NOVEL WEB Chapter 37: Dance In The Shadows Part 1
Chapter 37: Dance In The Shadows
The shock of the information she was processing was so much that Yukiyo was legitimately stunned by it all. How did this even happen to begin with? When did it begin ? Why did this have to happen? And most important of them all how was Yukiyo going to explain this to Shen was sleeping on her lap right now?! The twins smiled innocently in this regard whilst the girl who resembled the both of them could feel the awkwardness of the entire situation. She too didn’t know what to do and just stood there silently. What form of bullshittery was this? And why did fate have to be such a massive troll like this?! All of these questions had manifested inside of her head but Yukiyo didn’t have the right words to speak them out. Her thoughts were so jumbled up that she couldn’t utter anything at the moment.
“M-Mother dearest, your lost child has come home”
“Ah”
This mysterious girl was just like the other two in a way, Yukiyo had decided that it was way better to ask questions and get the answers she was looking for than waste time being confused. Also it was uncharacteristic of her, she never taught neither of the twins this. Surprises were always welcome however………wasn’t this too absurd?! She didn’t even have time to complain.
“Could you introduce yourself kiddo? Oh my name is Yukiyo, mom of these two and now you as well.”
“Certainly, Mine name is Arisa. Pleased to meet you Mother”
“Firstly are you also a dungeon boss?”
“Yes I am”
“How long have you lived?”
“5 decades”
“So you are basically Shiro and Kuroe’s older sister then?”
“Yes I am mine siblings’ oldest triplet”
“Adorable, but lacking in certain departments. Maybe that will change later on down the line.”
“?”
Yes, Arisa was definitely lacking in the height and chest areas. She was not so short one would call her a child but just enough that if she stood side by side with her sisters the top of Arisa’s head would line up with the lower half of the twin’s necks. These two were obviously bigger than her and it showed. Yukiyo smiled smugly and patted her shoulder. Arisa was even more confused by what was being said by this woman with Kuroe and Shiro chuckling despite not understanding either.
“Don’t worry you’ll grow soon, everyone in this family is like that”
“Wait what doth thee mean?”
“You’ll find out soon enough chuunibyo child. Soon enough.”
“Mother doth thou know that thou is being cryptic?”
“Hehehe”
Yukiyo checked her status and she indeed have her surname attached to it, she was her child through and through. With time this new addition of the family would get used to their shenanigans. Speaking of family, Shen wakes up from her nap in a rather cute way only to find Arisa standing before her. Her face immediately tenses up in confusion, staring directly at Yukiyo for an explanation.
“Don’t worry it’s just Ari-chan isn’t she adorable?”
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN ADORABLE?! WHO IS SHE?! AND WHY DOES SHE LOOK LIKE KURO AND SHIRO COMBINED!?”
Even Shen was confused by her appearance and her glare had said it all for Yukiyo “This is your fault isn’t it?”. Yukiyo’s given response was to shake her head because unlike all the other times where it was her fault this was totally something that caught even her off guard.
“Hehe Dad! She’s our long lost sister!”
“That is the truth, we found out about her today”
“Not yesterday? Or even several weeks before?”
Shen asks for a more realistic outcome but those hopes are shattered by the following answer that Kuroe and Shiro give in unison.
““No.””
“We met her today!”
“I swear your kids have taken that surprise aspect from you”
Shen touches her forehead from the headache she gains from this. Shiro and Kuroe were like Yukiyo in that aspect, wildly ignoring common sense when they found the chance. Even the circumstances surrounding them weren’t even Yukiyo’s fault, she just found them and yet they took everything about her to a maximum, they did have their own personalities but one thing remained: they cared about the ones they loved and would destroy the world for them. Shen decided that this was something she had to accept and proceeded to introduce herself to the newest edition of their family.
“Mine name is Arisa, pleased to meet you”
“Nice to meet you, I am Shen Shi-Shi-Shi-no”
“She’s my wife but in this case she’s the husband of my dreams. I love Shen, she’s your father due to being a strong personality”
“SHUT UP YOU IDIOT SLIME!”
Shen punches Yukiyo a fair distance away from her with an intense blushing face, Arisa laughed a little bit. She was slowly getting used to this kind of atmosphere, all of her living life she never had family. She only had servants who obeyed her every whim. Arisa never considered them to be family because of how the hierarchy worked in vampire society. But this was very comforting to her and made her feel at home, Shiro peeked at her face seeing the stoic face she wore breaking into a gentle smile.
“Pleased to meet you Arisa-chan, hope you don’t find us too weird”
“Worry not. I feel very welcome in this family”
Shen smiled in return upon hearing those words because she thought that the girl would think these people are weird and unusual making her leave and never come back. But Arisa was already a part of the madness that is Yukiyo’s family and she had already accepted that part.
“I think it is time we went back!”
“We still have to explore the royal capital”
“I’ll see you kids around”
“Mommy loves you!”
Shen and Yukiyo wave goodbye at their children leaving them alone together once more.
“Kuroyuki is growing up pretty good, how many days do you think she will have before she hatches?”
“I am giving it at least 15 more days”
“Right before our official declaration of war right?”
“Yes.”
Shen says with a sigh in her voice, Kuroyuki was the result of mixing up the body fluids of a dragon and essence of something else into one singular being. Body fluids could have meant anything and in this case the countless tears of Shen as well as the core remnants of Neo Yukiyo were just enough to make an egg. She did not know what kind of dragon Kuroyuki would come out as.
“You’re worried that Kuroyuki will be just as unreasonable as I am aren’t you?”
“Of course have you seen that child’s level?!”
Normally a child’s level should be 1 and nothing else but that was not the case with Kuroyuki’s level, it was slowly but surely rising the more time passes. There was no other explanation for this except.
“The Dark Matter are praying to them and that is affecting their levels and growth.”
“Can she stop this? They are just a child”
“I don’t know, I am not an expert on it either. I can influence their prayers to an extent but they do it subconsciously as well so there’s that too.”
Whatever Kuroyuki would come out as they would be the world’s strongest newborn and it made Yukiyo extremely happy, Shen as well but she was more worried about her child’s wellbeing and how they would impact the world.
☆
“So what is the plan then?”
Kuroe says right after they got back to the inn. She knew they had to deal with this as soon as possible. Arisa was quick to respond to her question and smiled as she knew exactly what to do. It would require some acting but she anticipated that everyone would understand and follow through her plan.
“Simple. We plan an assault on the underworld, they know of the events and must know what noble or puppet is behind this.”
“Sounds like a plan, are you two in on this too?”
Kuroe shifted her gaze to Liz and Beth who seemed to have arrived right on time and were standing behind the door. They attempted to eavesdrop on the conversation but they failed not because they weren’t quiet and stealthy but due to the fact these twins were very abnormal it was rather impossible to do.
“Ah”
“Um uh”
“I take that as a yes. I trust you two enough to know that much”
“I will reveal what we are so you know exactly what you are getting into”
Shiro had been playing with the yoyo she got from the Dark Matter who wanted to alleviate her boredom to a minimum. After producing a barrier around them, they released their aura as Demon Lords and Divine Beasts. The expressions of the two didn’t change, this made what they said next all the more impactful.
“Our feelings will not change”
“You are still our comrades! And w-we will accept you not matter what you are”
“Liz”
“Beth”
Hearing this made the two genuinely happy, they wanted to hug them right there which they did soon after. A smile grew on their faces as they finally sat down and explained what was going on from the moment they got into this nation, their expressions did have a range of confused, surprised and genuinely scared at the things that were mentioned. They gave up on trying to make sense of it all and ended up accepting that was how it was with the twins.
“We would love to meet your mother Shiro, Kuroe”
“Likewise”
“I am happy that mine sisters have brought thou into this as well. Please feel at home.”
The best part of this was that their plan was going to go even better with them now.
“Our plan is to have one of us infiltrate the base of one of the criminal gangs in the city. This way we gain information on the city”
Kuroe raised her hand as she knew exactly what she wanted to do.
“That settles it then. After this we will begin an operation to smoke out the rat who wanted to separate us.”
Everyone nodded to Arisa’s words, as the night time was spreading fast and their strength was doubling due to the moon’s influence.
💀
The streets of the city Alphonvita were silent under the moonlight, the peaceful serenity of the night could be fully view in the star like lights that existed down below. Kuroe stood on the highest point of the cathedral of Myra, she admired the city with a smile on her face. No one had observed her neither did they have the time to be gazing at the lonely cathedral. Kuroe dropped from a great height, the wind rushing against her face made his heart beat even faster than before, she kicks off the surface of the wall of the cathedral and landed on the nearby rooftop which was closest to her, she began to transverse this silent city.
From her pocket is a black orb which begins to glow crimson all of a sudden dying her entire body in a black substance, it all takes form as a hooded figure wearing a jet black mask which is similar to the Japanese oni with red eyes staring in the darkness of the night. What was this however if one was wise enough to ask? This was experimental power armor made by the Dark Matter, it was based off of Yukiyo herself, well her slime properties to be exact as well as the Dark Matter’s. The clothing produced by this technology enhanced overall offensive and defensive capabilities. Kuroe could crush the entire nation and still have strength to spare whilst wearing this. In defense it repelled all forms of physical and magical attacks, that was how powerful it was, not to mention it had identity scrambling cognition magic layered on top of it.
She proceeds to reach the fated destination, the edge of the slums which was a quiet and dark place at night time oblivious of what was going on, her prey tonight was the man who was the former bodyguard of rather well known corrupt noble. Kuroe stands for several moments at the door preparing herself for the slaughter that she is about to commit against these scumbags. She lightly pushes the door open destroying any form of lock that had been placed on it, be it magic or actual locks it was destroyed. The confused collective screams of the thugs she found inside was all the information she needed to know that this was the right place. Her walk is filled with smug confidence as she put on a show for them. She bows before them and throws a rose at them. Their faces are filled with intense bafflement as this single woman effortlessly entered their facility with ease.
“Good evening gentlemen of the underworld, I would like you to lay down your weapons and get on the ground, allow me to silently kill you without pain.”
“Hey brat you have no right to be here!!”
“WE WILL SELL YOUR LITTLE ARROGANT ASS BRAT!!!”
“Thank you so much for being so compliant, violence can only be answered with violence after all.”
Kuroe’s claws stretched as she quickly stabbed the throat of the thug closest to her, tearing out his spine in all of its entirety smashing his skull in leaving nothing but the lower half of his jaw using the excessive blood let out by his body she turns his spine into the handle of a battle axe. They were so shocked at the fast chain of events happening to them that it hadn’t clicked they were all going to die. Kuroe moved forward with the battle axe that cleaved two in one motion, she dragged their bodies backwards throwing them at the thugs at the back. Before they could do anything their heads were pierced through by blood daggers that spawned from the dripping blood of their former allies. All of the guards who were supposed to be protecting this place were dead.
Security was rather lax for the base of a criminal lord but that went in Kuroe’s favor as she cut the metal door that she found after going down a flight of stairs. She steps into what appears to be an arena, it seemed space distorted the moment she forcibly entered this place. The target sat on a golden throne like sort of king which made Kuroe chuckle for a bit as she looked up to him with a smug gaze in her eyes.
“An intruder in this place?I have to admit that you did quite the number on my men. Welcome to the Hyena’s Maw, an arena for bastards like us. Now then what is it that you wish?”
“Your death”
“That’s what all the heroes say, they die aimlessly though. You will share the same fate. I Gorzoff shall witness your pitiful death.”
“Heh”
“Men rush her from all sides, make sure she doesn’t escape this alive”
Her target clicked his fingers and suddenly the arena was filled to the brim with both his men and the fighters won were supposed to be fighting in it. Kuroe placed the battle axe on the ground and cracked her knuckles as they were rushing towards her. She closes her eyes as she calmly breathes in and breathes out. Just as a single blade approaches to touch her skin Kuroe opens her darkness filled eyes as her claws come out in full length cutting into pieces the people who were surrounding her. All that is left behind from the first wave of guards and gladiators were chunks of flesh and pieces of armor.
She kicks up the battle axe and slams into the first person that was unfortunate enough to be caught within its range, she reels him back as she chucks his corpse into the air. She isn’t done as she jumps into the air propelling herself even higher using his body aiming the prototype crossbow that her mother gave Odin. She shoots arrows that detonate upon contact with flesh, Kuroe lands on the ground and becomes even faster as she transforms the bone axe into a bone short swords which she uses to mow down entire waves of enemies who get in her way. She even throws one of them that makes a beeline as it approaches the wall creating holes within the bodies of the gladiators who get caught in its trajectory. It hits the wall and heads back to Kuroe who stands between it and guard whose body explodes into a bloody powder as she punches it into a thousand pieces that ricochet across the arena.
Those seeing her are left confused as they watch the slaughter that she is unleashing on experienced gladiators and mercenaries through sheer violence alone. The group of fifty mercenaries and gladiators were reduced to a mere ten who had to avenge their comrades somehow. Kuroe not breaking her momentum she uses her body to block the sword of the next merc and stabs him through using her bone sword, she leaps forward and slides below the huge frame gladiator who gets his legs sliced off with the daggers that are in Kuroe’s hands, she throws such daggers at the next guard who drops dead before he could land a hit on her. The rest try to fire highly offensive magic at her only to find it being absorbed into her armor.
“Time to end this. I hope you were all entertained my dear guests.”
The magic they had thrown at her is fired back in such a rapid fire way they are turned into cinders and ash before they could realize what was going on. There is death like silence as Kuroe stood alone all around her were corpses of the finest gladiators of this ring and the strongest mercs one could muster in the underworld. The guests were perplexed with what they had seen so was Gorzoff who froze as he watched his men die in less than ten minutes. The guests panicked and ran away as they saw the situation was way too abnormal to be real.
“Run as you may. I will track all of you down.”
Gorzoff was left alone in the room with only the mild steps of Kuroe walking towards him.
“Witness my pitiful death you say? That is very amusing”
The steps of death were drawing ever closer, Gorzoff sweating profusely and with fear screaming wildly in his heart. Who was this kid? Where did she come from? Why did she want everything he took so much time to build?
“I don’t want your stupid empire if that is what you are thinking. I only need to make an example out of you to show those in the shadows that me and my sisters are not afraid of hunting them down”
Kuroe removes her hood revealing her face which is twisted in a evil smirk that would make Yukiyo proud. He shrieked as she drew even closer than before from the untold torture she had inflicted on him.
That morning a scream rose from within the plaza of the city as all the city saw a grotesque figure walking oddly in circles, it was a disembodied body carrying its head, tribal like scars on its body on its chest is the message : A Gift From Abyss’ End. A message had been sent and now that was going to cause a massive panic amongst nobility. The knights knew that there was too little to work on and the information was not much thus gave up on it for now. Those who had planned to stop Arisa from meeting Kuroe and Shiro knew they had made a massive mistake and now the clock was ticking.
