Beneath Ashes, Over Thorns: The Secret Garden.

In the middle of the sky a huge rift tore open. The product of demon energies and demon magic on a fairly large scale, causing the still barren and often war-torn ground below to be whipped up dust moats gathering and blowing out in clouds that obscured the general area. Then as fast as it had happened, the rift in the demon-world sky had closed without so much as a deafening rumble which happened with other racial forms of travel. Instead from the middle of the fog the soft outlines of a shape could be clearly discerned. A feminine shape which was slightly on the short side, her piercing amber gaze luminous in the dust-storm.


“How Odd, its actually peaceful here for once.” The clear feminine voice of inami had muttered in time with a burst of demonic energy which acted like a abrupt and severely powerful burst of wind clearing all the dust away in a quick burst of raw power which left in its wake a back-draft of sound which carried over the landscape with its echoes. The tranquility the clear demonic sky, and the fresh demonic air Inami hadn’t noticed the tears which such simple things had brought to a trickle from the corner of her eyes.


“Guess no ones coming to get me “ Inami stated ruefully as she had begun patting herself off, freeing the clinging dust particles from her normal attire. Taking time and effort to make sure every little speck of dust had been cleanly and clearly removed before she was satisfied a nice little sigh of apprehension leaving her lips after she had run out of things to distract her mind with. So chewing on her lower lip nervously the Infanta had taken a step forward her amber eyes scanning the landscape looking for possible ambushes which may have very well been laying in wait for some unsuspecting traveler to walk right into.


Actually that was what HAD been making the infanta nervous, the usually noisy landscape was oddly silent, in fact never once when Inami had been around had she ever been in the Chaya nation without running into some vagabond or thug get-together which often if not always ended up with a loud brawl. Or possibl... –Inami clapped both palms to her cheek’s leaving a slight red imprint as she muttered.


“Stop overthinking things its just unusually quiet around here, thats all”


As she muttered to herself though, the ground was sent into a violent upheaval as a serpent rose from the depths, its mouth parting as it let out a violent roar, one that was enough to put a subtle ringing sound in Inami’s ears. Calm as ever though Inami just gave the mongrel a sweet smile before she had said her voice chilled to the bone.


“Your really really.. Reaaly annoying me right now so beat it.” Then as if to prove a point Inami jerked a manicured thumb over her shoulder to signal that the over-sized garden snake should go terrorize someone or something elsewhere. However the snake had other idea’s its raspy animalistic voice coming out in a low-keyed guttural growl.

“..Hungry... mustttttt Eat....”


Inami’s smile widened showing her delicate and blinding white teeth as she had pressed her palm to the scaled hide of the beast both eyes closed as she slowly just parted her lips and said.


“True.. I haven’t eaten.. Thankyou for the meal”


After saying that inami’s palm seemed to vibrate threads winding and burrowing into the hide of the demon, devouring and destroying the demon bit by bit, slowly hollowing out the carcass so that after awhile there was nothing left but a shell of scales. Which then after a moment had also been devoured completely while inami just looked outwards her lips parting and she just let out a deep sigh and scratched the side of her head with her left hand.


“Well.. so much for peace and quiet”

Another demon powered rift opened in the air above the Shadow Fall Infanta. It was actually the same exact location in which Inami's own portal had materialized. Unlike before though this Kage Chokyo-shi was a much more suble construction. Although consisting of the same Za Koa that all demon abilities were comprised of, the signature for this particular expression of force was hardly what one would consider large scale. A simple whisk of sliced air and a mild puff of displaced molecules announced the arrival of one more occupant to the surroundings.

Styn was not quite six feet tall, taller then average perhaps, but not in a way that stood out. His medium build accentuated his averageness. He wasn't quite slim, but fell short of heavily muscled. Dark green hair only an inch or so in length, could possibly be a dye job. Pale violet eyes - while a questionable fashion choice - were not outside cosmetic modification. Both ears came to slight point at the apex of their arc, something easily overlooked. His teeth might be a bit sharper then normal for a human, but they retained the same basic shape and placement. His nails also came to a point and were thicker then common, but were by no means long talons or claws. All and all - discounting Za Koa which was naturally suppressed in this base form - Styn would go unremarked in most locations.

The Knight of the First Circle sported a dark green business suit, almost black outside of direct light. The pale violet tie was clearly meant to bring out his eyes, which were somewhat concealed behind a pair of gunmetal gray glasses with translucent bottom rims. Black dress shoes capped out the attire, with especial detail paid so that the combat boot soles didn't look out of place. Still the effect lacked a certain something. First of all, his white button down shirt was untucked, which his unbuttoned dark green jacket didn't quite conceal. His tie was loosened at least an inch, and cocked slightly to the left. His pants looked a bit rumpled and his shoes were scuffed. In addition his eyes had heavy dark bags under them and his stare was half lidded, giving him the appearance of someone tired or sick.

To say that Styn wasn't expecting to drop out of mid air was an understatement. Having very little time to take in his surroundings the Demon Knight plummeted through the air toward the earth below. He had enough time to note the position of Inami before he reflexively pulled toward a nearby shadow that lay across the ground. From his falling position Styn was abruptly standing on solid ground once more, facing the Royal Demon who he had been seeking with a somewhat embarrassed expression on his face. I guess I should have looked before entering the exact location that Lady Inami exited, Styn thought ruefully.

There was nothing to do for it now. It wasn't his style to open rifts in mid air, he wasn't exactly comfortable using demon magic or movement techniques to fly around in the sky. Others might feel differently of course, a fact he should have taken into consideration. He only hoped that Inami hadn't construed his somewhat graceless entrance as some sort of attack. Styn raised his hands quickly, fingers spread and palms toward the demoness in a universal sign of disarmament. He was quick to explain himself if she only gave him a moment to speak.

"Sorry if I've startled you Lady Inami. Styn of Shadow Fall at your service," here he paused and executed a brief but formal bow. "You've um...misplaced your honor guard again this morning I see. I was tasked as an additional escort when they came crying...I mean expressed distress at being unable to keep up with you. While I'm sure that there is nothing in the area that could be considered a threat, its important that a demoness of your stature be accompanied by at least one lackey," Styn said with a grin.

The Demon Knight's Za Koa signature was also a subtle thing. As a Demon Lord in her own right, it would be obvious to Inami that Styn wasn't holding enough power to be a threat at the moment. At the same time, he was not able to hide his true ability from her perception as he had become used to doing in his interaction of late. While his ambient energy was constantly being cycled through his passive Akuma Kyodo sigils - thereby reducing the effect of his spiritual pressure down to almost nothing - he was still a very strong demon. At least he was a very strong demon now.

It could also be noted that Styn had no problem with Inami's own spirit pressure, standing at his ease with little to no difficulty. While the Demon Knight clearly looked respectful, he was also not over awed by her presence. Styn was still finding it difficult to rationalize his current position in the organization against his new found strength. He was not however going to let that stop him from seeing to the task at hand, which was perfectly suited for someone of his rank.

While his eyes locked Inami, his spirit senses were alert to possible attack in the surrounding area. Noticing the hollowed out corpse now devoid of life, Styn's eyes flickered toward it for a moment. The Demon Knight's brow furred in confusion and a micro flash of concern before once again returning toward the Infanta. The question was plain on his face, he wasn't really the sort to hide his thoughts very well. It only remained to see if she would accept his offer or continue to make life difficult on her subordinates.

“Hello there sir Styn , Try not to fall if you can fly”


Inami would have said with a light tone, her amber eyes shifting backwards to see the individual who had emerged from the shadows after taking a pretty spectacular fall from a portal that Inami had indeed opened up to get rid of the honor guard which had been tailing her, more out of mild annoyance for their lack of competence and more over ability to do anything other then be fun to play hacky sack with. So leaving those thoughts in the back-burner the Infanta had turned her gaze fully to the individual who had introduced himself showing some common courtesy to say the least, while Inami had listened her feelers so to speak had been prodding around , using her own perception to gauge just how strong this person in front of her actually was. She did all this and came back empty, unable to get an accurate read on the knight known as Styn, which did admittedly perplex and irritate her to a minor degree. However she donned her poker face and crossed her arms slowly as she would have huffed.


“..If you think you can be a actual guard, be my guest, but im not going to take your
word for it, actions show better then status or words.”


She would say her face remaining politely composed, as she would have raised her hand abruptly threads warping and concentrating around her fingers and forming a generic hand-gun in her palm , as her finger would squeeze the gun swiveling in time to face the cranial cavity of styn.. essentially saying she was going to blast him in the head. However instead of firing a bullet, she would adeptly have released a brilliant blast of pure demonic energy condensed to a unstable physically affecting, and highly penetrative/explosive state. Meaning this little bullet would simulate just how much power was needed to protect her or even be considered by her to be an honor guard worthy member. So the bullet which deceptively skimmed a hair to the left, missing and probably just grazing the side of styn’s temple, shearing off hair and flying into the distance, would be a clear warning shot. Only then would she without dropping her composure watched the bullet smash into the ground.


With Devastating results, as a huge spherical explosion of raw demonic energies would super-saturate and detonate the air, generating a huge shockwave which on top of the massive blast, would end up ruining a two mile expanse behind the two Demons which paid homage to the same organization. And yet, Inami just stood there the barrel of her gun smoking from the super-discharge of demonic energy the ground around her clearly singed from the suddenness of the blasts release as well, while Inami had then shifted the gun to face directly in front of Styn’s chest, at his heart at a range that if he wasn’t a competent fighter he’d surely end up meeting a premature demise. So then without remorse, she would again pull the trigger; intending to kill such impertinence if they indeed where unable to back up their words with the power to make her accept this new person who had been forced upon her even if they had been polite about it. As from the second Styn talked about the honor guard, internally her eyes had narrowed into slits as she thought slowly without a seconds hesitation.. “..Meddlesome Pests.. Giving me Another Leash to keep an eye on me” and she didn’t think about it with any joy.


So as she without so much as blinking had fired a second time, the massive explosive blast would instead of being compact, expand outwards in a unfiltered stream, vaporizing a circular path through the ground as it made its way forward hopefully to incinerate the new eye that was being put on her to restrict and make sure she behaved like she was supposed too. Inami Asthavon Lady Asthavon, all these people saying her name with respect was nice, but the second they tried to begin tying her down it had become annoying and bothersome, and wholly unneeded. As she had already proven time and time again she was more then strong enough to actually protect herself when push came to shove. Yet they sent someone who was foolish enough to either be this weak, or seriously suppressing their own power for her comfort or some kind of ploy or deception on their own part. The fact was, she just didn’t care, she was tired of these pests trying to curb her nature demonic instincts which have been her birthright as a member of the Asthavon household. It just was pissing her off.


So Now without blinking Inami would have unremorsefully moved her arm in a horizontal arc, rapidly firing off a succession of 20 minor blasts from the chamber of her basic unnamed gun. One blast blending into the next, each one taking out probably a 100foot radius. After the third assault Inami , let her gun hang at her side as she would have continued to stare into the midst of the debri, and then would have turned her back on it like she didn’t even care if that had just dispatched the nicest honor guard she had ever laid eyes on. If he died from something little like that, then he was all talk and deserved death for deluding himself in thinking he could be anything other then dead weight. After that Inami hadn’t been rushed if the tracker put on her was still alive, either she’d accept him eventually, or kill him eventually. Since he was in a situation that she understood wasn’t his fault, but she didn’t want to be responsible for subordinants or the lives of others if they are unable to pull their own weight and add value to her travels. So if he died he died, if not, he’d either gain acceptance. Or die soon enough.


“..No offense, but im sick of weak-willed and weak beings being sent to me by shadow fall , in hopes that they will “Protect me”, I don’t need a leash, nor do I need a weakling, so if your dead then you where unlucky.. now, ill be on my way if that’s all.. lay there and curse the organization who sent you to keep an eye on me. “


Inami would finish curtly before she would continue to walk away from the burning wreckage she had just made.

Actions show better then...wha?, Styn had time to think before Inami began to act. Over a hundred years at the bottom of the food chain had really only given the Demon Knight two modes of operation. Lounging around and fighting for his life. Of those two choices, option one was rapidly becoming an untenable state of being. Although he was fairly confident he would survive an attack at the level of concentration that was being brought to bear, there was certainly enough worry to react.

Many demons played at multiple levels of their ability. There were demons like Inami who ramped up through different stages of advancement. There were demons like Reigen Akogi who never seemed to show what they were really capable of. Then there was Styn. Without a moments hesitation the Demon Knight began the process of shifting into his true form as soon as he realized what shape the Infanta's power was taking. That plus her somewhat obscure reference were enough to assure Styn that he was about to be tested.

This transformation consolidated his power instead of expanding it. The concentration and density of his physical structure was roughly the same, with a few distinct differences. From finger tip to elbow his arms were now encased in a thick bone white mass. It was as if his hands were now the claws of a beast at least three times his size. They were still five fingered, and smooth across the top, however the underside of every digit was now razor sharp. At the elbow, extending out like short swords, were two double edged bone white blades, one for each arm. The tips of those edges would just barely pass his shoulder blades if his arm was fully extended.

Gauntlets were only part of the new look. His legs from knee to toe were also encased in thickened, claw tipped grieves. In addition, across the knees were studded spikes, needle sharp, but blade thick. The thin strands of his hair warped and locked into rows of hooked barbs, although the hair at least maintained its green coloring. As his glasses dissolved into his face, the final transition would be the opening of this third eye. This opening was accompanied by ninety-nine other eyes similarly opening all over his body, although these were mostly hidden by his clothes. The change in his energy would be equivalent to a Shinigami's Shikai.

Although more of his actual ability was now revealed, his spirit pressure was still almost nill. The ground neither cracked or splintered at this display of might. The air remained clam and stagnant in response to this increase in Za Koa. Instead the Demon Knight's aura rippled into a frenzied torrent that moved no further then the invisible sigils that made up his Akuma Kyodo. The energy was now clear to Inami's spirit senses in a way that had been somewhat murky before.

It wasn't that Styn was holding back so much as he was constantly enforcing his defenses to their maximum ability. The nullification of his spirit pressure was less about being nice and more about being selfish. Although it was a sound battle tactic to shock and awe an opponent with both physical and metaphysical shouts, Styn chose another path. The quiet competence of always being ready was his preferred state of being. In addition, he was quite fast at assuming his true state, little more then a second having passed.

Energy shot at their level was already difficult to maneuver around. Fortunately for Styn, Inami had not intended for the first shot to strike him. The hundred eyes all over his body were able to perceive that the beam would just miss his skull. Still he liked his hair, so a slight flick of his head moved him completely out of the line of sight. The explosion which followed this attack was enough to shake the ground Styn stood upon. A minor correction in his footing stopped the Demon Knight from being toppled from the buckling earth.

"Now wait just a minute Lady Inami, I think we've gotten off to the wrong..." Styn would attempt to say before the gun swerved to point center mass. It looked to be a much more difficult shot to dodge to say the least. 'So much for diplomacy,' he thought with a mental sigh.

As if the warning shot were not enough of a statement, he now found himself under the assault of another powerful blast. This new shot had the benefit of affecting a much wider range though. Thrusting forward with both clawed hands Styn directed the flow of his Za Koa into the bone white palms. Twin jets of a modified Black Inferno Blast rushed to meet this new onslaught of energy. Where his flaming elemental corruption met the shot, the attacks melded together.

A singular mass of Za Koa swirled in the air between the two demons. Although mostly a concentration of heat, Styn's Black Inferno Shaping still retained the aspect of consumption. Exposure to his defensive oriented strike immediately designated Inami's energy as a target. The parasitic nature of flame plumes began to eat away at the metaphysical structure of the Infanta's blast. Kinetic motion was halted and met in kind as Styn poured another wave of black flame into the merging energy.

Styn's counterstrike made no motion toward advancing toward Inami though. Instead it reacted only to completely envelop the wide spread shot that she had unleashed. After several seconds the warring energy equalized and with a clench of both hands into fists, Styn cut the flow of Za Koa. Black motes like shadow embers danced in the air now where there had moments before been a raging inferno of conflicting strikes.

If Inami was impressed with the Demon Knight's showing so far she hardly gave pause to credit it. Instead almost disdainfully she unleashed her next barrage of strikes. These blows came fast and hard, and there was a clear fluidity in her wrist, elbow and shoulder that let Styn know that she was more then ready to readjust her aim. Such a walking of shots would not be needed however as he had not intention of running away.

For whatever reason the Infanta had decided to test him. If he wished to earn her respect then he felt that fleeing her assault would not be the best method. Instead Styn pushed out another modified Black Inferno Blast. This time from every inch of his body. The explosion of force left the Demon Knight suspended in the middle of a ten meter globe of black flame. The initial wave met Inami's first shot and was able to negate the impact.

The ten meter globe indented inward from the blow though. The inside of the flaming bubble that Styn had crafted pushed close enough to tickle his nose. Then the entire structure began to rotate and expand outward once more. The next nineteen shots were met by this rotating barrier of heat and corruption. Each of Inami's strikes began to impact the sphere of shaped power less and less, until the very final shot didn't even land so much as it was deflected into the air straight upward.

Styn's one hundred eyes were not hampered by the obscuring flames so he was immediately aware at the point in which Inami turned to walk away. Instead of directing the revolving flame into an attack on the Infanta, he chose to manipulate the revolving Black Inferno Blast straight upward in a spear of force. No longer kept centered by the kinetic revolution of his own energy, Styn dropped down into a shallow pit that had formed from Inami's shots.

He took a moment to allow the miasma of hell to saturate every cell of his being. In a matter of moments the drain from that brief expenditure of might was erased as fresh vitality flowed to his core. Of course he could hardly allow the Infanta to walk more then a few steps before he pulled himself toward her in a flicker of Shadow Movement. Styn kept himself one step behind and to the right, as was only proper in his current role as Inami's honor guard. Her spoken words were uninterrupted as he fell into step.

"I'm sorry if I've given reason for offense Lady Inami. I'm sure that I speak for the detail itself when I say that we don't mean for our presence to be in any way a limiting factor on your freedom. Its an honor to accompany a demoness of your stature in whatever manner she might decide fit," Styn replied. "I would however recommend refraining from similar displays of might against your standard guard as it might serve only to diminish the strength of Shadow Fall."

That would be as close as the Demon Knight would come to chastising Inami for what some might consider a reckless display of power. Styn made no attempt to shift back to his more humanoid form. He wasn't sure quite what provoked the Infanta's aggressive response, but he wasn't willing to bet that the hostilities had ended quite yet. It would serve no purpose to return to a form that conserved energy only to once more need to expend it.

"That being said, was there a particular goal that you wished to accomplish here my Lady? Perhaps if I had a better idea of what brought you to this remote location I could be of better service. Or maybe you'd prefer some form of entertainment?" Styn implied with a somewhat doubtful air. "I might have an interesting story or two if you were so inclined to listen to me ramble. Then again its likely you'd rather I escort in silence," he finished with a satisfied nod.

“.. Huh.. Alive Huh?”


Was all inami would say to the display of power the individual named styn had displayed that whole time. Walking forward as if nothing in the world as going on, deliberating her own thoughts, and possibly hoping he might have just taken a hint. Then again she also pondered the disappointment she would feel if he indeed turned out to be someone who wouldn’t pursue the matter further then just a few warning shots. Which was why she kept walking as Styn was dealing with the blasts and her attacks, and she hadn’t but traveled a few steps before, the guy was right there next to her again Via shadow step. So inami took a deep breath, and as Styn began to say something about apologizing , She wouldn’t even let him finish the sentence, as without missing a step , or looking at him for that matter, she would level the barrel point blank to styns face. Pulling a trigger and firing another condensed blast and caused another raging inferno ball to blow up in the horizon of the demon world. As Inami hadn’t paused the passive aggressive attitude still retained that stone-walled mask of composure as she strode onwards her arm jerking behind her not even bothering to look.


“..You still kicking? Sorry my hand slipped.”


Inami had said as her arm slid behind her and she would unload a massive blast which would be a combination of her duel cores activating, pumping out a truly magnificent amount of demonic energy, which then was focused to the point of combustion, firing a lethal concoction of demonic flames from the tip of her gun. This flame would be comprised of three different shots, fired in the span of time that it’d take normally for a muscle to twitch. This was done, solely by applying zao ka’s affect to speed up the time of her fingers movements. In end result causing a scorching line of flame to jettison eastward out into the demon-world, leaving nothing but a path brimming with flames as Inami strode forward and without so much as turning around left her gun rest again as she would raise her other hand and make a peace sign, before walking directly off a cliff , falling suddenly causing her skirt to billow up , as she would dig her heels into the cliff-face riding the cracks down to the basin , as she would land squarely on her flats of her feet with a slapping sound.


The Infanta then would have exhaled abit, probably in slight exasperation at the absurdity of it all, and at the naïve self-judging nature of the honor guard which she still wasn’t quite willing to accept just yet due to the fact she didn’t know how to feel about it. “Anyways he shouldn’t be alive anymore She’d say mentally before she had begun to walk across a narrow path with lava bubbling up on both sides, just trying to make it as damned hard as possible for styn if he was alive, as now she had begun to twirl her empty hands index finger around and around. This would in turn with the help of demon magic manipulate the flow of the lava at her feet, turning the whole thing into a huge ball which she would then flick over her shoulder, causing the contents to go careening hopefully to crash into the location styn had been in previously. Her face not betraying any more emotion as she internally was cringing.


”Come on you weird, over working guard stop trying to make me accept that your going to be following me around, this shit is just rediculious, and is beginning to piss me off” Inami thought to herself as she had taken another step forward and then hopped down landing on the lava , and with a kick, and the –surface generated by her demon barrier, she begun to surf the waves, causing huge ripples which would send and displace lava around the channel she was moving on. Maybe the guy was decent at defending, but could he in fact keep up with her?