to Japan with those crystals!" Ririko cried as another blast of magic sliced a diagonal gash across her face.
I saw the depths of her resolve in those cold, desperate eyes. That desire to be back with the person she cared most about. The conviction to do whatever it took and make any sacrifices necessary.
The one who had it all wrong about you was me. You didn't care about looking pretty. Didn't care what people really thought about you. At the end of the day, the one you wanted standing in front of you wasn't a horde of fans to call you pretty. It was Eri.
"You got my word." I nodded.
Ririko flashed a genuine smile. Not the one where the corners of her lips peeled to the very limit. Just a regular, old smile like when Chika and Anya used to play with me and Yui.
The Blizzard of Hokkaido fastened her grip on Sacchan with a layer of ice. She reared her other hand back, formed a spiked point like a metal spearhead, and plunged it into the primordial lifecrystal.
A final blast of magic blew Ririko across the room. She slammed against the far wall and went limp. The magical storm vanished. Katrine and her demon spellcasters collapsed to their knees, ground, or passed right out.
I raced over to Ririko. There were maybe half a dozen cuts on her face. I couldn't tell from all the blood. If that wasn't bad enough, she wasn't moving.
"Hey, get up!" I shook her by the shoulders. "You can't die on me yet, you dumb bitch. I can't fulfill a promise to you if you're dead!"
Ririko sucked in a hoarse breath and coughed painfully.
"Who are you… calling a dumb bitch?" She smirked, then pointed to Sacchan. "Looks like… I did it. Damn… Am I cool as ice or what?"
Wood around the hole began to regrow and seal in the primordial lifecrystal. Holding Sacchan, I felt a deep well of something. Magic? Mana? Whatever it was seemed to have given my bat a big upgrade. I knew without even having to fight Chika yet that the playing field was level now.
