“What the fuck do you think this is, one of your childish films with a lesson to be learned? I’m not here to test you, I’m here to reveal you! Look at yourself, see the truth.”

  She vanished, leaving me to stare at myself. No more fighting or fucking, no more darkness. Only me, and I seemed to be vertical, that water still in front of me like a smooth mirror.

  I saw the things I’d done. Indeed, I saw a man I almost didn’t recognize, with stubble on my chin, muscles I’d never had before, and a cock I’d be proud to windmill about in front of any woman that might so desire.

  But I knew that was all external. Fuck all that noise about what she said, I knew the real me, the one beneath all that. The boy who had given his Nintendo to a neighbor kid because his family couldn’t afford one—much to the frustration of my father. The man who had turned down the opportunity to cheat on an interview that could’ve landed me my dream job at Cheonix Electronics. Sure, not taking that job had ended up better for me after all, landing me in the position to work for myself doing Visual Novels, but I couldn’t have known that at the time.

  Was I perfect? No. But I’d used her power to help others, not out of some selfish reason like looking cool or getting laid. Those were benefits that I couldn’t deny, but I knew the true motivation for my actions.

  Maybe she wasn’t there to make this into a Harry Potter movie, but I’d been raised on that shit, and I believed wholeheartedly that line about not everything being black and white, that we all have the darkness in us, but it’s about the choices we make.

  And in my life, I’d made some damn good choices. I’d been loving, caring, and there for those around me.

  I was suddenly in my mom’s house, sitting there with her, reading a book to my blind grandma, remembering the tears it had brought to her eyes. The way my mom had smiled, and the smell of fresh gingerbread cookies as they cooled on the table. Damn, that memory brought me back to a time I missed—my grandma had passed away about four months after that day, and something about the world had never felt right with her gone.

  Why that memory at this time? I had no clue, but I knew one thing—I wasn’t this piece of shit Akame made me out to be.

  Taking a deep breath and ensuring I had confidence in my voice, I said, “Akame, you’re wrong. I’m done. Release me.”

  She appeared then, in full form, emerging from my reflection in the lake. A silvery body with short, hair. Not silvery, but reflective, I realized—as if her whole body were a mirror. She gestured at herself, running her hands along her body.

  “You like?” she asked. “This is how I did it, you see. I only reflected out the world for itself to see, and the result was so much darkness, it overwhelmed me. I wasn’t always one with the mask, it’s just that the mask was the only way to contain this new me. The version with the darkness.

  “I see.”

  She cocked her head, reaching out a hand, holding it up as if waiting for me to place my hand against hers. One thing I made sure not to do, especially in light of our discussion, and where my mind had been, was to look down. In hindsight, I could say that she was all mirror, in all places. Strange, that, seeing a woman who still had the tender, soft flesh of a woman but with skin that reflected perfectly.

  “If I put my hand here, what happens?” I asked.

  “Here?” She looked at her hand, then laughed. “Oh, no, that’s not… No, I was simply saying goodbye.”

  “Goodbye?”

  “Goodbye.” She winked, and suddenly it was over. She was gone, and I fell—directly into the lake.

  I came up spluttering, arms flailing about in shock as the cold water registered. For a second I thought something had me, only to realize it was Amabie, arms around my chest, pulling me to shore. She held me there while I shook, in part from the horror of what had just happened, in part because the water had been freezing.

  She pulled me close, a tingling warmth emanating from her and coursing through my body.

  “How—how’d you find me?” I asked.

  “Our spiritual connection,” Amabie said. “Lost you for a bit, but when you hit the water, I managed to get through a portal… But, I must admit they don’t work here as well as back home.”

  “No?”

  She shook her head, caressing my face. “Monsters in the lake. You’re lucky I pulled you free when I did. Suffice it to say, we’ll want to return via a different route.”

  I nodded, then tried to stand. She held me close to her, not letting me, and said, “Not yet. Give it a couple more seconds.”

  I didn’t mind, my head resting against her breasts, that warmth replenishing me. Finally, I felt truly ready and gave her a nod.

  She helped me up and rolled her eyes when I tried to cover my shrunken cock.

  “Ferris, one doesn’t live as long as I have and not understand the idea of shrinkage,” she said. “Plus, do you really think that matters in the least, considering?”

  I pursed my lips and shrugged, then moved my hands. I’d still expected her to make a comment or giggle, at least crack a smile, but she didn’t even look down. She simply motioned me over, and we walked until we were at a point where we could see hills below us, the fortress in the distance.

  “We have a long way to go,” I said, eyes wide.

  “You were warned.”

  I nodded. “True.”

  “That said, you got us out of there. Your actions, though reckless, might have saved Ahlaksiz’s life.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “After you swept that place clean, we got out. First thing we did was open a way back home for her and sent her with her daughter. Bloodsong said that Yuki knows a thing or two about medicine, but stressed that we need to find Chirop, and get her through. If she can help in the healing, Ahlaksiz might come out of this as good as new.”

  “We don’t have Chirop, then…” I shook my head, frustrated and confused. “And… Thunderbird?”

  “Also… no.”

  I turned to Amabie, feeling lost and hopeless, and took her in my arms, simply holding her with my head pressed against her wet hair. She let me hold her until I was ready, then we turned to make our way down to find the others.

  “Oh,” I said, sheepishly. “Did you find Lizzy? Or… the mask?”

  “Lizzy, no. But your mask—Ferris, you’re still wearing the mask.”

  I reached up to feel my face and was surprised to learn she was right. With a great suction sound, it came off. When I reached to put it in my satchel, however, that was gone. To my surprise, the mask faded from my hand. Had it become part of me again, or like the sword, become something I could summon? I wasn’t sure, and at the moment, didn’t give a damn.

  “If you were able to open a portal…?”

  She nodded. “The purse fell from your person the moment you became the darkness.”

  “Uh, satchel, to be clear. Like Indiana Jones.”

  “Sure, sure.” She grinned, gave me a wink, and we started making our way down. Of course, I couldn’t ignore the way she teasingly whispered, “It’s a purse,” but I let that slide, too exhausted to argue.

  13

  My body and mind screamed hangover, each step sending shocks through my skull, my muscles barely wanting to respond. Using the mask had taken it out of me, leaving me completely exhausted. The bottoms of my feet were torn up, and I limped, hating to look weak in front of Amabie.

  She glanced over more than once, pulling me close to help.

  “This might have been a bad idea,” she said.

  “We had to come,” I countered, noting the distant sound of roaring. What was that?

  She paused, having me sit on a rock—fucking cold on my bare ass—as she checked the bottoms of my feet. Breathing out deeply, she met my gaze and shook her head. “Maybe so, but it’s a bad idea. How are you supposed to fight if you can’t even walk?”

  “Maybe we swim?” I said, forcing a smile.

  She wasn’t humored, instead running a hand up my leg. A tingling rose in my body, but I was finally too exhausted to physically respond. I was about to tell her this wasn’t the right time, but she had stopped, hand on the armor there. That’s what she had been doing—checking out the armor.

  “If you could get this on your feet, too, we might have a chance.”

  “Great, only…” I felt at my neck and sighed. “No Basty.”

  “Your little nightmare friend?” She rubbed her chin and glanced back down the hill. “We’ll meet back up with him soon enough. He was doing his part.”

  I couldn’t help but marvel at the way her scales shimmered in the dim light, reflecting pink, orange, and yellow.

  “You don’t exactly blend in,” I noted.

  Her eyes moved over my body, and she scoffed. “Considering that you glow like the moon, I’d say the same about you.”

  I nodded, not denying it. But I had an idea.

  “That roaring sound…”

  A smile formed on her beak. “I was hoping you’d be okay with the idea, but was going to lead you there first, then leave you with no alternative.”

  “Tricky, and kind of mean.” I chuckled. “It’s what I think it is, then?”

  “A waterfall. And considering your situation, I’d say it’s our best bet. With me, you will be safe.” She ran her hand up along my armor, then skipped the rest to caress my cheek. “You humans are so delicate but surprisingly resilient.”

  “Thank you?”

  “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe in you. You and your team.” She leaned in, pushing herself up as she removed her beak with her free hand. I took the hint and leaned in to kiss her. Our kiss was pleasant, reminding me of what I fought for—each of them and everyone else back home. When she pulled back and replaced her beak, I took her hand in mine, longing for more. More importantly, I knew we needed to hurry back to the others. Using her to help, I stood at her side and nodded.

  “Let’s go.”

  She glanced down at my lower half and said, “Would fighting be easier if you weren’t so… exposed?”

  “I suppose it would.”

  “Then, allow me. This might be odd for you, at first. But trust me.”

  I arched an eyebrow, watching with curiosity then going rigid as her hand moved from mine down my body, stopping only when she had my package cupped in her hand.

  “We really should get back,” I protested, but placed a hand on her breast, feeling the strange armor there.

  “Remove your hand,” she said, and I did, noting that there was enjoyment in her eyes as she caressed me down there, along with something else. Humor?

  “What’s funny?” I asked.

  “That you think this is something entirely different than what it actually is. Well, that and my curiosity at how you’ll take it.”

  I frowned, then looked to see her hand on me, and nearly freaked. When she pulled her hand back and along my thighs on each side, scales formed armor over my crotch. It was still very much visible but held in place like hard clay had been set over it.

  My breaths came heavy, chest rising and falling as I tried to process this.

  “Is it…?”

  “Permanent?” She shook her head. “Try willing it away.”

  I took a deep breath, staring at my scale-covered cock and balls and feeling completely weirded out, then did as told. Sure enough, the scales pulled back, leaving me as I’d been before. When I thought about needing protection, the scales returned. Curious, I moved my hips back and forth. With the scales in place, no dangling, no swinging dick. I felt like down there was a bronze statue, like a Greek god. Or David in marble.

  “Very nice,” Amabie said with a laugh. “Is it strange that this turns me on?”

  “Anyone else, yes. You, I guess not.” I grinned, and added, “Thank you.”

  “It was fun.” She winked, then nodded for us to continue.

  I took her hand, and she didn’t resist this time. We walked on like that, and I paused—glancing at my feet then back at her.

  “Actually, I thought of that already,” she said. “While it works for your groin, it can be slippery. With the scale armor on your feet, walking would become more dangerous.”

  “Damn.”

  We kept on, and after a bit, she said, “I know it hurts, but we need to move faster.”

  “I know, they’re waiting for us, but—”

  “More than that,” she replied, pulling me close and saying, “Slowly, cautiously, look behind us.”

  With a subtle turn of my head, I saw what she meant. At least three monsters were following us, maybe more. One of them had the upper body of a man and a lower body that looked like a centipede, scurrying along the ground behind him. With the roar of the waterfall growing, I understood why we hadn’t heard them. To his left was a woman who seemed to be sliding along on her belly and insanely oversized breasts, tendrils hanging from her head in ways that reminded me of additional arms. Her lower half, and why she was dragging herself, was like a mass of some dark substance, shifting and bubbling. Whatever the hell she was, I had no base point from which to understand her existence. The third follower was a half-man, half-woman, I thought at first, until I saw that it had more body parts behind it. This wasn’t any one being, but what seemed to be a merge of multiple body parts, all connected.

  “Can we take them?” I asked.

  “Maybe the ones we can see, and maybe if we were both in full health. In our current condition, I’d rather take my chance with the fall. It’s not far now.”

  Steeling myself, I took a running stance. “I’ll make it.”

  “Well, then, here goes everything.”

  We broke for it; I sprinted all out despite each step feeling like someone was ripping into my feet with razors. I was slamming my hand to trees as I went, causing them to move and obscure the path as much as they could She went to all fours, body shifting to accommodate, and the enemy behind shrieked and roared as they pursued. I clicked my tongue, wishing I had Suiko or Basty, and called on my sword to throw it back at them, not even looking to see if I connected.

  At a break in the ground, I said, “Keep going,” then paused to slam my hand down, sending a wave of vibration into the rocks. It wasn’t enough, so I reached into my druid powers and had the roots help. The rocks started to crumble away, and I was back up and running. I looked over my shoulder to see the centipede monster reach that spot and go tumbling as the ground gave way beneath him, but the blob lady used his flailing tail to propel herself over, getting even closer than she would have been otherwise.

  More monsters appeared behind them, but the roar of the falls was loud now, and Amabie shouted, “Jump!”

  One of the blob lady’s hands brushed against my ass, a claw likely drawing blood, then I was airborne. Tumbling, falling through open air and cascading water. Monsters reached at me from all sides, falling with us while water and rocks below came up fast.

  “FUCKKK!” I screamed, upside down with arms windmilling, scrambling for hold when there was none.

  Then Amabie was there, pulling me close and tucking my head up against her breasts, two of her three tails wrapped around my body to keep me close, and she whispered, “I’ve got you,” before we plunged into the water below.

  14

  Cold shot through me, and I was glad of the warmth from Amabie. If not for her, even with my water power I wouldn’t have known which way was up, or felt there was any way out of this. Water pummeled us from above, other monsters hitting and plunging in around us. One slammed its head into a rock nearby, instantly going limp, and as we emerged from the water, another landed with a tree branch sticking up and through her chest. She shook, reached at us with a clawed hand, then went limp.

  Amabie pulled me to the shore, three monsters still following. She set me down and said, “You’re up,” before collapsing into the shallow water. For the first time since I’d known her, she had actually exhausted herself.

  I stood there shivering, held out my hands, and summoned the hunter sword. It appeared, only to slip right through my fingers and vanish before hitting the water.

  Howling wind blew over us, sending a spray of water our way. I shivered, recalling the sword, ready this time. A shadow told me a strike was coming, and I was damn glad my shield had replenished because a trajectory struck, making it shimmer. I spun, sword up to knock another projectile out of the air. No, not a projectile exactly, I saw as it writhed on the ground, but a small centipede creature with two arms that resembled scorpion tails. Three large centipede monsters were coming at us from the woods, while clicking alerted me to a crablike monster woman emerging from the water.

  “I can handle her,” Amabie said.

  “And I’ll deal with those ones.”

  She scoffed. “In your state? Maybe, but better to make a run for it.”

  If doing so got us close to the rest of the team sooner than later, great.

  “It’s that one I’m worried about,” she said, as the multi-limbed human-like creature came my way.

  “Why?” I asked. It was disgusting, but as far as threats went, it didn’t seem as bad as some of the others.

  “Magic.”

  The creature was already moving its hands and legs in strange patterns, lights lingering in the air from the motions. Something was coming. When two limbs moved, a face became visible in the midsection, smiling. Its eye sockets were empty. Another face showed on its back, sticking out as if the head had been partially absorbed into flesh. I backed up as a strange, pulling sensation hit me. It was like I could see the colors of my flesh moving toward it, as if the thing was going to absorb me into it.

  “Resist,” Amabie said, and she lunged for the monster in the water, while behind, the centipede ones started for us.

  There was no time to dawdle. I stopped resisting the deformed monstrosity, running at it and leaping, summoning my sword as I collided, so the blade was already piercing flesh when it appeared.

  That only caused a slight disturbance in the monster’s spell, but when I released the sword and dropped down, then called back the blade again, I was able to chop it off at the legs.