Micchi Versus the New World - Chapter 134

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Chapter 134

Ririko forced her icy barrier outward, pushing away the rubble that buried us. A squad of demon soldiers beelined over, and I was about to beat them up until Lady Katrine stopped me.

"Wait, wait, wait! Those are my soldiers!" Lady Katrine cried and jumped between us.

"How the fuck am I supposed to know that? Everyone looks the same!" I groaned aloud.

"Lady Katrine, there are attacks on our stations all across Roila. The rebels severed our means of communication with them. At this rate, half the city will fall to their control by evening. What are your orders?" the captain of the squad asked.

"Rally the loyal to defend the palace," she ordered. "The citizenry isn't their target. I am. We will draw them here. In the meantime, our new friends shall take care of the rebels."

"Oh, great. You really are just making us do all the work." Ririko folded her arms, frowning like she had expected this was going to happen all along.

"I leave my city in your capable hands. The leader of the traitors is Councilor Debaun. Find him and bring him to heel!" the demoness exclaimed as she hurried into the palace.

Ririko, Lilim, Jouann, and I stayed in the courtyard. Guards and soldiers followed after Lady Katrine, falling into a defensive formation around the palace walls. A massive magical barrier erected over it and separated us from them.

"That was the demon lord before Chika? She's a fucking pushover," I said to Lilim.

"W-Well, caution and ambition often stand side by side," Lilim replied with a nervous chuckle.

Before we even began searching, an army of snarling demons marched into the courtyard. They wielded the same weapons and were dressed in the same armor as Roila's soldiers, but a red slash painted over their chest plates.

"What's this? Lady Katrine holed herself up inside the palace? If that's not proof that she's unfit to rule Roila, then I don't know what is. If that wasn't bad enough, she invites surface-dwellers into the city! We're not the traitors. She is! What say you all?" a hairy demon at the head of the group asked the rest.

They roared together, cursing and throwing profanity aimed at Lady Katrine.

"You Councilor Debaun?" I asked, walking up to the demon with Sacchan pointed at him.

"Who's asking?" He flashed his discolored yellow fangs and growled.

"You got wax in your ears? I am, Sasquatch!"

I grabbed the demon by the horn and dragged him to the ground. A punch across the cheek knocked a couple of teeth loose. Someone from the horde fired a magic bolt at me. I cocked my head to the side to dodge it.

Ririko flew in like a blizzard. A frosty mist spread through them between their feets, freezing everyone in place. Ice spikes coalesced in front of their faces.

"Don't move now, you hear? Unless you wanna shake it like you just don't care!" Ririko shouted with idol-like bravado.

"Alright, you… Are you fucking Debaun or not?" I asked the demon putting up a brave front.

"No… and I'm not telling you shit, surface-dweller!" He spat blood in my face.

"Wrong answer."

I wiped the blood from my cheek and backhanded the other side of his face. More teeth came loose and clattered across the courtyard.

"Allow me to be of use, Master! I can mind control him, if you like?" Lilim asked.

"No, that'd take away the fun. Ora! Tell me where the fuck your boss is!" I punched him again.

"Is that all you—"

I punched him again.

"Your punches… are getting soft—"

I punched him even harder.

"Okay… you pack… quite the—"

And again.

The demons frozen by Ririko were starting to act up.

"Hang in there!" one of them yelled.

"Our rebellion will succeed!" another added fervently.

I clenched my bloody fist for another hit when the demon finally fessed up.

"The temple! Councilor Debaun and his conspirators are hiding at the Temple of the Demon Lord!" he cried.

"What gives? You gave them up that easily?!" The other demons were beginning to turn on him.

"Shut up! You're not the one getting hit. I am! I got six kids to feed, and I'm not dying for a stupid cause Debaun won't fight in himself!"

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" I smirked, patting him lightly on the shoulder. "Alright. let's go. Everyone's coming with."

The army of baffled demons traded looks with one another.

"What do you mean they're coming with?" Ririko asked.

"Well, Sasquatch over here basically called Debaun a coward. The bastards'll probably take off running when they see us coming. I don't wanna comb through this big fucking city, do you? That's why the cannon fodders are coming with. We walk with 'em, inside 'em, and they won't notice a damn thing," I explained.

"I'll be damned, Micchi! You do have it in you to think smart!" She danced over to me and ruffled my hair until I slapped her hand away.

"Fuck you. Don't touch me. Besides, I learned this back when I was taking down the schools around Motonari. The bosses of those schools kept ditching when I showed up. Had to get creative."

The demons erupted into shouts and heckling.

"Why the hell would we listen to you?"

"Go kill yourself!"

"As if we'd help you to take down the rebellion!"

"Master, I believe this is where I excel." Lilim stepped in proudly with her chest puffed up.

We marched through the city as a cohesive mass of bodies. The three of us blended in the middle of them. Roila folks we passed by slammed their windows and doors shut, hid under the shadow of taller buildings, or peeked out from narrow alleys. Some scrawny snot-nosed demon brats tossed rocks at us. A piece of stone hit me in the head and bounced off.

The dumb kids. They're lucky I had to stay hidden.

"Why's it always kids that get the short end of the stick in big cities?" I sighed.

"Between the war and dwindling food source, the millions of people living in Roila have a hard time sustaining themselves," Lilim explained somberly.

"It's like that everywhere," Jouann began with an indifferent look and tone. "There are only so many people you can take care of, and it's easy to lay the blame on the city when you do not know the cost of providing aid."

"Yeah, well… then you get punks like me and Yui who do whatever it takes to keep living."

I half-expected Ririko to make a snide remark. Surprised me that she was just as bothered about it.

We got to an iron-fenced plaza with a statue of Chika to welcome us in. The large, U-shaped church was guarded by patrolling demons, all dressed in the same get-up as the ones we're blended in with.

Controlled by Lilim, the lead demon I had beaten the shit out of walked up to the shut gates.

"A report for Councilor Debaun. His ears only!" the demon shouted.

Two guards on the wall whispered to each other, then one of them hurried into the temple. A few minutes later, a gray-haired demon in a suit and monocle emerged from the building. He was flanked by elite guards.

"Is it done?" Councilor Debaun asked. "Is that bitch Katrine dead? You should be occupying the palace!"

"It's done alright. Ririko, catch the fish inside. Debaun's mine!" I yelled.

"Always giving me the tough job." Ririko sprouted icy wings and took flight towards the temple.

Lilim's mind controlled army of demons sprung into combat at once, attacking the church guards. Councilor Debaun panicked. His guards moved to intercept Ririko, but I barreled through them like a bowling ball to a bunch of pins.

"Yo. Where do you think you're going?" I asked, picking him up by his neck.

"Surface… dweller… Execute plan b! Do it now!" Debaun screamed.

Something like a fiery flare rocketed into the sky.

"Plan b? The fuck is—"

Explosions near and far went off all across the city again. A lot more than just a handful this time. Buildings went up in smoke and collapsed into rubble on the streets. A nearby explosion sent me and Debaun flying. We landed head-first into a hedge.

Smoke all over the plaza blocked my vision. People were crying from every direction. Dust got into my lungs, and I started coughing up a storm. When I got up to get my bearings, I saw that most of the block had been leveled.

"Fuck… Lilim, Jouann! Where the fuck are you two?" I waded through the rubble and found the unconscious Debaun on the ground.

The piece of shit wanted to take out the city with him or what?

"Over here!" Jouann, accompanied by Lilim, waved frantically from the edge of the street where a pile of rubble lay.

"What happened?" I hurried over, but the blood in my veins turned to ice.

The group of demon kids from earlier. They were buried under the rubble. An arm and leg were sticking out from the debris. Dread washed over me. I started digging into the pile, pulling off heavy pieces of stone, brick, and wood until I found two little girls huddled together. The bigger one had covered the smaller girl with her body, but neither of them were moving.

"How… terrible. Why would they do such a thing?" Lilim gaped at the destruction.

The rattle of rolling rocks drew my attention to Debaun, who had gotten to his feet and was making a run for it.

"Debaun, you fucker!" I tackled him and slammed the back of his head repeatedly to the ground. "What the fuck were you thinking? Didn't you just want Katrine? Where do you get off blowing the city to smithereens like that?!"

"If the city… doesn't belong to the demon lord… then it belongs to no one!" he sneered.

"That ain't for you to decide! You tear this city down, where the fuck else are they supposed to live? Hahh? You gonna send them into the cold? Make them starve more than they already are? That ain't no fucking way to live!"

The first punch cracked his monocle. The second broke his nose. I pummeled into him even as my fists started aching. He started choking on his own spit and blood.

"The demon lord… wanted this…" Debaun muttered.

"Chika did? I don't fucking believe it. No fucking way!" My right fist ignited, burning off the blood and sweat.

I drove my fist down, but Ririko caught it. The cold grasp of her fingers clenched down on and stifled the flames.

"Micchi, this piece of shit isn't worth you getting pissed over," Ririko said.

"I beg to fucking differ. This is exactly the piece of shit I should be pissed at. Now let go. If you wanna dance, then wait your turn." I tried to wrench away and only succeeded in making her hold tighter.

"You're angry. I get it. But he isn't yours to mess up. How would you feel if someone came along and knocked Chika out before you did? You going to take that satisfaction away from them? The ones who really got dicked over?" she asked.

They said when someone got angry, everything would just go white hot. Blind fury. Used to be I'd beat someone unconscious and leave them lying in a puddle of their own piss, shit, and blood. This was the first time I ever felt that fire snuff out a little.

Someone started coughing. I heard it as loud as day and got me tensed up.

I glanced over my shoulder. The brats I thought were goners started breathing again. Ririko let me go, and I walked over to where Jouann and Lilim were healing them with magic. The older of the two snapped awake and crawled over to protect the other. She faced me with a brave look.

"You good, kid?" I asked.

The demon girl's demeanor softened. She nodded.

I turned back to Ririko, who had Debaun and the other conspirators half-entombed in ice. It wasn't looking like they were going anywhere.

"Now that we did Katrine a solid, what say we go back and make her cough up some answers about Chika?" Ririko suggested.