Chapter 51: The Perfect Environment

Tarin smiled with his odd apparel sticking out like a sore thumb in the middle of the forest. Yaki followed close behind him and Aku followed closely after her.

"Are you feeling alright Aku?"

Yaki broke the silence between the three of them. Aku was confused about the question.

"Uh, yeah I feel alright."

'Was she really that worried about me?'

Aku thought to himself as he realized he didn't know exactly how long it took him to break that tree.

"Just asking, you know you were there for about 7 days, no food, no water, and I can tell you definitely didn't shower during that period."

"Yeah, I guess it was some time huh…"

'Seven days? Man, I did lose track of time…and I do kind of smell.'

Aku's words seemed to have been the last of their conversation as Yaki fell silent again.

'Compared to our campsite there's not anywhere near as much life out here, even the plants seem dead…'

Yaki thought to herself looking at her surroundings, there wasn't an insect in sight. The flowers around them were dull and grey, yet the trees were green and alive.

'Where is this man taking us this time?'

Yaki remained quiet as she kicked a rock over.

"Hey, Tarin?"

Aku called out as something had run past his mind.

"Hm?"

"Where are we going?"

Tarin smiled at Aku's question as he continued onward.

"We are going to the heart of Salan!"

'What's that?'

Aku, confused by Tarin's response, asked his question while looking around them. Tarin then stops the group by holding his arm out.

"The heart of Salan is where you will be put to the test!"

Tarin's Aspect caused the ground to shake beneath them. He then swooped his arm in front of him, shaping his Aspect into a blade and sending it flying forward. In its path, hundreds of trees were sliced down with clean, precise cuts.

'Show off…'

Aku thought as he stretched his neck.

'Woah…'

Yaki watched in awe.

"As I told you before, Aku, in this world, I am what most people would refer to as an Aspect Master. Instead of just being good at using my aspect to strengthen my Shiryoku I use it as another part of myself. My Aspect is like my soul, the same as yours and Yaki's. It is part of us whether we agree with it or not…"

Yaki put her head down slightly listening to Tarin.

" Use it as if it is a part of your body, a limb that can protect you or better yet-"

Tarin gestured his hand towards the trees.

"-fight for you. Some of the most powerful demons and monsters in the history of our times were known to pull off tricks like this and even more, of course, none more powerful than me that is."

"Why are you saying all of this?"

Aku asked.

"Because this is where we part ways, Aku."

A gateway suddenly appeared between Aku and the other two as it swallowed him up. He disappeared before getting a word out, and Yaki was shocked.

"Where'd he go?"

She said while looking at Tarin's smile.

"Don't worry Yaki just like I said earlier! I wouldn't let anything bad happen to your brother."

He said as he started to walk off.

"Where are you going?"

Yaki was worried about her brother.

'If it wasn't for the last week I wouldn't trust this man at all, and yet even now after everything he's done for me recently.'

She watched as Tarin continued walking.

'I have no clue what his true intentions are with my brother.'

"I suggest you stay close to me, Yaki."

As Tarin got further away an overwhelming amount of different auras were felt around Yaki.

'Demons?'

Yaki looked around as she felt a deep sense of danger.

'No…it's something else.'

Yaki couldn't see the hundreds of monsters in the trees watching her, they were waiting for the perfect moment to attack her. Yaki then looked as Tarin stopped walking suddenly and he was nearly 30 feet away.

"We are going to go watch over your brother. There's some stuff I'd like to talk to you about regarding him and you."

Yaki looked at him in a cold sweat.

"What is going on? My body…it feels like there is danger all around me, I feel like I'm going crazy?"

"It's because there is danger-"

Tarin turned to her with a soft smile.

"In the last week, you and your brother have been in the most dangerous place in the world without seeing one monster right?"

"Yes…"

"That is simply because I exist. Right now you are nearing the heart of Salan, the hole that leads to hell. The most monster-infested area on this Planet. That feeling? It's your Aspect telling you that there are hundreds of monsters watching you right now, simply because I'm walking away."

Yaki looked around as she spotted the eyes of a beast hiding behind a large leaf.

'He's that far away and yet…they still won't attack me?'

Yaki started to approach Tarin slowly.

'I know he's strong and I don't know much of anything about this world, but-'

She looked back as she walked. The eyes had disappeared.

'-Is he the strongest demon in the world?'

***

'That asshole!'

Aku found himself falling down a long hole as the deeper he went the hotter the area got.

'Where the hell did he send me?'

Aku activated his Shiryoku as he fell, attempting to gauge the distance to the ground. He then reached the rim of the hole and tried to use his Aspect to slow his descent.

'If I can just manage to catch myself even a little I can slow down the-'

Aku's thoughts were interrupted as he felt an enormous presence from below him.

'...A monster?'

He stopped trying to use his Aspect as the hole opened into a large cave. Aku scanned the cave with his Shiryoku, noticing a massive beast sleeping on the floor far ahead of him.

*Crash*

Aku created a small crate on the floor as he landed.

'Shit!'

Aku stared at the monster as it remained asleep ahead of him. He observed his surroundings as the floor and walls were nothing but rough rocky terrain.

'It's still asleep…It's Aspect seems doormat for now as well…'

Aku looked at the aura radiating from the monster.

'There's no doubt about it…this thing is not something to take lightly.'

One of Tarin's gateways opened up in its white and black glory above the Monster.

'What the?'

Aku watched as something started to slowly fall out of the gateway.

'That asshole!'

Aku dashed forward as fast as possible.

'Even if I have to fight this thing there is no reason for it to abruptly awaken like this!'

Aku jumped over the monster catching the supposed object he landed as quietly as possibly sliding just a little bit forward.

'Still, what is this?'

Aku looked at the long case in his hands as he looked back and noticed the monster was asleep still. He looked back at the case as he placed it horizontally in his hands pulling slowly on the locks to open it.

'Could it be?'

*Clicks*

Aku opened the case, revealing a long white katana. Its guard was red, the sleeve was silver, and the handle was black. Aku smiled at the new blade, knowing that Tarin had it made for him

'It's a nice model, still nothing like my previous blade, but it will do I suppose.'

***

-A few moments earlier-

Yaki and Tarin walked onto a ledge.

"Where are we?"

Yaki looked over the ledge she saw a dimly lit area that seemed like nothing but rocky terrain.

"We are,"

*Crash*

The two of them looked over at the sound as they saw Aku land roughly in the middle of the area they were above.

", Here to watch your brother."

Tarin smiled as he watched intently. Yaki looked at her brother as he activated his Shiryoku immediately.

"I don't get it, Is there something in this area?"

Yaki looked around with her left eye seeing nothing.

"Look below us."

Yaki listened to Tarin as she took a closer look over the edge to see a fairly large monster. It seemed to be scaly and was a slightly orangish-red color.

'He has to fight that?'

A gateway suddenly blocked her vision of the monster as she looked back at Tarin.

"What are you doing?"

"Making things progress a little faster."

Yaki looked back as the gateway disappeared and a long case was dropping over top of the monster.

"You're gonna wake it up?!"

"Precisely."

Yaki watched her brother run at the case at an outstanding speed.

'He's fast..'

"If you're worried about our well-being at all Yaki, do not worry. Even if she recognizes us up here she won't attack."

Yaki stopped watching Aku for a second as he caught the case in mid-air over top of the monster.

"Why is that?"

Tarin grinned as a chair spawned behind him as he sat down.

"This "monster" here knows me, and who I am! I've beaten it plenty of times. It's practically my pet!"

Yaki was disappointed in the response.

'So confident about everything as usual…but what about Aku?'

"Tarin?"

"Yes?"

"Why is it you're so interested in my Brother?"

Tarin smiled at her question.

"Do you know that tree thing, your brother had me show him?"

"Yes?"

Yaki turned to Tarin in interest.

"It took me nearly a year to cut down a tree with just my raw Aspect."

"I see…"

Yaki turned back to Aku as he opened up the case, she saw a white sword be pulled out.

'In the world of humans, my brother was some quiet nerd who just looked like your average nerd but I guess in the world of the demons he's seen as something else entirely.'

Yaki's eyes widened as she noticed something as she looked at her brother.

"Tarin!"

"Hm?"

"Why can't he feel the monster behind him?"

Yaki looked down at her brother as he was oblivious to the monster standing directly behind him.

"It's due to the monster suppressing her Aspect, so much so Aku won't notice her movements at all. Do you think a monster like that needs sleep? I told him Aku was coming, he let his guard down. Also Yaki, her name is Sister, she's not just any old monster ya know!"

Tarin smiled as he leaned forward in his chair and started to watch closely.

'I believe in you kid! Don't go and disappoint me now.'

***

'But it will do I suppose, besides it's not like I'm ge-'

Aku felt a brush in the air around him causing him to drop the case immediately.

*CLASH*

Aku was pushed back after he had blocked the attack from the monster that now stood before him. The monster had a snakelike mouth with a human complexion. Its body was similar to a snake but with human arms. Its skin was shiny and scaly, being similar to the color of the sun. The Monster's Aspect felt like it was burning off of its skin.

'Shit…'

Aku looked at the scratch on his right arm.

'It hit me somehow!'

He thought back to the block in slow motion as he perfectly used his katana to parry off of the monster attack.

'It was perfect…yet I got hit somehow?'

The monster slithered around while being in the same spot.

'...It's waiting…'

Aku tightened his grip on his katana.

'There's only one thing I can be certain about right now.'

He watched her movements, as suddenly the monster started to look almost like a blur to his Shiryoku while slithering.

'This is no ordinary monster!'