Moonlight Demon

As she stood now, ready to walk out into the city, Ash inspected her status fully, trying to take stock of every option she had available to her. 

Level 46

MP: 230/230

EXP: 0/460

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STR: 50

DEX: 50

CON: 90

INT: 20

WIS: 23

L: 100

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Traits:

Iron Stomach 

Chosen 

Moonlight Nature (all Light and Dark spells are enhanced, though the bearer can only use Light and Dark)

Quick Learner

Demon Inside (Access to Demon Form, while in Demon Form all physical attributes are increased by 5)

Moonlight Demon (While in Demon Form, all Light and Dark spells are further enhanced)

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Spells:

Light:

Heal 10mp (the basic Light spell)

Lumina's Presence 10mp (slower, gradual heal on one target)

Lumina's Spirit 15mp (energy boost)

Barrier 15mp (projects a white wall that blocks spells)

Empowered Light 40mp (the effects of Light magic are enhanced on multiple targets)

Curse Removal 100mp

Land of Grace 50mp (AOE heal)

Sacred Ground 20mp (AOE Turn Dark)

Flash of Brilliance 40mp (Blinding)

Dark:

Dark Sphere 10mp (the basic Dark spell)

Perish 15mp (mid-range slightly stronger Dark projectile),

Decimating Touch 15mp (touch-based Dark attack)

Living Vortex 20mp (grants a target lifesteal from wounded bodies around them)

Spirit Siphon 20mp (touch-based lifesteal spell)

Divine:

Champion of Magia 0mp

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Weapon Proficiencies:

Bladed Gauntlets = 5 of 10 (Average)

Sword = 4 of 10 (Average)

Bow = 2 of 10 (Beginner)

Spear = 1 of 10 (Complete Amateur)

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Current Status Effects:

Niven's Blessing, Encouraged (Kaori)

In all honesty, she barely remembered some of these spells, as she'd gotten used to relying on mostly the basic Heal and Dark Sphere spells, but now, as the situation demanded it, she would likely have to make use of most, if not all, of these tools. 

My weapon proficiencies went down... crap, she sighed.  Hope those gauntlets carry me through this. 

Eventually, her stats faded. 

"Right, so, two minutes," Kaori pointed out as Ash's stats returned back to normal. 

"Activate the spell when we see that thing then," Ash told her. 

"You should take some time to warm up by going after lesser enemies," Yumi advised her. "So that by the time you get into the fight against the main demon, you're already loose." 

"Makes sense," Ash nodded. "Anything else I need to know?" 

"The reinforcements from Jade should be arriving tonight. If you can hold the demons off until they get to us, then the tide of battle should almost certainly swing in our favor," Eliza stated. "That is all. Good luck, Savior." 

Ash nodded and gestured for Kaori to follow. 

"Then, we're off." 

And so, the two of them, with nervous hearts and heavy responsibilities weighing on their shoulders, walked forwards. Ahead, Ash could already hear screams, orders being yelled frantically, and demons mauling their enemies. She transformed her weapons into her gauntlets and started jogging towards the demon noises that sounded the closest. Rounding a street corner, she saw a small group of soldiers being pinned down by a mix of Wrath and Gluttony demons. Ash narrowed her eyes at them. 

"What do you want me to do?" Kaori asked. 

"I don't know, whatever you feel is right, I guess," Ash replied, and Kaori nodded, staying back. 

Let's do this. 

She ran up to a Gluttony demon on her right. 

Level 30

MP: 100/100

"Corruption spread, corruption launch!"  Ash said and a black sphere flew from her right palm to the enemy. It groaned and as it recoiled from the hit, Ash stabbed her right gauntlet into its side. 

Then, feeling the anger surge inside of her from the spell she'd cast, she dragged the blade to the left, slicing the creature wide open until its entrails were spilling out onto the stone beneath her feet. 

EXP Gained: 200

EXP: 200/460

It occurred to her then that, if she fought for enough time before meeting the demon, she might level up a bit more before the encounter. 

If I do get some more points, she thought,  I may as well put them into my Con. If I level up five times, that's 10 points I can dump in there, and when Kaori does her thing with her stats, I can have 100 Con. 

She set that as one of her goals for the night, hoping to get that done before she met the level 90 creature. 

Ahead, a Wrath demon had just taken a chunk of someone's neck out with its teeth. Ash saw that and sprinted towards it. Another demon noticed her and growled, looking like it would interfere before she would be able to stop it. 

Yumi's lessons came to her mind then, and Ash took a deep breath, just as she was about to strike. 

Combos. Sequences.  She looked at one and then at the other.  Stab this fucker's face in, then hop over the body, block that thing's attack and stab it in the gut with my left. 

When she arrived, she did exactly that. Ash ran up, pulled her right arm back and punched the demon in the face with her gauntlets, stabbing through its head. Then, after kicking that demon away, she leaped over the body of the wounded soldier, and as anticipated, the other demon attacked. It tried to bite her and Ash dodged out of the way, leaning back before moving back in. She gave it a knee to the stomach, tripped it, and then finished it off with a blow to its throat from her left gauntlet. 

Both demons died quickly. 

EXP Gained: 210

EXP: 410/460

EXP Gained: 190

EXP: 460/460

Level Up!

Ash looked back at the kid who'd been injured and found that Kaori had dragged him away from the fighting in the brief time she'd been dealing with the last of the two demons. Ash jogged over and crouched beside him. 

"Looks like this is your lucky day," Ash muttered before casting a quick healing spell on him. "Go. Get the fuck out of here." 

He spat out blood that had accumulated in his mouth and took a gasping breath. 

"T-Thank... Thank you!" He forced out. 

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, go," Ash said and the boy stood up, walking away. 

Kaori saw him run off and then turned towards Ash. 

"That was nice of you," she noted. 

"... If we lose here, that guy's going to be there with Keiko, helping defend the palace," Ash stated. "I need to make sure as many of these assholes survive as possible, in case I don't make it." 

"... So, you really think you're going to lose?" Kaori asked. 

"I didn't say that, I just want to make sure Keiko's odds are as good as possible, that's all. Besides," Ash smirked, "like I told those dumbasses at the meeting. If we lose this, I'm gonna try my best to pick you and everyone else up and run the fuck away. So, don't go talking about how nice I am just yet..."

Ash didn't get it, but something in what she'd said made Kaori smile. 

"Understood," Kaori nodded. 

With that, the two continued on to the next fight. 

---

Keiko

"We're all going to die, we're all going to die, we're all going to-" an old man chanted over and over again before he was interrupted by someone younger. 

"Shut the hell up! You're making me wish the demons would just get here already..." 

Keiko sighed as she started to feel her stomach turning. Beside her were Metsumi, Satsuhiro, Opah, and Luvine.

As she took a deep breath to steady herself, Metsumi placed a hand on her upper back, soothingly. 

"Are you okay? You paled a little." She asked. 

"Yeah... Just... A little weary," Keiko said. She looked around and saw many of the soldiers standing by, ready for any potential interruptions.  If demons do make it here... What can I even do in this state? 

It was like the more she thought about this, the sicker she got. From just her stomach feeling off to her head getting heavy and the world starting to spin. Keiko worried she was about to throw up.

"Um... I need to go to a restroom," Keiko said. 

"Okay, let's go then. I think I remember where they were at." Metsumi said, helping her up. "We'll be back in a little bit!" She told the others. 

The two of them started to walk through the palace, Keiko's eyes mostly closed throughout this, allowing Metsumi to guide her. She felt like if she opened her eyes for another second all of the contents of her stomach would soon spill out. 

"Do you have a fever or... anything?" Metsumi asked, and at that point, Keiko briefly remembered the abnormalities that Ash's mother told her she'd go through during this process. 

She hadn't told anyone about them but, considering how... Inconvenient they were, she hoped those wouldn't start today. 

"I'm okay, I just... I just need a moment," Keiko replied as they reached the bathrooms. 

"Alright, take your time." 

With that, Keiko walked inside and nearly ran to the toilet, where she opened the lid, knelt down, and soon found that violet liquid exiting her body. 

"Aghh... Aghg..." She puked a couple of times, coughing. 

... I can't fight like this. Keiko thought.  If Ash loses... 

Her thoughts were interrupted though by another session of vomiting.