Akuma, are you there?......Hello???
I kept trying to reach out to Akuma but she wouldn't reply.
Strange she was able to talk before…
The following week we started going over the basics of swordplay and magical combat. Luther taught me the importance of utilizing my magic in tandem with my blade skills. Being proficient in one alone was not enough. Distracting with magic to strike, or vice versa. Throughout that week he drilled into me the importance of combining my skills to outwit and surprise my opponent.
Luther explained,
"In this world there are two types of people. Those who can utilize elemental magic and those who cannot. The majority of people possess skills but can only graze the true potential of them. If you have a flame sword skill but don't possess the flame affinity it is much weaker. Don't let that go to your head. Those who only use their blades are much more proficient in close quarters combat, some even have mastered the technique of dispelling spells with their blades."
I responded,
"better train even harder then."
Luther laughed,
"If you insist."
This was a mistake as Luther began beating me half to death in our training and healing me at the end with holy magic. Daily I ended the day battered and bruised but it was all worth it. I would use this training to save Mina, no pain was too much. Finally, after a week of brutal training it was over. It was the one day a week we all had off so we decided to all meet up at the castle's personal bar for the east wing. A hole in the wall called the Ruby Apple Tavern, I walked in and immediately smelled the strong scent of freshly cut apples. Most of the group was already here. The only people missing were Hino, Hinabi and Kayaba. Emelia walked over to me with two mugs of Ruby Apple Ale. She pointed up to the big sign of an apple. "Apple ale you s-s-s-ee?"
She grabbed me and started pouring the first mug down my throat.
"Welcome, welcome! Time to catch up with my favorite…, hic' Yuki."
Dante walked over handing me a rag,
"Sorry, she got here early."
We all walked over to the table and sat with everyone.
Akira glanced at me,
"Yuki! There you are. Glad we're all here. Hino said she had some business with the clergy tonight. Hinabi got pretty hurt in training so she's being healed in the infirmary. She said not to wait around though."
I sat down and began to drink my apple ale.
Akira elaborated, all about his holy magic training,
"This kind of magic is really hurtful to the undead, and slightly more effective against demons. My trainer, Raynair is.. well… is an incredible swordsman! If we train like this for a year we have a real shot at surviving all of this"
Emelia responded,
"I just wish Mina was here, Ah! My heart. It hurts."
Emelia slammed her head on the table next to her mug,
"At least the drink here is good.
*hic*"
I grabbed the rest of her drink and finished it,
"Mina has been in this place for weeks now as a slave and we sit here drinking…. I feel guilty… This doesn't feel right. We need to go after her."
Koji sat at our table,
"Ok, what do you want to do, leave? We're in a whole new world, we know nothing about where she is, she could be on a different continent from where she started for all we know. It's not like the gods that sent us here are forthcoming with the information"
*Slam* The mug hits the table.
Angrily I responded,
"So what, do we just leave her there?!"
Koji responded,
"Yuki this is life and death! We could walk out of this castle and get mauled by some crazy monster, I'm not saying we leave her. We just wait until we have the strength to reach her."
A bit tipsy at this point, a tear started to roll down my face,
"We don't know that she will last that long. Sure, waiting to find her might be safer for us. She could be ok. She also could be getting abused on a daily basis. I don't want to take the risk."
Akira grabbed my shoulder,
"We're going to find her, I promise. Koji is right though, Mina wouldn't want us all to die trying to get her. For right now, we wait"
Koji laughed and continued,
"Akira you're just wanting to stay here with your new instructor. I will say you got lucky, she is one hot—
*Akira kicks Koji's shin under the table*
Nice lady.. Yeah that Raynair is one nice lady.. "
I know that Koji isn't completely wrong, in either case. Akira blushed like a tomato when he brought her up. Is asking them to risk their lives for Mina wrong? We were all part of the same club but to risk your life for someone when the odds are stacked against you… Think about it, if you see a classmate getting attacked at the subway. Are you going to help? Are you going to fight off that attacker for them? Most people would run, your connection ends at the school property.
Dante started to shake my shoulder,
"Yuki, hello? Did the booze finally get to you?"
He began making faces trying to get my attention. I looked up at him,
"Sorry.. I was spacing out in my own head."
Akira glanced at me, looking unsure what he should do,
"I… Yuki… I.. think we should tell them."
Sora, hearing the impending gossip, rushed to our table,
"What's the scoop?"
I walked to the door, opening it and peeking in each direction. I closed the door and locked it, blew out the candles and sat back down.
Emelia started to wake from her drunken slumber,
"What's with the lights.. *hic*"
I snapped my fingers creating a tiny purple flame,
"I'm a demon".
Emelia seeing the purple flame started to freak out,
"Ghost! AH! Dante help me….."
*Thud*
Emelia fell out of her seat and onto her back.
I lit the candle with the purple flame,
"I'm serious, I was forced to become a demon when we came to this world. These people are zealots forcing us to fight their war against people like me. It's only a matter of time before they find out what I am."
Koji was intrigued and asked,
"You sure? You look pretty normal to me! You became a dark elf, got a bit taller and darker in complexion. Overall it's still you… Dark magic, and a demon, you got the darklord starter pack. Haha!"
Sora excitedly chimed in,
"That is awesome! I didn't know that demons could look like people. I imagined red goblins with wings, at least that's how the shows depict them."
Dante picked up Emelia,
"I'm going to take this one to bed. Ever since she found out she can drink, she gets like this at night. Pops back up the next morning like nothing happened. Crazy this one."