Pressure

Though it did not harm them, the Black Knight, Brahm, Azura, and Atena found themselves unable to move, their bodies pinned to the ground and their power deprived by the eight pillars and golden barrier surrounding them. Not even the tendrils covering the Black Knight's body could move, their mass sloughing off her armor and pooling on the ground like viscous, inky-black syrup.

As Ancient Spirits whose bodies were entirely comprised of Mana, Atena and Brahm were the most affected by Zhongli's barrier, the former weakly groaning, "What kind of magic is this? I can't summon any strength..."

Ever eager to enlighten others, Zhongli tapped the barrier with her spear as she explained, "This is the Seal of the Dragon-Queller. In a place and a time far removed from this one, it was used to seal away a mighty dragon who brought ruin to order. It has the power to divest even the mightiest of creatures their strength, gradually soothing them into an eternal, peaceful slumber..."

Mustering what remained of his strength, Brahm stared up at Zhongli and asked, "What do you want from us...?"

Closing her eyes, Zhongli exhaled the faintest of sighs as she replied, "I have already expressed our intentions. We came here at the behest of the Great Demon Empress, Kishirika Kishirisu, to help reclaim her throne. That is, or, at the very least, was the only reason we came here. Now, it would appear we have a bit of a mystery on our hands..."

Directing her gaze to the Black Knight, Zhongli added, "I mentioned this before, but I have no doubt you believe yourself to be Kishirika Kishirisu. There is even a chance you are correct. However, if that is the case, why are you here? As the Great Demon Empress of the Demon Continent, why have you remained hidden for the past four hundred years?"

Maintaining the glare she had been wearing for the past several minutes, Kishirika growled, "I don't owe you an explanation...if you want me to talk to someone, bring the other Kishirika here. If she is who she claims to be, I have questions only she knows the answer to..."

Since she could sense Paul and Kishirika making their way over, Zhongli adopted a friendly smile and replied, "You'll have that opportunity shortly. My Master and his fiancee are already on their way."

Reacting like a cat that just had its tail stepped on, Kishirika asked, "What do you mean, 'fiancee!?' Don't tell me that charlatan went whoring herself out with my appearance!?"

Narrowing her eyes, Zhongli replied, "You've quite the sharp tongue...you would do well to abstain from any improper remarks in the presence of my Master. He might be a very forgiving person, but the same cannot be said of all who serve him..."

Baring her shark-like teeth, the Black Knight was about to ask Zhongli who the hell she thought she was speaking to when the voice of a man echoed through the hall, remarking, "Holy fucking shit, Zhongli. I knew you were a beast, but god damn..."

Turning away from her imprisoned quarries, Zhongli politely bowed as she replied, "As you requested, I have apprehended each of the enemies. Two managed to slip past me and trespass into the throne room, but I believed Lady Beelzebel would be more than capable of dealing with them."

Nodding his head, Paul was about to reveal that he had seen Vashti and Vahka hunkered down in the corner of the throne room, but Kishrika beat him to the punch, asking, "So you're the piece of me that Laplace scraped away, eh? I'll admit, you certainly look the part..."

Repaying Kishirika's smile with a hateful glower, the Black Knight stated, "You don't know what you're talking about...I'm not some experiment like you people claim. I'm 'the' Kishirika Kishirisu! If anyone here is a phony or an experiment, it's you...!"

Instead of refuting her doppelganger's assertion, Kishirika shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Who knows? You may actually be right. However, even if I'm the part that was scraped away, it doesn't change the fact I'm also Kishirika Kishirisu. My memory and ability to resurrect are more than enough evidence of that fact."

Maintaining an angry expression, the Black Knight retorted, "No, they're not..."

Without explaining her reasoning, the Black Knight directed her gaze to Paul and stated, "You must be Paul Greyrat...tell me, why have you allied yourself with a Demon? What do you hope to gain...?"

Shaking his head, Paul asserted, "Though there are some pretty clear differences between our people, I try not to make a distinction between the races that inhabit this world. We're all just doing our best to survive and find happiness. My penultimate goal is to make that easier."

Sensing no falsehoods in Paul's words, the Black Knight was somewhat surprised. Instead of showing it, however, she maintained her glare as she asked, "And who set you upon such a path...?"

Responding before Paul could, Kishirika interjected, saying, "I know what you're thinking, and no, this idiot isn't under that bastard's influence. He is trying to stop him..."

Unable to contain herself, a loud guffaw emanated from the Black Knight's throat. She hadn't sensed any falsehood in Kishirika's words, but that only made her more suspicious.

Ceasing her laughter rather abruptly, the Black Knight appeared agitated as she shouted, "Bullshit! Such a convenient story can't fool me! Not this time...!!!"

Feeling annoyed by the Black Knight's behavior, Kishirika frowned deeply as she remarked, "You've clearly gone off the deep end...tell me, what did that bastard Laplace do to break you to this extent...?"

Becoming even more incensed, the Black Knight appeared both excited and infuriated as she retorted, "Hear that!? The real me would never say such a thing! Laplace was one of my guardians, the man who taught me how to use Magic and develop my Demon Eyes! I would never call him a bastard...!"

Crossing her arms in defiance, Kishirika replied, "The person who taught me Magic was the Second Generation Dragon God, not the usurper who referred to himself as the Demon God. Even if they were initially the same person, Demon God Laplace was a monster who treated friends and foes alike as little more than experimental test subjects. He was-"

With an expression rivaling a banshee or some kind of possessed spirit, the Black Knight stared daggers into Kishirika as she growled, "You. Know. Nothing..."

Seemingly finished with the discussion, the Black Knight stopped resisting the influence of Zhongli's seal, resting her forehead against the floor. She still had a lot she wanted to ask, but she needed to organize her thoughts and calm her anger. Seeing a version of herself staring down at her wasn't making her any calmer...

Seeing the Black Knight set her head down, Kishrika snorted through her nose in frustration. She was willing to work with the Black Knight to reveal the truth, but it was apparent the feeling wasn't mutual.

Turning to Zhongli, Kishirika questioned, "How long will this seal last? And can you take people out of it...?"

Lowering her head ever so slightly, Zhongli calmly replied, "So long as it is not broken or undone, it will last indefinitely. As for extracting people from within...it's not impossible..."

Nodding her head in approval, Kishirika remarked, "Good." before turning her attention to the group trapped within the seal and stating, "There are two ways this can go. You can remain obstinant and become a permanent fixture of the Great Hall, or you can cooperate and help us uncover the truth. Either way, I'll be taking back my throne."

As the trials of the Guardians could be completed by defeating them in combat, Kishirika was confident she could convince Fayde to activate the crystals remotely. The Black Knight was aware of this, so, after clenching her teeth hard enough to bleed her gums, she raised her head and asked, "Why do you want to 'reclaim' the throne? If we were truly the same, you would understand the futility of such actions..."

Maintaining her cross-armed posture, Kishirika adopted a broad smile as she replied, "I understand your reluctance, but I guarantee you'll change your mind once you learn about my—make that 'our' husband's power. He might look like an idiot, but he's pretty reliable when he wants to be. Even Atofe has recognized him."

Hearing Kishirika mention the name of her best friend and refer to Paul as 'their' husband, the Black Knight's expression became dismal. Paul wasn't hard on the eyes, but unions between humans and demons invariably led to tragedy...

Understanding her counterpart's thoughts, Kishirika smiled even wider as she teased, "I can't wait to see the look on your face when you realize I'm telling the truth. It's going to be priceless."

Snorting through her nose, the Black Knight retorted, "Bite me..." before directing her gaze to Paul and stating, "Release me from this seal. I vow that neither I nor the Guardians will attack you..."

Catching the Black Knight somewhat off guard, Paul immediately replied, "Sure thing." before directing his attention to Zhongli and giving her a nod of approval. He knew that a proper discussion would be difficult when one party struggled to raise their faces from the ground, so he had planned to release the seal from the beginning.

Though she maintained her typical smile, a faintly exasperated sigh arose from Zhongli's throat as she replied, "As you will..."

Raising her hand to the golden barrier, Zhongli did her best to reabsorb as much of the contained Geo Energy as possible. She wouldn't be the God of Contracts if she implicitly trusted others, so she needed to be prepared for a potential counterattack.

Fortunately for Zhongli, Demons had always been a race that recognized and befriended others through conflict, so the Black Knight responded to her newfound freedom by sitting with her legs crossed and removing her helmet. Brahm and Azura emulated her actions, but Atena quickly shot to her feet and declared, "I'm returning to my room...!" before attempting to storm off in a huff.

Since there was no reason to keep Atena around, Kishirika shouted, "You better activate your crystal before disappearing or sleeping! If we have to come looking for you, you'll regret it...!"

Without turning around, Atena raised her hands to give Kishirika a double middle finger. She was annoyed that her first fight in hundreds of years resulted in her being toyed with by a Spirit she didn't even recognize, so, while she would eventually activate her crystal, she intended to sulk and take a bath first.

Shaking her head in mock exasperation, Kishirika muttered, "Some things never change..." before imitating the Black Knight and taking a seat on the ground. Paul followed suit and what followed was a long discussion about his history, powers, and, most importantly, his intentions for a world post-Hitogami...

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As Geese's report neared its end, Alek responded with a curt nod before asking the question that had been lingering at the back of his mind since their arrival, specifically, "Where's Rynka? Wasn't this supposed to be a meeting of our entire Party?"

Maintaining his characteristically sly smile, Geese replied, "You know how members of the Beast Race can be. She likely smelled something good or went searching for a strong opponent. We are nearing that time of year..."

Understanding what Geese was referring to, a wry smile replaced Alek's usually confident grin as he responded with a faint, "Ah...well, so long as she's back by sunrise, I suppose it's fine..."

Seizing hold of Alek's remark, Elinalise appended, "On that note, I should be searching for my bed companion. Congratulations on the engagement, you two. You make an adorable couple."

Without waiting for a response, Elinalise turned around and made for the exit of the tavern. Tallhand quickly followed suit after giving an excuse of his own, so, despite being an evening of celebration, Alek, Savva, Geese, and the barkeep were the only people remaining at the bar. This made the barkeep more than a little annoyed, but knowing the 'youth' sitting across from him was the infamous North God, he remained silent and didn't even think to voice his complaints...

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