The GATE Academy [Please read description]

Chapter 50: A Glimpse of Hell

"Unorthodox" was probably the biggest understatement for the celebration to come the following day.

Starting in the afternoon, the festival seemed to take place in two parts. The first of which consisted of a formal luncheon setting followed by a few, more civil, recreational activities all taking place in the city's center of sorts. My friends and I were all split up into smaller groups, occupying ourselves with the many mini-attractions throughout the city and exploring it as such. It was fantastic to see a world that was seemingly stuck in time. There were areas of the city that were archaic, with intense architecture and historic vibes while the next block would hold an industrial shopping center with upscale clubs and shops. But even with the presence of a renovated center, the beaten down taverns just a few streets down were equally as popular. There was a place for everyone here it seemed, and that was an amazing thing to see and take part of.

The first part of the festival died down at around 3, not lasting too long, but what followed was a subtle transition into what I knew would just be a night full of celebration I had yet to experience. Shops and restaurants all closed down, some chose to use this time to redecorate while others used it to clear out their spaces to provide more for the incoming festivities. Some even used this time to board up and secure their spaces in anticipation for the rowdier celebrators. Small vendors selling trinkets, souvenirs, snacks, and spirits and other alcoholic beverages began setting up shop all throughout the wide streets during this time of preparation.

Having been split from the rest of the group, I walked the streets of Hikuya with only Keita and Riku. I didn't want to ask Keita too many questions, since I felt it could cause him to be a bit irritable. Most of what was going on didn't seem to surprise him, so asking him about every little species of demon or animal of sorts that I saw about the city would seem redundant and boring to him. Riku caught onto this too and we came to an unspoken agreement not to pester Keita too much.

It wasn't long after the natural light of the mystic sky faded away that it was replaced by the light of the people, their smiles, their songs, and their hearts. What followed was "unorthodox" indeed, but, that is a story for another time.

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"....."

... sniff sniff...

"... No more... let me get u...p... first..."

My heavy eyes quivered as I opened them one at a time. Licking my cheek was a small, furry animal that looked something like a fennec fox, but with the color scheme of a red panda. Eh, it could've been worse.

Sounds of familiar giggles filled the room as the little animal hopped off my bare chest and curled up between the female demon on my left and I. As drunk as I was last night, I had a surprisingly good memory of what happened. The girl who I had my left around was Camilla, or Cammi, and was a college student studying abroad in Hikuya. She and her friends had stolen me from my own at some point in the night and showed me around the other, wilder parts of town. We, evidently, ended up back at their dorms where they showed me other... wilder parts of themselves.

Word had gotten around that some humans from Earth were coming down to the festival, so these girls were quick to grab me when they found me out. Apparently it's part of the culture among certain demons to seduce and corrupt humans to demonic standards.

Evelyn, the girl to my right, was still asleep, cuddling with my right arm. There was one other girl somewhere, but the smell of food cooking led me to believe she was in the kitchen. I wonder if any of my other friends had similar experiences... I laughed at the thought of what Ake would've done in my situation.

A knock at the dorm's door woke me a bit more and I started to sit myself up.

"I'll get that," Cammi said with a smile, stroking my chest as she rolled out of bed. She slipped on a white robe that was hanging as she left the room to get the door. I heard the door open and a following gasp, with excitement from what I could tell too.