D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

Chapter 221: a Minor breakdown

”No… no I donʼt think so” said Minor

”What?” said Kat without thinking. *I just… I guess I expected Minor to just accept the help from my calming aura… but she said no…? What am I supposed to do now.*

Kat sat there, letting the rain fall down on her and bounce off, it was a strange sensation she hadnʼt really experienced. The water didnʼt hurt obviously, but it didnʼt really stick, or soak into her clothing or hair like it should.

*I guess I shouldnʼt use my power then… but Iʼm not sure how ok I am with that. And isnʼt that sort of a problem? I recognised and so did Lily and Vivian that this is a powerful ability, and that calming people unnaturally is something I probably shouldnʼt do…*

*But at the same time, nobody has ever just refused it. Then again, I guess there was no reason to choose not to take me up on my offer before. In the past it was fear or agitation, sadness, but not self-loathing.*

”I… look this was my fault, and I think… I think I should be punished a little for that. I donʼt think getting rid of my guilt just because I can, is the right thing to do” said Minor.

*And that is the crux of the issue isnʼt it. I donʼt really know what my aura does to other people. I canʼt. I might argue that with my aura Minor will only let her clearly see that she hasnʼt done anything wrong at all*

*But at the same time… she seems to think she has, and if I can flick a switch and remove that impulse… am I actually just calming people or am I doing more than that? The system recognised it as just a calming aura…*

*But then again, it has always been vague with my more mystical skills, and has only ever explained more about how they work after the fact. Does that mean that my aura might have more effects I just donʼt know about…?*

*But at the same time, once the system told me about a power, it seemed to know basically everything about it… probably seeing it before in other demons. Anyway Iʼm getting distracted.*

*What should I do about Minor? I think my aura has to be off the table. What is the point of asking people for permission to use it if Iʼm just going to ignore them and do it anyway. So what exactly do I do?*

”Look, seriously Minor, I donʼt understand why you are beating yourself up over this. We discussed it first, we talked about the pros and cons, and then we went through with the test. The result is no more your fault than it is mine.

”If it worked exceptionally well, why, that would be something to celebrate, we would have found a great chance to break the scene faster, but it would be just as valid an idea to test succeeding as it when you fail” said Kat

Minor didnʼt visibly seem to react to this. *Hopefully this works at least a bit. As much as Iʼd really love to take the time to sort out Minorʼs issues her life is quite literally on the line, alongside her sisterʼs.*

*I didnʼt really feel the pressure before, but we are so close, and yet so far, and we canʼt possibly know how much time we have… and I guess… am I disappointed that Minor is falling apart now?*

*Well, thatʼs probably the more reasonable response though right? Sheʼs been so strong through so much of this so far, reliving Majorʼs most important memories, and likely being reminded that she was stuck with nobody to talk to for over a decade.*

*And then even through that, she clearly still loves her sister, and has been trying desperately to make sure we still save Major, and buoyed up by a series of good guesses she was able to hold off the terror… Until she failed. *

Minor sniffled a bit as she started to speak ”But… it was still my idea… and my failure with my powers to allow you to c-catch up”

*Ok this isnʼt working. As happy as I am to continue to keep reassuring her it isnʼt her fault… it doesnʼt seem to be working… Any other bright ideas Kat? Youʼve been using your calm aura as a bit of a fix all I think.*

*Why youʼre right Kat, but talking about yourself in third person canʼt really help now will it? Look I know that Kat, but look, Iʼm a bit worried myself and this bad comedy bit is helping me cope.*

*No it isnʼt. No, no it isnʼt.* Kat shook herself out of the strange thoughts she was starting to have. *Perhaps a change of scenery might help a little.* Kat examined the rock face and the deep gauges she had already left in it.

*Perhaps I should just smash my way into the cliff. It would get us out of the rain at least, and maybe I can even do something about the wind…*

”Hey Minor hold on tightly” said Kat. She didnʼt hear a response but when she felt Minor gripping her tighter she just assumed sheʼd be heard. *Ok… so would it be better to like, scrape away at this wall or keep punching it?*

Kat glanced at her fingers, and noticed her nails were completely fine despite the rock and dust that should have been lodged in them. *Hmmm, letʼs try it like this.*

Kat tried to push her energy into her fingernails. There was a very slight amount of resistance as she slipped the energy from the end of her fingers into the nails, but she was impressed with the results.

The energy dyed her fingernails purple to match the rest of her demonic energy, and it was very clear that something had changed. Carefully running her finger along the rock, she found that it practically peeled away under her fingers.

*Well, thatʼs good to know. Letʼs see if I can take out a big chunk.* Kat pushed her hand into the wall and twisted, slider her hand in further until she had her arm buried up to the elbow. Then, leveraging herself against the rock, Kat tried to push her fingers out and across.

It was a little difficult. She felt like she could probably bust open the rock if she required, but that wasnʼt what she was after, it was a more careful application of her power. Slicing the rock cleanly, Kat managed to free her hand and look at the cut she made.

Nodding in satisfaction Kat then set to work, using her nails to dig into the rock and slice it down as if she was excavating large cubes for construction. Once she ran her hand around the entire outside of the block, she dismissed the energy in her nails before slamming her fist into the centre and trying to pull the rock out.

Kat, however, realised a slight issue, she had made it a bit too wide so that she could fit her wings in the space. Changing tactics, Kat moved to the side so that only her arm hung off to the side.

Now, it was much harder to pull the rock straight out, but Kat managed. It was a bit of a drain on her resources, but she managed. Finally pulling the rock free, she let it fall down the cliff, and ducked inside.

The moment she did so, Minor flinched on her back ”W-what did you just do?” she asked

”Just cut a bit of a hole in the wall to get you out of the rain and help you calm down” said Kat

”K-kat, you genius” sniffled Minor sounding more confident by the moment. Kat was about to say something when she felt Minor slide of her back onto the ground.

The kitsune quickly ran around Kat, despite the close quarters and beamed at her, still covered in tears. ”Youʼve done it, the scenes almost completely shattered” said Minor

”What how? Iʼm just in the cliff. I donʼt see how that could be contrary to the purpose right? The wind kept blowing us towards it after all” said Kat

Minor shook her head ”I donʼt know what it was. Maybe the theme was endless. Endless rain, endless climb, endless fall. Well you put an end to all of them. Or or maybe it was falling, down the cliff, but falling down and climbing up, while seemingly apposed arenʼt so different really, especially if they go on for long periods of time…

”Or or, maybe it was motion? If we had just stopped long enough weʼd have broken it? Like, perhaps those few times we stopped is what actually started breaking the scene?” said Minor, face lighting up and mood recover significantly

”Well, Iʼm glad youʼve recovered Minor. You might want to clean yourself up a bit. But letʼs be honest, the real question is what do we do now? The scene is breaking yes, but clearly we are still on the cliffs. Do we break first or march forward?” asked Kat