Note: Sorry for the delay; every time I wanted to finish a chapter, I'd leave it halfway done lol.
I felt the wind brush against my body as we soared through the sky. A considerable amount of time had passed—at least according to my internal calculations—though in this world where the laws of physics seem more like suggestions, I could never be entirely sure. Still, something felt off. There was a strange sensation in the environment, a heavy static, as if the air itself didn't quite sit right with my presence, though I couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was.
Behind me, the group remained tightly secured to the curse I had summoned. The "Tank-Turtle" was performing its job with terrifying efficiency. However, when we finally landed a prudent distance from the settlement to avoid drawing attention with a monstrous entrance, I noticed my template's time was running out. In a blink, the imposing figure of Geto vanished. I reverted to the base form of Kaori Itadori.
The physical change didn't bother me; at the end of the day, this body was my anchor. But what did make me tense up was watching the curse disappear the moment the Binding Vow ended. With a mix of curiosity and caution, I opened the system panel to confirm the energy exchange had been correct.
Big mistake.
I felt my blood pressure drop instantly. My eyes locked onto a line of text glowing with metallic cruelty:
[Suguru Geto Template: Cooldown — 2 months.]
… … …
I stood there in silence, staring at that number as if I could make it vanish with my mind.
"Why?" I asked internally, almost in pain. Was it a side effect of forcing the curse's speed? I already suspected the system was temperamental, but two months? It was an excessive punishment. To make matters worse, the summons didn't even remain active independently. That made it a thousand times worse: I had just been stripped of my primary offensive arsenal in a world I was only beginning to understand.
I shook my head, swallowing the frustration. Kenjaku doesn't lament; Kenjaku adapts.
I looked ahead. The refuge rose in the distance, closer to the coast than my blurry memories of the show suggested. It was practically on the beach, the sound of waves crashing against the remains of old docks. Then I looked at Fred, Valeria, and Frida; the three of them were barely recovering from our "express trip," faces pale and balance shaky.
I glanced up at the grayish sky. In that moment, honestly, I wanted to cry out of pure existential rage, but my tear ducts remained dry. The void of Kenjaku was stronger than my urge to throw a tantrum.
After a few minutes, once I saw the group was in better shape to walk, I turned my gaze toward the nearby brush. I sensed simple biological presences. Pigs. I approached them without a sound, moving like a shadow through the bushes. Before they could squeal, I knocked them unconscious with a couple of precise, energy-reinforced strikes.
I took one in each hand. They were heavy, but with Kaori's body and cursed energy reinforcement, they felt like feather pillows. Two pigs. Plenty of meat. A good housewarming gift.
I returned to the group carrying the animals like grocery bags. Without saying much more, I gestured toward the camp with my head.
"It's time," I said flatly.
Fred, Valeria, and Frida followed me in absolute silence, alternating their gaze between my back and the pigs, processing the fact that the "mage" had just solved a whole week's dinner in under five minutes.
We began the final trek toward the human refuge, walking across the damp sand. The weight of the pigs didn't bother me thanks to the reinforcement, but the weight of those "two months" in my mind was another story. It was a weakness I couldn't afford to show.
"Is that... for them?" Fred asked, pointing at the animals with a mix of hunger and doubt.
"A bribe," I replied curtly. "Or an introduction. Call it what you want. In my old world, nobody turned down a good meal, and I doubt things have changed that much in this broken world."
Valeria watched me out of the corner of her eye, likely wondering how a girl of my stature wasn't sinking into the sand while carrying so much weight. Frida, for her part, walked by my side. Her eyes were glued to my hands, observing the perfect skin where a wound had been moments before, with a curiosity that was starting to border on scientific.
Arriving at the entrance of the refuge, I stopped dead. The structures were a mix of driftwood and rusted metal from old ships, forming a makeshift but solid barricade. I could sense at least a dozen humans inside, but there was something else. A discordant note in the energy of the place that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
"Fred," I said quietly, dropping the pigs onto the sand with a thud that kicked up a small cloud of dust. "Go ahead. Tell your people dinner has arrived."
He nodded, but before he could take a step, I grabbed his shoulder and locked my eyes onto his.
"And tell them this: if they try anything stupid, the pig won't be the only thing ending up on the campfire today."
Fred swallowed hard, processing the coldness in my eyes, and walked toward the entrance. I stayed behind, adjusting my flow of cursed energy. Without the Geto template for the next two months, I'd have to be much more creative if that "discordant note" turned out to be a threat.
I waited outside with the girls. While keeping my eyes fixed on the surroundings, I tried to confirm my suspicions. Based on the location and construction, this had to be the group of refugees Marceline would eventually join. If so, my path would inevitably cross with the Vampire King. Far from feeling fear, the idea excited me. I needed an opponent of that caliber; someone to force me to push Kaori's body to the limit and help me refine my cursed energy control now that Geto was out of commission.
Nodding to myself, I continued scanning the perimeter while we waited for Fred. The silence was peaceful for me, but for Valeria and Frida, it was torture. I could feel their nerves vibrating in the air, their eyes darting from the palisade to my hands every time the wind blew hard.
After a few minutes, Fred returned accompanied by two men. Both wore the characteristic animal hats, confirming my theory: this was the place, albeit a much rawer, mutated version than I remembered.
"Hello," said the man leading with authority. "I'm Tom. Sounds like you're new around here."
Tom looked me up and down. His gaze was analytical—the look of a leader who has seen too many people die—but he lingered longer than usual on the stitches across my forehead. They were the mark of an intruding brain, a scar that didn't fit the rest of my youthful face. I returned a ladylike smile, impeccable and polite, though inside I was still cursing the entity that brought me here for forcing me to play this female role. If I was going to be a woman, I would at least be the most dangerous one they'd ever met.
"You're welcome here," Tom continued, softening his expression slightly upon seeing the pigs. "And it looks like you brought food. That's worth more than gold these days."
He gestured, and the man accompanying him stepped forward to carry the animals. Tom signaled for us to follow, guiding us inside while explaining the basic workings of the base.
"Thank you," the four of us said in unison as we moved behind Tom.
As we walked, my gaze wandered over the people of the settlement. There were few children; those who biologically should have been kids seemed to have been forced into maturity, becoming youths prematurely developed by the necessity of survival. I shook my head inwardly, processing the decay of the species, until the group stopped.
"You have this spot for yourselves," Tom said, pointing to a wide but worn-out tent. "We'll be working on the ship if you want to help. There's a lot to do if we want to get out of here."
Tom turned and walked toward the massive ship structure, where dozens of people worked arduously amidst rusted metal and wood. I took one last look at the construction and entered the tent; the others followed immediately.
Inside, Fred, Valeria, and Frida collapsed onto what passed for beds on the floor. They were exhausted, and I didn't blame them. I felt an overwhelming mental fatigue myself, but that damn template restriction had me in a foul mood. I lay down slowly, closing my eyes to visualize my next move. I had two clear objectives: find the Vampire King to test my limits, or locate Simon Petrikov. If my memory served me right, Simon should be in the City of Wizards; after all, he was one of its founders.
"I hope these next few days are productive," I whispered before silence claimed me.
One week later:
The first week passed, and we adapted to the routine. Along with Fred and the girls, we began helping with the ship repairs. They shared everyone's dream: to flee, to find a better place. I didn't have the slightest interest in leaving, but I didn't say it; I gained nothing by breaking their illusion. Regardless, many humans looked at me strangely, as if they could smell that something about me wasn't "natural."
One month later:
An entire month had passed. I found myself atop a barricade under the shroud of night. While the others slept, I did what I do best: eliminating threats. During this time, I had discovered a variation of my energy, something I vaguely remembered as "Ryo" or concentrated bursts of power. However, my style was more pragmatic. I didn't just throw bursts; I molded them into pure, lethal spears of cursed energy.
I held the bow I had reinforced, imbued an arrow with a massive amount of power, and fired. The projectile cut through the darkness like purple lightning, piercing the chest of the twentieth vampire of the night before he could even scream.
I sighed, lowering the bow while scanning the horizon. I was one of the few who did this night watch; not out of heroism, but because my physical and mental endurance far surpassed that of any human on this ship.
"Nineteen, twenty..." I counted softly. "At this rate, the Vampire King's subordinates will run out of scouts before the ship is even ready to sail."
I looked at my hands, feeling the cursed energy flow more naturally every day. Only one month left to get Geto back, but with what I was learning on my own, maybe by then I wouldn't need him so much.
I leaned back against the cold metal of the barricade, sensing a familiar presence approaching. Heavy steps—confident, yet tired.
"Is something wrong, Kaori?" Tom asked as he sat beside me and handed me a canteen of water. It had become a routine. Every night while I stood guard, he'd come to check the situation and, incidentally, make sure his "best warrior" hadn't lost her mind yet.
"Nothing," I replied dryly. Without taking my eyes off the horizon, I drew the bow. A vampire was trying to sneak through the shadows, moving with a ridiculous confidence, as if he were the protagonist of his own story. I released the arrow imbued with cursed energy, and the purple trail erased him from the map before he could take another step.
I looked back at Tom, who didn't even blink at the display of marksmanship. He had grown used to it.
"Any news on the ship?" I asked, expanding my perception to ensure there were no more "guests" nearby.
"In a month and a half, I plan to have everything ready," he replied, and I could hear the excitement vibrating in his voice. "What do you think? Do you think we'll make it?"
"You're going to need plenty of coolers for the trip if you don't want the food to rot at sea," I said, aiming at another trace of negative energy in the distance.
Tom stayed silent for a couple of seconds, processing my almost cynical pragmatism, and then let out a raspy laugh.
"Haha... you're right, honestly. Always thinking about the logistics." He looked toward the settlement. Right now we were few—barely thirty people resisting in this corner of the world. It was a small load, but a heavy one.
I nodded, noting something that had been on my mind for days. "In the last few days, the vampire attacks have been decreasing," I blurted out so Tom could hear.
He turned serious immediately. The absence of an enemy is sometimes more terrifying than their presence. "You think they're planning something?" he asked in a somber tone.
I stared intently at a point in the darkness, a place where the energy felt especially rancid. For a moment, Kenjaku's instinct screamed at me to go there, to strike first, to find the Vampire King and end this. But then I glanced at Tom and remembered the other thirty humans sleeping below. If I left, who would look after them? For now, my "mission" of protecting humanity outweighed my boredom.
I shook my head, hiding my suspicions.
"I hope everything turns out well," Tom said finally, standing up and brushing the dust off his pants. "Goodnight, Kaori."
"Goodnight," I replied without looking at him.
I heard him walk toward his quarters. Just then, a mutant cow emerged from the edge of the forest. Without hesitation, I fired a clean arrow. Fresh meat for breakfast.
"Goodnight, Tom," I murmured to myself, feeling that with every passing second, the day of the final confrontation was drawing closer.
End of Chapter 4.