Chapter 13: On the Night of the Full Moon

Chapter 13:
On the Night of the Full Moon

 

THAT NIGHT, as midnight approached and the insects quietly slept, Filia, Ashley, and I gathered in Ashley’s living room, ready to depart. We still had about an hour to go before midnight, but we figured it would be best to get to Moichi’s shop as soon as possible.

“Okay, Yuri, listen up,” said Filia in a hushed tone. “Please make sure you move quietly, so you don’t wake her, all right?”

“Yeah, I got it,” I replied, nodding.

We’d decided that it wasn’t the greatest idea to endanger a kid as young as Loli Loli, so we’d put her to bed. Loli Loli was sleeping comfortably right in front of us, and we didn’t want to make too much noise and wake her up. As such, we had to leave the living room very, very slowly.

Carefully, slowly, we made our way through the room one step at a time. Ashley’s house was made of good, sturdy material, so even if a person of my weight moved around in it, the floor didn’t make a single creak.

Briiiiiiiiinnnng!

Suddenly, a piercing noise echoed throughout the room.

“Hywahh?! A-Ashley, what was that sound?!”

“I-I don’t know! I didn’t do anything!”

“It’s going to wake up Loli Loli!”

“She’s already awake!”

Before we had time to figure out the source of the sound, Loli Loli’s eyelids, which had been firmly shut in her deep sleep, snapped open. We stared at her blankly. Loli Loli pulled an alarm clock out from the couch cushions behind her and pressed a button. The ringing stopped.

“I knew you were going to leave me here!” said Loli Loli. “Thank goodness I set the alarm clock!”

I hadn’t realized she’d prepared so carefully. She really did have a way of exceeding our expectations.

“I’m going too!” she declared. “Don’t leave me here!”

Ashley shook her head. “It’ll be dangerous. I think it’d be best if you didn’t come.”

“No! The villagers accepted me! I want to repay that debt of gratitude!” Loli Loli touched the flower crown on her head as she spoke.

Ashley, Filia, and I exchanged looks, then nodded.

“Okay,” said Filia. “But it will be dangerous, so be careful.”

“Okay! Let me handle some of it! I’ll beat those bad guys to a pulp!”

Overwhelmed by Loli Loli’s enthusiasm, we decided that it would be the four of us guarding Moichi’s shop.

 

***

 

Once we arrived at the shop, we hid ourselves inside, concealing even our breathing. Our hiding place was in the kitchen, which was lined with leftover Donuts Sans Holes. It wasn’t really in my nature to hide, but if I didn’t hide now, the enemy would get too wary. If they were wary, they might not even show up. From the window of the shop, we could see the Fire God idol burning even late into the night.

Hmm. It occurred to me that the idol, which was right in front of the shop, might end up being useful cover if a battle broke out. I’d have to take our surroundings into consideration ahead of time. Just as I thought that, I sensed the presence of someone nearing the entrance.

“They’re here.”

The presence drew closer, coming in through the entrance toward the kitchen without making a sound. Tension and excitement shot through my body. I tingled and twitched, trying to hold myself back from making any rash moves. Not yet, not yet, not yet…

Now!

The instant we felt the presence move into the kitchen, we made our move. We’d already decided on our roles in advance; our battle plans hadn’t overlooked a thing. First, Loli Loli would turn on the lights by the entrance. Then Ashley would block the exit. In the event that the light Loli Loli turned on was targeted, Filia had her lightning magic prepared. Then I’d take on the culprit.

“Hey! Hope you’re ready for this!” I shouted, even though we were still under cover of darkness.

Then, with the agility borne of my daily training regimen, I darted toward my opponent and instantly threw a punch. The moment my fist collided with the presence, the lights in the store flared on.

“Wha—?!” I lost my balance because of my excess momentum. I was sure I should have landed a hit, but it was like my fist met nothing at all—and I mean nothing. I don’t mean that I didn’t hit, or that the surface was weirdly soft. I mean nothing-nothing. For a moment, I almost left myself open, but I quickly regained my balance by working my muscles.

I turned toward the presence I felt, wondering just what the hell I’d punched, and saw a semi-transparent black haze floating in the air.

“Huh? What is that?” I blurted, my confusion apparent.

It was a human-shaped, faceless black haze. What in the hell was it? It didn’t seem to be particularly strong from what I could sense, but…my fist had just passed right through it?

“Yuri, get away!” Filia cried, and moments later, she unleashed her lightning magic, blasting the haze. That seemed to do the trick, unlike my fists. Its humanoid form broke apart in the blink of an eye before dissipating completely.

A shocked silence hung in the air around us.

After an eternity, I spoke up. “What was that? My fist went right through it.”

All we could do was share intel we’d gained from that confrontation. That was our first priority right now.

“That magic was probably necromancy,” Filia said.

“Necromancy…” Ashley echoed. “I’ve heard of that before. It’s a type of magic that allows the caster to use spirits to do their bidding, because the spirits no longer have thoughts of their own.”

“Yes. What we saw just now was probably one such spirit. It’s no wonder physical attacks weren’t effective against it. Spirits have ethereal forms.”

“So, that means there’s somebody else controllin’ the spirit, right? Like a ringleader?” I asked.

“Yes, I’m almost completely certain.”

“Necromancy…I’ve never fought a spirit before. It sounds like a pretty unique opponent. Seems like it’ll be fun to fight!”

How do spirits attack in the first place, anyway? I wondered. Possession or somethin’? Just the thought of it was psyching me up.

Ashley looked like she was lost in thought too. “Yuri. You don’t have any magical energy, right?”

“Yeah, seems that way.”

“In that case, wouldn’t it be better if you took the rear guard and backed us up?” she asked.

According to Ashley, by covering your body with magical energy, you could prevent a spirit from possessing it. But I didn’t have magical energy, so I couldn’t use that method. I would be in danger—and might endanger others—if I went into this battle without any kind of countermeasures against ethereal enemies.

I was really grateful for her concern, but I had no intention of dragging the group down. “Don’t worry. Check out my muscles.”

I released my muscles. The trapezius, the latissimus dorsi, rectus abdominis, triceps bacchii, and quadriceps femoris…every muscle in my body boldly asserted its presence, swelling to the point that they looked about to burst. Clad in my naturally hard muscle armor, I brought both of my hands up to my head. Then I showed off my exposed abdominals to my three companions.

“So…any questions?” I asked.

“Yes! Many!” shouted Ashley. “All of the questions, Yuri! That doesn’t convince me of anything at all!”

Jeez, way to freak out, Ashley!

“Well, I think Yuri might be okay,” said Filia. “I can’t imagine he would give the enemy any openings to allow himself to be possessed, and anyway, any spirit that tried to crawl into a body like his would just get confused.”

“You have a point,” I said. “Muscles are something you develop yourself. If you just snatch away someone else’s muscles, you’ll just feel empty.”

Yeah, that Filia understood muscles quite well! Someday Filia too would get totally shredded. I just knew it!

“Big Sis, what in the world is Yuri saying?”

“Don’t worry about it. Yuri is an unidentified life form; we still haven’t made enough progress in investigating the ecological ramifications of his existence.”

“I’m a human being.”

“Then could you do us all a favor and please try to act like it?”

Act like a human? Was she telling me to act more on instinct, then? So—she was saying that I should be happy about being able to fight!

“Oh, no. You’ve got that look on your face. That one where you just completely misunderstood everything I just said.”

Wait, was I mistaken? Uh. Anyway, our first priority right now was to figure out how to defend the donut shop.

“Don’t worry,” I said reassuringly. “I am an intellectual muscle man, after all. I’ve already prepared countermeasures for spirits.”

“Oh, that’s amazing, Yuri!” said Ashley.

“Right?” I replied.

“Then there’s nothing to worry about,” she said. “But…just for the sake of reference, I want to ask: What is your plan?”

“Get them before they get me. I’ll swat ’em right outta the air before they possess me.”

Ashley blinked. “Um. You did get the part about how non-magical attacks are useless against ethereal forms, right…?”

“My last attack just didn’t have enough force behind it. I’ll try punching it harder next time. If it’s not effective, I’ll just keep punching until it is!” I replied, punching the open air. I didn’t know what “ethereal forms” and all that was about, but if I could punch it, then I could handle it.

“But we’re telling you, you can’t hit them…” muttered Filia, exasperated.

Admittedly, if I couldn’t hit them even if I was serious about it, this might be an opponent I was poorly suited to handle. If physical attacks were nullified, then my chances of success were—wait! At that moment, I had a revelation.

“I get it! Even if I don’t have magical energy, I can make up for that by using magic, right? So I’ll just use my muscle magic!”

Loli Loli gave me a worried look. “Filia, is Yuri broken?!”

“If he is, he has been since the day we met,” said Filia. She looked like she had at least one heavy sigh queued up.

Well, well. So in other words, I wasn’t broken at all.

“Well, once Yuri says something, he won’t listen to anyone. It’s pointless trying to persuade him. But Yuri, are you really sure you’re okay? This will be like going into battle unarmed,” said Filia.

“Not a problem. I’m almost always unarmed,” I declared with utmost confidence. I didn’t need weapons. After all, my body was the best weapon around. The thing you should believe in the most is yourself.

“Yeah, I guess?” said Ashley. “I mean, you have done some pretty absurd things.”

“This is impossible for normal people! Yuri has completely lost all self-control!” said Loli Loli.

“Aw, shucks, it’s no big deal.”

“Uh, you know we weren’t complimenting you, right?” said Ashley.

Wait, they weren’t?

 

We walked out of the shop. The full moon was even bigger and brighter than usual, illuminating the outdoors as if it were midday. The midnight chill made goosebumps rise on my skin. It wasn’t really clear how much information the necromancer had gotten from their spirit in the kitchen, but we had to assume the enemy knew we were waiting for them.

In that case, there was no guarantee that the culprit wouldn’t attack another location to create a diversion. We decided to wait for the enemy next to the burning Fire God idol so that we could act quickly if such a situation arose.

“Well, the festival is right around the corner,” said Filia, “so I’d really would prefer to wrap this up lickety-split. Let’s do our best.”

“Yeah. I’m gonna punch the ringleader’s lights out in seconds flat!” I smacked my fists together. I really hoped this was an enemy I could hit, though.

It was 11:55 p.m. If the attacker still wanted to fight, they’d show up any second now. Given the contents of that letter, I couldn’t imagine that they’d just give up. They were definitely going to show.

The full moon hid behind the clouds, cloaking the village square in nighttime darkness. As it did, there was a change in the air. We all simultaneously had a premonition, a certainty that something was coming. That swiftly became a reality.

“Ah! Is the enemy there?!” shouted Loli Loli, pointing.

“Yeah. Seems like they came.”

A man approached us from the darkness, his hands in his pockets. A semi-transparent black shadow was with him. He slowly neared, a ruthless, cold-blooded aura emanating from him. It would have broken the spirit of an ordinary person in an instant. With a cruel air like that, I knew that he was, without a doubt, the spirits’ ringleader. And I had an idea that I knew him already.

“Man, I really never thought that it’d be you, Javagiir.”

“We meet again. Been a few days since we last saw each other, greenhorns.”

The S-Rank adventurer, Javagiir Garyundur, walked toward us slowly, hands still in his pockets. His legs were thin, like branches. Behind Javagiir’s hunched form, a host of semi-transparent black shades followed. They clung to him as if they truly were his shadows.

Perhaps it was the darkness of night, but Javagiir looked even more skeletal than before. But the way he walked, with countless spirits in tow, made it clear that he was a force to be reckoned with. As soon as he had arrived in front of the shop, we faced one another.

Javagiir scanned the area. But there was nothing to see except the Fire God idol. We’d told the villagers to evacuate and find a safe place far away from Moichi’s shop. It was deathly quiet. Not even the sound of insects could be heard. There was no breathing thing anywhere near, except for us and him.

Javagiir took another look at his surroundings and muttered to himself, sounding disappointed. “Is this it? You guys didn’t call for any reinforcements or nothing?”

“Don’t need ’em. The only folks we called were the Knight Order to come and arrest you, then take you to your cell.”

The knights hadn’t yet arrived at the village, but they’d get here eventually. In the meantime, I figured it’d be a good idea to beat the crap out of this guy. Good way to pass the time.

“I see,” said Javagiir with a sigh. “Then I guess this was all a waste, huh? It’s been a long time since I’ve brought my full force.”

He didn’t look worked up at all, even though he was facing all four of us—and we weren’t people to mess with. In fact, he looked just as casual as always.

“You’re Javagiir…” said Ashley.

“Oh, you know about me? That makes me happy. Guess I’ve gotten pretty famous, then”

“You’re the one, aren’t you?”

“If you’re asking if I wrote that letter, that’s gonna be a yes. I did.”

That settled it. Javagiir was the one behind this. I had no idea where he’d been hiding, but his S-Rank abilities probably made it easy to avoid search parties.

“Even though you’re an S-Rank, didn’t you call yourself a moderate?” asked Filia. “Why are you doing this?”

“Why? Plain and simple—this shop shouldn’t exist, that’s why. No other reason. They call me a moderate, but there are some things I can’t compromise on. Sorry to say, greenhorns, but if you’re planning on getting in my way, know that I’m not gonna take it easy on you. You’re not amateurs or anything, so I’m guessing you’re prepared, right?”

This feeling of pure rage was pouring out of Javagiir, an unbridled, passionate fury. It was like standing next to a blazing bonfire. His malice was as pure as it was intense. Suddenly he drew back, as if realizing he’d let his mask slip, and his expression returned to normal.

“Do you understand the situation?” asked Filia. “It’s four against one. I think it would be best if you just surrendered quietly.”

“Hee hee hee…you four, you don’t get it. Numbers are meaningless to a necromancer. Fighting multiple foes is my specialty. I am Javagiir Garyundur, the Hollow Soldier, and I’ll show you my power!”

In a casual, well-practiced fashion, Javagiir took his hand out of his coat pocket and snapped his fingers. From the pitch darkness behind him, countless black shadows emerged, wriggling and squirming. Not just ten or twenty either. In no time at all, we were almost completely surrounded on all sides, save for the donut shop behind us.

“Get it now? I outnumber you. This isn’t one on four. It’s a hundred against four…greenhorns.” Javagiir leaned forward, hands thrust back into his pockets, a self-satisfied look on his face.

I clenched my fists tightly, not saying a word…and fired off my Pistol Punch at the black shadows surrounding us. In the next second, Loli Loli attacked more black shadows with her ice magic. Ashley roasted half the square with a fireball. Filia activated her Wind God and mowed down every shadow that got in her way. Between the magic those three used, ten of the shadowy spirits dissipated in an instant.

But the spirit I’d pierced with my Pistol Punch remained, as though nothing had happened to it at all.

Aww. Guess punching wasn’t gonna do it after all. Attacks without any magical energy really wouldn’t work. To think that even muscle magic was useless here…I’d never imagined such a thing could be possible.

Well, putting that aside…

“Guess that makes it ninety to four, now,” I replied with an audacious grin.

“Why do you look so self-satisfied, Yuri?” asked Filia.

“Aw, don’t say that, Yuri did his best! Right, Yuri?” said Loli Loli.

Come on, I really didn’t need encouragement from Loli Loli! I didn’t think my heart could take it.

Javagiir, on the other hand, whistled. “Hey, not bad. Yuri and Filia, was it? And those other greenhorns there too; I don’t know their names. You’re probably some five or ten years younger than me, but you’ve got some skills. I gotta say I’m impressed.”

Javagiir’s eyes crinkled, a joyful look on his face. He hadn’t lost his senses to his rage—he still had enough presence of mind to guess what we were capable of. “But ya see, it’s actually ninety-one against three.”

The figure behind Javagiir vanished into smoke, and all at once, we felt a strong presence behind us.

“Look out!” Filia, Ashley, and I leaped forward, and as we did, we saw Javagiir dart in and put his hand on top of Loli Loli’s head.

“Huh?!” She let out a hysterical, confused wail that didn’t sound like it belonged anywhere near a battlefield.

Javagiir’s sickly pale hand rested atop Loli Loli’s head, and it began to glow with an ominous black light. Waves of nauseating, sinister energy emanated from it.

Loli Loli’s eyes turned dark and dull.

“Don’t you dare touch her!” Ashley roared, charging. She ignited her fists with fire and closed in to punch Javagiir.

Javagiir summoned a spirit in front of him, using it as a shield as he fell back.

Loli Loli began to topple to the ground, and Ashley caught her in her arms. “Are you okay, Loli Loli? Hey, Loli Loli?!”

“Ashley, get away!”

“Aaah!” Loli Loli’s ice magic shot through the spot where Ashley had been standing just a moment ago.

“Hm.” Javagiir thrust his hands into his pockets, seeming quite interested.

“Ah…”

“I didn’t notice the horns,” he mused, “but…she’s a majin, huh? How convenient. Majin are generally quite competent fighters.” Javagiir beckoned to her, and Loli Loli walked over to him with a vacant look in her eyes.

“This is impossible…” Filia whispered. “She’s been possessed?! But Loli Loli was covered in magical energy! How did—”

He sighed. “All right. Guess there’s no getting around it. Listen up, because I’m giving you a lesson. I touched her directly. Get it? I can possess anyone, no matter who they are. Are you really underestimating an S-Rank?”

Javagiir glared as he spoke, and the air shuddered as if it crackled with electricity. This guy was strong. His incredible aura was definitely what you’d expected from an S-Rank. Deep in the back of my mind, I was sure that if I let my guard down for even an instant, he’d take total control of me right away.

He wasn’t just one person, after all. All the spirits here were part of him too. He was so skilled at commanding them that he’d practically assimilated their presence into his own… Yeah, there was no way we’d beat this guy easily.

Then a voice rang out, cutting through the swirling, vicious pressure rolling off of Javagiir. It was clear as a bell, and just as out of place.

“I see, the core of magical energy is the back of the neck. So, if we strike there, we can release someone from possession… Am I reading you right?” asked Filia.

Filia had figured out the counter to Javagiir’s possession by using her Clairvoyance to read his mind.

One of Javagiir’s eyebrows twitched. He looked Filia over from top to bottom. “How did you know that, hmm?”

“You really shouldn’t underestimate an A-Rank,” Filia taunted.

“Oh? Hee hee hee! Sorry about that, I was being rude. Look at you, greenhorns. Exceeding my expectations!” A gleeful smile crossed Javagiir’s bloodless, sickly pale face.

As we faced off with him, Ashley spoke up. “Big Sis, Yuri…I’ll handle Loli Loli.”

“You sure you got her?” I asked.

“I know I lost to her the first time, but this time’s going to be different. Loli Loli isn’t herself right now—and I am not going to lose to someone that isn’t her,” Ashley said firmly.

Yeah, she’d made up her mind. No way we could talk her out of it now. “Okay. Save Loli Loli.” I patted Ashley’s shoulder.

“Of course. What kind of adventurer would I be if I couldn’t save my friends? And don’t you forget that I’m an S-Rank. Leave Loli Loli to me. You two handle Javagiir,” said Ashley. “Sorry for leaving you with the biggest burden.”

She wasn’t looking at me when she spoke. Her eyes were only focused on Loli Loli. That was good. As long as we did what we could, we’d get results.

“Loli Loli, wait for me! I’ll wake you up in no time!” shouted Ashley, leaping into action, defeating black shadows one by one as she made her way toward Loli Loli. Wow, she really was a reliable pal.

“Leaving me with a burden? Don’t be ridiculous. I’m just grateful you’re lettin’ me fight the strongest enemy,” I called after Ashley as she disappeared between the shadows.

“All right, greenhorns…you ready?” asked Javagiir, slouching.

“How polite of you,” I said, “waiting for us all this time.”

“Despite my appearances, I’ve always had a reputation for taking good care of the greenhorns, y’know? Though I suppose I’ll be stripped of my adventurer license for this little incident,” he said.

Javagiir’s eyes moved, his line of sight aimed at something behind me. The black shadows rushed toward me. I couldn’t just ignore them. I didn’t have any way to deal with them directly, so I knew this was gonna be a rough fight—but then a violent wind roared, strong enough that it almost blew away my thoughts. The oncoming shadows had been tossed away.

Only one person could use wind magic that powerful. I looked over to Filia. Her silver hair swayed in the dying wind, and there was a noble look in her eyes. “Yuri, I’ll use my Wind God to deal with any spirits. Just focus on fighting him.”

She summoned a wall of raging wind that surrounded Javagiir and me. Every black shadow that tried to pass through the wall was torn to pieces, completely annihilated by the divine whirlwind.

Amazing… Those black shadows wouldn’t get in my way now, for sure.

“Thanks, Filia,” I called to her through the wind wall.

“Please, don’t let your guard down, not in the slightest. If you lose to him, Yuri, Ashley and I probably won’t be able to beat him either, no matter how hard we try.”

I could tell from the sound of her voice that she was already getting a little out of breath. Maintaining such a huge wall was probably taking quite a toll on her, even with her Wind God. No way could I even think of losing, let alone say it. Nah, there was only one thing to say to my friends.

“Leave it to me. All I gotta do is smack this nasty, slouching geezer and knock his gross little lights out,” I replied, glaring at Javagiir and cracking my knuckles. “You hear me, Javagiir? Now it’s one-on-one!”

All I needed to do was beat the crap out of this guy, and I was more than happy to do it. After all, I hadn’t done anything useful yet. Pretty irritating, if you asked me.

It was time to vent my frustrations!