The unwilful will

“So, What’s the plan?” Erin asked, a small grin on his face. He had a curved blade in his hand, a tall gorgeous specimen that curved at its thickest point, creating a deadly combination of visual effect.

“Plan? There is no plan except to repel this thing. I need time to build up a burst powerful enough to repel the attack, but it will take time to charge. Defend me for the time being and keep yourself out of the smoke. Whatever you do, don’t inhale it” Asato reminded the two who nodded.

The katana once again vibrated but this time the smoke no longer ignored them. The katana had an aura that was not felt by anyone, a silent death but now it felt like the smoke reflected the aura.

The more the sword pulsed, the more the smoke felt agitated. It was responding to the sword.

“You say that but how can we avoid smoke. What even are we defending against here?” Erin asked just in time to flinch as Nate punched something solid in front of him.

A very similar shape to the elf that had attacked them before fell to the ground, but nothing else happened. The body laid there, surrounded by smoke.

“Careful” Nate called out as small elves broke out from different parts of the smoke to attack the party.

“Now I see what you meant. How much time do you need anyway?”Erin asked as he slashed away at another elf that got too close.

Asato made quick work of the black orbs near him. As soon as the katana cut, the lower part of it flashed a light blue and the blade changed in colour. Among all the weapons possessed anywhere, the sword was special.

Most of the weapons worked in a way to store magic when attacked. Once it reached a threshold, it could be released in the form of a powerful attack. Both, the charging time and the attack power depended on the wielder.

But his sword was different. Instead of building magic, it was saturated with it already. What it did instead was to release stored magic out with every cut and emptied itself.

Once it reached its threshold, it absorbed the life force and everything else in the vicinity, leaving an empty shell. Very much like what the smoke was doing.

Normally, it was difficult to control since it had its moods. It was really kind of a last resort, and yet when it came to things out of this world, it was a milder option.

No, not milder. But less resource consuming. Asato argued in his mind. There were safer ways that required many preparations. However, he was sure he did not have time for that.

Already, the smoke had started to spread little by little.

And the effect on the environment was showing. His sword was charging up way too fast and others were charging up way too slow.

“There is no end to them, but I can’t gather up any power. They’re just sucking up everything. Asato, any tips?” Erin asked, and there was fatigue in his voice.

The power in the area was too much depleted which was having an effect on Erin. And he was not the only one, Nate was also panting a little, his fists a little less powerful.

“Unfortunately no, but this is a problem if this keeps on happening. Fortunately, this is not a problem for now. I’m almost charged up” Asato replied as he cut off another black orb.

The katana was fully blue now, but it was still pulsating. It worried Asato since this was an unusual occurrence, but not enough to be totally out of the blue.

“Keep them away, duck” Nate called out as he pulled his fist back, something building up in the air around his fist. Erin dodged in the nick of time for a strong gust of wind to blow over his head, knocking a huge amount of black elves back into the smoke.

It was a rough patch of power with no refinement. The pure power of the calamity chilled the area, but as soon as it touched the smoke, it dispersed as if it had never been there.

“You are really powerful for your age. But let me show you what having control can have you achieve without having your burst ready” Erin called out as he ran his hand along his curved blade.

The place he touched flashed a golden, the jade gaining light from inside. The very earth extended upward right in front the three and blocked the incoming black elves.

Then the wall exploded which caused a small smoke screen to appear in the way.

It gave Asato enough time to dispatch the remaining few black orbs needed to fully charge up the katana.

There was a strong pulse of light which signalled the full charge and Asato knew it was time.

Sprinting past the pair, he took advantage of the white smoke screen to reach the black-bluish smoke and thrust the katana with force inside.

Seconds later, there was an explosion of bluish-white light. Again a colour that was only visible to his eyes and made Asato wonder what others saw at the moment.

Maybe nothing by the looks on the faces of Erin and Nate.

“Is something supposed to happen?” Erin asked, a little nervous whisper. Obviously, there was a reluctance of admitting failure to Asato for the fear of angering him and yet a daring act.

Asato just looked on in amusement as he ducked away from a sharp claw. There was just light for a few more moments before the pressure began.

Slow and gentle at first before it picked up speed, the smoke and the elves engulfed in it began to concentrate toward a single spot where the light was the brightest.

The sword was engulfing everything like a hungry black hole. Irrespective of the thing that entered its unstable belly, it slurped and gulped everything it could reach. It was horrific imagery to think and yet so beautiful to look at.

There were shrieks of horror from the creatures being sucked and yet it did nothing to dim the relief the sight was causing Asato.

The smoke gave way to the surroundings, a building emerged behind the wall of blue-black. Its old structure and the broken state gave away zero clues about what it was supposed to be. There was no signboard or anything else.

“Holy, did you always have that?” Erin asked once the smoke disappeared. The surrounding was clean, too clean. There was no smoke, no vegetation and no power in the spectre of effect.

The katana was embedded in the ground, its blue now dulled back to shining silver. However, it was still vibrating a little, an almost purr as Asato pulled it back.

He almost dropped it before his grip tightened. The katana was excited and that would make it volatile. Already, it was difficult to tell if the deprived state of the place was due to the smoke or katana.

“Pink eyes back” Nate’s voice broke Asato out of his thoughts as he blinked. As soon as he had picked up the sword, the magic from the area beyond effect rushed out to compensate for the magic inside the sphere.

It was still depleted, but it was slowly coming back into balance. The instincts which roared at him were calmer now and Asato thanked the powers that they had settled down.

“The power is restoring slowly. The place will recover but it will take time” Asato assured the child who nodded. Erin gave the building behind them a curious glance.

“What is this place. Looks like it really drew the jackpot this time” Erin gestured to the building in front of them. Seeing it gave Asato a nostalgic feeling but he had no idea why. It was something about the place which filled him with dread and hope at the same time.

“Local orphanage. Not many people. Kids adopt fast” Asato didn’t ask about the fond note in Nate’s voice for he knew more than anyone else how calamities originated.

All of them started as normal people who had something tragic happen and its nature nurtured their power. It was common knowledge and yet no one knew any of their personal stories.

All 10 of them guarded their stories close to their heart for it. To catch a glimpse of their story was to hold power over their heads. That knowledge pertained to their power’s origin and thus precious cargo.

Asato didn’t ask Nate and neither did Erin.

“Should we check inside? How much time before the authorities arrive?” Asato asked. If there was a chance that the authorities would arrive soon then he would prefer for them to handle this mess.

If not then he would have to check it out himself.

But something about this irked him. It was an orphanage again, a second time for him. First had been the time he had escaped the hospital fire when he was young. Apparently, the orphanage had also not survived the deal and had burned along with it.

If anyone was alive, it was never revealed to the public. Asato had searched, but never too deep for the fear of the past was every present.

This place had a similar feel to that distant memory which made him hesitate to step inside.

“Take time. Too many formalities, higher-ups don’t like. Go inside?” It doesn't seem like this was a choice. Rather, an ultimatum for them.

“Let’s enter, but be careful. We still don’t know the conditions inside. And someone might also need assistance if the smoke had reached them” Asato remembered that everyone previously had died in the human world and while demons had really different composition, it was no guarantee of safe escape.

Haru had hinted that demons had been affected too. Perhaps it was not a coincidence then.

The inside was as dark and deprived as the outside. Plaster peeled off the walls exposing the filling behind its surface. The colour was uneven and really washed out. The roof felt as if it could collapse, unfit for anyone to live in.

And then it did, in the corner right over a small crouching figure and Asato’s heart leapt in his throat.

(Back to regular schedule we go)