Chapter 177 - Vol. 3 - 50

Ash led the little half-demon girl out of the abandoned house, checking the street to make sure that they weren't walking into an ambush. Instead, Ash saw that the only living being still standing in this area was Kaori. The blonde stood over a fallen soldier's body, looking down with a grim expression. However, she brightened up just a little when Ash walked up to her and she saw the little girl by her side. 

"Oh!" Kaori crouched, putting on a smile. "Who's this?" 

Ash hadn't actually gotten her name yet. Ash looked down at her and found the little girl looking around, her nervous eyes moving from one body to another.

Hmph. Not the best thing to see as soon as you leave your cover. 

Ash wanted to say something, but before she could, Kaori beat her to it. 

The blonde gently put her armored hands on the little girl's cheeks so that she was looking straight at her instead of at the horrible things around them. 

"A cute girl like you has to have a cute name, I'd like to know it!" Kaori said with a kind smile. 

"Uhm... L-Luvine," she replied and at that, Kaori grinned. 

"I knew it! You do have a cute name! Okay, Luvine," Kaori gestured up at Ash. "Listen, the two of us are guards, okay? We're going to protect you. So, don't worry if you see any big scary monsters. If we run into any of them, just hide and we'll handle it. Alright?" 

In all honesty, Ash was beyond impressed with how quickly Kaori managed to handle this situation. Especially since Ash knew she was going through her own problems right now. That fact, that Kaori was doing this despite the terror in her own heart, made Ash respect her all the more. 

"O-Okay..." Luvine nodded and Kaori chuckled, patting her on the head. 

"Come on, kid," Kaori said, and then she stood up straight, looking at Ash. "Where are we headed?" 

Ash paused, taking a deep breath. She concentrated, trying her hardest to determine what the best course of action would be, but the sounds of spells exploding, people crying out and demons screeching made that difficult. 

"... Let's go deeper into the city then," Ash muttered. "I think all we can do at this point is see how far Niven is willing to go tonight." 

"Right!" Kaori agreed.

With that settled, the three of them started to walk down the street. 

Ash kept her eyes peeled for any enemies, while Kaori proceeded to ask Luvine a few questions. 

"So, is there anyone else you want us to look for?" Kaori asked. "Anyone who, uh, might need a little saving?" 

"... No," Luvine replied, shaking her head, and Kaori nodded. 

"Wait, so, was that your house or someone else's that you ended up in?" Ash asked. 

"It... Uh, the second one..." Luvine answered. 

"Hm... Okay," Ash replied. 

And with that, they moved through multiple streets. Kaori did her best to keep the girl's thoughts focused on literally anything that wasn't the broken bodies scattered across the area, but Ash doubted that was something she'd do too successfully. However, on the bright side, it did seem like Niven was done for the night. 

The three of them weren't encountering any demons. The sounds of battle were still in the air, but it seemed to Ash at least like they were centered somewhere to the far north, away from the heart of the city. 

"Okay, it looks like we're out of it," Ash said. "Now, I think it's probably best if we..." 

And, as soon as she said that, a group of soldiers began sprinting towards them from the left.  What the...? 

Behind them, several demons were chasing after the small group, and Ash rolled her eyes. 

The world wants me to be wrong so badly it literally made these idiots bring demons to me. I love it. 

---

Onyx Battlefield Moments, 3: The Rookies

---

Three young soldiers tripped over themselves as they ran towards Ash and Kaori. The blonde gently pulled Luvine behind her as they approached. Ash narrowed her eyes at the demons chasing them. 

There are only two though. Even if you guys are a little weaker, you should still be able to win with your numbers. What the hell are these people doing?  Ash asked in her mind before she walked up, transforming her  Lust  into gauntlets.

So, how strong are these things? 

Ash checked the levels of both the demons and the soldiers in that moment. The demons were basically what she expected. 

Level 31

MP: 100

Level 30

MP: 10/10

Level 30

MP: 20/20

However, the soldiers were the ones who truly stunned her. 

Level 4

MP: 10/10

Level 3

MP: 10/10

Level 1

MP: 10/10

Ash's jaw dropped. 

What the fuck? 

As one of the soldiers fell forwards and a demon mounted them, Ash ran up and stabbed the demon through the neck, decapitating it. The other two monsters noticed her and must have figured she was a bigger threat as they instantly turned their attention away from the stumbling "warriors" and moved towards her. 

"Corruption spread, corruption launch!"  Ash threw a Dark sphere into a demon's face and as it recoiled from the pain, she ran up and stabbed it twice. However, the other one approached just a little too quickly. It pulled Ash down to the stone and got on top of her. 

"Agh, shit," Ash gritted her teeth but before she could even respond, Kaori pulled the demon back. Ash got up awkwardly, thanks to her gauntlets, and with those same objects stabbed the creature through the head, killing it. 

So now, it was just Ash, Kaori, Luvine hiding behind a box in the distance, and these three unfortunate "soldiers". 

The three of them looked up at Ash with reverence. 

"S-SAVIORS!?" 

"WE'RE SAVED!" Two of them said and Ash sighed. 

"What the hell are you people doing out here?" Ash asked. 

One of them, a slender-faced young boy, cleared his throat. 

"W-We're volunteers, Savior! We, uh, signed up last night." 

... 

Ash was in disbelief. These people signed up to fight in a full-scale demon battle, having probably only ever killed animals during hunts. Maybe, with luck, a couple of them had some form of actual experience, but there was just no other way to say it. This was practically suicide. 

"B-But don't worry!" A girl with cheeks full of freckles said to Ash. "We're going to fight, we're brave and w-we want to help the city!" 

"..." Ash shook her head. She turned towards Kaori. "Come on, let's keep going." 

"Yeah," Kaori replied and she called over Luvine. The three of them began moving away from the group of amateurs, but they had other ideas. They muttered something to each other. 

And then, the rookies began following them. Ash turned around with a raised brow. 

"Savior, we figured maybe it would be better if we could help you out and learn a little." 

"You might learn how to get yourself killed," Ash muttered. 

"We... We understand we aren't the strongest, but we still want to-" 

Suddenly, a Lust demon flew down onto that kid from above. He cried out as the Lust demon mounted him and raised up a clawed hand, slashing down at his chest, through his black armor. 

"Agh!" The boy cried out as Ash walked up and casually stabbed the monster in the back of the head. 

... Easy EXP, I guess.  Ash thought as the demon fell back, lifeless. 

Below however, the boy wasn't doing too good. His chest was bleeding and he was petrified with fear as he looked down at himself. 

"Rick, you're hurt!" The girl told him, as if he didn't know that already. 

"I... I'm gonna die!" Rick replied and Ash looked around, searching for any other demons that could come in and attack. The boy started crying as he writhed in pain. The girl and the other guy both got down on their knees next to him, taking off their helms. 

Kaori walked up to Ash. 

"Um, you could just heal him, no?" Kaori whispered. 

"I have half a mind to leave him there, what kind of idiot says, 'yeah, I'm just gonna go fight a bunch of demons at level 3'?" Ash whispered back, crossing her arms. 

"Well, yeah, they're not bright but... Come on, they could use the help, no?" 

Ash sighed.

"Sure." 

"I'm going to die!" Rick announced to the world. The girl started crying too. 

"Rick, please, no! Lumina, don't do this to us!" 

"Ugh, I-I feel it, I'm slipping," Rick said. "Angela, there's something I have to tell you." 

"Um, Ash," Kaori whispered. "Couldn't you... You know... Just..." 

"Nah, I'm enjoying this," Ash smirked. "I'll do it in a bit, don't worry." 

"Oh, okay," Kaori nodded. 

"Rick, what is it?" Angela asked, her tears slipping down the side of her face as she placed her hands on his face, looking down into his eyes with sorrow. 

"I... Angela," Rick coughed. "I've always loved you." 

"R-Rick, but, I'm married!" 

"I know." 

"To your brother!" 

"I know," Rick nodded. "But I still love you. I... Please, tell my brother that... I'm sorry." 

"No, Rick, no! Stay with me, please!" 

"Ash..." Kaori said. 

"Fine, fine." Ash chuckled. And so, she walked up to the boy. Ash crouched down and hovered her hand over his chest. Here, she cast Lumina's Presence on him. "Bring peace to those in need." 

And quickly, the wound began to close. Ash smiled a little as Rick's eyes popped out of his head. 

"Y-You can heal?"

"Mhm," Ash replied. 

"Why didn't you say anything?" Rick looked up at her. 

"I dunno. You never asked.." Ash shrugged.