The path to a chained heart (EDITING)

A permanent solution - 21

Let's head straight-on with the chapter!

Eventually, Himari had gazed upon a spell that would numb Asahi's pain considerably, making it less impossible to bear the staggering pain. It was like a thousand daggers had pierced through him, ripping not only his soul, but his flesh as well. A few hours of tension and agony, and Asahi was able to bear the intense pain with will alone. Of course, it wasn't enough to block it out entirely, as he could still feel a sudden sharp twinge every now and then. Homare and Himari gave fleeting looks every now and then to see if he was okay.

Asahi cursed the creep Mizuki they had come face-to-face with, "Damn you, stupid creep. If it wasn't for you I wouldn't have a stupidly sharp crystal stuck in my wrist! Stupid daemons! I HATE YOU!!" He yelled in agony towards the roof of the cave. Himari doubted that he had still kept his sanity. The black-smoke daemon must've been the one to curse the crystal - as she had felt that incredibly powerful and threatening aura resonate from both it and the razor-sharp crystal. But she also felt the fiery nature of the inferno-smoke Mizuki - the one that gave them a piercing glare of strong hatred and dislike. She had a feeling that it had something to do with the both of them.

Himari knew that if she kept thinking those dark thoughts, it wouldn't do her much good, as she didn't seem to know what was going on either, continuing her go-with-the-flow attitude. Warm sweat trickled down her neck, and she quickly wiped it on the neck of her black, once blue, t-shirt (it was usually out of sight under the long and warm cloak she used to wear). With every step they took, it seemed to get hotter and hotter and hotter - well it was either just them or something was going on, because Asahi hadn't noticed.

Soon enough, the sweltering heat became too unusual for Himari and Homare to ignore. Thinking quickly, she had an idea: she sprayed herself with a jet of water. It was a good idea (even Asahi would've given credit) but it would have been a miracle if it actually worked. Instead, the water had instantly evaporated and the two collapsed onto the ground with a loud crash and thud.

"We're gonna die here!" They moaned, unable to string a proper sentence together because their brains were fried by the powerful temperature.

"Help us... Asahi!" They whined. Asahi's upper face was shadowed and he had a sadistic smirk on his lips.

"You know, it doesn't feel remotely as hot - you're just imagining." Asahi chuckled.

"Idiot, he can't feel it because he's a holy sorcerer of fire! I hate that idiot!" Himari tried to yell, but it only came out in her head. As if Asahi knew what she was trying to say, he spoke again, insulting Himari.

"Y'know, it might be slightly hot, but I don't feel a thing! Are you guys pulling a joke on me?" He playfully (more like maliciously) laughed. "Maybe... I should use a spell to check... but you'd have to say yes first." Asahi was having a great time making fun of Himari, when he finally stopped his game and casted the spell to make their resistance to the heat stronger. He laughed with utter insanity when he say the furious look on his rival's face.

Suddenly, Himari was given newfound energy by the author from her anger to attack Asahi as hard as she could.

"You. Will. PAY FOR THIS ASAHI! THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR INSULTING ME!" Homare didn't bother to stop his demonic friend this time, he was joyfully watching her chase Asahi in circles, getting an almost bone-crushing hit on him every few seconds. A glint of content appeared in his eyes.

"AAAGGHH! Homare help me-e-e-e! You're my best friend aren't you?" Asahi begged Homare, but the steely glint of satisfaction was his response.

"Hahahahaha!" Himari cackled like an evil witch, finally knocking Asahi to the ground, and he muttered a small 'ow'.

"Learned your lesson? Asahi?" The two had deadly smiles, and Asahi knew it wouldn't be the greatest idea, if he was to annoy them... even if it was funny.

The spell had lowered its effectiveness, so that it could last much longer than usual, meaning that the two could feel some portion of the crazy heat. Asahi still remained with his complacent look, though, but every now and then, it was interrupted by the horrid pain of the wicked curse expanding.

Uncontrollably, Asahi would let a small gasp escape, and it was also the effectiveness of the curse increased too, the further they walked. That meant that the next daemon that they had to defeat could be anywhere nearby.

Desperately, while his friends weren't looking, he tried to remove the crystal by cutting it out of his flesh, however, all it did was cause his inconsiderable amounts of pain and throbbing, and he tried to compress the bleeding before Himari could practically kill him for being so stupid. He tried to clean his bloodstained sword on the side of his trousers, hoping the real devil (Himari) wouldn't notice.

They knew that they were entering the next daemon's habitat because the rocky surface was slowly turning into sand - white-hot sand that could even be felt by Asahi, and they hopped, running towards the only boulder they could see, trying to cool themselves off. They couldn't see the roof of the place, but they could feel a blinding bright light - like the desert sun come in front of their eyes, but it didn't feel like a normal bright light. It felt like their was a presence beneath the sands and above their heads.

"One thing's for sure. Mizuki's soul is weird and the only way to remove the crystal is to get rid of all the daemons living here." Himari said.

"Mizuki-nee sure is weird. I'm going to talk to her about this creepy place when we get back." Asahi agreed, for once.

"I don't think she even knows this place exists." Homare pointed out.

They looked towards the vast desert sands, wondering how they were to get across.

Ooo... new landscape... interesting. Anyway, it has been revealed that Asahi is slightly sadistic in nature! My oh my! O-o

"It's impossible to save everyone, otherwise you'll risk losing them all." ~ Asahi Katsumoto