Chapter 302 - Vol. 5 -

Later, as Ash was putting on her armor, Sinneah walked up to her. 

"What are we going to do?" The draconic woman asked, earning the curious gazes of soldiers all around them. Most of their eyes, of course, centered on her thick tail. 

"So, apparently, the dudes in armor over there want us to go take on a couple of those demons to see how strong they are," Ash replied. 

"Hm? How will we do that?" 

"I can see their levels," Ash explained as she strapped her gauntlets tighter, and tied her  Lust to her waist. "I just need to get up close to a few of them and we'll see where they're at." 

"Ah. So, why did you ask me to come with you?" Sinneah then asked. 

"Because, out of everyone else on our group, you're the least likely to get hurt. If they're weak enough, I'll bring Keiko or Kasumi next time, since they could use the practice." 

"Oh no, by all means, take every demon out yourselves," Kasumi said, walking up to them as she heard that. "I wouldn't want to deprive you of your special fighting time."

"Oh, I know you wouldn't," Ash smirked, "but if I don't drag you down there you'll go right back to sleep for the next month." 

"Of course, I would, considering the alternative," Kasumi stated. "I doubt anyone is actually looking forward to fighting here." 

"I am," Ash corrected her. "I need the levels. And, don't you?" 

"Yes, but I'd much rather get my experience fighting random beasts as opposed to... those things," she said, looking down the hill toward the portal. Their overall objective, the great diamond-shaped rift still open outside the city walls, remained there like a personal taunt on behalf of Niven. And, Ash intended on responding in kind. 

Before any more resentment toward the death god could build up, someone called out to her. 

"Savior," the general from earlier said. 

"Yeah?" 

"I organized the squad that will be accompanying you," he said, gesturing at three knights who then stepped up. They all looked fairly nervous. "Knights Sirrin, Nieve, and Rickon. Levels 24, 19, and 25." 

At that, Ash raised a brow. 

"That's way too low for a fight down at the portal," she said. "They're going to be buffed." 

"These are some of the highest levels here, Savior," he replied. "Not all of us are blessed."

"... Okay," Ash looked back down at her own body. She put a foot atop a crate and tightened her greaves with some leather straps built into them.

"After discussing it more," he continued, "we believe it may be better to head through the back during this scouting mission. You do not intend to fight much, do you?" He asked. 

"It depends on how strong they are," she shrugged as she answered. 

"Ah. Well, you should try to eliminate any demons that see you. Otherwise, they might run back to their portal to reinforce it." 

"Gotcha," Ash nodded. 

"That is all, then. Good luck," the man finally said with a bow, before walking away. 

As he left, the other soldiers he'd brought walked forward. Ash got a better look at them, now that she wasn't talking. They were all dressed in the typical plate armor of Jade, painted in white and gold. One had black pigtails and held a smile on her face as she approached, another was a boy with sharp green eyes and wild brown hair, and the last was a woman with a scar on her cheeks, brown eyes, and short trimmed black hair. In the order in which Ash saw them, their levels were 19, 24, and 25 respectively. 

"Greetings, Savior," the girl with the pigtails bowed to her. "I'm Nieve, that's Rickon, and she's Sirrin. We're honored to fight alongside you." 

"Let's just get moving already," Ash said, cutting these introductions off as she turned around and hurriedly walked behind the trees. The others caught up quickly, jogging to her position and walking with her down the hill, as Ash tried to form her plan in her mind. 

Alright, so how are we gonna do this? Ash asked herself as the others caught up.  I'd love to just run in and wipe some motherfuckers out, but...  She looked back briefly.  Yeah, they probably wouldn't last long at all under that plan. I mean, I don't really care much about them but if these people are supposed to be some of the highest level soldiers, it would be best to keep them alive. 

As she turned back toward the rolling path, she walked closer to Sinneah to speak to her for a moment. 

"Hey, if you see any demons flying away or running away or whatever, let me know. We don't want to warn their friends. Also, uh, don't go running into any place without me. We're only trying to see how strong they are. The real fighting hasn't started yet. 

"Understood," Sinneah replied. Then, her eyes fell on the area around them, and Ash raised a brow. 

"Something on your mind?" 

"... This area is bright," Sinneah replied, keeping a stoic face as she analyzed her surroundings. "It reminds me of old memories." 

"Yeah?" 

"My father and I used to take rests in places like these," she stated. "Being in such forests felt like a dream." 

"Hm. I don't know, to me, it's all the same." 

"It largely is," Sinneah replied. 

Behind them, the soldiers began speaking to each other as well, in a hushed voice, but Ash could hear them clearly. 

"We're really fighting demons again, aren't we?" Nieve said. "This is a little nerve-wracking."

"Just be careful. It's just a scouting mission," Sirrin replied. "We'll get through this in no time." 

"If anything goes wrong, we'll always have the Savior to fall back on," Rickon added.

At that, Ash scoffed.

You guys are lucky I'm at this level. If I wasn't, at the first sign of trouble I'd run the hell away. 

"And... That lady," Nieve added. "She has a tail!" 

"Hm?" Sinneah stopped, turning around. "I do, yes." 

"Eeh!? S-Sorry," Nieve bowed to her immediately and Ash chuckled to herself as Sinneah just looked on, confused. 

"Do you want to touch it?" Sinneah asked. "People seem to enjoy that, for some reason." 

"What!? Uh, sure," Nieve quickly replied, jogging over to Sinneah. The draconic woman raised it up and the girl placed her hands on it. 

The others watched from behind. Rickon sighed and then walked forward. 

"I'm way too curious," he muttered before moving up to do the same. 

"Eh, fine," Sirrin, the last of the three, said before walking up as well. 

Hm. That's one way to ease their nerves before the fight,  Ash acknowledged as they each rubbed Sinneah's tail up and down, while the woman just stood there, her face showing comical levels of indifference. 

"Where are you from?" Nieve asked. "I've never seen anyone like you!" 

"From a forest," Sinneah answered.

"Uh, yeah, sounds about right," Nieve chuckled. 

"What does that mean?" Sinneah asked, tilting her head. 

"I-I didn't mean anything by it!" 

"..." As Sinneah's puzzled expression didn't fade, Ash decided it was time to end this little interaction. 

"Come on, stay focused," she told everyone. "Even if it's not a full assault, we will be fighting in a bit." 

"Right, I apologize," Nieve bowed to her then. 

"You're fine, let's just go." 

"Okay!" 

With all of that strangeness out of the way, the group continued down the path, leading to the eastern side of the city.

Soon, Ash saw this appear above her.

Status Effect Gained: Niven's Blessing

Beyond the portal, they walked behind it, unseen as far as Ash could tell, on their way to the palace's escape route, which they'd taken to retreat during the battle when last they'd been here. 

As they arrived at the place, Ash could see old scars from the fight on the city itself. Buildings that had been broken, patches of grass that had been burned away as a result of the mages' spells, and old corpses that had been left to decay out in the open. 

If she closed her eyes right now, she could remember some of the moments. When she and Kaori had gone to the Site of Power where Kaori'd received her boost when she saw Takomaro be taken by a Nightmare when she fought alongside Keiko and the others to leave just after the Zayama had discovered the Spirit Eye. 

Remembering all of this, she truly felt like she'd come a long way. But, there was a chance that it still wasn't enough, given the task she had on the horizon. 

Please, please, please,  she thought.  Once I get Kaori back, Niven, take a break or something. Let me just enjoy a couple of days with her before we get back to trying to kill each other. 

They moved through the palace, then, a dark and damp area that hadn't seen a live human's touch in ages. Then, finally, they arrived at the keep leading up to it. Here, the civilians had been kept just before the retreat was conducted. And, here, Ash saw her first targets. 

Four stray Lust demons were gathered around a few corpses, grinding on their bodies in an effort to satisfy themselves. Grimacing, Ash looked up at their levels. 

Level 18

MP: 100/100

Level 15

MP: 120/120

Level 20

MP: 140/140

Level 21

MP: 100/100

Okay,  Ash nodded to herself. Good.. Let's do this.