A Long Night

The entire pier was illuminate by a pale blue light, reflected by the moon high in the sky. There were only very few darker clouds slowly moving across the eternal darkness of the universe up above, making it quite the nice night. But as careful as V was, his movements seemed to have alerted a group of cats that were socializing nearby, all of them now gazing at him intently before they would all run off into different directions. All but one, that is. A single cat remained, pure black in it’s furred coat. It’s eyes were pure gold, watching the man’s every move. And around it’s neck was a simple choker with a red rose.

It moved to the side, slowly and carefully. Moving across the old wooden pier was no problem for it, as if the creature was completely weightless. It skipped and hopped until it finally disappeared behind a stack of old boxes, their insides long since ransacked. The pile was much taller than even V himself, making it easy for the cat to completely hide away. However, something else left from behind the piece of scenery - Kuro. Holding a black parasol in one hand, she appeared to be dressed just as fancily as during their last meeting, if not even more so.

“So you’ve arrived. Ever heard that curiosity had killed the cat?” Her steps were slow, methodical, and above all they were alluring. The girl stopped only a couple of meters in front of the man and looked him over. “I had hoped you would miraculously ripen up a bit, but it seems I was hoping for a bit too much. Oh well…” As if slightly disappointed, she turned around walked to the edge of the pier, clearly not worried about the noises of stress coming out of the wood with every step she took.

Snapping with the fingers of her free hand, she observed the water’s surface for a bit, the moon clearly reflected there in it’s full glory. And in not too long, that exact water’s surface become uneven, something emerging from beneath it. With a fairly loud splash, a small boat had appeared. A long one, made out of dark wood without a single sail or even a row. And despite it’s origin, the inside was completely dry. Not hesitating one bit, the bakeneko boarded the vessel and seated herself at the very front, watching into the rest of the boat. “Please, do not keep me waiting too long.”

Kuro carefully watched her new acquaintance as he finally boarded the  the waterborne vessel. She seemed awfully quiet until he did so as well. But when he asked a question, she instead extended her right index finger and placed it tightly against her lips vertically, letting him know to keep silent for a little bit. For despite the evening appearing rather pleasant, a sudden fog quickly started raising all around them until even the rest of the city was no longer visible despite it’s grand visage and tall buildings that often served as beacons for the locals who wished to quickly orientate themselves.

Faint blue lights started approaching from within this veil of mysterious vapor, ones that quickly started to form a pattern of sorts all around the boat. Until there was finally enough of them, their pale flame-like forms starting to move ahead, the ship along with them. A slow but steady tempo was quickly established, almost as if those flames were tugging the boat along on feeble invisible strings. Along with them, the ambiance all around them started picking up again, as strange humanoid shapes started appearing beneath the waves, quietly moaning and whispering incomprehensible words into the ears of those who dared to listen.

Finally, the bakeneko would loosen her lips. “Before I disclose our destination, I have a favor and a question to ask. First of all, please, remain calm at all times. I cannot recommend leaving the inside of this vessel in panic for your own… safety. And now - how much do you know about spiritual energy, but darkened one and divine? As well as beings that wield it, the yōkai and onmyōji, as well as Kami.” It was a fairly important question, considering what all they were about to experience during this mysterious night of wonders. But then again, one could always expect something while in the company of someone like this.

In the meantime, the girl crossed her leg over the other and twirled her parasol a bit, looking to the side, observing the water’s reflective surface. Those things down there, they were certainly very real. And there were dozens of them, almost as if they were going down the river of souls itself. For a moment, it even seemed as if she had managed to loose herself in the view that it offered, found something that she had lost a long, long time ago. But looks alone were often very deceiving, as she was fully listening to whatever he had to say in a reply to her question.

So V didn’t know after all. But contrary to his internal belief, Kuro was already expecting this and was prepared to initiate him to a certain degree, barring absolutely no reaction when he gave the news. Leaning back into a more comfortable position, she decided to put the parasol to her side for the time being and instead rested her hands on her knee. “Very well. Do your best to not get lost in the explanation, if you would.” After all, these things were a tad bit more complicated than what people would be in contact on their daily basis.

“For starters, every living being without exception has certain energies in their body. An equal amount of light and darkness, a unison. However, these energies can shift balance due to a variety of events one can subject themselves to. If a being or even an object accumulates more darkness than light, they might become what is called a yōkai. Many perceive them as evil spirits, though a great deal of yōkai are nothing more than undignified pranksters. There are even yōkai who had put themselves on the path of doing good for the world and those around them, despite the energies they wield.”

After all, every being was free to choose their path for themselves, regardless of what their body was composed of. Those spirit energies merely whispered suggestions to them, ones that could be easily overpowered with one’s will. “On the opposite side are humans that worship certain unseen deities that infuse them with the spiritual energy of light. Most of them end up as onmyōji, hunters of yōkai. They are individuals who care for little outside of their ‘sacred duty’ to cleanse the world. And so, they are often willing to slaughter anyone who is even remotely involved with yōkai.”

Taking a pause for a moment, she made sure that he understood everything. After all, this was only basics. Thankfully she did not find it important to go much further with her explanation. “Right now we are headed to an island that was once occupied by both yōkai and humans. They lived in harmony and prospered together. However, onmyōji learned of this and slaughtered every single occupant of that island, humans and yōkai alike. Ah… another thing you should know is that even objects and places can accumulate these spiritual energies.”

And so came the problematic part. “Especially places where something horrible happened. And so, naturally, the island became a ‘Sight of an ill omen’ or a place where large amount of negative energy exists. In other words, the onmyōji created a new problem with their massacre and now they are stuck on that island, trying to cleanse it.” Just like that, her explanation of where they were headed ended. “It should not take long before we reached the island. After all, these flames all around us are the lost souls of those who died there. They will carry us to that place swiftly.”

It was somewhat surprising that V managed to listen to all of that without at least attempting to interrupt Kuro one or two times. Though his silent acknowledgment of everything she had said made things all the easier for them both. And if the man in front of her was of a different nature, she would have probably even gotten away with saying ”Gonna encounter bad people - kill” to get it over with. It might have been the sole fact that V was at least somewhat intelligent rather than your average mindless thug that could not comprehend much more than the very basic human needs.

After all, it had been quite a while since she got to truly talk with someone else, not counting their previous little meeting over a glass of wine. Though it also meant some questions were on the table, much like the one that V decided to ask. Looking to the side, Kuro pondered for a moment. To tell him, or not. He was already going with her, so there might have been little use in hiding it anyway. Not to mention that he would see once they would get to their destination anyway. Telling him now would hopefully only improve their chance of success.

“The yōkai from this island all lived together in a Midi-styled mansion and its adjacent grounds. In there now lies abandoned an artifact from ancient times, a heritage passed down from head to head of the leading family. And I want it back.” That was really all she needed to say. She was quite confident that V would be able to figure out the rest from that last sentence alone. Why she knew so much and why they were going there now. Naturally,s it was because the girl already had some connections to the island.

And speaking of which, it slowly came into view. Though only as a black silhouette in the distance, thanks to the fog that still surrounded them. Though the closer they got, the more obvious it became as to what kind of place this island now was. For the smell of old blood and rotting flesh would quickly assault one’s senses as the boat slowly approach a pier village of sorts, most of the buildings collapsed and burned to the ground. The small wooden bridge was just about the only thing left mostly intact, probably for those still on the island would need to use it once they decide to leave.

“I suppose I should ask this before we proceed any further. Are you ready to face the divine wrath? If not, then this boat will take you back to Hargeon while I will retreat the heirloom myself.” One last chance to back out of this before they would probably alert the battle priests to their presence on the island.

Stubbornness was quite an interesting trait, as it could bring about wildly different results under different circumstances. And right now, it could very well lead to a certain demise. But that was yet to be seen. The worry was merely there because of… well, the man’s state of standing and walking was enough to go off of. Getting up at the pier along with him, the feline would simply march past the man after his words before she would stop the moment she set foot on the actual land of the island. She could feel the energy of the land and the air.

One so full of sorrow and anger that it could be almost touched if one tried hard enough. Especially for her who specialized in a field of magic that dealt with the dead and their souls. Looking ahead, there was a very pronounced stone staircase that would lead to an upper section of the burned village. Now was probably the time to device some sort of strategy. Turning back toward V, she thought for a second and then spoke up again. “It is without a doubt that the mansion will be filled with hostile priests. Fighting them will be inevitable. However, there will surely be some in the village as well.”

To put it simply, the path to their goal would not be an easy one. “That said, we could scale the hill elsewhere and avoid the village entirely. That would make us fight less, but be more exhausting movement-wise. I’ll let you decide whichever path would be best.” Obviously he knew more about himself than Kurome, which was why she gave him the choice. With his body that relied on a cane, which of the two options would he be able to pull through without falling behind or even getting himself killed?

Well, that was it. A path straight through the village and to the mansion at the top of the hill. Yes, choosing to go around and sneak into the mansion from the back would have probably bypassed most of the priests, but Kuro could not say that she was dissatisfied with the current situation and the their plan. After all, these were the very hunters that killed everyone here, yes? They deserved no mercy whatsoever. A powerful feeling swelled up inside of the girl’s chest, one that made her want to kill every single one of them. And perhaps she would get to soon enough.

“Very well, let us go then. Do try to keep up.” Though she said that, her tempo was quite slow afterward. Perhaps she was unconsciously moving slowly to let the man keep up with her? Maybe, maybe not. Regardless, they got to the stairs soon enough. Made out of solid stone and with railing on each side, there was just a few of them. The entire village seemed to be built around a singular path in the shape of a letter S and constantly ascending the hill with the mansion on top. These stairs allowed the villagers to skip from the port to the latter half of the village.

And more specifically, to a bigger gathering place which was probably used for public announcements, events, and other forms of gatherings by the villagers. Now there was only a giant hole in the middle, filled with charred bodies. And around it, a good five or so individuals in long white robes, kneeling and praying. While a horrid sight, powerful holy magic could be felt from the pit. Clearly, they were trying to purge the spirits that were clinging to this place. The souls of the people they themselves slaughtered.

It didn’t take long before one of them spotted the duo that just conquered the stone steps, quickly getting up and alerting his fellows. “Who goes there?! No, there is no one who should be able to arrive at this island without a divine guide, it must be avatars of the spirit’s wrath. Purify them, quickly!” The words made Kurome smirk. An avatar of wrath manifested by the spirits of this place… it was strangely accurate, just no in a literal way. It also showed just how eager these people were to eliminate anything they didn’t understand.

It seemed that their weapons ranged from blessed talismans to holy staffs. Nothing too problematic. Two of them decided to attack at distance, throwing the magical pieces of paper that flew almost like bullets. The feline merely extended her hand as a green barrier of sorts materialized around her body and rapidly expanded to cover both herself and V. The moment those talismans made contact with it, they exploded in a rather violent fashion. And while the barrier withstood it, there were mild cracks at the location where the explosion was at its strongest. Making it smaller again for herself, Kurome would look back at V.

“Take the two with staffs, yes?” There was no actual time to wait for a positive reply, so the girl quickly jumped to the side as another talisman flew past her. It seemed they were eager to kill her off as soon as possible. That was fine by her, as she would do the same. Taking a single step forward, her body suddenly froze as holy chains formed around her, quickly binding both her hands, legs, and even torso. Summoned by the other two talisman-wielders it seemed. They were chanting quietly.

“There, now be sent to the other side, evil spirit!” One last chain appeared around the girl’s neck, tightening around the barrier that acted almost like a secondary layer of skin and giving her enough room to not actually be chocked. “Hmph…” Was all she gave them before a green mist expanded behind her, something sharp suddenly swinging from it and cleaving right through the chains, making them disappear. An armored reaper of sorts was what did it, the being emerging from the mist while wielding a scythe. One of the girl’s more powerful servants.

The mere sight of it clearly sent the three priests into distress, one of them taking a few steps back as he perhaps planned to even retreat a bit. But a bit too late, the reaper swung the scythe in front of Kuro. And while that obviously did not hit anyone, a freezing shockwave was released that slammed straight into the two closer priests, their bodies quickly becoming covered by ice. Although their screams indicated that there was more at work, as the servant extended its hand and then made a motion as if it was pulled on something.

At that moment, something bright was torn out of their bodies and entered the reaper’s grasp. “Struggling is meaningless. You will be slaughtered all the same, just like those who lived in this village.” The two affected ones fell to the ground, only able to slowly crawl away while the last one started taking steps back, muttering something to himself. Kuro started approaching him at a bit faster of a pace, the moment those two on the ground were in range, the reaper would not hesitate to cleave their bodies into multiple pieces. At that moment, the third one stopped.

“Be smitten by the divine will!” Swinging his hands forward, a number of talismans started creating a magical circle which gathered a rather large amount of holy magic. Enough to be lethal for just about anyone who’d get hit. He was preparing this attack until now, the deaths of his comrades giving him just enough time. And yet, Kuro did not seem bothered at all. She merely watched as another mist opened up behind him, a large dog leaping from it and its razor-sharp teeth sank into the man’s throat, the attack slamming him into the ground.

It made the activating spell collapse without actually firing. A tragic fate, really. He must have recognized that he stood no chance against Kurome the moment his two friends became affected by the reaper’s soul harvest and figured out he had only one chance at victory. Sacrificing the lives of his fellow priests, he leaped and tried to grab that chance with his own hands. But he did not reach. The black hound had tore his throat open, devouring his flesh and blood alike. He was done, much like his allies. Looking over, the girl would analyze the situation V was in to see if he required assistance.

One quick glance at the man reveal that he was pretty much all done with his side of the battle as well. This was quite surprisingly, as he obviously handled himself better in combat than when going up a hill. I twas almost something that Kuro could not fully understand.

But her own body was anything but strong. She knew full well how frail a physical form could be while still storing large amounts of magical energy that could weave the deadliest of spells imaginable by man. So in the end, she could only respect her partner’s abilities and be happy that he was not dead weight.

An impression that he gave her at first, but managed to clear up a good bit by now. “Yes, let’s… but first…” There was something strange about this place. Well, aside from the ever-present smell of death and the presence of heavy spiritual energies.

Normally she would have agreed with the man’s notion about more enemies being around, but she could not really sense any more holy energies from the village itself. It was almost as if the priests they just killed were the only ones present. That was the most strange.

Unless they, for some reason, gave up on cleansing the island, it simply made no sense at all. Especially given the size of the forces that stormed this island the first time around. They required a lot of manpower back then to slaughter all of the villagers and yōkai alike.

Paired with Kurome who always liked to walk a line of cautiousness, the cat lady would approach the tarnished corpses and eye them for a bit. Thankfully she had a pretty good way of finding out exactly how many more priests were around in the area, a method they would surely not agree with.

Gathering her magical energy, it was as if green flames sparked and danced in her hand as she rose it up and clenched her fist. “Rise!” The command she spoke was distorted, carrying with itself a certain feeling of dread and sadistic nature.

But the spell still worked flawlessly, a green mist surrounding the motionless corpses and bringing them back into the world of the living. And they were no ordinary zombies, either. Their original souls were torn out of heavens and forced back into the bodies which were now bound by the girl’s command.

Truly torturous magic. “Go through the village and bring every single priest you find to their knees, separate their heads from their necks. And we go to the mansion now… I believe I sense familiar magic there…” Turning back to V, she would beckon him to follow again.

The path up there was a completely clear one, a lovely path that was well maintained when life still resided on this island. But while a pleasant stroll for Kurome, it was probably a bit worse for the man with a cane. Thankfully, the girl was willing to wait for him whenever he needed to catch his breath.

Once they found themselves at the front door, the girl stopped. The more she sensed the magic inside, the more her body began to shake. But it most certainly wasn’t because of fear. Something quite different, really. Still, she looked over at V.

“Through the main entrance, the layout is very simple. A single main hall into a giant open room. I think there are three people there… two priests and the leader of this operation. If you would… please, take care of the two. I have some personal business with the leader… so whenever you are ready.”

The girl watched as the two ice copies formed before closing her eyes and letting out a soft sigh. This whole island meant that she had to confront some of the unpleasant memories from her past, but she did not let it get to her. At least not until now. There was certainly some unease, however.

Still, she decided to steel herself. Opening her eyes, her crimson gaze was more focused than ever as she silently nodded and slipped inside. Just as she described, there was a single entry hallway where people normally put away their clothes, changed their shoes, and so on whenever they moved to outside or the inside.

Now, most of the furniture was completely destroyed, pieces of fabric lying scattered around, parts of the walls, ceiling, and floor burned. The neko was honestly quite surprised that they didn’t burn the whole place down after the raid, but perhaps there was a reason that they didn’t. Only better for her, of course.

Making sure that V was right behind her, she walked through the hall and opened the second sliding door, revealing a big central room that spanned two whole floors. It might have almost looked like a dojo of sorts, only in a state of horrible disrepair. Much like she predicted from reading the magical signatures, there were three figures standing there.

Two priests similar to the ones they encountered outside and one man dressed in much fancier black robes with golden trim. His turn toward the duo was sharp, surprised. But the moment he saw them, his entire body froze, unlike the two priests who quickly got ready to attack. “H… halt…” But he stopped them.

In an uncertain voice, he did. The two priests looked at him with clear surprise plastered across their faces, making him realize that there would be an issue if he didn’t do something. “The yōkai… I must speak to her.” Taking that as their order, the two priests moved each to one side of V.

It seemed that he did have to deal with them after all. Kurome, on the other hand, was free to walk forward until she stood only a few mere meters away from the head of this entire operation. “You… lived here, right?” “Correct.” Her answer was immediate and cold, staring the man down with contempt.

“So then… people survived! Are there any more?!” It was almost as if his voice was filled hope, not a question about how many more lambs to slaughter there were. But the girl was not having, of course. “Even if there were any, I would never tell you. But no, I am the only one who survived your merciless onslaught.”

Hearing her words, it was almost as if a heavy boulder landed on the man, his shoulders hanging low, as did his gaze. “I… see… Back when we tried to wipe you out… I thought you were all nothing more than evil beings. That is what I was told. But as we were burning you all alive… I realized… that was not the case at all.”

“And yet you continued.” There was little emotion to be heard from her voice, a strange and unnatural coldness surrounding her body and extending to the rest of the room slowly. “It was too late. We already killed! And if I suddenly went against the orders, no one would listen anyway! They would have killed me alongside you, I-”

“I DON’T CARE ABOUT YOUR EXCUSES!” The cat finally snapped. Her voice was loud, echoing through the ruined building. And in a blink of an eye, the reaper-like being appeared behind her once more. It didn’t even have its scythe this time, simply dashing forward and grabbing the priest by his head, slamming his head into the ground.

“I returned here… and what do I find? A priest that finally found some empathy? Some common sense? Too little, too late! People of this island were burned alive, slaughtered like animals. AND YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT!” As she spoke, the reaper let go of the priest's head and instead grabbed his hair.

Pulling him up, the summoned creature then slammed him down into the floor with all its might, causing several cracks in the wooden floor as well as a blood splatter from the quickly broken nose. “I will ensure that you suffer the same way we did and worse! Even your precious Deity that told you to kill us won’t be able to save you from me!”

Again and again. The reaper took hold of the man’s head, raised it up and slammed it into the ground, into the stones, into the broken furniture. Again and again, as Kurome screamed at him in visceral rage, for several minutes straight. Until finally, she stopped. Breathing heavily, her body drenched in sweat, neck sore and voice weak.

The reaper lifted the man one more time, revealing that his face was… pretty much gone. A bashed in hole of gore, his blood splattered everywhere. And somehow… it was not even all that satisfying. Clenching both her teeth and her fists, the girl let her summon disappear, extending her hands toward the lifeless body as more of her magic gathered around it.

Making good on her promise of suffering, she forcefully ripped out the soul that was getting ready to leave for the afterlife, binding it to her magic. And the most unpleasant noise, akin to one’s sharp claws being dragged across a blackboard sounded out for several seconds, the soul shivering and shaking as it was subjected to an unimaginable pain even after its mortal flesh perished.

And in the end, she overloaded it with power, letting it shatter, explode in several pieces that faded away into nothingness. She did not let him enjoy an afterlife, as she delivered him a final death, an eternal oblivion of non-existence. Falling to her knees after all that, she needed a moment to calm her heavy breathing and the weakness that filled her body.

Few heavy breaths later, the girl regained most of her concentration as her hatred faded away back into the depths of her body and soul. She stared at the priest’s lifeless body a while longer before her hand accidentally brushed over something embedded in the floor, half-way buried in the broken floorboards. Her feline eyes quickly scanned over it and became sharper in the process.

A curious coincidence. The entire reason why Kurome came to this island in the first place was not to get revenge on the enemies that purged this island. She didn’t even know that they would still be here, though she did have a suspicion that it would be so. No, the real reason why she came was to retrieve a certain item that held a lot of value to her family.

Covered in a bit of blood and a whole lot of dust was some sort of smaller cabinet. Shaped almost like a small shrine, one could reasonably assume that it was a piece of furniture that one were to put on an altar and leave offering inside of. However, the real use of it was a bit different and the space inside of the piece of furniture was for something entirely else.

Taking a firm hold of it, she lodged it out of the floor and tried to brush it off a little bit before turning toward V and offering her answer to his thoughts. “Get back what little family I have left.” She kept it vague for a reason. The man already knew that she was a necromancer, but he did not know that the catgirl had a deceased sister.

One who’s body was in Kurome’s possession. However, few more things were needed to fully revive a yōkai as powerful as that. And this little box… it was a soul furnace. The inside of the box was a special space that could keep a soul intact and trapped inside, as well as allow outside forces to manipulate this soul. It was necessary to keep her sister’s soul safe until the revival ritual itself.

Once the box was firmly placed in the girl’s smaller hands, she would offer V another look and then move it toward the exit. “I have what I came for. I think it is time to leave… for now.” So provided that the man had no reason to go against his partner’s decision, the path back to the boat was a free one. And this time also leading downhill, perhaps making it a bit easier on him.