Solar Knight: Dark Veil -book 1-

chapter 64: demon of wires

"Kyubi...." the onyx witch spoke.

"What is it?" I asked.

"The air is dense in demonic energy in that mansion. Do proceed with caution, i do not wish to have to go through the trouble of finding a new body that works...." she said callously.

"This is kyubi you're talking to! I am always prepared!" I said, patting my rather large arm bag.

"Why do you pack so heavily..."

"I want to be prepared!"

"It's overkill...."

"It's strategic!"

She would groan and remained silent as we went inside.

Right at the entrance, i would see hallways covered in wires that seemed to be alive. Looking amongst the wires, i would see various wildlife that has gotten entangled by them, some weren't so lucky and were either skewered, impaled, beheaded, and so on. Thinking a way to not trigger the wires, I summoned the jurogumo, a half woman, half spider-like monster that preys on unassuming men and devours them, except in this case, she will serve as my mount as i traverse the wires, because surely the wires wouldn't attack or kill fellow demons.

I hopped on and commanded her to move down the hallway, and she did without hesitation. One could say that my means of getting them to do my bidding is a bit unethical, but i things my way no matter what people say.

I would hear a series of wires snapping and popping, so i commanded my demon to stop and get ready to dodge.

All of the wires in the building started to shift and move, then stopped.

I wasn't detected, that's good.

As we proceeded forward, things got more complex, as the flooring and walls became more dense with wires. The jurogumo couldn't tip toe through the wires any further, namely due to the sparse amount of footing she has to work with.

This is a good thing in a way, because that means we are nearing the heart of the beast that is using these wires to sense prey.

I would summon the kaimaitachi trio next, they can fly and could probably carry me a decent distance before becoming tired. With a flash of my phone, they appeared and was fully under my control.

I issued the command to carry me down the hall and up the stairs. To which they did.

Soon after i took flight, i dismissed the jurogumo back into my phone with a flash of light.

At this point, there was zero footing and i could barely see the floor, walls, and ceiling. It was like i have flewn into another house that was made of wire and almost shiny, reflective like. Nonetheless, the higher we went, the more organic the wires became.

Once we reached the top floor, there was a faint pulse in the air like a heartbeat. Both me and onyx mentally agreed that there was a core here, and if we destroyed it, these living wires will perish.

The kaimaitachi trio started to pant, they are becoming too tired to carry me.

'Now what will you do?' Onyx said in my mind.

'Of course I'm going to use my feather feet brew!' I said back in my mind.

I opened my satchel and pulled out a bottle of clear liquid. Said bottle had an elegant bird head as the spray head on top. I sprayed myself head to toe in the unscented elixir and instantly felt all of my weight lift off of my very being. I commanded the kaimaitachi to gently set me down, before dismissing them with a flash of my device.

I would have used this at the very beginning, but the effects do not last that long, approximately five minutes, and its only good in concentrated doses, so making a large bottle would be both wasteful and ineffective.

Walking ever so gracefully and steady to the core, i drew my enchanted dagger, ready to deliver the finishing blow.

I'd suddenly feel a shift in the wires and the floor creaking and breaking. Due to the shifting, i fell through a newly formed hole all the way down to the first floor. Due to my elixir being active however, i didn't sustain any injuries during the fall, just a huge inconvenience and annoyance that i have to start all over again.

Suddenly, all the wires started to gather and become a singular entity. Once all was said and done, i was faced with a tall, lanky, demon made of wires, but had a larger upper torso. In it's hands, were two, spear-like swords that was held in each hand.

"Young witch, why have you come to my domain? Are you in league with the royal family? Or are you, perhaps, a demon that is looking to prove their worth by toppling me and taking my seat?" He spoke in a metallic tone.

"I am the incredible onyx witch! I have come to claim you into my ranks!" I shouted triumphantly and pointed at him.

There was a long pause in silence.

"I, Aka Aoi Manto, see this a jest....take me seriously, dammit!" He growled.

"I am dead serious, darling! If you do not cooperate, i will bring you to your knees!' I said as i prepared for a fight.

"Such arrogance!! Such...foolishness!! I will bring you to humility in an amount of seconds!!" He bellowed.