<h4>Chapter 473: Leaving the Mine FINALLY</h4>


    The group of demons returned the holdout in the wall swiftly. They had all returned their earmuffs to the correct ce and distinct mour of the mines was no longer assaulting their eardrums. Perhaps, this is why, when the group reached the door, Stone simply walked in and picked up the lockbox before widening so that he could walk out without trouble. Kat had wanted to ask a few questions about it, but knowing it wasn''t really polite, especially because they''d have to remove the ear protection they said nothing.


    The group returned to the crumbling wall that could be considered the entrance to the rat infested section of the mine. Stone once again sealed the ce off, cleaning up the dust a little in the processes before marching on. Kat and Kamiko both shared a desire to chat a little to at leastbat the silence slightly, but they new it was impolite.


    Kat had decided there must be demons with better hearing than her, and adding to the din of the mines without good reason wasn''t particrly polite at all. Kamiko on the other hand, was more concerned that Stone had a master set of earmuffs, thinking it likely there was at least one pair in the mines that had been attuned to them all, allowing for him to overhear any minors chatting, probably with a distance limitation or a filter of some kind.


    Both demons had there reasons, and both were actually valid, and in Kamiko''s case correct. At least, in the assumption that pair of earmuffs existed. If Stone was actually wearing them or not, was something of a mystery as they didn''t look any different than a normal pair and certain friends of Stone did love to switch them out and see how long it took him to noticed.


    This meant they left the mine in silence. The workers were still operating,ing and going with the minecarts and loads of ore of various colours. Some shined in the light, some seemed to suck it in, others glowed faintly despite the brightness, others swirled with colours like a rainbow had been liquified andpressed into stone.


    Kat pulled her eyes away from the sight though, as Stone led them back to the shed they''d arrived in. Stone set down the lockbox with a loud thud, not even attempting to be gentle with it, before taking off his earmuffs and dropping them down on the box and gesturing at it for Kat and Kamiko to do the same.


    Once all were freed of their headwear, Stone spoke up "Is there anything else I need to know about the rats? Anything important?"


    Kat looked over to Kamiko, indicating her to take the lead. While Kat might have been their frontlinebatant, Kamiko''s knowledge of the Swarm Rats, while small, was still higher then her own, so the shorter demon spoke up. "Nothing serious I don''t believe. We might not havepletely cleaned the upper areas, I''m not sure if you want us to focus on that or… the hole.


    "Otherwise, um… the rats were easy, nothing special about them yet. They all seem to havee up and were mostly marking territory and expanding up top, but they weren''t anywhere close to the numbers in the hole. Kat and I could easily cull the ones we found with not even a scratch between us. The horde might be a bigger problem though…"


    Stone nodded, taking in the information from Kamiko and adding it to what he had seen of the ce, tapping his fingers against the box in a rhythmic pattern as he contemted what to do going forward. Eventually, after what looked like half a minute of thought to outsiders, Stone spoke up. "Right. That''s fine, clearing out the path to, and finding, the ce they broke in is the most important thing here. If they really are as easy as you say, the miners can probably deal with the stragglers up top by themselves…


    "The problem really lies with the rest of them. I might have toe along myself of send someone else down with you to assist." Stone looked over the pair of Subi as he said that, looking for a reaction that would indicate their displeasure with the idea, but found none. Neither Kamiko nor Kat had any undue pride in theirbat abilities and were happy to have help if they needed it.


    Continuing on, Stone said "I might evene down with you myself if I can''t really line anyone up for it. I''d probably be overkill, and I have other duties that are important and can be done only by myself… but the rats can''t be ignored. Overkill or not they need to go. They need to be cleaned up somewhat, and the risks of just shoving demonic fire down their and praying are too high."


    Stone chewed on his lip, which, as a demon made mostly of a rock like substance, was very noticeable because of the sound of rocks grating against each other as his teeth failed to crack his lip. "No, I don''t like the idea at all. Certainly don''t want to risk you needing to let out too many mes to keep yourself safe either…


    "Anyway, don''t worry too much about that part. That''s on me to figure out. Just be aware that it might not just be the two of you down there. It might be… but at this point I doubt it. I''ll send a couple of chumps down to clean things out before tomorrow and maybe take a better look at the hole myself. Anything else?"


    Kat and Kamiko shared a look before shrugging. *Pretty sure that was all. I wonder if we really will have help. Will they be other demons on punishment duty or will they be helpers Stone will have found on his own.*


    "Right then" said Stone, "You''ll both be summoned to this shed tomorrow. You won''t have to go through headquarters next time around." With that Stone gave them a nod and exited the door. Kat and Kamiko watched this, took each other in hand and teleported away back to Kamiko''s house.


    Kat saw the cottage again and smiled. This really was a nice ce, and while she hadn''t had the time to properly appreciate the garden, what was out in front was lovely. As Kat approached the house though, she could almost feel something subtly wrong with it. *Oh no.* Kamiko pushed open the door for them and Kat''s bad feeling spiked. *Please no.*


    Kat''s prayers were unanswered, as sitting at the table teacup in hand was obviously Aslena. The ram horns coupled with her green hair which was actually slightly brighter then her mothers in person, sat daintily with a finger out and a slight frown on her features. Her outfit stood out the most though, which Kat supposed was a given. Where the rest of the family had simply affairs, even when they looked nice, Aslena had gone all out, or well, this was a casual outfit for her, but to Kat it was extreme.


    The edges were all lined with a material that glowed, switching between a flowing rainbow of colours that seemed to lead the watcher''s eyes straight to Aslena''s chest. Not that… she was overly endowed in that area. In fact, knowing what Kat did about Kamiko''s own chest, hidden as it normally was, Kat could confidently say that it was the smallest of the family outside of perhaps Meridithna. Still, she was a Subus, so this meant solid B cups rather then anything truly small.


    The rest of the outfit was a pencil dress, hugging her curves tightly and clinging to her legs, where it red out to cover her feet. Kat wouldn''t notice yet, but she also wore high heels, very high heels, that were unhidden due to her spot at the table.


    When her starry ck eyes flickered over to the pair Aslena stood up easily pushing away the chair with the motion. She gave a smile full of teeth that Kat could see was fake from a mile away, longer now she had demonic eyes. "Sister!" said Aslena, "I see you''ve finally brought a friend over!"


    Kat stepped forward past Kamiko, not willing to let Aslena attack her sister to overtly straight away. Holding out a hand Kat returned the smile with one no more genuine then she''d received. "Hello, my name is Kat"


    Aslena''s brows scrunched slightly at being confronted but they let up as she held Kat''s hand and realised it wasn''t being reinforced. She let her nails dig into Kat''s skin, activating her own toxins trying to cause just the slightest bit of fear in Kat, perhaps prove she was top dog.


    Kat however, was having none of it. The pain was nothing and when she pushed her energy into her hand, a genuine grin spread across her face, as by regeneration alone her body rejected the nails, and she didn''t get the slightest hint of the fear inducing poison.


    Kat watched as the smile on Aslena''s face cracked as her fingers were forced backwards. Just because she was also a Rank 2 demon, did not mean she was anywhere close to the strength of Kat or Kamiko.