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“Bit large, isn't it?" Renamon remarked, looking up the immense castle walls in front of her. “Maybe compensating for something?" Raia shot her an irate, crossways look, prompting an apology. Raia, her head cleared from a night of actual rest, had come to realize that the one who had been tormenting her from a far in the real world was very likely the same as the owner of this castle, and the one who'd been hounding us since we got here. Understandably, she was a bit sore about the subject, as we all were, honestly. I was just as ready as she was to tear this motherfucker apart, and I knew Renamon wouldn't be far behind either of us.

“Alright, so we found it, what now?" I asked. Once we began looking around us, using the direction provided by the ever-so-helpful, unfortunately late Cherrymon, we realized we must have been tracing circles around this gigantic, opulent, dick-waving castle. After a collective groan and blush at how much trouble we went through, we ran the perimeter of the grounds to get an idea of the fortification. Needless to say, it was more than overkill, as I doubt anyone around here would ever even think to fuck with this “master". That, of course, was excepting us, and left us wondering just how the fuck we'd get in.

“We can likely scale these walls, but getting you in is another matter entirely." Renamon glanced to me, then back to the wall. “The walls are steep and worn smooth from time, so even for us, a direct ascent would be very dangerous." Raia nodded in agreement, watching Renamon walk close to the wall and give a half-assed attempt to scale it, just to check, I'd assume.

“Direct route is out too." Raia noted affirmatively. “From what I recall from my time around here, there's some real badasses who wander around, and if this master is all he's cracked up to be, he probably has more than a couple of them on staff. We'd no more than blow a wall open before getting jumped by a few champions and an ultimate, and then we're really in the shit." I nodded and leaned against the wall, taking a moment to think.

Looking up the wall, I examined the bricks again. They looked brittle from age, hell, even the cracks between them were supremely diminished. Even for the girls, with all of their dexterity, there was no conventional scaling of this wall. I racked my brain, putting together as much of the information we'd acquired as I could, and came up with something very, very stupid. I stepped away from the wall and looked towards where the main gate of the castle was.

“How desperate are we?"

=====

Dear god, I hope this fucking works. I took a fist-sized rock in my hand and bashed it against the front gate, not even close to breaking a hole through the aged wood. Satisfied with the noise, I dropped the rock at my side and stepped back, just in time to not get caught by the door opening. At first, nothing exited the dark innards of the castle, but after a moment, two Devimon emerged, followed by a NeoDevimon, undoubtedly their superior. The Devimon both looked surprised when they got a good look at me, but the NeoDevimon faced me with a posture that suggested he was glaring with skepticism, his mask doing little to hide it.

“I heard you were looking for me, so here I am. Hope you weren't expecting something el-" I yelped in surprised as the NeoDevimon snapped its arm out at me, securing the massive, razor claws into my shoulder, then lifting me up. I screeched in pain, feeling my tendons hanging taut from the gleaming spikes, then sighed in relief as he wrapped his other hand around my torso, releasing the tension.

“You," The ultimate barked, his voice distorted and reverberant, directed to one of his subordiants, “Prepare a storage space, the master may need time to ready himself for this one." With that, I was hauled into the castle, leaving me only to pray that the Renamon would be able to execute their half of the plan. The castle's walls were thick and cold, only half of what I was expecting. As we delved deeper in, it seemed to only get colder, bringing up bad memories, due to the context. With little to do but wince in pain and wait to finish being carried to wherever the fuck I was headed, I decided to reminisce a bit.

I brought myself back to the cold dome, all the way up on the skyscraper. The IceDevimon was there again, stronger than he should have been, and too strong for me. Was it just bad luck? Was this whole thing some gnarled turn of fate? The longer I thought about it, the angrier I got. That stupid fuck took something so important from me, and I couldn't do a thing about it. Why did I get a second chance? Why am I here, now, so far out of my league that it's not even close to funny? Is it because I couldn't let the loss go?

Now's not the time for this, you need to be prepared for anything!

No, now's the only time. I have to fix this shit. I couldn't deal with the loss of something so precious to me, so I jumped right to something that was close enough. I used someone to fill that void, and Renamon doesn't deserve to be made into a replacement like that. I love her though, and I couldn't let her go either, when Raia came back to me. When does it stop? I have to let this finally end soon. Maybe the time for that was coming very soon.

As the NeoDevimon reached the top of a set of stairs, he shoved open a set of thick, tall doors, bringing us into a grand hall. At the far end, I saw a large throne with what could only be described as a demon sitting in it.

“What's your game, human?" He called out as I was brought to him. “Don't bullshit me either. You take out my agent, then you show up here anyways? You clearly have intent to do something. Tell me, or I kill you outright." The NeoDevimon slid his claws from me and dropped me to my feet, then backed away. Clearly the master had no worries about being able to handle me. From how it looked, it's not like the NeoDevimon could fare better than he would in a fight anyways.

“No, you won't. Don't bullshit me." I said, wiping the blood from my wounds as my face grew stern and hard. “We both know that if you wanted me dead you would have done it. You've been fucking with me since I got here, but there wasn't anything close to an attempt to kill me, just you trying to steal Raia. I'll be fair and answer yours first before asking a question of my own. I have no real plan. I make this shit up as I go. This was my only way in."

The demon stood and approached me. “You're clever, but I knew that. Fine then, I wanted a conversation, human, let's have one. Luke, yes? I am Daemon." I tried my hardest to not roll my eyes. Most. Original. Name. EVER.

“Why do you want Raia?" My face grew cold once more as I regained my composure.

“Why do you call her that, anyways? Her name is Inari." He shook his head and began to pace circles around me. “And the answer is because she is mine. I created her. When she was born, she was... unruly, perfect for what I wanted. Unfortunately, she went on a bit of a tear and got away from us. When she ended up in the real world, she scrambled completely. Her memory is gone, I have no hopes of replacing it, but my hope is that I can reset her once again and then rein her in a bit better this time around."

My blood was beginning to boil, hearing him talk about her like a toy to play with, but I kept as even a tone as possible. “She's strong, you know. Stronger with a tamer. Are you sure you can get her back in one piece when she defies you so strongly?" I bit my tongue as the words slid off of it, spiting myself for saying them, but knowing I needed to commit.

Daemon laughed, shaking the ground near me. “What makes you think I care about that? A body is a body, after all." I felt my body try to growl, but I choked it back, steeling myself more and more until my mind grew numb.

“We'll see who takes her then." I took two steps back and shouted. “Alright, get in here."

=====

Thunks resounded off of the castle walls, followed by the sounds of crumbling rubble as the two Renamon slowly scaled upwards. After a long look at the architecture, Luke had taken a fairly wild guess at the location where he would be taken when he went in, which was a long, wide corridor with an arched roof.

“Renamon," he'd said. “You remember how to shoot the huge diamond shards from before, right?" Renamon nodded, thinking back to him training her to be as versatile as possible, in just the event that something like this would occur.

Luke had pointed to the walls, prompting her, and she shot a shard out, plunging it deep into the brittle brick. It looked to be fairly secure, but what went in so easily would likely come out just the same.

“Think you can clamber up that way?" She nodded and started to show Raia how to do it, just in case she needed a bit of support.

And so they went, scaling up the wall and across the the nearest window port in the hall Luke has indicated. Sounds of conversation told them they'd been right, as Luke seemed to be talking to someone inside. Digging several shards in beneath the window, Renamon and Raia posted up and waited for some sort of cue to enter.

“Why do you want Raia?" Their tamer asked the monstrous digimon before him, showing his fear despite what he thought he might have looked like. Neither of the girls could blame him, since the digimon was in fact a Mega, and could easily have reduced him to less than a red smear on a whim.

“Why do you call her that, anyways? Her name is Inari." Renamon looked to Raia, who was at first confused, before her eyes grew vibrant, as if something shot straight to the front of her mind. As much as the question begged to be asked, Renamon knew she couldn't risk the chance of early exposure. That particular revelation would have to wait.

As Daemon explained further, Renamon found her vision torn between her tamer, and Raia's expression distorting into a mix of rage and mania.

He's going to need to hurry, she looks ready to carve a warpath. Renamon looked back in and saw a similar rage flood into Luke's demeanor. Then again, looks like she's not the only one.

“We'll see who takes her then." Luke said, taking two steps back and shouting. “Alright, get in here."

Renamon could no more than draw a breath before her companion shot through the window, screaming bloody murder as she landed at her tamer's side. In the same moment, Luke had already produced his digivice and was slashing cards through Raia's card port as if possessed. By the time she'd bounded in and landed next to them, several flashes of light had overtaken them, leaving nothing but a shifting silhouette.

What emerged from thje light was almost ghastly sight to Renamon, but simultaneously a beautiful one. The figure was a towering woman, garbed in long, flowing robes with a shower of jet black hair flowing from a heavy steel fox mask, which was pure sterling silver in color, save for deep crimson streaks that resembled both warpaint and blood. The woman twirled her hand, and a shimmering naginata appeared in her palm.

“Her name was not Inari, alone," the woman stated towards Daemon, her voice both hard and soft, clearly two voices, but perfectly synchronized. “but ours is, together." She raised the spear at the beast before her and held the pose, perfectly still.

Renamon saw both the goddess and the demon whip through the air, but had no more time than that to react, as Daemon took her by the head, raising her with his enlongated left hand. Inari screamed out as two as Daemon closed his fist, crushing Renamon's head with little force.

“You take something of mine, I'll take something of yours, human." Daemon bore no taunt in his tone, his eyes glaring and deadly serious. He spoke his next words as delibrately as one could. “You will know loss, and I will have what belongs to me."

“No!" The goddess howled, but one voice seemed to soar over the other, as anger and calm sounded in unison. She charged like lightning, undeterred, and was met with a burst of chaotic flame. Daemon met her with his palm, buckling from the force of the impact, but repelled her across the hall and engulfed himself in flames.

He emerged, his body bearing no distortion anymore. His eyes were emerald green, as if the essence of greed, and his form eminated pure power, unstable and chaotic. Any observer could tell the beast was teetering on the edge of overload.

“I will have what's mine," His voice shook the room, seeming to corrupt the air as it pushed through it. “and should I die doing so, so be it. I am grief's avatar, and you WILL know it." Daemon conjured flame into his palms and slowly approached the goddess, who now stood counter to him, recovered from the push.

Brandishing her spear, Inari summoned the power of creation through her spear and thrust it into the beast, who caught it with both hands, wrapping them tight around the blade of the naginata, forcing his chaotic fury to match her. He pressed close, exerting every bit of his will to match every bit of hers, and locked his gaze to hers, his eyes, knowing and somewhat soft.

“I... tried to create. Chaos is all I have, wrath and devastation is all that is in me, but I sought what you have. Now, as chaos always does, you rebel against me, Inari." Tears welled into the demon's eyes. “I truly did care for you, in my own way. It was not enough, it was not right, I have always known that. You cannot be though. I must end you as I created you, or you will just follow me in becoming a herald of all things painful. My redemption means little, but still I must seek it. Luke, I must have what's mine, to end this. I'm not seeking your anguish, but mine. The anger you've seen in her, that is my essence. I've tried to do right, to make this world better, but as my creation shows, even the purest acts are corrupted by my dark nature." Parting his hands, Daemon allowed the spear to plunge inside himself and clutched Inari's mask, tearing it away and searing her face with his other hand.

“All that I wish to take is what should never have been there for you to have."

=====

Daemon was dying, very, very quickly. The spike in power had overwhelmed his body, and even without the wound from Inari, he'd be close to death. His time was short, and he needed to act quickly before he left a legacy for others to resolve. The tamer had separated from Raia, and both were still alive, but both were deeply unconscious. Using his remaining strength, the demon ended his creation, feeling remorse for his hubris surging through him. He ordered his subordinates to deliver the tamer to the gate he'd come in through, hopefully returning him to his own world. He winced as he moved to sit cross-legged, his strength fading quickly as he pulled Raia into his lap. This was not solely his creation, he knew that. What he'd told the tamer was true, the original Renamon he'd created was a force of insane chaotic power. When she leaped to the real world, her memories seemed to corrupt in such a way that she was normal, with a latent potential to explode. He'd sent a team to try to secure her while he entered her mind to subjugate her, but before he could even do more than force his way into her mind, they'd been massacred.

He cradled her head, stroking her cheek. Soon after, she was killed. The tamer probably thought, along with Raia herself, that she'd simply regenerated in the digital world, but that doesn't happen without impodus. No, Daemon knew that the real reason was a matter of fate or coincidence. The IceDevimon that killed her was a rogue minion of his that sought a tamer in order to gain power. However, unsatisfied with the way that the human girl, Rika, responded to his advances, he instead simply killed her. The confluence of the two deaths, in such a short time frame, lead to a fusion of their spirits, which made the unified beiung much too strong to simply dissipate into data. This Renamon was infact his own Inari, and the human Rika formed into one. As a result, she was even more unstable than before, being an amalgam of the innocent and the chaotic, as well as the organic and the digital. This... thing is what he needed to kill, before it awoke into something that would destabilize the whole digital world. Feeling the light fade from his eyes, Daemon began to slump over.

“Goodnight, Inari, I'm so sorry I brought this pain upon you."

=====

When I woke up, I was in the real world again. Not my real world though, still in Japan, still not home. I made no mistake about what I'd seen, what had happened. The grief hadn't hit yet. Still hasn't. The girls I'd loved so much were dead, and I couldn't save them this time. Deep down, I knew that Daemon was right, they were never mine to have. I suppose in some small way, that'll help when I come to grips with it. I thought of making a burial mound, maybe placing something special on it, but I knew in my heart that that defeated the point. The whole reason this happened was because I couldn't let my heart hurt again. I couldn't let the pain go, and I couldn't accept the loss. A memorial would only be me leaving a lasting memory to cling to, when I should just let it all die. I burned most of what was in the house, anything that could leave a trace, because I knew I needed to, and so that Hypnos wouldn't have a way to track me after I was gone. I siphoned out all the money I could from my accounts, then hitched a train to Osaka, hoping I wouldn't run into anyone from here over there. Lately, I've been telling myself that a normal life is best for me, but I'm still healing, and I don't know if I'll ever really be right again. All I can really hope for at this point is that one day, somehow, I'll be able to atone for all this trouble. Until then, I suppose that life will just have to go on without me.

=====

*Alright, this is the end of this. I'm making a small note here because this is a bit important to me and I want to be clear on my intentions. I started writing this story almost exactly 5 years ago and I'm so happy to see it finally done. I'm a bit proud of myself for finally having the drive to finish something long like this, but don't expect anything like this in the future. I'm pretty much done with this style of multi-chapter continuous plot line for a long time because it's a bit exhausting for me to stay on one track for so long and stay consistent with it. I hope you all enjoyed this story of mine, as a lot of it is deeply personal to me. Expect more content of a different style from me going forward, and thank you so much to those who supported this with comments, ratings, and favorites, I appreciate it so very much. *

- Seraph