A Shift In Perspective {Omamori Himari/Monster Girl Encyclopedia} (Finished)

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Journal Entry 5.2

Sounds of soft, something between pop and traditional, music filtered through air as I lounged on Kuesu's leather couch. The upbeat melody was intermittently mixed with the hoots and hollers of Ageha and Lilinora as they played some kind of drinking game near the back.

In celebration of the deal being struck Amare had asked Kuesu was holding a small celebration at her apartment; apparently Amare'd been planning to do this after hearing about the time we'd held a Christmas party here. Though Lilinora and Sorina mostly seemed to only be interested in the sake, wine, and vodka. While Sophie was busy getting into an eating contest with Tama. They'd both nearly cleared out half of the snack table.

Anjelica had, strangely enough, declined to join as she apparently wasn't much of a fan of alcohol. And Rinko had elected to stay at home with her as well, something about needing to discuss something with the diminutive mamono in private.

"You seem content." Himari said as she walked over with a bottle of sake in hand, black kimono with purple highlights hugging her curves nicely. She settled onto my lap, on arm draped around my neck while with the hand that held the bottle she extends a claw from her thumb and popped off the cork. "But you don't seem to be partying much. Why not drink a little?" Before I could answer she'd tipped back her head and taken a swig from the bottle herself.

"You know that I'm not much of a drinker, regardless of the mood I'm in. But yes, I am quite plea-" I tried to say before the drink in Himari's bottle suddenly bubbled up and flowed into my mouth, seemingly defying gravity judging by the suspended stream.

"Shut up and drink~" Shizuku droned from behind us.

I reluctantly took three gulps from the insistent stream of intoxicating fluid before it finally receded back into the bottle. Shizuku leaned over and draped her arms around me, ignoring the hold Himari already had.

"The strangest thing about our mate is his aversion to such a pleasant beverage." Himari said before nuzzling my neck.

"Indeed." Shizuku replied before doing the same to my other side, lightly lapping at the few droplets of sake that had spilled onto my chin and collar.

"You're both buzzed." I said, gently trying to dislodge Shizuku and eventually getting Himari off of my lap. The affection was nice and welcome, don't get me wrong, but the smell of alcohol really wasn't doing it for me. "And there's nothing wrong or weird about not getting drunk." I glanced over at my small cup of water on the table, which seemed so far away despite the actual distance being only a foot or so.

"I have to agree with them, love."

I looked over to see Amare strutting over, in her true form and glass of wine in hand as she saddled up beside me, sandwiching me between Himari and her own voluptuous form as she sat beside me, tail wrapped behind and around my waist.

"Though I prefer traditional wine over sake." She said.

Leaning back with sigh, I gave up and just let them fondle and quasi-cuddle with me for a moment. Eventually they'd need to get back for a re-fill and then I'd find my escape route. "It lowers my inhibitions."

"What's so wrong about getting a little wild?"

"Quite so, it could even help in a few cases." Amare agreed. "For example; A little inhibition reduction could help a supposed mate like you who has not planted his seed when among such a variety of fertile options." She whispered into my ear. "My group, and yes even me, included."

I blushed fiercely and opened my mouth to respond but my breath was stolen away before I could say anything, nothing to do with a physical assault but a psychological impact.

The feeling was sudden and oppressive, just as it had been the three times before. An inky, volatile, and oppressive aura that seemed to roil and wash over me. We all stood up then, almost in synch as everyone in the room with even a rudimentary connection to supernatural forces could feel the appearance of Eparsi, stronger than ever.

Not here, but somewhere due south-west and only a few city-blocks away. The feeling wasn't any more precise than that but my house being in the same direction left very little doubt in my mind.

A gently pulse of purple energy that enveloped the entire room nearly made me jump with how tense I was. A second latter I felt the slight buzz I'd gotten from the sake disappear just as Kuesu's commanding voice brought all of us out of our shock.

"This is no time to hesitate!" Kuesu was still in a silvery gown as she started weaving her left hand through the air, wreathed in magic, as the other held her spell book open. "Anyone that wants to join the fight should follow me through this portal."

It was flurry of activity with every single person in the room lining up behind Kuesu as she began forming the spell.

I grabbed Shizuku by the arm as she stepped forward. "No, I think we'll need you to setup your Illusion House again with how much stronger he's gotten."

She frowned at me for a moment, understandable considering how this would be the second time she wouldn't be able to directly get into a big battle, but she nodded regardless and rushed out of the room. I wish we could have waited for her to get into position, as we had with Shuten, but I had a sinking suspicion that Eparsi wasn't going to be as accommodating.

There was another flash and dull whoosh of air as Kuesu's portal opened and then all hesitation left my mind. I enveloped myself with Light Ferry and dashed through before anyone else could so much as step forward.

I'm not a fan of violence, a sentiment that many will gladly tell you has put me in unnecessary peril on more than a few occasions, especially Kuesu. But all the same; when I kill a monster, a genuine and unrepentant threat to the things I've personally sworn to protect, then I expect it to stay dead.

 

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Journal Entry 5.3

The first thing I noticed as I crossed through Kuesu's portal was the screaming. Not of fear or pain, to my minute relief, but of depressingly familiar rage and panic.

As soon as my feet hit the pavement beneath the portal I took off running just as Anjelica burst through the door in a spray of wood chips and shrapnel, literally knocking both the main wooden and secondary screen door off their hinges. She got all of five hurried and frantic steps, enough for her face to turn hopeful as she made it into the yard and saw me and enough time for me to be impressed by her feat of strength.

It was also enough time for the dark oily thing that was chasing her to bound out of the doorway and smash her into the ground with such force that she went over an inch into the ground. The sounds of shattering bones and her strangled cry quickly muffled as the thing settled it's full weight on top of her.

The old me may have been frozen with sudden despair or anger at the swift brutality, but I was experienced enough now to know what was and wasn't helpful in a fight.

I took a fraction of a second to dig in deep, with Light Ferry helping, before rocketing forward and slamming into the dark figure before it had the chance to do any more damage. I may have hit him with more force than necessary as we not only crashed into but through my house, demolishing six walls before exploding out the other side and colliding with my backyard in a tumble and spray dirt.

I might have pressed the attack but an unfortunate side effect of grappling my opponent was that it felt like I was trying to grab someone made of boiling grease. Though I didn't want to just meekly let go; I planted a foot against what I thought was its torso and kicked hard; sending us flying apart.

As we both snapped back to our feet I finally slowed down enough to actually get a good look at Eparsi's most recent form. And the sight was nearly overwhelming; his visage seemed to almost make my vision warp with the raw power it was composed of by I managed to push past and see it's physical form in true clarity, with some difficulty.

This one was by far the smallest but immediately recognizable as being deadlier. He was a hulking thing now, easily two feet taller than me, and seemed to be entirely composed of a yellowish-black substance that festered and popped constantly; the black concentrating in an eerier swirl where a face would have been on a human and the yellow concentrated in the serrated edges of his claws and tail. The only semblance of humanity being the hood and cloak that flowed on him. Though I did faintly notice that the black ichor was beginning to spread out in needle like trickles across his body.

Pushing past his intimidating appearance I dashed forward and slightly to the side, trying to get a shot off at his side, only to barely jerk my head back in time as his claws wracked through the space my face had been in.

'He's faster than Himari.' I thought in near disbelief as I barely weaved around two more strikes from his claws and tail before slipping past his guard and hitting him center mass. My fist burned as it slammed into his torso but I knew the sensation was more sensation than injury now. With another pulse of Light Ferry I launched him up and over the house and I saw him reorient himself in midair just as I jumped after him.

Our battle might have continued in midair if not for a pleasantly familiar violet fireball that descended from above and drove Eparsi down into the street below, detonating violently.

"Honestly, so recklessly!" Kuesu chastised me even as she rocketed downward toward Eparsi as he easily shrugged off, or completely negated, any of the damage from such a weak fireball. The attacks we were throwing weren't really injuring, or even scratching, the demons tough hide but the rapidness of them did delay his attacks and it kept property damage down.

I landed just in time to see Sophie slithering away at surprising speeds with Anjelica's weakling writhing form in her translucent arms. The dual emotions of extreme relief of seeing her still alive and the anger at seeing her bloodied condition was a strange dichotomy.

"Yuto, we require assistance!" I heard Himari yell just as a car alarm went off.

I turned my attention back to Eparsi to see he was currently busy dodging a flurry of attacks from both Himari and Aghea, their blades moving through the air in a deadly pattern as a neatly cut in half car blared only a few feet away. I rushed in to join them to keep on the pressure when Eparsi screamed.

The screeching sound cracked every window along the block and pushed us all back for a few seconds. The sound then began oscillating before seeming to actually solidify into a sphere around him that tore away at anything near him, the bubble of sound colored the same off-yellow as his body.

Just as I thought things might get worse, I felt sudden a sudden shift around us as Shizuku's Illusion House fell into place.

"Alright, time to stop playing around!" I hollered out to everyone just as Tama was already in motion with an upward slash with her claws that carved a deep trench into the road aimed directly at Eparsi.

To my surprise it made it two feet past his shield before Tama pulled her hand back with strangled cry, her hand now partial burned and flakes of skin falling off.

"He's consuming himself." Kuesu said suddenly, hands a light with blazing pentagrams as she gazed upon the tense demon, the inky blackness of it's form spreading along its body further and cracking. "This is his true form but he can't maintain it for long, he's cannibalizing himself for more power."

"Hmph! A foolish strategy." Himari said before blurring forward and delivering a series of powerful slashes at the barrier, careful not to get her barehand stuck in the field, the tail end of each ripping apart the street and nearby buildings.

"What's the point then, even in his true form he's still out numbered and won't be able to win if it's limited." I said. "What does he hope to accomplish?"

"Don't know, don't care. The other Demon Slayers might arrive soon anyways. All we need to worry about is keeping any of us from being seriously injured and take this guy down." Kuesu said before launching herself threw the air towards the field of rot, hands ablaze with azure fire. As she made contact there was an odd, almost electric reaction before Eparsi's field popped like an oversized soap bubble, sending both him and Kuesu reeling.

There was still caution nudging at the back of my mind from Kuesu's warning but didn't hesitate when I saw Eparsi charging up something else as Kuesu dodged away. I was nearly on top of him in a second, meeting his charge of energy with my own. Hoping to utilize the same strategy I'd used on Tama before, flooding a target with Light Ferry to severely burn them, in an attempt to at least counteract whatever he was doing.

My crackling white light met his shifting growth of oil and darkness in a crash that shattered all of the already cracked windows. As we pushed against each other I noticed our energies beginning to eclipse, neither overwhelming the other but subsuming each other at equal rates. But I pressed on, even as I felt the street begin to crack and give way beneath our struggle; I could see my energy beginning to burn and seep into him and I could feel his doing the same to me.

Just as our palms were about to touch there was gray, yet impossibly bright, flash of light and then my vision went dark.

 

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Journal Entry 5.4

At first, we saw nothing.

Not to say we were in a void, just that we lacked eyes; though we could feel the murk in the air that swirled around us. Dust and specks of dirt clinging to our limbless and slug-like form. We devoured slow insects and the refuse of larger creatures, scurrying under the cover of rocks and shrubbery whenever we heard their stomping approach. There were others, many Others, but we mostly avoided them and ate the weaker ones.

This went on for… a time. Until one day, after a particularly brutal fight with another of our kind, during our consummation of its flesh it felt as if our blood had been lit a flame. Our bones creaked as they grew, splitting our flesh before new layers of fat and muscle grew over, claws sprouted from newly grown hands and feet, a membrane formed above our toothy maw that allowed sight, and the odd sensation of a tail forming brought us to our knees.

We were now one of those large creatures. There was no need for explanations, our instincts provided all of the direction needed; It was time to hunt bigger prey.

The next decades were nothing but constant fighting and feasting. We had taken to calling the place we were trapped in "The Pit".

The Pit was impossibly large, the bottom as expansive as any desert, and almost as barren, the walls being taller than any structure made by humanity. It was filled to brim with our kin, all of us driven with an almost irrational need to fight and consume each other, with our younger, inferior snake-like brethren evolving into their stronger forms to replace whoever fell in conflict.

With each kill, and subsequent meal, we grew in power and strength. After being nearly swallowed whole, crushed under foot, impaled, and decapitated we had grown enough to climb the walls to freedom.

-My view blurred, then snapped back into focus.-

Or so we had thought.

We had transitioned from The Pit to a true landscape, but the rules had remained largely the same, though we were given more agency; being able to rest, travel to different biomes, and fashion tools were all such novel concepts.

Even interactions with our kin had changed; Sometimes we would hunt down the weaker ones, other times we would avoid any confrontation, other times we had to run away from beings of superior strength, and there was even the occasional bout of fornication.

We noticed many of our brethren would either stagnate here or fall back into the massive Pits due to their own ineptitude. We, however, avoided falling into such mediocrity; long ago the lesson had been learned that a mediocre demon was merely a corpse that didn't know it was dead yet.

Weapons and armor were fashioned from the stone and wood we could find. Eventually we even managed to construct a shelter of sorts, situated in a forest suited for camouflage and with plenty of prey.

This blissful golden age lasted until a figure in gleaming black armor descended from the sky on leathery, white wings and blasted my sheltered to mere embers.

-Another warping, more sustained this time.-

We will forever remember the feeling of iron chains and a collar biting into my skin as I was forced to serve that sadistic tyrant for centuries.

After destroying my shelter it'd beaten us into submission and dragged us away. We awoke in chains on dusty ground, a strange implement laid on the ground in front of us. We looked up to see the figure with black armor floating above us, we could now sew numerous red eyes glancing through the seams, it gave one order; "Get to work."

We were given no instructions, merely expected to follow the lead of all the other slaves.

At first there was pointless anger, indignation, and poorly thought out acts of rebellion. But slowly we settled on barely contained rage as we toiled away like the rest of the weak trash enlisted here.

The "county" the black figure had put me to work in had expansive swathes of land and fields with refined shelters that housed all sorts of creatures, though they seemed to not be slaves like us, free to move about as they pleased. While we were forced to carry shinny stones to the same the structure, pull up strange vegetation and carry them to a different structure day in and day out, and ate sloop for when the sky darkened. Escape was impossible as the incredibly high stone wall surrounding the county was smooth as ice and the actual exit was too well guarded by its minions. Eventually, by eavesdropping during our long hours of work, we learned of the figures name; "Druella".

Many of the others had their wills thoroughly shattered under Druella's "disciplinary visits" after even a hint of rebellion. But we held strong, our hatred gradually stoked over time and hidden well as we gathered strength. Each day for over a century we would do extra labor to strengthen our body and cobble together minute amounts of energy from the environment. If we prepared with too much urgency and didn't hide it well Druella would snuff us out. So, we kept our head down, toiling away like a good little servant, avoiding attention, and gathered more power.

Until one day; it was enough. We were practically brimming with strength at this point and it took concerted effort to hide it, but we could now feel the gap between us and Druella had been closed. Still, we waited for a prime opportunity, there was no sense in leaving things to chance.

During a particularly sweltering day, enough to make even demonic hide sweat, Druella walked out of its fortress without her green and red armor, revealing a writhing mass of inky tentacles, red eyes, and jabbering mouths that seemed corded together like muscle to form a figure.

The armor didn't make much of a difference as far as the other slaves were concerned, she was still far superior to them. But it was the rare opportunity we had been waiting for.

We broke our chains and launched ourselves at her from behind, tearing off half of her torso with the first strike.

-Another shift in memory.-

Our fight raged on for a time after that, demolishing three structures and setting one field ablaze in the ensuing conflict. Had we not landed such a devastating blow first, things might have ended differently; but in the end we stood victorious while the demon barely escapade with its life.

He guards, repurposed slaves really, had been too weak to step in and held no real loyalty and thus were easily subjugated afterward. Neither did the residents particularly object to the violent change in leadership. Cruelty, greed, and nihilism aside; our kin at least knew to differ to superior strength.

I took her fortress next, destroying all that was useless and taking all that we could utilize later. Lastly, we donned her armor and were filled with surprise as the metal melted and sunk into our form, mind swirling with ideas of how to best cull the other slaves.

They had all seen the fight and we did not need an upstart trying the same thing with us while we ruled this land.

-The connection snapped out momentarily and we both screamed before our minds were slammed together again.-

Over a thousand years of constant vigilance and an iron-fisted rule had led to this moment.

We confidently strode up the steps of the Citadel, the dark cloak wrapped around our oily form billowed slightly in the polluted air of the megalopolis. The other Lords walked briskly up the stairs alongside us, the pathetic ones born into their positions like Durella and others who earned their position, a veritable sea of similarly dark cloaks and monstrous faces.

Our county had grown substantially, along with our own personal power. The slaves were better regulated and directed personally by my subordinates, rather than by us, thus decreasing the chances of us being overthrown by them. Of course, this necessitated us making our guards actually competent, instead of keeping the trash our previous superior had but the risk was worth it. We did run into some outside conflict from other Lords that tried to contest my rule, but after eviscerating the first few, most of the others learned to keep to themselves.

And now, after so much strife, we were going to the Citadel. The height of demonic society that was also surrounded by a veritable sea of living machines that pumped endless plumes of dark smoke into the already smoggy sky.

We all walked through the large, obsidian double doors and into the glossy black marble hall. All of us walking briskly towards another set of doors that served as an entrance to the actual meeting room. The chamber was large with torches and motes of arcane light casting the room in a pleasant glow the color of flesh. Reinforced wooden chairs were situated in a large circle surrounding a single clear space of floor.

Of course, no one was presumptuous enough to try and take center stage yet, not even us, but we could see others eyeing it already. Only after everyone had settled down and a mumbled silence had settled over the room did someone finally speak up.

"We all know why we've gathered here today." Said a familiar pale skinned thing with pointy ears that curled all the way around its head before hardening into horns near it's forehead. "The current Demon Lord has become… unprofitable."

"You mean it's time to gut the lazy old slug!" We shouted out, clearly a statement and not a question. Yet still the pale thing answered us in a snide manner. Perhaps it was still angry we had killed most of its brothers. Never cared to learn its name though.

"Yes, Eparsi, it is unfortunately time to remove and replace him." The thing said, voice devoid of anything even approaching reluctance. "For centuries now, he has completely ignored humanity and grown complacent in his position; we need to reengage humanity and bring about a new golden age."

We settled in to wait for this meeting to run its course. Honestly, we were only here to see if there would be an opportunity to kill the old fool, possibly even replace him ourselves if we got the chance.

Then she arrived.

"Are you quite sure about that?" Unlike the others she seemed at least mostly human; leathery wings and tail of snow white and ash a stark contrast to the tanned skin of her shapely form that her dark cloak tried in vain to conceal. "Our current ruler has been avoiding humanity, yes, but I believe it comes more from a place of pragmatism than lethargy."

"Ah, yes, I suppose our most absent has something to say now."

The mysterious woman, which is what she appeared to be, ignored the pale thing completely and strode into the center of the room, the light giving her skin an entirely new gleam. "How many of you have been to the human world in the last hundred years? And I mean actually materialized in person, not just sent a subordinate." At everyone's reluctant silence she continued. "I'll be a little more lenient; how about the last three hundred? Five hundred?"

"Your point?" The thing asked, clearly irritated at how easily she'd grabbed everyone's attention.

"My point is that including our Lord, none of you have made any significant movements against humanity." She lifted her hand and displayed what could be mistaken for a peace sign. "For two reasons; The primary one being that there is no benefit." The crowd around her muttered more at that but she continued. "Let's be honest; we gain nothing from fighting humans. They have no resources that we cannot replicate within our own realm and our time is better spent expanding and growing down here. The golden age may have featured a time where we had the greatest influence over human society but the past few centuries of sparse conflict has been vastly more profitable for us. The second reason is one I can't fault any of you for not knowing but I have traveled to the human world often enough to be aware and I suspect so has our Lord; if we fought them like in the days of old humanity would crush us."

'Is she mad?' We thought as several of the others around us shouted in outrage at the insinuation.

"They have grown in power beyond what most of you could imagine, both arcane and mundane. We could inflict substantial damage to their world but the result is inevitable." She explained.

"Then what exactly do you expect us to do? Or are you trying to suggest something as idiotic as 'nothing'?" Another voice spoke up.

"I've got a few ideas but I believe that this meeting should steer back toward the topic of a replacement. As much as I acknowledge the practicality of his decisions, the Slug has become so inactive that he's letting things stagnate; his termination is for the best. I simply wanted to point out the flaws in any potential plans we might have made; no need to replace a complacent Lord with an actively self-destructive one."

The meeting slogged along after that, an atmosphere of uncertainty having fallen over all of the attendees after that woman's speech. In the end the barebones of a plan were constructed but nothing concrete was agreed upon.

As we were walking out of the room a small hand rested on our shoulder and gently pulled us to the side. It was the woman again.

"Eparsi, I don't believe we've ever met." She said cordially as her hand still rested upon our bare shoulder, seemingly not bothered by the caustic substance that should have at least blistered her skin but her hand remained completely pristine.

"What do you want, woman?"

"I just wanted to thank you for what you did to Druella."

We tensed, preparing for an attack. We knew from experience that demons were often very vengeful when it came to "direct" members of family.

"And I would like to thank you for what you did to her. She was a rather spoiled child and I wasn't around enough to properly discipline her. The beating you gave her helped with the ego problem quite a bit." She gave us a little pat on the back before turning towards a small group that was beckoning her over. "It seems my little speech has captured some attention."

We grabbed her arm as she walked away, and nearly flinched at the power we could feel thrumming just under her skin, before asking one last question. "Who are you?"

Her eyes flashed red, just for a moment, before returning to their previous pitch black that clashed with her silver hair.

"You can call me, Eve."

-Another fray, memories jumbled by in jerking clumps of morbid reality.-

She had done the impossible.

This woman, Eve, had blazed a trail through the ranks with a message of… peace. All those who stood in her way were either converted or steeped aside out of fear. The disconnect was disturbing and even though I found her message vile myself, there was never an opportunity to attack. Always too many guards and sympathizers around to stop us.

Then she managed something that took the fight out of even her most violent detractors.

The old Demon Lord, the spiteful Slug himself, stepped down and kneeled before her. No fight, no deception, not even a hint of resentment. Complete and utter obedience that lead to her taking the throne; she wasted no time in unleashing a wave of change that washed over all of our kind. Though those strong enough, like us, could stave it off.

We had to retreat, there was no other way. The rare few that tried to violently usurp her were quickly snuffed out and the more passive ones seemed to be turning to her side by the handful. We couldn't handle being a part of either group; to be snuffed out without a fight or converted wasn't how we wanted our eternity to end.

So, we went to the human world with singular thought in our mind; 'We refuse to go out quietly or quickly. We will leave our mark on this world, however small, in a blaze of rending flesh and horror, no matter how small.'

With a gasp, I, staggered back from Eparsi and fell back into someone's arms as my mind shakily shifted back into the perspective of my own body. I was sweating profusely, and it felt like I had a fever. "Girls, we need to-" I barely gasped out before another violet fireball hit Eparsi, knocking the demon back but, I now knew, could never burn it. It landed sluggishly though, nearly losing its feet, clearly just as unsteady as I felt.

I looked up in surprise to see that all the other Demon Slayers had arrived and had engaged Eparsi, corralling him away from me.

"What happened, Yuto?" I heard Himari frantically ask as she pulled me back even further and let me rest against her. "You were stuck in some manner of field for five minutes before Kuesu found a way to break through."

"He won't give up…" I gasped. "He'll never give up. The only thing we can do is give him what he wants; a proper death." I watched as Eparsi tried to defend himself sluggishly, but with some ferocity, and with moves I was now intimately familiar with.

"And I think I know how."

 

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Journal Entry 5.5

"Are you sure about this, Yuto?" Himari asked as she handed me her sword.

I gripped the yasutsuna tightly and began channeling Light Ferry before responding with a curt "Completely". Light Ferry engulfed the sword in a translucent golden light, not even stopping at the hilt with it's reinforcement. I'd learned to refine the enforcement rather than relying on the wild burst of enhancement I'd done when my powers first manifested.

I knew what, and almost importantly, who Eparsi was now and that allowed a few select advantages. Along the standard physical enhancement, I covered the blade and hilt in what could be best described as a mystical sheath that would ward off the effects of Eparsi's rotting energy. Then I started off on the most important part; sharpening. I put layer after layer of energy into the edge of the blade until it became a slight struggle to maintain. Underneath the first layer of rot and "oil" Eparsi had an incredibly durable hide, far tougher than the one Shuten had. I couldn't afford wasting time hacking away at one area to make an injury stick.

"Is the arena ready?" I asked.

"Just about." Kuesu answered as she landed next to me on the roof.

We both looked out from our perch on the apartment complex to see the rest of the Demon Slayers corralling Eparsi into a graveyard. I'd shaken off the affects of our… connection, and so had he apparently with how lively he'd become. With the help of directions and warnings from Hitsugi the rest of the Demon Slayers, Amare and her team, and my friends were easily able to corral him where they wanted. Not to say the job wasn't dangerous though, as evidence by Sorina who was nursing the stump where her left arm had been after taking a blow for Ageha.

And that had honestly been the hardest part to convincing the others to go along with my plan. Eparsi was strong, stronger than almost any Lord, but it was self-evident that, even if it were just us Demon Slayers, if we all piled on he would have no chance. But such a tactic risked him escalating too far, and while most of us would survive one of his tactics there was also a chance one of us could be seriously injured or even killed.

After what had happened with Shuten, I couldn't really stand that. Besides, I felt this had to be done personally now.

Eparsi looked momentarily confused as everyone rapidly backed off, leaving him in the middle of the graveyard. Until he saw me land and started walking towards him.

He was at full attention now, easily towering over me at eight-feet tall, and with his tail parallel to the ground, tip lightly twitching occasionally.

"You know why I'm here." I said, before setting my sword into a guard position. "And now I know why you are here; let us end this quickly."

The fluid where a mouth would have been on a human rippled and warped slightly and I was surprised to hear a strange guttural sound from him. And doubly so when I recognized and could actually understand the strange, yet familiar, cadence of noise.

'So, I can speak demon now.' I thought with some wryness. It didn't translate well to human language, like, at all. Eparsi had given me the equivalent of exuberant acceptance of my challenge. I couldn't respond, my mouth simply didn't have the experience to make such sounds, so instead I gave him a nod and approached steadily, as did he, until we were both in range.

What followed in the next dozen or so seconds wasn't so much a wave of violence as it was an avalanche of relentless attacks from Eparsi that I had to constantly parry and counter attack as our fight raged across the graveyard. The headstones didn't impede either of our movement, and even allowed me some choice stepping stones before it quickly destroyed them. But the fight was far from clean.

I twisted my body to the left, turning what would have been a direct hit into barely a graze on my shoulder before taking a swing at his open side. Only to score an equally grazing hit as his tail lashed at where my open side had been.

In less than a second I made my hand glow like a dwarf star, blinding him before detonating the contained energy to force us to separate with a bang. The explosion had burned my entire sleeve off, but I did get some breathing room to think. Chips of concrete littered the ground and streaks of grass had been rotted down to smoldering mud. My jack and shirt were almost tatters at this point, and I had some fresh cuts crisscrossing my body from the close calls. Eparsi, on the other hand, still looked fresh in the fight to the untrained, only someone with a keen eye could see the subtle weariness in his movements and the numerous needle thin but wide slices in his body, all going deep into his hide and damaging bone.

I knew everything about him, the way it moved, how it fought, and where it was weakest. And through out the fight it had clearly demonstrated it knew the same of me. Us just throwing ourselves at each other like this with everything we had would just end things in a deadly draw at best, a bittersweet pyrrhic victory that I had no interest in. Even with the new found… acknowledgement I had for Eparsi, I needed to use a new strategy and make it's impact decisive, he would adapt to anything less.

Our last exchange was swift and brutal. I let loose with another blast, this one in the shape of an arc that explode with more light than force and I swung hard and wide in the same instance. Eparsi saw through the attempt, ducking where my swing was headed before coming up and elbowing my head hard, making me see stars. I stumbled back from the hit, nearly tripping and letting the yasutsuna slip out of my hand slightly as I caught myself. Eparsi saw the opportunity and lunged forward, the earth beneath him cracking from the force of it as he extends his arms forward with claws easily capable of ripping through stone and steel.

Which was when I stopped feigning, pushed past the mild pain from his blow and slid deep into his guard with the sword firmly gripped in hand.

Past the oily covering of now chitin black oil and rot I think I saw an expression of genuine surprise as I impaled it through the torso with my yasutsuna. It then turned into a shuddering gasp of pain as I gripped the hilt with both hands and cut upwards until the sword exited through his right shoulder.

It swayed on it's feet with most of it's torso partially cut in half before falling backwards and hitting the ground with a soft, wet thump. The rotting aura and substance protecting his body began to schlop off and fall away in chips as his life fluid began to soak the earth around us.

I looked down at it, wheezing and gurgling with a pained smile on it's toothy maw before shaking my head. Stepping over, planting my feet on either side of it's torso, I aimed my sword downward and pointed lower and more to the center of where a human heart would be. I plunged downward and felt the katana slide neatly through the ablative armor of bone that was his rib cage and pierced his heart.

The aura subsided completely then, revealing the true physical form of cored muscle and rough hide that began to cool rapidly, his shark-like maw trapped in the rictus of a smile now. After waiting a few more seconds to make sure there was no deception and feeling for him with my other senses before stepping back, I teetered on my feet and fell back onto my ass, gasping for breath.

I felt relief, past all the pain, aches, both emotional and physical; I was genuinely relaxing under the light of the pale moon and with a rotting demon corpse beside me inside of Atarashī bokusō-chi cemetery.

Something struck me as odd though. I'd expected everyone to rush over and when I looked back at them the only ones rushing were my friends, Himari and Kuesu at the forefront of the charge. But everyone else was hanging back. I couldn't understand what they could be waiting for.

"Ugh, what an unsightly thing to wake up to." A woman said, I somehow knew that on an instinctual level, her melodic voice burning through both my ears and mind.

I looked directly up and saw… something beautiful. She was so much like her mother, nigh-perfect curvy body accentuated by a pair of snow white wings and a spaded tail. But that's where the similarities ended, with complete symmetry one side of her body had pale skin with jet-black hair that reached her waist and a crimson eye. While the other half had tanned, almond skin with white hair and a pure white eye that seemed to look right through me.

She extended one hand and blasted Epari's body with a pillar of intense fire. By the time I blinked past the intense light of the attack it's body had been completely incinerated. Only a patch of slightly stained and superheated earth was left behind.

"Ha." I couldn't help letting out a short laugh as she looked down at me, before a sudden bout of dizziness came, my injuries and fatigue beginning to overtake me. "You sure took your sweet time." I mumbled out before pitching backwards into the dirt just as Himari and Kuesu reached me.

 

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Journal Entry 6.1

". . . and after that it was around two more decades where Eparsi watched the Demon Lord take power, he fled to our world, and then Kuesu broke the connection before I could see anything else. And you already know how the fight ended."

I was at Dr. Diana's office once more, lounging at a half-incline in the chair I'd sat in during my first visit here. She had other pieces of furniture, even one that resembled the iconic therapist's couch, but I preferred the chair. It was the perfect blend of professional and laid back for me.

'And it allowed me to quickly get up in case of an attack.' That little intrusive thought was annoying, but I'd gotten use to them.

The atmosphere of the room was as relaxed as always, the air and humidity were at the usual perfect equilibrium. Even if I constantly felt "off" by having countless more memories of blisteringly hot climates than the relatively mild ones I'd been through most of my life.

Dr. Diana looked as calm as ever while she listened, either because she genuinely wasn't surprised or she had a very good poker face. "And you've only had slightly intrusive thoughts since then? That is quite remarkable, I've known people who've seen far worse and become near catatonic afterwards. What about your relations with your 'friends'?"

"Things have actually been going a little better." I said. "They all gave me a pretty hard time for demanding to solo Eparsi, but afterwards we've finally been able to just relax together. The lack of an extremely powerful demonic threat looming over the horizon… again."

"That is very good to hear. But I was referring to your other companions."

"We… haven't talked much afterwards, mostly because they've been busy with the other Demon Slayers. I did help Sorina grow her arm back with my Light Ferry, though."

Dr. Diana arched an eyebrow. "It's been a week now, Yuto. Is that really the only reason why you haven't been communicating with them?"

I sighed and tried to sort together my thoughts. Dr. Diana's direct methods were unexpected at first, she always struck at the heart of a problem, but it was extremely effective at getting me to talk things through instead of just simmering endlessly. And I doubted she used such methods on every one of her patients, it just worked incredibly well on me.

"It's just that… looking through Eparsi eyes for, god, over a thousand years? Has given me a whole new perspective on them and their cause. I have so many questions to ask them and I think I need to organize them all and make sure I won't get too heated."

She nodded before jotting something down on the small notebook she held. "That's completely understandable, based just on what you've told me I can understand you having several questions. Even if it doesn't appear as though she flat-out lied. Though, If I'm recalling from your other visits correctly, she may be the only one who can suitably help with your other problem."

"I… Ah… Yeah, yes." I stuttered and mumbled. Not only had reliving Eparsi's life given me innumerable questions and occasionally intrusive thoughts; I was also having trouble shifting through the sheer volume of them. Not to mention the fact that I may technically be mentally over a thousand years old, which warped my sense of scale concerning how long things should take. When I heard something could take weeks or months to complete now I felt an alien confidence that I could just sit down and wait as if I'd been told it would only take seconds. "Yeah, you're right. I've tried talking to Tama and Shizuku but they don't quite seem to understand; Eparsi frame of mind might just be a little too divergent from even them."

"Well then, if you'll allow it, I'd like to give you one piece of advice; What you'll be asking of Amare will open you mentally to her, make you vulnerable. So, before that, verify as best you can that her intentions are genuinely what she claims them to be, leave no room for doubt before trusting someone else to help you parse your very own perceptions."

"Yuto Amakawa!" Hitsugi called out as soon as I walked into the meeting room, suit crisp and hair slightly as messy as ever. She gave me an enthusiastic wave, while the rest of the Demon Slayers merely nodded in greeting. "How have you been, novice?"

"I'm doing fine, Hitsugi. I've had a week to lick my wounds and adjust to my new… mental state." I replied, taking my own seat next to Kuesu at the table.

"You wouldn't have had as many injuries if you hadn't insisted upon that stupid duel with the demon." Hisuzu huffed, arms crossed. She'd been the most against me fighting him, out of genuine concern for my safety no-less. Not that she'd ever admit it.

"Now, now. Be polite sister, he had the most information about Eparsi at the time and he saved us quite a lot of trouble by fighting alone." Kasuri said in my defense.

"Hmm, it was quite the thing to behold. I haven't seen such a spirited and boorish fight in years." My fiancé's mom, Meruhi, said in my defense with what I'm choose to take as a compliment judging from Kuesu's own little smile and thumbs up in her direction. Meruhi and I still weren't exactly friends, but things had gotten a little better between us at least.

Kei knocked on the table to get everyone's attention. "Regardless, we have not gathered here today to discuss your fight, but rather what happened shortly before it. It is my understanding that, through your experience, you now have some valuable information about demon society."

"Yes, though it will take me some time to competently shift through all of them in detail, and there are some gaps on top of that."

"Still, over a thousand years' worth of first-hand experience from a high-ranking demon is better than anything we've had before. Truly one of a kind."

"And were sure Amare and her ilk won't take umbrage with it?" Meruhi asked.

"She was the one who brought it up in the first place, actually. When we last contacted her Amare had no objections to it." Aiji supplied.

"Okay, so, how is this going to work? Do you have some way to just store my memories away for research?" I inquired.

"Nothing so drastic." Kasuri assured me. "Of course, there are ways to view someone's memories, but based on what you've told us; the experience would be less than pleasant and even psychologically damaging. And I can't maintain a mirror nearly long enough to view all of them."

"So instead we would like to merely request that you write down what you remember in a tomb and that you try to convince Amare to help you explain finer details." Kei said before sliding large, leather bound tome that dwarfed any of my school texts."

'This is just a bigger, more stressful, and important version of my journal? How annoyingly coincidental.' I thought sardonically before saying. "Well, since you're all already here and we've got the time, let me tell you about the 'Pits'."

 

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Journal Entry 6.2

I looked up at the incredibly fancy and western themed tea shop in front of me, barely noticing the brisk wind that made my short coat billow a bit. The lights were still on and I could see several blurred figures moving about in the shops main area. I had on a loose wool jacket, a simple black shirt underneath, and some neat jeans and sneakers. It wasn't my fanciest outfit, but I didn't think it would be too out of place.

With a steadying breath that made a small puff of mist appear I opened the ornate door of glossy wood and perfectly shaped glass. The familiar sound of the bell ringing through my ears.

"Yuto!" Liz's ecstatic shout quickly replaced the pleasant cadence of the bell just before she gives me a hug as soon as I stepped past the threshold, using her substantial strength to lift me off my feet and swing me about. "It's been soooo long!"

"It's been less than two weeks, Liz!" I laughed out, not particularly bothered by how hard she was squeezing me or how noticeable it made her voluptuous bosom. After one last twirl she finally let me go and placed me back down. I looked around and saw the rest of my friends, some looking at us while others kept drinking.

We were having an after-battle party, not unlike the one we'd thrown after the battle between Tama and Shuten. All of the girls were in attendance, sans Amare's group who would be here in a few minutes.

This time, however, the festivities were far more earnest. They'd all taken the time to dress a little fancier than usual; dresses, stockings, and designer shoes galore. Ageha especially was wearing a leather corset and Himari had strayed from her usual kimono for a form-fitting white and purple blouse, thin wool pants, and black high-boots.

"So, is it true?" Liz asked quizzically with her arms behind her back. "I've heard rumors, but do you really have over a hundred lifetime's worth of memories from a demon?"

"Uh, yeah? Most of them anyways. I at least have over a thousand years stored in my mind now."

Suddenly her mouth split into a smile. "So, does that make you more Yokai than human now? At least mentally? I have to say, it is appealing to know a human with a mentality similar to mine."

Sometimes, due to the bubbly personality and youthful appearance, it was easy to forget that Liz was at least over a century old. The same went for Shizuku.

"I think not-" Kuesu was about to object before being cut-off.

"It's the only logical conclusion." Shizuku assured Liz in her usually playful monotone.

"Yeah, he's one of us now!" Ageha yelled out, obviously a little tipsy.

Before I knew it every Yokai in room, even Himari, were discordantly chanting 'One of us.' as Ageha dragged me over and shared a few shots with me. In spite of both Rinko's and Kuesu's grumblings of disapproval.

Eventually, after using Light Ferry to metabolize all the alcohol Ageha made me drink, Amare and her friends came through. Sorina and Anjelica were the only ones wearing fancier clothes while Amare, Sophie, and Lilinora arrived in their "standard" attire.

Sophie immediately raced over and started chatting it up with Tama, the two had surprisingly become fast friends. And Sorina, a fiant pale line where I had helped her arm regrow, stopped to give me a quick kiss before going towards Ageha, Lilinora following quickly behind.

"Hey, Yuto." Anjelica said as she took a seat beside me, her brown locks slightly longer than usual and framing her round cheeks.

"Hello, Amakawa." Amare gave her more formal greeting as she sat opposite me, beside Kuesu.

"Sorry about the less-than-secure location, Amare. For what it's worth Kuesu warded this place from any attempts at spying." I said.

"It's quite alright, my companions and I could use a little breather after the week of extra clarifications and meetings with the Demon Slayers."

Anjelica huffed. "I didn't even get to rest after my spine and ribs were healed."

"Sorry." I chuckled and gave her a side-hug, which she accepted eagerly.

"I believe you had certain questions for them, Yuto?" Himari asked from my other side.

I took another steadying breath. "Ah, yes. I needed to search through all of E- his memories and managed to narrow it down to three main ones. Do you mind if we start now?"

Amare nodded.

"Why is your lord named 'Eve'?"

My question didn't get quite the reaction I'd been expecting; Amare merely shrugged in response. "I can understand the name being concerning to most humans but there is no real reason for alarm." She elaborated. "Beings like us usually don't have to worry, but for our Lord names have serious power and it isn't something she just gives out to anybody; it's likely only her daughters know it."

My interest piqued at the mention of the illusive Lilims. "Uriel Amare", the title of the newest one that had appeared and incinerated Eparsi's corpse, had disappeared shortly afterwards but I didn't interrupt Amare.

"But, no, 'Eve' is a fake name she allows others to use when referring to her. It is astronomically unlikely that she is actually the biblical Eve."

"Alright then, next question." I said. "Is it true that demons can't currently win a war against humanity?"

Amare pouted at that and crossed her arms, a near tangible feeling of hurt pride emanating from her. "Even though we have no intention to do so, yes, we demons could not pose any truly grave threat to humanity."

"Is that resentment I hear?" Himari teased.

"It's one thing to admit you have no hostile intention. It's another thing completely to admit we couldn't even fight because most of the old demons only prepared for swords and shields, not tanks and nuclear weapons. Anyways; your next question?"

"Ah, yes." I almost cough before regaining my composure, not quite used to seeing Amare so flustered. "Then my last question: 'Eve' had a daughter even before she became ruler, 'Druella'. Is she one of the other three Lilims or something else entirely?"

Suddenly two soft, pliant lumps settled on top of my head as I heard Lilinora speak from behind me. "Aww, do we have to talk about that cunt?" She whined before draping her arms over my shoulders and pulling me in closer.

"W- what?" I spluttered from the sudden grab.

"Ah, yes, Druella. While she is a Lilim, um. Oh, how to phrase this." Amare started hesitantly. "Well; considering with her undue arrogance, sadism, pension for petty grudges, and obsession with reputation I suppose Lilinora's crass remark was rather apt; Druella is a bit of a cunt. But do not worry, Eve is keeping her in Hell, away from the human world and severely limiting her capacity to mess things up."

"Uh, didn't her encounter with Eparsi help with the ego problem and make things better?" I asked.

"This is better compared to how she used to be." Amare replied. "Now, is that all?"

"Yeah, but, uh. I actually have a favor to ask of you." I said as Anjelica helped me stop Lilinora from nibbling at my ear. Amare had seemed entirely genuine in her responses, and neither Himari or Kueus had alerted me to any deception; I might as well get it over with. "Could you help me shift through my memories more effectively? I'm… not very good at it currently and could use someone of a similar nature to Eparsi for help."

Amare gave me a coy smile then, mischief twinkling in her eyes. "Alright, me and Eparsi are both demons on a fundamental level, so I can probably help. But I would like a little something in exchange."

I nodded tentatively and listened as she gave me her proposal in the same tongue Eparsi had used when talking to me.

It wasn't nearly as daunting as I'd suspected. But when I relayed the message to everyone else, Shizuku was almost vocally against it. Which I guess I should have expected.

She had always hated "freeloaders".

* * *

Author's Note: I'm very sorry about the late chapter guys, I had to take care of some family business.

 

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Journal Entry 6.3

I lounged on a lawn chair in my backyard, Amare laying parallel to me in an identical looking chair. I tried not to stare too long at her long, bare legs that were a mysteriously alluring purple pigment. But, even though she wasn't technically a succubus, Amare's body still seemed designed to tempt the human mind.

The night sky was exceptionally clear and the air was brisk, but not as chilling as it had usually been. The mutterings of a loud argument drifted through the air as the kitchen light fell upon us from behind.

"They're going to kill each other." I said plainly as I looked back and saw Uriel Amare sitting at my kitchen table and scarfing down disturbing amounts of food while Shizuku stood aside, getting progressively angrier. Her face didn't show it but I'd been around her enough to know that the throbbing vein on her forehead spoke volumes. And that wasn't even the worst of it as both Uriel and Tama, who was sitting at the other end and being equally as ravenous, would occasionally steal food from each other's plates; this was a hilarious disaster waiting to happen.

"Oh, come on. This is just… an adjustment period; I'm sure they'll grow to be good friends over time." Amare replied.

The favor for her help had been a simple request; "Allow Uriel Amare the hospitality of your home and the opportunity to personally socialize." Basically; let her freeload. More seriously though, this was supposedly a way to keep the Lilim a little more grounded and understanding of the main communities they presided over.

"If you say so." I said dismissively, even though I really did agree with her. "Regardless; thank you for upholding your end of the deal. I've gone from vague and general memories to full on immersive experiences. Even if said experiences are… less than pleasant and I've only made it about a hundred years in with that kind of precision." I said while looking around the yard. Almost everyone else was outside with us, even Lizlet had traveled from her teashop to sit outside with us. She was dressed in a pair of plain brown slacks and a white blouse which, while still looking dangerously close to bursting, was still much more modest and mundane than the maid uniform I'd come to associate her with.

"I always keep my promises." Amare said with pride. "Just remember; to get the most out of looking back at memories you need to be fully rested, fed, and in an almost meditative state. It comes natural to us demons, but you still need more practice with it."

"This better be worth the wait." Ageha suddenly piped up from her position on the lawn, interrupting our conversation. "I'm usually catching my beauty sleep by now."

"Quiet, this is important." Kuesu rebuked her firmly as she stood by, head tilted up slightly as she looked towards the sky.

"We promise, it's quite the sight to behold." Lilinora said, lazily flapping her wings to keep herself suspended in the air.

The general buzz of conversation continued on then as we all relaxed and settled in for the last few minutes of relative normalcy before the clock struck midnight. In the midst of all the commotion Shizuku, Uriel, and Tama had returned from the kitchen, the two titan's hunger finally sated. And Liz had managed to snag a seat on my lap all to herself, much to Himari's chagrin.

"Here it comes." Anjelica whispered with some reverence just as I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

Barely a second later, everything changed. It was as if someone had poured a veil over our current perception of reality, completely warping even to my magical senses. The moon turned a deep blood red that shone like a spotlight onto the city, casting everything in an odd violet-maroon hue. The grass and leaves of trees turned purple while the trunks transitioned to an inky black. A feeling, almost a tangible smell, of lust filled the air and warmed me up from the previously brisk night air. Everyone, not just the mamono, seemed to be a bit livelier now with glossier skin, faint blushes, and a flash of frenzied excitement in their eyes.

Then, as quickly as it had appeared, reality snapped back to normal. All told the shift had probably lasted no longer than a second but the intensity had made it seem longer.

"Whoa." I breathed. "So that's going to on the thirteenth of every month starting at the beginning of the Witching Hour?"

"Yes, though sometimes the transition will be longer and other times it will pass by so quickly you'll question whether or not it even transpired." Amare replied.

"Oh my, is this happening everywhere in the east now?" Liz inquired, her voice tinted with awe.

"No, only in Japan since that is the territory your 'Demon Slayers' officially preside over. Like I said; we do not wish to overstep concerning human territories." Amare said.

"If I remember correctly you currently have residence in North and South America, sub-sets of Africa, Canada, and now here." I said.

"Yep, our Lord has been working us like dogs ever since she enacted her great change and got her general plan together." Lilinora said in a mock whine.

"That seems odd." Liz said. "You got America but skipped the Europe?"

At first, I thought that might have been Liz's European background speaking but it made sense when I thought about it. Aside from Japan, North America and the UK were currently the supernatural hubs of the world. If diplomacy was their goal, it would only make sense for them to establish ties in Europe as well.

"That… is actually a very good question." I said before turning to Amare. "Haven't you tried talking to them yet?"

"Ah, yes, them." Amare's cheeks reddened with embarrassment a bit, turning the skin of her face a reddish-pink. "We have sent scouts out to Europe, multiple times in fact. It's just that they've been rebuffed every single time. They don't even get a chance to talk and are simply kicked out." She gave a little half-shrug. "Honestly, some of the more strategically minded of our kind started to become concerned that the main powers in Europe may have-"

Amare was cut off as a blazing star suddenly streaked down, out of the sky, heading straight for me. Almost everyone sprang into action, save Liz who simply jumped off my lap with a surprised squeal of panic. Our reaction was soon proven unnecessary, however, as the ball of light slowed down significantly before even reaching the yard. It gently floated and bobbed through the air before coming to a stop in front of me.

I didn't feel anything particularly volatile from the small orb and Kuesu didn't look particularly worried, so with some apprehension, I grabbed the orb of light. It flashed once before dissolving into the shape of a small scroll, the paper unnaturally smooth and soft with silver accents and what looked like a genuine gold seal holding it all together. The seal was large and incredibly intricate; the center was the shape of a cross with the blade of a battle axe extending from the top three, short ends while the bottom and longest one had the blade of spade extending from it. And if that wasn't enough the entire ensemble was flanked on both sides by some stylish white feathers in the vague shape of wings.

I looked over to Aya, our resident messenger and currier, but only got a confused shrug from her. I hadn't really expected this to be some form of elaborate prank from her but I didn't want to completely discount the possibility.

With one steadying breath I gripped and ripped off the seal to read the message contained within.

"Dear, Noble Demon Slayer, Yuto Amakawa

The Order would like to request your help in culling the sudden surge in demonic infiltration of human society. We are aware that you and your brethren have already defeated one of their greater lords and would greatly appreciate your help in this matter, starting with the fortification Europe and your own borders from covert demonic agents. We, regrettably, have to report that our American allies cannot assist us as they have already been compromised."

Sincerely, The Order"

Click to shrink...

I was stunned into silence, as was everyone else looking over my shoulder, as I finished reading the letter.

"… concerned that Europe may have been influenced by an outside force." Amare finished lamely.

End of A Shift in Perspective​

Author's Note: This is only an end to this section of the story I'm trying to tell. In a few months' time (not giving a specific date) I will be posting a sequel. Also; I'm genuinely surprised none of you asked about how The Order fit into all of this.