Chapter 50: Afternoon

The three shinoccubi standing at the portal were all slightly taller than Mica but were otherwise very similar to her in appearance. Two of them, like Mica, were female kiochi while one was clearly a kiogah.

The kiogah stood in stark contrast to the two women at his side due to several obvious key differences in his features. The first of which were his larger horns, which were only slightly longer but were much broader at their base and spaced further apart, being placed on either sides of his brow rather than at his temples. Also unlike the kiochis, his horns curved inwards with their points facing each other rather than curving back above his head.

The bladed spade at the end of his tail was also noticeably larger and broader than those of the kiochis, and unlike them, the saturated coloration around his eyes was almost nonexistent.

The most obvious difference between him and his female counterparts however, were his wings. The kiogah’s wings were markedly larger than Mica’s and were currently wrapped tightly around his shoulders. The arms of his bat-like wings had been laid over the tops of his shoulders where they then bent at their elbows to wrap around his collarbone. The tiny clawed fingers at the wings wrists were then clasped together over his chest, while the longer, thinner fingers that made up the structure of the wings themselves were curling back, over, and around his shoulders before trailing down his back. The length of his wings then draped down his back to his waist and made it appear as though he was wearing a short cape.

The three shinoccubi were all dressed identically in full black colored bodysuits that covered them from head to foot. Attached to these suits were pads of lightweight, tactical style plated armor that wrapped around their limbs and torsos, while half masks that were identical to Mica’s covered the lower halves of their faces.

Dressed as they were, the only parts of their bodies left visible around their suits and masks, were the top halves of their heads, from their eyes upwards, the kiogah’s wings, and their long, coiling tails.

Like Mica’s, the three shinoccubi’s hair were all colored a solid black, but would shine a different color whenever they moved through the light. The kiogah’s hair was cut short and shined a dark blue that was identical to Mica’s but the two kiochis hair shined a dark green color instead. One of the kiochi had her long hair in a multi-banded ponytail that was similar to Mica’s while the other one had hair that was cut shorter and was left to hang freely.

Their guarded stances and the sheathed weapons that hung across their backs and at their hips made it clear that these shinoccubi did not intend to be peaceful.

Though they did carry themselves with a presence that belied their potential danger, this had little to no effect on the two dark elves, who were both far more intrigued by the sight of them than intimidated.

Interestingly, the long haired kiochi seemed to be carrying a teddy bear sized stuffed frog that was a bright green in color and had a broad cartoonish smile stitched across its face.

“Yes!” cried Mica as she pulled her tail back to herself and quickly scrambled to her feet “I knew it! I knew they’d come and get me!”

Anton shook his head softly as he slipped the dry cloth back into the pouch.

“You’re so fucked now!” cried Mica as she balled her hands into fists “You might have kicked my ass but you’ll never beat them! They’re the real deal! Actual assassins!”

“I’m sorry, Mica.” said Anton as he placed the whetstone and towelettes back in the pouch as well “But this is for the best...”

Taken aback, Mica stared at him for a second as she registered his somber tone.

“ ... You’re a dead man.” she declared quietly before turning and making to run towards her family.

Mica only made it a few paces before being forced to stop short as the wall of an orange light bubble suddenly appeared right in front of her. She went to cry out in anger but her voice died in her throat as a thin dart-like blade struck the bubble directly in front of her face. The tiny ping sound that the blade made was quickly followed by one after another as a rain of blades, all clearly aiming for her, struck the bubble and bounced off of it to land harmlessly on the ground in front of her.

Dumbstruck, Mica went completely still as she stared through the transparent bubble at her family. She blinked as a sharp hissing sound caught her attention and looking downwards, she immediately noticed thin streams of smoke rising from were a bubbling chemical that had been smeared on the dart-like blades was burning the ground itself. Making a small sound in the back of her throat, she took a tentative step away from the blades and looked back up at her family.

“ ... Wait?” she whispered as she fell forward and dropped to her knees “No, wait ... No!”

“I’d say that was at least 12 pings...” mumbled Anton as he rose from his sitting position and set the pouch down on the log next to the dark elves “That will hopefully be all their poisoned darts. They usually only carry about 4 of them at a time.”

The dark elves looked from him to Mica and then finally to the three shinoccubi.

“ ... What are you going to do now?” asked Kianna as she pointed her ears straight back and glared at Mica’s family.

“I’m going to go over there and have a chat with my friends.” said Anton as he turned to look at the waiting shinoccubi “ ... But first.”

The two dark elves both stiffened in surprise as a faint warmth began to emanate directly from the bloodgems mounted to their collars.

“Wha ... Whoa, whoa!” exclaimed Fiona as a surge of raw power began to slowly seep into her and fill her entire being “Hold on! What are you doing!?”

“I’m making sure that you two will have more than enough power to do whatever it is you feel you need to do...” explained Anton.

“ ... What we need to do?” questioned Kianna as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards “What do you mean!?”

“Well, I’d like you girls to stay over here, and keep an eye on our kiochi while I’m gone.” said Anton as he tightened his eyes at the shinoccubi “And if anyone decides to be foolish enough to come over here and try to kill her while I’m busy. Then I’d like you girls to step in and stop them.”

Wide eyed, the dark elves glanced at each other before turning to stare at the three figures in the distance.

“Remember. You have no reason to be afraid. You have the defensive advantage.” said Anton “Your aura fields alone should be all you need to keep yourselves and Mica safe.”

“ ... Right ... Sure.” nodded Fiona “But let’s say, that if we, maybe wanted to try ... Could we beat them?”

Pausing at her question, Anton tilted his head and glanced back at the two dark elves. Finding them both staring at the shinoccubi with calm, calculating looks on their faces, he couldn’t help but to grin.

“They are assassins. For them the element of surprise is everything. In fact, I’m sure the only reason that they’re hesitating right now is because at the moment, they don’t have that advantage on us.” explained Anton as he focused back on the shinoccubi.

The dark elves both nodded silently as they continued to listen.

“You’ve seen Mica in action, and you know how quickly she can move. They’ll be just as fast, if not faster. And unlike Mica, they’ll have training and experience on their side. They won’t be as clumsy as she is, or as predictable. Do not take them lightly.” continued Anton “Your auras are what will make all the difference for you. So do not hold back with them. The link you have to me will give you all the power you need. So you have no reason to worry about running out. Work together, force them to feel fear, and there will be nothing they can do to stop you.”

The dark elves nodded again as faint smiles formed on their faces and their ears began to twitch in excitement.

“Do not be overconfident though. Remember, these are natural born killers. They are not harmless by any means.” warned Anton “Act rash, overreach, and they will take advantage of you. But if you stay in control of yourselves, remain patient, let them make the mistake of coming to you, and the battle will be yours.”

Their expressions shifting to show a grim determination, the dark elves both narrowed their eyes at the shinoccubi.

“ ... Oh, and there is one more thing.” said Anton “Possibly the most important thing of all.”

Shifting their attention back to him, the dark elves remained still as they waited for him to continue.

“If things do become ugly. And a battle does take place.” said Anton as he glanced down at them and grinned “Then I want you both to make sure that you enjoy yourselves.”

“ ... Oh, of course, Master!” replied the dark elves in unison as wicked looking smiles spread across their faces “We absolutely will!”

“Good.” nodded Anton as he began to make his way towards the edge of the bubble “Very good.”

Stopping next to the still frozen and wide eyed Mica, he pointed his index finger straight down and pressed his fingertip against the very center of the top of her head.

“Stay.” he ordered as he applied enough pressure to make her head dip a bit “Do not move.”

Mica made a tiny sound in acknowledgment as her tail coiled itself around her body.

The light bubble dropped away completely as Anton stepped past her and went to walk through it.

Though the majority of their features were obscured, tension could still be seen clearly in the eyes of the three shinoccubi as they stood their ground and silently watched Anton approach.

“Leopold! Ila!” cried Anton cheerfully as he made his way towards them “Fancy running into you guys out here in the middle of nowhere! What are the odds!”

The kiogah and the long haired kiochi both blinked and glanced at each other before turning back to Anton. Though in no way older looking by comparison, the long haired kiochi was marginally taller than her short haired companion, and had horns that were nearly twice as long as both her’s and Mica’s.

“Hello, Anton.” said Leopold as he inclined his head in greeting “You’re looking well.”

“Yes. Hello, Anton.” said Ila as she waved her tail back and forth in greeting “It’s nice to see you again.”

“Same, same!” smiled Anton as he came to a stop about a dozen feet in front of them “And I’m guessing this is Nokko then, right? It’s nice to finally meet you!”

The short haired kiochi blinked with obvious apprehension on her nearly hidden face.

“ ... Right, yes. It’s nice to meet you too.” she answered in a voice that was both unfriendly and unsure “I’d like to apologize for any, inconveniences, that my sister may have caused you.”

“Hm? Ah, you must mean Mica.” said Anton as he nodded his head playfully “Yes, she has been a bit of a handful lately. As you can see.”

The three shinoccubi followed Anton’s hand with their eyes as he gestured towards the still smoking trenches laid out all around them.

“ ... Yes. Quite easy to see.” nodded Ila as she glanced about “Mica didn’t actually do any of this though? Did she?”

“Well, no, most of this was me.” said Anton with a grin and a shrug “But she was involved.”

“I take it you two had a battle then?” questioned Leopold.

“You could say that. Though in reality, it was more of an assessment of Mica’s skills.” explained Anton as he let his eyes drift to Nokko, who was now staring past him at her sister “You see, I wanted to know just what Mica is capable of, and how much training she’s going to need to best preform at her new job of protecting my dark elves. So now, I can say that while I do think she does have a long way to go, and will need quite a bit of work, there is definitely enough natural talent there to know that the effort will be worth it.”

Clearly uncertain of how to precede with this situation, both Leopold and Ila shifted in unease as they glanced at each other.

Anton had to work to suppress the smugness from his expression as he watched the tension pass between the two shinoccubi.

“ ... Anton.” began Leopold as he measured his words before speaking “I know, that you do understand, why we’re here. And that you know, what it is we’ve come to do.”

“Well of course I do. You’ve come to murder your own child.” said Anton as he looked from Leopold to Ila and back “That’s exactly why we’re out here as well. You see, I wanted Mica to fully understand her situation. Unfortunately, she was still under the impression that this could all be resolved, and that you, as her parents, wouldn’t truly want to harm her. So knowing that you would more than likely be using some kind of locator spell to find her. I brought her out here, away from my ward, and we’ve just been passing the time and waiting for you to show up.”

Taken aback, the three shinoccubi went still for a moment as they absorbed what Anton had just said.

“ ... Wait, so you planned for this?” asked Ila.

“Yes. And although I do appreciate you being as predictable as you’ve been, I also think that it took you a lot longer to get here than it should have.” said Anton as he shifted his gaze down to the stuffed animal “I’m guessing that this frog is the focus you used to find Mica?”

“Oh, yes.” said Ila as she looked at the frog in her hand.

“Hold on a moment!” grumbled Leopold as he narrowed his eyes and curled his tail upwards behind his shoulders “If you’re telling the truth. And you intended to lure us here. Is this meant to be some kind of trap!?”

“Trap? Oh, no! No, I think the point has been made already, so you’re free to leave.” said Anton as he gestured to the portal “Like I said before, I just wanted Mica to understand that you would legitimately kill her. And now that she does understand that, we’re done here.”

The three shinoccubi glanced among themselves before turning back to Anton.

“No, Anton.” said Leopold as he locked eyes with Anton “I’m afraid we’re not done here, yet.”

“Yes, Leopold.” smiled Anton “You are.”

“Anton, you have to understand.” said Ila as her eyes became pained “This is something that we need to do. There’s far more to this than you realize.”

“No, there isn’t. I understand your situation completely, Ila.” stated Anton as his voice took on a harder tone “I just don’t agree with how you plan to resolve the issues that you’re dealing with.”

“This isn’t something that’s going to be enjoyed, Anton.” said Leopold as his tone hardened as well “But regardless. It is something that we are going to do.”

“No, Leopold. It isn’t something that you’re going to do. Because I’m not going to let you do it.” said Anton as he folded his arms over chest “Now accept that, and leave.”

The stillness that followed lasted for several long moments before being broken by Nokko as she narrowed her eyes and menacingly swiped her tail back and forth above her head.

“Okay, who the Hell does this guy think he is!?” she asked as she gestured to Anton by pointing her spade at him “Because he sure is cocky for somebody who is moments away from death!”

Anton chuckled as he kept his eyes locked to Leopold’s.

“Enough, Nokko!” chastised Ila as she slapped at her daughters spade with her own.

“Yes! Enough of this nonsense!” said Leopold “This is a serious matter, Anton. And if you keep pushing it, then this situation will become violent.”

“Of course it will, you say that as if it’s actually avoidable. You’re Infernals, Leopold. And it always comes down to violence with Infernals...” said Anton as he sighed in frustration “Even when dealing with the domesticated ones...”

Stiffening at the jab, both Leopold and Ila tightened their eyes in annoyance.

“Violence isn’t necessary, Anton.” said Leopold “I do not want to hurt you.”

“Oh, now come on, Leopold. We both know that isn’t true.” said Anton “We’re still friends here, regardless of the situation. So please don’t lie to me like that again.”

Clearly taken aback by the suddenness of the statement, Leopold sighed and shook his head in frustration.

“You’re really going to make this difficult for us, aren’t you?” grumbled the kiogah.

“Difficult? No, I’m not going to make this difficult for you...” said Anton as he shook his head and began to flare his aura “I’m going to make this impossible for you...”

“ ... Is that so.” whispered Leopold as he slowly arched his tail up high over his head and pointed his spade down at Anton.

“Wait! Now hold on a moment!” exclaimed Ila as she teleported herself in between the two steel eyed men “Anton, I don’t understand this at all! Why are you suddenly so adamant about wanting to keep Mica alive? She has tried to kill you! You owe her nothing! And yet you’re standing here ready to fight for her!? Why!? Why would you ever do this!?”

“ ... Because, amazingly, somehow or another that little kiochi has endeared herself to my dark elves. And this is something that I just can’t help but to find fascinating.” said Anton as he sighed in mock frustration “They’ve decided that they like her for some reason. And they want to keep her. And yes, yes I know I’m spoiling them by giving in like this. But it’s just so difficult for me to say no to those girls when they ask so nicely ... And, well, also, I suppose I’d be lying to myself if I didn’t admit that the little brat wasn’t growing on me a bit as well...”

“ ... Wait, what!? So you’re seriously going to risk your life for somebody you’ve just barely met, all because some dark elves asked you to!?” exclaimed Nokko in a mocking tone “Does this really not sound ridiculous to you!?”

“I’m not the one whose life is at risk, Nokko.” said Anton “That would be Mica.”