Ethereal Paradigm: Arcadia of Darkness 64 Unforeseen Incursion

"Be alert and be sober of mind. Your enemy, the devil roars like a devouring lion, seeking whom he may devour."

- Bible 1 Peter 5:8

━━━━━━━━┓ ✠ ┏━━━━━━━━

After that, we took our first steps towards the dark forest... Along the way, we slew different slimes. They are aggressive compared to those that are exposed outside who genuinely played with Shiro, which leads me to this conclusion that staying in the dark really does have an adverse effect... Not that I could care.

As we go deeper, the monsters get larger and palpably stronger. Now, we are on our guards... I know where the monsters are coming from, while Shiro has this innate talent to utilize the mythical weapon in hand. With such a combo, I point out to Shiro where to aim Grendel next and she'd do the slaying. I feel like a MAFIA boss now, wrongfully exploiting juveniles to do the dirty work, but I can't let this kid stay in warfare without any vivid experience. She needs every experience that she can get as early as possible as I act this optimistic hero-cameo protecting her from any scene of the inevitable brutality. hat, simply won't do.

In every throw of the chakram, it's not just the monsters who get slashed to half, but also some of the age-old trees that are peacefully standing on the background. I now think there's nothing that this weapon can't sever... not at this caliber.

Next, we fought, an unpredictable monster... A rabbit taking the size of a grizzly bear with both ears long enough to touch the ground. At first, it presented itself as a cute and adorable white life-sized teddy bear, but Shiro is cautious enough to unhesitantly kill it the moment it stepped closer to us.

As it received its first dent of wounds, whilst quickly evading the full impact the chakram could have caused, it uncovered its true colors, which is very much a stereotype. It's fur suddenly began to metamorphose to red-colored and its eyes began to take a different shape and its steamy mouth opened to an extent that made it look like the Marvel villain, Venom, but uhm... the rabbit-version.

It's fast to boot, probably on par with the speed of Grendel's chakram form...given that it is not able to gain proper momentum due to too much resistance along the way... no winds, no vast space, not to mention it has to bump into some trees at some point slashing it with a clean cut. Oh, well, I can just do this. No cringe balderdash this time.

As the red rabbit stepped in one of the shadows in pursuit for us, I took hold of its feet using my paradigm's binding ability to immobile it, and for Shiro to have a clear target. Then, seeing how vulnerable the target is, Shiro using Grendel, slew the monster and hacked through the monster's insides that made its repulsive guts spill all over the ground.

Shiro is looking tired for all of that throwing that operates through her dexterity and control over the weapon. And as I'm about to suggest that we need to take a rest, she thought the otherwise, and still is willing to continue.

"Here, some water..." I handed out a bottle from the bag.

"Arigatou, Oni-chama!"

With as little as few gulps for rehydration we then continued, but this time, I'll make the workload lighter. I just can't let a kid, suddenly become my bodyguard or some sort.

Bigger and more aggressive slimes. Red Rabbits that want our flesh for dinner awaited us.

With every appearing monster, I take hold of it, using any dark means. Whether it be by the shadows that the trees have been giving off, or just by simply manipulating their insatiable dark intent, and then Shiro would deal the first and the last hit, with every average-looking monster not surviving the first throw. Shiro seeing my rather bleak manipulative ability, and sensing that it's probably;y my doing, asked all of a sudden...

"Oni-chama, is that your paradigm?"

"Yes. It's to control anything that is black into anything that I want it to be"

"Woaaahhh!! So that's why Lacrimosa onee-chan gets along with you."

"Really? Maybe. Ahahaha" Although, I know that the case is in a completely different field.

"We really are a great team oni-chama!"

"Of course! I couldn't have done it without you, who's surprisingly really are quite notable in using Grendel."

"Grendel? Who is that oni-chama?"

"That's the name of your weapon, did you forget?"

"Ah right. Tehee! I am the primary school champion in frisbee, oni-chama! While catching Grendel-san and throwing him is heavier, but they do the same, and return to my hand!"

So that explains why she is good at using it. Good thing the reason, is without supernatural aspects. Champion huh? So she is an athletic type. I presume. But, Grendel is palpably different from the normal frisbee... It's packed with crimson blades and is, as the girl has said, 'heavier' and way bigger to boot. I think Shiro is just plain genius in using these types of ranged weapons.

With that being said, we continued forth as the scarcely-seen sun also slowly started to dawn in front of us, but then... suddenly... it all felt weird... As if both of us had stepped into a trap laid especially for the both of us... An 'Unforeseen Incursion'.

And it's not only me who felt the sudden shivers, but Shiro also did too, as she stopped suddenly while turning her head towards the different directions looking as to where it might come from.

"Oni-chama...?", she whispered, while strongly clinging to Grendel.

"Yes...I know, Shiro. Just pretend you did not feel that. Ok?" I said while the girl shook her head to show approval but the expression in her face, spelled the same nervous and confused girl when I first saw her.

I then patted her, right in the head and placed her closer to me as both of us continued to walk silently assessing the environment in every step, cautious of the underlying peril.

Silence dominated the whole forest which became a little tainted by the dawning morning star whose golden rays could even barely enter the forest... and I don't like it when things get silent.

'Now, what's happening?' With the question in mind, I hastily scanned through the whole area, using the lurking dark things and every shadow that I could get in contact with...

To my surprise, the moment I gained a 360-degree angle and perspective of the whole area once more... the monsters which should only be appearing in the deepest part of the forest are now, surrounding us- two cute bowls of human salad. That explains why there was an urgent increase in ill intent on the already eerie atmosphere.

Yet, why did Shiro also sense it though?

The monsters... they're suddenly appearing on my radar of intensified senses as if they were teleported or something on purpose. The gorilla with the crystal in its back... the wolves with the varied number of tails... even some Chimeras and Red rabbits are fast approaching, not to mention, there's something gargantuan, creeping undergrounds.

And it's not just the monsters that I'm sensing. In a thousand meter radius, I can clearly see nine? No, more than ten presences of whose species I can't prove, all veiled in the same white robes in a humanoid form, but taller and has short horns... and then, a message from one of them, overtly delivered by the shadows around it...

"Finally... the girl, a perfect sacrifice to our living king has arrived. THE KURENAI!!!... Her, heart. Oh, I can sense it from here... Its tender texture would give an explosion of taste to the mouth... Ahhhh!! What a splendid aroma. Purufufufufuffufufufu... Finally! OUR KINGDOM COULD RISE ONCE AGAIN!!"

Kurenai? Whatever that may be, it seems that they are after Shiro? Well, sorry. No matter what reason you may have, you can't have her... and you probably won't leave from here unscathed.

Chapter end