As I considered our options Shaeula cried out. “Master, beware-beware! A powerful presence is approaching rapidly!” She threw up a green barrier, only to see it shattered into clouds of glowing jade, which quickly winked out of existence as yellow sparks of fire consumed it. A great roar filled with crackling heat sounded through the wilderness, setting what little grass and undergrowth was surviving on the barren soil ablaze.

Around us the skeletal trees waved their branches in glee, more cracks opening to furnace-yellow glows on their seared bodies. They almost seemed to be… saluting?... the huge presence that had charged us.

Ugh, that’s… just… I can feel my sanity points going bye-bye… cracking a joke to myself I regarded the monstrous beast, spear at the ready. It was a cross between a skeletal bear, whose bones were wreathed in yellow flame, and a blackened tree that was growing through it, dark roots tangled through its ribcage and down its limbs, holding it together like a pinned dinosaur skeleton I once saw at an exhibition with Hayato-san and the gang. The tree itself was around five metres tall, and its trunk was split in three places, forming blazing yellow eyes and a sneering mouth of flame.

“Foul perversion. Such an abomination should not be allowed to exist-exist!” Shaeula cried.

“I agree, but do you have a plan?” I asked, dodging as the skeletal bear raised its skull and exhaled a blast of flaming gases that exploded violently. Leaves were being shot from the tree too, sharp and hot. One just missed my eye, drawing a painful line along my cheek, and several gouged my arms and side. As silvery blood scattered free I tried to circle it, only to be attacked by roots and branches from some of the surrounding enemies. Several burning rodents leapt at me, and I barely fended them off, stamping on them as they fell to the ground.

“Of course I do-do, I am a proud princess of the Seelie, such abominations are nothing to me. I have done more than play games in your room, master, I have studied too-too!” she shouted proudly, bone birds raining from the sky around her. “But I shall need some time-time, the execution is… challenging.”

“No problem. I’d be a poor master if I couldn’t match your resolve.” My spear killed a tree, and then I ducked aside as one massive bone paw from the bear raked past me, slashing four burning furrows in the rock. Tendrils whipped at me, but channelling aether I called up a sharp sword in my left hand, severing them. As the sword dispersed once my concentration was elsewhere I counter-attacked, my spear wreathed in vibrations stabbing bone, breaking some of them, but more roots snaked out from the tree, holding it together. Branches then struck at me, and I barely blocked with the haft of my spear, staggering me. Leaves rained down like bullets, but with the little wind energy I had left I deflected them all. That’s it, I’m dry…

Using aether I ripped free chunks of the stony ground and flung them, shattering bone and wood alike, but the tree-bear of flames barrelled towards me, shrugging them off. It was then Shaeula unleashed her attack, consuming the two Etherites she was holding to empower it, as the Raven Knight had done before.

So you did use my idea… nice.

“Smother and fade away-away!” Shaeula intoned, as green energy spread from her like a nova. Where it touched yellow flames instead of being consumed it extinguished them, bone beasts falling apart, the trees collapsing under their own weight.

The tree-bear shuddered, fires dimming, one limb disintegrating, roots releasing their grip. It refused to die though, flames drooling from more cracks in the trunk. It dragged itself towards me, leaving trails of flame which winked out of existence rapidly. Branches speared towards me, but Shaeula had weakened it enough. I too was holding an Etherite, this one orange.

“Great job, you lived up to your boast.” I approved. “Be crushed and die!” I copied Shaeula’s line from earlier and drew on what aether I had left, supplemented by the power of the Etherite. The ground exploded into a series of stone pillars around the tree-bear, which then closed in with a sickening crunch. Stone fractured, as did wood, and it all collapsed into a pile of scorched rubble.

You have gained in strength. Your level has increased from eighteen to nineteen.

The message was doubly welcome. Thank god, it must be over. As I slumped to the ground, barely enough aether to keep me in the Astral, I felt the Territory collapse, bestowing me with several thousand ether, plus more for the tree-bear. Changing some to aether so I was not returned to the Material, I then noticed a glowing yellow ball moving towards me, where it began to orbit, giving off a crackling warmth. Is this… fire energy?

It had been a while since I first secured elemental energies from the Kamaitachi I had defeated. Now I had gained some more.

Shaeula sat down beside me, chest heaving from exertion. “It is over, we have defeated it-it. Another abomination has been laid to rest.”

“Yeah, mostly thanks to you. You used your wind energy to simulate some sort of air without oxygen, right?” I asked her, and she nodded proudly.

“My grasp on the aspects of the wind is far-far more advanced than it has ever been. I knew I could do it, though the mental image was… difficult for me. Using the Etherites as you suggested did indeed prove useful-useful.”

“Yeah, I thought it would be worth a try.” When I had used the Etherite to empower my attack without breaking it down for aether, it was… strange. Mostly it functioned as additional aether for the creation, but it also seemed to strengthen the rock pillars more than I would have expected. “… we need to find some more Etherites and experiment. It could be a useful trump card for us. But not today… I’m tired.”

“Indeed, we should rest up for the morrow-morrow. But first…” she pointed at the sphere of energy floating around me. “… you have gained some essence of fire as battle spoils. While fire is not as inimical to wind as earth is, combining the two would be extremely taxing upon you-you.”

“You think?” I smiled back at her. “I think you’ve just proved to yourself that fire and wind aren’t as opposing as you thought. After all, fire can be either empowered or defeated by wind, depending on how it is used. In fact, without oxygen, which is part of the air, there can be no fire. They fit together perfectly. And if it is understanding that is required…” My knowledge of fire was perhaps even better than wind. After all, fire was the rapid oxidation of fuel in an exothermic chemical reaction with oxygen. I knew about the colour of flame based on temperature, other types of oxidisation reaction, the feel of being burned (as a child like most kids I had touched hot things on the stove like an idiot…) as well as mythical and spiritual stories such as Prometheus and more…

Closing my eyes, I began to draw the yellow anergy in, similarly to how I did with the wind energy when Shaeula was training me. At first the trickle of wind energy my heart chakra was generating that circulated through my body resisted it, but after I fed the green wind into the fire to strengthen it the energy blossomed, gravitating to my solar plexus chakra, drawing into it and circling like a yellow vortex. A stinging, burning sensation prickled at my chakras, but I ignored it, concentrating.

I continued this for several minutes, slowly gathering insights, until the energy dispersed, spent. Opening my eyes to see a concerned Shaeula looking on, her amber eyes gazing at my abdomen, I smiled. “Don’t worry, I didn’t suffer any damage. I’m just a bit annoyed… I nearly grasped the secret to fire elemental energy. If only I had more fire, or even more wind energy to feed it.. oh well, no point wishing for what we don’t have.” I stood, pulling Shaeula to her feet.

“If we can find another source of fire energy, I know I can master it too. Fire and wind together, there are so many options. And since you understand a lot more about wind now, if you could do some studying on fire, I believe you’ll be able to manage it as well. I believe in you.”

Shaeula looked down, her face hidden behind her long orange-blonde hair. “If you believe in me-me… it should not be possible, but if you say I can-can… and if I was to master it, surely I would surpass my siblings…”

“That’s the spirit. Anyway, we’ve concluded our alliance with the Brown Dog kami, so I think we are owed a rest. Come on, lets return.”

Shaeula looked up and nodded at me, and with that we left the Boundary, for a deserved night of rest…

********

A sharp knocking sound woke me from my sleep. I felt a few aches and pains where I had been burned, but luckily I had only suffered light injuries, so my stronger body would heal them quickly. As I yawned and stretched, there came another round of knocks. Someone was banging on my door. Before I could ask who it was, my sister spoke.

“I know you are awake big bro moonstone. I’m coming in, all right?”

She didn’t give me any time to answer as she barged into my room, still in her nightwear. “Wow, I knew it!” she exclaimed, then winced, putting a hand to her head.

She looks pale. And she should show some modesty. She’s too old to be running around the house in her pyjamas.

“Shaeula is here! I knew she never came back to my room last night.” My sister continued. I could see Eri-chan behind her, peeking around the doorframe, eyes anxious. From what I could see, she at least was properly dressed.

“So, what did you get up to?” my sister closed in on me, staring right into my face. “You… you look different this morning. It’s hard to describe, but did you get cooler? Wow, I knew it. The ‘fashionable duo’ always says when a guy gets some love action they end up looking all satisfied and hot. I’m disappointed in you, big bro moonstone. To do such things here when you know Eri-chan is waiting…”

Behind her Eri-chan was waving a frantic arm to stop her talking, face crimson. Of course, my sister paid her no mind. Ugh, your breath reeks of beer, you’ve been drinking, haven’t you? Father is going to kill you… and probably me too, since he won’t be able to take it out on Shaeula, as she’s a guest…

“Not now, Aiko-chan…” Eri-chan hissed, and when her gaze met mine she ducked back behind the doorframe with an adorable yelp. It was at that moment Shaeula woke up, yawning cutely. Rolling over onto her back her yukata slipped a little, revealing her white shoulders.

“Is it morning already? Good morning to you, Aiko. I hope you slept well-well.”

“Eyes up here, buster.” My sister grabbed me. “So, just why is Shaeula in your room when she was supposed to be sleeping with me and Eri-chan, just us girls? What sort of business did you have to take care of?”

Shaeula burst out laughing. “You are indeed adorable Aiko. We talked of this last night, did we not-not? I will not step in front of Eri, should she gather her courage. I am a patient woman.”

Letting me go Aiko let out a very unladylike sound. “Tch, I guess so. And you two do live together right now, so if you were doing those things… ugh, my head. I think I’m going to have a cold shower…”

“That would be a hangover.” I advised her, getting a glower in return. “Still, it happens to us all. Just try and keep it from father, okay?”

At that Eri-chan popped her head around the door again, having composed herself. “Emily-san told me your father is suffering himself, drinking all that whiskey with Shaeula over dinner. He’ll be staying in bed until we have to go out and start preparing for the shrine cleaning and baseball.”

“In that case you lucked out, sis. I’ll make sure mom prepares you a breakfast that’s easy to digest. I’ve got some painkillers too here somewhere.”

“Wow, cheers big bro.” she thanked me. “It was fun drinking with Shaeula and Eri-chan, having a girly night, but maybe I’ll stick to one can like Eri-chan did next time.”

“Yeah, you need to build tolerance before hitting it hard.” I ruffled her hair until she waved me off. “Eri-chan did the right thing, not that I’d expect anything less, she’s pretty smart, unlike you.”

As Eri-chan looked down embarrassed, my sister complained that I was calling her dumb. Shaeula joined in, and with the sound of laughter we headed down for breakfast. It would be a long but hopefully fun day ahead…