Today was bizarre. To be honest, half of the walk over here, John was mentally preparing himself to deal with a hostage situation, but thankfully, the tax collectors didn't think of that. Yet, in all his musings, he didn't predict this.
He stared down the now kneeling, absolutely horrifying undead with a frown, before looking at the bound and gagged Shirai, who was trying his best to worm his way away from everyone. Unfortunately for him, he was moving about as fast as...
2025-08-20 01:53:13 +0000 UTC
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It had been a while since Yuki had people react to her like this. She didn't miss it, despite how useful it was.
People cleared out of her path like she was an incoming flood, and the militia obeyed without question. At least nobody was begging for blessings yet. No, that would likely come later. This move… it may necessitate more regular presence in Broadstream, even without what John was planning. To think, what he had shared while they were preparing… devaluing the coin ...
2025-08-13 01:07:15 +0000 UTC
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Hey there everyone! I was curious: would you folks be interested in a discord server for EMK and any other projects I may do in the future? It'd probably not only be a patron server, but an open one, with patron exclusive areas.
2025-08-06 05:06:53 +0000 UTC
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It was hard for Rin to believe. To think that there was a nogitsune lurking in these woods… Even worse, she had the power to befuddle minds!
It was hard for Rin to believe.
To think that there was a nogitsune lurking in these woods… Even worse, she had the power to befuddle minds! Still, it had to be the truth!
It made their trek to Broadstream Town all the more perilous, and Rin was lucky she could watch for threats and think at the same time, unlike some peopl...
2025-08-06 03:48:42 +0000 UTC
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John did not sleep for long, and what he got was mercifully dreamless, but he felt better. Different. Yuki was right. What happened was in the past, even though it tore him up inside. He couldn't change it.
What he could do, though, was change the future, which was why he was in his workshop at dark o'clock, drawing out ideas for a new gauntlet. Inspiration struck him when he woke; possibly losing it entirely by returning to sleep was unacceptable.
Besides, since when had a ...
2025-07-29 18:58:52 +0000 UTC
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John stumbled into his room and flicked on the light, slamming the door behind him and dropping the heavy barricade across it. Breathing heavily, he collapsed onto his mattress, looking up at the unadorned ceiling.
This was so fucked up. How the hell could he just pretend everything was fine after everything that happened? First, he killed a man, then he failed to help when it mattered, and then Kiku…
Kiku…
He shivered, balling up on top of the bed. The memory o...
2025-07-23 14:50:18 +0000 UTC
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Not a word was uttered between them during the trip back to the fort; the tension hanging over the pair like an executioner's axe, with neither willing to say the first word. John stood on the far side of the path from Yuki, scanning for threats compulsively, but never letting his eyes linger in her direction for too terribly long. It might invite a conversation he was not ready for.
Truth be told, he'd probably never be ready for it, but with each minute the fort drew closer, like an i...
2025-07-15 17:11:10 +0000 UTC
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"Now, let's get a good look at you," Kiku mused before spinning him around in her grip like a doll, forcing him to look at her before he could begin to process her insane statement about her and Yuki once being one and the same.
He could see the "family" resemblance between the two; the mysterious kitsune had a motherly figure like Yuki and towered over him much the same, with his head only coming up to her chest, although her colours were entirely different. She was a mix of rich purpl...
2025-07-08 23:18:07 +0000 UTC
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John did what he did best. All the bile, all the hatred, all the dread and pain and doubt burning him up from inside… he forced it down into a nice neat box to be dealt with later so he could face this monstrosity. He could—would endure. He always had.
It faded away into the background, along with the screams of the men he mangled, as he focused on this new threat.
The beast hardly fit through the doors, as towering as it was beneath its veil of ghostly pale silk. It ...
2025-07-02 02:13:23 +0000 UTC
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Before they went to the building, they checked the rest of the kappa's landmarks… Although they turned up nothing more than a few more entrances to the Nameless nest and what appeared to be a few shrines. The spread of the Nameless nest exits was honestly worrying, and John was starting to suspect that it might be like a damn city down there.
They had that whole space warping nonsense going on, after all. They could fit down—and take their loot down—that narrow tree trunk, it wasn...
2025-06-25 04:28:50 +0000 UTC
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John hated to give much ground on this matter to Yuki, but after even that little break, his shoulders didn't tense up in the same way, nor did he find himself blanking as he worked.
Rin had awoken and was still a bit… out of it, so Yuki had opted to keep an eye on her and try to guide her through some meditation. In fact, he could feel a bit of ozone-y tang on his tongue, so he wagered she was probably succeeding, which was wild. When she explained it, he had expected such a...
2025-06-18 01:58:48 +0000 UTC
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John awkwardly laid the dragon woman on the mattress she had been sleeping on, stepping back as she immediately curled up like a sleeping cat the second she touched fabric. It was weird, awkward, and he wished he were doing anything else, but it had to be done.
"How long is she going to be like that, you think?" He asked, turning to Yuki as he glanced around. It felt a bit… strange to be in what may as well be the bedroom of another while they were passed out, even if it was just a wa...
2025-06-10 22:41:57 +0000 UTC
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It took a while for John to come back to his senses, and by that point, they were already walking back to the fort to "plot their next move." Yuki had stolen his notebook a while back, writing down what were presumably all the spots where the kappa had seen armed people fishing. Now that he thought of it, he could have brought his self-drawn map along for the yokai to mark, but he suspected it wouldn't have been too helpful.
No, what little of the kappa's instructions he heard were all ...
2025-06-03 23:48:23 +0000 UTC
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"Are you sure, John?" Yuki's voice shook him out of his trance, and he nodded after a moment of thought. Obviously, he wouldn't share anything about her, as it was not his story to tell. But his?
There was no avoiding it.
Rin had seen him crack at the mere presence of a few men whom he should have been so far beyond that they should be beneath notice. He had to share at least a bit more of the truth, and hope she was still onboard afterwards. Otherwise, it risked her ...
2025-05-27 23:35:00 +0000 UTC
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The three walked down to the river, with Yuki in the lead, John in the middle, and Rin in the back. It still made John's spine tingle to have the new addition to the fort behind him, granted, but given how she had been looking at him with stars in her eyes this whole time, he didn't expect any issues. Really, he figured she was more likely to shake him like a vending machine trying to get more sage wisdom out.
He would have to think of more things to teach her, wouldn't he? He supposed ...
2025-05-20 23:02:16 +0000 UTC
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The morning was a bit awkward, if only because John had to deliver food to Kaito. Obviously, the man didn't give him any problem when he was being untied. No, believing someone has superhuman abilities and can casually crush your skull goes a long way to making someone behave. Most of the uncomfortable silence came from seeing "Lord" John casually deliver food, untie him, and wait for him to eat, but there was no better solution as he wouldn't let Aiki or Haru take that risk. The man tried to...
2025-05-13 18:55:44 +0000 UTC
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John walked into the room and turned on the lights, his face kept carefully neutral even though his mind swirled, Kaito immediately quieting in his presence and freezing like a deer in headlights. John had a chair under either of his arms, and he set them up across from the captive tax collector. Perhaps three feet distant, John sat, crossing his legs and pulling out his book of notes that he began to review.
Tension hung in the air, and neither party said anything. Silently, John flipp...
2025-05-06 22:57:07 +0000 UTC
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Hey folks! Hope you enjoyed the newest chapter. I wanted to let you know about something else, too, since I have your attention, and this one may be a bit large to just silently drop in the comments. I've actually launched on Royal Road now at the link up above! I know I've been asked in the past about this, so I figured I'd spread the new around a bit, and this will slowly catch up to here at a rate of a chapter every other day. Of course, if anyone happens to read there, honest ratings, rev...
2025-04-30 01:24:51 +0000 UTC
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John sat on the wall under the night sky, a knot of worry sitting heavily in his gut. Maybe he should have gone with Yuki. He knew that she could more than handle herself, but heading out solo always ran the risk of being blindsided by something.
He knew that he would only slow her down, though. While able to sneak, he doubted he could match a kitsune with centuries of experience and the ability to shapeshift in that department. Maybe he could figure out how to make a simple ha...
2025-04-30 01:03:08 +0000 UTC
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Tracking them back to their residence was, honestly, embarrassingly easy. They didn't even try the most basic of tricks to ensure they weren't being followed. Really, Yuki was almost insulted. How did they even get this far without getting hunted down in the street like animals? Were they truly that secure against reprisal? She knew this place was weak, but if the people were determined, that undead monstrosity of theirs wouldn't be a proper shield.
Crush up a few fire-aligned ...
2025-04-22 21:37:27 +0000 UTC
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Hey hey people, I have a bit of a surprise for you all today! Done by the wonderful "Realjustnothing" on Twitter, I got some cover art! Here's a version with no words, too, so you can appreciate the crazy detail they put in. (Outfits in the story may not be as shown yet, but these ones make for a way better cover.)
2025-04-20 15:07:54 +0000 UTC
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Yuki walked down the shaded path alone, the gentle light of the moon filtering between the leaves. She breathed in deep, soaking in the peace and starlight, and bothered not with a disguise other than uncomfortably weaving her tails together. The kitsune feared nothing this forest could offer. If the Nameless came en masse, she'd escape easily. There was no Unbound that could threaten her around. If some random priest or official encountered her on the road, there was no way they could interp...
2025-04-15 21:32:55 +0000 UTC
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The burst of inspiration carried him through most of the setup work and raw number crunching, even if Yuki sitting there watching him work was a bit of a distraction. Thankfully, he could reuse a bunch of earlier, outdated or scrapped foci for this design. How could he have been so blind? There were already ways inherent in magic where you could easily make a gyroscope. His whole plan to make blinding arrows involved producing arc flashes a set distance above them, after all! Just a little ex...
2025-04-08 17:19:46 +0000 UTC
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Hey hey folks, this is going to be a weird one, but do you all happen to have any EMK memes laying about that you might have posted in a chat somewhere? I'm planning on posting this on Royal Road under the name SteelTrim in the near-ish future, and I'm absolutely awful at summarizing anything, never mind managing that in entertaining ad form. In any case, I'd be happy to give anyone who has one I end up using a 20 buck Steam or Amazon gift card or the like.
2025-04-03 20:43:10 +0000 UTC
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John looked out the door with a mild frown. Rin had taken to work eagerly, which he didn't expect. Even now, she was weeding the central courtyard, pulling plants from between the stones with a steady hand… although he did have to stop her from cleaving them with jets of water and blades of ice at first. She had clearly never done any gardening in her life; she didn't even think about dealing with the roots.
Her eyes did light up, and she mumbled something about "that's what my father...
2025-03-31 19:34:06 +0000 UTC
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There will be no chapter this week. I had to put my cat of seven years down today due to massive kidney failure. I'm sorry.
2025-03-24 20:34:39 +0000 UTC
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"I… honestly don't know what to say to that," he replied, his absolute bafflement overflowing into detached serenity. The dragon woman sure had some ideas, alright. Why would that ever work? "Didn't you just threaten to kill me a few hours ago?"
Rin had the good sense and shame to wince, at least. "That was a mistake on my part," she admitted, "and I'm eager to make it up to you both." The worst part was probably that he couldn't entirely dismiss the offer out of hand, either, even if...
2025-03-19 01:14:25 +0000 UTC
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John was still fuming as he followed the cart back to town, his eyes burning a hole in the back of Rin's head between checking the surrounding forest for threats. Strangely, the woman who had threatened to cut him down a mere hour ago was… surprisingly pliant after he exploded at her, although he still wasn't sure if she actually felt guilty or if there was something else beyond his understanding at work. It was almost creepy how quiet Rin was; she had hardly said a word since...
2025-03-11 22:36:12 +0000 UTC
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"You can't just say 'no' to a duel!" exclaimed the crazed woman in disbelief.
"Why not?" John asked, "I'm not obligated to fight every weirdo who shouts at me on the street." This was, in fact, the wrong thing to say.
"How dare you!" she shouted, pounding a fist on the table hard enough to crack it. "I am Nagahama Rin, not some random gutter trash you can disregard."
"I don't even know why you're here," he replied, shrugging.
"To end your reign of terror," Rin hissed. ...
2025-03-04 02:15:25 +0000 UTC
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Heyo folks, just letting you know that next week's chapter is probably going to be in the evening rather than the morning! Unfortunately, my schedule for next week got changed so I work early on Tuesday to cover somebody's vacation, it should be only for that week, and the last time I tried to mobile post a chapter it turned into a disaster.
So yeah, evening chapter next week.
2025-02-25 17:30:06 +0000 UTC
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