Artemia: Journey To The Thirtieth Floor

50. The Nekomatas

My gut told me not to come back, but I didn't listen. And now, I might have created a disruption to the flow of events that Yuki planned. Or maybe this is all part of it. But something's telling me that this isn't a part of it.

As I tried to pass through the barrier, it repulsed me. The barrier repels those that belong to the side of the kings, so why...? I am not one of them! I'm only fighting for Artemia's sake, for Yuki's sake! So, why?! I haven't done anything wrong...

I bit my lower lip as I tried to stop myself from crying. My body began to get weaker, and I slowly fell to the ground. I looked at the camp, hoping that someone would see me...and eventually help me. I waited...and waited. But no one came to my aid.

"Why...?" I asked, unable to stop myself from crying.

Finally, it finally dawned on me that everyone was busy after what happened. I slowly stood up, even though my legs were trembling. There's nowhere for me to go...except the mountain that Fuyumi made before she died. It's near this place, so I think I can get there before passing out.

I laughed at myself for having the audacity to go to that place. But I don't have a place to go if the camp doesn't accept me. Even though I was freezing, I kept climbing to the summit. This body was already cold in the first place, so it doesn't matter. I just couldn't feel it that much.

When I finally reached the top, my body automatically fell in the snow. Surprisingly, it was...warm. If this was any other day, I would have smiled because of how fascinating it is. But it wasn't. My expression remained blank, as well as my mind.

I decided to look up at Fuyumi's memorial in front of me. As far as I know, this was made by those three. There was a stone with Fuyumi's portrait. I'm guessing it was Kasai who painted it since he's the most artistic out of the three. There were also a bunch of preserved flowers.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to impose on you, but I don't know where to go..." I trailed off as I crawled near the memorial. "Oh. I bet you're sick of my apologies by now."

I sighed as I lay on my back, facing the beautiful sky. There's something fascinating about this place, even if it's only made of snow. Maybe just the fact that it can stand like normal mountains do instead of turning into a hill or snow is impressive.

Fuyumi is really amazing, huh? Honestly, I don't understand how she was able to do such a thing. She even laid her life on the line for this! I feel like there's so much more to this than meets the eye, but I can't point it out.

"What are you...?" I muttered as I looked at the portrait once again as I began to doze off.

"Orca! Are you planning to abandon us?! You don't have any regard for your daughter?"

Eh...? What's this again? Oh, gosh. All I want is to get a good sleep so that I can return to normal by tomorrow, but now I'm seeing someone else's memories again? What is this bullshit? I am not amused by this at all. But I have no other choice. I'm already here, so I have to witness all of this. Maybe it's important, so I'll pay attention to it.

"Mother, please..." a child that looked like Freya pleaded.

Oh, is that Fuyumi as a child? Freya looked like that when we were kids, so I figured it was Fuyumi since they look alike. Not to mention, the woman that she was clinging onto was calling Orca. The sea monsters said that Fuyumi was Orca's daughter.

"Be careful with your words, Hinami."

Hinami...? Then, I'm right! Hinami is really Fuyumi's mother. She looks like a lynx, so I think she's indeed Fuyumi's biological mother. But something doesn't seem to be right, and I don't believe this flashback would be the least bit pleasant. It seems to be the beginning only, but I'm already getting bad vibes from it, especially after seeing Orca. One sight, and you would know that he's evil.

"What? I'm right, am I?!"

Orca grabbed Hinami's face as he glared at her. "Don't lose sight of the fact that I'm doing this for the benefit of...that...demon kid."

I gritted my teeth when I heard what he said. There's no way Fuyumi is an actual demon. Maybe it was just an exaggeration because of her appearance. Well, Fuyumi just looks like a human. That's a bit of a...feline to me. She had the ears, paws, and eyes of a lynx. Although I doubt that Orca is wrong after seeing my reflection when I was in Fuyumi's body, I know that Fuyumi wouldn't hurt anyone.

"Fuyumi is not a demon!"

Orca laughed and looked at Fuyumi, who was trying to hide from me. "Hina, stop deceiving yourself. Do you know of any children in Artemia that develop horns after coming into contact with blood? Surely not! Not to mention those fiery crimson-hued eyes of hers! It's time to get up and move about! You can't deny that child is a monster!"

"Fuyumi is my child! That she's not a typical person is a given. But I'm sure she's not a monster..." Hinami shouted as she hugged the poor child who was crying now.

"At this point, all you're doing is denying reality. So, if that kid isn't a demon, why are you keeping her hidden in this place?"

"It's because she was always getting hurt."

"That's because she's a demon, after all!" Orca insisted, and it made me want to punch him in the face. Sadly, I can't move from where I am. "Let me tell you something...this is a futile argument. Sorry, but I'm leaving. Please do not anticipate a return from me."

I could see Hinami baring her fangs at him. Fuyumi was loudly crying as she watched her father leave. My heart constricted in pain because of the way she sobbed. Poor kid. She probably never asked for anything like this, yet she has no other choice but to deal with it. I wonder why Orca treats her like that when I'm sure that she's never hurt anyone in her entire life. Judging by Hinami's statements, it seemed like Fuyumi was the one who was getting hurt instead.

Anyway, the scenario didn't change like how I expected it to. Instead, it just kept playing as Hinami brought Fuyumi to the living room. She left her there so that she could whip some food up for her. The poor child was still sobbing as she hugged her knees. I wish I could give her a hug and tell her that her stupid father was wrong. And whether she's a demon or not, I'm sure that she won't stir some trouble up.

"You've been through a lot, huh..." I murmured.

She eventually stopped crying when she saw something. I followed her as she walked towards a familiar-looking sheath and sword guard. Oh, it was the one that she's been using! I know because I've held that sword for as long as I can remember. Wait, a month isn't that long...but it felt like I had been holding that sword for as long as I can remember.

My eyes widened when I saw her unsheathing it. What the hell is she doing?! But I couldn't do anything about it because I'm just watching this whole thing from...Fuyumi's memories, I think? Whatever, that's not important! This kid! She was crying just a minute ago, and now she's holding a f*****g sword! Where the f**k is Hinami?!

I gulped when she ran her hands across the blade. From what I have heard, it seems like her appearance changes whenever she sees blood. Well, at least that's what I heard from Orca. Maybe that's the reason my appearance turned into that when we were fighting Scylla. But I have seen a few bloodbaths before that already, so it didn't make sense that it happened there.

I prayed and prayed that Fuyumi wouldn't get cut, but as cliche as it can be...she did. An enormous amount of elemental power seemed to be released when blood began dripping. Even though I'm just spiritually here, I felt chills as Fuyumi changed. The white dress that she was holding turned red. Her big doe eyes also turned red, and her paws turned into dragon's claws! A pair of horns grew from her forehead as well.

My mouth went agape as I stared at the form that she took. She doesn't really look like a demon...unlike how I did during that time. Instead, Fuyumi looked like a baby dragon. She looked incredibly cute that I wanted to pull her in for an embrace. But it didn't like anyone would be able to do such a thing when she's at this state. Her power would push anyone who isn't strong enough away.

I must admit, it's a bit scary...

Hinami came as soon as she transformed. She cast a binding spell upon her, even though she was having a hard time due to the sudden spring of power. I bit my finger, hoping that she would succeed in bringing Fuyumi under control. I was nothing but a bystander here, so all I could do was pray. Damn, this kid is hella strong...

"Oh, dear heavens..." Hinami muttered when Fuyumi finally turned back to normal. She cried as she pulled her daughter into a hug. "I thought we had promised that we wouldn't touch the blade again? Why don't you ever give heed to what I have to say?"

"Mother...was a woman of valor and determination. I adore you, and I want to be as good as you in all I do." Fuyumi replied in between her sniffs. "So I must work really hard...and be a fierce fighter in the process! It is my responsibility to keep you safe from father."

Hinami's lips trembled as she looked at her daughter, unable to speak. That was the exact reaction that I had made. Fuyumi must have seen all their fights and decided that she was going to get strong for her. I smiled as I watched Hinami cry in front of her daughter, touched by her statement. All she could do was pull her daughter into a tight hug once more as she cried. The two of them have to go through a lot, don't they? But I wonder what happened to Fuyumi...

I thought I was going to wake up after that scenario, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I'm pretty sure that this is nothing but a hallucination, yet a lot of things are happening. Ah, when is my peaceful rest supposed to occur? All I could do was heave a heavy sigh and watch the change of events. This better be something that would provide information for me.

"Scylla and Charybdis were confirmed to be the chosen nymphs! They have gained the ability to command the sea monsters," a woman whose face was blurred said.

Hinami smiled. "I knew they had what it takes," she replied as she looked at the group of kids playing in front of them.

The kids were none other than Fuyumi, Scylla, Charybdis, Yuki, and the twins. Oh, I'm glad that Fuyumi had them as friends. Heh, that's really sweet. I remember being like that with Freya back then. We were inseparable, just like these children. Ah, now I suddenly miss my best friend. Why did I have to see this? Now I feel like crying...

"I've had this question on my mind for a while..." the woman with a blurred face trailed off.

Hinami laughed, but that laughter sounded empty. "Did you wish to discover why Fuyumi had a feature associated with the extinct Nekomata demons?"

"Eh? Demons?"

Hinami took some time to answer as she looked at the seas. It seemed like she was contemplating whether she should continue to talk about it or not. Well, I can't blame her. There are a lot of consequences if she casually tells another person the truth about Fuyumi. Let's say she freaks out and stays away from them, then her life would be in danger, as well as Fuyumi's.

"Mm. I've been keeping this a secret because I feared Fuyumi would be offended by it, but I can't keep hiding the truth. She and I are both sprung from that demon race, and we share the same bloodline. Would you believe me if I told you that I am the only surviving descendent of this clan...?"

The woman gasped, but she did not distance herself from Hinami. Oh, then they're going to be safe. "Are you certain that it's appropriate to speak about this?" she asked as she looked around, worried that a spy was eavesdropping.

Hinami smiled. "Because Yuki is here, no one is keeping an eye on us today. She despises it when other people pry into her and her private life. When someone disobeys her orders, that child becomes highly enraged."

"Oh. I get what you mean. Then...do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions?" When Hinami nodded, she heaved a sigh. "After all these years, you have never devoured anybody, so how did it become possible for you to survive...?"

"First and foremost, let me inquire as to whether you are terrified of us. Any moment, I might drag you into the jungle and eat you alive."

The woman laughed. "You would never do such a thing."

Hinami snickered. "You trust me too much."

"So, then...?"

"Although I just had a trace amount of their blood in my system, it was enough to alter my genetic structure. As a result, I'm able to survive without needing to devour someone or drink their blood. I have the ability to morph in the same way as Fuyumi does, but I refuse to do so."

"Why? I'm sure you'd look absolutely stunning. I've only ever seen Fuyumi transform once, and I can say that she was absolutely majestic..." the woman said, almost sounding like a fangirl.

"Orca would abhor me," Hinami replied as she looked at the sea. I think I heard the woman snorting, but I'm not too sure if it was her or Hinami. Damn, another Orca hater here. "In spite of the feeling of remorse within me for lying to him, I must remain reliant on him in order to live."

"It's because of his enormous life power that you've been able to survive...!"

Hinami nodded, sighing heavily. "He is the sole reason Fuyumi, and I are still alive. He is our only hope. However, I am concerned for my daughter, Fuyumi. She can't seem to keep her need for blood under control...."