D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad - Chapter 1987 Explosive Hail
Chapter 1987: Chapter 1987 Explosive Hail
— Kat —
Kat wasn’t ready for the explosion.
The conversation with Lin wasn’t bad. Still a bit terrifying at times and Lily was enjoying the whole thing more than she was… but with the orb issues off the table for now there really wasn’t a reason to go looking for trouble. Having Lin ’locked down’ so to speak was nice and Kat was willing to keep the conversation going after more than one awkward moment. Most of which Lily found funny which helped.
“Bother, I was enjoying this talk…” sighed Lin.
“Wha-” Kat didn’t get to finish her question. She didn’t even get the first word out when the path exploded. For Kat, it wasn’t particularly damaging to anything other than her ears, but that didn’t mean she was happy. An explosion going off right under her feet meant she was sent flying and her wings had a few holes in them from the debris. She was struggling to fly properly…
So water mode was the answer. Kat turned into water for a moment, before turning back. It killed her momentum and helped heal her injuries. Even if the quick swap and heal took up more demonic energy then she’d have liked, she was completely full up on her reserves so it was an easy sacrifice to make.
The immediate problem was twofold. Finding out what happened to Lin, and dealing with the consequences of the explosion. The garden was wrecked and more than one spot was on fire. Dealing with those first became her immediate priority, and Kat dashed over to the fire closest to the edges of the park. There was some consideration to pick the closest bit of fire to her, but… well the truth was the park was a loss at this point. A bit more fire wouldn’t make much of a difference to the park but it might be enough to destroy someone’s house.
*There’s also the fact that Lin seemed remarkably unconcerned when the bomb went off. I don’t know how long she knew about it, but clearly she had some knowledge. I don’t know how her hearing compares but I didn’t hear anyone talking about bombs, nor hear a ’click’ of a detonator. I’d guess she had to have been feeling the magic but that really is just a guess.*
[Aren’t you concerned with being blown up?]
Asked Lily as Kat got to her first bit of fire. It was on the hedges that lined the edge of the park and Kat decided her best course of action… was more fire. Demonic fire to be specific. Seemed more energy efficient then turning herself into water and using that to put it out. Kat’s idea seemed to be working, as her own flames rapidly took over. Not good for the hedges though.*Not necessarily? I mean, it didn’t do that much damage to me. My internal organs and stuff are fairly reinforced and I was able to heal quickly. My wings took the worst of it, and most of that wasn’t from the explosive itself but from the shrapnel piercing through them… and you know they’re honestly kinda fragile. I’m not sure I even took other cuts on my skin.*
[I suppose that’s fair enough. Hopefully there wasn’t anyone else in the park that got hurt.]
*Lin seemed to have implied she was keeping the area clearer than normal so that we could have our chat. Worked out for the best if that’s the case.* Kat got to the next bit of fire. This one was a series of garden beds nearby each other. The scent of burning herbs filled the air. Kat was sure it looked nice once upon a time.
So she dumped a bunch of demonic fire on it, freezing the fire, the ground and the ashes before launching herself off to continue putting out the literal fires and hoping for some help with the figurative ones. It was about five minutes later that the guards started to arrive in force and were working on the other fires closer to the edge and away from Kat. Clearly they appreciated what she was doing.
Lin had also shown up and was doing her own ’fire fighting’. It was more like fire wrestling though, where she used debris, bits of dirt, and other plants to essentially beat the fire into submission. She was taking things rather casually, but was at least willing to help. Once the fires were all dealt with, Kat found herself next to Lin once again.
“Well, what an exciting way to suspend a conversation. Nobody has tried to kill me in years! I expected a better attempt then that honestly,” said Lin.
“Wait what?” asked Kat.
“I could sense the explosives under the path for quite a while. I was assuming, clearly falsely, that they were meant for someone else. I probably would’ve reported it, mainly to stop you from thinking I did it and becoming an enemy… alas it would appear we’re dealing with morons,” sighed Lin, a hand on the side of her face making it look like she was despairing over an overcooked roast instead of a burning park.
“Wait you knew?!” hissed Kat.
“Oh don’t get your knickers in a bunch… assuming you wear them?” Lin mused with a glance at Kat. Her clothes were completely intact much like Lin’s own… though for Kat that was more that she repaired them when she swapped into water form then any real forethought. Lin’s outfit could do that herself.
Kat just glared back at Lin for a few moments, before deciding to indulge her a bit. She did stay to help. Kat lowered the side of her kimono a touch to show off a bra strap. “Why wouldn’t I?” asked Kat as she pulled her clothing back on properly.
“Eh, you never know. Some people like to get a bit crazy about that sort of thing when they think they can get away with it and I didn’t get the best look when you exploded. I thought I caught bear skin…” mumbled Lin.
Kat sighed and shook her head. “Can we go back to the whole ’I wasn’t necessarily going to tell anyone’ bit?”
“That’s not what I said. I was probably going to inform them,” countered Lin. Kat glared back. “Fine, fine. I wasn’t going to say anything because if the person who placed the enchantment removed it before the guards took a look then I’d be quite suspicious, and I’m just a poor old woman from an infamous house. Whatever would I do if the guards took an interest in me…” sighed Lin, once again look like a put upon housewife.
Kat had more than one thing she wanted to say in response, but the clanking of armour coming from at least three guards was rapidly approaching… and the fact that Lin had stayed to help did mean something to her. So annoyingly, the old woman was right. Even if upon thinking that, Kat was lightly kicked in the shins.
“Thank you for you assistance,” said the guard leading the pack. It wasn’t a voice she recognised yet, which made sense. They were somewhere she hadn’t been yet. Couldn’t have Steel be around to always react. “I’d like to know what happened here. We’ve already had a few reports of you both being launched by the explosion, and helping afterwards, but your nearly pristine appearance is a bit strange.”
Lin pulled an absolutely minuscule dagger from somewhere. She was moving so fast Kat wasn’t sure where in the motion she’d picked it up. The guards flinched back, but Lin simply sliced through her sleave and waited a few seconds for the discarded bit of fabric to unwind itself and return to her arm.
Kat decided to do something similar. It felt a bit disrespectful to the outfit, but a quick cut with her finger to slice a hole in her sleave and a quick transformation later she was back to normal. The guard nodded at this show. “Alright, that clears that up. What can you tell me about what happened here?”
“There was a cluster of enchantments set to go off along the path, and perhaps elsewhere. We’d walked past two smaller ones and the main one was coming up. I wasn’t sure if it was meant for us or not, but made a comment moments before it went off about its existence,” said Lin. All technically true. Lovely
“Why not mention this to the guards?” asked the man.
Lin shrugged, “Better we get hit by whatever this was then someone less sturdy. Plus, if I’d simply ran away or done anything else they might’ve had a chance to use it on someone else or clean the evidence.”
Kat noted that Lin technically wasn’t answering the question. It’s what let the statement remain true. As statements they weren’t lies, but as direct answers they were… misdirection at the best. Kat also noticed that while SHE was named in the story, Lin had not done so for herself.
The guard made note of none of this as he wrote down notes on a notebook with shocking dexterity considering the metal gauntlets. “I see, I see, that makes sense. Did you see the culprit?”
Lin shook her head. “It was all remote trigger from what I could tell,”
“I see, I see,” nodded the guard. “Well, that’s everything for now. Let us know if anything comes up. If you think this was a more specific attack and fear for your safety we can make arrangements… but you seem quite fine.”
“Indeed, and I suspect I will remain so,” smiled Lin.
