Eroge? Bad Ends? Betrayal? I’m Just Here to Suplex Monsters through Buildings.

Lariats Are Heroic (2.2)

…

Neo San Kyoto, 57th Mayweather Lane, 1AM PST.

…

I kept an eye on Leona while she was inducted into the group. Predisposed to wearing a suit, the tanned cyborg gave off ‘penultimate’ boss vibes the more I looked at her. Her cybernetics gave her speed and agility on par with a ninja, while most of her body was very tough metal alloys wrapped up in synthetic skin that self-repaired. Her organs were highly augmented to be tougher and more efficient, and she had a gel-like red substance instead of blood.

Naturally, since this was a pretty fucked-up world, even though some parts of her brain were cybernetic, she was also still capable of being fucked and being forced to have kids.

I mean, she could get into a nice relationship and have a normal vanilla relationship if she was lucky, but I thought that was unlikely since she decided to bring the people who transformed her to justice. She either gets to go out in a blaze of glory finishing her mission or gets turned into a high-spec toy before being thrown away.

There was probably a small chance of her getting a good ending that ends with all the messed-up people who hurt her dead and her alive and ready to start a new life.

But I doubted that was going to happen.

Anyway, she provided us with the ability to break through electronic locks, bypass most forms of electronic surveillance, and pick up on tech-based stealth fields. Infiltrating and getting to the enemy’s data storage became a priority for a bit, letting me practice silently killing, before we transitioned back to blitzing across the enemy’s supply lines.

Personally, I’d put her chances of betraying us at 50%. She was just too effective and too convenient as a pickup team member from a random warehouse. I found it likely that there was some sort of power struggle in the corporation we were hitting, and we were being used to undercut somebody’s faction. Whoever was amassing power through all the chaos and destruction probably planned on betraying us and getting more supporters by swiftly dealing with the problem once they’re elected.

Or, I could just be paranoid.

Who’s to say until the chips are down and everyone shows their hand?

I’ll be answering with three Hiyo explosive tags and two electric ‘stun’ tags that I’ve snuck onto her clothes.

Shock her into stillness, leave the explosive zone, and set the bombs off once we’re clear.

But until the inevitable betrayal, I worked with her just fine.

Anyway, my actions were known to Asakura, and even though she didn’t like it, she didn’t tell me to take them off in case I was right.

She made it clear that after my contract is over, she’ll be removing them, though.

I hoped that just lost me the chance of being a retainer.

Not losing all contracts from the Hiyo Clan.

That would suck.

Anyway, for the most part, I kept an eye out for traps or counterattacks while we kept our raids going.

Eventually, my caution paid off.

But not in the way I expected.

…

“So, you’re the bastards making a mess of things.” I went in to check on one of my tripwire talismans and found the rooftop overlooking our target populated by a mage. A mage wearing a tan overcoat over a white button-up and a red tie. She had dirty blonde hair in a messy low ponytail, bags under her eyes, and a cigarette in her mouth. One hand had a fireball waiting to be cast, and the other a gun. “Care to explain why you lot are doing good businesses, or should I rip it out of your heads instead?”

We were all in the shadows, but Asakura could see me just fine.

I doubted that the detective/witch could.

Just in case, since I didn’t want to possibly engage a magic user that’s been chasing us and preparing to fight us unless we had to, I asked Asakura if we should verify if the haggard witch was an enemy.

Since Asakura was the type to take in every single victim our current enemies were smuggling around, she agreed with my point and stepped out of the shadows.

The Hiyo Clan emblem is plain to see on her vest.

“What the—you’re that heiress they said went and got fucked. You don’t look pregnant… shit, the organization that’s been stiffing my payments is a front for vampires!?” The leaps in logic were swift and decisive. She spat out her cigarette and crushed it. A faint shimmer broke around her, and a magic circle covering most of the roof’s center came to light. “Hold on. Don’t take another step forward. I was ready to introduce you all to some thunder and lightning.”

Yeah, I figured that a magic-user who’s been pursuing us long enough would get enough clues to put together more than a couple of counters.

I stayed in the shadows while Leona and Alecia walked out.

Leona earned a raised eyebrow, while Alecia had the witch choking on air.

“And, of course, the missing vampire godling is here too. Along with a cyborg supersoldier. What are you then?” She looked directly at me, but instead of leaving the shadows, I just crept into cover behind a rooftop AC unit. “The whole building is under my control. Every floor and every piece of wire and machinery. I can see everything, kid.”

I paused for a second before holding up a finger towards the floor.

The middle finger.

That got a chuckle.

“Okay, Mr. Tactical, keep your secrets. You’re lucky I like the moxie.” She shook her head and looked back towards Asakura. “Do you have anything besides the outfit and the crest to prove who you are?”

“No, and you should know better than to ask for Hou-ou’s attention. Such impertinence results in death, witch.” Asakura crossed her arms and met the blonde witch’s gaze. Black background, sparks flying, and gazes meeting. Yeah, yeah. Can we move on rather than keep posturing? “We will be retreating. Call the Hiyo Clan and say ‘feathers only swayed by thunderstorms’ if you wish to help.”

“So, I can verify if you’re who I think you are, and I can tell my employers that you ran away after being confronted. Hopefully, I get half my pay.” The detective grumbled before waving our way. Something around us shattered. Some sort of boundary that was so keenly placed that I hadn’t noticed it. “Alright, I’ll bite. Hunting trolls and vampires is always good money. Ah, sorry, missy.”

If Alecia was perturbed by the detective’s words, she didn’t show it.

Even though we were retreating, I took this witch’s appearance as a sign that we were at the endgame.

You don’t hire people like her just because you can.

…

Interlude: Asakura Hiyo, the Fiery Blade

…

I regretted having Keita along the moment I entered the saferoom the witch relayed to the Hiyo clan.

The witch wore a slip of white panties and an undershirt without a bra when she entered the door. She smelled of alcohol and cigarette smoke.

If Alecia found out about this, I’ll need to keep her from killing this witch.

“Well, that was quick. Thanks for coming by. I just ran out of food.” We were in Trespass. I received a message from Mother about an hour after returning from the surface. She told me to bring food to our new ally, who also had a home in the mirror world. I handed her the bags of groceries and a large paper bag filled with grease-laden food. “Ah, the sweet smell of artery-clogging food. I’ve missed you.”

I waited and got a grin from the disheveled sorceress.

“Come in, honored guests. You have nothing to fear from me in my home.” There was a change in the air. Instead of an undercurrent of buzzing danger, there was a subtle warmth. “So long as you properly act as guests, of course.”

The onus was on us to remain good guests, lest we invite punishment from a powerful user of magic in her own domain.

Surprisingly, the domain in question was neat.

“Hey, I might be a slob, but it’s better to be a slob in a nice place than a shithole.” She didn’t need to probe my thoughts to discern what I thought. The apartment was spacious with modern furnishings with a dark pastel aesthetic. Right out of a modern home catalogue. “Yeah, I just had some gremlins come in, gave them money, and told them to make it comfortable and look straight out of a magazine.”

I thought that she’d head into the kitchen, but instead she placed the groceries on the counter, went back to the living room, and sat on the floor while divesting the fast-food bag of its contents.

“You lot didn’t bring any for yourselves?” The witch asked us with a mouthful of burger. I moved idly through to her kitchen to place perishables in the fridge, while Keita walked in with our own meal for the evening. “That’s a fancy-looking bag. Some high-end spot, eh? Raw fish?”

She turned up her nose as I unpacked my meal, sighed, and sat across from her at the coffee table.

“It is. Would you like to try some?”

“Nah. I don’t eat fish. Spoke to too many of them. Too smart for me. I stick to farm-raised stuff. All the intellect has been weeded out. All good thoughts, eating, and growing.” The witch stated as she scarfed down a burger with just five bites. She fetched a whole container of fries and ate them by the handful. It wasn’t gluttony. It looked more like… focused consumption. “Yeah, I need a recharge. Running away from an attack helicopter is tiring work.”

Keita spoke up at that while taking a seat to my right and with his filtered rebreather taken off.

“Why run?”

“Because I don’t have a cleanup crew, and I don’t like to risk civilian lives by blowing a military asset over a city.” She turned his way. “So, are you going to give me a name, or what?”

“You first.”

“Catherine O’Doughtry.” Her name, her true name, made the air electrify. I had no doubt we were dealing with a powerful witch. They took from the world, and the world took from them in turn. They became part of the supernatural, while those who used vital/inner energy resisted it. They walked another world entirely compared to humanity and were bound to its rules. Keita did not need to share his name, but an offered covenant hung in the air. What was it about him that attracted such attention? “Your turn.”

“Keita.” He responded, and the faint shock in the air became calm and settled over the two like a blanket. A faint smirk played across Catherine’s face. “What magic can you teach me, and for how much?”

Ah, of course, that was his angle.

“Nothing big. A few rituals and maybe some cantrips. If you want more, you’d have to give up on your internal energy. Doubt that you want that.” Keita nodded, and she continued with a hum. The container of fries was emptied, and she moved onto another hamburger after downing a whole bottle of regular soda from a pack of six. “I’ll draft up what I can offer you. Each lesson… let’s say a clean hundred thousand or a favor each.”

“I’ll pay in cash.” Keita stated curtly before nodding and looking away. That was the end of that, it looked like. “If you’re fine here, I’m going to go hunt down some gangsters and raid their bases.”

“There’s a bunch of blokes who can’t keep their hands to themselves two blocks up. Good gear.”

Keita gave a nod, then looked my way as his meal stayed packed.

“Go ahead. I am a guest in her house.” I told him.

He was out within seconds.

“Smart kid. Stared a bit, but caught himself. Virgin, too. You’re going to have a hell of a time keeping that vampire princess off him.” Catherine laughed while I partook in my own meal. My sashimi got an idle look from her, but she soon shook her head. “So, what do you have for me?”

“A year-long contract at 2.5 million dollars with a 2 million starting bonus.” Catherine gave a whistle and a nod. “Our sources say you’re here in search of something. We’ll lend you our aid after six months of work.”

She gave a hum.

“Give me a quarter of the bonus, but start me off with your aid. There’s someone really nasty I need to find. Someone who slipped through the gates of Hell. Nothing world-ending, but plenty of casualties if I can’t put him down.” Catherine polished off a burger and then sat straight with her back against the sofa. She extended her hand to a bookshelf, and a tome flew to her hand. It opened and presented its pages to me. “I’ve locked down every leyline from the UK to here. Called in every favor I had. The problem is time.”

I read through the information presented and gave a curt nod.

“I’ll inform Mother right after this meal. We’ll be amenable to the change.” Catherine smiled and moved to eat another burger. However, I leaned forward and got her attention. “So, how long did it take you to plan your little ‘ambush’?”

She froze before a smile split across her face.

“A few weeks. Sorry about the theatrics, but I like to stay quiet and unnoticed. Gives me advantages, but comes with being unknown to anyone who can help. I figured displaying my power by cornering you and your team would get more attention than a call. Besides, I tried getting to your people and ended up being turned around by some hefty seals that I would’ve had to break.”

“Those seals repel those in league with the forces we oppose.” I pointed out. “Why could you not enter?”

Catherine smirked before snapping her fingers.

Her ears elongated, and some of her hair turned white, while her blue eyes took on a faint red hue, while the grime and tiredness faded away instantly to reveal an unnatural vigor.

“Half-succubus.”

“Got it in one. Pa was strong enough to give me a chance, rather than live as just some slut my entire life. I appreciate it, really. But it takes a lot of explaining to any potential allies.” She snapped her fingers again, and the tiredness returned along with some human ‘sag’ to her body. “Don’t worry about me making any moves on the lad. All my mother’s gifts are sealed up, unless you count the body. I even swore an oath to do no harm to humans. Moment I do, I go kaput.”

She pointed at her neck, and a faint blue line formed on it. A single glance informed me of the terms of her oath, and I relaxed.

Then, I considered her current journey and all the risks she was undertaking.

“So, your quarry is…”

A shark-like smile formed on her face.

“Dear old Mum. Looking forward to sending her back to the pit all nice and slow like.”