The Fox

Chapter 7

I finally wake up as the dusk sky greets me. I get up and check my body for any damages, I sigh in relief when I see no wounds or scars. I look towards the place Satoru was laying down and see that he's gone. I quickly rush to the spot and try to pinpoint his location from the residue curse energy left behind. I followed the trail and it led me to some large building, where I could hear Satoru talking loudly and yelling "Right! You're so right!!" I use my lighting to boost myself to his location and find him fighting that man.

"Satoru! You're okay?!" I run towards the two, surprised seeing Satoru standing just fine. Did he master the reverse curse technique? Now's not the time to think about that Kei, I need to help Satoru kill this man. "Yo Kei, long time no see huh? I was just about to kill this asshole for stabbing me. Wanna join?" He looked at me with a grin and this crazed look in his eyes. I look at Satoru before shifting my attention to the man. "Yeah, he almost killed me. I'm not gonna let him go easily." I let my tails out as my mirror started floating around me.

Satoru looked at me then started laughing. "You have tails?! HAHA I didn't know you were a furry Kei!" He starts giggling and laughing as he points his finger at me, I just give him a deadpan stare before shooting my fire towards the man. "Now's not the time to act like an idiot, Satoru."

The man cut my fire with his dagger and started zooming towards us at incredible speed. I use the power boost from acquiring the nine tails to heighten my senses and speed to even greater heights and dodge him while Satoru just weaves through his attacks while floating. "HA! Can't catch me anymore huh?" I grin and start throwing lighting and fire at him. When he tried to attack, I used Void Cleft to keep him in place and strike him with my fists. I kick him down to the ground and get out of the way as a red beam shoots past me. I looked at Satoru who was floating while smiling and laughing as his red beam hit the man. The man quickly put his dagger in front of him to protect himself as the red beam pushed him towards a wall causing a small explosion as debris and dust filled the area. "Heh. Damn monsters." I heard him say as he started stretching his body .

I go back to Satoru while keeping a close eye on the man. "Satoru, what the hell was that?" I asked my floating friend as he kept grinning. "That. That was reverse curse technique red! Finally after trying so hard! I'm finally able to use reverse curse technique! Turns out all I have to do is be near death! HAHA!" I looked at the damage done by his attack and whistled, impressed by it. "Well, you can blabber all about that later. He's back." I said as I point at the silhouette of the man through the smoke as he spins his dagger that's now attached to a chain.

I noticed Satoru started floating higher and higher and I saw the man's face morphed into one of unease. But soon, he smiled and started spinning his weapon faster "No. It'll work. I'll kill both of you!" I rush forward and start attacking him with my techniques and mirror. I shot a Void Cleft point blank right in his face to stun him and damage him. Then I use my lightning to immobilize him even more before hitting him with more of my fire and lightning.

Then I feel it. A sudden rise in curse energy coming from where Satoru was.

"Throughout the Heavens and Earth, I alone am the honored one." He said calmly as a purple orb of energy starts forming on his index and middle finger.

"Hollow Technique." I quickly moved out of the way as the orb grew larger. "Purple."

I covered my eyes as a bright light blinded my vision. After a couple of seconds, I reopen my eyes and see the man has half of his body removed and Satoru standing in front of him. "Holy shit." I walked up to them just as Satoru asked the man if he had any last words. "Nah." The man answered, but he seemed to remember something. "In two or three years, my kid will get sold to the Zen'in. Do whatever you want with that." After saying his last words, the man's body finally gave out and he died standing with the left side of his body gone.

Seeing that the man finally died, Satoru only sighed. "Let's go look for Riko's body, Kei." Satoru said flatly and started walking into the building. I slowly nodded my head and made my tails and mirror disappear and before following Satoru.

"We really messed up huh Satoru?" I asked, He then shook his head. "No. I messed up, it's not yours or Suguru's fault, Kei." I heaved a sigh as we entered a room that kept Riko's body. I cover the corpse with some cloth before grabbing the body and beckoned Satoru to lead the way. 

We then entered another door that led us into a room full of people wearing white clothes. As soon as we entered, they started clapping and cheering loudly. 'Disgusting.' I heard Tamamo sneered inside of my head. 'Yeah, I wanna kill them.'

After a couple of minutes of these people clapping their hands for me and Satoru, Suguru entered the room. "You're late Suguru. No, I think you're early. The star cult owns many buildings after all." Satoru said as he looked at Suguru with empty eyes. "You two... Are Satoru and Kei. Right? What the hell happened?!"

"Things happened Suguru. But more importantly. You okay?" He walked over to us with his still perplexed expression. "Yeah. Shoko patched me up. I'm fine." I perked up at him when I heard Shoko's name. "Shoko's here?" He nods at me then looks at Riko's corpse that I'm holding. Satoru, noticing Suguru's expression, decided to speak. "I messed up. It's not your fault Suguru."

"No... It doesn't matter, let's get out of here." Suguru turned to the door just as Satoru start speaking again. "Suguru, Should we kill these guys? If we do it now, I probably won't feel a single thing. I'm sure Kei feels the same way." I nodded my head in response while looking at the two of them.

"Nah. There's no meaning in doing that. As far as I can tell, there's only non-sorcerer cultists here. The main offender must've run away already. They can't escape from the current situation, unlike the case with the bounty. They were problematic to begin with, so they'll be dismantled soon enough." I scoffed a bit after hearing Suguru's take. I then look him straight in the eyes. "Is meaning really necessary in this situation, Suguru? They're happily clapping their hands for a young girl's death for crying out loud!"

"I know you must be frustrated Kei, you as well Satoru. But, meaning is very important for us sorcerers." And with that Suguru walked out of the room, I then looked at Satoru who still had that empty look in his eyes. "You still gonna do it Satoru? I'll help if you want." Satoru then shook his head and started walking out of the room. "No. Let's-Let's just get out of here Kei." I nod my head and followed him shortly after while carrying Riko's body.