Chapter 159 - Vol. 3 - 32

Keiko

As Ash and her parents continued to speak to each other, the Zayama and the others had been waiting patiently for them to finish by the table near the front door. Keiko and Kaori would both occasionally sneak glances towards the half-demon, some concern in their eyes. Metsumi however, walked back to their table with a victorious smile on her face. 

Keiko looked over at her and cleared her throat. 

"Did... Did things go well?" 

"I think so," Metsumi shrugged. "About as well as they could have, anyway. It's a complicated situation they're in, but, I think Ash will come out of this a little more at peace for it." 

"You think she'll forgive Ayami?" 

"Oh, absolutely not," Metsumi laughed. "And she shouldn't. Her parents did something horrible, but, as long as Ash comes out of it venting everything that she wants to say, and Ayami understands how much she really did to Ash, it'll be alright. I think that's the best thing either of those two could hope for." 

Indeed, that was all they were hoping for as well. Ash didn't talk about this circumstance of hers much, but before, when she'd pressed Ayami against a wall and nearly harmed her, she showed just how much she actually cared. Keiko could, unfortunately, relate to this part of Ash's life fairly well. 

"Regardless," Satsuhiro said, "we'll need to talk a little about what to do in these next week. The next, uh," he looked over at Opah and hesitated, "event, is going to be here soon and the three of you need to be ready for it." 

Right. With all of this going on, it was easy to forget that it had been officially announced that in just a week and a half or so, there would be a large-scale battle that decided the fate of this entire city. Satsuhiro was right. Even though Ash had this encounter to deal with, and Keiko had that strange sickness distracting her they still needed to prepare adequately. Of course, there was also whatever was keeping Kaori concerned and Yumi's whole mystery to deal with as well, but everything would need to wait for the battle to be over and done with first. 

"What can we do?" Kaori asked, reasonably.

"Well, the same we've been doing, more power farming, more weapons training."

"But," Kaori replied, "I mean, if that thing is out there, looking for Ash..." 

"Hm..." Satsuhiro closed his eyes to think. She was right. That was too big a threat to simply hope they didn't come across it in the outside lands. Keiko looked down at herself to do the same thing. She put her mind to work, trying to come up with something that would allow them at least a little bit of space to train with. 

"... You said it wouldn't attack a group," Keiko muttered, "earlier, right? Something about how it would be suicide to attack a heavily populated area?" 

"Yes," Satsuhiro nodded. 

"Well... It's not like we can drag this city with us as we travel, but, could we be able to organize a group of soldiers to accompany us outside? People to help us give the impression of being a larger group than we are?" Keiko suggested. 

"... The issue with that, I think, is that the creature could just take the risk anyway," Satsuhiro said. "If it's that desperate to get to Ash, I can picture it trying some sort of suicidal charge to eliminate her." 

"... Wait," Kaori said suddenly, "what about Kasumi then?" 

"What do you mean?" 

"Kasumi can change people's appearance. She changed mine, back at Jade, so that we could walk around the city without getting harassed and stuff. We could reach out to her and see if she could cast a spell or two on Ash if she still hasn't left the city, I mean." 

"No," Satsuhiro shook his head. "If an enemy is a number of levels higher than the caster, they can see through their illusions. That demon is level 80. There's definitely nothing Kasumi can do that it won't see through." 

Again, the group was silent. It took a few more seconds before the next idea came, and again, Kaori was the one who put it forwards. 

Apparently, at least, judging by the grin on her face, it was a good one. 

"Our new powers!" Kaori said. Then, she drummed her hands on the table. "Ahh, yeah, it could work!" 

"What do you mean?" Satsuhiro asked. Kaori turned a little smug and said. 

"Soooo, when we finished up the sites, Ash and I got some new abilities, right?" 

"Yes," Satsuhiro followed. 

"Well... I think mine at least could work to fight it!" 

"... A level 80 demon?" Satsuhiro raised a brow, skeptically. "Are you sure?" 

"Yes," Kaori nodded. "My ability can turn anything passive for a time. You said it yourself, if enough arrows hit that thing in the head, it'll die, right?" 

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Then we can take it down!" Kaori said. "We just need to lure it, spend some time outside, have Ash sit out in a field or something, and when it comes down, I'll cast my thing on it, and we just walk up and sta-, uh," Kaori glanced at Opah, who was listening curiously, "and eliminate it." What do you think?" 

"... It's not hard to think of ways this could go wrong," Satsuhiro pointed out. "If the demon just charges at her and kills her instantly, the plan is useless, if the demon ambushes us first instead of Ash, the plan is useless, if the demon can resist your ability, the plan is useless." 

"It can't," Kaori shook her head. "Lumina told me so. And... I trust her." 

Hearing that, Satsuhiro sighed. 

"It's obviously risky," Keiko pitched in, "but... It seems that if we do want to get farming, or any training outside the city at all, something needs to be done. We could plan for a little longer, see if we can set up some sort of contingency in case the plan doesn't work, but I think Kaori's idea is the best we've got."

Kaori smiled gratefully at her, for backing her up. Keiko shrugged with a smile of her own. 

"I just think it's a good idea," Keiko muttered. 

Satsuhiro nodded. 

"Sure, we'll get Ash's take on this and think about it a little more, but yes... It doesn't seem like we have too many choices here." Satsuhiro drank from a cup in front of him and said, "just be ready. That win at Sapphire likely made Niven start taking this war a lot more seriously. Try not to get caught off-guard." 

After concluding this moment in their conversation, they continued waiting for Ash to finish. Metsumi ordered some food and Keiko was about to start eating, but suddenly she felt her body warming up a little. Ugh, that feeling is back. Keiko thought. She took a few deep breaths, trying to steady herself.  Maybe it's better if I get up and go to the... 

Before she could finish that thought, it just happened. 

The contents of her stomach surged up her body, through her throat, and out onto the table, right over the food that had been brought to her. 

The liquid poured over her own plate specifically. Metsumi got up off her chair, backing away. Opah was startled and Keiko, suddenly feeling sick, fell to one knee. 

"Keiko?" Ash noticed what was happening and quickly stood up, running over to the table. The Zayama felt a pair of hands hold her by her shoulders, keeping her balanced. "Keiko? Are you okay?" 

"Y-Yes, I'm... I made a mess, I apologi-" she coughed. 

"Wait..." Keiko heard Ayami say. "This..." She looked over at the woman who was looking at the liquid, clearly shocked. 

Everyone glanced over at her. 

"She's pregnant," Ayami stated. 

Keiko and Ash, who were currently just a few inches apart, stared at each other. 

---

Eliza

At the Grey Chamber, Eliza continued to experiment with the Lust demon that Ash had captured. Currently, a level 15 soldier was fighting the creature, and of course, struggling. Eliza wasn't about to let him die though, so as the man was pinned back and the creature raised a hand over its head, she nodded at a nearby mage. 

The mage cast a basic  Fireball  spell at the demon, and it struck, pushing the demon back. The soldier used that time to escape the room. 

"Hm... The ferocity of the creature is truly something to marvel at," a knight dressed in a full suit of grey armor, who had been watching the fight unfold, said. 

"Focus on what it can do, the point of this is preparation," Eliza stated as the Lust demon backed up, away from the door, hissing. "Do not get distracted by other trivial things." 

"Very well. Now what?" The same knight replied. 

"Hm..." Eliza put a hand to her chin as she stared at the demon through a slit in the door.

At the same time, she remembered the day she'd begun her stint as the Lord of Onyx. How the crowds looked at her, as young as she was, and saw nothing but a failure waiting to happen. She swore she could still smell the rotten fruits that had been thrown that day on her person.

She'd been doubted for too long. She'd take action soon, and the city would see that she was just as adequate for this job as any other Lord. Maybe even more so than some of them, considering Pearl's fate. 

"Somehow, the half-demon Savior got the creature not to fight her. If anything, that proves that these things can be tamed. My question..." She muttered. "Is can they be broken? Can they be made subservient? Do they function like any other animal or monster?" 

"How could we test that?"

"..." Eliza closed her eyes. "Well, there is one way we could use." 

"Hm?" 

"Animals who are consistently fed by an individual will begin to see that person as a source of comfort, they will get used to receiving good things from them and will refuse to harm them so that this pattern continues. I wonder if this demon functions the same way." 

"What do you have in mind, milady?" 

"Have someone subtly send word to the nearest brothel. In secret, tell them that the Grey Chamber is looking for people willing to have sex with demons. And that, of course, we would pay appropriately for it." 

"... Are you serious?" 

"Yes," Eliza quickly answered. "If this tames the demon, we may be on the verge of a great discovery. A tool to be used against them." 

With that, the knight bowed and walked away, presumably to find someone else to order to do just what Eliza had said. 

She knew it was risky, she knew it would likely reflect poorly on her if anything went incorrectly, but she didn't care. For decades throughout her life, she had been looked at as an uncaring, incompetent Lord who only received the title due to the previous Lord's pity. 

This was her chance to prove herself. She would take any gambles she deemed to be worth the risk. She needed to succeed.