Yuuki had already cast the spell Metamorphose on Yumi as she happily hummed as she held on to his left arm with her head resting on her old perch spot as she felt she was still entitled to this shoulder. Yuuki wondered about his feelings for Yumi as they walked down the road towards the village he and one other whom he had not met yet as they were traveling separately from each other were sent to the village to investigate a recent string of violent possessions targeting children. Yuuki sighed a bit at the thought of anything in this world wanting to harm children who were innocent in a lot of ways.

Yumi heard Yuuki sigh as she tilted her head up at him a bit "What's bother you Yuuki, you only sigh like that when somethings on your mind." she said in a warm but concerned manner as her emerald orbs met the gaze of his sapphire like orbs "Hmm, Just the fact that someone or something would willingly want to harm children." Yuuki said as they came upon a crossroads which Yuuki elected to guide the pair left as he remembered the directions indicating that a left turn was required when they reached a cross road near the village. Yumi lifted her head from his left shoulder and gently placed a kiss on his left cheek before resting her had back on the same shoulder.

Yuuki slightly blushed at the Public display of affection but also knew it was her way of trying to cheer him up and make him feel better "Thank you." he said softly his cheeks felt a tad warm as they walked Yuuki noticed as landmark to his left which took the form of a giant rock that was mentioned in the directions to the village which told Yuuki they were on the right track. They walked for a while in silence until the village could be seen a few miles in the distance from the top of the hill "Pretty." Yumi exclaimed from the top of the hill before they started their descent into the valley and before long arriving at the village.

Yuuki and Yumi arrived at the village and began to look around as they made their way to the village chiefs house, as they walked they happened to notice a lot of weary and beleaguered faces on the people of this village alot of them looking very tired and drained, which Yuuki could understand if the events described to him when the quest was given to him. After a few minutes of walking Yuuki and Yumi arrived at the village chiefs house, Yuuki walked up to the door and knocked and heard hurried footsteps coming from within.

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“Sweet Nightbloom!” Salem spoke to himself with an ample amount of excitement. Picking the poisonous flower Salem got back to the task at hand. He had taken a mission to this creepy place. Accompanied by a lower ranking person in Dawn’s affiliated guild. Not that accompanied would be the right word. He accepted the mission to go since the guy was said to be talented. Taking care of the talented juniors in the world was a fun enough job for him. That and he was already in Joya enjoying his vacation so this was not too much of a big ask for him. He was even making an effort to brush up on his Joyan language skills.

He carefully tucked the plant away. As a fae he was naturally attuned to the forces of nature. It was more noticeable in aquatic environments but anywhere there was wild held a slight sway for him. This time he was happy because he managed to grab a rare and deadly flower. Well it was deadly to humans. To the fae and other members or descendants of the spirit races, it worked as a great tea. It was full of flavor and packed with a lot of fun things.

Making his way over to the village was pretty uneventful. The gaunt faces of the people did not phase him a bit. The misery that they felt was a different story. Salem was feeling feelings and was not liking what the people felt. It was all sadness and depression. A real bummer on the otherwise perpetually happy person. He skipped to the chief's house and whistled while he did.

Upon entering Salem was greeted with the sight of three different people. The chief and two others. Salem’s eyes started up. They took on the blue and gold swirls that showed he was using his magic. He verified that the two was from the guild he was supposed to work with. A dude named Yuuki and his companion. Salem mentally laughed at the fact that Yuuki sounded like Yuurei. If his guild mate elf was Joyan he would have asked if the two could be cousins.

“Hi hi~ Pleased to meet the both of you. My name is Salem. Sent here as the representative to work with you.” Salem kept his voice leveled from the introduction. Even if he was not too happy by what he could see. The kid looked talented but only in his aspect of speed. He was very much lacking in other aspects. Like his defense and even offensive power. From what he could tell. The gear did not look that great either. “Did the two of you find out anything from the chief here?” Salem asked them first. He was trying to show them respect as fellow mages.


[467]

Yuuki looked in the direction of the door way when he heard footsteps coming down the hall, had the his babysitter finally showed up and wondered who they may actually be as no details were given on such short notice and Yuuki figured at worst case he would just have to grin and bear the ordeal if it was someone he could not get along with, after all this was the first major thing he had been entrusted with and he did not wanna make himself or Sleeping Calamity look bad as he did not think Knuckles would let him live it down or off the hook so easily, as he would probably have Yuuki sparring until his arms fell off, the idea of which did not sound pleasant at all.

As Yuuki mused the stranger finally made an appearance and it was someone Yuuki did not know, the tallish man, who Yuuki gauged to be a tad shorter than himself introduced himself as Salem and he was there to essentially be how Yuuki viewed it as his baby sitter Yuuki stood trying to be respectful and offered the man his hand to shake as a greeting "Hello, Im Yuuki and this is Yumi." He said motioning to the tall pink haired elvish women although Yuuki had already introduced her Yumi chimed in with "Hello, im Yumi." she said politely but not rising as she was not quite familiar with common courtesy among humans quite yet.

Yuuki was about to sit back down when Salem asked question about if the village chief had filled them in on anything just yet "h not yet as we have only just arrived ourselves." he said in a polite but respectful manner as he was not yet sure what to make the the guy "But we were just about to start the briefing." Yuuki said in a respectful manner before he sat down to face the village elder as he awaited her briefing to begin so they could get on with the quest.

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“Well pleased to meet you both Yuuki and Yumi.” Salem gave a nod and sat down Pergrande style as they called it. He did not want to do that weird haunch thing that was common in Joya. Besides, it would have been weird if he was the only one that did not bother to sit. He was amused that he was getting better using his sight abilities. This time he did not even say hello to Yuuki as if he knew him. It was small but excellent progress for one that could see things out of place. This time he was gonna give the chief most of the attention he could muster.

The jist of what he could gather was that bad magic was infecting children in the village. Causing them to become more bloodthirsty and tyrannical than the standard child. It was only two of the kids so far but that was the extent of what they could do, before it got worse the chief had already reached out to receive help. To Salem it did not look like it was a job that was too difficult. Subdue a bunch of kids and get the evil out. That felt like a fun time for him.

“EEEEeeeeeeh!” A loud scream ripped through the air. Salem got up to go check it out. Outside the place it looked like two children were attacking some adults. One looked like he was getting ready to make a killing blow. The other in another direction was fighting a man with a pitchfork.

Salem made a bolt of magic with his fist and chucked it with decent force at the one trying to make a killing blow. The bolt struck the kid from the chest and made it grunt. It was a small child and if Salem was an offensive mage it would have probably killed the kid. It was funny because the healing nature of his power made the kid scream. Another loud piercing shout that was filled with agony. Then it looked like the kid puked, except he did it upwards and it was a black fog that shot out the kid’s mouth. “Yep. Looks like possession.” Salem posed as if he was a wise old expert that has come across this many times before, when in all truth he had dealt with a similar circumstance last week. To him this was just a repeat occurrence.



[403][870]

"Like wise." Yuuki said as he watched the man take his seat. Yuuki was surprised when Salem did not take his seat in a traditional Joyan manner, but it would be unfair to assume anyone outside of Joya or one that frequented the country or the city of Hosenka. Yuuki mentally shrugged and just tossed it up to not knowing Joyan customs either way it made no difference as their task here was not to observe a countries customs but to investigate strange possessions happening with in this small village in the Joyan country side.

Yuuki's attention was taken away from his internal musings as the elder began to speak now that everyone was situated. The elderly woman explained in some detail that some form of dark magic had seemingly only been targeting children, and while it had only been two kids so far but more would likely follow if something was not done and quickly. The entire thought of someone or something vile enough to target children made him clench his jaw in a mixture of anger and frustration, as children were precious innocent beings who neither deserved or should ever have to see or experience such vile or traumatizing things as these were their sacred years and should be cherished, plenty of vile and traumatizing things awaited them in adulthood.

Yuuki was thinking about the things he would do to such a being that liked to use and harm children when a blood curdling scream rang out through the air like a siren causing Yuuki to jump to his feet his right hand already going for the hilt of his katana as he followed salem to the door of the village elders home Yuuki could see two children attacking adults one appeared to be holding his own with a pitchfork the other looked mere seconds away of ditching their mortal coil and if something was not done quick that would likely come to pass.

Yuuki, was about to run past Salem to deal with the one in the most danger, but apparently his partner neither trusted him or thought him incapable of dealing with the issue as watched a magic bolt strike the kid in the chest which Yuuki just shrugged and thought 'His problem now' as Yuuki went to move past him said that it looked like possession "No shit." Yuuki muttered under his breath annoyed at being treated like a novice or a child as he went to deal with the child harassing the man with a pitchfork.

Yuuki took off running towards the pair still engaged while unbolting his sheath from his sword belt. Yuuki covered the distance in only a few seconds as speed was probably the one thing he excelled at he swung the sheathed Katana with enough force to send the kid tumbling a few yard but not enough to do any real lasting damage; however unlike Salem's child this one simply got back up and merely charged him. Yuuki not wanting to cause the kid any lasting harm merely parried and dodged the possessed kids swings and strikes as a if Yuuki used his actual full power he was likely to kill the kid "A little help would be nice unless you wanna bury a kid today." He yelled in an annoyed manner at the only person there capable of using magic as the only thing Yuuki's chosen profession knew how to do was kill and remove limbs.

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Salem let the kid go to work as he checked on the other. The kid and the man looked like they were breathing alright. Earlier he had struck out on reflex. He could have put up a shield but he viewed the attacker as too weak. So when he struck out he made sure to try and hold back a smidgen. Which was all that mattered. Salem could have healed them up a lot more except he did not want to waste the mana. If his guess was accurate. Chances are he may need it for some heavy lifting later. He stopped looking at them to check on his newfound friend.

Far as he could see. The kid was doing well. He even had a hint of swordsmanship. From what he could recall about seeing Yuurei and a few of the others in the arena. He was one that could almost be called decent. A solid foundation. Even if the fact that he was struggling against the kid spoke volumes about how much he had to go. From what Salem could judge. He had already kept the sword in the sheath, all he needed to do was bash the child in the head. It was a simple solution for him. Brain trauma around a healer was not the worst thing. Then again, Salem had a thought. If the dude did not recognize him. That would explain why he was unaware of the fact that Salem was a healer. Which actually surprised him. Far as Salem knew he was considered among the best healers of Fiore.

The call for help was a surprise. Salem neglected the tone. He was under the impression that the man was simply struggling. “Sure. I got you.” Salem ran in with a dash. He brought up his staff with a small area parry. He simply redirected the kids' slash, to fall away from them. Salem did not want to waste too much time, and with a practiced side smash of his own. He broke the kid's leg, then with a swing he broke the other one leaving the kid on the ground. Crippled and slightly bleeding out.

“Anyway you did well. You can feel free to hold back your strength at times but if you come across a situation where you need to take them out. Just leave them half dead. Not sure if I mentioned I am a healer. So anything short of actual death is fine.” Salem looked over and saw the kid unconscious from blood loss and breathing heavily. That was when Salem made a hand sign and shot a beam of healing energy at him. The legs repaired themselves and to be on the safe side. Salem used a bit of small scale cleaning magic. He did not want the kid to wake up in a pool of his own blood.

Salem was feeling pretty satisfied. He thought the training went well. No one died and they already had a start with two kids. “We should move on. Feel free to lead the way.” Salem wanted to let the other take control of the situation. He wanted to see what the guild with muscles for brains were fully capable of doing.


[534][1404]

Yuuki kept dodging until Salem came to assist but not in the way Yuuki had hoped, as Yuuki had been doing everything in his power not to harm the kid who through no fault of his own was acting like due to being possessed as Yuuki watched Salem dash in parry a block and then needlessly break the kids legs when he could have easily hit him with the same blast he had the other causing Yuuki's to narrow and his temper to flare "Why in the fuck did you do that for?" Yuuki shouted as he attempted to grab Salem by the collar he did not care if the man was stronger to than him "It's just a fucking child the whole reason I ask for your help dumb ass was because I didn't want to harm the child period." Yuuki said enraged shouting loud enough for anyone nearby to hear.

Salem further enraged Yuuki by telling him it was ok to leave them half dead simply cause he was a healer "Are you stupid or something?" Yuuki roared "Or do you simply not have any care for human life or life period." Yuuki said through gritted teeth really trying to hold back from attacking the man as Yuuki could not stomach anyone who would harm a child regardless of the reason as Yuuki had seen enough children killed during the civil war in Joya and had killed people he seen committing such atrocities and now this individual does it nonchalantly in front of him like it was a normal what ever thing to him.

"I don't care if you're a healer or not you don't go around needlessly harming people just because you have the power to heal them, what if you harm them in a way that can't be healed like psychological trauma or do you even care about others?" Yuuki asked Salem with malice oozing from his mouth with every syllable spoken as he cared little for others who did not see the value in life or thought they were above others simply because they exist "But let me break your legs and see how ya like the pain even though you can heal yourself and then maybe you will have a different perspective on use of force." Yuuki said with in a malicious manner still glaring at the man.

"Nah you lead since you feel its ok just to go around breaking children's legs." Yuuki said angrily as he put his Katana back on his sword belt not wanting Salem to be out of his eye sight as he now did not trust the man at all and certainly didn't trust a man who would so effortlessly harm a child walking behind him as one never knew when he may attempt to slip a dagger into ones ribs.

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Salem simply moved out of the way when Yuuki tried to grab him. He did not take the attempted assault to heart. It was actually surprising to Salem that Yuuki did not want to lead. It was a simple manner as far as he was concerned to finish this mission. He did not mind the fact that Yuuki yelled at him. To be fair he simply ignored pretty much all of it. The kid freaked out when he saw blood. Some people tended to be like that. Too stuck in their own trauma’s and such to understand the bigger picture. Fact of the matter is. The longer it would have taken them to end that fight, the more people could have gotten killed or been in danger. Spells cost mana and could sometimes take time before use. If he needed the magic for a different emergency situation compared to something he could do physically, then he would be a bad mage. Mages had to plan ahead.

“Sure. I’ll lead.” Salem didn't even bother responding to the antics. He moved as needed because his focus was on the end goal, as proficient as possible. If Yuuki did not like his methods, that was on him. He would have to learn more about the world in his own way. Talking or trying to deal with emotional people at all times did not work out too well. Salem would not have been surprised if the kid wanted to attack him. The self righteous types were always the ones likely to do it. He had no time to entertain someone he was not sure was going to make it out alive without his intervention. Maybe his rage and anger can be used to fuel himself further.

“Help!” Another cry grabbed his attention. This time Salem ran ahead. Since he was taking the lead he may as well do it thoroughly. He did not have the best opinion of Yuuki and just wanted to get to the end of it all anyway. Salem came to the scene of a large boy about twelve or thirty two, trying to end the life of his mother. Like the first time Salem simply repeated his actions. It took him less than a moment to incapacitate that child before using mana to clean everything else. “You monster!” The mother was about as hysterical as Yuuki. Salem decided to talk to her. Lest he got two people wanting to kill him.

“I broke his legs to keep him from fighting. The longer he fights. The more people will get hurt. I healed up any damage I’ve done, got the evil out, and help heal some of the trauma the possession caused.” Salem reached his hand out and used a shining ray on the mom. His blue green energy suffuses into her head, and calms her down. “I need you to focus and tell me what has happened here.”

“I can tell you about that and what I was saying earlier.” The village elder had made a reappearance. Seeing the mom and child as well.


[514][1918]

Yuuki glared daggers at Salem as he seemed to completely shrug off and ignore anything Yuuki had just said almost as if Salem cared little for his opinion and this was exactly the reason Yuuki refused to take the lead if his opinions and feelings on things were not gonna be taken into account although it seemed Salem had zero regard for anyone other than himself which was a arrogant and egotistical way to look at things and the world but as far as Yuuki was concerned you cant fix emotionally unavailable people in the same way you can't fix stupid if Salem was so emotionless and closed off to the world it would eventually come back to bite him in the ass some day.

Salem took the lead since Yuuki wanted no part in harming children making Yuuki wonder if Salem got some sort of sick pleasure out of doing so or if he got off on it which was disgusting to Yuuki lost in his thoughts was shaken back to reality by somebody screaming help and before Yuuki could act Salem was off and running before breaking yet another childs legs causing Yuuki to clench his fists and jaw in anger to the point he even thought about drawing and attacking Salem, but Yuuki decided against it death was too good an alternative for that man, what he needed was the same brutality he enacted on others done to him; but alas Yuuki didn't have the capabilities to do such a thing but Yuuki did believe in karma and knew Salem would get his just deserts as he leaned against the building and let the man handle the rest since he had already done everything else he could talk to the village elder too Yuuki could listen from here as the woman apparently had more information to relay.

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“One Moment.” Salem had to make sure the mom and kid were okay. He transferred everyone back to the chief's house. It would simply be better to have a nice place to sit and have a listen to what was going on. Salem had a good idea about what was happening. He just needed to get confirmation about what had happened. “So would you mind starting all over from the beginning?” Salem would ask pretty nicely. He wished the people would offer some tea or something but that did not look like it was going to happen.

Salem sat down the same way that he did earlier. He was gonna relax and listen again. Since what needed to be said went further than the possessed children. It was going to be a really long night. Finishing up with this and who knows how many other rabbit holes this entire thing would go down. So he would sit and he would listen.


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[Exit]