~SKYLAR AMBERLY VITALIS

---

The inside of the structure looked like a cathedral.

An impossibly high ceiling and tall, stained-glass windows between towering pillars that made up the walls.

“Is this a place of worship?”

My question – quiet as it was – bounced off the wall in resounding echoes.

“It’s the gateway to the plains of the Sakura Mortem.” Amelie answered, “The place where we just came from.” she pointed over her shoulder at the massive doors that were closing of their own accord behind us. “There are several arcane protections in and around this place to prevent the influence of the plains to reach the rest of the campus.”

“Influence?” I arched a brow.

“When in season, the grass of the plains turns red, cherry blossom trees grow like extending veins and their trunks pulse…some claim to hear the voices when that happens. Little whispers in your ears… visions of shadows lurking behind the forest of fleshy trees.” Amelie waved it off, “In the past the wind would carry the falling cherry blossoms far and wide. It caused mass hysteria and chaos. Two cities burned down to the ground because of it before the barrier of the atrium was erected.” She pointed up. “There’s a crystal at the top, maintaining the barrier and keeping the influence in. Of course, right now it’s not active since the plains are not in season yet. But it’s still a place of evil and corruption… perfect for summoning things like you.”

I shrugged, “I’ll take that as a very underhanded compliment I guess.”

“It wasn’t.” she noted.

‘No sense of humour… She must be an absolute riot at parties.’

“So, Amelie-” she shivered slightly at my use of her name, “-you said you had hunter skills. Are you a hunter?”

“I’m a delver. Trained to explore ancient ruins, transcribe old languages, and deal with the dangers that come with spending long periods of time isolated and without daylight.”

“Any weapon of choice for dealing with monsters?”

“You mean the insects? Aerosol concoctions does the trick. My main concern is usually to not run out of air or water… but if you mean something to fight with, then I usually have a knife on me.”

“You mean to tell me that you have hallucination-inducing flesh-trees, but no monsters crawling in the dark corners of ruins?”

“Monsters? Like you? No! There are a few dangerous magical artifacts from the old eras, but that’s just due to their age and malfunction. Worse things you might run into are rats, but they turn out to be a blessing if you ever find yourself in a tough position.”

‘Well… I guess magic and the Lycaos race are enough fantasy elements for my first adventure.’ I agreed to myself.

“Then you’ll be entering the event using nothing but your fists?” I asked.

“Is there any other way?” she countered.

I had to chuckle at that. ‘Well, I guess we agree on something at least.’

I was planning to slowly make the transition to weapons in the future – since I had already acquired a minor affinity for using my chains – but I was still adept at hand-to-hand and was sure I would be capitalising on that for many years to come.

As we came out of the place, I could see that there was someone standing right in the middle of the bridge that sat squarely over a ravine.

I ignored the individual for a second to take in the scene.

On the far left and right were steep broken cliffs dipping into the ravine that separated the building from the rest of the ‘castle’ – which I now noticed were larger chunks of tall gothic-styled Victorian buildings placed close enough to each other to appear as one.

“I thought you said you wouldn’t be taking part in it.” Amelie addressed the female feline Lycaos.

“I meant the summoning.” the cheetah – identified by the black tear-lines that extended from her eyes to the corners of her mouth – spoke confidently while staring me down, “Did you really think I’d let you do something stupid alone? Who else is going to pull your tail about it afterwards?”

Amelie sighed heavily, and then turned to me. “Nocturna, this is-” she scrunched up her face “-my friend… Lexi.”

Lexi walked over to us, jogging lightly up the short set of steps. “I see the ritual worked.” she smiled widely at Amelie, flashing a bit of her fangs.

“This is Nocturna.” Amelie introduced me.

Lexi had a facial bone structure similar to what I now had – a morph between something vaguely human, yet distinctly feline – but where she was covered in fur, my skin was dotted in crystalline draconic scales.

She was also wearing an attire that showed much skin like my own. Although hers was out of leather rather than cotton fabric.

I appreciated the faint parallels – Lexi even had a similar physical build, except that she only had one tail, and it was also shorter. Not to mention that she didn’t have any demonic features.

But I would argue that the shoulder-length tangle of wavy red hair looked really good against the brushed yellow sheen of her clean fur.

‘I want to pet her!’ my cat-person brain was gushing, but I had little trouble keeping face.

“Nice mask.” Lexi said gingerly as she frowned at me… Giving me the same analysis with her round, piercing hazel gaze that I was giving her. “Do you have no eyes, or…?” she trailed off.

“I can see fine.” I assured her. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance Lexi. You look rather stunning.”

‘Fuck!’ I internally cussed, ‘I forgot that I can’t alter the words of my sentences if it makes it less true.’

I had simply meant to say that she looked good, but the compulsion to not lie was not leaving me much breathing room on that.

Lexi was visibly taken aback by my statement but recovered herself fast. “Compliments from a demon…” the black tip of her tail flicked a little, “who would have thought?”

Amelie gave me a sideways glance, but proceeded to ignore me. “Lex, if you’re coming with me then we need to go register now.”

“Why else did you think I came to get you?” Lexi crossed her arms over her non-existent chest and smiled smugly.

“So, what’s your area of expertise Lexi?” I asked as we made our way across the bridge.

“Ame already knows, and that’s all that matters.” she replied.

Clearly Lexi was being more wary of me than even Amelie was.

“We need effective corporation if we’re going to be a team.” Amelie said, clearly establishing herself as the leader of our newly formed trio.

Lexi voiced her disapproval of this in a loud sigh, but relented nonetheless. “I’m a scout. I’m not a specialist yet, but I have a decent set of stealth-skills.” she then stared me down, “How useful will you be?”

I shrugged, “I couldn’t say. Can’t predict that far into the future.” I waved my hand dismissively, “But don’t worry I can carry my own weight and then some.”

Lexi chuckled, “Is answering questions literally inherent to all demons?”

“I don’t know, but I now realise that there are plenty of reasons to choose to do so.”

“Nocturna is a fighter much like me…if I am to take her words as truth.” Amelie interjected.

“Demons can’t lie – According to the lore I know.” said Lexi. “Doesn’t mean they can’t deceive someone though.”

“Really?” Amelie sounded genuinely surprised.

“You didn’t read the book I gave you to summon one?” Lexi furrowed her brows.

“I just flipped to the summoning and contract.” admitted Amelie, “I didn’t exactly have the luxury of time.”

Lexi suppressed a groan through her teeth. “Of all the stupid things you could have done!”

“It turned out fine.” Amelie answered passively as she gestured to me, “Nocturna doesn’t seem as mindless as the ones you described.”

“Mindless in their bloodlust!” the feline emphasised, “Demons are notorious for their ruses! Even their calmness hides monstrous thoughts.”

“Well, if they can’t lie, can’t we just ask one directly if all of that is true?” Amelie gestured at me.

I was acting like the meek object of the conversation that I was and keeping very quiet up to this point.

“I’ll pay you the day you get a straight answer out of her.” Lexi bet as she pointed over her shoulder at me.

Amelie gave me a weird look.

“Depends on the question.” I answered her unspoken words.

~

The place was… artistic in all aspects.

And I committed the sights to memory for future work reference.

Wooden beams and struts melded seamlessly in and out of the stonework of the building walls. The reinforcement of the connections strapped by bands of metal that had decorative embossments on them.

Rounded wooden angles and sharp stone corners made for mixture of organic and artificial on singular buildings. The stones themselves were an array of pastel grey shades and irregular in form, but arranged in distinct patterns of which I couldn’t help but to try and take it all in.

The dull colours of the wood and the buildings was a perfect contrast to the activity and colour of their residence.

A multitude of Lycaos were spread around. Some conversing in groups and others walking with books or weapons… or both.

They were of all types of animals and colours.

There didn’t seem to be a majority of any kind.

I spotted a few cheetahs… but what also looked like thick-coated snow leopards and normal cats. There were wolves, dogs… clearly some foxes and the like.

‘No bird types…?’ I noticed. ‘No reptile types either…’

Was the Lycaos race just limited to mammalian types?

If so… then what was the limit?

Was their rarity reflective of the full animal counterparts back on Earth?

What about aquatic types, like orcas, dolphins… or perhaps whales?!

I wanted to discuss the implications of this with Fumiko as soon as I got back.

“Hey demon!” Lexi called out to me, “We’re pressed for time here, don’t just stop in the middle of the square!”

I shook myself out of my thoughts.

After entering one of the buildings and following a lengthy corridor, Amelia pushed open a large set of doors, and we walked into what looked to be the equivalent of a sizeable sports gym.

Of course, the place was more geared towards combat rather than anything else.

Aside from the bleachers that lined opposing sides of the walls nothing else was familiar to me.

The ground was fine sand, and there was an array of wooden training weapons stashed in one corner.

Directly in front of us stood… a female hare Lycaos, of about the same height as Lexi and me.

The height of her ears made her seem as tall Amelie though.

“Here to register?” The hare asked as she adjusted the stained bandages around her wrist. “I was getting bored, although there isn’t much time left anyways.”

“Do I assume we have to challenge you to get to the other side?” Amelie had already taken a ready stance.

“That’s not how registration for the gauntlets usually work.” Said Lexi.

“Well, what can I tell you…?” Shrugged the hare, “I don’t make the rules, I’m just helping to weed out the weaker ones. After all, you’ll never survive out there if you can’t even get past me.”

“I’ve never seen you around the academy. Are you a new teacher?” frowned Amelie.

“I’ve always been here. But I guess you’ve never taken my classes and that’s why you don’t know who I am,” Elaborated the hare. “However, you might have heard of my name. I am Elora Frey.”

“The one they call the Oracle?” Lexi seemed taken aback, “But… you’re not combat-oriented. You’re just part of the surveillance division,”

“So, you know of my title…” Elora mused, “But your assumptions are incorrect. I’ve been using my abilities for combat even before you were born little kitten.”

“If I have to get past you, then I shall!” Amelie announced with a growl.

I watched the exchange from a little behind Amelie and Lexi, taking notice that during the entire thing, Elora was eyeing me and sizing me up.

My two companions – being far to tense in the escalating heat of the moment – failed to take notice of this entirely.

“Before that, I suppose introductions are in order,” Elora said. “Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with any of you.”

“Lexi Omi. Scout-class.”

“Amelie Floe. Explorer-class.”

Elora arched a brow, “Any relations to the Ice Meisters of the north?”

“I don’t see how that’s relevant to getting past you,” Amelie countered.

“Fair enough.” Elora shrugged passively as she turned to me. “And you’d be…?”

“Nocturna,”

“No last name or class?” Elora smiled slightly, “You’re not a summon either… Care to satisfy my curiosity?”

“A contracted demon I suppose,” I told her.

“The taboo for demon summoning has barely been lifted for a week… and here I am facing one.” Elora didn’t lose her smile, “Whether or not you make the registration, I’d love the opportunity to go one on one with you,”

I returned the slight smile, “But I’m under no obligation to do so.”

“Would you like to make a contract?” Elora asked.

I was taken aback by this.

‘Am I allowed to make multiple contracts at once?’

It was one avenue I hadn’t even considered. And it opened up the possibility of paying my debt back faster… but only if contracts with people outside the ones who summoned me counted.

‘I’ll have to consult Gaia on this.’ I made a mental note.

“We’re not here for amusement!” Amelie growled at Elora before I could formulate my answer.

The wolf lunged!

“Ame, careful! She has future-sight!” Lexi warned – a fraction of a second before Elora leapt forth in a counter so masterful, I was rooted in place in awe.

~

~ELORA FREY

---

Despite her name, it was clear that the dire wolf didn’t hold a single trace of her lineage’s powerful elemental ice powers.

However, she was skilled in her combat prowess. Using her motion and weight to compensate for Elora’s smaller form and higher speed.

But the bunny-morph’s ability didn’t stop there.

The crown title of Oracle came with years of skills and masterful abilities that most would consider overpowered.

With active use of her future-sight she could constantly see five seconds ahead… ten if she really exerted herself.

So, Amelie’s feint failed.

Elora leapt a second before the leg swipe had even started.

The bunny-morph landed a hairsbreadth from Amelie, capitalising on the fact that the wolf was taller and heavier than her – thus slower to move.

Elora’s digitigrade legs were far more powerful due to her Lycaos species and stacked years of training. Not to mention the fact that she was already in a crouch… and primed for the hit.

Amelie took a step back to have enough room to bring down her fist – but this had been seen coming five seconds before she had even folded her fingers.

Elora shot up so fast Amelie’s punch missed and the bunny-morph’s knee met the wolf’s chin with the sound of a cracking whip.

The hare did a quick move to distance herself by pushing off Amelie’s chest and flipping backwards even as the wolf was midway through falling.

Amelie let out a muffled doggish yelp as her back slammed so hard into the ground the sand scattered form the impact.

Elora leapt sideways the instant one foot met the sand, avoiding Lexi’s stealth strike from her left with ease.

This had the effect to kick up the sand directly into the big cat’s face, and Lexi having to avert her face put her at an instant disadvantage.

Elora sidestepped back towards the cheetah. Grabbed Lexi’s face when it looked like she was just going to shoot right past. And used the cat’s motion from leaning back and her own from shooting forward so fast, to slam the back of Lexi’s head into the sand so hard that the cat’s legs swung up into the air as she folded in two over herself.

The entire confrontation was over in ten seconds flat.

Elora stood, dusting herself as she watched the two groan in the sand as they struggled to stumble back onto their legs.

“You didn’t attack…” the bunny-morph remarked the obvious to the demoness.

Nocturna arched a brow, “Should I have?”

“Demon! Take her down!” Amelie ordered from where she was on the ground.

Elora watched as Nocturna seemed to consider this for a second – but her ability was still active, so she saw the end result even before the demoness had left her spot.

The bunny-morph leapt into a spin and brought down a heavy kick as Nocturna reached her spot.

The demoness brought up her own leg in a near vertical split as her head ducked out of the way.

Both their metal protective shin guards met with the sound of a deafening clang of hammer on anvil.

The force stopped Nocturna from falling backwards and instantly recover from the dodge.

Elora landed with a look of absolute shock on her face.

Not because the demoness had been skilled enough to counter… but that her future-sight ability had failed to predict the dodge.

Elora had aimed her attack with the full confidence that it would hit based on what she had seen.

However, that hadn’t happened…

‘Does this creature have a prediction ability like mine?!’ Her brain nearly went into a panic since no student had ever done anything like that before.

But Elora calmed down when she saw the guarded stance that Nocturna took with her fists half folder at either side of her chin and her elbows close to her sides.

The demoness was clearly being too careful to allude to any signs of having prediction abilities.

Elora couldn’t help but chuckle.

Students had never countered her before, but there were plenty of good fighters and other teachers that could go toe to toe with her.

Skilled, fast to react to her opponent’s moves… Nocturna was an instinct fighter!

The reason her future-sight saw the hit landing was because the demoness wasn’t aware of the kick Elora had planned out, but it didn’t land purely because Nocturna had instantly reacted to the oncoming hit in the moment itself.

Since Elora’s ability was dependent on predicting events based on the state of mind of surrounding individuals. The future was privy to change based on the unpredictability of someone’s mind and actions as well.

“This is going to be fun!” Elora smiled genuinely at the demoness, as she amped up the use of her future-sight.