Chapter 278 - Vol. 4 - 77

"Let a visage of imagination harden into a mask before me," Kasumi said, as she placed her illusion spell onto the Arcane's daughter. To Ash's eyes, the girl still looked the same, but Kasumi's nod let her know the spell was working. Then, she cast the same spell onto Ash, and the two of them were ready. 

"At what level do you think people will start to be able to see us?" 

"Hm, hard to say," Kasumi replied. "The actual 'equation', so to speak, depends on a combination of your Int and your level. So, maybe 48? I think if you see any guards around that level, you should hide." 

"Got it. If anything happens, and we need to haul ass out of here, I'll try to get back to the Manor as soon as I can," Ash stated. 

"Alright. It's gonna be hard to go to sleep knowing while worrying about whether something goes wrong or not, so, yeah. I'm probably going to stay up. At least, for a little while." 

"Okay. See you later then," Ash told the woman. 

"Good luck," Kasumi replied, and with that, both of them got moving. 

Ash wasn't sure what time it was exactly, but she did know that it was late enough to where just being on the street was going to draw some eyes. They would have to do their best to stay out of sight, even with the disguises on. 

"Okay," Ash whispered to the girl. "Stay close to me. You do what I say, got it?" Wordlessly, she nodded. "By the way, what's your name again?" 

The girl scribbled a word onto her notebook and raised it up for Ash to see. It was a little difficult in the dark, but she could just barely make out the name she'd written. 

"Arianna. Okay, like I said, just do what I say, and we'll get through this. When I get you to that caravan, you give me the spells. Alright?" 

Again, she nodded, and Ash paused for just a second as they came out to the front of the Manor. The only sources of light were the moons above and the torches perched up on a few sconces. At the front gate, Ash saw the Arcane's Knights. 

Come to think of it, they did a pretty shitty job, being the guy's knights and all. 

"Hm... Is there...?" Ash tried to look around for somewhere else where they could enter from. 

Actually,  she thought,  the wall looks short enough to jump on top of. Just have to be careful not to make too much noise. 

She wasn't used to this sort of thing, but that felt like a good enough idea. With Arianna behind her, the two of them quietly went up to a spot along the wall that was cloaked in shadows. Here, Ash jumped up, reaching the top of the wall easily. Then, trying to prevent her  Lust  from clanking against the stone, she reached down and gestured for the girl to raise a hand up. When she did, Ash pulled her up and the two were promptly on the other side. 

The knights never noticed them. 

First step, done. 

With that, they went into the city. 

Hugging the left side of the street, moving behind the different buildings, Ash kept her eyes low, trying to see when the canyon part of the city started. As soon as it did, it would be time to head down into the underside. 

Hm? She narrowed her brows.

She noticed some movement and when she turned to look, she saw someone walking on the rooftops. The person was smoking something, clearly not taking their job too seriously, which gave Ash enough time to take Arianna by the hand and pull her in between buildings, in a damp alleyway. 

She hugged the girl tight in an attempt to get her not to move, looking up to see if the guy had spotted them. His footsteps tapped above their heads, and then he jumped from one building to the other, before walking away. 

... This is nerve-wracking. I'm not built for this quiet shit,  Ash sighed. 

She looked down at Arianna then, as the girl was so close she could faintly feel her heart beating rapidly against her chest. Her hand, which was clutching Ash's own tightly, was trembling. 

"Let's keep going," Ash said in a low voice, and the girl took a step back, nodding. 

From there, with the cold night air wrapping itself around their bodies, they continued until, eventually, they found the spot where the canyon started. 

As soon as they did, though, Ash saw the glow of a torch up ahead. 

Again, she took Arianna and pulled her aside, and the two of them waited in an alley as Ash tried to focus. 

Footsteps, footsteps...  She waited, and then, she heard them.  Yeah, someone's heading our way. 

"Hm..." Ash let her head rest against the wall for a second. "What do we...?" 

Well, it's probably not against the law to be outside. Yet, anyway, considering how things are going. So, maybe we can just pretend we're doing something here? 

With that thought going through her head, Ash pulled Arianna close and put a hand up to her face, by her lips. Leaning in a little, the girl's eyes widened as Ash's horns were touching the girl's forehead.

"Close your eyes," Ash whispered. 

After a quick blink, Arianna did so, and Ash did the same. 

Those footsteps drew closer, and closer until Ash was sure this person was walking by them. 

"Hey!" She heard, and she gritted her teeth as she took her hand off of Arianna's face and opened her eyes. Indeed, it was a guard. "Lip-locking at this hour, out in the open like this, ain't gonna end well. Best head home." 

"Right," Ash quickly replied, nonchalantly putting her hands on Arianna's lower back. "We couldn't help ourselves." 

"... The nerve of some people," the guy muttered to himself, turning away and walking off. 

Ash breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Okay, got through that. Come..." When her eyes met the girl's, she found Arianna staring at her with an intense blush. "Caught you off-guard? Sorry," Ash shrugged. "It was all I could think of. Come on, let's keep moving." 

A moment later, they were leaning over the canyon, looking down into the underside of Amber. What Ash saw, however, was enough to make her stop. 

"What the...?" 

Unlike the overside, which was quiet and empty, the underside was absolutely lit up, and there were just as many, if not more, people walking around from one place to another. Green lanterns filled the area, covering it in a strange light and highlighting the bridges that marked the way down. 

Ash pointed at one where they could start. 

"You ever been to the underside before?" 

She shook her head. 

"Well, listen, we're going to go down these bridges, take a left turn over there, and then, well, just follow me. Point is, we have to get down there. If you're afraid of heights just let me know right now, cause I'd say even if you aren't afraid of heights, this is intense." 

Her response was to subtly take Ash's left hand. 

"Okay. Don't worry," Ash told her. "It's less dangerous than it looks." 

Those words did nothing to prevent the girl from getting nervous, though. The two of them began their short journey down the bridges at the top, with the next one, at the other side of the canyon wall, in sight. One by one, they made their way down, mostly without incident. 

Until, of course, Arianna slipped and nearly fell off one of the bridges. Ash pulled on her arm harshly, and the girl opened her mouth as though to let out a shriek, but no sound exited her lips. 

She stood behind Ash then, regaining her balance, and her eyes got teary as she looked at her right shoulder. 

"Messed you up?" She asked, before quickly speaking the incantation for the basic healing spell.

"Guard my soul against the dark's reach," she said, and her hand glowed white on the girl's shoulder until she was moving her arm around as if testing it. "You're good?" 

She nodded. 

"We're only a couple of bridges away. Come on." 

Just like that, another minute was all it took before they finally reached the underside, and the sound of the crowd truly reached their ears. There were so many people talking, joking, and laughing, that it was almost disorienting. 

Ash reached back and took Arianna's hand. 

"Hold on, we don't wanna get separated." 

They started to cut a path between everyone. Ash gently shoved some people out of the way whenever things got too cramped, and all she got in return were some scornful looks that she was sure to give right back. At the same time, she was making sure to check her Lust every now and then. She wasn't about to have it stolen again. She'd learned her lesson after the first time, and wanted to keep that as the only time. 

Soon, the two of them reached the doors that led into Bin's bar, where the half-demon could hear the same joyous noises turned up even higher. 

When they got to that point, she stood outside the bar, remembering the directions Bin had given to her. 

"We're about halfway through," Ash told her. "So far, so good. How are you feeling?" 

She wrote down a word in her notebook and held it up. 

"Nervous." 

"Don't be," Ash's response came quick. "Seems like this is gonna be pretty easy.. I think the worst is probably out of the way."