Once the concoction was done, Satsuhiro announced to Keiko and his family that the two of them would be leaving. He was afraid that things could spiral out of control fast if Varcon were to be incriminated publically, so he asked for his wife to remain and she agreed to it. Also, if Kaori turned out to be just a pawn of Varcon’s, he figured things could get violent, despite Ash insisting that she’d remain calm. Currently, Ash was hopping onto his horse, behind him, holding onto the older Savior’s uniform as they rode out.

If it turns that Varcon mind-controlled, Ash wondered, then that’s it. If Kaori is actually a conniving liar who has a thing for murdering half-demons, then at least I’ll know that too. Just another enemy.

She pondered what she would do. If Varcon had in fact mind controlled the girl into attacking her, then there would no longer be a reason to see her as a potential threat. But, then what? And, if they used the concoction and found that Kaori had been perfectly sane at the time of their fight, she wasn’t sure she could keep her promise.

The former was genuinely the most perplexing outcome. The thought of humans who were fine with her existence was still strange to her. Between Satsuhiro, Metsumi, and Keiko, the number of people who liked her, or, well, tolerated her, had multiplied. Oh. She thought as the horse trotted. And Kairo. The old monk’s annoying visits almost felt like they’d happened a lifetime ago at this point.

Ash’s life had changed so drastically that she was still waiting to wake up from what had to be just another strange dream as she laid on the hot grey stone streets. But, that moment would not come. Instead, sometime later, Ash was seeing the city of Jade on the horizon.

The sun was just starting to fade out of view, and the twin moons were up and ready to replace it. The air was getting colder by the minute, but Ash found herself liking it. It contrasted well with the burning anger hiding under her skin at the thought that Varcon could have taken someone’s will away just to hurt her.

When they arrived, the usual sneers were cast at her but Ash didn’t care.

“We may as well head straight there,” Satsuhiro explained. “No reason to delay this. Plus, if we end up proving that Kaori was innocent, we can get her back to the farm to keep training with you. If not, then we just know, and move on.”

“Alright.” Ash nodded. She looked around as Satsuhiro handed his horse off to a stable worker nearby. I’m getting pretty tired of coming and going like this. Honestly, I just want to leave and never come back, but it’s like this place just can’t help yanking me back into its walls. She shook her head.

As her eyes scanned her surroundings though, she swore she saw Kairo walking away.

She almost went after him, compelled to ask how he’d been and what he’d been doing. But, a hand was placed on her shoulder.

“Come on,” Satsuhiro said. “Let’s go.”

“Y-Yeah.” Ash took a deep breath. “So,” Ash tore her thoughts away from the man who had been her only acquaintance for so long. “What do we do if we find out Varcon did mind control her? The guy from the Council said it was illegal, after all.”

“That’s…” Satsuhiro had a complicated expression on his face as he looked at Ash. “It’s hard to say.”

“Why?” Ash shrugged. “Isn’t that enough to get that motherfucker tossed into a dungeon?”

“Yes,” Satsuhiro answered definitively. “But my concern is about what would happen to the city. Specifically, what would its people do?”

“Ugh, is this that whole ‘he’s really influential’ shtick again?” She asked.

“It’s not a ‘shtick’ it’s a fact.” Satsuhiro’s eyes roamed over the citizens, as he kept his voice as low as possible so as to not alert them. “So many of this city’s people look to him for guidance, inspiration. If they find out that he’s been sent to prison, what would that mean to them? Would it break their spirits? Would it make them protest? Would it only make the church’s position in Jade’s culture stronger, cast them in a sympathetic light?”

“I don’t know and I don’t really care what the city does or doesn’t do,” Ash replied. “All I know is he should pay for the bullshit he’s been doing. He can’t just get away with that.”

Satsuhiro narrowed his eyes at her.

“You know, I realize now that I probably should have asked you this before, but why did you take this job if you hold the people of Nova in such low regard?”

“Because,” Ash quickly responded, “even if I’m working for a bunch of ignorant douchebags, it beats starving,” Ash stated. “I don’t owe any of these people anything other than killing a few demons whenever it’s my turn to do that. Besides that, Jade could go up in flames tomorrow and I’d watch it burn all night, and I wouldn’t feel a thing.”

Satsuhiro didn’t respond to that. Instead, he shook his head and the pair continued on their way to the church.

They got to the building just a dozen or so minutes later, as torchlit lanterns outside traced a path that they followed up to the church’s open doors. A small choir could be heard as Satsuhiro and Ash stepped in. She hadn’t seen the church at this time. It was strange to see the paintings she’d noticed a visit or two ago shrouded by darkness, barely colored by the candlelights placed evenly throughout the main room.

Varcon was kneeling ahead, his head lowered in prayer. A deacon saw the two of them and started moving to go warn the archpriest. They watched as the man said something in Varcon’s ear and he stood up. It took a second before he turned to face them, his facial features were barely noticeable.

She did gauge one thing though. That grin from before, the one Ash had seen as Varcon inspected her before the fight with Kaori, wasn’t there. Instead, Varcon’s lips were a tight line as he put his hands behind his back and walked up to the two of them.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” He curtly asked. “I have not called for any mission of any kind.”

“No, you haven’t,” Satsuhiro replied, crossing his arms and subtly hiding the envelope that carried the concoction he’d made. “And, well, coincidentally, we aren’t here to see you. Where’s Kaori?”

“Likely back at her own house.” Varcon shrugged. “You’d best go find her before she goes to sleep.”

“Ah, so her parents were brought back home then?” Satsuhiro tilted his head. “I doubt she’d leave their side at a time like this.”

“Yes.” Varcon quickly answered.

“Why?” Satsuhiro asked.

“Is it really that unusual to have patients remain in the privacy and comfort of their own homes?”

“It is when this church is supposed to house the best healers in Jade, yourself being one of them, who wouldn’t be able to check in on them consistently.”

“I…” Varcon was about to reply, but he didn’t get the chance. He was interrupted by a shove.

Ash pushed him out of the way, earning a grunt from Varcon and a yelp from a few deacons who were standing behind them, overseeing the conversation.

“Fuck this,” Ash muttered.

“H-Hey!” Varcon nearly fell, but he quickly regained his composure and went to follow Ash. He grabbed her by the elbow and the half-demon turned to look at him with as much hate as she could muster. She pulled herself free and didn’t stop to say anything as she walked down the hall.

She heard Varcon yelling something to his deacons as Ash inspected the closed rooms deeper into the church. One by one, she pushed their doors open, without finding Kaori. A man grasped her wrist and Ash transformed Lust into a sword and aimed it at him.

“Touch me again and I’ll stick this up your ass.” She told him, the man gulped and backed away, leaving Varcon to yell more orders.

But, eventually, her efforts bore fruit. She found Kaori in the last room, before the backdoor that led outside, where Varcon had once taken her to see the burnt bodies as he pitched the woes of the world to her. The blonde Savior was sitting peacefully, watching her parents sleep. Beside her, was a cup full of water, that looked untouched. As the door opened suddenly, she turned and the two of them made eye contact.

“Ash?” Kaori asked, surprised. The half-demon could sense some tiredness in her tone.

“Yeah.” Ash analyzed her. The moment of truth was pretty close.

“Why, what are you doing here?”

“We got a response from the alchemist Satsuhiro had talked about.” Ash took a few steps closer to her. She briefly looked over at Kaori’s parents, who were laying nearby on two separate small beds. “These are, uh, your folks?”

“Mhm.” Kaori turned back to look at them. “I… I still don’t understand it. What could be happening to them?”

“You are not allowed to be here!” Varcon yelled from the door behind them. Satsuhiro pushed him aside and walked in as well. “I will have the guards throw you in a cell for this!”

“At home, huh?” Satsuhiro said and Varcon paled. “Now, why in Magia’s name would you want to lie to us about this?”

“Huh?” Kaori asked.

“Regardless, I’m guessing we’ll know soon enough,” Satsuhiro said and pulled out that envelope. Within, there was a small vial that Satsuhiro had filled with the liquid needed. “Here, Kaori, drink this.”

“What is it?” She asked. Ash could see Varcon shaking.

“It’s a tonic, or potion or elixir or whatever, alchemy isn’t my thing, that shows whether you’ve recently ingested Red Tear. And, by extension, it also-“

“THUNDER OF THE OLD WORLD, APPEAR IN MY HANDS!” Varcon suddenly cried out and a bolt of lightning flew from his hands to Satsuhiro’s back.

If that had been Ash, she figured she would have been on the floor, injured, maybe even dead at the hands of the spell that had just been cast. Instead, that spell had been launched at Satsuhiro, an experienced mage who knew the magic he had been about to receive before Varcon had even finished his incantation. Satsuhiro muttered an incantation of his own so quickly that Ash didn’t register it, and the bolt of lightning disappeared as it made contact with his body, which was encased in a white barrier.

Then, as Varcon’s trembling hands remained up in the air, a lingering sign of what he’d just tried to do, Satsuhiro pushed him out of the room and locked the door behind him.

“Well,” Satsuhiro said as Varcon repeated the incantation and launched a bolt at the door, mildly breaking it. “That should buy us some time. Now,” he paced over to Kaori, “drink this.”

“S-Sure…” Kaori was obviously confused, but having heard that this was what the alchemist had wanted her to consume, she drank it. Varcon launched another bolt that tore a hole through the door.

He was reaching for the door’s knob to unlock it as Kaori gulped the contents down.

Then, a red flash came that made them pause. Kaori was glowing. All of them looked at her. Varcon through the door, Satsuhiro a step in front of her, Ash with her arms crossed as she stood nearby. Then, Kaori’s eyes glowed red.

“Yeah,” Satsuhiro stated, “that’s the sign. Now, it’s a matter of her getting her memories back.”

“W-What?” Varcon asked. Satsuhiro turned to him. Ash looked at him as well, and she noted that he was putting on an expression she’d never seen on him before.

Pure and utter worry.

It was obvious he was concerned, of course. He had just tried to fry Satsuhiro after all. However, this look on his face was so intense that it had Ash raising a brow. What the hell is wrong with him?

And then, she heard Kaori choke up.

As soon as she turned to look at the blonde, Kaori vomited just in front of Satsuhiro, in the space between the two of them.

A red liquid, far brighter than what Ash would assume blood to look like, poured from her mouth. Is that the Red Tear?

Kaori coughed. Satsuhiro passed her the same cup she’d been drinking from before but Kaori took it and threw the glass across the room, smashing it into the wall.

Then, she looked up at Varcon, and Ash was stunned. She had never seen an individual look at another person with as much raw fury as Kaori had at that moment. She’d received the worst glares the city had to offer, but she could safely say she’d never had anyone look at her like Kaori was looking at Varcon. The blonde stood up, stepping over her own puke as she walked over to the door and yanked it open.

Varcon fell onto his knees, as he’d been supporting himself with the door that Kaori had just torn away from him.

“N-Now, listen.” Varcon started. Ash squinted. What the hell is going on here?

“You… You tried to make me kill her?” Kaori asked with silent rage.

“I understand that you may be confused but…”

Then, Kaori transformed her Savior’s Weapon into her swordstaff.

Varcon’s expression changed then though. 

“Stop this.” He said with a commanding tone. 

“No,” Kaori simply replied. Varcon’s eyes widened. 

“What? I-Impossible, you drank from…” Varcon looked at the filled cup. 

“I didn’t,” Kaori explained. “I held the water in my mouth and spat it back out. You… You…” Ash saw rage build up in Kaori’s eyes.

And then, it happened. It happened so quickly that Ash didn’t register it until a squishing sound entered her ears.

Suddenly, her weapon was embedded in his stomach. Everyone froze. Kaori herself looked down at her outstretched arm, holding her swordstaff and looked back up at Varcon.

Regret? Panic? Ash couldn’t tell what was going through her mind.

Then, she pulled back her blade. Varcon took a step back, his hands trembling as he looked down at his wound. He fell to his knees, then onto his face.

A small puddle of red spread from his lifeless body.

—

The Next Day

“Ready?” Satsuhiro asked her.

“Yeah,” Ash took a final sip of coffee that Satsuhiro had kindly prepared. She got up from her chair and took a deep breath.

“Alright. Come on.” Satsuhiro walked out of the living room and Ash followed.

They were currently exiting the Savior House in the Spirit Gardens District. After what Kaori had done, deacons quickly called guards over and they were all arrested and taken to the city’s dungeon. It didn’t take long at all for Talo, the representative of the Royal Council, to arrive and ask them what exactly they’d done.

Kaori told them that she’d killed Varcon on her own and that Satsuhiro and Ash had nothing to do with it. Deacons were called to the dungeons and although they were also furious with the group as a whole, they verified what Kaori said.

The irony that lesser priests had been more honest than Varcon himself had made Ash chuckle at the time.

Of course, they’d attempted to tell not just the Council’s representative but the deacons as well what Varcon had done to Kaori, but the deacons simply outright didn’t believe her, and the Council member had replied saying they required some form of evidence.

Currently, they were at the Savior House.

Ash had asked Satsuhiro what would happen and the Savior had responded that, well, there would be a trial at some point. The issue was that word of Varcon’s death had spread so quickly that although these sorts of legal processes would usually take weeks to sort out, pious citizens were demanding to have Kaori’s head on a spike at this very moment.

The streets of Jade were empty because of this. It was an eerie silence that Satsuhiro and Ash walked through. She couldn’t remember too many times that the city had been this way. Everyone was gathered up in front of the Jade Palace, where Kaori was being held in a special dungeon reserved for those who the Royal Council themselves wanted to evaluate.

Ash was still shocked. She had been there, she had seen it, and yet she still didn’t believe it. Everything felt like some sort of strange dream. Well, despite the uncertainty of the moment, not knowing what would happen to Jade or what would happen to Kaori, there was one thing she was glad to know.

It felt damn good to know Varcon was gone. Now, if only she could personally thank Kaori for this, but she couldn’t. Aside from the crowd in front of her as she and Satsuhiro arrived at the palace, there were also multiple floors of stone and bars between them.

“So, now what?” Ash asked Satsuhiro.

“Now, we go talk to the Council and hope we work something out.” The older Savior replied.

“You think there’s any hope for her?” Ash asked.

“Maybe,” Satsuhiro responded. “Her motives were… fairly understandable.”

I’d say so. Ash sighed, remembering what Kaori had told them about why she did it.

“Besides,” Satsuhiro added, “the world still needs her. It wouldn’t be the first time a criminal Savior has been kept around.”

“What?” Ash asked.

“Well, it’s not a one-to-one comparison, as the Savior I’m referring to was a thief, but still. The Council does understand the necessity of our members.”

Satsuhiro and Ash, with their heads low, walked through the angry crowd. When they reached the front, guards protecting the palace recognized Satsuhiro and let them through. From the outside, Ash could tell this was probably the tallest building in Jade, but now that she was here, just the first floor was overwhelming.

A blue marble floor with a star-shaped design that covered the entire area. The workers walking around frantically wore black and gold, much like Keiko’s clothing but far more formal. On the walls were banners displaying symbols Ash didn’t understand while to the back, stairs led deeper into the building, however, as they entered, a person walked up to them.

“Ah, there you are.” It was Talo again. “We had been expecting you.”

“I can imagine,” Satsuhiro replied. “So… Can we cut to the chase?”

“Formalities are still lost on you, we see.” Talo snickered.

“What’s going to happen with her?” Satsuhiro continued.

“… Well, that depends.” They replied. “Come. Take a look.”

Talo led them through the spacious room to a window where Talo pointed out to the crowd. Of course, they were still yelling at the guards outside.

“They are somewhat displeased,” Talo stated. “Truthfully, this is a very concerning position for us. One wrong move and we could be painting ourselves as true villains to everyone in Jade. A dear figure was just lost, after all. Stating to them… what Kaori says Varcon did would likely not sound like the truth to them. Not much could save Kaori at this point.”

“What?” Ash stepped in. “Come on, that’s fucked up! We should at least tell some of them, it’s not like everyone’s gonna think it’s a lie.”

“The majority no doubt will though,” Talo replied. “You may be able to build a case that saves Kaori’s image. If you can do that, then, by all means, do so. For now, things look bad for her.

“Well, there’s got to be something we can do,” Satsuhiro said. “Nova needs every Savior it can get.”

“We believe there is a chance. A gamble of sorts.” Talo stated.

“What do you mean?” Satsuhiro asked.

“Taking a lesson from the recently departed, the right story can sway the opinions of the masses. Such a tactic was how Varcon managed to maintain his influence, portraying himself and the church as Nova’s true Saviors. Maybe this strategy will work here.”

“How?”

“Frame a punishment, but give her a chance at redemption.” The representative declared and Ash shook her head. This is all just a bit too complicated for me.

—

Kaori

The cell she was being kept in was so dark, she could barely see her own hands, placed over her curled-up knees. The sconce out in the hall was the only thing that gave any bit of light to her, and all it allowed her to do was to see the silhouettes of the small box to the right, which smelled of something awful, and a mat ahead she figured was supposed to be where she slept.

But that was something she knew she wouldn’t get to do anytime soon. It hadn’t been possible last night, it wouldn’t be possible this night either. Every time she closed her eyes, she remembered that moment. Varcon’s shocked eyes looking at her, wondering if she’d actually just stabbed him.

She curled up a little tighter.

She was in disbelief.

When she’d gotten the offer, when that cursed man had first entered her classroom and gave her the opportunity to be a Savior, she figured what she’d be killing were monstrous, ugly creatures. The kinds of things no reasonable person would have remorse for, the sorts of things she read about in books.

Instead, she’d killed the archpriest of Magia’s biggest church.

She shook her head.

Between the sadness, the anger, and the resentment was simply confusion. Kaori had to face the fact that she simply didn’t understand how the world worked as much as she thought she had.

Footsteps in the hall got her to look out. She saw two royal guards approaching. They opened the iron gate that kept her locked inside this cell and gestured for her to come out. What? They placed some iron cuffs around her wrists and Kaori sighed as they dragged her out of these strange dungeons.

Her eyes remained low, fixed on the ground as she was taken somewhere. She couldn’t tell where she was going.

Soon, the daylight was shining down on her and she tried to reach up to shield herself. A crowd was gathered here, one that started roaring as soon as she appeared.

“Settle down, settle down.” Someone said.

Between the chants of “kill her” and “take her head off” Kaori understood that this might be a public execution. She didn’t even have it in her to cry about it at this point.

But, eventually, maybe as they tired themselves out, the chanting ceased and the speaker to Kaori’s left continued.

“As you all know, the person beside me has committed a grave injustice. One that merits a punishment of the most severe kind.”

That got the crowd going again.

“However, this person is also a Savior.” They declared. Kaori looked around, uninterested in what was being said, but more so focused on those who were watching. She was both curious to see if there was anyone she recognized and scared to find out there was.

Her eyes widened though when she found a pair to the right. Ash? Satsuhiro? The two of them were standing with a bit of distance put between them and the crowd. Ash’s eyes made contact with her own and Kaori looked away.

“… so,” she refocused on what the person to her left was saying, “we believe it to be fit to allow Magia herself to decide this Savior’s fate.”

The crowd’s response appeared to be confusion. Kaori could sympathize, she had no idea what that entailed.

“There exists a Nightmare north of here.” The mere mention of these creatures inflicted fear into the hearts of the citizens. “It will be brought here, to Jade, and then we will see what Magia intends for this Savior. Should she die, she shall do so in the most painful way imaginable, the Nightmare will make sure of that. Should she win, she shall be allowed to continue her duties. Whichever conclusion she arrives to, such should be Magia’s will.”

If she was being honest, Kaori felt so empty that she couldn’t care less what happened to her.

—

Ash

As she and Satsuhiro returned to the Savior House, neither of them spoke much. The events they’d witnessed weighed too heavily on their minds. Ash had but one thing she wanted to ask about.

“So, how long will it take before the Nightmare’s brought here?”

“Probably a day or two,” Satsuhiro said. “The people are desperate. The Council will want this to be done soon. The sooner this matter is resolved, one way or the other, the better.”

Ash crossed her arms.

“We really can’t do anything else for her?” Ash asked.

“I’ll have to think about that,” Satsuhiro stated. “Still, Kaori should be strong enough to defeat a low-level monster. Even a Nightmare… The issue isn’t so much about her strength, more so about her mind.”

Ash nodded. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens, huh?