“Yashiyoshi-sama!!” Saki cried as she, Sohma, Goki, Jukai and Kuribayashi raced into the room.
It seemed that Goki and they had showed up just in time to save Saki and Sohma from being killed by their doubles.

“Are you all right?! Is Chiaki okay?!”
“She’s fine…… for the time being…….”
Yashiyoshi-sama did not look well.
“W… what do you mean by that?” Goki demanded.

“That sorceress……” Yashiyoshi-sama began slowly, pure worry spread across his old, wise face, “she cast a spell in an attempt to stop my void spell….. yet the two spells somehow …… combined together…… and made a new one……”

“What do you mean by that?” Jukai joined in the questioning, looking more scared than worried.

“Her spell collided with mine, and altered the nature of my spell…… instead of the void pulling foreign energies out of Chiaki’s subconscious mind……”

“The void pulled foreign energies INTO Chiaki’s mind!!”
Saki cried as the answer dawned on her, seeing that Natrishiko was nowhere in sight.

“Natrishiko is IN Chiaki-san’s head!!??” Kuribayashi gasped. “That… that can’t be good!! I mean, God knows what she’s going to do in there!!!”

Everyone had a look of pure horror on their faces, as they looked down at Chiaki, not knowing what to do, or even what to say.

Finally, after a long period of horrific silence as the truth sank into everyone’s head, Yashiyoshi-sama began with a slow sigh.

“…… There’s only one thing we can do now…..”

“What is it, Yashiyoshi-sama? Please tell us!!” Goki pleaded, fearing for his master’s life.

“Even though this is highly dangerous and it might cause damage to Chiaki’s mind, it’s a lot better than Natrishiko doing the damage herself…”
“What is it that we must do, Yashiyoshi-sama?” Saki repeated Goki’s question.

He sighed again.

“I cannot use the void spell to draw Natrishiko out…… It’s too risky….. She will feel herself being pulled out, and will most likely kill Chiaki right away from inside her head. However, right now, she will not kill Chiaki because she still needs to figure out a way to get herself out before Chiaki’s mind shuts down and she is permanently locked in Chiaki’s dead subconscious….. That is way we must use this extra time to our advantage, and.…..”

“And what? We must what?” Kuribayashi asked, his hairs all standing on ends now.
 

“……We must send someone into her mind to destroy Natrishiko….”
 

There was a long period of silence as everyone slowly took in the information they just received, bit by bit.
It just sounded too surreal to be true……

Natrishiko was in Chiaki’s subconscious mind? And they must send someone to kill her? What was it like inside someone else’s mind? What was it like inside Chiaki’s mind?

“I’ll go,” Goki volunteered bravely, breaking the silence.
“I’ll go with you.” Sohma stood beside Goki.

Yashiyoshi-sama shook his head.

“The mind is a fragile thing…… It cannot hold too many foreign energies within it without corrupting or breaking down…... It is safe that we only send one of us.”
“Then I shall go. I am the only one who is capable of saving Master,” Goki said, walking towards Chiaki.
 

“Sit down, Goki… If there’s anyone that’s gonna save Chiaki, it’s me!”
 

All heads snapped back to the door at the sound of a seven-year-old brat's voice rang through the room.

“Zenki-dono!!” Saki cried in joy and relief.
“You’re alive!! The medicine worked!! We’re saved!!!” Jukai and Kuribayashi cried in unison as they started to dance, holding onto each other’s arms.

Leaning against the doorway for support, Zenki had that determined, pissed-off look he always wore.
He did not look so well though…. being unnaturally pale with sweat pouring down his face.

“Zenki, are you sure? I mean, no offense, but Goki does seem like a better option at this moment….. You’re not exactly in fighting condition…” Sohma said in a very serious tone.
“Sohma’s right, Zenki-dono… You haven’t fully recovered yet……” Saki added, with concern in her voice.

“Bullshit!!” he yelled, ramming his fist into the doorway. “You wanna know what Chiaki’s been afraid of all this time?! Me!! That fucking bitch did something to Chiaki to make her scared shitless of me, and she’s eventually going to go insane and kill herself!! That’s how scared she is!! If it’s not me that breaks this fucking spell and saves her ass, then Chiaki’s going to continue to fear me even after the spell is gone!! She’ll still end up killing herself!!”

Everyone went silent.
Finally, the mystery behind Chiaki’s fears was solved.
And Zenki had made a very good point.

“Very well, then,” Yashiyoshi-sama said, “I believe the demon lord can handle this…”
“You're damn right I can.” Zenki walked up to him. “Well, let’s get this going!! We don’t have all freakin’ day!!”

Yashiyoshi-sama knelt down and handed Zenki a charm.

“Take this,” he said. “This will enable you to communicate with us from inside Chiaki’s subconscious mind. However, remember that Chiaki’s mind is in a very fragile state right now. You must only use it once, so save it when you are in really, really deep trouble. All you have to do is hold it tight, and read the words written on the back.”

Zenki grabbed it and eyed it.
“Che. I’ll never need this.”
“Never say never,” Yashiyoshi-sama said glumly, as if to remind himself of his mistake.

“And one more thing… this is the most important part. What we are attempting to do here is a highly dangerous procedure. What you are about to enter is completely uncharted waters. Every mind varies. With Natrishiko inside and Chiaki’s weak mental state, her mind could very well be extremely twisted …… We do not know. My understanding of this subject is very limited; but I will tell you what I know.

“In order to exist inside someone else’s mind, your body will be broken down into pure thoughts. Which is good, considering you can still fight and call upon your powers. The other good point is that the subconscious is in a totally different area than the rest of the brain; so you do not have to worry about harming Chiaki herself.
However, with Natrishiko’s magic, it could be done. That is why you must find her as soon as possible.

“The thing that you MUST be exceptionally careful of is that, at this point, your body is made up of only your thoughts and how you perceive your surroundings. Which means it would be very, very easy to mix your own subconscious up with hers. Which means there is the danger that you could end up walking in circles inside your own subconscious. By then, you could get eternally lost in either her mind, or your own.

“Just remember: stay sharp, stay focused, and most importantly: DO NOT be distracted by what you see or hear in there. Some of those thoughts and images, even Chiaki herself does not know that they exist in her mind. That’s why it’s called the ‘subconscious’ mind. Or as I mentioned before, you could have been so distracted that you somehow end up in your own mind. Or it could also be Natrishiko’s doings.

“Do you understand now, Zenki-dono? This is not a battle to be taken lightly. It is not a fight that can be won with physical skill…… Your mind must be as clear as sleet, and your will as strong as iron. No matter what, you must *not* be drawn into her mind…. ”

Zenki looked as if he was actually listening and carefully considering what Yashiyoshi-sama was telling him.

Yashiyoshi-sama then stood, and began to re-open the void.

The void opened very quickly, for it was called upon just less than ten minutes ago.

“Alright, Zenki-dono! This is it!” Saki cried, as she covered her face from the howling wind, and raised her voice to try to speak over it.
“Good luck, Zenki-dono!!” Jukai and Kuribayashi called
“Zenki-san, if you don’t save Chiaki, then don’t come back!” Goki yelled harshly.

Zenki turned and gave him a toothy grin.
“Heh! I am Zenki! The greatest demon lord that ever lived!! If you think I can’t save one stupid human girl, then you’re out of your fucking mind!!”

And just before his body was fully absorbed by the void, he added one last snide remark: “Listen, all of you!! I *love* the fact that Chiaki’s scared to death of me!! It’s just that we all know what happens to me if she dies…… So don’t go gettin’ any funny ideas!!”

With that, he disappeared into the void.