On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

“So, did you have fun with Shaeula and Hyacinth?” my sis asked, speaking loudly to be heard over the noise of the JSDF transport helicopter we were all packed into, as we headed for Inuyama.

“They drained me dry.” I said wryly. “Shaeula needed the reassurance though, she’s got it tough right now.”

“Oh, my heart bleeds for you. If the guys back in Nishimorioka could hear you now, complaining about two gorgeous girls humping you until you pass out, they’d be green with envy. Then probably try to kill you. So, how many times, bro?”

“Aiko, watch your language! A young girl should not be so crude!” My father said, stern as ever. Aiko merely tilted her head and winked cutely, heading him off. Yeah, sis has it easier with father than I do. Fathers are weak to their daughters, I guess.

“Sorry, I’ll be more careful.” She said, shrugging. “I guess Auntie and Uncle don’t want to hear about it, do they?”

Auntie Hana did look uncomfortable, eyeing her daughter, who was sitting snuggled up against me, resting her head on my legs in a lap-pillow, despite the vibrations of the helicopter. “Well, no, hearing about little Aki having sex with other girls when he has my little Eri, it’s awkward. But… well, Eri looks happy enough.”

“Oh, I’m frustrated. Of course, why wouldn’t I be?” Eri said from my lap. “But… I love Shaeula. Her and Aiko, they’re my sisters. Really. And Hyacinth… well, she’s a sad lonely girl. So be nice to her, mother. She’s searching for a family, and if you ignore the crazy, she’s really rather sweet, and loves Akio a lot. I’m not cold-hearted enough to refuse her. Why did I fall for such a popular boy?” she let out a mock-sigh, dark obsidian eyes looking into mine. “Back when you were in Nishimorioka, I had no competition. I mean, there were always girls who looked at you, but you either never noticed or chose not to. But now… you’re a hero, fighting to save the world, and meeting the Prime Minster, forcing him to change the law… you’re not ordinary any more. And neither am I. I’ll fight by your side against anything.”

“Oh, Eri…” I stroked her hair, patting her head, and she blushed a little, snuggling down deeper in my lap, before smiling, her eyes looking deep into mine. “So, how many times? I’m curious, I need to know what my next share is.”

There was laughter at that, my mother laughing louder than anyone. She was always a free spirit, and once she got over the idea of my having Shaeula as well as Eri, and then Hinata… well, now she was firmly invested in this football team of wives. Still, not everyone was smiling. Miyu was in the corner, looking frightened, and next to her was Haru-san. She was doing a good job of keeping Miyu calm for the upcoming mission, even though talk of sex brought up raw memories for her, especially with the suggestion of meeting Kondou Kazuo again still fresh in her mind. Our third Chosen, Kikuchi-san, was also stiff and uncomfortable, not part of our usual circle. Well, we all have our crosses to bear. Mine was making a call to Fujiwara-san, borrowing Miyu for this… That had been hell, and I had to promise that she would be completely unharmed. Missing school for Hanafubuki girls was not done either, so I was causing Fujiwara-san trouble, but at least he was Chairman of the school, so it wasn’t impossible to make a valid excuse.

“Are you always this carefree before a mission?” The Major, Sasaki-san said. He was already in the combat mindset, but beside him, the First Lieutenant, Nakano-san chuckled, looking even more like a delinquent, despite his uniform.

“I get it. if I was in deep with a load of cute girls, I’d be relaxed too. Why do you think I joined the military? They said men in uniforms were fighting off hot girls. Not true, like all the recruiting brochures and its bullshit.” He snorted idly.

”Yeah well, actually I normally get tense. But… I also have to show a strong, confident face for our newbies, right?” I smiled at Miyu, who was the only one who had no real experience of Boundary battles, though Haru-san’s and Kikuchi-san’s turned out… poorly. Not only do I want to get them some levels and strength, I want to rebuild their confidence. “Speaking of confidence, so your Territory is in Ichigaya, right? Covering the JSDF barracks there?” I asked the Major to confirm the information I was given.

“Yes, I was on-site when Bishamon came to me. I must say, when you were talking about your Territory, it seemed very different to ours. Mine grows stronger the more enemies I defeat there, but I don’t seem to have the knowledge or control you do.”

“I got roasted when the brass found out I’d dropped mine at my sisters’ place. I was on home leave when Kagutsuchi came knocking. Still, it’s out in the boonies in the mountains north of Tokyo.” Nakano-san chuckled, looking out of the helicopter at the mountains below. “A lot like your place it seems. I’d be right at home here. Still, our town only has a few hundred residents. I’m pretty certain it’s safe there.”

“Have you considered moving it?” I asked, and he shook his head. “Nah, the brass just care about our combat prowess. Speed, strength, reaction times, all that shit. Although…” he looked at Eri and I, his mischievous eyes pensive. ”Seems like you know a lot more than the brass do about it all. Maybe the JSDF will start worrying more about making sure everywhere important is covered.”

“I still find this hard to believe.” My father said, and uncle Junpei sympathised with him.

“Yeah, your boy, working with the military. Though I suppose he did fight off that dog…”

As chatter turned light again, I concentrated on Eri in my lap, letting the talk wash over me…

********

“So, this is Inuyama, then? Pretty crappy for a city.” Nakano-san said. Now it was just me, Eri, Aiko (who to be honest, I had no wish to bring, as she wouldn’t gain much from it, but I couldn’t bear to leave her out if Eri was coming), Miyu, Haru-san, Kikuchi-san and the two soldiers. “Everyone looks so damn rushed and gloomy.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” Aiko agreed. “I don’t remember it being like this before. Though I hate Inuyama now. I remember when you and Shaeula came back from buying that doll… wait, that was Azuki, right? Lucky find…” she shook her head to clear her thoughts. “… well, you both came back looking hurt as shit, bro. You tried to lie to us too. If we didn’t already know about it from Shaeula then… seriously, you can be a dumbass sometimes.”

“Yes. I guess it was this monster that we are hunting that hurt you then?” Eri tightened her fists, knuckles white. “I’d be happy to punish it for daring to hurt you, but you are sure we can, right?”

“I’d say so. You are nearly as strong as I was then, Eri. We have all these allies too. And as for me… well, lets just say I’m looking for a rematch.”

“It feels… it feels bad.” Haru-san said suddenly, interrupting us, her empathic nature picking up on the vibe of the area. “And the voices I hear…” she winced as her telepathy kicked in. “So sad, so… drab.”

“Yeah. Bear with me a second.” I pulled down the hood of the coat I was wearing, so that the glow from my Eye wouldn’t be so noticeable. I could see… darkness in the air. The weight of negative emotions. “I see. Yeah, there’s definitely some supernatural cause here. So, we know what to do.”

“So how are we going in, bro? How did you do it last time?” my sis asked, and I grinned wryly in response, embarrassed.

“Well, there’s a public toilet not too far from here. Shaeula and I squeezed in a cubicle. It was pretty cramped.”

“Wow, well damn, bro. That’s a risky move. If you’d have been caught with Shaeula in the men’s toilets you’d have been finished socially. Kind of hot though. You sure you didn’t fool around at the time?”

“No way.” I declared confidently. Eri was gazing at me, but my conscience was clear.

“Yeah, Major, this mission looks like it’s more fun than I expected.” Nakano-san laughed at our banter, but the Major was not so easy-going.

“Well, we can’t expect crisp discipline from civilians, but… can we at least get on mission?” he asked me, and I nodded, taking his words to heart.

“Sorry, yes, you’re right. Ulfuric would tell me the same, no doubt. I’ve booked two rooms at a nearby hotel, not too far from the Takakura Antiques, where Shaeula and I encountered the beast. One for males, one for females. We’ll enter there. If the hotel is occupied, as I expect it will be, we’ll secure it, and then depending on the situation, we’ll go from there. I know you’ve told me your abilities…” I said to the soldiers. “.. but I’ll need to see them in action before I can solidify our plan.”

“Right. Then we are a go.” Major Sasaki said. “Synchronise watches.”

“They probably won’t work in the Boundary, but sure.” We were all wearing military issue watches and had wireless communicators. “Maybe Ixitt can solve that issue…”

I looked around at the assorted group once more. Maybe it’s arrogant of me, but they are here to leech some xp. I’m far, far stronger than last time, and even though it hadn’t shown its true strength until the end, ten, or even a hundred eyes and tentacles… I’m confident I can take them all on…

********

“Ugh… I feel so weak.” Aiko said, experiencing her first hostile Territory, aether leaving her. Miyu was also suffering, her limited reserves of aether struggling to keep up. At least Haru-san got those levels, that’s keeping her from being weakened too much for now.

Eri nodded, her own strength being suppressed a little. “Yes, it’s uncomfortable. But…” she paused, wondering why everyone was looking at her, as she was now wearing a black, gothic-lolita ensemble and carrying her huge black and blue axe. My sis was getting looks as well, with her eye-catching crimson bow and tight jerkin. The Major was looking at me though, and the swords and guns I carried.

“Well damn, how come you get all the nice toys? How’s that even work?” he declared, and the Lieutenant chuckled.

“That sounds like something I’d say. But I can’t deny I’m curious as well.”

“Considering your ability is to manifest weapons..” I smiled. “You shouldn’t complain.”

“Well, it’s only spears, or spear-like weapons. So luckily that seems to count rifles.” As if to prove a point, the major manifested a standard issue Howa Type 20 assault rifle. “And I can imbue it with energy, making it pack a punch. But it tires me out fast.”

“Neat.” Aiko inspected it, impressed, as I placed my hand on her back, sending aether into her to prevent her running dry and being ejected from the Boundary. I did the same to Miyu, careful to not touch her anywhere too sensitive.

“That’s cool and all, but I can burn shit up, baby…” Nakano-san was suddenly surrounded by golden-yellow flames. “… impressed, ladies?” he said to my sister and Miyu, at least ignoring Eri, so I wasn’t too annoyed.

“Hardly.” Aiko yawned theatrically. “My bro has flames hotter than that, right?”

“Yeah, sorry to put a dampener on the fun, but we’ll explain the gear later. If you perform well, I might even consider getting you some.” I interrupted. “Eri, is the darkness energy a problem for you? I’m struggling to absorb it.”

She shook her head, long black locks flowing, matching her dress. “No, it’s actually pretty good for me. I’m restocking well.”

“Great, but avoid darkness-based attacks, I think.” My Eye was glowing, and I could see shadows creeping closer even through the walls of the small hotel, that had twisted and changed to a dank, depressing place filled with shadows and twisted vines here in the Boundary. “Right… we have incoming. Aiko, you and the Major will provide ranged support. Haru-san, I know you’ve been practising how to use your light element as an attack, so do your best.” I handed her and Miyu some of my pistols, while I passed the shotgun to Kikuchi-san. “Use these if you think you can get an easy kill. I want you all stronger. The Lieutenant and I will tank. Eri, you handle protecting the others, all right? If your aether runs low, I can top you up. Fighting in enemy Territories is a pain, and it gets worse the longer we go on, so we need to finish quickly.”

“Fine. We’ll show you the JSDF isn’t just a bunch of weaklings.” Nakano-san grinned in his delinquent fashion. “Lead on, boss man.”

I slashed out with my Twin Fangs and space was torn, ripping open the vines and darkness, exposing the sight outside. The city was filled with writhing tentacles, crawling over the buildings and streets like roots or thick cables, varying in diameter from a few inches to several metres. Blinking yellow and red eyes opened and closed, appearing and disappearing at random, and the tentacles… dripped. Puddles of darkness like soiled ink were left everywhere, and amidst the tentacles were a mass of shambling, zombie-like beings, which vaguely resembled people, though some were far larger, towering as much as three or four metres. They were wandering the tentacle-choked streets, their features impossible to make out under the dark goop they were coated with, reminding me a bit of the shambling mounds the Myconids had at their disposal.

Well shit, this turned bad quite quickly. Still, the Territory is only hitting me like a Rank 2, and not a strong one at that. I should be able to shrug it off with only minor loss of efficiency.

“This… this is why I never wanted to do this.” Miyu closed her eyes, looking sick, shedding tears which evaporated into silvery mist, until someone slapped her on the back. Her eyes shot open, to see it was Eri, a girl who had intimidated her a little with her atmosphere, which if Eri knew would have amused her and surprised her in equal measure.

“Cheer up.” Eri said, boldly swinging her axe. “I won’t let them get you. And before you ask, Akio won’t let them get me, so I’ll be safe to protect you. Better to face your fears than let them crush you. I learned that recently.” she took a few more practise swings, the crescent-shaped blade whistling. “Besides…”

“Yeah, I get you, Eri.” Aiko finished, looking gloomy. “Shit, it’s so not fair. Bro, can’t you do something about your stupid powers? Don’t you love your adorable sis enough? Rank 1? Rank 1 is shit! Miyu-chan here is going to overtake me in no time!”

“Sorry, you know my love for my adorable little sis sapphire is as deep as the oceans. The Marianna Trench, even.” I joked. “Maybe you don’t love me enough?”

“See?” Eri reassured Miyu, and also gave Haru-san a knowing look. “He even has time to flirt inappropriately with his entirely and definitely blood-related sister. You think you’re scared and worried? Look at how relaxed he is. And it’s not just boasting, is it, Haru-san?”

She shook her head, scared, but her increased Resilience and experiences were allowing her to function. “No, no she’s right.” She assured Miyu. “I’ve seen him beat the odds. He can do it.”

“Well, the pep-talk is over, right? They are coming this way.” The Major said, sighting on a group of shambling zombies, tentacles swirling around them, closing in, seeking us out.

“Yeah. Eri, while on defence can you see if it’s the darkness energy that is giving us away?” she nodded, so I turned to the Lieutenant. “Want to show me how good your flames are then? Feel free to light them up.”

“I thought you’d never ask. Well, for the JSDF, this great nation of Japan, and Kagutsuchi, kami of flames… I declare you damn abominations hostile, so get the fuck off our land!” He roared, and the glow around him intensified, until he was breathing out a tide of glowing yellow flames, right into the packed masses. Darkness energy and the Territory was weakening it, I could see around the edges it was fading, the citrine flames dimming, but even so, a dozen zombies and multiple dark, ropey tentacles ignited, the smell horrific as toxic fumes were vented.

“Not bad, huh?” he said, and I shrugged.

“Yeah, I’ve seen worse. I’ll show you mine when a target worth my time shows up. All right, we head deeper in. Major, Aiko, cover us.”

The rattle of bullets could be heard as the major opened fire, the recreated ammunition shimmering with aether as it pierced the head and torso of one of the giant shapes. Ether was being scattered as we attacked, my blades cutting down anything that approached, Eri occasionally striking down a closing tentacle, her axe severing it easily, Aiko loosing arrows with the renewed confidence her duel with Shaeraggo had given her, despite her loss, and she winked at me when she saw Nakano-san admiring her flaming arrows. “Flame is pretty common, right Eri? You can do it too, can’t you?” she whispered loud enough for him to hear, making Eri snigger.

“Aiko, don’t be mean.” She answered, her hair and eyes tinged with dark blue light as she greedily absorbed the plentiful darkness around.

“Am I the only… fool here?” Miyu whispered, her empty hand grasping at the air, perhaps seeking Koga-san, who had to remain absent. “Is there truly nothing to be scared of?”

“No, you’d be a fool to be unafraid. I have suffered greatly here in the spiritual world…” Kikuchi-san said, a swarm of flying beetles glittering green, blue and gold appearing, diving into the muck to start devouring tentacles. As they died and turned to ether, chewed apart, I noticed (with my expanded vision using aether, so I could keep my eye on the rear line as well, though the headache was as annoying as ever, if bearable) he was looking a little less pale, and the rate of aether depletion he was experiencing was slowing. Guess he is levelling up, maybe?

A sudden quake hit, staggering us momentarily, and three large, thick tentacles burst free from the ground, eyes opening, blinking at them, mouths ringed with lamprey-like teeth opening and closing, drooling black slime. Eri reacted, her axe biting deep, and with a second blow she cut it apart, ether showering down around her as the severed part disintegrated. Still, the other two were too fast, swinging down at Miyu and Kikuchi-san…

“Nope.” I declared, a volley of fine strings of wind sweeping out from me, bisecting the tentacles into multiple disgusting pieces which exploded apart as they fell to the ground. I thought I heard a savage scream as several unblinking eyes were shredded, but perhaps it was my imagination.

“See?” Eri said, helping up Miyu, who had stumbled in panic. “Akio is always watching. Now get that gun up and start shooting, you don’t want to miss out on all the levels, do you?” As Eri darted off to cut down another zombie, I exchanged a wry look with Aiko. Yeah, Eri’s changed. A lot… still, the way the world is going, that can only be a good thing… Not wanting to be outdone by the Lieutenant, who was continuing to burn a swathe through the streets, I raised my hand. All right, I’ll save my fire element for the main body, when we find it. How about some water…