CHAPTER 84: PREPARATIONS FOR COMBAT

And finally, the day that Liohime Kitagami had trained for, prepared for, feared, and anticipated with a sense of anxiety had finally dawned upon him.

As he woke up, early in the morning, he instantly recalled several hours ago, when he was facing the ceiling while lying down on the bed, unable to sleep.

***

(( Hours ago...

At once, he had been embraced warmly, and he turned on his side to view his Magical Beast Girl who just couldn’t keep her hands to herself.

"Uh, Shihon?"

"You’re nervous again, aren’t you?" she calmly questioned, causing his eyes to widen. "I told you already, didn’t I? I will be with you to the very end, so everything will be alright."

Liohime paused as he processed her statement and then bit his lip in frustration, scolding his own feelings.

"Urgh, I know that you’re right. I just....haaah."

"I know what you’re trying to say. You’re only human after all, Master, so you will still feel hopeless from time to time. Still, try your best to simply throw away your fears just this once. Take some rest."

"Y-Yeah. Alright," Liohime replied with a sharp exhale, trying to calm his nerves, and continued with a calm voice:

"Thanks, Shihon. I don’t know what I’d do without you here by my side."

Shihon’s cheeks flushed red, and she edged even closer, keeping her clinging nature as she continued to latch onto him gently, enjoying the warmth of his body on hers.

"...Same here."

))

***

Now, he stood in front of hotel room number one hundred and four, the room where Bica’s room lay.

I hope that she didn’t send that text message to the rest of us last night just for it to be something hilariously random like Ophiel’s request two days ago, he thought, and knocked on the door and waited patiently.

After only three seconds, the door was opened from the inside, and his eyes lit up as a rare scenario of him being the last Shinigami Soldier to arrive occurred.

"Look who finally decided to show up," mumbled Harvey, giving a scornful look while the rest of his coworkers quickly acknowledged his presence.

"Let me guess," Liohime began with a raised eyebrow, "I’m late to a five a.m. meeting because you guys just couldn’t sleep."

"No-"

"Yeah," answered Ophiel, cutting Jolene off, and was instantly glared at. "U-Uh...I mean, no, not at all."

"Riiiight. Anyway, this meeting is about the weapons that you wanna give us, right, Bica?"

"Yeah," Bica answered drowsily while yawning, barely being able to stand up, but she hobbled over to a corner of the living room where a various set of guns, axes, swords, katannas, bows, and more lay on the ground next to a large workbench.

"My work here of collecting and fixing customized additions to weapons is complete. The rounds of ammo needed for each gun and bow that you might choose will be in the office room. So go ahead and pick one, you guys."

"SWEET!" exclaimed Jolene, who rushed to snatch a gorgeously crafted katana as well as a pistol. "I CALL DIBS!"

Ophiel gazed at the numerous selections that lay in front of him and then exchanged glances with Bica who rubbed her eyes, dumbfounded.

"You....worked on all of these...all night?"

"Hm? Eh, most of them. I did research on the terrain and the possible encounters that you guys may have there in the Paradisus Legion, as well as considering some of us who aren’t proficient with guns and fighting, and did my best to add awesome inventions and customizations to these babies."

"Thanks..."

"Don’t sweat it, dummy."

Ophiel exhaled and picked up a sniper rifle, while Harvey eyed him suspiciously.

"You do know how to shoot, right? Don’t pick up shit that you aren’t good with."

"I’m not Lio who’ll get babied by you every fucking time, man. Leave me alone."

"Suit yourself," Harvey snapped, while going over to retrieve a mace. "We’ll mostly be taking on Magical Beasts and illegal beast raiders, so this should be enough. I’m not fond of guns myself, anyway."

"Ah, Leah," Bica called out to the middle-aged woman who stood next to Liohime. "You can’t really fight, right? Here’s something sweet that I got just for you."

"O-Oh?"

Handing over a golden ring over to her, she continued, "Wear it and clench your fist, and it will activate a translucent shield that will protect you."

"W-Where did you-!?"

"Hehe, Lio snagged it from an old geezer last night while passing by the receptionist’s front table and handed it over to me."

Liohime merely shrugged and scratched his head as he was still undecided on what to pick.

In the end, I will be using Shihon as my main arsenal, but I will still need something else to protect me just in case.

He picked up a mere handgun, but still hovered over the idea of something more, until-

"Lio, I also got something special for you," mentioned Bica, who whispered in his ear, catching him off guard.

"W-WHA-!? You scared me there. Wait, but I’m pretty good a fighting, though-"

"This way!"

She pulled him along by his long sleeve, leading him into her bedroom, and quickly closed the door behind her, instantly raising suspicion in his mind.

"Uh, s-so..."

"Here you go."

At once, she reached for her pocket and handed him a bracelet studded with glowing, transparent stones.

"What...is this...?" he asked, utterly confused, as she hoarded it into his left pocket, and she stared straight into his eyes.

"I bought it yesterday, just for you, she replied, with the most serious tone that he had ever heard, causing him to flinch. "It’s a bracelet containing Magical Beast Apex Shards. It allows Shihon to regain her full mana capacity when she’s spent, as well as increases her magical power for a while. It was very expensive, so please cherish it."

"Damn, thanks for thinking of my Magical Beast when you bought-"

He paused, then froze completely as a sharp pain struck his heart, not from an injury, but from a sudden realization.

He stared straight back at her, with wavering eyes, and his voice trembled.

"What...did...you just say...?"

...Did she just...mention Shihon?

He held his breath, easily remembering that both Bica and Ophiel had met Shihon as a human in the bar close to his home back in Polar Town. So how...

How did you know that...she’s a...?

She sighed and held a finger to his lips.

"You’re a real airhead when you get riled up, especially when you took on Yariko and Killcreation, you know? I was partially asleep when you two fought, but my listening skills are always acute. No more questions, though. Take it with you, alright. Keep her safe, so that she can protect you."

She removed her index finger from his lips and smiled.

"I won’t ask about how the fuck your Magical Beast is able to do that, but I’ll keep it a secret, only f you allow me to talk to Shihon when this this all over. Deal?"

"...Deal."