17 Chapter 14

Keiko

Ash's trainer heard enough of the fight to understand that her student had lost.

Satsuhiro had left her side and walked up, but Keiko didn't know much of what happened after that as the crowd's shouting made everything blurry to her. But, eventually, a hand was placed on her shoulder.

"We're going back," Satsuhiro said.

"What happened?" Keiko asked.

"The other Savior tried to kill Ash," Satsuhiro replied. "I stopped her."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know. She should know better." Satsuhiro's tone was strange. He was speaking with the same bored voice as always, but Keiko could feel a wave of burning anger underneath.

"And, how's Ash?"

"I put her to sleep because her Demon Form wouldn't go away." He answered. "She'll wake up soon."

"Scary..." Satsuhiro's daughter said from beside Keiko.

"That form of hers doesn't look good," Metsumi said, pointing at the angry citizens yelling at them, specifically at the half-demon asleep on Satsuhiro's shoulders.

"I know," Satsuhiro replied. "I'll talk to her about it once she wakes up. Before that though, Keiko, can you stay with Ash once we get back?"

"Uh, yes." Keiko nodded. "Where will you go?"

"I'm going to go have a word with the archpriest. That went way too far." Satsuhiro stated. "Stay alert. That Demon Form of Ash's absolutely provoked these people. Some crazy fools could come looking for a fight."

When they returned, Satsuhiro let Ash rest in one of the bedrooms nearest to the front door. Keiko remained by her side while Satsuhiro exited the house to confront Varcon. It was currently noon, with the sun hovering above the city of Jade and its light coming in through the windows, Keiko sat near the sleeping half-demon with her hands on her lap.

Could she have won if she had a different trainer? Keiko wondered.

Keiko stood up and, feeling the warmth, located the window and put her hands on the frame.

---

Satsuhiro

The weathered Savior made a beeline for the Church of Magia. If he hadn't stepped in when he did, today would have marked the first time a Savior died at the hands of another Savior. It would have been an utter disgrace to their order. And, mostly, it was due to the influence of one priest.

Setsuhiro calmly moved past several priests and quickly located Varcon at the back of the church's main room, kneeling in front of the altar with the new Savior next to him, sitting at a wooden chair, hunched over.

"But... But was it really necessary?" The Savior asked.

"Kaori, you couldn't have known someone would put her to sleep. She was dangerous. I am glad you didn't, but in that moment, no one could blame you for almost doing what you had to."

"I... Varcon, I don't even remem..."

Satsuhiro took a deep breath.

"VARCON!" He called out, raising his voice.

"Ah, Satsu." Varcon stood and faced him. "I trust it was an exciting morning?"

Satsuhiro calmly walked up to him. When he stood just a few feet away, he punched the old man in the face.

"AGH!" Varcon fell back, crashing into a wooden chair.

"H-Hey, what!?" Kaori stood up and transformed her Savior's Weapon. Satsuhiro ignored her.

"What. The. Fuck, did I just see?" Satsuhiro asked, barely containing his rage.

"Hahahaha..." Varcon laughed as he stood up. Even though he was an old man, Satsuhiro's Strength wasn't impressive enough to do too much damage to him. "Ah, do you mean that nasty little ending?"

"What else would I be talking about!? Well, out with it."

"She was transforming," Varcon told him. "You saw it. She was becoming a demon before our very eyes! I simply advised Kaori as to what the best course of action was."

"No restraints, no sleeping spells, nothing like that crossed your fucking mind?" Satsuhiro asked. "Is that the best you can come up with?" Varcon's expression changed.

"And what exactly tells you that I need to justify myself to you?" He asked. "Need I remind you of who you're speaking to?"

Satsuhiro noticed that the other Savior was watching them with a tense look, her weapon still transformed. He focused back on Varcon and took a step closer. As he did, the Savior did the same. Satsuhiro raised a brow but kept talking.

"You're not justifying yourself to me, you're justifying yourself to Magia." Satsuhiro spat out.

"Ah, well, I do not believe I'll need to pray much to do that," Varcon replied. "If Ash had died, it would have been her will."

"Are you serious?"

"I always am when it comes to my lady." Varcon turned to face one of the statues. "For years, I've personified her grace. I know what she wants. And, I believe this also means I should take the time to tell you. Don't get too attached to that demon."

"What?" Satsuhiro asked.

He gestured to the other Savior.

"Kaori is everything Nova needs right now. The half-demon is but a reminder of what laziness and ineptitude look like. I'll admit, I may have been... Eager, in teaching that lesson to the rest of Jade, but they will understand. They will see what Magia intends."

"What Magia intends? "I don't think our lady would be satisfied with you trying to get two Saviors to kill each other!"

"AND WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT MAGIA!?" Varcon yelled back. Satsuhiro scowled. "Magia has worked through me for decades. No one in this world has a stronger connection to her than I do. If I do not know her will, no one does!"

"... Maybe you're right." Satsuhiro crossed his arms.

"Show me respect, Savior!" Varcon yelled. "All you are is a pawn, a weapon. Raw steel. Do not spout your theories as though you have any semblance of an idea as to what is really happening in the world. You were chosen to do one job, and one job only."

"Keep talking to me like this and you'll find out exactly why I've been chosen to do that job," Satsuhiro said in a low tone.

Kaori split her swordstaff down the middle, transforming it into two blades. She placed the tip of one under Satsuhiro's chin and the tip of the other under Varcon's chin. Satsuhiro was shocked, but his surprise didn't come close to that of Varcon's.

"Just leave," Kaori told Satsuhiro, lowering her blades when she felt the two of them had calmed down. "You're done, aren't you?" She asked.

Satsuhiro analyzed her portrait for a moment.

"Fine," Satsuhiro said. He could obviously overpower Kaori, but she was right. He and Varcon clearly had nothing more to say to each other that wouldn't devolve into insults and threats over what had transpired. "You should take a second and remember that you aren't the actual ruler of anything, Varcon." He turned back to the archpriest. "You hold some small power, but it's far from limitless. Try something like this again, and there will be consequences."

Varcon glared but Satsuhiro quickly turned and walked out of the church.

All that talk of Magia's will had him wondering about that topic exactly. He looked up at the sky. Magia doesn't do anything without a reason, but why did she pick these two? Ash and Kaori... Seems like nothing but trouble down the line.

He made his way back to the Savior House. However, as he drew closer, he heard a strange sound in the air. Metallic clanging, like swords clashing against each other. Is Keiko training? However, when he heard the Zayama girl scream, he understood that wasn't the case, and ran in.

---

Just a few minutes earlier

Keiko

It had been around 30 minutes since Satsuhiro left. Metsumi and her daughter were taking a walk as well. Keiko spent the time trying to practice her Spirit Eye. She failed twice and decided to spend some time simply meditating. She focused on the air rushing in through the window, Ash's breathing, and her own.

Ash wasn't waking up. She had no idea how long she was supposed to stay asleep for, but it didn't feel right.

A new sound emerged soon. The door opened to her left.

"Huh? Satsuhiro?"

No one answered for a moment. Keiko could smell alcohol in the air, like someone had been drinking heavily.

"Oh, what are you, her friend or something? Eh, whatever. Should be over quick enough."

Keiko heard some sort of blade unsheathe and stood up.

Who is this?

She heard footsteps approaching and took out her own blade.

"A blind girl wants to fight? I love it." He laughed. "Well, at least you made me laugh before I killed you."

What level is this person? Keiko asked. Why is he here?

Before she could formulate an answer, she felt the air in the room shift. He's walking up to me. Keiko tried to listen intently. If she was going to fight, she'd need to be aware of everything happening around her. The issue was, she didn't know the room well. Fighting in an unfamiliar place was an easy way to make Keiko uncomfortable.

She had to do it though. Hopefully, without accidentally cutting off Ash's foot or something in the process.

She heard a sharp inhalation and three quick footsteps, assuming that the man was running up to her. She couldn't respond just yet. She was waiting for one more sound. Soon, it appeared down and to the right, the sound of a blade slicing through air. It could be a stab or a slash. Keiko thought. I'll have to guess. She stepped to the left, bumping into a wooden table, but dodging the attack.

She heard the next attack coming from the front, and up. She ducked, hearing a blade clank off the stone and she walked up and slashed horizontally, not finding a target. He dodged. Where? A soft thud to the left answered that question. Keiko slashed again, her blade bashing the same stone wall the enemy had hit.

"Not bad." The man said. "Well, for a blind bitch like you, I mean."

Keiko gritted her teeth and went for a stab where she heard the voice coming from. She didn't find anything.

"But, I got places to be. Let's just get this over with." The man said and Keiko aimed another slash, but failed to hit him.

And then, as she heard a blade coming from the right, she went to block it.

Instead, she was stabbed in the abdomen by another blade to the left.

"You did a fine job guessing. You didn't know I had two though."

"Agh!" Keiko dropped her sword. The man kicked her, pushing her off of his blade and causing her to hit the stone wall.

I lost... Keiko slid down to the floor. I just... I couldn't see that he had two weapons.

Keiko put some pressure where she'd been stabbed.

"Now, for the demon whore. Should fetch me a few coins."

He's here to kill Ash?

Keiko tried to search for her weapon. Before she could find it, another person walked into the room.

"Stop!" Satsuhiro called out.

"Fuck."

Keiko heard a flurry of spells being cast, something flying out the window, and then silence.

Then, a hand was placed on her shoulder and Keiko flinched.

"It's me, it's me," Satsuhiro told her. "I'm going to heal you."

"I-Is Ash okay?" Keiko asked.

"She's fine."

Oh, oh, thank goodness. Keiko leaned her head against the stone as Satsuhiro healed her.

"Who was that?" She asked.

"I don't know," Satsuhiro told her. "If I had to guess, maybe some drunk bounty hunter or a mercenary who saw Ash transform and figured he'd get a few easy crowns if he killed her, showed her to the authorities. Probably followed us here and waited till I left."

"Just because of that? Just because she transformed?" Keiko asked.

"Maybe. I don't know." Satsuhiro replied. "Ah... she never woke up?" He asked.

"Uh, no."

"That's... that's not normal," Satsuhiro said. "Maybe if we give her some more time?"

As she waited for her wound to be healed, Keiko breathed in.

Ash. She thought. I don't envy this path you're walking on.

The hybrid didn't respond to her thoughts. Keiko reached and placed a hand on her forehead, just below her horns. She was still soundly asleep.