#saomeko

Abandoned ruins my ass!

Spotting some rubble and machinery that barely, but passably formed a wall, she scrambled to hide. This wasn’t the time be picky: anything to block their view will do for now. Taking the brief respite to quickly catch breath, she took a glance to survey her hunters.

Damn Corrupted. How are there so many?

The Corrupted. Spirits and demons degraded to mere shadows consumed by raw unfiltered magic. While not particularly powerful, and easily taken care of individually, they were berserk in their need to feed from more magic. Once they gathered and swarmed, they could overwhelm even the most powerful of battle mages: endlessly spawning from shadows, nooks, and crannies. The best course of action would be to run, and just take care of those blocking her escape. She'd already slain so many, but they just kept coming after her; or rather--

What is it with this trinket?

She glanced at a stone in her hand, a jewel, really, covered in runes. A relic maybe? A beacon? She doesn't really care. Well...she didn't, until a hoard of Corrupted spawned once she grabbed it, and decided that she would be their prime target for the evening.

This thing better fetch a good price, Suzui, or else I’ll have you stand in as my combat dummy.

“SHIT!” She grunted at an unexpected stab of pain.

Reacting on pure instinct, she gathered magic in her fist and struck her attacker, disintegrating it immediately. Pain flared at her opposite shoulder as she checked for damage. Still no blood, but her arm hung limp.

Dislocated.

Cursing, she grabbed a vial from her belt, downed its contents and hastily bit the lapel of her leather coat. There was no time to waste. She took a deep breath and slammed her shoulder to the wall.

“MOTHERF--”

She tried to muffle her shout as the pain temporarily overtook her senses, but she knew they heard her. Sure enough, one glance behind the makeshift wall showed more glowing glassy eyes looking in her general direction.

She ducked again as she tried to weigh her options. She didn't have any. Except--

I'm not going down without a fight. Magic depletion or no.

She needed to act now: the Corrupted would get here in minutes. Clasping her hands, she began to gather as much magic as she could for a ritual that would either save her, or completely drain her of her magic.

“I, Saotome Mary, call upon the laws of the leyline to hear my plea.”

Energy ebbed and flowed around her, creating an artificial wind that grew stronger as she continued the ritual.

“Magic for power, power in might. A gamble of balance, lest I die where I stand.”

The energy around her started to concentrate at her hands. The wind was relentless now, with the closest Corrupted struggling to get near. It felt as if her heart was fighting to escape from her chest. It was now or never.

“Ultima Mundi Quo Steterit!”

She dropped to her knees as she swung her hands to the ground. Magic all but erupted from the point of contact, and she felt her own power stretching out, searching, calling; and just as she was about to faint from depletion, she felt it connect: a tether.

She would have sighed in relief, but she wasn’t done yet. Summoning her remaining strength, she pulled at that connection, bringing some of her magic back, fighting the strain all the while.

Come on...just a little...more...THERE! The following moment seemed to pass like a blur, and simultaneously stretch on for an eternity. The outburst of magic from the spell a moment ago didn’t even hold a candle to the result of the successful summoning. Pure magical power flared, threatening to knock her back as she shielded her eyes, but also easily eliminating the nearest groups of Corrupted, and buying her some precious time. Dropping her arm, she looked at the result of the summoning. Fatigued gold met unblinking scarlet.

There was no doubt that she had summoned a higher class demon. There was no chance of mistaking this for a regular woman. If the blood-red skin and ebony claws from scaled hands and feet weren’t enough, one glance at the four--no six--horns protruding from long, wispy black hair, and two sets of wings would easily tell even non-magic users that this was a powerful being.

She knew had to be careful, lest her summon deny her request, or end up deciding that she was better off dead. “Saotome Mary-san” She stood up quickly at the smooth voice that was laced with some curiosity. “She is I.” “What reason have you to summon a demon?” “I humbly request that you fight by my side--” She paused. Just for a split second, was that surprise in the other woman’s expression? Nevertheless, she could sense the enemies closing in despite the setback, and continued. “I’m surrounded by a Corrupted swarm--” she held her ground as the demon suddenly lashed out to strike a creature that tried to attack mid-sentence.

“How rude. Please continue.”

“I...can hold on my own at the best of times, but this hoard has been relentless the entire night. My reserves are nearly depleted. Should you decide to grant me your aid, I’m certain we can rid these lands of the shadows.” “Hmm,” deepest scarlet stared into Mary’s eyes, imploring, searching for something unknown to her. A cryptic smile slowly graced the demon’s features. “Curious.” Then the unthinkable happened. The tether broke.

No. NO!

“Wait--!”

“Trust me, Saotome-san, you would fight better with all of your remaining energy than being unnecessarily tethered to me.”

As the demon finished speaking, she felt magic rushing back into her, and she finally sighed as her potion took advantage of the higher levels to better heal her shoulder. “Jabami Yumeko.” Still uncertain as to what just happened, Mary looked back at the demon, who smiled back at her comfortingly, despite the circumstances. “You’ve given me your name, now I give you mine.” Yumeko tipped her head in a polite bow as she visibly gathered her magic. “It will be my pleasure to fight by your side.” And fight they did. They covered each other’s blind spots instinctively, almost effortlessly. Dances couldn’t be better choreographed as they struck down attackers while supporting each other. The last thing their adversaries saw that night was a chilling glow of either red or gold; magic at it’s strongest flowed through both women during combat.

Before Mary knew it, a seemingly endless night was finally nearing dawn, and their enemies became sparse. “We...we did it.” She panted, turning to Yumeko, who was staring down the few remaining shadows.

“I’ll be right back.” “Wha--?” A gust of wind cut her off as Yumeko flew toward the last Corrupted, striking them down easily with her claws and magic. Mary was in awe; after fighting by her side all night, this was the first time that she was able to just watch the demon in battle. She glided through the air at breakneck speeds, casting spells that the highest of battle mages could only dream of. Before long, all enemies had been dealt with, and Yumeko was leisurely flying back to her side.

“Careful, Saotome-san, you might catch flies with that.” Mary’s teeth clacked together as she snapped her jaw shut, pink lightly dusting her cheeks as Yumeko softly laughed. Giggled, really.

She sighed, and dropped down to the ground, raising her arm to shield her eyes from the morning light. “Saotome-san?” “I’m not sure if you demons need to sleep, but I’m dead tired after all that.” A shadow blocked the rays from blinding her as Yumeko stood over her resting form curiously, her hair spilling over her shoulder. Mary knew she was exhausted when all she could think about was how beautiful the demon looked with the light just hitting her so. Before she could hit herself on the head with one of her vials, Yumeko spoke. “I think you’d rest better in proper accommodations than this...filth.” Yumeko was right, the ground was literally painted with the blood of their enemies. Mary groaned and struggled to get up, accepting the clawed hand that, up to moments ago was steadily slicing through Corrupted demons and spirits, was now showing gentle strength in helping her back to her feet. “You're right, I suppose I should head back anyway to get a sealed carrier for this trinket. Thank you, Jabami Yumeko.” “Mm? For what?” “Wha--I…” Mary gestured around them. “For all this! I couldn’t have done it without you.” There it was again. Something briefly flashed through Yumeko’s eyes before she calmed and smiled serenely.

“You’re an interesting one, Saotome-san.” “Oh, uhm…Thank you?” What was she supposed to say to that? “I-uh…” Under normal circumstances, this would be the part where she ends her contract with her summon and send them back to her realm. However, Yumeko had already broken it before staying to fight of her own volition. “I’m going to head back to the town now.” “Alright!”

Yumeko continued to watch her without making any sort of indication to leave.

“So...do you need anything from me to send you back to your realm, or…?”

“Hmm?” Yumeko tilted her head in thought, still staring at Mary with an unreadable expression. “No...I think I’ll stay for now.” “...sorry?” Instead of replying, Yumeko slowly began to transform. Wings and horns retracted back into her skin, claws shortened and became blunt, and scales smoothed into skin. The last part of Yumeko's transformation was where her blood red skin lightened into a light, healthy peach color, but by then Mary was turning a bright scarlet of her own.

“Y-YUMEKO, COVER UP!”

Apparently, clothes weren't part of the demon’s instinctive metamorphic process. Averting her eyes, Mary quickly removed her long coat and flung it towards Yumeko’s general direction. She heard a soft giggle followed by the rustling of what she hoped was the sound of the coat being worn. She risked a peek and was relieved to find that Yumeko now indeed wrapped herself in the borrowed clothing. Mary sighed in relief, but then remembered what the demon just said.

“W-what do you mean you're staying?”

“I meant what I said, Saotome-san. You are...interesting. It would be a shame if I left now before I got to learn more about you.”

“Oh, uh,” Mary coughed to hide her embarrassment. “I mean, there's not really much to learn.”

“Don't be so modest!” Yumeko exclaimed, leaning in close, and Mary fought the instinct to step back. “You're a very skilled magic user, but looking at your technique, potions, and tools tells me you don't follow any particular school of training. Fighting alongside you, however, makes me confident that you can easily rival some of the most skilled battle mages of the millenia.”

“I...thank you.” Mary replied, rubbing her neck in embarrassment, unused to receiving such high praise.

“Therefore in exchange for granting your request, I would like to make my own.”

Oh no.

Mary’s blood ran cold. She knew it was too good to be true. That a demon as powerful as Yumeko would just help her without requiring something in return. In addition, as she was bound by no contract, there was no limitation to what Yumeko could demand of her--

“I would like to accompany you in your adventures for the time being.”

Mary was immediately snapped out of her under musings.

“Wha--that's it?”

Mary found that the more she spoke with this demon, the more she was getting familiar with Yumeko's giggles as well.

“What were you expecting me to say?”

“I don't know! Demand a pint of my blood, eternal servitude, defeat an ancient beast?”

“I'm not completely certain if I should be concerned or amused by what your current perception of demons is,” Yumeko mused. “But all the more reason to stay with you!”

In one fluid motion, Yumeko made her way to Mary’s side and hugged her arm. Mary once again realized now tired she was when instead of noting how the demon made no sound, her primary observation was that Yumeko was slightly taller than her.

“What better way to learn about each other?” Yumeko continued excitedly. “You could learn more information about demons, our magic, and our culture--which, might I add, humans rarely ever get right--and I could learn more about you!”

“That hardly seems like an equal exchange,” Mary commented, trying and failing to escape Yumeko’s hold. “I feel like you should get more out of this when you're basically willingly staying away from your realm.”

“Even if it's a pint of blood, eternal servitude, or an impossible quest?”

Mary blushed at the ribbing.

“I didn't know, okay?!”

“I'm teasing, Saotome-san. Oh! But I have thought of an additional request!” Yumeko she shifted to grab Mary’s hand.

“May I call you Mary-san?”

“I..” Mary hesitated as Yumeko began to pout and give her a pleading look. “I guess I don't mind.”

Yumeko’s expression brightened and hugged Mary in her excitement.

“Oh thank you, Mary-san! I'm looking forward to go on many adventures with you!”

“Gah! Yumeko, don't move too much--the cloak is slipping!”

They continued their exchange as they made their way to the nearest town, and only one thing was clear in Mary’s mind.

Things will definitely be getting more interesting.

Notes: Ultima Mundi Quo Steterit - “Last Stand” in Latin (at least according to Google translate)