Chapter 140 - Vol. 3 - 13

Ash stood by the others as Eliza, the lord of Onyx, took a few elegant steps towards her. From what the half-demon could tell, she might have been middle-aged, her portrait covered in a layer of fine makeup, her brows thin and well-styled, her lips a deep crimson red. She had dark sapphire-colored hair tied into a short ponytail and a grey dress, with metallic silver gloves covering her hands. 

Satsuhiro tapped his crutch against the ground, taking a few steps forwards.

"Greetings," Satsuhiro started, "we're here for..."

But, the woman ignored him. She walked right past him and instead, went up to Ash. Her eyes were narrowed, staring down the Savior analytically. Ash held her gaze, raising a brow. 

"So, you're the half-demon who's been roped into playing hero?" She asked. Her hands were clutched together. Ash had to look down a bit as the lady was a few inches shorter. 

"Hero?" Ash crossed her arms. "All I'm doing is getting paid for a job." 

"The occupation being acting on behalf of humanity's armies," Eliza stated. Her tone was cold and firm. Ash could hear the authority in her voice, not that she cared about it. "I do not believe the people you've saved care much about your reasoning. They're just glad you exist, don't you think?" 

"Sure?" Ash shrugged. "What are you trying to say?" 

"..." Eliza paused. "I suppose I am in the process of making an assessment." She turned towards Satsuhiro and snapped her fingers. A soldier who'd been standing by walked up. "Here," she passed him a piece of paper. "This is all of the information pertaining to the demons that need hunting. As for the equipment you've been promised, head to the smithy's shop outside, it is just two streets away. He's already been sent your items." 

Satsuhiro listened to all of that, visibly stunned. 

"Well? Off you go," she basically shooed him, Kaori, and Keiko away. Ash started to walk with them and Eliza called out. "You, half-demon." 

Ash turned around. 

"Hm?" 

"I would like to speak to you," Eliza told her. 

"Eh. I don't think I'd like to talk to you though. You seem annoying as shit," Ash stated and a few soldiers gasped. Satsuhiro sighed and Ash saw Kaori and Keiko get nervous. 

She just shrugged. 

"It would not take long," Eliza said. "I merely wish to ask for advice." 

"Advice?" Ash asked, in disbelief. "From me?" 

"Yes, from you," Eliza said, determined. As if Ash hadn't basically just rejected her already. She had to hand it to her, she definitely had the confidence of a lord. 

In all honesty, Ash had no desire to speak to this woman. She had more than enough of nobles growing up, and these last couple of months hadn't made her opinion of them much better.

She looked back at Satsuhiro. 

"We'll wait outside, just do it," he told her. 

Ash nodded, turning back towards Eliza. 

"Fine." 

"Thank you," Eliza bowed and turned around, marching away.  So, I'm guessing she wants me to follow her?  Ash assumed and walked behind the woman, heading for a set of nearby stairs. 

---

Kaori

Hm.  As the three of them walked out of the Grey Chamber, Kaori glanced back.  What did she want with Ash? 

To her right, Satsuhiro was speaking to a guard. He nodded and the guard walked away.

"Okay," Satsuhiro said. "So, the smithy's over there. We can head over, grab the new gear and walk back here." 

"Is Ash gonna be alright?" Kaori asked. "That woman is... kinda scary." 

"She'll be fine," Satsuhiro responded. "Eliza's probably the most, uh, forward of all the lords, but she's not that bad. At least, in my limited experience dealing with her." 

Hearing that made Kaori feel a little better. The group walked towards the place Eliza had designated and they arrived at a surprisingly small open establishment. A man was resting against a wall, his eyes closed and two crates next to him on a wooden table. There was a distinct burning smell in the air. 

"Excuse me," Satsuhiro opened. The man's eyes blinked. "Are you the blacksmith?" 

"Aye, name's Blaine," he replied with a tired voice. Sliding a hand past his slick grey hair, he gestured at the crates. He took one look at Kaori and said, "I'm guessing you're the one the arm is for." 

"Hm?" Kaori tilted her head, confused. 

"Okay, here you go." 

He opened both crates and started pulling out some objects. They were strange things, but they seemed vaguely like weapons. One was like a brace with two spikes protruding from it. Another was a large metal bar, with what looked like joints connecting different portions of it. 

"Alright, so here's the breakdown," Blaine said. "The Raven wanted you to have these," he passed Keiko a belt with several small star-like objects tied to it. 

"Oh, shurikens," Keiko noted, though Kaori had no idea what those were. 

"Yes," Blaine nodded. "Don't lose 'em. Pick them up after throwing them out. They're well-made and will cut through most things." 

"Thank you," Keiko bowed. "But, ehm, who's the Raven?" 

Blaine made a confused face while Satsuhiro explained. 

"It's what they call Eliza. I don't know why, so don't ask me." 

If Blaine knew why he didn't seem inclined to respond. 

The Raven...  Kaori thought. That's a pretty weird nickname.

Then he gestured at Kaori. 

"Get over here for a second." 

"Um..." Kaori was a little nervous but she did. The man took that metal bar and held it against her left stump, where her arm had been. 

"You get the big gift though," he began unscrewing the top of the bar. "Okay, listen. So, this thing here," he tapped it, "is a new arm." 

"What?" Kaori looked down at it, confused. "What do you mean?" 

"Exactly what I said. I'm going to attach this thing to your left shoulder, and you'll be able to use this as an arm." 

"... How does that work?" Kaori asked. 

"You'll see, just close your eyes and try not to scream. This is going to hurt a little," he said, walking up to her. Kaori quickly did so, and then, something stabbed into her shoulder. 

Or, rather, tried to. It didn't penetrate her skin. 

Oh, right. My Con. 

"Wow. You're one tough bitch ain't ya?" He said, impressed. "Actually... You've got one of those Savior cube thingies right?" 

"Um, yes," Kaori responded. 

"Good. Can you turn it into this?" He asked. 

"I... can only transform it into weapons."

"This is one," he replied. "This is a lot of things, again, you'll see." 

Kaori nodded and picked up Love  from her waist.  Um... Arm? 

She spoke in her mind, and the cube began to change. 

Piece by piece, it altered itself until it manifested a full arm. A wrist first, then an elbow, then finally, a literal arm made of metal. 

... What am I looking at?  Kaori asked herself. 

"Okay, this is made of stronger stuff, right? This should be able to cut into you." 

"..." There was too much going on at once for Kaori to process, but as the man picked the arm up and grabbed a nearby bandage, Kaori closed her eyes. 

And, when he stuck this thing into her left shoulder, Kaori tried her hardest not to scream (and failed). 

---

Ash

Eliza led her to a balcony behind this strange castle where the sun freely bathed them as they sat at a white table. There were some cups filled with wine in front of them, from which the lord sipped calmly. Ash, however, couldn't share in that comfortable feeling. 

Mainly because of the three young women behind her, all wielding different weapons and giving Ash hard glares. 

She turned around and looked at one, and the girl, dressed like a maid, simply gripped her weapon more tightly. 

Eliza sighed. 

"Girls," she said, "it's okay. The half-demon is a Savior. Nothing will happen. Please, get back to work." 

"But..." One of them muttered. 

"It's okay. Promise." Eliza stated and, slowly, the girls left the room. 

Ash looked back at the lord in front of her, who suddenly seemed very tired. 

"What was that about?" 

"..." Eliza paused, looking down into her cup. "Would you like to know a few facts?" Though, she didn't wait for Ash to respond before continuing. "In the past month alone there have been 78 instances of robbery, 3 assaults and 8 instances of vandalism, and 3 separate assassination attempts against me." 

Hearing that, Ash understood why those maids were so worried.

"Can you guess why?" Eliza asked. 

"Because people are crazy?" Ash shrugged. At that, Eliza raised a brow. 

"Crazy?" She asked. "To say a group of people are 'crazy' would imply that there is no logic behind their actions. No reasoning. I don't believe that to be the case in this situation though. No, their actions seem all too reasonable, given their beliefs and what we know will happen soon." 

She shifted back in her seat and crossed her legs. 

"Simply put, they don't trust me," Eliza stated. "They have no faith in me to keep them safe. Pair that with the fact that we  know  at some point this city will be attacked in much the same way Sapphire and Pearl were, and, no. The logic in what the citizens of Onyx are doing becomes all too clear." 

Damn...  Ash thought.  Can't say I blame them. 

"That is why I wished to speak to you. I require your advice in terms of how to deal with the demon threat. The inevitable attack against my city in the future. You have been there for both battles, according to the Council. You were there to watch Pearl fall and you helped with Sapphire's victory. It is that experience that I wish to learn from so that I can help these fools get through these times."