Amazon Apocalypse 6: Chapter 8

Sakura and I departed in the midafternoon. If our new neighbors were as heavily populated and loosely organized as my recent interrogations suggested, we could hopefully sneak in with returning scouting expeditions.

We arrived at the teleportation array we’d found during our diaper expedition. I could have risked this back then, but now I was arriving prepared.

After getting Doomseeker, my sword, and my Doomblade power armor all in fighting shape, I’d crafted a few mission-specific cloaks. These were experimental projects, but I was reasonably sure they’d been well-designed. In essence, they were similar to my stylish sunglasses, except instead of amplifying my charisma score to make me more attractive, this set of cloaks amplified our charisma stats to make us fit in.

A few tests had suggested the cloaks would be as good as invisibility on low-leveled people, at least for me. Sakura had less charisma to work with, so the cloak would have less effect on her. But there were a lot of strange oni around, so hopefully one more would go unnoticed in this settlement.

We stepped onto the teleportation array and looked around. The one we'd just arrived from was still hidden, from the looks of things.

Like us, the people of this new settlement were using hand radios for medium-range communication, and there was one by the teleportation array. Sakura leaned over and spoke in Japanese, though thanks to my Forerunner title I understood the words as though they’d been spoken in English.

“Two to teleport,” Sakura said, and suddenly, the array technician on the other end activated the array.

We vanished in a flash of light, then were in that void space for only a moment as we made the brief trip to the settlement we were spying on.

“Please vacate the platform for other incoming hunter teams and sign in your return on the left.” A bored Japanese woman twirling a pen hardly even looked at us as she struggled to stop herself from yawning. Her bored expression changed when she saw Sakura though.

“Err... I mean... do whatever you want, Miss. Your companion still has to sign in, but I will not restrain one of our honored alien guests.” The woman stood, bowing at the waist and remaining with her head lowered in Sakura’s direction.

“I don’t think your magic cloak is working,” Sakura whispered to me as she tugged at the cloak I’d given her.

I shrugged and guided her away as I looked around. They might not be working perfectly, but the fact that we weren’t surrounded by guards meant they were working well enough for me.

Since the array technician wasn’t looking, I snuck away without signing in. Getting into the city was as simple as walking to the fence that walled off the teleportation landing zone.

“Welcome back to New Kyoto, Miss Oni.” The two human security officers hastily opened the gates and let us through.

I was once again thankful I’d brought Sakura. My research had suggested oni had a much easier time navigating this place than humans did, thanks to their guest status. For my part, the cloak did a good job concealing my foreign features since pretty much everyone I was seeing on the city streets was from the old Earth country of Japan. Either this shard had not absorbed other human settlements as we had, or they had deliberately kept themselves separate.

“Did they seem scared of me to you?” Sakura asked once we were past the gate guards.

“It might be your level,” I suggested, though already I suspected there was more to it than that. The people here all looked like they’d been on the wrong end of a rampaging oni warrior at least once and were acting accordingly. Though the sidewalk was crowded, people stepped aside to make way for Sakura. Less so for me, but sticking close to her side made exploring the streets easier.

After a short walk, we arrived in what had likely once been a commercial district. The place looked surprisingly clean, considering how much damage the integration had done. Several skyscrapers stood in the area, though likely not as tall as they once had. The misshapen ruins that the System had made while copying buildings had been cleaned up, rebuilt, and repurposed into new structures.

There was less heavy construction equipment than we had back in Crownhill, and no magic AI-controlled golems, but the people here made up for it with a surplus of labor we lacked. As I had suspected, there were far more people on this shard than back in Crownhill. Crownhill had been a town pretending to be a small city, but Kyoto was a big enough city even I'd heard of it before the integration.

They had done an admirable job using the free debris the System had given them to building infrastructure suited for the new world we found ourselves in, including an outer city wall. More impressive to me, though, was the lights. I could see electronic devices active and in use through shop windows and apartments. They had gotten electricity up and running just like we had. Perhaps running water too, from the look of things.

Something else was surprising as well, though it was so ordinary on old Earth I didn’t notice it at first. We were walking on the sidewalk because the streets were used for cars. Most of the vehicles on the road were smaller-sized utility trucks, but they were on the road, and they were traveling from one side of the city to another. Many were traveling in the same direction we were with their trunks and trailers loaded with goods.

The fact that the locals had gotten so many motor vehicles running and kept them running after the integration was impressive. Crownhill's supply of fuel was already dwindling. Where were these guys getting theirs?

The fact that they were using so many trucks at all gave me an idea of the economy of this place. Groups like those I’d run into scoured the nearby shards for resources gathered them and then brought them to market here in the city. Unlike Crownhill, where just about everyone was an adventurer, here most people were low-level civilians working jobs, not all that different from the ones they might have before the integration.

“Those look like nice boots,” Sakura pointed, eyeing what might have once been a boutique cobbler’s shop. Sakura was staring at a pair of sturdy leather boots made from monster hide in the window.

I chuckled, shrugged, and then walked in. Once there, I met with the shopkeeper and haggled with him. Thankfully, monster cores worked well enough as currency, and he was willing to trade. He didn’t even seem to notice that I was speaking to him in English instead of Japanese. He was too busy bowing his head in Sakura’s direction.

Sakura walked out of the shop with a new pair of boots, and I placed an order for something that would match that singular boot the System had given me as a reward for completing the last integration stage. It wouldn’t have the bonuses the System’s boot gave, but at least I wouldn’t look ridiculous wearing mismatched boots.

All in all, I was impressed by the city of New Kyoto. To rebuild something like this after the disaster of the integration was an impressive feat. The only thing that bothered me was the way people looked at Sakura. There was more than a touch of fear and deference there.

Eventually, we figured out why. Ahead of us, a C-Grade oni scowled at a shopkeeper and waved a broken wooden club in his direction.

“This testubo barely managed a single hit! I thought you humans were supposed to be skilled craftsmen!” the disgruntled oni man said.

“A thousand apologies, honored customer. But as I warned you when you made your purchase, your C-Grade strength is far too much for ordinary wood. I would need better materials to craft a weapon that could withstand your strength.”

The craftsman bowed his head with his hands folded at his sides.

The oni warrior, still angry, was unimpressed by the display of humility. He reached over and grabbed the bowing craftsman by the neck and hoisted him up so the two were looking eye to eye.

“I’ll teach you to sell me faulty products. Perhaps there’s one too many of you human carpenters around here.” The oni warrior drew back the broken shaft of wood and looked like he was about to bury it in the human craftsman’s stomach.

If that didn’t kill him, the hand around his shirt collar probably would. The two had a vast level difference between them. The oni was C-Grade while the human was F-Grade.

Around us, people kept their heads down and pretended they couldn’t see what was happening. Sakura and I shared a look. This sort of thing would never be allowed in Crownhill. Level difference or not, no one was allowed to simply kill someone else over a disagreement.

Even here, it was too much for us to watch without intervening, even if it risked blowing our cover. And so intervene we did. Sakura and I exchanged a nod, both already walking toward the commotion.

“Hey, you there,” Sakura said, strolling up to the oni with a casual sway of her hips.

The oni turned to regard her, but all he saw was Sakura’s knuckles flying straight for his face. Her fist collided, and he went flying into the nearby wall.

A tremendous thud rang out through the city square. We already had eyes on us all over, but now that was doubly true.

“Y-you bitch!” the other oni groaned as he pulled himself out of the dirt. “Don’t you know why I am? I’m from the Agowa clan of oni!”

Sakura jumped over to where he lay and punched him again.

The two fought, though Sakura was ready for B-Grade any day now and vastly outleveled the C-Grade she was fighting, so it was more of a beating than a fight. I left her to it while I helped the shopkeeper to his feet and straightened his shirt.

“Does this happen often?” I asked.

The shopkeeper glanced over at Sakura and the other oni fighting.

“Our new guests are somewhat prone to violence. All we can do is accommodate them as best we can. We need their protection from a dangerous new world.” The shopkeeper shrugged. He still looked nervously over at the oni Sakura had on the ground. She was smashing his forehead into the pavement over and over again.

“Remind me, what’s the deal with the oni?” I asked. This was a question I’d tried to get out of many people outside the city, but they were tight lipped. I’d noticed every expedition was either all oni or a mix of humans and oni, but here in the city it was clear the overwhelming majority of New Kyoto was human.

It was strange that there weren’t more high-leveled human adventurers. Thankfully, the shopkeeper was much less tight-lipped than the adventurers had been.

“During the early stages of the integration, the yakuza and several prominent families in the city transformed into oni and revealed their true heritage. Their ancestors were not humans, but aliens from a distant world. And they still had connections to that distant world. They used those connections to summon their kin from across the stars and protect us from all the monsters and enemies this System would otherwise use to destroy us. They are a race of all warriors, and promise to serve us like samurai. And with their superior oni blood, they are the only ones who can surpass the level 25 bottleneck our race faces.”

I frowned. Did these people not know it was possible to evolve their race? I'd encountered the level 25 bottleneck for baseline humans too, and all it meant for me was that I had to become a better form of human.

My skepticism showed on my face as I asked for clarification. “In other words, they’re a warrior caste. And they say they will protect you while you work all the jobs to keep society running? They’re the rulers, and you’re the peasants?”

The shopkeeper winced. “That is an uncharitable way to put it. But things are not so strict as a warrior caste. The protectors of the town are former humans who have chosen oni racial evolutions by the grace of our new allies. And it is possible for our hardworking sons and daughters to prove themselves useful and eventually be selected for an opportunity to gain levels and become an oni themselves.”

It seemed to me that the people of New Kyoto had been scammed. Levels weren’t hard to get, nor were racial evolutions. But the ruling government, council, clans, or whatever was in charge of this city was hoarding all opportunities to leave the city and level for their own people. Their alliance with an off-world faction meant their rule was secure, and they were transforming themselves into oni to make themselves a permanent ruling class.

None of it sat well with me, and I was getting a bad feeling about the future. If oni ruled here, they would likely be antagonistic to a human-ruled faction as their neighbors. If they treated their people fairly, we’d be competition. But if they were all like the guy Sakura was beating up, these guys wouldn’t like their peasant laborers realizing they could run things just fine on their own.

I helped the shopkeeper dust himself off. The guy Sakura was beating up finally stopped moving and lay collapsed on the ground. We stood and dusted ourselves off.

I hadn’t planned to make quite this big a scene. When Sakura started walking toward the other oni, I thought she was just planning on intimidating him a little, but since it turned into a fight, things had gotten a little out of hand. We needed to disappear before our cover was completely blown.

“Excuse me,” I said, taking Sakura by the wrist and snaking through the crowd with her trailing behind me. We left the other oni partially buried in the sidewalk.

“That was a little more than I had planned,” I whispered to Sakura.

“I could tell he wasn’t going to listen to a firm no,” Sakura said in reply.

Unfortunately, slipping away wouldn't be so easy. Someone must have alerted the local authorities, and already they were moving to intercept us. A siren was blaring in the distance, accompanied by hurried footsteps and shouts to clear the road. Something similar was happening behind us, and it was clear we were cut off.

“Looks like our scouting expedition is finished. Shall we go?” I held out my hand, ready to take flight. Cutting off the road would do nothing to impede my escape when I could fly and cut through dimensions.

But Sakura shook her head. “I want to see the people in charge of this place. It’s poorly run, and I plan to give them a piece of my mind.”

I had similar ideas, but I planned to do more than just give them a piece of my mind. I didn't think a few words would change things here. It would take action, intimidation, and probably chopping a few heads.

“And if they throw you in prison?” I asked.

Sakura flashed me a smile. “I’ve always wanted to be rescued by a dashing hero. I’ll signal you when I want out.”

I chuckled, grinned, then dipped my head in her direction as I shifted to the shadow realm alone. I had to admit, I was also interested in meeting the local authorities. Sakura could use this opportunity to learn what we needed far faster than walking the streets. I’d just have to pull her out of there if things ever got too much.

A mixed group of policemen and oni warriors showed up on the streets. The policemen were nothing special, all under level twenty-five. They drew handguns and batons as they circled Sakura, outnumbering her twenty to one, but the real threat was the three oni warriors that accompanied them. Two wielded more war clubs, while a third held a glaive with a slender sword-like blade at the tip.

One of the policemen shouted at Sakura through a megaphone.

“You’re under arrest for assaulting a member of the Agowa clan!”

Sakura held up her hands and grumbled. “He started it.”

The three oni warriors moved in and circled Sakura, weapons pointed at her all the while. A few of the police officers tried to dart in with handcuffs, but one of the oni snorted and batted the officer in question aside.

“Don’t bother, human. She’ll snap those like twigs,” the oni warrior said. He was taller than the others with the gruff mannerisms of a career soldier. I’d seen plenty of female onis of his type working for the Samhain Clan back on Themyscira and Glacia.

They surrounded Sakura on all sides as they walked, and I followed as closely as I could while still looking like I was part of the crowd.

“You have two horns. Your bloodline is strong, traveler. Did you wander here from Onibushi?” the male oni warrior asked Sakura.

“I am Sakura Miyamoto. I came here looking for my father,” Sakura replied.

I suppressed a chuckle. There wasn’t a lie anywhere in that, but it would lead the oni to their own conclusions. Hopefully, Sakura had heard enough from other oni on Glacia and Themyscira to feign being from Onibushi.

“Miyamoto? Don’t lie to me.” the oni warrior gave Sakura a stern look.

“Call me a liar again, and I’ll do to you what I did to the Agowa clan bastard behind us,” Sakura scoffed.

That gave all three oni warriors escorting her pause, and the local human policemen took a few steps back.

“...Perhaps I was hasty. You will come to the castle with us.” The lead warrior turned to the policemen. “She is a guest, not a prisoner. Strike this incident from your records.”

“But she assaulted someone else on the street! By law, we are supposed--“ a policeman started.

“Does it look like I give a damn about your human laws? The strong do as they wish,” the oni warrior snapped back in reply. Then he turned back to Sakura, ignoring the humans completely. “Come, sister Sakura. Let's talk about your family.”