Ch.45Upper Level (2)

“Excuse me?”

“Just to be clear, you didn’t mishear me. I really do intend to take you with me.”

Leaving the bewildered Kitsune behind after my sudden declaration, I turned my attention to Kirara, her familiar.

“Grrrr…”

There she was, showing her wariness toward me. Given what had happened before, it was understandable.

At least she was just being cautious rather than hostile—if I were an enemy, she would have attacked me immediately with that intensity.

Wondering how to reduce her wariness, I decided to try tempting her with food and took out some jerky.

“Hmm… do you like jerky?”

“Grrrr…!”

When I waved the jerky back and forth in front of her, I could see Kirara’s head moving along with it.

Left to right. Right to left.

She might be large in size, but her behavior was unmistakably cat-like.

“Here you go.”

After she cautiously approached until she was right in front of the jerky, I tossed it to her and began stroking her fluffy fur.

‘It really is true that touching something fluffy makes you feel at ease…’

Even before my possession, though not to this extent, I had always liked this. Whether cats or dogs, I loved them all.

The only regret was that I couldn’t pet them for long due to allergies. Keeping pets was also impossible.

‘Though I’ve been craving it more lately.’

I could only guess this was another effect of the possession. Since I liked it originally, I couldn’t be certain.

After petting Kirara for quite some time…

By the time she had completely relaxed with her head on my thigh while I stroked her, I sensed centipedes slowly approaching from the distance.

It seemed the effect of the spray I had applied earlier was starting to wear off.

“I think we’ve rested enough. Shall we get going again?”

“W-wait a moment, please. I need to report the situation to my companions first…”

When I was about to depart, Kitsune stopped me, suggesting she had many things left to do.

However, to my ears, it sounded like nothing more than a child’s tantrum because she didn’t want to go.

“You can easily do that with your Shikigami. Unless we’re going to the deep levels, you should be able to send messages from the upper levels.”

“I’ve heard the deep levels of this place are extremely dangerous. I’m not sure if I’ll be of any help.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ve assessed you and determined you’d be fine coming along. If I decide otherwise, I’ll send you back safely.”

Afterward, Kitsune tried to get out of it by giving several more reasons, but I refuted them all.

Kitsune, who was about to say something more, realized it wouldn’t work on me and finally accepted her fate.

She couldn’t push any further because she didn’t understand why she was trying to escape in the first place.

“…I understand.”

“Good choice.”

It was closer to being chosen rather than making a choice, but Kitsune remained quiet, knowing that arguing wouldn’t change anything.

“Can I touch your tail?”

“…No.”

Taking advantage of her compliant mood, I casually asked about her tail, but unfortunately failed.

Getting back to the main point, I took the lead and began explaining to Kitsune what she needed to do.

“First, I’m going to have you handle most of the monsters that appear in the upper levels. The best way to adapt is through hardship.”

“I’m not suited for direct combat…?”

“Your movements were pretty good when you ambushed me earlier. And if things get too difficult, I’ll step in, so don’t worry too much.”

And thus, hell unfolded for Kitsune. She finally understood why she had been so desperate to escape.

“Don’t even think about slacking off!”

Lilly’s presence, who immediately noticed whenever Kitsune tried to cut corners, was perfect for driving Kitsune to despair.

‘Lilly… she seems to be enjoying this.’

* * *

About five hours into this hellish training…

After taking down more than thirty centipedes, Kitsune and Kirara collapsed on the ground.

Thinking this was enough, Lilly and I sprayed the area as before and took time to rest.

“I’m exhausted… I can’t move a finger anymore.”

“Grrrr….”

“You seem to be adapting well. Though when we go deeper, your body won’t be able to handle it before you can adapt.”

While Kirara might be different, the furthest Kitsune could currently go was the middle level. From the lower levels, proper combat would be impossible even if she could endure.

Even with my superior physical abilities, normal movement in the lower or deep levels was difficult for me right now.

Additionally, from the lower levels where the heat intensifies, even if you could withstand the gravity, you’d be burned alive without proper countermeasures.

“Then… I’m not needed after all…?”

“Grrrr!”

“That’s not true. When I say you can’t handle it, I’m only talking about physical conditions.”

Seeing Kitsune and Kirara looking at me resentfully, as if asking if they had suffered for nothing, I reassured them.

“If you’ve used barriers before, you probably know they’re more versatile than you might think. They can be used for more than just blocking enemy intrusions.”

One example was the trap Kitsune had set for me earlier.

The original purpose of barriers is to block enemy intrusions. But that barrier allowed entry while imposing restrictions on those who entered.

And what I was about to teach her was similar to that example.

“In the case of Onmyoji, barriers can interfere with not only heat but also gravity.

You can use that ability to adjust gravity and heat to levels your body can handle.”

“Then, couldn’t I have just learned that from the beginning?”

“This consumes more magical power than you might think. The greater the adjustment, the greater the consumption.

There’s a reason I said to adjust it to a level you can handle. If you recklessly create a comfortable state, your magical power will be depleted quickly.”

It meant that making the deep level identical to the ground level would require more magical power than making it identical to the upper level.

And maintaining the upper level’s state would require more magical power than maintaining the middle level’s state.

Conversely, if you didn’t adjust enough, it was natural that your body would collapse from exhaustion before your magical power ran out.

In other words, the most important aspect when creating this barrier was to maintain a stable balance between physical strength and magical power.

“Well, before balancing, you need to learn how to fix the barrier to your body.”

Barriers are generally fixed to specific places or spaces. The simple reason is that’s the only way to maintain them.

Even then, many barriers collapse when the symbols or objects maintaining them are destroyed.

Fixing such a barrier to your body and maintaining it was no easy task.

“If you really can’t figure it out, you might want to ask Lilly for advice. It’s slightly different, but Lilly also knows how to deploy barriers.

And from now on, I’ll handle all the monsters that appear in the upper levels, so please focus on barrier techniques.”

“…I understand.”

Kitsune nodded in response to my words, but there was a hint of unease in her demeanor.

‘Hmm… it’s probably nothing.’

I might be overlooking something that could cause trouble, but I thought it would be fine since Lilly was watching.

And since it was getting late, though it was hard to tell without seeing the sun, I continued with preparations for sleep.

“Well then, let’s rest for today and set out again tomorrow morning. The three of us will take turns keeping watch.”

* * *

Frey and Kirara were the first to fall asleep, leaving only Kitsune, who had the first watch, and Lilly, who was still awake.

‘Something… feels heavy about her gaze.’

Frey had trusted Lilly and didn’t pay much attention to Kitsune’s anxiety, but that wasn’t a good choice.

The reason for Kitsune’s anxiety was entirely due to Lilly.

“Why are you trembling?”

“N-nothing at all.”

“Doesn’t seem like nothing… but whatever.”

Kitsune, intimidated by Lilly’s cold stare, tried to act calm despite being extremely tense.

Just as she was starting to feel a bit better as time passed, Lilly spoke while looking at Kirara, who was serving as Frey’s pillow.

“Does Frey like tails that much?”

“More than tails… she seems to like fluffy things…?”

It was closer to a mutter than a question, but Kitsune was so tense that she answered anyway.

“Hmm… is that so.”

Kitsune tensed up, wondering how Lilly would react to her cold voice, but fortunately, the night passed without any further issues.

* * *

“Let’s set out again. We have a long way to go.”

After the night’s non-incident, it was time to focus on the main task again.