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Chapter 239: Vol. 4 – Chapter 38

Ash

“You’re going, then?” Keiko asked as Ash finished putting on her armor. She was the black dress over her armored arms and legs, as she’d been doing for some time now. She thought she looked ridiculous, but she did want to find out what this dress’s enchantment actually did. 

Hm… Though, if Vermia just left it sitting in her house instead of taking it with her, maybe it’s not that useful. Ignoring that, however, she took stock of everything she’d bring.  Got my map, got my Lust, and got some water,  she thought, throwing a bag containing a few bottles over her shoulder.

“Yeah,” Ash answered. “I’ll try to be back before the nighttime, but… I dunno, shit happens.” 

Keiko walked up to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. 

“Good luck out there,” Keiko flashed a brilliant smile at her and Ash felt her heart warming up. 

“… Thanks,” she muttered and the two parted ways as Ash left the Manor. 

The half-demon walked out onto Amber’s dirt streets, trying to focus on the multiple tasks ahead of her. First, she had to go ask the alchemist if a dragon eye that had partially decayed would work for the potion, then she’d go to the church west of the city, and after that, she’d head back to the mountain where Gurron died. All in all, she guessed it would take only a few hours, so long as she didn’t run into too much trouble. 

She spoke to the alchemist a few minutes later and the woman told her that as long as the dragon eye was still whole, it would work. If it had any bits pecked out of it by birds though in the time that the dragon had died, then it wouldn’t. 

Ash thought it was pretty unlikely that the dragon’s body would be left completely unharmed, but she needed to check Gurron’s body as it was the only option that didn’t involve heading to random mountains and hoping for dragons to arrive. 

So, with the eyes of the guards on her as they always were, she walked out of Amber and began heading for the church. 

Now, let’s see… 

Almost as soon as she started though, something happened that surprised her. 

One drop, two, then three and suddenly, it was full-on raining. 

Hm?  Ash thought as she looked up and raindrops fell on her face.  Hasn’t rained since I got here and now, when I’m going to be walking through dirt for several hours, it does?  She thought, shaking her head. 

A little bit of water wasn’t about to deter her though, and after folding her map up and throwing it in her bag, Ash started walking as the dirt under her boots slowly turned into mud. Above, some thunder cracked in the grey sky, but Ash kept her eyes forward, determined. 

For now, those doubts and feelings that had invaded her mind when she came across Bin, at the bottom layer of Amber, and the half-demon woman with her family over by the church weren’t here. She wanted to act on this motivation for as long as she could before those feelings inevitably returned. 

An hour passed before Ash arrived at her second of the three destinations she had in mind for today. Completely soaked, with her hair stuck to her face and her boots squishing into the ground uncomfortably, Ash approached the church. 

Well… At least I haven’t run into any monsters yet, she thought. 

It was as empty and as ruined as the other church was, with holes in the ceiling where the rain was currently pouring in from. The dirt on the ground, mixed with the water, formed a smell so foul that it made Ash want to activate this place and leave as soon as she could. So, she walked up to the altar, placed her hands on it, and closed her eyes. 

Okay, Lumina, do your thing, she thought and then, her hands glowed. After a while, they stopped, and she assumed her job was done here. 

At that point, Ash turned around and was about to walk out of the church, but what she saw made her freeze. 

… What?  Ash thought, as her eyes widened. Ash’s heart rate sped up and she wondered if she’d finally gone crazy. 

But, the image was there, and it wasn’t fading away.

A blonde woman with short hair, bright, kind eyes, and a thin, well-kept body was walking towards her. Kaori, naked and very much awake, was slowly approaching Ash. 

The half-demon subconsciously took a step back, but the image persisted and continued to approach her, with a wide grin on her face. 

“K-Kaori?” Ash’s throat felt so tight that she just barely managed to squeeze the word out. “Wh… What is…? You’re…” Her eyes roamed up and down Kaori’s body a couple more times, and Ash felt such a pure and honest elation forming in her heart that she teared up. 

Kaori was getting closer now, however, and that was when Ash noticed something particularly strange. Her arm, the one she’d lost during the battle for Pearl, was there. As she picked up on that, she noticed another strange fact, and that was the one that made her feel that something was up. 

Although it was still pouring outside, the woman did not have any water on her skin. 

“… Kaori?” Ash asked again, a tear rolling down her cheek as she narrowed her eyes at the woman. “Say something!” 

Kaori’s face remained unchanged. That wide grin was still aimed at Ash and only became a little wider as Kaori raised a hand and reached out for Ash.

The half-demon, however, moved away from her. 

… Something’s wrong.  Ash thought. 

“Gauntlets,” she muttered, transforming her  Lust. 

Something is absolutely wrong.  She thought, feeling shivers run up her spine as Kaori finally reached her personal space. 

Then, from one second to another, Kaori’s image disappeared. 

What replaced it was that of a woman-like monster with dozens of long fangs, who then tried to bite down on Ash’s neck. 

Dodging out of the way, Ash kicked it back and now, the creature’s real image fully appeared. It had smooth black hair and sickly grey skin. Its top half was that of a regular woman, save for the monstrous teeth in its mouth, but its bottom half was that of a giant centipede. 

Level 64

MP: 300/500

“Keh… keh… keh… keh…” A high-pitched voice came out of the monster, laughing.

And, at that moment, the shock that Ash had experienced when she saw Kaori’s image could only be matched by the raw anger that erupted from her when she realized she’d been tricked. 

Ash gritted her teeth. 

No strategy came to her mind. No well-thought-out plan of attack. All she knew was that she was going to try as hard as she could to slaughter this thing.

The creature then opened its mouth and a ball of flame formed, shooting out at Ash. She side-stepped it and ran forward, holding her gauntlet forward. The monster backed away then, exiting the church and moving under the rain before it turned back toward Ash, raising its head a second time. 

Ash let go of her bag, throwing it on a ruined bench to her right, and then, she charged toward it. Midway through, however, the creature screamed. When it did, Ash’s body completely froze. 

What?  She remained there, in that position with one gauntlet outstretched and one foot far in front of the other as the creature then formed another ball of flames in front of its mouth. 

It shot out at her, and just before it could strike Ash, the half-demon regained control of her body and she ducked, the sphere soaring over her head. 

What the hell did it do? That ability made Ash pause. As angry as she was, she hadn’t run into something like that before, and if that creature landed the ability at a bad time, it could mean her death. 

If she didn’t kill the creature first, that was. Realizing that, Ash switched weapons. 

“Sword,” she thought, transforming her gauntlets so that she could free up her right hand, and then, she raised it up. 

Quickly, now that she’d gotten used to this, her  Divine Spear  formed in her palm and she threw it out, aimed at the creature’s human torso. 

However, using its centipede half to bend out of the way, the creature dodged, and the beam of light struck the dirt behind it, exploding and sending mud into the air. 

… It’s quick.  Ash thought as she put her sword in front of her.  What should I…? 

Then, the monster opened its mouth again. 

Wait, Barrier! 

It was an ability that she’d learned a very long time ago and hadn’t had a real reason to use since then, but here, it was what her instincts thought of. 

“Protect me from the evils of this world!” She said, just barely managing to get the last syllable out before the monster screeched. 

A white shield formed in front of her, from the same hand she’d used to launch her spear, and she saw some green spell ripple in front of her. 

Okay, now! 

Ash charged forward again. This time, she managed to reach it and, as the creature saw her, it reacted by slashing at Ash’s abdomen. The half-demon made no effort to prevent that from happening, and as the monster slashed both her body and her dress, Ash stabbed through its chest. 

The monster shrieked, falling back as its blood and Ash’s own mixed in the air, while the half-demon put her weight behind her sword and pushed the monster back. She pinned it to the ground and the monster’s cry intensified as Ash’s earlier anger surged back into her. 

Because of that, she let go of her sword, raised her right foot, and proceeded to stomp down on its head. Once, twice, as its face broke under her heel, Kaori’s image flashed in front of her eyes and it served to encourage Ash further. 

Eventually, a message popped up. 

EXP Gained: 200

EXP: 485/720

By the time she was done kicking it, all that was left were several red pieces of what had once been a head, sinking into the mud. 

Taking a deep breath, Ash tried to calm herself down and pulled her sword out of its body, as her own violet blood poured down her body from the gash the monster had made. She looked down at herself, seeing that her dress had been torn, and cast the basic healing spell on herself. 

“… I need to get my fucking map,” Ash finally muttered as she turned away from the monster’s broken body.