The Hidden World

“How are you still standing?” Inferno asked at last. “That blast would have incinerated anything standing in it.”

“You overestimate the strength of the blast,” Yuki said. “If someone was to expect something like that coming, it would be trivial to erect a barrier and a few protective charms to mitigate or even eliminate the damage.”

“How did you know that a blast was coming then,” Inferno muttered. He looked at Yuki with narrowed eyes before taking a half step back. “Your eyes.”

“So you just noticed?” Yuki grinned. “Every word you chant, I know. Every move you make, I can see. You picked the wrong group to fight with.”

With that, she let go of her elven disguise. She grew a bit taller, her eyes narrowing as they became slanted. Her dragon horns sprouted out from her head while her hair took on a shimmering sheen of silver. Small scales began to appear on her skin at certain intervals that reflected the light of the blue flames flickering around her. Then, from her back, a pair of dragon wings extended out, covered in iridescent silver scales.

Once her body had finished shifting, she let out a low growl that rattled the ground. The two elves before her stumbled back as if a shockwave had hit them. A shockwave that originated from Yuki. 

“Sadly, there isn’t room for me to show you the true scale of what you are dealing with,” Yuki said with a mocking frown. “But maybe that’s for the better. I wouldn’t want you collapsing from the pressure.”

“Demon,” Inferno hissed.

“Astounding observation,” Yuki replied. “I wonder how you came to such a conclusion. But enough. You had your fun and your chance.”

Raising her an arm above her head, she summoned her mana en masse, all of it gathering in her palms. Then she smashed the ball of magical energy as she closed her hand into a fist. The mana bursted out, sweeping outward in a circle. Everywhere it touched, the fires died away and the winds slowed until nothing of the domains Inferno and Whirlwind had erected remained. 

“Those flames were a bit of a nuisance, weren’t they?” Yuki said with a soft voice. “I think this entire place could do with a renovation.”

Inferno’s eyes flickered around as he realised what she had done.

She curled her fingers and walls of mana rose from the ground, encasing Yuki and the two elves in a dome twenty yards in diameter. Anyone beside them that were trapped inside were shoved out, getting yanked like puppets on a string. Then the walls solidified, forming a barrier that separated Yuki and the two elves from the rest of the world.

With a snap, the land within the dome began to morph. The incinerated patch of land that Yuki stood on healed itself, the grass growing back lush and green. Trees erupted from the ground, creating a small forest within the area. The earth split between the trees, the new trench becoming filled with flowing water that had no source and no outlet. Rocks sprouted up around this small stream, giving the illusion of a bank.

“Isn’t this nice?” she smiled. “Much nicer looking than the boring yellow green field.”

“Are you trying to scare us?” Inferno said. “All you did was grow some trees.”

“Little one. If that’s all you can see, then you are blind,” Yuki replied with a light chuckle. 

With a thought, she appeared behind them, sitting on a throne of earth. The two elves started and looked around for her, unaware of her presence just a few feet away from them. 

“Like a mouse in a maze,” she said. The two elves spun around and took several steps back.

Realisation of the reality of their situation seemed to hit Whirlwind first. His lips pressed together into a thin line as he looked around the dome for an exit. Then Inferno closed his eyes and took in a small breath before nodding.

“We’re in your domain, aren’t we,” he said.

“Excellent,” Yuki smiled. “That’s exactly where you are. I’m sure you know what that means.”

“That’s why I can’t feel your presence,” he said, narrowing his eyes.

“So. Since you were so kind to chat before we fought, why don’t we do the same,” Yuki said. “It’s not like any time would be wasted. In here, we can chat for as long as we want.”

Inferno’s expression tightened for a moment at her words before nodding. 

“Alright. Then tell me. Why did you drag this out for so long?” he asked. “You obviously have much more mana in reserve.”

“To show you,” she said. “I want you to truly understand what you are dealing with when you make all demons your enemies. You needed to understand just how small you are compared to us. 

“You are overconfident. Too ignorant. That isn’t to say that I don’t understand why you are how you are. You must have had an encounter with a demon before. It must have left quite a deep cut on you. A cut that hasn’t healed for years. A cut that has festered and become infected with thoughts of murder and genocide. When was it? When were you cut?”

“Two hundred years ago,” Inferno replied, his voice low. “I joined the Shikaku a few years later.”

“The Demon Purges,” Yuki nodded. “A common thread among people like you. You became the top of the Shikaku in such a short time. Impressive. But do you know what caused the Demon Purges?”

“The demons,” he said matter of factly. “Everyone knows. Demons were plotting, just like they were hundreds of years before that where they failed. They were going to try again.”

“So that’s the story you know. That’s quite sad. I assumed a demon killed someone dear to you during one of the many battles during the purge?”

“Yes. They descended down like evil spirits onto my hometown, laying waste to everything. Many were lucky to get out alive, but too many weren’t as lucky. My best friend and my elderly mother weren’t one of the lucky ones.”

“And that is quite unfortunate to hear,” Yuki said. “Caught in the crossfires of a war. Many innocents lost their lives during the purge. And many of them were demons.”

“They were not innocent.”

“Really? Demons who were living peacefully in your towns were suddenly persecuted on accusations based on rumors and conspiracy theories weren’t innocent?”

“There was proof,” Inferno replied. 

“Of course, of course. Proof is so hard to get, so if the government with ulterior motives comes out with some, that means it’s concrete, doesn’t it?” Yuki let out a giggle. “Do you know who started this entire purge?”

“Why wouldn’t I? The Shikaku,” he said. “We discovered the plot and we moved to action. We saved lives.”

“I see. If that’s how you want to see it, then I don’t think I can tell you otherwise,” Yuki shrugged. “It’s not like you can do much to repent even if I was able to convince you.

"But the pain and suffering you have inflicted on too many will forever out weight whatever past you hold. Nothing you have or will ever go through can justify your actions. If anything, you should be thanking me. I'm saving those you claim to protect from the fate you are going to have."

Yuki noticed Whirlwind’s eye twitch for a moment and felt a slight push in the fabric of her domain that she swatted away with the smallest of efforts. 

“You’re never going to break my domain,” she laughed. “You can try as much as you want. You’re stuck here.”

Inferno didn’t reply and instead lifted his sword, pointing it at Yuki. 

“Ooo, scary,” she said, putting her hands in the air. 

He attacked, Whirlwind joining him as they began slashing at her with sharp blades. She danced away from them, weaving in and out of their attacks. This time, though, she went on the offensive.

Her first flashed, striking Whirlwind in the ribs, the bones slightly giving under her knuckles as she felt them crack. Then she grabbed Inferno’s blade with her bare hand, closing her fingers around it and snapping it in half before using the sharp to stab him in the thigh. 

She began a series of precise strikes on the two elves, her body bolstered by mana as she moved at speeds quicker than they could react to. She broke bones and dislocated joints. She tore tendons and ligaments with twists and pulls. Her fingers prodded pressure points while her half transformed nails slashed their skin, drawing blood until they were painted crimson. 

While she punished the two, she felt them trying to go into their elemental forms to evade her physical strikes. She wouldn’t let them. Try as they might, but as long as her domain stood, they were subject to her every wish. 

She continued her assault, never letting up once until every bone was broken. Her anger began to pour through as memories of her adopted parents and aunt went through her mind. She remembered the birthday parties they had together. She remembered the way her mother sang her to sleep. The way her father guided her through the woods, pointing out the animals they saw. She remembered it all.

When she stopped, the two elves were flat on the ground, their clothes ripped to shreds and stained red. Their limbs were limp and pointing in directions they shouldn’t be. Their swords were nothing but fragments. Whirlwind was no longer conscious while Inferno’s eyes were barely open.

“This is barely anything,” she whispered, leaning over him. His jaw couldn’t move to give a verbal answer. “I don’t have the time to show you the real pain. The mental pain.”

She raised a hand, the two bodies of the elves sinking into the ground as the earth rose up to consume them. She gave them one last cold smile before they were covered by the land, no trace of them left to be found.