Moonlight Demon

Ash

After that announcement, the next day, the group finally left the Grey Chamber. 

Ash's armor, which was currently packed up in "luggage" (some strange container Onyx had invented for traveling) had been upgraded, as Elisa had promised. According to the soldier who had given it to her, the adjustments would make it easier for her to move around in the armor, and, of course, the armor could take a few more hits now. 

Aside from that, Ash was given a grand total of 15 royal white crowns for her efforts. An amount of money that any ordinary citizen would go crazy for, but that Ash received with an apathetic "thanks" when it had been handed to her. 

At this moment, Ash was carrying Kaori on her back while they stood in front of the palace, about to walk through the streets of Onyx, watching the rebuilding process begin immediately. All around them, people were gathering up rubble and placing it on metal wagons and bringing them into buildings around the palace, cleaning the blood off the sidewalks with Water magic and throwing the dirty water into a strange sewer system that Ash hadn't noticed before. It was weird seeing people effectively working harder together now than they had even during the fighting. Though, maybe the prospect of returning to normalcy was just that seductive to them. 

"So," Ash started, "now what?" 

"Well, Lumina was fairly clear, considering what you said," Satsuhiro tapped his cane against the ground as they all moved forwards, "we need to get you to Amber. Find stronger monsters for you to take on and level you up." 

"But..." She turned around. "Keiko," Ash said to the Zayama who was standing behind her. "Are you coming with us?" 

"Why wouldn't I?" She asked, confused. 

"Well, I mean, you know," Ash told her and Keiko narrowed her eyes at her. 

"My... current condition shouldn't prevent me from being able to teach you," Keiko replied with annoyance. "I-It just means that I can't fight alongside you... But I'm not going to sit back and not do anything for nine months until this problem is dealt with. I refuse." 

Ash could see Satsuhiro and Metsumi backing up, as though indicating they didn't plan to step in. Opah was looking at them with confusion in her eyes. 

"What if you get attacked? Remember what happened at the farm? What if Niven opens up a portal right next to us like that, again?" 

"... Then, I will have to rely on you to protect me. I suppose I cannot do anything else. But that is a better fate than sitting back and being useless." 

Ash sighed.

She's just not going to listen to reason, huh? 

She was going to say something in response, but before she could, she looked behind Keiko and saw someone's head peeking out from behind a wall. 

As more civilians left the palace slowly, Ash saw one she recognized. Luvine was hiding behind a nearby building, for some reason. 

"Hold on," Ash muttered, "give me a sec. Metsumi, can you take her for a moment?" 

"Sure thing," Metsumi replied and Ash placed Kaori in her arms. 

Taking a deep breath, Ash walked over to that spot and found Luvine crouched. The half-demon girl yelped and fell back, nervous. 

"What are you doing, Lu?" Ash asked. 

"I... Just... You were..." Luvine started. 

"Yeah?" 

"Y-You..." She curled her knees up to her chest and buried her face in them. "You were... leaving..." 

... Crap.  Ash thought as she looked at the girl. 

"Yeah... I kind of have to go," Ash told her. "I have stuff that needs doing. I can't stay in Onyx." 

"Mm..." Luvine hummed in response, waiting for a few seconds and then nodding. 

Ash sighed. 

"Look, kid, I know it sucks, but... I told you. You have to be strong. No one's going to be strong for you. You've got it in you to make a life for yourself, but you have to make people respect you. Understand?" 

Then, Luvine sniffled, before nodding. 

... Dammit.  Ash looked away for a moment. She put her hands on her hips, tilting her head up. As much as I want to keep helping her, I can't just stay here. Now that the fighting's over, she should be-

A pair of small, thin arms wrapped themselves around her legs. Ash blinked, her thoughts pausing as she looked back and found Luvine holding onto her. 

Feeling something stirring inside of her, Ash gritted her teeth. 

"Lu, I'm serious, I..." 

"... Don't go." 

Hearing that, Ash put a hand to her forehead. 

What the fuck am I supposed to do? 

However, almost instantly as she had that thought, an idea came to her mind. One that was tempting, but dangerous.  I mean...  She thought. Having Keiko with us is bad enough. If she got hurt too... 

But, as she saw tears roll down Luvine's face, her resolve began to break. Until eventually, she took a deep breath and took one of Luvine's hands. Then, she pulled her back to the group. 

"Hey," Ash said, gaining their attention, "look. I know this is dangerous, I know this is probably a bad idea, but... I just don't feel right leaving Luvine here where she doesn't have anything or anyone that she can rely on. So, uh, I just wanna ask, can we take her with us?" 

"... I don't see why not," Satsuhiro shrugged. "But, if you're bringing her along, Ash, you're responsible for her. You understand that?" 

"Yeah, yeah..." Ash nodded as Luvine brightened up beside her. "I get it." 

"Then, as long as you know you're the one who has to take care of her, sure. I'm fine with it." 

"Yeah," Metsumi nodded. "Just make sure you know what you're doing, Ash." 

I don't, but that won't stop me at this point. 

"Mhm."

"Then, in that case, it's fine." 

With that, Opah made a bunch of incoherent excited noises and then ran up to hug Luvine tightly. Ash, seeing this, couldn't help but smile a little, though she worried she may have just doomed Luvine to something terrible. 

I'll try not to let anything happen though,  she thought. I need to be there for her. She can't grow up the same way I did.

---

Sometime later, they were now nearing the western gates. Opah had been talking to Luvine about random things the entire way, Ash was now carrying Kaori again, while Keiko, every now and then, would make a concerning face. Ash hoped she wasn't too sick all of a sudden.

They passed by the New Age Inn and found Caroline standing outside, looking up at it with a smile. The group walked up to her.

"Oi, loves," Caroline greeted them. "Been a while."

Keiko walked up to her.

"How are you holding up?" Keiko asked.

"Oh, about as well as anyone could after being held up in a cramped palace for a few days, but... I'll be honest," she looked back at her inn, "I hadn't expected to be back here. Ever. I thought it would just be gone, or something, I dunno. It's... Strange. Thank you, by the way, for convincing me not to let my neck get bitten off. That was nice of you."

Keiko chuckled.

"How long do you think it'll take before the inn's up and ready again?"

"Not too long actually," Caroline replied. "Some demons did go in and tear a few poor folks up, gonna need to clean the blood off from that, but because of all the fighting, some people won't have anywhere to stay. We might actually have some more business, actually. Still, it'll be a process, definitely. We did it before, though, it'll be no problem building this place up again. Feel free to give us a visit sometime." 

"Uh... I'll give that a 'maybe', but, stay safe, Caroline," Keiko replied. "Hope it goes well." 

"Thanks, love." 

Soon, they were moving up to the western gates.

Here, though, multiple people were waiting, who Ash recognized. Yumi and Eliza were standing to the right, talking with each other. And, to the left, Ash saw people she wished she hadn't noticed. 

Her parents, Ayami and Jino, both sitting at a bench, seemingly waiting for their transportation to arrive. 

Ugh,  Ash thought as soon as she saw them,  sooner I get out of here the better. 

"Ash," a woman said and Ash looked up, seeing Eliza and Yumi walking up to her. 

Ash cleared her throat and nodded at them. 

"Hey." 

"I rented out a high-quality carriage to take you back to Jade," Eliza informed her. "It will be yours for two weeks, so you can also take it elsewhere if you so wish." 

"Thanks," Ash replied. 

"It should be here in a few minutes. I wished to let you know. Once again," Eliza bowed. "Thank you, Savior, for your service. Here, this is for you." 

And so, Eliza handed her a small badge. 

"Hm? What is this?" 

"It's a badge I give to my generals. Obviously, you are not a military officer, but having that on you gives you an authority in Onyx second only to mine," Eliza stated. "For all your service, you will always be welcome here. Do visit, sometimes," she told her. "I would very much like to converse with our city's hero someday, once again."

"... Sure," Ash replied, putting the badge in a pocket. 

"Well, that is all. I must return to the Grey Chamber. Good luck on your journey," she stated, and then, taking a few knights with her, she left. 

Yumi walked up next. 

"It was... A rather interesting time that we shared, Ash. But, I am proud of what we accomplished together." 

"What are you going to do?" Keiko asked, stepping up. 

"I... I do not know," Yumi chuckled.

"What?" Keiko asked.

"With the battle done, my purpose has seemingly concluded with it. I do not know where I will go from here... But... I suppose that is something I will need to figure out for myself. Hehe, wish me luck," Yumi stated. 

"Oh..." Keiko said. 

However, soon, it was Satsuhiro's turn to speak up. 

"I can think of something," he told her. "With Keiko in the state that she's in, Ash needs a trainer." 

As soon as he said that, Keiko's eyes widened. 

"Y-You're right..." Keiko replied. "Yumi! How about you come with us?" 

"What?" Yumi asked. "I... What? Excuse me, this is so sudden," she laughed. "Are you certain?" 

"It would help," Satsuhiro pitched in. "You're as skilled with our weaponry as anyone else could be in the world. We would certainly appreciate it." 

"I..." Yumi's eyes briefly flickered to Ash. A blush came onto her face that made Ash sigh. 

Yeah... Doubt either of us is gonna forget what happened in that portal anytime soon. 

"I... I suppose I could. If only for a time. I do, after all, wish to explore on my own at some point. But, if you need me, it would be remiss for me not to accompany you." 

At that, Keiko grinned. 

"Thanks, it'll be fun! Just you wait," Keiko said and at that moment, she was as adorable as ever.

With that settled, the group waited, and eventually, the carriage arrived. Ash glanced over at Ayami and Jino. She looked away, and Metsumi nudged her. 

"Anything you want to say to them? Now would be the time." 

"... No," Ash replied. "I'm good. I would go over there, but all I'd do is lose my shit. And," she let her shoulders drop a little, adjusting Kaori, "at this point... I'm just tired. I saw them, they told me why they left me, that's it. That was all I needed."

Ash looked down. Briefly, she looked over at Luvine and then at Yumi and Keiko, who were talking to each other. 

"At this point... I'm tired of the past. I have my future right in front of me," she told Metsumi, "and on my back. I'm good."

Something about what she said made Metsumi give her a proud smile. 

"Understood," the older woman replied. 

And with that, as the carriage arrived, the group boarded it. Ash placed Kaori down next to her, pulling a sheet out of her luggage to drape over her body.

Satsuhiro was writing something out on a piece of paper.

"Who's that for?" 

"Vyl," Satsuhiro said. "Just letting her know we're going." 

When he was done, he spoke some quick incantation and the paper turned into a flaming bird, flying out of the open carriage and presumably over to Vyl. 

As the carriage began to move, a few citizens noticed them. 

"T-The Savior!" 

"That's the woman that saved us!" A homeless man yelled out. "Thank you!" 

"Right, the Savior, thank you!" Another civilian yelled and soon, the street descended into a series of spread-out cheers and celebratory calls, aimed at Ash. 

Ash, closed her eyes and leaned back against her seat.  What a bother. 

However, she did hope that this meant half-demons like herself, half-demons like Luvine would be looked at with just a little less contempt. If that happened, then she supposed she could put up with this weird moment. 

A small hand landed on hers and Ash looked to her right, seeing Luvine holding onto her. 

Luvine leaned against her, hugging her a little with a smile. 

Ash looked away. 

"Is it normal for people to start screaming praises like this?" Yumi asked. 

"It looks like it might become normal for Ash, soon," Satsuhiro said with a smirk, "if she keeps this up." 

"Ugh," Ash replied. "Don't even joke about that." 

And on that note, with two new additions to the group, the carriage rolled out of Onyx. 

And their time in the grey city was over.