Kitsune of the Blue Sun

Chapter 68- Leaving Vanir’s Capital

[Keeno POV]

“WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS DIVINE DID YOU DO!!”

The two mob bosses yelled with unbridled fury mixed with a hefty mix of fear in their voices.

“Simply set thing on the right path.  You narrowminded idiots have taken a gift given to your ancestors to help keep the world in balance for granted and gained the false impression that the one that ‘owns’ a Dead Zone controlled everything.  But here is a fact that the two of you practice, but never truly felt the weight of.  What’s given can always be taken away.  But enough righteous sounding stuff that none of us really care about.  My motivations are my own, and neither of you deserve to know them.  I simply got the two of you together to make things interesting.” (Keeno)

“Do you realize what you’ve done!?  All those blessings, the power that comes with just controlling who accesses it!  All gone!  Do you realize how many of my plans are now ruined!?  My life’s work, gone!” (boss1)

“All that influence that controlling a Dead Zone…gone.  Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting to claim that for myself again!?  Now I’ll be the laughingstock of every country!  My name TAINTED!” (boss2)

“…” (Keeno)

It felt like my great mood was doused with a fire extinguisher.  Instead, I just got angry at how little they actually valued any of the blessings the Dead Zone gave them above such small, petty things.  The temperature in the room started to skyrocket rapidly.

“Okami, calm down.  It’s not worth super heating everything.” (Pram)

“…” (Keeno)

I turned around and started walking to the passage we entered from.  The others followed silently behind me.

“Mongrels, you’ve ruined my fun with just how arrogant, idiotic, and self-centered you are.  Guess this is what I get for trying to set things up like an interesting production.  Fight amongst yourselves, you won’t be able to leave until only one remains.  Have fun quelling the chaos that causes.” (Keeno)

I snapped my fingers and the entrance of every passageway to that room was blocked by blue flames.  At the same time, the bindings around the two vanished.

“Lead the way, Spirit.” (Keeno)

The spirit silently nodded and started to walk in the direction of the exit.  We were all silent as we went.  Along the way I observed the walls of the catacombs and the skeletons that adorned the walls.  The fire in the eye sockets of the undead seemed to glow brighter, though they still did nothing to us as we passed them.

‘Ama, do I have to worry about the undead leaving here now that the Dead Zone is no longer confining them down here?’

{I don’t think so.  There is a possibility that any undead near the entrance will escape, but they shouldn’t cause any problems…Though I do think that someone needs to observe the state of this city at least.  The undead here won’t really be a problem, but even though your excitement and plans were thrown off by the complete foolishness of those two, only one leaving will cause a lot of chaos.  And, with how Vanir society is, it’ll basically be all out war between Families.  I get that’s what you were going for so it would make it easier for you all to get out, but with that number of things going on, there needs to be someone to manage the souls of the departed and command the Death Spirits}

Freya and Red jumped when Ama started to speak.  They both looked at me with questioning gazes, but I didn’t respond to their obvious questions.

“Ama, I don’t think I like where you’re going with that.” (Keeno)

{I don’t like it either, but it’s necessary.  You can’t stay here until things stabilize, both with the people AND the place itself.  Having someone stay here and command the Death Spirits in case things go the worst possible way will be more beneficial.  And, seeing as you now have an Apostle of Death, she can take over that command until things settle down.  I know none of you like this, but it’s better than just up and leaving without any kind of follow up.  If you did that, then something will eventually come back and bite you.}

“Ama, I get what you’re saying, but isn’t that still too much?  And Red literally just became an Apostle, neither of us know how much that changed her or what she can do now because of it.” (Keeno)

{If it follows the usual rules, then aside from immortality, she has, albeit less effective than yours, soul purification powers, the ability to command Death Spirits, ability to immediately subdue undead, and maybe a few more things special to her.  Only time will tell.  And Red, I hope you understand, I’m not saying this because I like the idea, in fact, I would love it if you joined everyone on their journey, but if this decision isn’t made, then everyone will suffer consequences down the line.}

The atmosphere around us was tense as Ama’s words hung in the air.  While it was true that I didn’t like it, what she said also made sense and I could very clearly see things becoming way harder on us down the line if this was ignored.  While I was sinking into unhappy thoughts about possible problems in the future, Freya broke the heavy silence.

“Who are you?” (Freya)

“Really, Freya?” (Pram)

“What?  Just because I have a very, VERY good idea who, I want confirmation, even if it’s just to make sure I’m actually sane.” (Freya)

{I’m Amaterasu, Goddess of the Orange Sun, Life, and Magic.  Now, while I thank you for trying to lighten the tension, Freya, we NEED to come to a decision on this.}

“…Not really…any choice……If Red is…needed here……then Red will stay…” (Red)

“But Red, you finally got a family again and now we need to basically part ways already.” (Keeno)

“Silly…big sister…Red…immortal now…what’s……a few more years?” (Red)

“…You adjusted to that way to fast.” (Keeno)

“Red always…has to adjust…rapidly.  Can’t…survive here…if can’t.” (Red)

{And besides, you can talk with her anytime, anywhere.  While I’m also a bit shocked she adjusted to the whole immortality thing this quickly, she’s right.  What’s a little longer when you have eternity?}

“Besides…Red still…has unfinished business……more Families…to Hunt.” (Red)

“…If you are really fine with it, Red, then I can’t really say no.” (Keeno)

With that difficult decision made, we continued making our way out of the catacombs.  Once we reached the stairs, we could hear the sounds of music.

“When we get out of here, can we go to two places before we make our escape?” (Freya)

“Where?” (Pram)

“The compound of the person Red brought here and the place I used to live.  Seeing how chaotic it is now, neither place should be well guarded, and I want to pick up some stuff before we get out of here.” (Freya)

“I think it’s fine as long as we’re fast.” (Keeno)

“Thanks.” (Freya)

We climbed the stairs and stopped at the entrance.  Music was blaring outside like a concert and the sounds of fighting were intense.  The gate to the entrance to the catacombs was gone.

“Once we get out, we run for it.  Anyone that decides to stop fighting and start following us we either lose or kill, but we go to those places Freya needs to, then we get out.” (Keeno)

The others nodded and we got ready to run.  When we did, we saw a scene of carnage.  Dead bodies scattered everywhere while in other places the sounds of fighting and music.  We ran in the direction with the least number of sounds.  Thankfully we didn’t run into anyone alive.  Once we were sure in the clear, we slowed our pace and Freya took the lead.

“How heavy of a guard do you think is left at the compound?” (Keeno)

“Probably light.  With the amount of fighting we heard back there, both Families probably mobilized most of their forces.” (Freya)

“How stupid.” (Keeno)

“Families…not smart…care more…about image and…power…all…muscle heads.” (Red)

“I can’t deny that, Red.  Not saying there aren’t smart people in the Families, but when something like this happens, it’s because even the smart ones grew too arrogant.” (Freya)

After a while, we found ourselves near a big mansion surrounded by a wall.  We were hidden in an alleyway right across from the giant, ornate gate.  Two people stood in front of it, making sure no one got close.

“Let me take care of them.” (Keeno)

I left the alleyway and walked closer to the two guards.  When they noticed me, they both raised their guard, but didn’t move from their spot.  I started to increase the heat around me very quickly, making the pouring rain start evaporating and turning it all into a thick fog of steam.  Seeing this, the two guards started coming closer to me, but the second they touched the steam, they yelled out in pain.  I didn’t stop approaching them and once they were fully inside the steam, they quickly started screaming and then I heard the sound of two things falling to the floor.  I continued on towards the gate and once I got near it, I increased the heat even more until the metal started to melt.  I felt the stone underneath me also get affected, but I didn’t care and just continued until there was a big enough hole in the metal for us to pass through.  I decreased the temperature around me and stepped inside before waving for the others to follow once things were cool enough.

The steam dissipated while I was waiting and I saw that I had left footprints in the stone.  I looked down and saw that the bottoms of my shoes were completely gone, though thankfully the rest of my clothes were fine.

“Tch.  And I liked these boots.” (Keeno)

I quickly replaced them.  Once I was done with that, the others were coming towards me.

“Was that something you got from absorbing the core?” (Pram)

“Not really, I was always capable of that, it’s just that it was easier to control it and the speed at which things heated up got a little faster.  I think my control improved overall, actually.” (Keeno)

Pram nodded and we started making our way inside.  There were a few more guards inside, but we took care of them as Freya led us to a place that looked like a vault.

“You want to rob them?” (Pram)

“No, I want to take back some things that should belong to me.  Heirlooms, if you will.” (Freya)

“I thought you hated everything to do with your Family?” (Keeno)

“I do, but that doesn’t mean things that I should have gotten eventually should be left here.” (Freya)

“Fair enough.” (Keeno)

Freya summoned her blades and after a small chant, she cut the vault door.  It took several minutes to get through it, but it still got cut in the end.  It took all of us pushing one of the halves to make it fall, but we did it.  Inside the vault was a lot of piled up gold, several weapons that looked more gaudy than practical, suits of armor that looked like they could be pierced by a stick, and a few other things that screamed over the top opulence.  Freya walked over to a shelf inside and started to rummage through the pile of random stuff in front of it until she found what she was looking for.  She then turned back to us and started walking to the door.  In her hand were two rings, and something that looked like an earring.  She put the earring on one of her ears and one of the rings on her index finger above the other one.  The second ring disappeared from her hand.

“Good, now to my old home.” (Freya)

We quickly left the compound and made our way to Freya’s old home.  It didn’t take long to get there and it wasn’t guarded at all.

“You’d think they’d place guards here in case you ever showed up.” (Keeno)

“There probably were at some point.” (Freya)

She kicked the door open and went inside.  We followed shortly after and waited while Freya went up the large staircase.  Looking around, everything was covered in a thin layer of dust, like it had been abandoned for far longer than a few weeks.  We all looked around at random things inside until Freya showed back up a few minutes later.

“I’m done.” (Freya)

Once Freya got back to us, we turned to leave when Red stopped.

“Everyone…should go now…Red will…stay.” (Red)

“…” (Keeno)

“Be happier…big sister…Red will finish things here…then come find you…once things…stabilize.” (Red)

I walked up to Red and hugged her.

“Remember Red, we’re family now, so I expect you to stay safe and find us once you’re done.  We’ll all be waiting for you.” (Keeno)

“Red understands…and…will work on…talking better…for next time.” (Red)

“Aww.  I think the way you talk is cute.” (Pram)

Pram walked over and patted Red’s head.

“Big sister…Pram…keep the others…out of trouble.” (Red)

“That’s a big task, Red.  I’ve been trying to do that for Keeno for years now, and it hardly ever works.” (Pram)

“Then…heal everyone…when they get hurt.” (Red)

“Already do that.” (Pram)

“Hehe.” (Red)

She then looked at Freya.

“Freya…trust more…like Red does…Red has…known everyone…less time than…you…but trust completely…Not like…Families…we’re used to…Freya knows…already…but still holding back…Red has been watching…the whole time…knows that…Freya wants to trust…and has started too…but is still…scared.” (Red)

“…” (Freya)

While she didn’t say anything, she nodded her head at Red’s word.  After another hug, I let go of Red and we walked out the door.  We then quickly made our way to one of the city gates and left Vanir’s capital behind.

Chaos Realm:

And that’s all that you missed.

Order: Their stay in Vanir was so short.  But I guess that’s a good thing.

Yeah.  But now things are going to pick up.

Order: Heh.  Her birth givers won’t know what hit them when she gets there.

It will be glorious.  I’m really looking forward to that fight.

Order: How long will it take them to get there?

A few months, I believe.  Though the Falheim Dead Zone will be a lot harder to reach.

Order: Well, they can’t all be that easy.

True.

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