Moonlight Demon

Ash

With the city seemingly going to survive the night, thanks to the reinforcements that arrived soon after Ash herself had reached the palace, the half-demon found herself going to sleep a while after her talk with Satsuhiro. 

She'd wanted desperately to go to the shrine that very night, but she was just too tired. Plus, heading out with Kaori on her back into an area swarming with demons didn't feel like a recipe for anything good. 

Currently, Ash was sitting at the edge of her bed, where Kaori had been laid down. Eliza had a few maids come in, remove the girl's armor and clean both her and the bed up. By the time they left, Kaori looked less like a wounded soldier and more like a normal citizen who was merely asleep. 

"... She'll probably wake up before we do," Keiko said with a hopeful smile, sitting down next to Ash, by Kaori's feet. Ash was silent for a second. 

"That might not be a good thing." 

"... Right..." Keiko replied, and that smile slowly faded. "Well, uhm, whatever happened, it's probably a good sign that she didn't just turn into a demon entirely. Even if she's... changed, like she has."

"Sure, I guess," Ash sighed. "I... We'll see." Ash stood up and walked over to the side of the bed, where she gently pulled Kaori towards her. "I'll sleep between you two, just in case." 

"Okay. You'll see," Keiko turned that smile up at her again. "Tomorrow, she'll wake up and just... Be Kaori." 

Let's hope, Ash thought, and with that, the night came to a close.

Predictably, Ash's dreams were filled with images of Kaori. Endlessly, so many times that Ash felt herself going crazy in her own sleep, she replayed that moment where Kaori was lifted by her head and altered, right in front of her. 

Wait, Kaori!  She cried out in her mind, seeing that moment yet again.  Wait, w... 

She woke up. It was still nighttime as the sun had not yet poured in through the nearby window. She had hoped to see Kaori's eyes open in the darkness, but they weren't. Kaori's face was still in that peaceful, resting state. 

The next time she woke up though, the sun was fully present. Ash's eyes slowly blinked open and she felt a little cold.  Agh... wait... That's... That's not me.  Ash thought as she realized this freezing temperature wasn't coming from her, or the room as a whole. There was something behind her that was causing her to feel that cold. 

Kaori was still in front of her, so she hadn't done anything.  What is it then? 

Ash turned around and looked over at Keiko. When she saw her, Ash narrowed her eyes. 

"What the fuck?" Ash asked as she saw that Keiko had violet tendrils running up her body, under her skin. She reached over and touched her, and Keiko was so cold that Ash flinched. As Ash's fingers brushed against Keiko's skin though, the girl stirred. 

"Uh, Keiko?" Ash said to her. 

"Hm?" Keiko yawned. "I-Is it morning already?" 

"... Mhm," Ash watched as Keiko's eyes opened and the girl sat up. 

"What time is it?" Keiko asked. 

"I don't know... Listen," Ash said, "do... Are you alright?" 

"Hm? Y-Yeah," Keiko nodded. 

"Are you sure? Cause you sure as shit don't seem alright." 

"What do you m...? Huh?" Keiko trailed off as she looked down at herself. "M-My hands, what!?" 

"Not just your hands..." Ash muttered as Keiko threw her sheets off. When she did, both she and Ash saw the full extent of this strange thing that had happened to her. From her toes all the way to her head, violet lines were running up her body, like dark, visible veins under her skin. She was so cold as well that Ash could see her breath. 

"This... Ugh..." Keiko suddenly looked like she had a realization. 

"Yeah?" 

Keiko paused. 

"... This is something Ayami said would happen." 

At that, Ash raised a brow.  Seriously? This is one of the symptoms or whatever of a demon pregnancy? 

"Do you need anything?" Ash asked. 

"Yeah, one of the potions Vyl brought. It, uhm, it should remove this. Let me get it, it's over..." She reached towards a nearby drawer. "I'll just... Agh!" As she tried to move, Keiko made a sound like she'd hurt herself. 

"What is it?" Ash asked. 

"I... My legs hurt." 

"I'll get it," Ash told her. 

At this point, she honestly just wanted to help, in whatever way that she could. 

She walked over, opened the drawer, and saw a few of the potions they still had that Vyl had given them. Ash picked out the strangest-looking one and held it up. 

"Is this it?" 

"Yes," Keiko nodded and Ash brought it over. Keiko took a sip from it and Ash watched as quickly, those tendrils became far lighter. They were still there, but Ash could barely see them. 

"... Okay," Ash nodded. "How are you feeling now?" 

"Better... But, my legs still feel like, well, kind of like I have needles stuck in some spots. Ugh," Keiko gave a frustrated groan as she dropped her head back. "I wanted to go with you to the shrine, but I don't think I'll be able to. If there are any demons nearby... I..." 

"I understand," Ash nodded. "Just sit tight. I'll get us something to eat, we'll have breakfast, and then... I'll go see what's up with Kaori. I'll be back before you know it." 

Keiko sighed. Ash could see nothing but raw disappointment in her face as she looked down at herself. Ash reached over and squeezed one of her hands gently. 

"Don't sweat it," Ash told her. "We'll be back to fighting together in no time." 

"... Right." 

---

A Few Hours Later

Walking through the city in the daytime felt strange. After being in the palace for the last couple of nights, and only seeing the city during times of battle, the ways in which it had changed made themselves far more apparent to Ash's eyes. 

Several buildings had crumbled. There were leftover spikes of ice, presumably from spells the human mages had cast, still erect and solid, slowly melting away. The blood, both from the humans and demons, had dried and right now, the only people still walking these streets were soldiers and workers who were gathering up corpses, likely to be burned later. A lot of the taller, highly technological, buildings now looked like the scenes of various murders. The city smelled and looked awful, but Ash cared very little about any of that. 

With Kaori on her back, she almost wished she was in her full Lust demon form so she could fly straight to the shrine. Instead, though, she had to carry her all the way there. No one else came with her. 

"How many is that?" A man asked as he loaded up the body of a soldier onto a stretcher. Ash walked by him as his friend replied. 

"Eh, almost a hundred. Even though we won last night, the body count was still too fuckin' high." 

"I hear ya. I hope last night wasn't a fluke, is all." 

Indeed, Ash echoed that statement. If the level 90 demon had been healed up and chose to return tonight, then the city was probably lost. Ash could hold it back with her ability, whittle it down, but even then, without Kaori's stats to help her, she probably wouldn't be able to kill it. 

The farther Ash got from the palace, the fewer people there were. The fewer signs of life in general, but the more bodies there were. Of course, with the portal still open just beyond the gates, Ash received Niven's Blessing, but there were thankfully no demons outside. 

That might not be the case the entire day, I should move fast.  Ash thought, pushing Kaori's body up a little. 

Eventually, Ash reached the bamboo forest. Unlike the other times she'd passed through here, there were no birds, no insects, lizards, nothing. A deafening silence was all that remained. Ash kept herself focused though as she made her way to the shrine. 

When she arrived, Ash smelled fresh blood and she gently placed Kaori on the dirt, in preparation for a fight. Transforming her Lust  into gauntlets, she walked forwards and entered the shrine. She didn't find any enemies though. 

Instead, there were soldiers laying on the ground, dead. Ash looked down at them and sighed. 

Yeah... With those portals nearby, it's not hard to imagine what happened. 

Ripped and torn apart, considering the terrible injuries that had been inflicted on them, Ash guessed this had been the work of some Wrath demons. At first, Ash thought this was Kuri's group, but as she turned them over to see their faces, she figured this must have been the second squad that had been assigned to the shrine, as she didn't recognize them. 

Ash checked the rest of the shrine out, finding no demons, and afterward, she brought Kaori inside. Finally, she sat down with her legs crossed in front of the altar and waited. 

Come on... You must have something to tell me after all this shit. Just knock me out and get it over with. 

Soon, she got her wish. Ash fell to the side, unconscious, and she appeared in a white room. 

There was a white wooden table in front of her, and two chairs set up. Sitting on one of them was not Magia however, who Ash had expected to see. 

Instead, Lumina was there, one leg crossed over the other, taking a sip from a crystal clear cup. She looked over at Ash and gave her a warm smile. Ash narrowed her eyes as she walked over. 

"Please," Lumina said with a silky smooth voice. "Sit. We... We have quite a bit to discuss."