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Chapter 305 – Vol. 5 –

Before, Ash had considered the option of taking her time here and dispatching any and all demons she saw on her path. Now, with Niven in her ears, she was all but powerwalking toward the beams in the distance. 

"Ah, but of course, it stands to reason that someone like yourself, even with all of your levels, would be found lacking in the end. I suppose all of the attribute points in the world wouldn\'t be able to provide you with the sort of meaningful experiences necessary to become a true hero."

Can you just shut the fuck up already?  Ash thought although she looked around to make sure he wasn\'t just setting her up to get sniped from afar by some random demon with a bow. 

"It is just an unfortunate fact of your upbringing, is it not? The fact that so many others would take these gifts my colleague has bestowed upon you and would have already ended this war by now." 

Ash continued to ignore him. Trying as hard as she could, she kept her eyes fixed on the beams ahead. 

Until his next quip. 

"I wonder how your friend feels,"  Niven said. "Knowing, after all, that her fate lies entirely in your undertrained and unprepared hands."

That one got a response out of her. 

Level 80 is unprepared to you?  She asked, scowling toward the front, as though he was standing ahead of her.

"I know that if I were in her position, I would feel so scared the Higher Powers themselves wouldn\'t be able to calm my nerves. Putting aside my status and thinking like a human, even as a mere mortal, I wouldn\'t envy her position. Having to depend on you is surely something you could only get from, how do you say it, scraping the bottom of the barrel for brave warriors?" 

Who said I was trying to be a brave warrior?

"Right, I apologize for insinuating that bravery is something your ilk is capable of." 

What the fuck does that mean? 

"Your kind,"  Niven chuckled. "I would know. I created demonkind, after all. It is something I\'ve noticed in the battles we\'ve engaged in. As the tide of battle turns, my forces\' loyalty normally begins to falter. Have you seen it? Sure, some are too busy engaged in a battle to do so, but the average demon would rather live to see another day than be courageous and potentially die doing so. You may only be half of a demon, but that same self-preservation is in your blood. You know this," he said. "You\'ve lived it." 

You don\'t know shit about me. 

"I\'ve been fighting you for months. I\'d beg to differ!"  Niven said with a laugh.  "You fight generally well, and your demonic bloodlust aids in keeping you alive, but I\'ve seen you. You don\'t go out of your way to help any humans in need, even when they\'re right next to you unless it constitutes some easy experience. I\'d like to think I know a demon trait when I see one, and I see my creations in you. I wonder if that\'ll show when Kaori\'s trial arrives." 

That\'s cause I don\'t give a shit about random soldiers dying across the street in a battle. But, Kaori? I\'d do anything to save her.

"Would you?"  Niven asked.  "Have you been doing so? Is her current state the result of that attitude? In your time together, that woman has lost an arm, lost her emotional stability, lost all hope of survival, and lost her own body. Do these seem like results attained by someone giving everything they\'ve got to protect a loved one?"

"…" 

As Ash bit down on the insides of her cheeks, she hurried even further. 

Shut the fuck up already. 

—

Keiko

About half an hour had passed since Ash and the others left. Keiko was standing in the middle of the forest, with Yumi just a small walk away, to give her space for what she wanted to do. 

Holding her father\'s sword in front of her, Keiko took a deep breath. Then, she put some space between her feet and said: 

"Zansae!" Then, with one leg planted into the ground, she spun in a circle and slashed at the air. A ring of flowers appeared around her, slicing deep into the trees nearby. 

Satisfied, Keiko looked down at her blade. 

That was good. Still have other techniques to go through, though. 

"Wow," Yumi said, walking up, clapping. "That was beautiful." 

"Thank you," Keiko replied with a giggle. "I still have many other techniques to refresh my mind on." 

"How did you learn them?" 

"I got them from a book," she said, waving a hand. "I\'ll show it to you when we get back to the camp. You can pick something up from it too, probably. I think there are a couple of naginata techniques in there." 

"Really? Maybe I\'ll take a look, then." 

"You should!" Keiko chuckled, walking over to Yumi and smiling up at her. "It would be such a waste otherwise, given your talent." 

The taller woman blushed a little, smiling back at her. 

"You\'re too kind."

As Keiko continued to practice, she felt like she was steadily improving. She was a long way from being the fighter she once was, but she was on her way. 

Both Zayamas returned to the camp shortly after, as half of the group returned to the camp, however, ahead, Keiko could see many of the soldiers lined up atop the hill, looking down toward where Pearl was. 

Hm? Is something happening? 

Keiko and Yumi walked over to them, taking a spot near Satsuhiro, who was watching with crossed arms. 

"How did it go?" 

"Fine," Satsuhiro replied. "We managed to clear a path for Ash, but now, well, just look." 

Keiko did just that. What she saw were dozens of Lust demons flying over Pearl and many demons outside. However, the interesting thing wasn\'t that they were all heading into the rift to try to stop Ash, no, they were all walking from the portal into the city. 

"What are they doing?" 

"If I had to guess, I\'d say they\'re fortifying Pearl to prepare to defend it from us." 

"If that\'s the case," one of the high-ranking soldiers added, "then, it\'s possible Niven doesn\'t even want to try to stop the Savior from closing it. He doesn\'t care. He\'s using this as a means to prepare his own…" 

He trailed off, then, as he turned toward the city. 

"Is something wrong?" Satsuhiro asked. 

"… Those Lust demons," he continued. "They\'re getting closer." 

As Keiko turned back toward Pearl, she noticed what he meant. Three Lust demons were seemingly patrolling the area and as their eyes fell on the hill all of them were on, they were flying toward their location. 

"Archers!" Satsuhiro called out, and several of the soldiers there pulled out their bows. 

At that moment, the demons stopped, mid-flight, and dodged a quick barrage of arrows sent out from the soldiers. 

The demons didn\'t attack, though. Instead, their violet eyes lay on the encampment for a few seconds, and then, they flew away. 

"Hmph," Satsuhiro huffed as he shook his head. "They definitely know we\'re here now. And, if I was Niven, with Ash being in the portal right now, I\'d…" 

He stopped talking though, as everyone looked ahead and spotted the same thing. 

The demons who had been filing into the city turned around and, instead, began marching toward their mountains. 

… What?  Keiko thought as she watched the demons run toward them. They\'re already attacking? So soon?

"Great," Satsuhiro muttered. 

"What do you recommend, Savior?" The general asked. "It seems like we\'ve got a fight coming." 

"… We can fight this," Satsuhiro replied. "At this distance, they won\'t be affected by the portal\'s buff. Ash let us know that. Everyone, get ready! The Lust demons will work to distract us from above, while the Wrath and Gluttony demons come in from our flank. Don\'t let yourselves get too caught up in what the Lust demons are doing, but don\'t let them catch you off-guard either." 

The general soon began shouting orders then, giving his soldiers spots to settle into. Yumi walked over to her tent to grab her naginata, while Sinneah just waited with crossed arms, and Kasumi stood by, a pair of daggers in her hands.

Opah and Luvine both walked toward the group, trailed by Metsumi when they saw this sudden action. 

"What\'s going on?" Opah asked, tugging on her father\'s pants. Satsuhiro noticed she was there and crouched down.

"Go back to the tent for a second, okay? I\'ll be right there in a moment." Satsuhiro asked, patting her on the head before gently pushing her away. He looked up at Metsumi, then. "The demons saw us and they\'re coming in for a skirmish. Don\'t let the girls get out of the tent." 

"Right," Metsumi said, before walking up and kissing Satsuhiro on the cheek. "Good luck." 

Satsuhiro took a deep breath, as Keiko watched the demons run up toward them. 

"What should we do?" Keiko asked. 

"Well, as for me, it\'s simple," Satsuhiro replied, looking at the demons. "I need to slow them down a little." 

Then, a brief incantation came out in a whisper from his lips, and he lifted his hands, aiming them at the incoming forces. 

A giant ball of flame surged out from his palms and shot out at the demons. Other mages gathered next to him then and began to do the same. 

Okay,  Keiko thought.  Well, you wanted a second chance at being a warrior.. Don\'t let it go to waste.