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Ash

Seeing Vyl here, a desperate look on her face as she stood in front of the group, was surprising and somewhat concerning. The alchemist crossed her arms, taking a deep breath as she walked closer to the group. 

"What\'s going on?" Satsuhiro asked. 

"Last night," Vyl wasted no time, "a demon gave me a visit." 

The group heard that and remained in silence for a moment. 

"What the hell does that mean?" Ash couldn\'t help but ask. 

"Exactly what I just said. Last night, as I was making my potions, a demon arrived at my hut in an attempt to kill me. I evaded it, however," Vyl pulled a nearby chair and sat down at the same table as the others, "given that I have been living here for years, I have to assume that I was not the target. Do you see where I\'m going with this?" She asked. 

So... It was looking for one of us.  Ash sighed.  Which probably means it was looking for me. 

"Can you tell us anything more about it?" Satsuhiro asked. "What was the demon like?" 

"For it to have just been one," Keiko muttered, "it must have been fairly powerful." 

"It was level 80."

Vyl stated that in a very matter-of-fact way, which made the group pause. 

"How do you know?" Ash asked. 

"I developed a prototype some time ago that allows the user to, quite briefly, see the levels of demons," Vyl replied. "I used it when I felt the demon drawing closer. That is how I saw that. It was a Lust Demon, and it was, without a doubt," Vyl continued, "the strongest demon I\'ve ever seen." 

... Holy shit,  Ash looked down.  What the hell is going on? 

"So," Kaori leaned a little bit closer to Ash, worried. "What do your think this is about?" 

"..." Ash shook her head. "If I had to guess," the group\'s eyes went to her, "this was probably Niven trying to sneak in a kill on me, I dunno." 

Satsuhiro\'s eyes dropped, his brows narrowed. 

"Well, this is a problem," he stated. "If that\'s the case, then it likely means traveling isn\'t really in the cards for you. Niven might be thinking about catching you unaware on the road or something." 

"Why wouldn\'t he attack here?" Keiko shrugged. "With a Level 80 demon, wouldn\'t it be easy for it to complete its mission?" 

"Even if the demon is that strong," Satsuhiro began to argue, "it\'s not invulnerable. Multiple arrows to the head would kill most things, level 80 or not. Attacking Ash within a city by itself would be suicide." 

"Wait, what the fuck are you saying? I\'m stuck here?" Ash asked with a raised brow. 

"... Maybe," Satsuhiro shrugged. 

...  Shit. Well, I guess it\'s not that bad. I mean, I wasn\'t gonna go anywhere anytime soon. 

"So... What about Yumi?" Keiko asked. 

Oh, right. 

"Can we still go train with her?" 

"Without putting her in danger..." Satsuhiro scratched his head. "It might be best to get her to come here." 

"... Which means we\'d need to go get someone to stay at the shrine and watch over it. That was her condition for leaving, right?" Keiko asked.

"Yes," Satsuhiro nodded. 

So, that\'s where we\'re at? 

Ash asked herself.  This is already fucking tiring. 

An idea, however,  quickly came to Ash upon hearing that. 

"Eliza," she muttered. "I could try talking to her about it. Maybe, in return for more advice or something." 

"You could try," Satsuhiro nodded. "But... also, I think if a demon really did come this close to Onyx, that also confirms another thing we had in mind..."

"That Onyx will be attacked soon," Kaori stated with a tight throat. A clear sign which Ash caught that meant she was scared. 

"... Looks like we\'ll be pretty busy these days," Satsuhiro nodded. "Vyl, thanks for letting us know about this." 

"My warning does nothing if you don\'t prepare yourselves appropriately," Vyl replied. "On my end, I believe it might be alright to go back home now that the demon knows your group isn\'t there. I\'ll need to get to work on making more potions, yours included, of course." 

"Are you sure?" Kaori asked. "What if the demon\'s just waiting to see if anyone goes back?" 

"It wouldn\'t have let me leave in the first place if that was the case," Vyl shrugged. "Besides. At my home, making potions, is the only way in which I can be of use. Of course, it\'s dangerous, but I have to try. If it costs me my life, then that\'s fine." 

She spoke so nonchalantly that it was shocking to hear. 

"... Still, maybe ask for someone to escort you?" Satsuhiro said. 

Vyl rolled her eyes but acquiesced. 

"I will see if some guards can help me get back home. Fine," Vyl replied. She turned around then, walking to the door and looking back at the group. "I don\'t know how you\'ve placed this target upon yourselves, but you certainly have done just that. Be careful." 

With those ominous words, she left the building. Caroline and a few of the other workers and patrons of the inn were, of course, listening intently to the Saviors\' conversation. Something Ash knew would definitely spark rumors, but she didn\'t really care. It wasn\'t her business to be concerned about this sort of thing. 

Beside Metsumi, Ash saw Opah nearly shaking in fear as her mother tried to soothe her, which genuinely made the half-demon feel saddened. 

"Alright," Satsuhiro said. "We should get to work. First things first, warn Eliza and see if she can help us out with Yumi\'s situation. Then, it\'s just a matter of preparing." 

Satsuhiro pulled himself up by his crutch and the others did the same. 

"Y-You\'ve got this handled though, right?" One of the patrons stood up and asked Satsuhiro suddenly. The retired Savior looked back and nodded. 

"Of course," he replied. "Sit down. Everything is going to be fine." 

With those words, he began to walk out of the inn. Ash and the others, with the exception of Metsumi and Opah, followed him. 

Just as she was about to exit the building, through the corner of her eye, Ash caught a glimpse of someone walking down the steps where the bedrooms were. She seemed familiar, in a way that Ash couldn\'t quite place but before she could discern who the woman was, she saw the others were already outside and she followed them. 

"Are you sure?" Kaori asked Satsuhiro as Ash walked out. 

"Hm?" 

"About what you told them," she elaborated. "That... everything will be fine." 

"No," Satsuhiro scoffed. "Of course, I\'m not sure." 

"But..." 

"But, what good does it do for the citizens of this city to freak out more than they already are?" Satsuhiro asked. "Sometimes, people need to be reassured like that, even when it\'s a blatant lie."

Hearing that brought so much visible disappointment to Kaori that Ash felt concerned about her. 

"Come on," Satsuhiro gestured. "Let\'s get moving." 

---

They arrived at the Grey Chamber around an hour later. The first thing Ash noticed was that there were more guards moving in and out of the building than there had been when she first came here.  Hm. Guessing something happened. 

They made their way to the throne room, where Eliza was speaking to some heavily armored knight-types. 

"Yes," she said to one. "Reinforcing the inner buildings is probably the best..." She trailed off as she saw Ash\'s group. "Hm?" 

With the wave of an elegant hand, she dismissed them. With her clear, curious eyes on them, Eliza walked towards Ash. 

"Saviors, to what do I owe this pleasure?" 

"We need some help," Satsuhiro quickly stated. "Do you know of a shrine nearby? North of Onyx." 

"The old one in the forest?" Eliza tilted her head. 

"So, you know about it?" Keiko asked. 

"Yes, what of it?" 

"Do you know the shrine maiden who lives there?" 

"... I know of her," Eliza turned around and gestured for the group to follow. She walked into a nearby room where a roundtable was placed at the center with many seats surrounding it. Eliza sat down and crossed her legs. "Though, as there is not much reason to care about an abandoned building in the middle of a random forest, no one has made much of an effort to investigate her. I certainly have been far too busy to concern myself with that shrine and its keeper. What I know about her is due to random rangers and scouts who would occasionally pass the place by and see her from a distance. Why do you ask?" 

"Well," Keiko stepped forwards. "She is a very skilled warrior. Someone who could help us all learn more about combat. However," Keiko continued, "she told us she\'d only leave that building if we could get someone to watch over the shrine for her." 

"... I see," Eliza looked away. "Done. I\'ll organize a small group of trustworthy individuals to relieve her of her duties while she trains you." 

"Just like that?" Ash asked, skeptical. 

"No, obviously," Eliza replied, sighing. "I will require something in return." 

"Okay... What is it?" 

And, in response to that question, Eliza said something Ash hadn\'t expected. 

"In return, I need you to capture a high-level demon and bring it here," Eliza stated. 

Ash narrowed her brows. 

"Why?" 

"Because lately, more and more demons have been seen around the city. Attacking travelers and roaming the forests. I need to understand the threat we face so that I may prepare adequately. I could capture any of these demons, yes, but you," she looked at Ash, "can see their levels. That means you could capture one that is of a higher caliber. So, simple.. Just pick one up, preferably above level 30, and bring it here, and I will send that group to relieve this shrine maiden."