Chapter 212 - Vol. 4 - 11

Keiko

It was hard not to feel like, on some level, Keiko had failed as a partner to both Ash and Kaori, despite what the latter had told her back at Onyx, and what Ash had said just a few minutes ago. In between moments of blaming herself for this though, the Zayama also believed she knew the solution, and that now, her only choice was to act on it. 

That was why right now, after Ash had departed to hunt for some EXP for the remainder of the day, Keiko was heading straight for that library Zafir had shown them.

But, just as she went back into the Manor, she ran into Yumi. 

The other Zayama's face was flushed, with a red tinge on her cheeks and an embarrassed expression was stuck to her portrait. She was fairly distracted, as was made evident when she nearly ran Keiko over, but she managed to stop herself just before crashing into her. 

"Oh... Keiko," Yumi looked surprised. She took a deep breath, clearly trying to calm herself down from whatever it had been that she was doing, and said: "how are you?" 

"... Good..." 

Keiko looked away though. Small embers of anger were burning under Keiko's skin being in this woman's presence, but, soon, her guilt swallowed those embers whole. 

... It's not her fault, Keiko reminded herself. It's, she sighed. It's no one's fault. 

That was the most unfortunate part of this situation, to her, because handling these emotions would be so much easier if she had someone to blame. 

"Are you feeling well? You seem perturbed," Yumi told her. 

"Yeah, I'm just busy, right now," Keiko replied without meeting Yumi's eyes. A look of understanding flickered through Yumi's face, and she looked down.

"..." Then, Yumi sighed. "I assume Ash spoke with you then, right?" She asked. 

Keiko hadn't expected Yumi to bring that up. Again, she had to force herself not to feel angry at her. 

She nodded though, as Yumi waited for her answer. When Yumi got it, her shoulders slumped and raw shame washed over her. 

"That... was not my proudest moment. I apologize," Yumi said, bowing. 

And that reaction confused her. 

"What do you mean?" Keiko asked, tilting her head. 

Yumi blinked. 

"I, uh, what did Ash tell you, exactly?" 

"She said that she was... attracted to you and, I'm guessing you're attracted to her, right?" 

Yumi seemed surprised by that. Instead of answering her question, she replied:

"Truly? Is that all she told you?" 

"Uh, did anything else happen?" 

"No, no," Yumi shook her head firmly. "We... Yes, we just talked and that was it." 

At this moment, Keiko learned that Yumi was, in fact, a terrible liar. But, at the same time, she figured that whatever happened between her and Ash was irrelevant, given that Ash had come clean to her already. 

"Well, yeah, Ash talked to me. Uh, but, don't worry, I'm not mad at you, or anything. I mean, this sort of thing happens, after all," Keiko put her hands behind her back a little meekly. 

"Keiko, I just want it to be clear that I understand I'm overstepping and, it is unacceptable, of me. I don't plan to act on these... strange feelings I've amassed. I promise." 

"No, no, don't worry, it's okay, I swear," Keiko replied. "I just..."

Yumi then looked back at her with remorseful eyes and Keiko sighed. 

Honestly, this would be a lot easier if Yumi or Ash were just malicious idiots, Keiko shook her head a little.  At least then, I could just yell at one of them, and feel a little better with that. But... 

Keiko scanned Yumi's face. The guilt in her eyes was so evident that Keiko nearly chuckled. 

With people as honest as these, that would feel so wrong. So, what do I even do?  Keiko asked herself. 

... No, I'll figure it out later. Right now, I have something else to investigate. 

"Yumi," Keiko said. 

"Yes?" 

"Sorry, I have to go, but, we can talk again later. I'm still trying to figure things out." 

"I-I see," Yumi nodded. 

"Okay then," Keiko took a deep breath. "I'll see you later then, Yumi." 

"... Right." 

With that, Keiko left Yumi standing there, continuing on her way to the library. It didn't take too long to reach it, and she found that the door was open, allowing her to see that the library was empty. 

Save for that mage, who was sitting behind a desk. 

What was his name again? Alys? Keiko thought as she walked up to him. 

He looked to be a thin man in his early 30s, and right now, he had a face like he wasn't paying attention to anything around him. In fact, Keiko had to wave her hand in front of him to get his attention. 

When he saw her, the man straightened up.

"Yes?" He asked, with a very low voice. 

"... Excuse me," Keiko started off as she tried her hardest to steel her nerves. "I wanted to know if there was any magic of some sort that could... well, eliminate a pregnancy." 

If her query made him feel any type of way, he certainly didn't show it. Instead, he looked up as though he was trying to recall some sort of answer. 

"Yes," he said after a while. His voice sounded completely uninterested in the conversation. "I believe there is something." 

And, when Keiko heard that, she couldn't help but brighten up. 

"Really!? U-Uh, what is it? Is it a spell that you can cast?" 

"No," he quickly replied and Keiko calmed down. "I believe what you're looking for is an elixir of sorts. You'll want to speak to an alchemist." 

"O-Oh. Uh, are there any you know of?" Keiko asked. 

"Yes," he nodded. "There's a woman called Madam Tyl. She runs an alchemy shop in the city. You can probably ask her for more information." 

Just like that, there was now a chance. 

---

Ash

By the time the half-demon reached the distant mountains, the twin moons of the night had come up and replaced the sun. The temperature around her went from a heat that had her covered in a layer of sweat, to a chill that was threatening to freeze every drop of that liquid on her body.

However, having seen that incredible creature, Ash was still walking at a determined pace. By now though, she was getting a little hungry from walking around so much.  Hm... Is there anything...?  She looked around and eventually, in a glowing red bush, found bright blue berries. She snatched them and ate them without a care, as she continued to search the area. 

Hm. That thing might have just kept going, now that I think about it,  Ash noted.  Even then though, I need to try. It's too good of an opportunity to pass up. 

There was not a single sound in the air, other than that of her own breathing. No crickets, no nocturnal birds in the distance. Even to someone who had walked deep into demonic mirror realms and had fought multiple Nightmares by this point, it was unsettling. 

Where is everything?  Ash wondered as she continued looking around. She could only barely see past the nearby vegetation, as the glow from these plants blocked her vision of what was hiding behind them. 

However, she was confident in her stats. So, she pressed forwards, hoping she'd run into something eventually. 

It took another five minutes before she finally heard something that sounded like it was alive. There was something that almost sounded like a metal scrape of some sort, coming from the east. As soon as Ash noticed it, she walked faster, heading in that direction. 

Hm... 

"Gauntlets," Ash muttered, transforming her Savior's Weapon in advance. She didn't know what she was running into, after all. 

The vegetation cleared up after a while and Ash ended up reaching the top of the mountain. 

Okay, now, what... 

However, what she saw made Ash stop. 

Ahead, there was what looked like a dragon, only it was either dead or dying. Its eyes were half-closed, and standing in front of it was a woman with long, spiky black hair that reached all the way to the dirt underneath her. 

In Ash's life, she hadn't met many people who were taller than she was. Ash towered over most people, with the only exceptions being the occasional soldier she saw on the streets, Metsumi, and Ren. 

This woman though, as Ash drew closer to her, was easily a full head taller than she was. She had strong, toned arms that matched Metsumi's, and an overall sculpted body, covered in scars. 

She had a hand placed on the dragon's head, and, at least, as far as Ash could see from this distance, it looked like she was half-naked, wearing only a short brown shirt and a loincloth of some sort. 

Just as Ash was wondering if this was a person or a monster of some sort, a leaf broke under her left foot and the woman turned around. 

At that moment, two yellow, slitted eyes looked back at Ash's own, narrowing as soon as they found her. 

The woman turned towards her and Ash saw that her hands almost resembled her own, when Ash was in her Demon Form, only hers were as black as charred wood, which matched the few scales covering her abdomen and her knees. 

Level 60

MP: 500/500

Ash took a deep breath. 

Well, this doesn't look human to me,  she thought as the dragon-like woman started growling at her.