over to the ash pile and slashed a series of short, jagged sigils with her finger. A tremendous bolt of lightning arced from her outstretched left hand and into the pile. I shielded my eyes from the explosion of fierce white light, trying to blink away the bright spots that danced in my field of vision.
“The specter has been permanently destroyed,” Misaki announced. As my vision cleared up, I wasn't surprised at all to see that she was right. There was no trace of the pestilence specter; not even a speck of ash remained.
I raised the sword's blade up to peer at the edge. It was still flawless, perfect as the day it came off the blacksmith's anvil. The potent astral energies imbued into the weapon rendered it virtually indestructible and impossibly sharp. I relaxed and let the weapon hang loosely at my side.
“Are there any others nearby that you can feel?”
Misaki shook her head. “No. There are none within the range of my ability to sense. I can perform an invocation that will let me seek out specters within a much larger radius, but it wouldn't be wise to attempt here.”
“You're right,” I said, glancing back at the corridor where we came in. “We need to get out of this place. We're not supposed to be here.”
“You're damned right you aren't supposed to be here!”
I whirled at the sound of the unfamiliar and angry masculine voice. Shit. Someone had been down here. I glanced at Misaki, gauging her response to the sudden turn of events. Maybe we'd get lucky and the worker hadn't actually seen anything.
Misaki's eyes narrowed and her tail lashed as a man dressed in work coveralls came out from around the corner nearby. He had a mobile phone held in one hand, but I couldn't tell if he'd made a call on it or just happened to be holding it while down here for whatever reason.
Well, this was certainly awkward. I was still holding the Relic. The longsword had a blade that was eighty centimeters in length alone. The hilt added up with the blade to give a weapon that was over a meter long. Not inconspicuous in the slightest. I wished I could release the Relic's physical form, but if the sword itself was bad enough, making it vanish into thin air would be even worse.
“Who the hell are you? What are you doing down here, and—” The maintenance worker's eyes bugged out as he noticed Misaki, her fox-like ears and tail clearly visible even in the dim lighting.
Misaki turned toward him and started walking. I opened my mouth to protest, trying to hold the Relic in such a way that it would appear less threatening, but it was pretty hard to make a sword like this seem innocuous.
The worker's eyes widened in fear. “Don't c-come any closer! O-or I'll call the police!”
“Cut him down if he tries to run,” Misaki stated, her voice flat and more cold than I've ever heard it. My eyes widened in shock, but only for a moment as I realized that Misaki was using the threat to keep the man from bolting.
I guess I'd have to trust her. I lifted the blade and dropped into a guard stance, holding the sword ready in the most menacing way I could. It wasn't even a very effective stance, but the maintenance worker wasn't likely to know that.
“N-no! Stay away, monster!”
For the briefest of moments, Misaki's expressionless mask fell, replaced with the barest hint of pain. I wondered if she had received the same sort of reception from other humans throughout her life. She quickly mastered her feelings, though, and continued to move closer to the worker.
Spell-flame blazed into existence on her right hand and drew itself out into a burning rope. I felt my confidence faltering a bit as I saw that flame. Was she going to kill the man simply because he saw something he shouldn't have?
The spell-flame shot forth and wrapped around the man's body, but no smoke rose as the flames made contact with the man's coveralls. Misaki's tail lashed as she bent the fire to her will, tightening the magic-fire-rope until it bound the
“The specter has been permanently destroyed,” Misaki announced. As my vision cleared up, I wasn't surprised at all to see that she was right. There was no trace of the pestilence specter; not even a speck of ash remained.
I raised the sword's blade up to peer at the edge. It was still flawless, perfect as the day it came off the blacksmith's anvil. The potent astral energies imbued into the weapon rendered it virtually indestructible and impossibly sharp. I relaxed and let the weapon hang loosely at my side.
“Are there any others nearby that you can feel?”
Misaki shook her head. “No. There are none within the range of my ability to sense. I can perform an invocation that will let me seek out specters within a much larger radius, but it wouldn't be wise to attempt here.”
“You're right,” I said, glancing back at the corridor where we came in. “We need to get out of this place. We're not supposed to be here.”
“You're damned right you aren't supposed to be here!”
I whirled at the sound of the unfamiliar and angry masculine voice. Shit. Someone had been down here. I glanced at Misaki, gauging her response to the sudden turn of events. Maybe we'd get lucky and the worker hadn't actually seen anything.
Misaki's eyes narrowed and her tail lashed as a man dressed in work coveralls came out from around the corner nearby. He had a mobile phone held in one hand, but I couldn't tell if he'd made a call on it or just happened to be holding it while down here for whatever reason.
Well, this was certainly awkward. I was still holding the Relic. The longsword had a blade that was eighty centimeters in length alone. The hilt added up with the blade to give a weapon that was over a meter long. Not inconspicuous in the slightest. I wished I could release the Relic's physical form, but if the sword itself was bad enough, making it vanish into thin air would be even worse.
“Who the hell are you? What are you doing down here, and—” The maintenance worker's eyes bugged out as he noticed Misaki, her fox-like ears and tail clearly visible even in the dim lighting.
Misaki turned toward him and started walking. I opened my mouth to protest, trying to hold the Relic in such a way that it would appear less threatening, but it was pretty hard to make a sword like this seem innocuous.
The worker's eyes widened in fear. “Don't c-come any closer! O-or I'll call the police!”
“Cut him down if he tries to run,” Misaki stated, her voice flat and more cold than I've ever heard it. My eyes widened in shock, but only for a moment as I realized that Misaki was using the threat to keep the man from bolting.
I guess I'd have to trust her. I lifted the blade and dropped into a guard stance, holding the sword ready in the most menacing way I could. It wasn't even a very effective stance, but the maintenance worker wasn't likely to know that.
“N-no! Stay away, monster!”
For the briefest of moments, Misaki's expressionless mask fell, replaced with the barest hint of pain. I wondered if she had received the same sort of reception from other humans throughout her life. She quickly mastered her feelings, though, and continued to move closer to the worker.
Spell-flame blazed into existence on her right hand and drew itself out into a burning rope. I felt my confidence faltering a bit as I saw that flame. Was she going to kill the man simply because he saw something he shouldn't have?
The spell-flame shot forth and wrapped around the man's body, but no smoke rose as the flames made contact with the man's coveralls. Misaki's tail lashed as she bent the fire to her will, tightening the magic-fire-rope until it bound the
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