Guilty x Creatures Ch. 51

"That oath of loyalty ability that you invoke whenever you officially join a clan." stated Anton "How permanent is that?"

Clearly taken aback, Ila hesitated for a moment before narrowing her eyes.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." she said in a dry manner.

"I see." said Anton as he angled the kunai out over Leopold's left leg and then let it drop.

Both Nokko and the dark elves all turned at once to the sounds of Leopold's gargled cry and Ila's ear-shattering scream.

"Now, now, Leopold... You shouldn't waste your breath being dramatic like that..." said Anton as he pulled the bloodied kunai back up to his hand "You know you don't have the air left to spare for such theatrics..."

"Stop! Anton! Please!" cried Ila as she dropped to her knees "You win! You win! We'll leave! Please! Just let us leave!"

Anton's face was emotionless as he dropped the kunai onto Leopold's other leg.

Expelling his breath out through his clenched teeth the shinoccubus began to claw feebly at the ground as he tried to keep from crying out in agony.

All around Anton the rest of the clones began to dissolve away into nothing.

"It's permanent!" screamed Ila "It's completely permanent! Forever! Lifetime! Nothing can break it!"

"Not even your Makieve?" questioned Anton as he yanked the kunai free of Leopold's leg.

"...No!" whined Ila as she clearly struggled to answer "...Nothing, can!"

"I see. Well that's good to know... A bit unsettling as well..." nodded Anton as he turned to face her "If it really is as permanent as you say, then it's thankful it's something that can only be willingly invoked."

Ila gazed back at him for a moment before letting her eyes fall to the ground in front of her.

"That, isn't always true..." she mumbled softly as she shook her head "It, isn't always a choice. It can be forced..."

"...What!?" exclaimed Anton.

"...A demon, or a devil....They can force it to invoke." explained Ila in the same soft tone.

"...Are you serious?" questioned Anton.

Ila said nothing more as she nodded her head.

"...So does that mean that any demon or devil could do it?" asked Anton.

Again, Ila silently nodded her head.

Anton went still for a moment as he stared at her.

"...I swear, of all the neglect you've shown your daughter, this has to be the cruelest thing you could have ever done to her!" seethed Anton "You've left her to grow up believing that she was legitimately a fully free and independent person. When at anytime, one random encounter, one single event, and all that could be taken away from her! Forever! She could be gone in the blink of an eye! And not only did you fail to prepare her to defend herself from this danger, but you've given her no warning of it at all! Is this some kind of sick, terrible joke to you!?"

"You don't understand what you're talking about!" cried Ila as she began to tremble "She's not part of our clan! We can't just explain any of this to her!"

"Then you should have found someone who can!" shouted Anton "There is no excuse for this! You both should have done better! You two risk everything for the chance to give your girls a life of freedom, and yet instead of seeing this through to the end you went and brought your own brand of oppression with you by not giving them the information they desperately need to stay safe! Why!? Why when every year there are more and more cubi fleeing the demon realms for the freedom of Terra! How many of your own kind have already done the same!? And yet you couldn't have asked a single one of them to help you!? To help your children! What is wrong with you two!?"

"You don't know what you're talking about!" exclaimed Ila as she frantically shook her head "You have no idea! It's not that easy!"

"Yes it is!" countered Anton.

"No, it's not!" cried Ila "You don't understand!"

"And what do you think is so difficult to understand!? Hm!? Do you think I don't know that everything with you has to be a secret!? That everything you say and do has to go through a filter that's been ingrained into your very minds from birth! Do you think I don't know what you are!? Because I do! I know exactly what you are..." declared Anton as he slowly shook his head "I know, that you were never meant to be free... I know, that despite whatever dedication you may have to your clans. They were never meant to be yours... They were always meant to belong to someone else. And by extension, so were you and every one of your kind... This was the purpose that you were born and bred for. To blindly follow the orders of your betters. Those that sit above your clans. The one's who rule them, command them, and ultimately own them, as well as they do you... And I know, that no matter how far you run, what lies you tell yourselves, or how badly you may want to rise above this fate... Deep down, you will always feel their hold on you... And any doubt of this is shattered immediately by the fact that you've come here today, with your armor and your weapons, ready and willing to kill your own child. And all so that you can play lip service to calls, customs and traditions that you don't even want to believe in, but can never escape from..."

Everything remained still for a moment before Anton spoke again.

"Don't try to tell me that I can't understand you. When I understand you completely." said Anton as his face softened "I know exactly how you work. And I know that you can't just reveal everything about yourselves, even if you want to... I also know how far you've come... And I know how hard it's been for you... But unfortunately, that's still no excuse for not making sure that your girls were prepared. That they had the knowledge they needed... If Mica wasn't left as clueless as she was, then none of this would have happened."

"We didn't want this to happen, Anton." breathed Ila "We never wanted any of this to happen."

"I know you didn't..." sighed Anton "And for what it's worth, I didn't want any of this to happen either..."

Glancing down at Leopold, Anton found the kiogah had his eyes shut and was taking in one quick, shallow breath after another. Surprisingly, his expression was no longer angry, though clearly still in pain, his face gave the impression of exhaustion more than anything.

"...Leopold." said Anton in a soft tone "Are you done?"

Opening his eyes, Leopold looked up at Anton and merely gazed at him. Though silent, the confirmation in his eyes was still clear. Nodding in acknowledgment, Anton turned back to Ila.

"Ila." he called as he tilted his head to the side in an effort to crack his neck "I think this day has been long enough... And I'd like to see it end now. So if you'll bring me that stuffed frog you were carrying earlier, I'll trade you your husband for it."

The kiochi looked up at him in confusion for a moment before suddenly disappearing.

Reappearing on the other side of the now arriving dark elves, she gave them a wide berth as she quickly searched the field for the stuffed frog.

"Alright girls." said Anton as he addressed the dark elves "This is over. You two can let up on the theatrics now."

The two dark elves tightened their eyes in annoyance as with a poof of blackness they both suddenly appeared normal again.

The world around them immediately returned to its original state as they each dropped their auras.

"W-w-w-what the hell!" exclaimed Nokko as she looked around at the once again blue sky before glaring hatefully at the dark elves.

Reappearing at the edge of the crushed grass, Ila met Anton's gaze as she held up the recovered frog.

Nodding, Anton snapped his fingers and dispelled the intensified gravity.

Coughing loudly, Leopold lifted himself up on to his elbows as Ila rushed over to them and stopped in front of Anton.

"Thank you." said Anton as he took the stuffed frog she held out to him "Nokko! Come and help your Mother collect your Father."

The younger kiochi turned from were she was brandishing her weapons at the glaring dark elves and immediately disappeared only to reappear next to her mother.

"I didn't hit any bones, or arteries. So it should be a simple matter to heal him..." said Anton as he looked over the stuffed animal in his hands "If you need a potion, I can have one brought here."

"We're fine!" snapped Nokko as she helped Leopold sit upright while Ila popped open a thin tube and handed it to him.

Taking the offered potion, Leopold downed it in one go and then went still as he let it get to work on repairing his legs.

As her husband let out a soft sigh of relief, Ila let her eyes wander back to Anton and she watched silently as he began to brush away debris from the plush toy.

"...Anton." said Ila as she eyed the stuffed frog "You know we don't need that frog to find Mica. We have plenty of other items we can use. So why do you want to keep it?"

"...Because, I'm sure Mica will appreciate having it." answered Anton as he plucked a last bit of stuck grass off of the frog "The poor girl has already lost everything else today... And I think it would be nice for her to be able to keep at least a single piece of her old life... Even if it's only a small thing..."

Ila was silent for a moment as she stared at the frog.

"...I see." she said in a soft tone as she looked back at her husband "...That's very kind of you, Anton."

Staring back at his wife, Leopold found a growing resolve in her eyes and with another soft sigh, he closed his own eyes and nodded his head.

"...Anton." called Ila as she looked back at him "There's something I need to tell you... It's about our oath, and how it works."

Anton's movements immediately ceased as he stopped to listen.

"...This, isn't going to be easy for me to tell you....But I want you to know this, for Mica's sake." said Ila as her speech became strained "Please, just listen..."

Registering that this was a difficult thing for her to do, Anton kept his eyes away from Ila and said nothing as he waited for her to continue.

"...At times, there will be those among our young who are, for one reason or another, determined to be unworthy of joining the clan....Unusually, these would be those who are unfit for combat. But not always." explained Ila "...When this happens, a Makieve may decide to part with these individuals....And would set them aside to be sold or traded....They would often end up in other clans....This isn't something that any shinoccubi would ever want to do willingly of course, nor would any clan want to see its numbers drop like this, but it happens, often....To prevent these individuals from activating their oaths themselves, which would ruin their prospect of joining another clan, they would be enslaved with traditional binding curses....This would not only suppress their ability, but would also stop other demons from being able to just activate it, and binding these open shinoccubi to themselves before buying them."

Anton's expression became thoughtful as he listened closely.

"...Anton, you said, you were going to enslave Mica." continued Ila as her eyes tightened in sorrow "...Well if you do that, then no one else will be able to bind her against her will....Not until the curse between you is broken."

Anton nodded once in understanding.

"Anton, please listen... I'm sorry to ask this of you... I know I have no right to do so..." said Ila as a thin sheen of moisture formed over her eyes "But please, please take care of our daughter... Please keep her safe, even from us..."

Pausing for a moment, Anton nodded reassuringly as he lowered his eyes to the frog.

"I can only promise you that I'll try my best..." he said softly "But you do have my word on that. I will try... I'll do everything I can..."

"...Thank you." whispered Ila as she blinked the moisture from her eyes and turned back to Leopold.

Gazing at her for a moment, Leopold took a deep breath and grunted softly as he planted his foot against the ground. With the use of his tail, and with help from his wife and daughter, he quickly rose back up to his feet and turned towards the portal he and his family had come through.

"...Anton, I am not satisfied with the way things have gone today." he said as he kept his eyes on the portal.

Anton said nothing as he merely nodded.

"Be that as it may though... Business is business." said Leopold as he looked back at Anton "And this business won't affect any other business that we have with each other. You have my word on this."

"...Oh. Well, that's good to hear." said Anton as he turned to the shinoccubi and nodded in agreement "I feel the same."

"Good. Then I'll give you a call this week, and we'll set up a time to meet and discus your, other, business ventures." said Leopold as an air of fatigue seemed to overtake him "For now though... Have a good evening, Anton."

"...Yeah. Same to you, my friend." said Anton as a thin grin spread across his face "And to you, Ila, always a pleasure. And again, it was nice to meet you as well, Nokko. I hope you all have a good night."

Scowling angrily, Nokko said nothing as she hid her face back behind her mask and turned to face the portal.

"Yes, same to you, Anton." said Ila as she glanced from him to the dark elves and back "And I'm sorry, I hope we didn't disrupt your evening too badly."

"No, not at all." said Anton as he looked down at the stuffed frog in his hands "If anything you've made it far more interesting..."

"Well then... Good." said Ila as she started towards the portal "We'll be off then..."

Glancing back upwards, Anton watched the three shinoccubi make their way to the portal.

"Leopold, Ila!" he called out as they made to enter the portal.

Stopping short, both Leopold and Ila turned to him with questioning expressions.

"...If things turn ugly for you. And you find yourselves in a difficult situation." said Anton "...I'd like to know about it."

"...What are you talking about, Anton?" asked Leopold.

"I'm talking about your clan. If they find out about your girls. And they come for you. If there's going to be a battle, and you need an ally to fight by your side." said Anton as he looked from Leopold to Ila and back "Call me."

The two shinoccubi stared at him for a long moment before nodding softly.

Turning in unison, they and Nokko all quickly disappeared through the portal.

As the shinoccubi's portal winked out of existence, Anton turned to the waiting dark elves.

"Well now. I really don't think they expected things to go the way they did." he smiled as he began to head back towards Mica.

"No! No they did not!" exclaimed Fiona as she and her sister both fell into step with him.

"Did you see us, Master!?" cried Kianna excitedly "Were we scary!?"

"Oh, are you kidding!" laughed Anton "You were both amazing! In fact you were so terrifying that I'm pretty sure you've completely traumatized both Nokko and poor Mica!"

"Uh, yeah... Mica did kinda break down a little bit..." mumbled Fiona as she folded her arms above her head "I don't know if she's even going be okay?"

"Oh yes, poor Mica..." said Kianna as she shook her head "She really was looking like she was falling apart back there..."

"Well we can't really blame her for that." said Anton "She's been through quite a bit today..."

The three of them went silent as they approached the dome containing the still kneeling shinoccubus. As they came closer, the dark elves dropped the dome away.

Mica stayed still and continued to stare unblinkingly at the spot where her family's portal had disappeared. She showed absolutely no response to the dome vanishing from around her, or the arrival of Anton and the dark elves.

Anton had a sorrowful grimace on his face as he stood next to the kiochi and looked her over.

Mica sat on her knees with her arms hanging limp at her sides and her shoulders completely slumped. Her motionless tail was laid out across the ground around her and her stricken eyes were nearly vacant as they stared out at the now empty field. Thin lines of tears trailed down her cheeks and slowly dripped to the ground below her.

Leaning down, Anton silently offered her the stuffed frog he had gotten from Ila.

Without a word, Mica's head turned just enough for her to see the frog clearly. The expression on her face never changed, but upon registering what she was looking at, she tentatively reached out and took hold of the stuffed animal. Her gaze went back to the spot where her family had disappeared as she silently clutched the frog to her chest with one arm.

Fiona and Kianna both shook their heads as they looked from Mica to each other and back.

"How could they do this to her? Their own family member!" muttered Kianna "Argh! I wish those two hadn't gotten away from us!"

"Yeah... That was really fucked up how those bitches went right for her." said Fiona "No hesitation at all!...Would have been seriously nice to get a hold of them both."

"It really would have!" growled Kianna as she pointed her ears straight back "I was about to chop off that one's feet so she couldn't get away, and if I had, I could have really made her pay for this!...I know that would have been gruesome, but we could have just repaired her later... But then the other one jumped in and saved her!"

"Right, yeah. That was my fault. Dumb bitch turned into a shadow before I could catch her. And I couldn't get her out of it... Sucks too. If we'd had caught them we could have each had one to play with. Which would have been perfect." smiled Fiona "I'd love to have my very own kiochi to twist up into knots. I still really want to see how far I can bend one in half."

Mica blinked as she appeared to register that people were talking around her. Slowly she tilted her head and looked up at Anton and the dark elves. As the realization of who she was looking at seemed to reach her eyes, she clutched the stuffed frog even tighter against her chest with both arms and curled in on herself as she coiled her tail in tightly around her body. A look of raw fear spread across her features as her eyes widened to their fullest and quickly darted from one face to another.

The dark elves both blinked in surprise at the sight of the terrified looking kiochi who suddenly seemed to have become even smaller than she ever was before.

"I'm, I'm sorry. I, I give up." whimpered Mica as she began to tremble uncontrollably "Please. Please! I give up!"

"Wha, what?" questioned Kianna.

Mica flinched at the sound of her voice and hunched down even further.

"I give up! Please! Please don't hurt me!" begged Mica as she looked from Kianna to Fiona "Please don't decorate me again! Or bend me in half! Please!"

The dark elves both quickly looked at one another before turning back to Mica.

"I'm sorry!" wailed Mica in desperation as she frantically looked back and forth between them "I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! Please, I give up! Please don't hurt me anymore!"

"Oh, Mica we're-!" started Kianna.

"Ugh! After everything that we just-! Are you even serious right now!? You stupid, stupid little ninja-bitch!" muttered Fiona.

Kianna and Mica both turned to her the instant she spoke.

Fiona still had her arms folded behind her head as she huffed and looked off and away at nothing.

"...Fine!...I won't! I won't hurt you, and I'm not going to bend you in half!" said Fiona as she blinked away a thin sheen of moisture from her eyes "You can stop crying already, you little baby!...You're gonna be okay now....I promise!"

"I'm not going to hurt you either!" exclaimed Kianna "Ever again! I promise!"

Faint, desperate relief reached Mica's eyes as she looked back and forth between the two dark elves.

"...R-really!?" she whimpered as she tightened her grip on her frog "Y-you really promise!? For real!?"

"Oh... You poor little thing..." cooed Kianna as she bent over, planted her hands on her knees and flared out her aura so as to fill the area with a calming essence "You don't have to be scared anymore, Mica... You're going to be okay now... We not gonna be mean to you... We promise..."