Novel Full Chapter 352 - 352 Aftermath
We now return to the story of our regularly scheduled protagonist.
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"What!" shouted the tiny Rock "You can't do that!"
"I can and I will unless you calm down Rock" said Uncle with a soft smile. While this was happening, Kamiko was making her way over. Her body still had a soft pink glow, but she was clearly wincing as she stepped, likely having trouble with the injuries she sustained to her ankles.
*I wonder if she wants help? No, don't be stupid, of course the poor girl wants help she has massive burns on her legs. Why would you even ask that question?* Kat shook her head, realising she was much too used to her own ability to heal, and the stronger demons she'd seen. Even Seralina was mostly fine to move after her not insubstantial injuries.
Kat quickly flew down beside Kamiko and offered a figurative and literal hand. "Yes please. Sorry to make you worry" said Kamiko, keeping her speech short for once, which triggered a bit of unease in Kat. Forgoing the idea to support her, Kat instead bent down and swept Kamiko off her feet and flew up to the platform.
While this was going on, Rock was still throwing a tantrum. She was stomping around the crushed rocks and looking exceptionally unimpressed with things. She was shouting a lot as well though Kat was tuning it out and Uncle still had a calm smile so it mustn't have been considered too bad.
When Kat made it back to the platform Uncle turned and asked, "Kamiko, would you like me to heal you completely or just your legs? If it's just your legs you won't need your entire body covered"
"I think it would be best to do everything" said Kamiko still in Kat's arms. "It's actually a little hard to speak still after that punch in the face and I can feel it starting to swell up, so if I get you to do that as well I'd lose the ability to talk anyway."
Uncle nodded, and gestured for Kat to put Kamiko down on the chair that formed out of the pillar at some point. Kat did so, and watched as Kamiko was wrapped up like Seralina was, though obviously with much less beard.
Finally, Rock seemed to calm down, but as soon as she did so, she collapsed onto her back and seemed to pass out. "Um… what just happened?" asked Kat
"Rock has… a unique… I suppose you could say, ability. Most of her kind have a core that makes up all they are. This core controls the body, which is more like a puppet. Rock however does not. I personally suspect she has some Living Shadow ancestry to blame but I really don't know and neither does she.
"One of the benefits to this, is that she can survive just about anything, even better than you can Kat. While we aren't sure how small it's possible for her to be, she once ended up the size of your palm due to an accident in her childhood.
"The problem however, as you saw just then, is that because her mind isn't tied to a specialised core, but instead to her whole body… her intellectual capabilities scale somewhat with her size. She does have a limit, she can't be much bigger than you saw initially, but when she is smaller she acts… well not quite, but the closest example is like a child.
"The strange thing is though, when she regains her lost mass, she will still remember everything. I'm not sure where her memory is stored but it can't be in her stone because she loses large chunks of it semi-regularly but keeps her overall mind. Oh, and one more quirk is that she can't use rock she's used before for some reason" said Uncle.
*Should he really be revealing this much information? I mean, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed listening and it was really informative but… is it right to just give away her secrets like this? Are demons normally so free with this sort of information?* Kat bit her lip and decided to ask. "Are demons normally so free with that sort of information"
Uncle glanced over to Seralina, who looked happy to step in. "Not really no. Most demons keep it close to their chest, especially Wrath demons. It's actually a rather harsh punishment to spread the abilities of another. One of the greatest joys in fighting other Wrath demons is figuring out your opponents' skills and abilities.
"I suspect however, that is exactly why Uncle saw fit to inform you, or perhaps more specifically Kamiko. She did a number of dishonourable things. First, she insulted both of you, multiple times, then she declared a wildly advantageous combat type intentionally, and didn't limit herself because of it.
"Um, what I mean by that is… well it's like your wings. We know that you'd win, or at least make it exceptionally hard for any of us to fight if you used them Kat. We simply don't possess that ability, so it gives you such a strong advantage to be not worth the fight.
"Rock asked for a duel to first blood, knowing of course, that she didn't have blood. This is seen as rather… well, it's seen as the sort of thing only dishonourable people or cheats would use. I'm honestly rather surprised Uncle allowed it"
"If you don't mind me jumping in?" said Uncle, who with a nod from Seralina continued, "She's right that it wasn't something I'd normally allow. I'm still a little torn over it and not sure I should have allowed it… but on the other hand, both you and Kamiko are Rank 2 demons and already have a good advantage over the rest of them.
"Of course, that was the point of the day so it's not like they can be shocked, but I do want everyone to use everything they have in these fights. It's supposed to be hard or impossible to beat you two even with your lacking martial training.
"So, I wanted to allow it because it was a smart tactic. However, I also wanted to ban it or tell her off because it was a dishonourable one that was acted on because of spite. In the end, I allowed it because I believed Kamiko would likely still win but… I'll admit it might not have been the right decision"
It was at this moment that Kamiko's cocoon cracked open and she stepped out shaking off the pieces of solidified beard that still clung to her outfit. "It's ok Uncle. I did beat her. Well, I do really wish you'd called the match when she had my naginata sticking through her chest. I didn't know she'd be fine after all, and the match really was over at that point. Even if it took an extra move to really seal the deal, it was essentially no different"
Uncle coughed awkwardly. "Yeah… I probably should have ended it there… I admit my desire to see her returned to a smaller form after her transgression may have been a motivating factor"
Kamiko frowned. "Well, that's all well in good but if I'm honest I was a little traumatised." She said in a cheery voice that for some reason didn't undercut the point. "I mean, I had to twist the knife, rather literally in the poor delusional girl's chest. Even if no damage was done, and she can't exactly feel it I doubt it was pleasant.
"I know it certainly wasn't for me. I had bits of dust on me from her, which while certainly more sanitary than flesh and blood pieces is no less disturbing when you realise that it still very much is pieces of her body that nearly went into my mouth, and only because I kept my energy circulating, did I avoid that"
Kat shuddered. *That is not a thought that I really want to remain in my head.* Kat brought Kamiko into a big hug, and decided she didn't really care what the social graces were, she was using her tail to grab the poor girl as well. She seemed rather confident in the fight, but now Kamiko looked more than a little put out.
Kat was surprised then, that after freezing slightly when Kamiko felt Kat's tail wrapping around her, she quickly returned the favour pulling them both tighter together. A warm feeling spread through the chest of both girls. Kamiko for finally having a friend, and Kat for getting a new one. This action seemed to firmly cement what had been said earlier in the minds of both girls. If there were a few tears that sneaked out of Kamiko's eyes well… she certainly didn't have perfect recall, and Kat's clothing repelled water so there was no evidence at all.
While Kat and Kamiko were having a much-needed hug, Seralina went off to retrieve her wayward friend.. Pulling the sleeping Rock into her arms, and then setting her on the top of her snake half, she slithered back to the podium while making sure that even while she was climbing, Rock wasn't going to fall off.