Note: Ash and Kasumi see some fairly messed-up stuff here. Just saying.
---
Kasumi
The half-demon pointed at the violet beams as Kasumi nearly held a hand up to cover her nose. The scent of blood coming from the river was almost too much for her.
"That's where we're headed," she stated. "If this is going to be anything like the last time I did this, there are going to be demons at the end we'll need to get through. Let's go."
Wordlessly, Kasumi started to walk towards them, moving along the Sanguine River, Ash trailed behind her.
Of course, neither said a word for the longest time. Both kept their eyes on the beams, making their way closer. The half-demon was the one to break the silence, clearing her throat and saying:
"Let me know if you see any enemies."
"Mhm," Kasumi hummed.
"Use those Illusion spells too. Don't forget."
"Obviously," Kasumi rolled her eyes. "It's why I'm here, what sort of fool do you take me for?"
"I'm just saying," Ash sighed. "In case you get scared or something."
Kasumi narrowed her eyes at her.
And of course, you wouldn't, right? She thought. Not like your own kind could scare you.
"I will be fine."
"Well, good," Ash shrugged.
"Great."
"... Cool?" Ash stopped, raising a brow at her.
Kasumi narrowed her eyes at her for a brief moment before turning away.
"... Okay," Ash muttered before following.
Just move faster, Kasumi told herself, walking with her eyes closed. The sooner you're done with this, the be-
"Look out!" Ash called out.
Then, a hand grabbed her right leg. She opened her eyes and looked down, finding that some corpse had launched itself out of the water and was holding onto her.
"AH!" She shrieked and fell back. The monster was still grabbing her.
Level ?
I can't see its level? Kasumi thought. A demon coming from the water!?
It growled at her, blood gurgling in its mouth before a sword went straight through its head. A small splatter of its violet blood fell on Kasumi's face. She continued to stare at it as Ash removed her sword and the monster fell limp.
"Easy," Ash muttered. Then, she walked over to Kasumi and held a hand out.
Shaking her head, regaining her senses, Kasumi ignored it and stood up on her own.
"Whatever," Ash said, turning away.
"..." Kasumi kept her mouth closed, glancing back at the water.
Ash pointed at the trees to their left.
"We should probably go through these woods," she said. "Avoid the demons in the water."
Kasumi started walking towards the forest before Ash did.
Feeling a small percentage more annoyed than she already was, she led the way through the woods while Ash remained behind her. Get your act together. Kasumi rolled her neck. Just move as fast as you can, get to those beams, and...
Something mechanical snapped. Kasumi looked down.
That's...
She blinked, looking at the contraption that had just ensnared her. She didn't even feel it.
Yet.
A bear trap on my...
"AAGHmmmm!" She closed her mouth mid-scream, trying to keep herself from alerting nearby demons. She fell, and Ash was next to her almost instantly, prying the machine off.
However, from behind a pair of trees up ahead, two thin demons emerged, grinning at Kasumi. Their eyes were fixed on her, even with Ash next to her, helping remove the bear trap.
They ran forwards.
"Demons!" Kasumi warned and Ash turned towards them.
With her sword, the half-demon stood up straight.
"Corruption spread, corruption launch!"
A black sphere emerged from her left palm and flew through the air, striking one of the demons and propelling it back. The other demon changed targets, running towards Ash. The half-demon dodged a bite at her neck and raised her sword.
With it, she stabbed through the side of the enemy's head, skewering it, violet blood falling on Ash's chest and shoulders. The other demon who had been hit by the Dark spell squirmed on the ground before trying to stand up in a frenzy. It growled and then charged at Ash. The half-demon stepped into it, reaching up and grabbing the creature by the neck. Then, she used her sword to stab through its abdomen, and the demon fell to the floor, lifeless.
All the while, Kasumi looked down at her right leg. The spot above her angle was practically ruined and the Savior was taking deep breaths to keep herself from crying about it.
Ash walked over to her quickly, some strange anger clear to see in her eyes as she cast a Light spell, and placed her hands over Kasumi's injured leg.
The wound healed within seconds, relief flooding Kasumi's body as Ash's spell worked.
"I haven't seen anything like that," Ash said, after taking a deep breath. Kasumi could see her making an effort to calm herself down, for some reason. "Didn't even know those things existed."
Kasumi didn't respond.
"Guess we need to be careful then," Ash stated, standing up.
Again, she extended a hand at Kasumi, who was on the ground.
Although the wound was healed, the thing about Light magic and injuries was that it wasn't uncommon for the injured spot to feel uncomfortable, even after being healed. People called these "ghost wounds", and Kasumi was feeling this at the moment.
So, as much as she didn't want to, she accepted the demon's help and stood up with her assistance.
Ash turned around wordlessly and started moving forwards again, however, now she had her eyes turned down to spot any traps.
Kasumi sighed.
I swear, she thought. If this is Alkoth's way of trying to teach me a lesson, I'm going to slap that god the next time I see him.
Following behind Ash, the two continued towards the beams in the distance.
With this being a mirror world, there were certain questions with regard to its mechanics that Kasumi had no answers to, but one was soon given to her. Apparently, these pocket dimensions did have weather. She knew this because as she and the half-demon continued to walk, it started to rain. A part of Kasumi wondered if that was happening because the real-world version of this place was experiencing rain as well, but there was no way of knowing that right now.
The dirt beneath their boots started to turn muddy and Ash stopped. Holding a hand up, she looked up at the sky, the rain falling on her body and washing the blood off of her. It was almost a storm, picking up so intensely that Kasumi nearly struggled to remain balanced. Ash, however, didn't seem to mind it too much, casually continuing to walk forwards.
Kasumi kept her eyes low and followed, feeling shame and embarrassment thanks to these recent moments swirling together in her mind. Automatically, as she usually did whenever she felt sad, she started to recall memories of better times.
She pictured herself back at her old home, carrying a sleepy Nozomi to her bed. Here, she would place a white sheet over her and smile down at her daughter before turning around to walk out of the room.
"Mom?" Nozomi said. Kasumi stopped.
"Yes?" She asked.
"... Can you stay?"
Kasumi's heart just about melted hearing that.
"Sure," she walked back up and grabbed a small chair, placing it next to the equally minute bed. She crossed her legs and looked for a book to read. She kept a few around for nights like these.
"Can you, *yawn*, sing?" She mumbled.
Kasumi blinked and chuckled.
"Aw, sweetie, of course!" Kasumi put the book away and cleared her throat.
Now, walking behind Ash, as the two of them continued on the path, she hummed the song to herself behind the half-demon. It helped the time pass as she quickly lost herself in that memory, her eyes absent-mindedly roaming the ground. However, eventually, she nearly ran into Ash, who had stopped in front of her.
"Hm?" Kasumi went beside Ash, seeing the half-demon with her mouth gaping, her jaw practically on the floor.
What's...?
When she looked ahead to see what had caused Ash to halt, her expression became virtually the same one.
The only way she could describe it was a mosaic of utter chaos, caused by a legion of demons that stood in front of them. The forest had cleared out and ahead was almost a desert, with several hundreds of demons intertwined. Lust demons having sex, gluttony demons devouring their own allies, wrath demons fighting to the death and ripping each other to shreds in between it all. Shrieks of pain, pleasured moans, enraged roars and growls filled the area.
The experience was enough to render Kasumi speechless.
Ash looked to the left and then to the right. The horde of demons stretched endlessly in both directions.
"Can't walk around them... I, uh..." Ash scratched her head, "I think this would be a good time to test out those Illusion spells."
Kasumi took a deep breath.
"What levels are they?" She asked with a somewhat raspy voice.
"I... I can't really tell," Ash said, "they're all kind of too close to each other, but... I think I see a few level 30s, a few level 31s."
"Then, we should be fine..." Kasumi nodded. Then, she closed her eyes. "I can keep up my invisibility spell for about two minutes, so we need to move through these things fast."
"Right."
"Blanket of reality, cover our visage."
Invisibility cloaks were placed over her and Ash, and they began to move forwards.
The sounds grew louder as they got closer. The sights were more detailed and now, Kasumi's heart was turning cold as she tried her hardest to keep herself from glancing at what was happening around her, but she couldn't tear her eyes away. To her left, she saw a female Lust demon and a male Wrath demon having sex, the Lust demon riding on top of him, when suddenly the Wrath demon stabbed its right arm straight through her chest. With its left arm, it slashed across her gut, and the Lust demon's entrails fell on top of him. To her right, she saw a Gluttony demon that had two other demons pinned underneath its body. Casually, it ripped their heads off and swallowed them both in one gulp.
Kasumi nearly vomited. Ash, however, had her eyes steeled as she moved in front of Kasumi. The crimson-haired Savior tried to focus on the half-demon, using her confident image to keep herself grounded. Just stay behind her... Kasumi told herself.
In between every image her mind captured of what was happening around her, Nozomi's face, her torn body, would flash in front of Kasumi's eyes.
She didn't even realize she'd been doing this, but eventually, she ended up grabbing Ash's arm, using her to keep herself moving. Ash glanced back but didn't say a word, of course, as they continued to slice through the demons.
Two demons crashed into them and the girls fell to the ground. Next to them, two Wrath demons were clawing at each other wildly. Kasumi gasped but Ash was quick to put her hand over the Savior's mouth.
One of the Wrath demons raised a hand, brought it down, and dug its clawed thumbs into the other demon's eyes, killing it. The two Saviors stood up and now, Kasumi was holding on even more tightly than before.
Ahead was one Gluttony demon that was breaking apart a Wrath demon's corpse to eat it in smaller pieces, but Kasumi saw that it raised its head at them.
Ash stopped. Kasumi stopped as well.
"What is it?" Kasumi whispered.
"Level 34," Ash whispered back.
Shit. Kasumi thought.
"We're almost through," Ash said as the Gluttony demon stood up. "I think we make a run for it."
"Yes," Kasumi replied. "Most of them will be too distracted, and we can outrun this thing, I think."
"Okay. Then, get ready."
Kasumi took a deep breath and then tapped Ash's shoulder twice. Ash nodded.
"Go."
With that, they began to sprint.
Instantly, the Gluttony demon's tongue shot out from its mouth to wrap itself around Kasumi's right leg, but the half-demon was quick to slash it in half with her sword.
"Keep going!" Ash said, keeping her sword outstretched, aimed at the Gluttony demon, who was starting to approach.
Kasumi ran forwards. She ran as fast as she could, as far as her legs would take her. The demons cleared out and soon, she was running alone in a field of dirt and rocks. She only stopped once she was too tired to continue. Her invisibility spell faded and Kasumi went to sit by a boulder.
Putting her hands on her head, she coughed once and took short, quick breaths. She looked to her left, towards the beams. They're not even close. She noted. This is way too fucked.
Someone walked closer and Kasumi flinched.
"It's me," Ash quickly said, raising her hands, "it's just me. That thing couldn't run for shit," the half-demon stated. "Come on, let's keep going."
"Hold on," Kasumi said between breaths. "I need a moment."
Ash looked at her and then, she transformed her sword back into a cube.
"Alright."
The half-demon sat down next to her as Kasumi closed her eyes. She reached into the bag she'd brought with her and pulled out a flask containing water. Taking desperate sips, her breathing slowed and she started to calm her nerves.
"If it weren't for that one Gluttony demon," Ash suddenly said. "This would have been pretty clean. If we find more demons around level 30, we should be fine."
"Mhm..." Kasumi nodded and hummed, not saying anything else.
Instinctively, she started humming the same song from before. Ash noticed that.
"What song is that?"
"Why do you ask?" Kasumi replied quietly.
"It's the same one you were humming, I figure it must mean something, I dunno." She shrugged.
Kasumi scoffed, turning to look at her. There was no real kindness in the half-demon's eyes, just curiosity. Kasumi turned away.
"... Something I used to sing to my daughter."
"You have a daughter?" Ash asked.
"Had." Kasumi quickly corrected her and Ash raised a brow.
"Oh."
And just like that, the conversation died. Kasumi stood up.
"I'm good, let's keep moving."
Ash nodded and did the same. Then, wordlessly, they continued on their way to the violet beams.
---
An hour passed where the two of them saw nothing but dirt and skeletons belonging to long-dead humans and demons. They encountered a few enemies here and there, but nothing they couldn't sneak through.
The beams were fairly close now. With any luck, Kasumi thought, we'll be done in a bit.
"Hey," Ash said.
"Hm?" Kasumi looked over at her.
"Where's your Savior's Weapon?" She asked.
"Collecting dust in a bag back at Sapphire," Kasumi quickly replied.
"... What?" Ash stopped.
"Hm?" Kasumi stopped too, equally confused.
"You... you didn't even bring it?" Ash raised a brow.
"I didn't," Kasumi confirmed with a nod.
"Okay, why?" Ash asked, stupefied.
"... Because I don't care to use the weapons the gods have given us," Kasumi shrugged. "I don't need them," she tapped the daggers at her sides.
"But... that makes no sense, I don't think any of the gods care about whether you use their weapons or not."
"Yeah, I doubt they care about anything. But, I care," Kasumi replied. "And I refuse to use that thing. If I'm being honest with you, half-demon," Kasumi continued, "I don't really care what happens to me, you, or anyone else. I'm only here because I know the Council will hound me if I refuse to help. But really, whether we win or we lose is of no concern to me." Kasumi muttered. "And, whether I live or die, I'd rather do so with my own weapons. My own tools. I bought these daggers before I ever became a Savior, and I learned Illusion magic before then too. So, they're what I use. If I did use my Savior's Weapon," Kasumi concluded, "I'd be sponsoring the same gods that let my daughter get killed by bloodthirsty demons. I'd rather not."
"..." Ash put her hands on her hips. "I don't think you understand how the gods work."
"Oh?" Kasumi chuckled, stopping. "Enlighten me then."
The beams were closer now, probably only a few minutes away as Ash and Kasumi both halted.
"They can't really do much," Ash said. "At least, right now. Apparently, Niven, who's controlling the demons, removed their power or some shit. All they can do is influence, but even then, they can't force anyone or anything to do whatever they want."
"And how exactly do you know that?" Kasumi asked.
"Because I've talked to them," Ash replied casually.
"... So, you've had those dreams too, then?" Kasumi turned back towards the beams and started walking to them.
"You too?" Ash asked. "And, yeah, I have."
"And you know that they're 'limited', apparently, because that's what they said?"
"Yeah."
"Well, simple, they're probably lying."
"Why would they lie about that?" Ash asked.
"I don't know, and I don't care," Kasumi replied harshly. "My mind was made up when I saw my daughter's lifeless body."
Ash sighed, but she didn't respond. Instead, they continued until they were standing at a hill that overlooked a vast field of ruins. There were broken buildings and isolated, random walls of stone. Here, they could see three pyramids ahead, with just one demon standing between them.
"A single Nightmare?" Ash said.
"Is that a surprise?" Kasumi asked.
"Last time I did this there were three," Ash explained. "I can't really see its level from here."
"Let's get closer then."
The pair walked up, moving behind the random ruined walls. The Nightmare ahead slowly started to come into view. It was a tall Wrath demon, carrying what looked like two whips in its hands. Its eyes were aimed at the ground in front of it. Once they were close enough to get a read, Ash sighed.
"Shit."
"What?"
"Level 35," Ash stated. "Your Illusion spells won't work on it, right?"
"Definitely not," Kasumi replied.
"And... That thing's got 11 levels on me, it's a bit much," Ash lamented.
"What do we do then?" Kasumi asked. "If you can't fight it and I can't use my spells, then..."
Ash looked down.
As she did so, Kasumi looked around, trying to find some sort of option, but there was nothing around them but dirt and stone.
"Well..." Ash started, "we're going to have to get creative. And... I have an idea, but you're not gonna like it."
At that, Kasumi raised a brow.
"And that idea is...?"
"If you can't use Illusions to distract it, maybe we'll need something a little more real... And by that, I mean you."
Kasumi blinked. She started to understand what Ash meant and she scowled.
"You can't be serious."
"I don't really see another way to get to those things," Ash stated. "And, listen, once they're destroyed, we'll be sent back out to our world, so..." she shrugged. "I think it's the best idea we've got."
"You want me to stand in front of a Nightmare, and let it chase me down while you sneak behind it and try to take out the pyramids before it kills me?"
"Basically," Ash replied.
Kasumi looked at her, and then back at the pyramids.
Shit. We don't really have another choice, do we?
"Fine."
"Okay. Then..." Ash said. "Whenever you're ready."
Kasumi glanced at the Nightmare and nodded.
"No sense in stalling."
So, Kasumi stood up from where they were crouched and walked forwards.
All that talk about living or dying, she thought. I guess it's time to put my money where my mouth is.
Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself and paced forwards. Eventually, the Nightmare saw her. Its blank eyes seemed to raise to meet her and Kasumi stopped. Ash was already sneaking to the left.
Kasumi took a deep breath and yelled out:
"HEY, ASSHOLE!" The Nightmare instantly started to walk towards her, its whips dragging behind on the dirt. Okay, there we go. Attention secured, I guess.
Ideally, all she needed was to distract it for at most, a minute. If destroying these things was a simple matter, as soon as Ash had the space to work, then this was effectively over.
However, as the Nightmare raised a hand, holding a whip, and pulled it back, Kasumi still doubted she'd make it through this.
And then, when the whip cracked and only missed her head because Kasumi stepped aside at the last moment, that feeling was reinforced.
Kasumi turned around and started running away. She glanced back, to see if an attack was coming her way.
There wasn't any. In fact, the Nightmare itself wasn't there. Instead, Kasumi raised her head and saw it descending upon her from the sky. She fell back and the creature landed in front of her, stomping the ground and producing a web of cracks where it had landed.
Eyes widened, Kasumi watched as it pulled back both of its whips. Then, rolling to the side, she just narrowly managed to avoid a strike that broke through the part of the ground where she'd just been. Quickly, it went to do the same thing again.
But she was far too slow to dodge this time.
It pulled back its whips and yanked its hands towards her, however, instead of colliding with her body like it had with the ground, the whips wrapped themselves around her left arm and her right leg.
And then, the creature spun, and Kasumi was lifted into the air. 2 times, 3 times, the creature continued to spin, building up speed, and then, the whips unwrapped themselves, launching Kasumi into a wall of stone. Her back cracked and Kasumi fell to the ground, coughing up blood immediately.
The impact was so harsh, she felt like her entire body was broken.
Blood... In my lungs... She thought, reaching up to clutch her chest and coughing up more of that red liquid. I can't breathe. My body is broken.
The Nightmare started running towards her.
Kasumi didn't even have the strength to raise a hand. It jumped up, with the intent of crashing onto her.
And then, suddenly, the world changed in the blink of an eye. Instead of hot dirt, she was now laying in cold snow, still coughing up blood. No Nightmare, no violet sky, no stone walls.
Ash was by her side a few seconds later.
"Hold on, I've got you," Ash said.
Kasumi's response was to throw up more blood from her mouth.
"For Light of grace to reach those in need, Lumina, allow our faith to dictate the power of our words. Let no prayer we utter be left unheard. To this end, show yourself in our actions and let your brilliance be seen."
The half-demon said the incantation so quickly that if Kasumi hadn't been in the process of dying, she would have been impressed. Instead of being healed though, a white aura covered Kasumi's body. Then, Ash nodded to herself.
"Okay, now," Ash said and started to mutter an incantation that Kasumi tuned out.
Mainly, because she was now passing out, a freezing feeling all around her.
Finally, was her last thought before the world went black.
---
Her eyes opened, and everything around her changed a second time. Now, instead of the cold snow, she was on an exceptionally soft bed. Candles were lit around her, and she tried to sit up, but a hand stopped her.
"Whoa, whoa, easy. You still need to warm up. You only just got here."
It was a voice she didn't recognize. She looked around from where she was.
"Is..." Her voice was scratchy, like that of a smoker. "Is this an inn?"
"Aye," the girl beside her, someone dressed in a white and brown outfit, said. "Seriously, don't move. Take your time, you're probably disoriented. It happens when people get really close to dying and then someone heals them back up to full health out of nowhere, at least, that's what a nurse once told me."
Is that what happened?
"Your... ehm, friend, the half-demon," the girl said, a little bashfully, "is outside, downstairs. She paid for the room, so you don't have to worry about that either."
Ash?
The door to the room opened.
"Is she...?" The very person they'd been talking about walked in. She looked over at Kasumi and gave a sigh of relief.
"Yes, she'll be fine. It's just, her body needs time to process that she got healed, is all."
"Uh... Okay."
"Oh, I'll bring her some water, excuse me," the girl said, walking out. Ash moved to a chair beside the bed and sat down.
"Well, that was close," Ash told her. "Even as fast as I tried to move, I couldn't stop the Nightmare from getting a nasty hit in."
Kasumi stared at her for a moment and didn't respond. Instead, she looked up at the ceiling.
"Uh... Yeah, listen, I'm going to go tell the Lord that we closed the portal. You've got the room to yourself for a day, so, uh, enjoy it."
Again, Kasumi said nothing.
Ash nodded to herself and stood up.
"Alright. See you. Uh, by the way," Ash continued, "I didn't know about your kid. That's really shitty. I'm sorry that happened to you."
There wasn't really too much emotion behind her words. She let them sit for a moment and then Kasumi heard footsteps drawing away from her.
"... Thank you," Kasumi suddenly said.
Ash stopped.
"Hm?" She turned around.
"Just that. Thank you."
Kasumi then turned away from the half-demon, forcing herself not to see her reaction to that.
"Yeah, you're welcome," Ash muttered, and with that, she left the room.
And with that exchange, Kasumi closed her eyes, fighting off the images of her daughter that came to her mind. All she wanted right now was some peace.
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