394. Responsibility and Consequence
Daniel Song stood in a clearing, surrounded by trees as his eyes darted from side to side. Shadows moved around him. Fast, swift. He could barely keep up with what it was. He raised his Primordial Longsword, ready for its attack.
And it lashed out. From the darkness, a figure erged, swinging for his throat. Daniel barely reacted in ti, bringing up his sword to parry the double bladed dagger. He grinned as the assailant recoiled, and he took that chance to grab her by the arm.
Fuck
Amanda cursed as she tried to pull away. But it was too late. Daniel had already caught her. He yanked her close and raised the flat of his sword to her neck.
Gotcha.
I lost already, alright?
The forr assassin cursed as she took a step back. He rolled his eyes and sheathed his blade.
That was a good sparring session. Honestly, Im surprised I can actually keep up with you now.
What are you even on about?
Amanda frowned. She gestured at him.
Youre a [Hero]. Youre way stronger than . You literally beat even back when you were 10 levels below .
Thats not what I ant. I was talking about speed.
Daniel scoffed as he led her back away from the forest towards Alyras. They strolled down the road, both of them tired from the spar. It was afternoon, and just this morning, Daniel had been far from the city, visiting Salvos. Now he was back and training with Amanda. It wasnt anything life-threatening or dangerous. In fact, it was the forr assassin who suggested this.
He didnt mind so relaxing sparring like this. It was a nice reprieve from the near-death situations hed often found himself tossed in when Salvos was involved. He ca to a halt as he reached the end of a road.
Man, Salvos must be rubbing off on if a sparring day is considered a rest day
He shook his head, and Amanda paused. She shifted her feet uncomfortably, overhearing what he said, but he didnt see her reaction. Instead, Daniel looked up towards the sky. The sun was inching closer to the horizon right behind the city of Alyras. It was late into the afternoon.
Think the eting has already started?
He turned back to Amanda. The forr assassin shrugged.
I dont fucking know. I dont pay attention that that shit.
Daniel furrowed his brows.
Well, I hope its going well.
He took a step forward, heading for the adventurer encampnt just outside of the city. Then he paused. He leaned forward, catching sight of three figures just ahead of him. He opened his mouth.
Thats
And he paused.
This is good.
Edithe Dawnrise smacked her lips as she pushed the empty plate away from her. There had been a slice of delicious, sweet cake there. Key word: had been. The red-haired woman wasnt really one with a sweet tooth, but she couldnt deny just how good that had been.
Hadrian smiled at her and leaned forward.
Im glad you liked it. I spent the whole of last week scouting for places until I decided on this cafe.
He nodded at the server as he settled back into his chair. Edithe shook her head.
So, is this our first date or sothing?
She smiled at him, and he flushed. Hadrian her leader the leader of the Valiant Drears Company shifted in his seat.
I an, if you want it to be
Edithe just chuckled.
For a ladies man, youre quite shy, arent you?
He scoffed, but didnt have a response for that. She got to her feet, stretching.
Anyway, this was fun. At least, its a good distraction since
She glanced over to the palace of Alyras at the center of the city. He sighed.
Dont remind .
It was sothing that annoyed both of them. The True Valiants had been invited to be present at the eting, and not the Valiant Drears. The fact that the Valiant Drears werent going to be there didnt matter so much to Edithe since she knew there was going to be limited vacancies to the Conference of Alyras, but the fact that the True Valiants were invited instead of them? It made her livid.
She, to so extent, understood the reasoning. However, that didnt change how it made her feel. Sighing, Edithe turned away from the palace of Alyras.
Its whatever. They have Orbur Vale, so it makes sense, but its not like hed be able to contribute much to the eting. We know everything he knows.
Not unless he lied to us.
Hadrian shook his head. Edithe pursed her lips.
That is true, but
She trailed off. It was entirely possible. Not sothing that was off the table. Closing her eyes, she just shrugged.
Its not sothing we should dwell on, anyway.
Edithe was content with not being involved with every important event that ever happened. At the end of the day, she was just an adventurer. She wasnt like Daniel who was a [Hero], nor was she like Salvos who was well, Salvos.
The red-haired woman rembered just a few hours ago. Salvos was babying three Wyverns now. And Edithe feared to see what those tiny little monsters would grow up to beco with Salvos raising them.
Co on, lets just go back to the encampnt.
Edithe ushered Hadrian away from the cafe. He nodded, glancing back to the palace of Alyras for a mont longer. Then his eyes narrowed.
Whats going on?
He asked. Edithe turned around. She heard the susurration. There were shouts and loud voices echoing from the direction of the palace. She frowned.
A commotion?
She exchanged a look with Hadrian. And they had the sa thought.
Lets go
They moved to investigate.
Saffron rryster sat at the Conference of Alyras, plagued by a myriad of emotions. On one hand, she was glad this eting was finally happening. As the daughter of one of the Four Greater Vampire Families, the duty to protect Humankind from the return of the Demons had been instilled into her since she was young.
But despite such teachings, all of the Vampire families had begun to neglect their duties in the recent millennia. Perhaps it was fair for the rrysters, the Norwoods, the Crimsonfangs, and the Veridians to be blad for allowing the Demon threat to foster for so long. And as much as Saffron agreed with the sentint, she was absolutely livid that this was the main subject of the Conference of Alyras.
These Demons shouldve been dealt with by the Vampire families before it spiraled to this ss that it has beco. How could you, so-called Demon Slayers, allow this threat to fester and infect the Inoria Empire from within? What have you been doing all this ti?
A man called Jake spoke uninterrupted. Helena Warshade had brought him in, saying that he was from a relatively new company called the True Valiants. He accused and condemned the Vampire Families. Which mightve been fair if not for the fact that it was dominating the discussion.
They shouldve been discussing what to do now, rather than pointing fingers. It frustrated Saffron. She massaged her temples as she sat back in her chair. It wasnt her ti to speak. Not like she could even contribute much. She was a lowly noble in the face of so of the most important people in the world.
Orbur Vale, if you would explain how the Vampire families in Nixa did nothing as your company was infiltrated and overtaken by a group of Demon shapeshifters.
Jake stepped aside, bringing a man from the now-defunct Iron Champions Company forward. Orbur cleared his throat.
That is correct. The Iron Champions Company had been investigating the Church of Regnorex for years. Our leader, Bulan Dishar, led this investigation as we ca to realize that they had plans. Big plans. We even sought aid from the Vampire families multiple tis, but our pleas fell on deaf ears.
He closed his eyes, speaking through gritted teeth. Saffron couldnt stop herself anymore. She looked at Orbur Vale, outraged. Wasnt he part of the Iron Champions Company? He had literally supported the Demons because he felt his life was threatened. She opened her mouth, ready to unleash her annoyance at him.
You
But Crocus rryster, her father, stopped her. He cald her down before she could speak and embarrass herself. Flushing, she sat back down.
I dont get it. Why are we arguing over this? Shouldnt we be taking action?
She sputtered. Crocus sighed, watching Orbur Vale sit back down. Another voice spoke up. Peris Dolonia, Crown Prince of Dolonia, got to his feet, voicing his agreents at the Vampires failures.
We cannot overlook that we had entrusted this sole duty of exterminating any burgeoning Demon threat to these noble Demon Slayers
We should be taking action.
Crocus nodded, his forehead creased.
However, arguing here will only push them further towards inaction. We can only bear responsibility for our failures and hope our pleas dont go unheard.
Saffron didnt understand it. She couldnt comprehend this aningless blaming. She listened to Peris Dolonias ramblings, trying to parse it. Annoyed. Irritated. But it was only when he finished, did she finally realize what their issue was.
So, why should we bear the consequences of your failure?
Peris Dolonia stared callously at the Vampire families. It all clicked to Saffron. The reason why they were so reticent to simply just agree to confront the Demon threat. It was because they wanted soone else to deal with it. They felt like they werent responsible, so why did they have to involve themselves now?
It was ridiculous, yet understandable. After all, why did they have to make sacrifices when they were not the ones at fault for what was happening now? Yet, at the sa ti, if everyone who wasnt responsible for allowing this Demon threat to devolve to the current situation abstained from intervening, then the Demons would be free to overwhelm the Human lands.
Peris sat back down, shaking his head.
Mori Gladius, Nixa how many more people have to suffer for the consequences of your actions?
Saffron gripped the edge of the table tightly. But she wasnt here to speak. The one who answered was Gannon Norwood. The Patriarch of the Norwood Family. He got to his feet and faced Peris simply.
What do you want from us, then?
It was a good question. Because nowhere at Peris ramblings did he bring up what he wanted from the Vampires. He blad them. As did Jake. As did most of those present here. However, they offered no solution.
Peris tilted his head and spoke dismissively.
Take your Treasures of Alexander and deal with this ss, of course. There is another Prival Demon to slay, is there not? Find it and kill it.
Saffron could already see the glaring flaw with that plan. Sure, the Greaves of Alexander was with Gannon Norwood, and that the Boots of Alexander was stashed sowhere safe by Anya Veridian, but she did not know where the Crimsonfangs were keeping the Crown of Alexander. However, none of that mattered since the Sword of Alexander was still missing, and the Breastplate of Alexander was
Faith El, Fallen Queen of the Elutra Kingdom, rose to her feet, having the sa thought as Saffron. The room quietened as she took center stage. Of everyone in the room right now, she was the most blaless, having warned them all of what was happening in Inoria for years.
I must interject and assert that thats not possible, Prince Peris.
And not to be too forward, but why not, Queen Faith?
He sat back in his chair, looking at her dubiously. Faith sighed. Saffron pursed her lips, knowing what was about to be said. Knowing the cause behind it. The Fallen Queen of Elutra closed her eyes.
Because of the simple reason that the Breastplate of Alexander is destroyed.
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