Chapter 387: Kamiko. I Want You to Stab Me
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A series of beeps echoed throughout the warehouse causing Kat to pause, then the voice of Boss came into being, alongside a hologram of his head in front of both Kamiko and Kat. "I have realised, I neglected to inform the individual, Kat, of a measure we have taken. In the first box, the one by itself, you will also find an amulet with a series of gems around the outside.
"It is designed to stop pain, and record it on the gems. Please note how many light up if you are required to test anything on yourself for damage. The dummies should do fine for the most part, but some things only work on a living creature. We do not want this to be a torture after all, and with your regeneration, the pain is the only concern, which I have of course taken steps to remove.
"Also, if you require time to regenerate your demonic energy at any point, please feel free to do so, both of you. Most artifacts will not take any additional energy past the activation cost, but if something does take more than that please make a note of it. Good day" And like that Boss' face vanished.
*He sure left in a hurry. Sure, he gave us quite a lot of information but he left rather quickly. Aw well, I suppose he is busy and I'm glad he ended up telling me about the device.* Kat looked at the empty air and gave it a wry smile. *If I'm honest, I didn't even think to ask about something like that after being told part of the reason we are here is because of my regeneration.*
*I wonder if that's a bad sign, that I don't actually care all that much about pain anymore. Did I never learn that lesson as a child?* Kat thought back to the fights she'd been in, the bruises she'd acquired STOPPING other fights, the damage she sustained that one time she fell down the stairs. *Huh… I guess I really didn't. It's not like I chose to do anything differently, and I wasn't ever any more careful going down the stairs.*
*Even thinking back to how painful it was getting stabbed. It's not like I'm particularly upset about that one from firebird. Wait… is that a nice thing to call him considering that was the plan? Hell forget about him, getting stabbed by my 'ally' was much worse pain wise… if only because I'd regenerated so much.
Also… looking back on it, am I a hypocrite for complaining about his healing items? It's not exactly like I stayed down either… though I didn't use any extra help so maybe it was fair of me to complain. Heck, let's go further back, ignore all the crazy adventures, the transformation into a full demon wasn't exactly pleasant.*
*It was quite painful… but I never even thought about complaining. It was bad sure but it didn't last too long and I always got something cool out of it. Anyway… I'm getting distracted.* Kat looked over at Kamiko, and was surprised to see the girl was actually rather pale.
"What's wrong?" asked Kat.
"I just…" mumbled Kamiko "I didn't really think I'd need to hurt you. I mean… sure he said your regeneration was helpful but I thought it was to shield you from the more dangerous stuff that would hurt you just using it… not that things would be tested on you. I'm not sure I can actually do that…"
Kat shrugged and said. "It's really not a big deal. I wasn't going to complain with the pain, and without it, it really is no trouble."
"Are you sure?" asked Kamiko with a shaky voice.
Kat nodded. "Yup, just make sure if I end up in pieces you put them back together so they reattach properly"
Kamiko grimaced at the joke, and looked away. She certainly wasn't happy with the assignment and she was far from comfortable with the task set out before them. Kat's cavalier attitude to injury was also something she wasn't a fan of, especially because of how seriously her mother had dealt with even the smallest of injuries, always explaining what had happened and what the appropriate responses had to be.
Deciding that it was best to pretend Kat hadn't said anything outrageous, she walked over to the box in question and pried it open. Kat was standing behind and was shocked to see how things were contained. Instead of packing peanuts, or just throwing everything in the box, it was filled with clear slime by the looks of things.
Sitting on top of it was the amulet in question which Kamiko handed off to Kat. It was simply constructed, a goldish chain, likely brass, with a wooden pendant at the end that had been coated with varnish. The gemstones in question were set around, there were twelve, like it was a clock, and each stone seemed to be completely clear, but Kat was expecting that to change when it was in use.
Taking the amulet and putting it on, Kat felt it heat up for a split second before the sensation vanished. Looking down, just to make sure that she wasn't on fire or something after having lost her sense of pain, found that there wasn't anything remarkable going on with the amulet as far as she could tell, though it hung low over her breasts, as it was clearly designed for someone either much taller, or with a much larger neck. A flash of Boss' face made Kat suspect the latter.
"Should we test this amulet a bit?" asked Kat "Just so that I won't be shocked by the effect?"
Kamiko grimaced. "How would you suggest?"
"Summoning your weapon and stabbing me? Probably through the hand?" said Kat with complete nonchalance.
"I'm not sure I'm ok with testing the other items on you Kat, let alone one of my own just to see if you still feel pain" said Kamiko.
*Hmmmm, how about…* "Well, we did find the amulet in a box, we need to test it as well. Just because we've been told doesn't change that fact." Said Kat with an airy certainty as if it was of no importance but had to be done anyway.
Kamiko wasn't on board with this plan at all but summoned her naginata to her hand anyway. She looked to Kat once more for confirmation and received a slight nod for her troubles. Kamiko grit her teeth, knowing that it was a good idea, something they should do, even if she didn't like it. Powering her strike as much as she could, Kamiko waited for Kat to hold her hand out and stabbed towards it.
Kat felt the blade go into her hand in the loosest sense of the word. She could feel it pushing through the skin, feel the muscles being cut at some of the bones being shattered… but no pain was forthcoming. She could only tell the specifics so well because she could feel it fully as the cut happened with no pain blinding her.
When she focused too, she could feel everything slowly trying to nit itself back together though her regeneration wasn't sure how to remove the blade. It was being held in place, and while her regen could push out foreign substances, it wasn't able to be particularly forceful about it nor did it know which way to go.
Kamiko for her part, watched Kat glance lazily over at her hand, now with a blade embedded in it, before glancing down at the amulet which had five glowing stones now. The stones themselves started off blue and gained a more greenish hue as it went along towards the later numbers. Blue took up the first three, while green the second two at least, likely the second third. The transition was smooth though.
Kat yanked her hand backwards while watching the readout and didn't see a change in value at all, while her hand rapidly knit itself back together. "Huh. That was certainly an interesting experience…" mumbled Kat.
Kamiko bit her lip. "It… was?" were the words she settled on.
Kat nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I could always feel myself getting healed, but it was kind of in an abstract way? If that makes sense. Like… academically I could feel my bones pulling themselves back together through my bruised muscles, but mostly it was pain. A specific kind of pain for each injury, but pain nonetheless.
"Oh yeah amulet worked by the way. It's just… without the pain I can still feel things being put back together but I can feel it properly. Like… I can tell what things are moving where and I could probably hover a finger over a bone fragment and show the path it took back to its home. It's… a really weird feeling. Not bad per se, but certainly weird" said Kat
"Huh… I… don't really think I can relate and I don't particularly want to. Um… how much energy did that take?" asked Kamiko.
"Oh practically nothing. Just this talk regenerated whatever it might have cost me. It was just a small wound" said Kat.
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A series of beeps echoed throughout the warehouse causing Kat to pause, then the voice of Boss came into being, alongside a hologram of his head in front of both Kamiko and Kat. "I have realised, I neglected to inform the individual, Kat, of a measure we have taken. In the first box, the one by itself, you will also find an amulet with a series of gems around the outside.
"It is designed to stop pain, and record it on the gems. Please note how many light up if you are required to test anything on yourself for damage. The dummies should do fine for the most part, but some things only work on a living creature. We do not want this to be a torture after all, and with your regeneration, the pain is the only concern, which I have of course taken steps to remove.
"Also, if you require time to regenerate your demonic energy at any point, please feel free to do so, both of you. Most artifacts will not take any additional energy past the activation cost, but if something does take more than that please make a note of it. Good day" And like that Boss' face vanished.
*He sure left in a hurry. Sure, he gave us quite a lot of information but he left rather quickly. Aw well, I suppose he is busy and I'm glad he ended up telling me about the device.* Kat looked at the empty air and gave it a wry smile. *If I'm honest, I didn't even think to ask about something like that after being told part of the reason we are here is because of my regeneration.*
*I wonder if that's a bad sign, that I don't actually care all that much about pain anymore. Did I never learn that lesson as a child?* Kat thought back to the fights she'd been in, the bruises she'd acquired STOPPING other fights, the damage she sustained that one time she fell down the stairs. *Huh… I guess I really didn't. It's not like I chose to do anything differently, and I wasn't ever any more careful going down the stairs.*
*Even thinking back to how painful it was getting stabbed. It's not like I'm particularly upset about that one from firebird. Wait… is that a nice thing to call him considering that was the plan? Hell forget about him, getting stabbed by my 'ally' was much worse pain wise… if only because I'd regenerated so much.
Also… looking back on it, am I a hypocrite for complaining about his healing items? It's not exactly like I stayed down either… though I didn't use any extra help so maybe it was fair of me to complain. Heck, let's go further back, ignore all the crazy adventures, the transformation into a full demon wasn't exactly pleasant.*
*It was quite painful… but I never even thought about complaining. It was bad sure but it didn't last too long and I always got something cool out of it. Anyway… I'm getting distracted.* Kat looked over at Kamiko, and was surprised to see the girl was actually rather pale.
"What's wrong?" asked Kat.
"I just…" mumbled Kamiko "I didn't really think I'd need to hurt you. I mean… sure he said your regeneration was helpful but I thought it was to shield you from the more dangerous stuff that would hurt you just using it… not that things would be tested on you. I'm not sure I can actually do that…"
Kat shrugged and said. "It's really not a big deal. I wasn't going to complain with the pain, and without it, it really is no trouble."
"Are you sure?" asked Kamiko with a shaky voice.
Kat nodded. "Yup, just make sure if I end up in pieces you put them back together so they reattach properly"
Kamiko grimaced at the joke, and looked away. She certainly wasn't happy with the assignment and she was far from comfortable with the task set out before them. Kat's cavalier attitude to injury was also something she wasn't a fan of, especially because of how seriously her mother had dealt with even the smallest of injuries, always explaining what had happened and what the appropriate responses had to be.
Deciding that it was best to pretend Kat hadn't said anything outrageous, she walked over to the box in question and pried it open. Kat was standing behind and was shocked to see how things were contained. Instead of packing peanuts, or just throwing everything in the box, it was filled with clear slime by the looks of things.
Sitting on top of it was the amulet in question which Kamiko handed off to Kat. It was simply constructed, a goldish chain, likely brass, with a wooden pendant at the end that had been coated with varnish. The gemstones in question were set around, there were twelve, like it was a clock, and each stone seemed to be completely clear, but Kat was expecting that to change when it was in use.
Taking the amulet and putting it on, Kat felt it heat up for a split second before the sensation vanished. Looking down, just to make sure that she wasn't on fire or something after having lost her sense of pain, found that there wasn't anything remarkable going on with the amulet as far as she could tell, though it hung low over her breasts, as it was clearly designed for someone either much taller, or with a much larger neck. A flash of Boss' face made Kat suspect the latter.
"Should we test this amulet a bit?" asked Kat "Just so that I won't be shocked by the effect?"
Kamiko grimaced. "How would you suggest?"
"Summoning your weapon and stabbing me? Probably through the hand?" said Kat with complete nonchalance.
"I'm not sure I'm ok with testing the other items on you Kat, let alone one of my own just to see if you still feel pain" said Kamiko.
*Hmmmm, how about…* "Well, we did find the amulet in a box, we need to test it as well. Just because we've been told doesn't change that fact." Said Kat with an airy certainty as if it was of no importance but had to be done anyway.
Kamiko wasn't on board with this plan at all but summoned her naginata to her hand anyway. She looked to Kat once more for confirmation and received a slight nod for her troubles. Kamiko grit her teeth, knowing that it was a good idea, something they should do, even if she didn't like it. Powering her strike as much as she could, Kamiko waited for Kat to hold her hand out and stabbed towards it.
Kat felt the blade go into her hand in the loosest sense of the word. She could feel it pushing through the skin, feel the muscles being cut at some of the bones being shattered… but no pain was forthcoming. She could only tell the specifics so well because she could feel it fully as the cut happened with no pain blinding her.
When she focused too, she could feel everything slowly trying to nit itself back together though her regeneration wasn't sure how to remove the blade. It was being held in place, and while her regen could push out foreign substances, it wasn't able to be particularly forceful about it nor did it know which way to go.
Kamiko for her part, watched Kat glance lazily over at her hand, now with a blade embedded in it, before glancing down at the amulet which had five glowing stones now. The stones themselves started off blue and gained a more greenish hue as it went along towards the later numbers. Blue took up the first three, while green the second two at least, likely the second third. The transition was smooth though.
Kat yanked her hand backwards while watching the readout and didn't see a change in value at all, while her hand rapidly knit itself back together. "Huh. That was certainly an interesting experience…" mumbled Kat.
Kamiko bit her lip. "It… was?" were the words she settled on.
Kat nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I could always feel myself getting healed, but it was kind of in an abstract way? If that makes sense. Like… academically I could feel my bones pulling themselves back together through my bruised muscles, but mostly it was pain. A specific kind of pain for each injury, but pain nonetheless.
"Oh yeah amulet worked by the way. It's just… without the pain I can still feel things being put back together but I can feel it properly. Like… I can tell what things are moving where and I could probably hover a finger over a bone fragment and show the path it took back to its home. It's… a really weird feeling. Not bad per se, but certainly weird" said Kat
"Huh… I… don't really think I can relate and I don't particularly want to. Um… how much energy did that take?" asked Kamiko.
"Oh practically nothing. Just this talk regenerated whatever it might have cost me. It was just a small wound" said Kat.
A series of beeps echoed throughout the warehouse causing Kat to pause, then the voice of Boss came into being, alongside a hologram of his head in front of both Kamiko and Kat. "I have realised, I neglected to inform the individual, Kat, of a measure we have taken. In the first box, the one by itself, you will also find an amulet with a series of gems around the outside."It is designed to stop pain, and record it on the gems. Please note how many light up if you are required to test anything on yourself for damage. The dummies should do fine for the most part, but some things only work on a living creature. We do not want this to be a torture after all, and with your regeneration, the pain is the only concern, which I have of course taken steps to remove."Also, if you require time to regenerate your demonic energy at any point, please feel free to do so, both of you. Most artifacts will not take any additional energy past the activation cost, but if something does take more than that please make a note of it. Good day" And like that Boss' face vanished.*He sure left in a hurry. Sure, he gave us quite a lot of information but he left rather quickly. Aw well, I suppose he is busy and I'm glad he ended up telling me about the device.* Kat looked at the empty air and gave it a wry smile. *If I'm honest, I didn't even think to ask about something like that after being told part of the reason we are here is because of my regeneration.* *I wonder if that's a bad sign, that I don't actually care all that much about pain anymore. Did I never learn that lesson as a child?* Kat thought back to the fights she'd been in, the bruises she'd acquired STOPPING other fights, the damage she sustained that one time she fell down the stairs. *Huh I guess I really didn't. It's not like I chose to do anything differently, and I wasn't ever any more careful going down the stairs.* *Even thinking back to how painful it was getting stabbed. It's not like I'm particularly upset about that one from firebird. Wait is that a nice thing to call him considering that was the plan? Hell forget about him, getting stabbed by my 'ally' was much worse pain wise if only because I'd regenerated so much. Also looking back on it, am I a hypocrite for complaining about his healing items? It's not exactly like I stayed down either though I didn't use any extra help so maybe it was fair of me to complain. Heck, let's go further back, ignore all the crazy adventures, the transformation into a full demon wasn't exactly pleasant.* *It was quite painful but I never even thought about complaining. It was bad sure but it didn't last too long and I always got something cool out of it. Anyway I'm getting distracted.* Kat looked over at Kamiko, and was surprised to see the girl was actually rather pale."What's wrong?" asked Kat."I just" mumbled Kamiko "I didn't really think I'd need to hurt you. I mean sure he said your regeneration was helpful but I thought it was to shield you from the more dangerous stuff that would hurt you just using it not that things would be tested on you. I'm not sure I can actually do that"Kat shrugged and said. "It's really not a big deal. I wasn't going to complain with the pain, and without it, it really is no trouble.""Are you sure?" asked Kamiko with a shaky voice.Kat nodded. "Yup, just make sure if I end up in pieces you put them back together so they reattach properly"Kamiko grimaced at the joke, and looked away. She certainly wasn't happy with the assignment and she was far from comfortable with the task set out before them. Kat's cavalier attitude to injury was also something she wasn't a fan of, especially because of how seriously her mother had dealt with even the smallest of injuries, always explaining what had happened and what the appropriate responses had to be.Deciding that it was best to pretend Kat hadn't said anything outrageous, she walked over to the box in question and pried it open. Kat was standing behind and was shocked to see how things were contained. Instead of packing peanuts, or just throwing everything in the box, it was filled with clear slime by the looks of things.Sitting on top of it was the amulet in question which Kamiko handed off to Kat. It was simply constructed, a goldish chain, likely brass, with a wooden pendant at the end that had been coated with varnish. The gemstones in question were set around, there were twelve, like it was a clock, and each stone seemed to be completely clear, but Kat was expecting that to change when it was in use.Taking the amulet and putting it on, Kat felt it heat up for a split second before the sensation vanished. Looking down, just to make sure that she wasn't on fire or something after having lost her sense of pain, found that there wasn't anything remarkable going on with the amulet as far as she could tell, though it hung low over her breasts, as it was clearly designed for someone either much taller, or with a much larger neck. A flash of Boss' face made Kat suspect the latter."Should we test this amulet a bit?" asked Kat "Just so that I won't be shocked by the effect?"Kamiko grimaced. "How would you suggest?""Summoning your weapon and stabbing me? Probably through the hand?" said Kat with complete nonchalance."I'm not sure I'm ok with testing the other items on you Kat, let alone one of my own just to see if you still feel pain" said Kamiko.*Hmmmm, how about* "Well, we did find the amulet in a box, we need to test it as well. Just because we've been told doesn't change that fact." Said Kat with an airy certainty as if it was of no importance but had to be done anyway.Kamiko wasn't on board with this plan at all but summoned her naginata to her hand anyway. She looked to Kat once more for confirmation and received a slight nod for her troubles. Kamiko grit her teeth, knowing that it was a good idea, something they should do, even if she didn't like it. Powering her strike as much as she could, Kamiko waited for Kat to hold her hand out and stabbed towards it.Kat felt the blade go into her hand in the loosest sense of the word. She could feel it pushing through the skin, feel the muscles being cut at some of the bones being shattered but no pain was forthcoming. She could only tell the specifics so well because she could feel it fully as the cut happened with no pain blinding her.When she focused too, she could feel everything slowly trying to nit itself back together though her regeneration wasn't sure how to remove the blade. It was being held in place, and while her regen could push out foreign substances, it wasn't able to be particularly forceful about it nor did it know which way to go.Kamiko for her part, watched Kat glance lazily over at her hand, now with a blade embedded in it, before glancing down at the amulet which had five glowing stones now. The stones themselves started off blue and gained a more greenish hue as it went along towards the later numbers. Blue took up the first three, while green the second two at least, likely the second third. The transition was smooth though.Kat yanked her hand backwards while watching the readout and didn't see a change in value at all, while her hand rapidly knit itself back together. "Huh. That was certainly an interesting experience" mumbled Kat.Kamiko bit her lip. "It was?" were the words she settled on.Kat nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I could always feel myself getting healed, but it was kind of in an abstract way? If that makes sense. Like academically I could feel my bones pulling themselves back together through my bruised muscles, but mostly it was pain. A specific kind of pain for each injury, but pain nonetheless."Oh yeah amulet worked by the way. It's just without the pain I can still feel things being put back together but I can feel it properly. Like I can tell what things are moving where and I could probably hover a finger over a bone fragment and show the path it took back to its home. It's a really weird feeling. Not bad per se, but certainly weird" said Kat"Huh I don't really think I can relate and I don't particularly want to. Um how much energy did that take?" asked Kamiko."Oh practically nothing. Just this talk regenerated whatever it might have cost me. It was just a small wound" said Kat.
