[Hiatus teaser: The Demons that can’t be killed]

(This chapter is in Tomoko Sakurai’s perspective)

(This chapter also contains some dark themes and events, so please read at your own discretion)

Tomoko stood stoically, gazing blankly at the immense gateway before her. She didn’t quite know what to think of it, a dungeon that had not sent out a single monster. It was bizarre to say the least, and she couldn’t help but worry about the reason as to why a dungeon boss would not try to expand their grasp.

She thought back to the briefing that the angels had given her. The place gave off energy of undead and demons for the most part, with some other monsters sprinkled in. That didn’t help though, as a demon would rush to conquer the surrounding area, and an undead would move to gain more land to raise their brothers from.

“Nothing about this place makes sense,” it seems Tomoko’s sentiment was shared, as she hears the angel beside her speak. She turns to examine the angel, reminding herself that she hadn’t met this one before. The angel presented feminine, though she didn’t know if that meant it was a woman or not because of the great amount of feminine male angels or masculine female angels.

Tomoko let out an annoyed sigh as she addressed the angel, “why are you here instead of Gabriel again?”

The angel shrank slightly before replying, “Gabriel… was… needed elsewhere?” It was most certainly a statement, but their demeanor and tone made it sound like they were asking Tomoko. She continued to give a half-glare at the angel for a moment before letting out a forceful huff from her nose. ‘It isn’t worth it to pick a fight with them over something like this. If Gabriel is busy, it’s something important, and if they aren’t telling me, it’s something secret. Even after all this time, they have secrets even I am not let in on…’

She shook her head before looking back to the gate. “So, who am I working with?” There was no response for a moment, confusing her. She turned to the angel, only to see them cowering slightly while giving them an apologetic look. “You have got to be kidding me.”

The angel struggled to find words for a few moments, “I-I was not in charge of you being assigned here, I just was sent to tell you.” They swallowed hard, “Y-your team is a-about a day out still, and they aren’t… the best.”

Tomoko gave the angel an empty glare, “What. Tier.”

The angel almost curled into themself as they tried to shrink, “T-three…”

They stood in silence for a minute or two until Tomoko let out a huff, “I might as well just go in now.”

The angel’s eyes went wide, “W-wait! We still don’t know what is in there! It’s not safe to enter an unidentified dungeon on your own-” They silenced themselves when Tomoko gave them another glare.

She held her gaze at the angel before speaking, “I, am the heroine. I can handle some puny dungeon that you would give me tier three reinforcements in.” The angel simply nodded slowly, no longer trying to stop her.

Tomoko swiftly pivoted on her feet before marching into the dungeon. ‘What could be so dangerous about a dungeon they are willing to send tier threes into? Are they just sending them so they can watch me and get “inspired” or something? We have already about won this war, what’s the point of raising moral now?’ She fumed to herself as she made her way into the underground labyrinth.

#####

She began to turn red with rage as she turned left yet another time. ‘There… is near nothing here. There aren’t any minions, there barely was anything that could be called a trap. It was just some gods damned maze! Now I understand why they were gunna send tier threes in here, there isn’t anything to threaten them whatsoever!’

She kicked a loose rock as the continued walking through the maze. ‘I am the heroine, why the hell was I put on duty to walk through some maze? This is a waste of my abilities!’ She walked for a few more minutes before stopping, “That’s it! I am not going to deal with this anymore!” She turned towards the wall beside her, and casted an attack spell. Of course, you aren’t meant to be able to damage a dungeon, but when you had multiple tier ten classes, it didn’t much matter what you were meant to be able to do.

The wall gave, a huge cloud of debris blocking Tomoko’s vision as the new path presented itself. As it cleared, it revealed one room, with a great painting resting upon an altar. She carefully stepped inside, unable to shake the feeling something was off. ‘Why is this room perfectly placed to be entered from the spot I happened to attack? There aren’t any doorways in at all. And what’s with this painting? It’s giving me the creeps.’

The painting depicted a marionette of sorts, it’s controller being held my a hand made of wood and screws itself. Beyond that, the marionette was holding the controller of yet another marionette, continuing what seemed to be an infinite chain. The most unsettling part was that even though it had no eyes besides what seemed to be sockets that had lost their paint, it was most certainly staring at the viewer.

Tomoko shivered as she looked at it, there was definitely something wrong with that painting. She looked around, finding near nothing else in the entire chamber. Letting out an annoyed sigh, she approached the painting. ‘Whatever trap this is, it should very much be something I can handle. Maybe the thing just jumps out of the painting, and I can then interrogate it to find out where the hell the core of this dungeon is.’

As she at last reached the painting, something happened in an instant. The painting stretched and deepened, becoming a space within the chamber. Then, the marionette turned its head to look exactly at her, before raising its free hand slowly. As Tomoko quickly moved to block an attack, she was unprepared as a fog flooded from the painting into the chamber, surrounding her and blocking her vision.

#####

As the fog cleared, she prepared herself for a battle. Yet, as she casted protection spells in the darkness, no magic appeared. She tried to dispel any darkness that was hindering her vision, but nothing happened. She began to panic slightly, reaching for her bag in order to find a torch or something to allow her to see her opponent. Only… her bag wasn’t there. As she turned to look at herself, she wasn’t wearing her armor, but instead a rather comfortable outfit that felt… familiar, somehow.

As she contemplated this, she was startled by the sound of a door opening and light flooding into the room. She jumped and spun around, ready to fight when she saw something she couldn’t believe. An older woman stood in a doorway, a woman very familiar to Tomoko. Her stance faltered as she took in the sight in front of her, the light from the doorway illuminating the new room she was in.

The woman gave a light laugh, “I’m sorry, did I startle you dear? I just thought you should be up with the lights on by now.”

Tomoko stared for a few moments in disbelief. Something in her was telling her this wasn’t right, but she didn’t understand why. She rushed forward, embracing the woman who gave a light “oof” as they collided. “I missed you, mom.” Tomoko whispered as loudly as she could, hoping that if she affirmed it aloud the voices in her head would stop saying it wasn’t real.

Her mother looked down at her confused, “Did I miss something? I remember seeing you last night.” ‘That’s right, it’s the morning. That means all of that horrible stuff was just a dream. No demons, no monsters, no… *him*. Just back home with my mom, and, if he isn’t busy, my dad.’ She smiled to herself for the first time in a very long time.

Her mother let her go with a caring laugh, “Alright, I’ll get breakfast ready. It’s a big day, after all!” ‘It is? What was so special about today? I can’t quite remember, but I can’t ask. If it’s something important, it would look very bad if I asked.’ She followed her mother out of her room and into their dining room, where her mother left her at the table. As she sat there trying to remember what was special about today, the sound of a record starting graced her ears. There was a slight amount of music before the first lines began.

“We’ll meet again. don’t know where, don’t know when.”

She knew this song. It was an old one, her mother loved to play it when her father was out. He was out a lot thanks to his work, so she heard it a lot. It was okay though, whatever he did, it was important. He had a lot of things he needed to keep track of and a lot of people he had to manage, so it made sense he was out most of the time.

“But I know we’ll meet again, some sunny day~”

Tomoko’s mother hummed along to the tune as she went to the kitchen to start making food. While Tomoko kept trying to remember what was happening today, she suddenly started to feel uneasy. ‘Is it the song? But I love this song, why would the song make me feel like this?’

“Keep smiling through. Just like you always do~”

There was a knock at the front door, silencing the worries in Tomoko’s head. Her mother spoke from the kitchen, “I wonder who that could be.” It was in a tone that implied she knew who it was, but something inside Tomoko told her it wasn’t who her mother thought. That a surprise meant for her was going to become a surprise for them both. She couldn’t explain this voice, this feeling, but it seemed to know what was going on better than she did.

“Until the blue skies chase the dark clouds far away~”

She got up from her chair, clearly she was supposed to open the door. ‘I’m not about to let some anxiety ruin my birthday. That’s right! It’s my birthday! That’s what’s so important! I wonder what surprise mom arranged…’ She walked down the short hallway between the dining room and the front door. As she got closer and closer, the horrid feeling got stronger and stronger, until it was near unbearable. She **** herself through it, and grabbed the doorknob.

“So would you please say hello, to the folks that I know. Tell them I won’t be long…”

As she opened the door, the feeling came to a head. She braced herself for something horrid, until she saw what was there herself. “Daddy!” She rushed forwards, hugging her father who was waiting at the door. He gave a hearty laugh as he lifted her in the hug and carried her into their house. He closed the door behind them, but the feeling didn’t leave. It was clear to her that there was something still at the door, at least in her mind.

“They’ll be happy to know, that as you saw me go, I was si~nging this so~ng…”

Her father put her down once they were well within the house, ruffling her hair with his hand. She may have been well into her teens, but her father was a very tall and strong man, so he still dwarfed her. He walked past her and sat down at the table, beginning to talk to her mother about his overnight time at work. She never understood his work, he talked about “cleaning” some days, while others he was talking about construction. Whatever he did, it most certainly made them enough money for a very comfortable life.

“We’ll meet again. Don’t know where, don't know when~”

There was another knock at the door. Tomoko’s parents went silent, looking to each other. They began having a whispered discussion between themselves, it seemed very heated. Tomoko suddenly found herself getting out of her chair, and moving towards the door again. The horrible feeling was more intense than ever, and no matter what she did, she couldn’t stop herself from walking forward and grabbing the doorknob once again. She heard her parents tell her to stop as she opened the door.

“But I know~ we’ll meet again~. Some sunny~ day~”

The door opened slowly on its own, her having finally managed to let go of it after opening it. She stared in horror as the feeling made her heart race. Only, there was nothing there. The door opened, and revealed only their front porch, completely empty aside from their furniture. She breathed to calm herself down, looking around and finding not even a package to pick up. Annoyed at what seemed to be a ding dong ditch, she turned around to return to her parents. Only, when the song picked up again with its cacophony of voices for the second chorus, there was a new lead singer.

“We’ll meet again. Don’t know where, don’t know when~”

Tomoko spun around, immediately petrified by the sight before her. The walls were covered with blood. She could see her mother’s legs from her position, the rest of her mother being out of view. Even with just that view, there was no doubt she was dead. Her father, however, was entirely within her field of view. He struggled to crawl backwards away from something just around the corner, until-

“-But I know~ we’ll meet again. Some sunny day~”

*He* stepped forward from around the corner, planting his foot on her fathers chest. Her father raised his hand, but *he* smacked it aside with his weapon. It was a kanabō, a type of club with metal studs used in her culture’s past during the feudal era. To match this weapon, *he* wore a mask depicting the face of an oni, a monster that served as a bogeyman for misbehaving children as well as was said to be so horrid its likeness could scare bad luck itself away. *He* raised the kanabō over his head before bringing it down forcefully upon her father, who then stopped moving.

“Keep smiling through~, Just like you always do~”

The masked man brought down his hand to drench it in her father’s blood, before running it along the oni mask to create a crude smile upon it while he sang. She finally lost the last strength she had as she fell to the ground. She was in absolute terror, yet not all of her felt shocked at this situation. ‘Why am I not truly in shock at this? My parents are murdered in front of me by a horrid man, why does this feel familiar?’

“Until the blue skies chase the dark clouds, far away~”

*He* raised up his arm while he sang, like he was a performer at the opera. His gaze then at last returned to her. She finally got a look at his eyes. They were… inhuman. They had no sympathy, no empathy. They were the eyes of a creature, not a person. Their silver irises piercing into her as they seemed to consider how best she could be used or dealt with. It sent a shiver down her spine that at last ended her paralysis.

“So Would you please say hello, to the folks that I know~. Tell them, I won’t be lo~ng.”

It was then that she realized why this felt familiar. She knew this man. She remembered everything. He had murdered her father, ending her comfortable life. But he spared her. He left her there, undamaged as a form of power statement. He didn’t think she could do a thing to him, and he was right. She had spent the rest of her life cowering and running, always looking over her shoulder in fear that he had changed his mind and came for her. At least, until she hadn’t been able to take it anymore…

“They’ll be happy to know~oh, that as you saw me go~ohoh, I was singin’~ this so~ong!”

The song distorted and twisted, seemingly obeying his will and following how he wanted to sing it instead of how it was meant to play. Tomoko began to crawl away, finding that the door that had been right behind her had closed, leaving her with no pathway to get away from the horrific thing before her. The monster let out a sigh and let his hands fall, the kanabō long enough to drag the floor as he began to approach her.

“We’ll~ meet again~! Do-hon’t know where, and I don’t know-hoho when~.”

He crouched down in front of her, resting at a high that still left him looking down at her. She tried to fight him off anyway she could, trying to use any of her spells or abilities, but none of them would work. He somewhat gently grabbed her chin with his hand, tilting her face up and forcing her to look him in those twisted eyes of his.

“But… I know… we will meet again. Some~, sunny day~~~”

There was no music playing anymore, just his voice as he ended the song. As she began to cry, something strange happened. The area around her began to blur, dissipating into a smoke. As it began to swirl around as if within a twister, she heard the masked man laugh. He too turned to nothing more than smoke as he was slowly blown into the growing whirlwind around her.

#####

She cowered in fear, not knowing what to do until suddenly, all of the smoke went away behind her. She looked around, taking in the room around her. ‘This is… the chamber in the labyrinth. Then was all of that… just an illusion?’ She clutched herself as she laid upon the cold stone floors. She found she had in fact returned to her armor. Looking around, there was even damage that seems to have been done by her blindly casting her spells.

A sudden, raspy voice from behind made her jump, “To think, the hero’s greatest memory… so quickly followed by thy worst…” Turning around, she found the marionette staring at her with its eyeless face. It tilted its head curiously before shrugging. “The light has fallen oh so far, to choose a demon slayer with such a great demon within…”

She raised her arms, ready to fight it. Only, once she did the picture frame fell. As the frame blocked her vision of the series of marionettes, they faded from view, leaving only the alcove in the wall. As she cautiously stepped forward, she found an intricate crystal laying upon the base of the chamber.

The voice spoke again, echoing from all around. “I pity thee, young heroine. Thee had no way of knowing what thee had doomed thyself too.” The voice slowly faded, leaving her alone in the room at last. She sensed that whatever had been here had truly left. Looking back to the crystal, she picked it up.

By the time she had figured out what it was, she heard movement outside of the room. Turning to look, she saw a group of humanoids dressed in amateur adventuring garb. As Tomoko’s reinforcements finally arrived panting to the chamber, she walked past them out. They looked to her, some in admiration, others in exhaustion, all with a slight confusion.

“I have the dungeon core, there is nothing else of importance here.” She carried the crystal with her, hoping that she could leave those horrible memories of that monster behind.

After all, it was impossible for that man to reach her here… right?