Belrigger struggled to keep up with Asthons overwhelming speed advantage and shifted focus from assault to clear defense in short order, anticipating the boys assault from behind rather than a frontal one, and met the blades woth his forearms crossed over his chest. The kick was not so much avoided as it had fallen short by a hairs length to harmlessly ruffle his silk shirt.
Belriggers lips turned to a Mirthless smile. Bare handed against Asthon was a futile fight, eventually it would be Bels loss. A single glance at the shallow cut on his forearm was a clear indication of it.

Rising to his full height, he raised his hand in Mithrils direction and motioned with his fingers. "Bring it to me."

The fight was temporarily delayed as Mithril approached the Master while carrying a heavy and polished wooden case, long and smooth with gold filagree worked into the surface. Hesitantly, he opened the case and Belrigger took up the last of his prizes. The sword gave off a frightening chill as it left the protective case, Belriggers smile widened as he listened to horrible new thoughts invading his mind, thoughts he had been ignoring for many years. All brought to life as he held a weapon for the first time in what felt like centuries.

Ignoring the etiquette of a proper duel, Belrigger came on strong with a heavy downward swing but arrested the momentum as it reached chest level, suddenly seinging to the right and back, preparing a thrust.

Flame Brooks

Flame saw the older youth join him in combating the cultists, before asking whether he was telling the truth. He nodded, then added, "I'm with the Art Fortyes for now, yes. And I'll take the front, then - Good luck to you."

Curt but sincere were what Flame was going for as he instinctively went to the front, guiding the people to the guards as the latter presumably moved in the direction of the Noble's District (?). Speaking of Nobles, where was Gris Art Fortye, anyway? Or did he lie about coming to the Magic Show?

A chill went through his spine as he realized that the Oni Nobleman might have sent Flame off to distract him from his hunt for Ashton. Damnit, I should have kept my cynicism longer!, were more thoughts.

Ashton Andrews

Ashton knew better than to underestimate Belrigger, but the apperance of a magical golden sword with a magical chill that boded nothing good for him was unexpected. Now the older man had a further reach advantage as well as a weapon, but Ashton's mind was clear, clear enough to see that Belrigger will win in a frontal assault regardless of whether he was direct, cunning, or used a mix of the two.

So he used another Flash Step, his magically-enhanced speed allowing him to dash to Bellrigger's left once more - He knew from his training sessions that his 'master' was ambidexterous, able to use both sides of his body with ease, but that just meant that left and right were equally unsafe.

Using the Gladiator Master's superior height against him, Ashton ducked under the man's arms and guard, striking at the man's leg and knee with his daggers, carefully avoiding the sword as much as possible. Knowing that to stay in one place too long was a death sentence, Ashton darted back and attempted to roll to Belrigger's behind once more, one dagger raised to parry any turnaround or counterattack, the other - his right - ready to cut at the larger man's back legs. However, Ashton left a way out for himself - He had learned that locking himself to one course of action only resulted in calamity.

Belrigger assumed the course of events would revolve around speed. That had been Ashtons greatest advantage and perhaps his most damaging weakness against an opponent with more experience, something you simply could not teach no matter how good a student. The tactics weren't entirely obvious but the Master was a veteran of thousands of battles, wielded a hundred kinds of weapons, and bested nearly every enemy he had ever encountered.
When Ashton stepped forward, the game was on in earnest.

Lunging to his left as Ashton twitched, the very moment before he flash stepped, Belrigger stretched his arm out wide to the left and felt the satisfying thud of the prodigal child slamming himself into the appendage. Flash step was useful to get a surprise but while stepping you were vulnerable, your body could never react to the sheer force of movement and that meant few opponents could strike effectively against it.
You had to know where they would be, if you hoped to avoid or counter the lightning quick move.

The blow was weak, more Asthons momentum dealing damage than Belriggers arm, but it had cancelled any followup they had as Belrigger brought the golden sword down in a whistling arc that would cut the lad clean in half. They could dodge it, back away, and try again, but it would be a gamble for both of them.
Bel had been lucky the boy went left. Had he gone right, they would have had a clean hit on his unprotected flank.

Ashton Andrews

Ashton was glad he wasn't hit on the head, otherwise he'd be unable to think up a solution to his problems. As it was, the best thing he can think of was to raise his daggers upward, crossing their blades together in a rough 'X', in order to catch the Golden Sword with his own Magical Blades. As he felt what was presumably the larger weapon's weight, Ashton was brought down to one knee - A vulnerable position. Pushing his Magic and Ideal Form to the limit, Ashton darted to his own left in an attempt to sidestep Belrigger entirely, then began raining dagger strikes at the larger man anew. A normal boy would be tiring by now, especially due to his speed-oriented strategy.

But Ashton was enhanced by Magic and Od Laguna's power. He was not going to tire out so easily.

@Zelosse

"Oh my." Mistress Vertti followed after Grisaia "Last week was enough excitement for me!"

The guards were starting to become more organized, but it was clear they were scared. These were town guards, little more than a device to deter a thief from stealing. They were woefully equipped to deal with a rush like this, let alone from a group of cultists. What made cultists so dangerous wasn’t that the cultists were automatically Superior to demihuman bandits, but that they were often organized and deployed around an arch bishop. Their power was unfathomable to most. Even the weakest ones could take over towns and cities by themselves. The bandits were a job for soldiers, and the cultists were for special forces. They were way out of their element with this threat.

The cultists fell easily enough. Their numbers hadn’t really started spilling in yet, but the group continued to move. Everyone’s holding out at the noble district! A guard called out. Keep moving everyone! Captain Crunch is coming to offer support. We just need to keep moving.

The group was hardly organized, but it was moving through the golden quarter steadily enough. It seemed they would be heading to all the households soon enough.

---

The giant’s grin only grew. He did not avert his eyes as Mie started to change, but he hardly planned on sticking around. ”It’s good to see you are passionate about something. And what is passion but love?” He stepped outside without another word, and Mie was on her way.

The rooftops were a safe place to travel for the most part, but she immediately hit resistance on the way to the Vertti household. All of the servants and a few soldiers had stayed behind to secure a safe zone for the evacuating civilians. Some of them were even stationed on the rooftops to get a better vantage point. Her cultist garbs were perhaps not the best thing to get closer in. That, and a sole demihuman showing up without an escort could look suspicious. It took some time, but Mie was able to make her way inside undetected.

But now what? She was inside the Vertti household, but she could hear the servants walking up and down the halls. They were surely going to notice a cultist should one appear.

---

"Alistairrrrrrrrrrr." Odessa shook him "You need to post more"

Captain Crunch groaned. ”I’m pretty sure the cultists are here specifically for the lot of you. But if you want to help, that would be great.” She pointed towards the road leading back towards the golden quarter. ”Mono’s forces are in the heroe’s district, but the docks were hit faster than we anticipated. We need to clear the way.” She charged forth.

Everyone’s training was paying off. The cultists were little more than fodder before them. Strangely, it seemed like some demihuman bandits were attacking alongside them. But it didn’t matter. Their numbers meant very little in these tight quarters. Ruffians who could do nothing but prey on those weaker than them.

”Lust! Lust! Where have the two of you run off to!?” The man calling louder than all the chaos was an elf in fancy duds. Aerith knew him as…it was too long to say, but the wild look in his eyes marked him as a cultist. He was standing on a rooftop. ”Oh well, I’ve located the witch. We’re going to the Vertti household once the trebuchet start firing, okay sweetie? Put on something nice for daddy!” He hopped backwards and two black wolves dove off the top of the roof into the crowd. Their horns marked them as devil beasts.

Grisaia didn't see any air of deception coming from the shorter blonde, so with a curt nod, the two split, Flame taking the front while he remained at the rear with the Mistress. From where he was, he had a pretty good idea of where everyone was positioned, and as they approached more cultists, they swiftly managed to be taken down by one of the four of them protecting the group. It as little hard delegating his magical gate to the two full Spirits as both siphoned off of him whenever they needed to. He eventually found himself carrying a little girl that was lagging behind the group while his other hand was holding the Mistress' rather tightly.

The group found themselves heading towards the Noble District as the guards mentioned, where another group of people were fighting off the cultist coming after them. With there inclusion, the cultists were easy enough to handle, Grisaia mostly staying towards the outskirts of the fighting with the Mistress and the little girl while Adhara and Anubis jumped into the fray, earth and water working together in ways most had never seen. He was originally following a young girl with dove wings fly over the chaos they found themselves in, but they eventually made their way up to the sound of a voice, one that cut up and above the mess below.

Whoever this guy was...he was spouting utter nonsense at first; at least to him. However, the mention of his own surname made his blood boil. He needed to get beck to the mansion, but that would just put the Mistress in even more danger...leaving her here without anyone to watch over her...he couldn't. Pretty sure that Vertti also heard the elf cultist, Grisaia turned to her.
"What...wh-what should I do?" The boy asked, his voice small and quiet, much like a child's. A habit he's had long before being saved by Vertti. He was a servant after all. Whenever he was overloaded between choices, someone of higher standing would forcibly pick for him whether he liked it or not. This situation was no different.

---

Eiko's eyes lit up when Chieko and the others seemed to jump into action. A single flap of her wings and she was back in the air, zipping to and fro to catch any oncoming stragglers and bring them to some form of safety. She then twirled her staff much like a baton of wand and started to deal some damage from a higher ground. Like most, her attention was pulled to the elf cultist as he spoke. Hearing that the Vertti's had even more things to worry about other than Mie made the brunette even more stressed.

However, before she had any chance of following after the man, two devil beasts came down in his stead, one diving straight down on the winged Demi-Human. Luckily she had her staff to sort of hold back the beast from touching her entirely, but that didn't help much when she landed on her back, the wind knocked out of her and the strength leaving her arms for a second before starting to flail, hoping to get the horned beast off of her before anything else bad could happen.

Flame Brooks

They were carving a path to the Nobles' District, and Flame kept his ears and eyes open. It seemed that all paths converged on the Vertti household - It seemed they'd make their last stand there. As he reunited with Alistair, Flame noted the presence of Chieko and Aerith - So the Witches did save the latter after all. But that paled compared to the current priority - Making sure that the Demon Beasts did not eat the crowd of civilians with them!

Looking at Grisaia and Mistress Vertti, Flame said, "If you two are worried about your home, please lead the refugees there to prepare for a last stand! We'll hold back the Demon Beasts!"

Alistair, Aerith, and Chieko were presumably already fighting the monstrous wolves - it's not like Demon Beasts would give them time to give a speech before fighting. So Flame dove right in, launching a football-sized fireball at the flank of one of the wolves and making sure that said fireball was hot and forceful enough to give him time to get a few words in. And so he did, with Flame saying, "You guys! Glad to see you're all right!"

He then looked at Aerith and Chieko, avoiding eye contact with the latter as that'd be disrespectful to a Japanese person. Then he said, "A certain murderer will be bringing help. If we can last long enough, he'd find allies to hew his way to us."

Then Flame rolled away from the next attack by the wolf or wolves, dodging their moves as he threw a spray of fireballs at their approximate eye area.

---

Alistair's sole response to Odessa's nagging was to create a lot more space between he and Aerith. She certainly did not need to ask him twice. He remained silent otherwise, until Captain Crunch suddenly arrived with an unpleasant expression on her face and news that was even more unpleasant than that. It wasn't too long after that the cultists appear, almost as if on cue.

Since things had more or less gone sour at just about any opportunity they could, he honestly wasn't too surprised. But he was pissed. He wondered why these bastards couldn't just slit their own throats and save him the trouble and effort of personally dispatching them. The pursuit of experience was one Alistair traveled by nature, but the past weeks of constant reading, learning, and improving was not simply because he wished to better himself in those regards.

It's because he wanted to be able to kill these cultists with his own hands.

So naturally, when Chieko said they had a change of plans, Alistair had no objections. He almost seemed delighted as he growled out his next statement. "I certainly did not work so hard just so I could run like some coward. In fact, I'll see to it that those fucking degenerates start running from me." his words were, of course, not quite befitting of a 'hero', but he never claimed to be one. If people were saved as a result of his actions, he was happy to hear that. But right now, it seemed that wasn't his goal in the slightest.

"We're moving out, Odessa." he stated, then immediately followed Crunch as she lept into battle. He used his water magic to cut down cultists where he could, and even 'Stimulated' Crunch so she could fight more effectively. In the end, they proved more than a match from the cultists coming after them, which surprised even himself. It wasn't too long ago even one or two would be trouble.

Ultimately, the loud words of what appeared to be a particularly important cultists attracted Alistair's attention. He noted the man spoke of Lust, but naturally wasn't sure exactly who he was talking to. Either way, his plans were clear to everyone around, and they probably needed to be stopped. But before that, there was the matter of the wolves.

"Damned mutts." quick-moving targets with a lower profile tended to be harder to hit than bumbling cultists, so it was difficult to land any decisive blow without potentially causing friendly fire. But with the backup that had arrived, they might just be able to do this. "Lets hope he does so with haste. The mention of Lust and witches has me worried."

Main Road
Death count: 1
Reset Count: 4
@Crusader Lord@FamishedPants@BrokenPromise

---

They were swarmed, but it was easy. These cultists and bandits were mere fodder. The heavy club Chieko was wielding slammed into one bandit's head. A sickening crack was heard, but she couldn't let it bother her. She focused on the good that she was doing - saving people. Every cultists she whacked, meant potentially one more person that they couldn't hurt. A few even ended up on the receiving end of a fire blast. Still - she was scared. Nervous. No matter how confident she looked.

But then, someone who clearly was the leader of these degenerate evil doers showed himself. Some...elf? Who was obviously totally crazy. The mention of Lust and Witches gave her pause, but no more than a second. She couldn't let her thoughts wander. She briefly registered Flame.

"Hmph. So the villainous rival is coming, is he?" Chieko replied in her mildly over the top fashion, but before she could get lost in her own words again, a beast went right for Eiko. Not if she could help it. Before the beast could hurt the small bird girl, Chieko bolted over to the beast, bringing her club slamming into the side of the creatures head, hopefully at least knocking it off the girl.


@BrokenPromise
Golden Quarter
Deaths: N/A

---

It took some time. More than she liked to have admitted. Getting there was easy, but getting in was a bit more difficult. With the cultists attack, all of the servants and the few soldiers had fortified the estate. Some even decided to use the rooftop for a vantage point. Normally she could just have waltzed in. In fact, perhaps that would have been better. She could slip in as someone simply looking for sanctuary. She had no doubt that she could talk her way out of seeming suspicious, and if they tried, she had ways of hiding her weapons still.

Pulling herself up onto a balcony, Mie considered her options for a moment.

Covering up a hit among a chaotic attack was simply a too good of a way to get away with murder. Perhaps at some point, she might have hesitated, but now there was nothing. She didn't care. Passion? No, this wasn't out of any such base desire as passion. She just wanted her next paycheck. Money was one of the few things she cared about, and this was far too good of a deal to pass up. After all, money was the only thing anyone ever cared about. Dangle a fortune in front of someone, and they'd betray their friends. Kill their family. She had seen it plenty of times. Take someone's money, and they'd have nothing left. They'd end up on the streets, broken and lost. Someone could get away with murder if they had enough money for the right people to look the other way. She should know.

The corners of Mie's mouth twitched as she heard some servants move just inside the room. She had perched herself on a balcony. Observing, just for a moment. There was a lot of movement. Not to mention the guards that were outside. She counted almost a dozen, if she didn't miss any in her quick count. The place was quickly turning into a small defensive fortification. Which meant doing this quick and messy was out of the question. She could handle a few guards, but a small army of them? And that wasn't accounting for however many servants may decide to forfeit their lives for Vertti.

Ah, she almost wanted to find out just how entertaining they'd be.

Pushing the thought from her mind, Mie moved into the manor. Most of the upstairs area seemed free of people. No doubt the lower levels were being used as fortifications and to hold any civilians that happened by. Thankfully, she knew where some spare uniforms were kept. No one would question an extra foxy maid hired by Vertti. No one ever did.

So she ditched the cultist garb, trading them for a maid uniform. For now she'd play the part of a maid. Now she just had to wait for Vertti, and avoid being seen by her and Grisaia.

The ring of steel and the shriek of grinding metal was deafening as both combatants fought in earnest for a decisive victory, initially. Ashton stayed low and kept his feet and hands in constant motion as he swung with precision and determination against the larger but less nimble foe with Belrigger keeping pace yet only managing to stay on the defensive. Stuck in a single position, the older fighter was twisting and turning on his heel as the golden sword weaved to pick off the probing slashes but failed to deflect all of them, forcing him to rely on his dense body to mitigate the damage.

Lesser fighters would have been overwhelmed by the pace they fought at yet still they kept on with the dance in a dizzying display of swordsmanship that left the personal guard and even his own champions, masters all three in the art of combat, in a stunned silence.

Ashton's whole mind and body were in a state of absolute focus, a warriors trance that left no room for idle thoughts. There was only the now, the rush of adrenaline, the sound of his heart thrumming in his ears, and the numbing tingle as his blades met with the enemy.

Launching out a wild kick, Belrigger scored a clean strike to Ashtons head that put them in a controlled toll back to absorb the force as much as possible and came up in a crouch as Belrigger brought the golden sword down in a heavy vertical slash, Ashton narrowly dodging the blow by a hairs length and stabbing out with his left blade to score a blow on Belriggers quickly shredding shirt to connect with their stomach, to little effect beyond a wince as the Arena Masters divine blessing continued to repel the attacks.

Swinging the golden sword, tip leaping from the floor up to the ceiling, Ashton threw himself back to again narrowly avoid certain death as the razors edge glided across his face, leaving only a superficial nick on his forehead, and retaliating again with a stab to Belriggers chest and stomach before retreating from the inevitable retaliation.

On it went, Belriggers superior defensive capabilities keeping him in the fight relatively unscathed while only managing to land a dozen shallow cuts and an equal number of bruises as the two circled, trading blows across glittering steel swords.

Up went the golden sword, catching Asthons shortsword in its crossguard to be ripped from their hands, clattering behind the bigger foe as they seized the advantage. Both hands on the sword, a whirlwind of stabs and slashes cut through the air with a tight fisted fury that forced his opponent back. With a single blade it was all Asthon could do to avoid the blade or turn it aside just enough for it to slide harmlessly by.

With a heavy overhand chop that was destined the miss, Belrigger shoulder rushed unexpectedly as the blade passed harmlessly next to the target, his sheer bulk enough to overwhelm the smaller fighter - A fighter that had disappeared!

Belrigger cursed under his breath as the edge of the shortsword clipped his thigh as they slipped by in a desperate display of agility, kicking the back of the big mans thigh as they turned to stand, breaking his stance and dropping Bel to his knee. Planting a foot on their back and launching themselves away with the same motion as, enraged, the Arena Master twisted on the ground with a wild backhand slash that passed harmlessly under Ashton as they sailed over the blade in a controlled backwards somersault to land next to their fallen blade, scooping it up and returning with another flashstep.

Belrigger was forced to blindly guess where his opponent would strike next, and the result was that Ashtons twin blades bit through the defensive prowess of his master as he all but planted himself in their path.

For the last half hour, Ashton Andrews had worked his blades at the hardened stomach and chest region of his opponent like a miner at the stones, chipping away at the impossibly tough flesh until finally they found purchase.

All around the room, guards shouted in surprise at the sudden turn of events as blood slid down the length of the twin blades' edges, dripping on the floor, both combatants locked in a stare of wills. All Asthon would need to do is slide the blades.. ever.. so.. slightly..

Grunting reflexively, the clatter of steel striking the floor echoed across the hushed room as Belrigger dropped the golden sword in defeat, sinking to his knees as he stared in disbelief at his undeniable loss.

Ashtons moment of triumph came like cold wind, "I hope you don't die on me, Master - Not just because I care for you somewhat, but because I still need you." The words were glacial, more than even he had expected. Belrigger on the other hans had fire in his eyes even if his body didn't.

Taking the swords impaling his stomach, no more thanca few inches, he pulled them out in utter silence as his champions stared in disbelief. All 3, house guards included, long since thought the mighty Belrigger to be invincible and had been cruelly reminded of his and their own seeming mortality.

Clap.. clap.. clap

Getting to his full height as he clapped, the Arena Master was smiling against his injury. "Well fought, Ashton Andrews. Well fought!" Their master clapping, a roaring cheer went up through every corner of the massive room, men whistled, others clapped, some simply struck the floor with their tower shields, all of it creatinf a cacophony of noise. Belrigger waved them to stop, bringing quiet back.

"I will honor.. our agreement. But.. you others!" Sweeping his gaze across the room, eyeing each and every one of his guards in turn. "You are free men. I will not force you to fight and die like cattle. Who among you will march with me willingly?!"

Tense moments of silence dragged on for what felt like eternity before Mithril, first of the champions, raised his longsword. Beside him the other champions mirrored his willingness and raised their own weapons.
One by one the soldiers of the forgotten Arena raised their weapons in salute and readiness to fight for their Masters.

"Ready yourselves! We do not know when the enemy will strike but we must be vigilant. Form up with your squads, arm yourselves fully. Mithril will lead the scouts and become our first reponse. The rest of you will make ready for heavy fighting should it be found in the city proper." Addressing his last two champions, he continued. "Both of you will lead from from front with me. Full armor. Go!"

Everyone scrambled to comply, rushing to the caches through the mansion for their ceremonial armor and weapons. Belrigger turned to approach Ashton and held out his hand. "We cannot march without a clear enemy. I will accompany you through the city to meet with whoever you desire, Mithril will signal my company to march when we must fight. Lead on!"

Flame Brooks

Flame chose to ignore Chieko calling Ashton a villain, although the latter was a rival. Instead, with another "Goa!", he put up a wall of fire behind the Demon Beasts' rears in order to cut off their line of retreat as well as obscure the view of any observers, hostile and allegedly friendly.

Two more fireballs aimed at the Wolves themselves later, and Flame thought he'd bought enough time to say to Aerith and Chieko once more, "Here's a brief primer of the situation - The Cultists don't follow the actual Witches. Instead, they artificially made their own so they can have something to Worship."

He rolled away from the Wolves' next attack, then said to Chieko alone after buying more time by launching fireballs at the wolves, "If they made an Artificial Witch of Envy, we're going to need a Sword Saint, a Sage, and a Dragon. The Murderer is already filling the Sword Saint slot - Long story - so we'll have to discuss who gets to be the Sage and the Dragon!"

Ashton Andrews

Ashton nodded, satisfied that Belrigger wasn't going to die any time soon, and made his way out of the abandoned warehouse complex... Only to see that the Witch Cultists had already entered the Noble Quarter, mixed with a scattering of Demi-Human bandits, all of who had already had killed their share of innocent people. The boy, still in his 'ideal form', gnashed his teeth and said to Belrigger, "It seems the moment of truth has arrived sooner than we thought - Let's cut through these people like a scythe through wheat!"

And with a loud, "Jiwald!", Ashton charged at the nearest band of invaders, hoping, no, knowing, that Belrigger will be behind him and that he'd give the order for his troops to move out and support the boy in his assault on the Witch Cult.

Nevertheless, Ashton felt a tinge of... Dissonance as he cut the throat of the first person he was deliberately trying to kill permanently. As the Cultist fell, followed by a Demi-Human bandit who ended up in the wrong way of his next cut, the boy put up a wall between himself and his regrets - The latter had no place in this fight. Instead, he let the adrenaline flow through him as he hewed and cut, taking a moment to gesture to Belrigger to follow him as he made his way to the same place the largest forces of cultists were advancing towards - A random Noble's estate!

Suffice it to say that even if Cultists weren't heading there, Ashton would still be going to that place as it looked secure enough, and then await Flame's coming...

"Just stay calm Grisaia." Mistress Vertti remained by her servant. "We just have to get back to the noble district. So long as we remain safe, everything will turn out alright. Were all together."

“Grisaia!” Aer rushed past the two, spear drawn. “Focus on the distant threats, I’ve already cut a way through! But the two of you must return to the noble district at once!”

"You can do what she says to." Mistress Vertti added with a nervous smile.

Alistair and Odessa swept over the cultists like a force of nature. Odessa fanned her arms out and baithed the cultists in curses. Some were able to resist, but their cries of fear let Alistair know that many, many more had not.

Captain Crunch suddenly stopped when she was stimulated by Alistair’s spell. ”Wha? Why does my body feel so hot?” After dispatching the last of the cultists in her vicinity, she shiethed her sword. One of the devilbeasts were preparing to charge for Vertti, but Crunch was able to leap towards it with a single bound. Then empowered by Alistair’s spell, started to throw hook after hook at it, empowering each blow with a spell ” Fura-Fura-Fura-Fura-Fura-Fura-Fura-Fura-Fura-Fura-Fura-Fura!” The outcome of such an attack was obvious. It was a moderately dangerous opponent, after flame had blinded it. Alistair had just stimulated one of the mightiest sword arms in the country.

"I think she liked it." Odessa chirped.

Chieko’s strength even suprised herself sometimes. Her blow forced the wolf to release the girl with a loud wimper before its entire body flew through the air and crashed into a bunch of cultists. She had managed to free Eiko, and had just enough time to help her to her feet.

But they couldn’t linger here. The archbishop was headed straight for the noble district, and likely had his strongest threats with him. They couldn’t daudle here.

---

The noble district was surrounded by barricades, and people were being dumped in by the second. Most of those coming in were humans, and for good reason. Demihumans were of course all suspect of being with the bandits. They were all checked and asked for any passports to confirm their housing before being let in. Those that weren’t were “quarantined” to a special area where they had to have their stories confirmed. With the arrival of Captain Crunch, this process could begin.

”Thank you everyone, I’m glad you stayed and fought with me. We wouldn’t have saved as many people without you.” She turned to look at Alistair. ”I wouldn’t be oppose to trying a second date. That double date with Sandra Fotos was, well, I don’t think it should count. Once this is all over we can go someplace really nice to eat.” She turned around. ”For now I have some stories to confirm.” She walked towards the group of demihumans. ”We don’t have much time before they attack again, so decide what you want to do before they come. Remain by the barricade if you want to fight them directly, or you hold up in Vertti’s mansion. It’s rather spacious, and where the bulk of the civilians are hiding. If they try to ambush us, it would be good to have some people over there. Also Mono should be arriving shortly. I don’t advise going out after him. He can handle himself. But of course, you are free to ignore me. You seem like you can handle yourselves.”

---

Ashton had never seen a cultist. Not until now anyway. And they were talking to a demihuman bandit of all things. Ashton knew what he had to do though. He swiftly slit their throats. Clearly peace wasn’t an option anymore. This went against his code, his character, but it had to be done. That was when Ashton heard the low grumbling voice of an Oni nobleman.

”Murderer.” Gris had his sword drawn. ”Figured you’d show up with all the cultists. Killed the healer and his demihuman wife. I’d expect nothing less from shit like you!” That was when the situation came into focus for Ashton. Gris had to be insane. He thought that the cultist was a healer, and the bandit was his wife. Absurd, Ashton knew better.

”Stand down Gris. Leave this to the law.” Ashton didn’t know who this woman was. Wait! Yes he did. Her name was Sandra Fotos. She was one of the most potent pyromancers in the country, and was in charge of watching over the compass. He had seen all of this information somewhere before. Perhaps in some of Belrigger’s books? The point was this woman was dangerous and… she rubbed him the wrong way. Ashton could feel there was something off about her. An aura of evil. She didn’t belong in this world, but was he strong enough to strike her down?

Flames bellowed out from under her feet with every step that she took. ”Ashton Andrews.” Flames swirled around the war banner in her left hand. ”What are you trying to do here?” The sword in her right hand coated itself in flames. Her form was becoming difficult to see. The heat distorted the air around her. ”Surely you’ve come here for more than mindless slaughter?” That was when it finally clicked for Ashton.

She was the new Witch of Envy.

Flame Brooks

As he waited for Chieko to answer, Flame then looked at Grisaia and Mistress Vertti and said to the others, "Let's go with them to the Vertti Mansion! There we can prepare another stand!"

Ashton Andrews

Ashton wasn't blind. Considering the power of the Wirches, it could be that he or Gris or both have been decived. And he wasn't afraid to say such, "Oh, come on! Either those people I killed were Cultists, or Innocents I've been deluded into thinking are Cultists through magic. Either way, I've had enough of being blamed for murdering people I've been manipulated into killing! Sandra Fotos, or should I say, Artificial Witch, In the Name of Od Laguna, I will punish you!"

A glance back at Belrigger as he said, "Didn't I promise you a fight? Don't be one of those people who believe I really am killing innocents now!"

And with that, he charged at Sandra, zig-zagging to her left, right, then left before attempting to flash-step behind her and stab her with her daggers, confident that at the very least, Belrigger would not let go of his word, that he would help Ashton with this Monster.

Main Road
Death count: 1
Reset Count: 4
@Crusader Lord@FamishedPants@BrokenPromise

---

As Chieko's club impacted the wolf, she could only blink in surprise. When had she gotten that strong? The blow sent it flying right into a bunch of cultists, but she couldn't let herself be so surprised. With a quick gesture, she helped Eiko to her feet, grabbing her hand before pulling her along. They had to hurry to the noble district. Part of her briefly wondered how Fritzi would react to this, but she had to focus on the immediate problem.

...she couldn't be involved with this, could she?

Once at the Noble district, Chieko finally released Eiko's hand, the earth human quietly observed the area, listening to Crunch's words and weighing her options. Vertti's mansion? Was it around here? Chieko hesitated. She could do what she was originally here for, if she went there. No one would likely ask a question of her since she was here with Crunch and helping with the defense, but at the same time, did she really? Did she really want to help her?

She ground her teeth. She did consider Quill and Chiyo friends. If she didn't, she'd likely end up fighting them. There had to be something she could do to avoid that...right?

"...Mhm, I'll go to the mansion." Chieko said quietly. "Uhm, You should probably have as many people here as you can."


@BrokenPromise
Golden Quarter
Deaths: N/A

---

Child's play sneaking in like this.

Mie easily fit in with the rest of the servants, doing whatever was asked of her, but it seemed Vertti wasn't quite here yet, and no one found her cultists robes yet either. Fortunate, but she still couldn't let her guard down. All demi-humans were suspect, after all, and she did have an ID with her, but she wouldn't want to try and explain what she was doing here dressed as a maid instead of as a merchant.

Still on the second floor, Mie spotted people moving towards the house from the window. A small smile. As long as she avoided notice while they entered, this would be easy.

The Mistress' voice immediately calmed Grisaia down, his once tense shoulders relaxing as he took a slow breath keep a grasp on the situation.
"R-Right...you're right." He mumbled, unconsciously flinching when he heard his name being called out. At first, he thought it was maybe Adhara requiring some assistance, but no, it was actually Aer, the woman he had grow to really care about. Making sure it was okay to follow Aer's orders by giving Vertti a quick look for affirmation, the rabbit took the woman's hand and mentally called Adhara and Anubis to follow them, the two spirits at their sides in seconds. And with that, Grisaia gratefully took the path Aer made for them back to the Noble District.

He wasn't all to surprised to see so many people seeking refuge in their humble estate, it was a time of need, and the Mistress was always willing to help, regardless of if she were forced to or not. After confirming their identities, despite really not needing to, Grisaia pushed through the steadily grow crowds of people, taking the Mistress along with her.
"You'd be safest on an upper floor near the center of the household. It looks like things are taken care of outside too. 'Nubis, stay out here and let me know if anything suspicious is going on, okay?" As he sent the Earth spirit off, Grisaia began climbing the steps to the second floor with Vertti, wary eyes watching the move of everyone he passed.

---

The young dove could only blink away the tears forming in their eyes as they the pressure pushing her further into the ground suddenly gave out, the deafening crunch of two hard objects slamming into each other booming right in front of her. Emerald eyes were wide with shock for brief moment as she didn't move at first, the adrenaline pumping in her veins soon calmed down, giving her more of a sense of what was going on again. She quickly took Chieko's hand, the quietest 'thank you' escaping her lips before she was pulled along with the other into the Noble District, definitely feeling more safe with her than on her own.

Once her smaller hand was released from the other's grasp, Eiko found herself listening to what the Captain had to say. Being a Demi-Human would probably make people nervous around her, even though she did just help protect the humans from being killed by those cultists. If anything, it'd probably be best to put her assets to good use.
"I'll keep to the sky, checking between Vertti's Household and the barricades...I'll first start a-at the former." She let those listening know. She still needed to tell the Mistress what she heard and warn her about Mie...

"Sounds good Grisaia. Lead the way." Mistress Vertti, Aer, and Grisaia walked towards the mansion, followed by Chieko and Flame. Everyone else stayed back to guard the gates, where the Cultists were likely to attack from.

In Eiko’s patrolls, she would notice something far beyond her flightpath. Over the walls of the city, the cultists were setting up siege engines. Catapults and trebuchets. They were on the move, and she couldn’t tell where they were setting up. On the plus side, that also meant it would be a bit before they started firing. There was an army moving with it, but she didn’t notice any devil beasts or otherwise special threats.

---

Most of the servants/guards were getting stationed in preparation for the incoming attack. Nobody knew what they were dealing with, but archbishops were not to be taken lightly. Grisaia lead Aer and Vertti upstairs. "I’m going to head to my room. Right now the royal seal is probably safest on my person."

“Not a bad idea.” Aer looked at her spear. “Wouldn’t surprise me if that’s the entire reason they’re attacking.” Her spear split in two, and each half turned into liquid. It swirled in the air before solidifying as a sword and shield.. “That’s a bit easier to handle indoors.”

It wouldn’t be much longer before the attack. It could happen any second.

---

Some would say that Ashton’s attempt to attack Sandra Fotos was like taking a swing at a bee’s next. On some level, the image works. Sandra was surrounded by a blanket of heat, and Ashton’s attempt to stab her (the nest) would surely expose him to the transparent heat that swirled about her body. But that implied that he was going to hit his target. Ashton wasn’t hitting a bee’s nest, he was jumping into a volcano.

No amount of zigging or zagging would protect Ashton from the heat this woman was radiating. And as fast as he thought he was, he couldn’t run through the heat without getting burned by it. Ashton would not have the opportunity to raise his daggers before the heat burned him enough to disable his ideal form. Ashton staggered a safe distance away from her. The skin on his hands were dried and cracked. He was bleeding at the knuckles, and she hadn’t even attacked yet.

”Ashton Andrews.” Sandra repeated. ”I thought you were supposed to be a nice boy. Is senseless killing and baseless accusations how you plan to bring about peace?” Before Sandra could move in to attack Ashton, Belrigger charged towards Sandra with his sword drawn. She barely had enough time to place her banner between herself and the charging colossus. The impact was enough to knock her back, but she retaliated with a pillar of flame.

”Don’t forget me!” Ashton couldn’t just spectate the battle though. Gris was headed straight for him, and had a short blade drawn. Oni were known for their superior might, and Ashton had limited options now that he lost his ideal form. How would he handle the situation?

Flame Brooks

Flame continued to say nothing as he followed Grisaia's group inside the Vertti Mansion, eyes already scanning the environment around him for threats. As he waited for signs of Ashton's arrival, preferably with reinforcements, he feared that Gris Art Fortye might have encountered the other boy - And that would not be to either person's benefit. Looking at Chieko, then Aerith, then Alistair, Flame voiced, "I am worried about... Him. I know what he did and why he did it, as well as the consequences he has to bear for that, but I worry about him."

I also worry about Mr. Art Fortye, he thought. But I'd rather Ashton live if given a choice between those two lives.

Ashton Andrews

After Hiro's death, Ashton had made the effort to acquire a sheath for the paring knife that he had used to kill his friend, just in case he needed an emergency weapon. Drawing said knife out, he spoke to Gris Art Fortye as Belrigger and Sandra fought, "I'm not planning on dying today, Mr. Art Fortye. I'm not letting the everything I've done, whether I was tricked to it or not, be for nothing."

The boy was going to stand his ground, knife ready to parry even if he knew he had no actual chance. "At the very least, you can't stop me from facing my death standing up!"

The pair had been waiting patiently for the fox to return from whatever their business was when soldiers had begun their march, shouts had follpwed after for evacuation as a full scale attack was said to be occurring and the pair had been ushered away. Both had cast long glances of concern behind them as they were instructed to the Nobles district for safety, a clear indication at the severity of the attack occuring.
Their progress was slow, Mirts honor demanding he help wherever possible as the two made the trek at a brisk jog only stopping whenever someone with a weapon took their chance to strike at the elderly man and his caretaker (he assumed). A trail of broken bones behind them, civilians trailing close, they had rejoined the main body of the city at the gates leading into the district and were led to lady verttis compound for their own safety.

Never one to be led by the nose, Mirt had kept quiet and used the confusion of the mansion to slip away from prying eyes. Whoever owned this place would know what was going on and the two of them weren't going to be any help without knowing what needed helping.
Ascending the servants stairways out of sight, the two were well on their way to answers. Hopefully..

---

(Coming soon: Belrigger and his soldiers)

Collab with @BrokenPromise
Vertti's Manor
Deaths: N/A

---

There wasn’t much reason for Grisaia to walk in front of Mistress Vertti. Grisaia might have known where her room was, but he was never going to get there before she did. She was rather adamant about getting there as fast as possible. Vertti was on a mission, and nothing was going to stop her. None of her allies anyway.

Once Vertti got to her room, she rested her hand on the doorknob and took a breath. She had been running since the siege started, and she just needed a moment to catch her breath. "This won’t take long. Make sure everyone else is safe."

Aer put her fist against her chest and nodded. “Be safe Vertti, the cultists are a crafty bunch..”

"It’s fine, Grisaia will be here to protect me.."

They both nodded to each other and parted ways. Vertti ran into her room while Grisaia stood watch outside. She immediately pulled several books off of a bookshelf. Behind them was a safe with several dials, each representing one of the four seasons. After turning all the dials to a specific combination, the safe opened, revealing the last seal. The center depicted the royal symbol, which was surrounded by a hearth of purple flowers. Vertti sighed out of relief. It was still there. They hadn’t gotten it yet. With trembling hands, she reached for the decoration.

“Pretty nice trinket you have there Vertti.” She didn't bother trying to hide her voice by muffling it or keeping quiet. Vertti already knew who she was even if she was still wearing the demon mask...plus, there was some twisted satisfaction in knowing that the person she was about to kill once considered her a friend.

Once Vertti turned to face her, she'd find Mie sitting on top of a dresser, lounging idly and flipping a gold coin as she spoke, still wearing that maid uniform she pilfered.

“How much would ya sell it for?” She caught the coin in the palm of her hand, making a show of her stretching. It was difficult to tell her facial expression behind a mask, but Vertti would get the impression she was smiling that usual, smug playful, grin she always wore when she was getting away with a scam. “Try and run or shout for help, I'll give you a free test run of some of the knives my sister made.”

When Mie was done making her threat, Vertti only sighed. There was a nervous shake in her shoulders, but her expression said that she expected something like this to happen.

"If I thought handing you the seal would make all of this go away, I would give it to you for free." She reached behind her head and picked up the seal in her hand. "But if I hand the seal to you, you’ll give it to whoever’s been paying you to come after me. Things might go quiet for a few months, but the next royal election will eventually start." She folded her arms. "They’ll unveil the candidates, and they will all be demihumans, There will be an uproar, and this war will spread through the rest of the continent." Vertti’s gaze fell to the ground. "I can’t let that happen. I need to get elected so that the fires of war can be extinguished."

“My, how noble.” Mie hopped off the cabinet, landing silently on the floor. “So the ever so kind and saintly Mistress Vertti seeks to single-handedly stave off the inevitable hounds of war. Fufu,” A chuckle. A subtle shake of her head as her slightly mocking tone continued. “You want to drive me out of business, is that it?” She didn't seem angry, if anything she seemed disappointed. Perhaps slightly amused as she ever was.

“You know, war is great for making money.” She chuckled again, nonchalantly taking a few steps closer towards Vertti, facing towards the wall next to them. “People always looking to buy and sell things. Medicines. Supplies. Information...weapons...poisons. Lives.” She turned her head towards Vertti. “To put bluntly...war makes me a happy little fox.”

Vertti hugged the seal against her chest and backed up against the bookshelf. "What are you going to do once you’re rich? Is it possible to even have enough? Wealth doesn’t do anything by itself, you must have a plan for it." Her fingers curled around the seal.

“Plan, huh?” Mie thoughtfully hummed. “Enough alcohol to make a lake? Buy myself a mansion? Dunno, really. By the time I stop I'll have enough to live comfortably for the rest of my life.” Mie idly took a coin out of her pocket. “Fufu, I guess you could just say, I love money in general. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzier than my tail on a humid day, but enough about me.” Mie put herself just out of arms reach of Vertti as she idly played with the coin, running it through her fingers.

“What do you hope to gain from this peace you want? I'm curious.”

Vertti stood up a bit straighter. "Is it that hard to understand?" Her eyes softened as she looked at Mie. "I have so many people in my life that I’m thankful for. Grisaia, Aer, all of my servants, Doctor Donovan, Bellringer, Captain Crunch, the foreigners, even you Mie." She took a step away from the bookshelf, putting herself in front of the smaller fox woman. "The longer the war continues, the more people die, more lives are affected. Peace ensures no one else has to suffer. " She placed a hand on her chest. "I have yet to meet someone in this life who I truly felt deserved to die. Even with you standing before me as an assassin, I don’t want to see you get hurt." She gripped her shirt in her hands. "You said your sister made you some knives. Would you still yearn for a mansion with an alcohol lake if you knew it would cost her life?"

“How disgustingly naive.” Mie replied with a laugh. “You think suffering will cease because War stops? People suffer every day. The poor. The abused. A little child who watched her family die. twice. A little money goes a long way to make sure you'll be the one who doesn't suffer.” She took another, more threatening step towards Vertti, her hand reaching towards her sword. “Humans. Demi-humans. We're all the same pathetic creatures who desire nothing but our own selfish whims. I find it hard to believe you're doing this for entirely selfless reasons.” Another step towards Vertti. “That seal gives you a lot of power. You could really do almost anything with it, couldn't you? Money. Fame. Wealth. Maybe even get yourself a cute little rabbit to play with...ha, but I've wasted enough time playing with my food.”

“I would kill my sister with my own two hands...just like I'm about to kill you.” She drew the sword she had her hand on, intending to gouge Vertti's stomach in one swift motion.

Vertti clasped her hands over Mie’s but it was too late. The blade was hilt-deep in her intestines, causing the aristocrat to wince in pain. She did manage to guide the knife away from her more important arteries, but this would only buy her a minute or so of consciousness, as Mie’s weapons were always poisoned.

Grisaia Had looked into the room with Aer. Perhaps Grisaia had heard their conversation and went to get someone, as his spirits were busy protecting the outside of the mansion. They both looked shocked, but Aer let out a growl before charging into the room. Vertti put her body between herself and Mie, and used the last of her strength to push the fox girl out the window. She held onto Mie as they descended

"Huma!" A pillar of water instantly formed under them, slowing their until they both landed. Mie’s back was pressed up against the ground, with Vertti laying on top of her. She coughed up some blood. Even with the water pillar, it was a rough ride with a knife in your gut. "Now." Her voice was hoarse. She had seconds left to live instead of minutes at this point. Vertti flicked the blood stained mask off of Mie’s face. "Is that all, you want?" She placed the seal in Mie’s hand and folded her fingers over it. "It’s really as, simple as, that?"

Mie grunted when she hit the ground. That was...confusing. Why did Vertti do that? She heard Aer and Grisaia both. She could probably have fled, Vertti was as good as dead, but there was always a chance she could live if she got medical attention...Mie didn't understand. Why ensure she was safe? Why? Why? She couldn't understand, and thus she chose not to think about it.

“My, my,” Mie chuckled, lightly caressing Vertti's cheek with a hand. “You seem to be misunderstanding something.” The Foxes' eyes stared up at the human. She didn't realize she was now wearing an expression of mild confusion. She pushed the weakened Vertti off of her, rolling over so she was now on top. “I was hired for one thing, Vertti...and that was to end your life....but maybe I'll keep this little trinket as a souvenir to remember you by, fufu.”

"That means-" More to me than you know. But Vertti didn’t have the strength to finish. She choked on the blood in her lungs and started to suffocate. She could hear Aer cry out in anger, but her fading consciousnesses wouldn’t let her see what was happening. If Mie and Aer engaged, she wasn’t going to know if Mie escaped or not. But regardless of what transpired, no one would remember.

---

Is it possible to love your assassin?

Vertti had gotten to know Mie well over several resurrections. Every time she died, she’d learn a bit more about what made the fox girl tick. They had a surprising amount in common. They were separated from their parents at an early age, they came from nothing, but ended up in two entirely different places. Either through luck or extra determination, Vertti became an aristocrat with access to a royal seal, and Mie became an assassin. Saving Mie from herself was a project Vertti had been working on for a while now. But they were running out of time. The last reset happened just a few seconds before she entered her room. This was probably Vertti’s last chance to do something.

“Be safe Vertti, the cultists are a crafty bunch..”

Vertti was quick to pull a parchment out of her vestments and etch something onto it with water magic. She then handed it to Aer. "It’s fine, Grisaia will be here to protect me."

They both nodded to each other and parted ways. Vertti ran into her room and immediately pulled several books off of a bookshelf. Vertti sighed out of nerves. With trembling hands, she reached for the decoration.

“Pre-”

"Yes, it is a pretty nice trinket." She pulled down the seal and turned it over in her hand. "I have no intention of selling it though. Not that you’d want to buy it anyway." She walked towards her desk without looking at Mie once. "I have no intention of raising my voice either. I actually have you right where I want you. I have a proposition I’d like you to see." After filling out the sheet, she rolled it into a scroll and wrapped a ribbon on it. "We’re business people, Mie. There’s no reason we can’t both get what we want." This last ditch plan of Vertti’s was actually quite desperate. But after being killed by Mie who knows how many times, it was the last thing she could try. She stamped the ribbon with a wax seal before turning to face Mie. "Here, a contract." She threw it towards Mie. "Give it a read. I think you’ll find the terms agreeable. Though I’m not against further negotiations."

Mie caught the coin she had been playing with mid air, entire body still as she seemed to study Vertti intently. It didn't feel like a trap. Her blessing wasn't sending off any alarm bells, and everything seemed as she expected...but once again, it seemed like she both knew she was here and that she was after her life.

Troubling.

“Oh my, what's this? Bargaining for your life, Vertti?” Mie hopped off her perch, landing silently on the ground as the aristocrat filled out the sheet. “Wouldn't be the first to try and bribe their killer with a bit of money.” She chuckled. She didn't think Vertti was the type to pathetically grovel, but perhaps she was amusingly, irritatingly, wrong. “Hasn't worked yet, heh. Hoping to bank on something so pathetic as friendship? Naive as ever, aren't you?” She caught the scroll as it was tossed at her, slowly unrolling it and reading its contents. “But I'm curious as to what you think I want, so I'll humor you.”

"Didn’t you hear me? I have you right where I want you. There is no need to plead for my life." Being Nice to Mie never got Vertti anywhere. It was a language she didn’t understand. Compassion was a form of weakness, or a blatant lie. What Mie understood was greed, desire, and Vertti had written her contract with that in mind. "Let me summarize it for you: I want you on our side. It’s a good move for me politically, and you’re skills as a merchant are on par with your ability to hold a blade. Demihumans will be more open to buying the products produced by my guild, and trading with Kararagi will be possible." It truly disgusted her to talk this way, but it didn’t show on her face. She would lower herself as far as she needed to for her gambit to work. "War is not profitable to my guild, so you won’t be allowed to kill people anymore. But we will outwit and outsmart our enemies.." She folded her hands behind her back. "As for what you get out of the deal, you get access to everything I have. You can live in my mansion, you can take all of the wine downstairs and make a wine lake out of it, you can even play with Grisaia if that’s what you want to do. You can even spend my money, Everything I have, everything that I am, will be yours." Mie must have realized what the nature of the contract was now. If not by Vertti’s summary of it, then by skimming the contract in front of her. Vertti took a knee, and held out the royal seal in her hand. Upon closer inspection, Mie would notice it was a ring. "Mie Yukima, Will you marry me?"

Mie looked from the contract, then back to Vertti. In obvious disbelief, Mie rolled the scroll back up, took a deep breath, and began hysterically laughing.

“Ahahahaha, what in the name of my fluffy tail are you asking me, Vertti?” It was extremely rude to do this, considering what she was just asked, but the entire situation was utterly absurd. “I'll give you points for originality, but is that really the best you got?” Was...her heart suddenly beating faster? Weird. “Well you've certainly put me in a good mood from that joke. Come on then, what's your real offer?” There was no way...no way she was being serious. No way someone would ask a despicable little fox like herself such a thing if they knew what she did...and the things she had done.

Vertti didn’t share in Mie’s amusement. Her brow was cross. "You think this is a joke? Like I’m going to walk into a room by myself and laugh the assassin to death?" Vertti stood up and walked towards the fox girl. Mie was the better fighter. Stronger, faster, and probably more experienced with magic than Vertti was. But in terms of physical presence, the eight inches of height Vertti had made her look like the more menacing of the two. She stopped in front of Mie. "You’re not perfect by any means." She gently reached for one of Mie’s ears and started to fondle it in her hand. "You’re not an important political figure of the Kararagi Shogunate." She released Mie’s ear and ripped Mie’s mask off of her face. "But you have charisma. I find it difficult to not get charmed by your words." She threw the mask aside. "Your skill set is useful to the artisan’s guild." She folded her arms. "It’s a political marriage to be sure. But I would be lying if I said there wasn’t a bit more there." She looked away from Mie. "I did enjoy our talks." Her eyebrows briefly softened, before becoming hard again. "What? You won’t believe me unless I push you onto the bed?"

Mie simply stared up at Vertti.

She was serious.

“Hey, I've seen worse attempts. Like that fool who locked himself in a cage to avoid me...then forgot where the key was.” Mie smirked, unconsciously leaning into having her ears pet. How was she supposed to take this? She had never even considered this. She certainly would be lying if she said she didn't like hanging around Vertti and Grisaia. They were...like what...a family?

“I'm laughing because this entire situation is hilariously absurd.” Why? She was serious, wasn't she but why? She knew how she was, what she did...so how could someone...? “The princess marries the assassin sent to kill her.” The foxes' hand went to her blade, drawing it in one swift motion. “This isn't some fairy tail. Some trashy romance story.” She turned the blade over in her hand. “Not everyone is going to get a happy ending. That's now how any of this works. No matter what good happens, people always screw it up some way.”

The blade pressed against Vertti's side.

“You know how I am, somehow. I don't know how you know, but you do. What I'm like, what I like to do...so I'll spare you the emotional nonsense.” She looked up at Vertti, it was difficult to tell what was going through her head. “I gotta say, I was not expecting this to be how today went.” She laughed, before falling silent, one of her ears twitching idly in thought.

”You’ve always been a saint, Vertti. I’ve always hated that. Thought it was useless. Why open yourself for getting hurt when people don’t care? Don’t help you in return?” Mie glanced off to the side. “...you want to marry this impish little fox? Fine then.” She fixed her gaze back on Vertti. “Lets make a deal, then. I’ll accept your proposal. I’ll hang up my shinobi robes and be a good little fox...and you have to convince me that your so called kindness is worth it.” Mie ran a finger along the edge of the blade. “If you don’t...well, we’re back to where we started, fufu.”

Vertti sighed. Even with a superior contract and the ability to talk to Mie in a language she could understand, Vertti still had to convince her that peace was better than war. Or rather, that playing nice was better than playing dirty. This was something that Vertti had hoped to sidestep entirely, but it made sense that Mie would notice she wasn’t quite acting like herself here. But in the last reset, Mie said that she would keep the seal to remember Vertti by. There was clearly more to the fox girl than money, even if she didn’t want to admit it. "I’ve already explained how war does not benefit my guild at all. Peaceful resolutions are better for my business. But you probably want to know why I turn to an artisan’s guild when I could just as easily fund a band of mercenaries." Vertti slid one of her hands up onto her chest. "I came from nothing. I was a ten year old foreign war orphan who didn’t know anything about the world. I wouldn’t have gotten very far if I didn’t learn to trust people. Was my trust betrayed? All the time, I don’t want to tell you about some of the things that happened to me. But there were plenty of people who helped me along the way. In the end, the Vertti household made my suffering worthwhile. There’s just something about having people willingly help you. My title as the heir to the Vertti household is nothing I could have stolen from my parents. They willingly gave it to me. And people continue to give me things so long as I continue to be kind to them. A week ago I was buying fruit from Dreg at the fruit stand. He always looks so poor, but he gave me a bushel of appas for supporting his business. He wouldn’t let me refuse it. " She chuckled. "And I suppose I find it exhilarating to be kind sometimes. I’m surrounded by trained fighters, it would have been easy to send any number of them in here to drive you off. But if I did that, we wouldn’t be having this standoff. The only thing keeping your knife out of my guts is my words." She turned the seal over in her hand. "There’s so much more I could say, but we’re running out of time. The bottom line is I can’t tell you that kindness is worth it. It’s a gamble, just like being a shinobi. The difference is that Kindness is the biggest gamble for the biggest reward. There will never be a time in history when we are all nice to each other, but far fewer people will have to suffer if we try. An army is nothing without teamwork, and a family is nothing without kindness." She presented the seal to Mie. Her face was stern. "Mie Yukima." Vertti’s heart was racing. Her nerves were starting to get to her, but she’d never let it show. "Will you marry me?"

“....You know what, fine.” Mie's shoulders slacked, the blade she was carrying clattered to the floor. “I don't know if I buy all that. I'm a selfish fox, Vertti. I don't care about how others do. As long as I have enough for myself, I don't care about anyone else or their problems.” Her gaze shifted away from Vertti, a small hint of color forming on her cheeks as she continued. “...I keep asking myself why. Why are you going this far? Why are you being so...nice, to me? I hated that about you, Vertti. I thought you were just like everyone else. That kindness nothing more than a facade to hide your secrets...but I can't find anything.” Her eyes locked with Vertti. “So fine. I can't promise I buy all that egalitarian stuff you preach, but fine. I'll accept your proposal. If only because I can piss off that purple skinned bastard that employed me, and that this entire situation is still hilarious to me.”

She gently placed a hand on the top of the seal.

“...and w-well, maybe if you were gone I'd be a little bit more bored.”

Vertti released a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She was still in disbelief, unsure if she was dreaming. "Of course." Her ragged breath didn’t convey the confidence she wanted it to, but that hardly mattered now. She fully expected Mie to pull out a second knife and say something along the lines of “I was just playing with you, you ugly cow, fufu!” She kneeled in front of Mie and slid the ring onto her finger. Then she froze, a blank expression on her face. "I’m sorry, I didn’t think of what to do from here. At the very least I need to tell everyone you’re not a threat anymore." Her hands started to shake. "Wait, your contract was with a purple skinned man?" Vertti looked up into Mie’s eyes. "He wouldn’t also happen to be a giant, would he?"

“Yea, pretty creepy guy.” Mie replied, looking at the ring. It felt...heavy. Could she really...wear this? Mie didn't let her own doubts show. Instead, she simply tilted her head to the side, with a dismissive laugh. “Just being in the same room as him made me want to take ten baths.” Placing herself next to Vertti, Mie grinned up at the human...her...her fiance? Wife? Mie chose not to think about it. “Don't you worry your pretty little head about it, though, love. If he sends anyone else after you, I'll make sure to deal with them, fufu~”

Might as well have some fun with this too, hah.

---

On a less gay note...

These times were strange, frantic, and quite frankly, rather confusing. Alistair Archibald could say with perfect confidence that only a month or two ago he would have laughed at the mere thought that he would be eager to take Captain Crunch out on a second date. Yet here he was, neck-deep in murderous cultists, doing just that. But the situation did not escape him, and a dark thought entered his mind. In movies, such promises were often followed by the failure to uphold them, often because of death. This was troubling, but there was evidence that real life did not adhere to movie standards. He was naturally the main character of this 'film' and if he was not able to defeat the foes that had stood before him up to this point, to achieve anything of real value, then it had to be that fictional tropes were simply that -- fictional.

Or rather, he so desperately hoped that was the case.

"Tch."

He couldn't let his mind continue to wander, however, as the situation had yet to settle. He understood the importance of keeping civilian casualties to a minimum, but he would have appreciated just a little more assistance on the front lines. Only one other person stayed with him, and through all the fighting and the commotion, Alistair had temporarily lost track of Ashton. He was focused on keeping them from being overwhelmed, so he was not sure if that meant Ashton had been slain or something else. But such thoughts would eventually be answered when, even in the thick of everything, Alistair felt something...wrong.

There was no way he was just going to ignore whatever this was, so he made his way to the source of this feeling.

...

...

...

"At the very least, you can't stop me from facing my death standing up!"

Moments away from his impending death at the hands of Gris, Ashton displayed courage in a situation where many would express cowardice and fear. Death, even in their case, was something to be feared. It was not only often painful, but it hindered their progress and could potentially be permanent at any given instance. Yet even still, the boy did not cower.

And because of that, Alistair would have no qualms about ensuring his continued survival.

"I like your attitude."

Though Huma had been spoken a moment prior, his compliment had more oomph to it than his incantation. But the results should have been the same either way. If Gris had continued forwards without defending himself against the projectile that was launched his way, then he'd suffer a fatal wound. If he immediately continued or otherwise did not stop his charge, then I'd have to rewrite the rest of the post please don't do it he'd be met with further retaliation.

Alistair did not look very pleased, his eye mostly catching on to the woman that Belrigger was fighting. She certainly was familiar. "Sandra? So she's the source of this feeling..." he was unable to prevent the slightest hint of disappointment from showing on his face, having obviously hoped she would be an ally rather than an enemy, but he wasn't distraught and clearly he wasn't going to miss any sleep over it. To liken it to something, it was like he ordered ice cream at McDonald's and they told him the machine was broken.

He wasn't surprised.

Needless to say, if they had to fight, he wasn't too likely to hold back. But he already knew there was no way he could do that against someone of her caliber. Admittedly, he would have to do his best to ensure she couldn't get away with holding back on them. A thought that was very unappealing to someone like him.

Alistair's breathing slowed. "Odessa." he called to her in an almost calm, serene state. "From this point on, I doubt things will get any less difficult. They'll probably get worse." a long pause occurred before he continued. "That being the case, we need to give this our all, and I can't do that without you."