Moonlight Demon

The Next Day

With Sinneah making it clear that she couldn't give an answer to Ash just yet, the half-demon figured it was best to move on to the next step today. 

"Don't let your guard down," Satsuhiro told her as Ash finished packing up some essentials for her trip, at the Manor's front yard. "Anything can happen in that place."

"I know," Ash replied. "What kind of monsters can I expect to find there?" 

"Here," Satsuhiro said before passing a sheet of paper over to her. "I asked around and wrote down some of the possible enemies." 

"Their levels?" 

"That's another thing," Satsuhiro sighed. "The Mist Realm is one of the few places in the world that isn't level-locked." 

"What does that mean?" 

"It means you're just as likely to encounter an enemy that's level 1, as you are a monster that's level 60. There are many, many reasons people avoid that place, Ash." 

"Hm. Gotcha," Ash nodded. "Anything else I should know?" 

"I think that's all." 

"Okay," Ash replied as she threw her backpack over her shoulders. She was wearing Vermia's dress, her gauntlets, and her boots. To her right, Keiko was standing a short distance away, with sunlight draped over her as she watched Ash finish getting ready. "I'm going, then." 

"Good luck," Satsuhiro told her before he turned around and went back inside, leaving Keiko and Ash standing at the highly decorated front of the Manor alone. 

Keiko walked forward and gave Ash a long-lasting embrace. Just before they separated, she planted a small kiss on Ash's lips, and as the two of them looked into each other's eyes, the half-demon hesitated to turn away from her. 

"Stay safe out there," Keiko told her. 

"Yeah, I won't do anything stupid, don't worry." 

She wasn't too sure she believed her own words there, but she tried to ease Keiko's worries a bit. Finally, she couldn't stall any longer, and so, she turned around and, determined and focused, she began walking out of Amber. 

Seeing Keiko's hopeful eyes looking back at her always served as a good reminder as to why she was doing this. It made her understand that, at this point, a huge part of what she wanted was just to see Keiko be happy. She didn't know where things were going, what problems the two of them would encounter down the line, but whatever happened, she knew she'd be there whenever the Zayama needed her. 

In her backpack, she held some food, water, her map, and the paper Satsuhiro had passed. She expected to be done with this today, but the Mist Realm was a little farther away than any of the places Ash had gone to so far. At worst, she thought she'd be finished at around midnight, and maybe she'd return early next morning. 

With a hand hovering over her  Lust, just in case anyone got any ideas, she exited the city and soon began the long walk toward her destination. 

---

Kasumi

With Ash having decided to go and get her little trip out of the way today, Kasumi didn't really think she had much to do. So, she decided to spend her morning laying in bed, half-naked, as she usually did. 

Some knocks on her door interrupted that, though. 

... Seriously?  She groaned.

Reluctantly, the redhead got up and walked over to the door, where, as soon as she opened it, she was met with a terribly bright smile, and she narrowed her eyes a little. 

Sure, Kasumi was going to make an effort to better herself these days, but that didn't mean her introverted nature had just faded away from one day to another. 

"What is it?" She asked Metsumi, who was standing there with her hands on her hips. 

"Let's head into the city!" Metsumi told her and Kasumi instantly hung her head. 

Oh, please, fuck, this was exactly what I was afraid of. 

"I-I don't think I..." She muttered but struggled to find a good excuse. "I mean, I'm a little tired after all the... stuff." 

"Eh, don't worry," Metsumi waved a hand. "A bit of walking and you'll be just as energized as I am!" 

"I don't think that could ever happen unless some serious magic is involved, but, look," she said, but she was cut off. 

"We aren't going to do a whole tour, or whatever, don't worry, but I think it would be worth it to get a feel for things. You know?" Metsumi argued and Kasumi paused. 

"..." 

She's just gonna keep insisting, isn't she?  Kasumi thought.  Fine, fine. Let's just get it out of the way then. 

"Alright, sure," Kasumi sighed. "Let me get dressed." 

"Great!" Metsumi grinned and gave her a thumbs-up. "See you in a bit." 

"Yeah." 

Then, she closed the door and stretched her arms.  Hm, well, considering that whole Arcane business, I guess it would be good to try to learn this Amber's layout at least. Just in case I need to sprint out of here. 

Having reached that conclusion, she put on some proper clothes. Nothing special, just a long-sleeved white shirt and tight brown pants, and once she was done, she walked out of her room and dragged herself out to the garden. Here, she found Ash's group all standing around, seemingly waiting for her. 

"Hey," she greeted them. 

"Oh, she's here!" Metsumi clapped her hands together. "Okay, everyone, let's go!" 

"... Hmph." Wordlessly, Kasumi walked behind everyone, largely looking to remain in the back throughout this little thing Metsumi wanted to do. 

"First things first," Metsumi began listing off, "let's get Yumi's naginata from that blacksmith, then, we can go around and shop a little, and after that, well, we can just do whatever comes to mind." 

"Keep your eyes on your pockets," Satsuhiro warned them all. "Lots of thieves in Amber." 

As Kasumi stood at the back of the group, she kept her arms crossed and waited for them to get going. However, she felt someone's eyes on her. Beside her, Keiko had been looking at her, and Kasumi returned the gaze with a raised brow. 

"Hm?" 

"S-Sorry," Keiko said, shaking her head with an awkward smile. "I was just... remembering." 

"What do you mean?" Kasumi asked as Metsumi decided they were ready and the group started moving out of the Manor. 

"Ehm, back at Pearl..." Keiko muttered. "You were there when I first unlocked my Spirit Eye. We fought together against the demons."

Hm... Oh.  Kasumi quickly recalled what she meant. She and Keiko had been held up at the back of the city, with all of the civilians, as the demons had been attacking. Out of nowhere, the place they were in had been breached, though, and Kasumi helped repel the incoming demons. 

"Guess so," Kasumi shrugged. 

"It was a moment I treasure," Keiko smiled at her. "You did very well that night, too." 

"Thanks," Kasumi replied. "I guess." 

However, as that was brought up, it did make Kasumi wonder about something. 

"Actually... Come to think of it, why didn't you go out to help Ash?" She asked. 

"Huh?" 

"Isn't she going to go fight some monsters or whatever?" Kasumi asked. "You're pretty good at that sort of thing, from what I've seen. You weren't feeling up to it or something?" 

"Uhm, no, I..." Keiko looked away. "Well... The monsters there," she quickly said, clearing her throat, "they've far too strong for me. I couldn't last long against them." 

"Aren't you and Ash around the same level?" Kasumi asked. "Even if she's been getting some work done, you're probably still pretty strong, right?" 

"..." Keiko blinked. Then, she smirked a little. "Kasumi, have... Have you not checked Ash's level yet?" 

"Hm? Nah," Kasumi shook her head. "I don't really care to know that sort of thing." 

"Ah. Well," Keiko chuckled. "When Ash returns, be sure to do so." 

"Uh, sure," Kasumi replied then, as the group continued, heading for the Manor's entrance.

However, before they even walked out the gates, they found a small crowd up ahead. Many civilians, most of them wearing ragged, dirty clothes, were chanting yelling at the two knights guarding the gate. Kasumi could see a few people wearing white robes, trying to calm the group of citizens down as she and the others approached. 

Hm?  Kasumi looked around as she and the others hesitated. 

"Uh, is this normal?" Kasumi asked. 

"No... What's going on?" Metsumi asked, about to walk up to one of the knights.

"Let me ask," Satsuhiro said, moving up to one of the men in the robes. 

"Savior," one of them turned around, acknowledging him, "please, remain inside, we have this all under control." 

"Senator, what's happening?" Satsuhiro asked, from behind the metal gates. 

"Nothing serious. The roads have been exceptionally dangerous as of late, therefore," the man responded, "public travel outside of the city is temporarily being paused. You, of course, can come and go as you please, however." 

"..." Kasumi raised a brow. "Wait, you're saying the road's being blocked?" 

"Yes, for the time being," the senator replied. "Again, it will be sorted out in a few days, do not worry." 

"Can we leave the Manor, though?" Satsuhiro asked, with a raised brow. 

"Of course, of course," the senator replied. 

However, Kasumi found a piece of that information to be strange. 

... Then, why would they let me and the others in? Is the road only blocked for people who are leaving? Besides, we came here all the way from Jade and we didn't run into many monsters at all. What the hell do they mean, 'the roads have been dangerous'? Says who?

"Alright then," Satsuhiro replied. "Thank you. Everyone, come on. Let's go." 

And so, ignoring this, the group continued on their way, as the yells of angry civilians rang out behind them.