Pilgrim 6, p.32
Pilgrim 6, page 32
As the carriage moved away, their former instructor had screamed at the top of his lungs, White exhibiting a rare display of emotion as he fell to his knees and sobbed miserably. White then began to punch the stone until his fists were bloody, raging even further until Nyamdor appeared behind him, swords yet again sheathed on his back. The Evil casually checked his brother’s body to find the note that Soko had left with Dojan, one that had been written on a scroll in the man’s own blood and stuffed into his robes.
The note was the part that Danzen had truly felt ill about. He didn’t want to be associated with the slaughter, yet to lure Nyamdor and White out, it was, in the end, an important element. The note instructed the pair to meet Danzen the following evening, at the
fairgrounds on the southern side of Arsi. The trap had been set, but Soko’s strategy, her savagery, had reminded Danzen of what he knew was a pressing point. His decision on what would happen next had been made for him.
Upon arriving back at Soko’s place, Danzen waited until the female assassin retired to her flat to explain to Nomin what had happened, how she had brutally killed White’s brother. As the two spoke quietly, Danzen psyched himself up for what he knew needed to be said regarding the future of their relationship with Soko. It pained him to do so, but by now, it was clear what must be done.
“Once the timing is right,” Danzen told Nomin, “after the Evils are dealt with.”
“Are you sure?”
Danzen nodded. “Make it quick. No final words.”
.Chapter Four.
No final words.
Danzen had plenty of things he would have liked to say to Soko the next day, as they prepared for the assault to take place that night. Yet he found it hard to even make eye contact with her, Danzen glad he had generally avoided her gaze over the past decade coinciding with Soko’s increased remnant abuse. She would have known. He was certain that if he’d given her just a little time to figure it out, Soko would have suspected something was coming.
And the things he would have said.
There were so many final words that came to mind, from his wish that she find happiness to a rehashing of memories that the two had shared over the course of his life. Danzen had known Soko for as long as he could remember, from childhood onward, and he’d seen her grow and change. But her competitive nature had remained, and once White had broken her, once their former instructor had
imprisoned Soko in a pit in the ground as part of their training, telling her to find her way out, she had never been the same.
Perhaps this was why she’d been so harsh to White’s brother, Dojan. This was yet another thing Danzen thought deeply about as the day passed, as their destiny grew closer. There were other ways to use a hostage to draw someone out, yet Soko had chosen to kill the man. Danzen hadn’t really checked Dojan’s person, but he wouldn’t have put it past Soko to have severely tortured him in the process. He’d seen her do this before to grim results.
This was who Soko was, yet as he came to this conclusion, he also knew that this was who he was. His demon side. Or at the very least, it was an example of Danzen in his most monstrous form.
Soko wanted blood and she wore this fact on her sleeve. There was no denying it, no denying who she was. And Danzen wasn’t as far off as he would have liked. As much as he had changed, he knew they were one and the same in many regards, born and raised to maim without thought.
The chatter over the day was kept to a minimum. Even Jelmay seemed to suspect that something was off. Nomin and Danzen remained tightlipped about what was set to happen if they could stop
the Butterflies and Nyamdor. The stage had been set, and the Butterflies of Arsi would rehearse soon.
Now was a time for both carnage and damage control.
****
It was a cold day made even colder as the sun started to set.
There were less people out than normal, something that would hopefully work to their advantage as Danzen and his companions headed toward the fairgrounds. Soko kept to the roofs, Sansar working as their relay. The raven had already gone to the location to scout it out, where he had confirmed that a stage had been erected.
The only problem with arriving in the area and using his Demon Speak was that it would make it fairly simple for Danzen’s group to be spotted. He anticipated they wouldn’t have much time before the start of the Butterflies’ rehearsal and Nyamdor’s appearance, if their instructor and the Evil that had taken residence with him even appeared at all. Sansar had also checked White’s estate for any
activity. He had found none, no indication that there was even someone there. The place had been deserted.
This had increasingly bothered Danzen over the course of the day. It wasn’t like White to be impulsive; his former instructor was much too calculating to give way to a whim. He had taught Danzen and Soko to analyze every angle, to think ahead at every point and to have multiple options for entry, attack, and exit. Danzen had put his lessons to good use earlier on until he developed his own style, which was planned yet fluid. If he thought about it even further, he’d probably surmise that his adaptive assassin style had been inspired by White’s classes. Yet Danzen always had a leg up on any strategy because of his Demon Speak power—it allowed him to get information instantly, to control people, and to limit the amount of time it took to stalk and destroy. This was his ultimate advantage—
he could bend most situations into something that worked in his favor.
White was going to be a problem. Danzen was sure of it. Yet Soko didn’t seem to believe this was the case, and Nomin didn’t know the man well enough to have an opinion. It was yet another reason to be hyper alert, prepared for whatever White had devised.
Danzen didn’t expect Nyamdor to simply show up without a strategy
devised by White. The Evil had been a Brotherhood assassin as well, and he had apparently taken a liking to their former instructor, enough that he was staying with the man.
Something was off.
Actually, all of it was off.
Danzen knew this to be the case as they neared the empty fairgrounds, the former assassin getting back into the mode he needed to be in, one of both awareness and concern for those around him. “Leave the area with your loved ones; do not return
until morning,” he told the people that passed near him, all of them turning away from the hooded former assassin.
This was another thing that would bring attention to their group.
As the townspeople began to leave the area, some coming out of the homes that lined the fairground, others moving away from the hotels and small cafes, it created a very visible exodus. Even if they moved quietly it was loud, their feet kicking up dust, boots on pavements, young children sniveling. Add to this merchants pushing their carts, a herder family leading their white Angora goats away, and the various other groups moving in tandem as it became very clear that something was set to happen. Making it even stranger was the fact
that no one knew what was going to happen, everyone looking to each other for confirmation, even asking questions, yet forced through Danzen’s power to move along anyway. It must have been uncanny for those who had come upon the scene.
They reached the fairgrounds, Jelmay now heading toward the opposite entrance, currently disguised as a beggar yet wearing robes that were similar to the dark-gray set that Danzen had on.
“We’re just going to wait?” asked Kudzu, who was now in her fox form. Danzen had tried to convince her to stay back over the course of the day, but he knew this wasn’t going to be a possibility. “That seems… unwise.”
Soko, who floated next to Danzen, turned to the kitsune. “What else would we do? It is a fight they want, and it is a fight we will give them. If all goes well, it will be a fiery finale. If it doesn’t go well, we’ll all be burned to death and we can reunite in Diyu.” Soko laughed at her own statement. “Wouldn’t that be something?”
****
The nerves Danzen felt in simply waiting for the Butterflies to appear and for their plan to lure Nyamdor and White into the mix were hard to swallow, to the point that he felt as if he’d reached a new tier of anxiety. It could all backfire, this could be the ultimate mistake, the one that finally forced Danzen to succumb to his brother’s power. People he cared for could die, and even if they succeeded, Nomin would kill Soko, which he was sure by now would set off a string of events that he wasn’t yet prepared for. Was it the right move? Had he truly thought this through?
As he stood before the stage with his Blade of Darkness, Kudzu on one side, Soko floating on the other, Yato on his left and Nomin next to her, Danzen zeroed in on his breath. It was the only thing he had control over at that moment. He tried to act as if he were bending his echo, each breath in more filling than the last. This helped to some degree, and soon, Danzen found himself in a meditative space, everything vibrant on the periphery, his focus increasingly sharpened.
He was ready.
Danzen would later reflect on the gust of wind that came sweeping through the fairgrounds, how the Butterflies didn’t portal
into the space as much as they seemed to appear on the breeze.
Within moments, the Butterflies were there, all five of them in dramatic poses on the stage with their pink and gold hand fans drawn. They wore silken robes that looked like white marble, their garments decorated with intricately stitched details. Each had pale skin like that of a corpse, their nails long and sharp, their faces covered by multifarious masks made to resemble butterfly wings. All had crazy black hair aside from one, the woman at the middle of the group, the tallest and most imposing of the Butterflies, whose striking red hair was at odds with her porcelain skin.
“You came,” she said, the redhead’s voice so soft and sweet that Danzen nearly leaned in to hear it. “My sisters and I were wondering when you would finally appear. The people of Arsi thank you. If you had made us wait another day or so, we would have started on the west side of town, and worked our way over. The Sakai River would have run red by the time we finished.”
She stepped to the edge of the stage and peered down at Danzen, the woman framed by the moon behind her. She graciously moved her fan through the air, the breeze stopping. “Nomtoi was right, you really are something. I do not see why he would be afraid of a mere mortal like yourself, but we are here, and as a former
member of the Brotherhood, you know what must be done. Danzen Ravja. Are you ready to join all of us in Diyu?”
The other Butterflies giggled behind her, two now hiding their faces with their hand fans.
Soko, who had her sword drawn, moved forward just a hair. As she did, the wind picked up again and threw her off balance. It slammed her against the ground, Soko writhing for a few intense beats to right herself. As soon as it had started, the wind stopped again, dead still, as if it had never started up in the first place.
The woman on the stage continued: “You have brought companions, as expected. We’ve seen this one in black lurking about. They really don’t train them like they used to.”
Soko, who was now stable again, brought her sword to the ready.
“If she had legs, she’d be something else. But as it stands, this masked one is a remnant-abusing freak of nature. I believe…” The demonic woman looked to her companions, two of whom shrugged.
“She should die first.”
With a spin, the redheaded Butterfly sliced through the air with her hand fan, causing an enormous wedge of concentrated wind to
strike Soko. It even sounded as if the Butterfly had struck her with an actual sword as the dust and fallen leaves swelled around Soko.
For a moment, Danzen thought it had killed her, yet Soko was soon floating again. Somehow, she had blocked most of the attack, yet her mask was now partially shattered, her face visible.
“Yato,” Danzen said, his instincts taking over by this point. “I want you to stay back.”
Skrrict! Skrrict!
Danzen could have used his Demon Speak power yet he didn’t, aware that all of them were staring fate in the eye now. Yato knew what she had signed up for, as did Nomin and Soko. They were in this together, and even against incredible odds, Danzen knew they would overcome. It was time to act, and hearing the younger assassin summon her blades was all Danzen needed to begin.
He bolted forward and leaped onto the stage, where he swung the Blade of Darkness with as much power as he could conjure. The Butterflies responded by zipping over his shadowy strike, two of the five returning his attempt with bladed wind attacks of their own.
Danzen blocked these with his polearm, yet the force of their strikes sent him flying off the stage, where he landed on his back.
Not one to be knocked down so easily, Danzen hopped back to his feet and loosed one of his Astra kunai. He struck his target just as one of the dark-haired Butterflies swooped in, the woman spinning with intensity.
The throwing dagger returned to Danzen’s hand, its end covered in blackened blood. Danzen had hit her in the chest, his blade cutting deep, her silvery white robes saturating with ichor. Danzen’s action, which would have likely killed a normal person, did little to stop the demonic being as she came in again for another strike. He rolled out of the way as he sensed activity around him, confirming that Nomin, Soko, and Yato were now engaged with a pair of Evils.
His Blade of Darkness on the ground behind him, Danzen drew his Sunyatic sword to stop the woman’s advances. Again and again, and with increasing speed, he blocked her numerous attempts, blips of light sparking around him. While she was strong, it was the added gust of wind that made it feel like Danzen was blocking attacks from an absolute beast of an opponent. He could feel each strike growing heavier and heavier, Danzen keenly aware that his return attempts were falling short.
“Pilgrim!”
The sudden appearance of Kudzu’s voice caused Danzen to swivel, which by chance saw him narrowly avoid a fatal strike from another one of the dark-haired Butterflies. As he regained his bearings, Danzen noticed that the red-headed woman was still on the stage, watching the madness as her four counterparts kicked up wind and debris with each spin attack.
Yet again the thought came to Danzen as he parried more attacks, now taking on two of the Butterflies—where were Nyamdor and White?
A gust of wind knocked Danzen off his feet, as one of the Butterflies spiraled down toward him. Danzen shot up, and drove his sword through her torso. Grabbing her neck, he slammed the woman to the ground, his sword still in her body. Another Butterfly rushed at him from the left. As naturally as ever, he reached his hand out to her and stopped her mid-strike, his echo holding the woman back.
After withdrawing his sword from the downed woman, Danzen flicked her companion back with his echo before bringing both of his hands onto the grip of his blade. The Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds easily cut through flesh and bone as Danzen hacked into the demonic woman, starting with her arm, and moving to her head. She
still moved, her hand trembling as it tried to grip her fan, her face twisting into a mask of fury.
An idea came to Danzen as he raced to the next Butterfly, a way for him to truly send them back to Diyu. But this could wait; with one down there were still four to go. Not only that, the threat of White and Nyamdor remained. Yet Danzen couldn’t focus on that for the time being. His targets were clear.
****
Even a month ago, a fight like this would have certainly put Yato in a very dangerous position. But with her enhanced echo, and the way she used her newfound power to keep her opponent away no matter how hard she was struck with wind, Danzen was confident he could focus on the dark-haired Butterfly that remained before him rather than distracting himself by assisting the younger assassin.
And from there, he would turn to the Butterfly still on the stage, using every advantage at his disposal against their redheaded leader.
His current opponent lunged for him; Danzen seemingly caught her midair with his echo. He slammed her to the ground and jumped back just as Sansar swooped in to disorient the woman for a moment, the raven in his largest form. This gave Danzen a chance to put some space between the Butterfly and himself, the former assassin deciding on an attack he hadn’t tried before. He could float, shatter, repair, and he had once been able to dissolve the stone.
Was there a way to use his blade to stab and subsequently shatter? Could he delay his Sunyatic action and channel it through his weapon?
It was a flash of an idea, one that Danzen knew came with risks.
Yet he sensed that he could do it, and he’d been in enough conflicts by now to recognize the importance of listening to his gut. Still, it was best not to test it out on his main sword.
With this in mind, Danzen sheathed his Sunyatic blade and went for one of the Astra kunai strapped across his chest. He imagined funneling his echo through his palm and down the hilt of his dagger as he loosed the weapon in the direction of his opponent.
Fwitt!
His risk paid off as his kunai struck the woman near her shoulder.
Danzen’s power released; her body quaked and exploded into a mist of black viscera, his Astra kunai returning to him without issue. It had worked. Danzen had channeled his power into an inanimate object and used it to his advantage.
Upon seeing Danzen’s attack, the red-haired Butterfly finally moved into action.
She was on him in a flash, swinging her bladed hand fan horizontally, the woman sending it back and forth so quickly that Danzen was taken off guard. Sansar helped yet again as he dropped down to disrupt her attack, the raven morphing to his smallest size before she could cut him down.
Danzen tried to use his echo against the woman, but as he did, he felt as if the energy he wielded had hit an invisible wall. In closing his eyes, he saw the sheer power radiating around her, the Butterfly wielding more energy than Danzen was able to command.
