After night had fallen Ash followed Emelia back to the city where a large group of people awaited them. As they rode through the city gates people cheered not only for Emelia but for him as well. Though most of the faces showed nothing but happiness a few showed a look of hatred when they looked upon the demon women who rode behind and beside Ash.
It was one thing for the citizens to accept demi-humans with demon blood since they were still partially human but it was something different altogether to accept full blood demons since they had been the scapegoat for everything that unexplained that happened.
When they reached Emelia’s manor Ash was glad to be out from under all the eyes that had been focused on him.
“Master,” a familiar voice rand out before a red haired fox girl jumped into his arms.
“Hello Yuki,” Ash said as he gently patted her head which now reached just below his throat. Over the past half a year she had indeed grow a lot. She now looked her age which Ash didn’t know if it was a good thing or not. Before he separate from Yuki he felt something else tug on his pants as it started to crawl up his leg.
“Did you miss me Milly?” Ash asked as he lifted the small panther girl into his arms. Just like Yuki she had group but not nearly as much but Ash was sure that she was a few inches taller.
Milly rubbed her soft cheeks against his while let off a contented purring sound like a cat. Milly seemed to have the same effect on the demon women as she had on everyone else as they all seemed to coo over he uniquely cute look but it was Tolarea who won the right to hold her. What surprised Ash the most was not that Tolarea was so aggressive about getting to hold the young beast girl but was that Milly didn’t seem to object. When he had first met the young panther girl she was immensely shy and hid away from everyone.
Once Ash had greeted everyone they moved into the dining room for a well-deserved feast. Since it was not expected that Ash would be attending the cooks had made Emelia’s favorite foods; steamed asparagus, steak, a light fruit salad, and lightly fried potatoes. In fact from what Ash understood they had cooked the same feast every day for the past week in hopes that she would return to the manor to eat.
At the start of the meal Milly started in Tolarea’s lap eating off the giantess’s plate until the fruit and meat was gone then she slipped down moving from lap to lap eating her favorite food off each one before moving to the next.
Once the meal was finished the mains showed Ash’s demon wives to their rooms which took a lot more work than Ash would have expected since they believed they should stay at his side. In the end they were able to come to an agreement with allowing one of the women to stand guard outside Emelia and Ash’s door.
After the rooms were assigned Emelia drug Ash to the study instead of heading straight to bed. He was tired but Ash had to admit it almost felt as if he had gone back in time as he sat beside Emelia in the book filled room with her head resting lightly on his shoulder while a book was resting in his lap.
“I missed this,” Emelia said with a contented sigh.
“I did as well,” Ash admitted honestly. “Where is Ashly?” Ash asked when he remembered his newly born daughter.
“She is with Helen at the moment,” Emelia said. “I didn’t think I would survive the war so I sent her to stay with Helen and their family. If anyone could keep the child safe I thought that old bat would be the one to do it,” Emelia then turned to Ash with a pained look in her face. “I know you want to see her but we should wait until we finish the business with the prisoners. We will have to be out a lot over the next few days and we can’t risk her safety.”
“I understand,” Ash said pulling Emelia close to his chest. “I have been able to stay away fir months a few more days won’t kill me.”
“Do me a favor,” Emelia said after a few quiet moments passed.
“Anything,” Ash replied his voice full of warmth.
“Don’t leave me again. I don’t think my heart can take it.”
“Promise,” Ash said with a light chuckle. “Though I hope you know I won’t be able to spend all my time with you,” Ash added after a few moments. “I have my duty to the demons to preform, and I am sure that the war is far from over.”
“I am not a fool,” Emelia said her voice holding an edge of annoyance to it. “You won’t be the only one who will be busy. With the battle over I will have to declare our independent from the crown. If the king himself would have stayed out of the war I might never have done it but now that he personally sent troops there is no way that we can stay a part of the kingdom.”
“Looks like we are going to have a very busy future,” Ash said in a joking tone.
“I wouldn’t be laughing,” Emelia said hitting Ash lightly in the chest. “It will be hard for us to find one day a week to spend with each other at this rate,” Emelia said pouting.
“Hasn’t that always been the life of a noble?” Ash asked seriously.
“Yes but before I was the noble and you were just my cute arm candy,” Emelia said pulling Ash into a kiss. “Who would have thought that my husband would turn out to be the king of demons?”
“I am just as surprised as you are,” Ash said returning the kiss. “Looks like life is never as simple as we think it will be.”
“Are you going to be going back to finish your training once the war is settled?” Emelia asked her voice sounding slightly lonely.
“Yes though you should really join me in the training,” Ash said with a warm smile. “You could do with putting a little muscle on that body of yours.”
Emelia crossed her arms and huffed. “I don’t want to become one of those muscle bound women. I much prefer the way I am thank you very much,” Emelia said in a dignified tone. “If you want to follow me to the bed chambers I can show you the benefit of having a wife that isn’t all muscle.”
Demonic Valor #10-10
Over the next three days Ash spent his time interviewing prisoners. Just as expected 97% of them were standard soldiers. The rest were knights were high level officers belonging to one of the nobles and a few to the king himself. In the end they were left with a little over sixty people held captive. The only exception the Emelia’s decision were the two standard soldiers who had the reapers mark above their heads.
Ash couldn’t simply execute them without cause, instead he consulted with Emelia and they held turned them over to the church for trial along with the other fourteen officers who were marked as well. This was done to give a reason for execution that made both Ash and Emelia blames since not even a king would be foolish enough to denounce the rulings of a church even if they wanted to. It also allowed Ash to kill them openly once they were found guilty so he could reap the rewards from their deaths. Ash felt slightly bad about killing men who had surrendered but he knew that to get the mark of death they had to commit grave sins that were unforgivable but it did little to alleviate the nagging of his conscious.
The remaining prisoner’s name was taken and sent to the king along with the prices for their release. Once that was finished Emelia contacted Helen and had her bring Ashely back to her house.
The first time Ash had seen his daughter his heart had been taken away by the miniature giggling face. She only had a small amount of hair and no teeth but she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life. It was when Ash noticed the small pair of wings on her back that Ash started to understand what Emelia had done in his absence. He was not the only one surprised as his demon wives all held complex feelings about the small child who could very well be the next maoh if she carried Ash’s blood ability.
When Ash had asked Emelia why she hadn’t gone through with the purifying rite she had simply said that she wanted their daughter to be fully theirs as the gods decided. Ash couldn’t blame Emelia for her choice but he knew that the small child would have a much harder life thanks to those small wings on her back but at the same time she signaled a new hope. She could very well be the bridge between the two races though Ash knew pinning su
ch hopes on such a small being was asking far too much.
It didn’t take long for the church to convene a court in order to try the criminals and even faster to judge them. The priests had a skill that allowed them to call forth any crime committed against the goddess so there was no way for the prisoners to deny what they had done. In the end Ash gained four more levels and an amazing nineteen abilities.
[Binding throw: cost 10SP- warp up the enemy and throw him. Level 1-0%.]
[Bludgeon: cost 20SP- increase attack with blunted weapons by 25%. Level 1-0%.]
[Bolstered resilience- increase damage resistance by 5%. Level 1-0%.]
[Hurl: cost 5Sp- throw weapon doing 10% more damage. Level 1-0%.]
[Weaken: cost 50MP- weaken an enemy by one level. Can only be used if enemy is at a higher level. Level 1-0%.]
[Cluster shot- cost 40MP 5SP- when the next arrow is fired it will burst apart damaging all enemies within its striking area. Level 1-0%.]
[Replenish: cost 10% of channeled MP. Pass MP onto an ally. Level 1-0%.]
[Holy fist: cost 20MP- coat fist in holy light. Level 1-0%.]
[Crushing blow: cost 40SP- strike with three times the force as normal. Level 1-0%.]
[Deadly finish: cost 100SP- upgrades the next attack 1 level. Level 1-0%.]
[Destructive dispel: cost 75MP- cancel enemy spell or ability and does damage equal to the cost of the spell canceled to the caster. Level 1-0%.]
[Dimension door: cost 25MP- open a dimensional door from one place to the next. Range 100 feet. Level 1-0%.]
[Port: cost 20MP- teleport an item into your hand. Range thirty feet. Level 1-0%.]
[Final embrace: cost ***- sacrifice yourself and deal damage to all enemy equal to that of your remaining HP, MP, and SP combined.]
For his new stat points Ash used them all in strength, agility, stamina, and vitality. The reason for this was because his current goal was to get all his stats up to at least 100. Ash knew that it would be nearly impossible but he figured it was worth the try.
It was two weeks before they received word from the king regarding both the war and the captives. When the reply was brought over to Emelia she unrolled it and read it aloud.
Emelia Hawkwing We have received your demand for ransom of the soldiers of the kingdom and the declaration of your right to succession from our domain.
In regards to this We demand the release of our men and that you and the one you have taken as your husband present yourself before us that We may pass sentence on your unlawful and unholy collusion with those of the demon race. If your refuse our royal decree then you shall face the full wrath that we can bring down upon you.
“Foolishness,” Tolarea said when she heard the king’s response.
“Indeed,” Emelia said her voice holding more than a tint of anger in it.
“What should we do?” Ash asked.
“We have a few choices,” Emelia said after a few moments of thought. “The first is to do as the king has demanded and turn ourselves over to be judged and sentenced to a public death.”
“Unacceptable,” Gena said harshly.
“Agreed but I always like to start with the least desirable so that the most desirable one is the last one you hear,” Emelia said with a giggle.
“You mean the choice that you like the best,” Ash said while rolling his eyes.
“You’re no fun,” Emelia said sticking out her tongue playfully. “The second choice is to refuse and wait to see how the king responds. We can also start killing the prisoners to make a point as well. The third choice is to send a force against the king and declare war. Finally we can send someone to negotiate a truce with the king and see if we can find a compromise.”
“I like the third choice,” Tolarea said firmly as a smile spread across her face.
“I think the second would be best,” Seia said with a look of thought on her face.
“What about you Ash?” Emelia asked looking at the two women with a slightly worried look on her face.
“AS much as I hate to admit it at this point I think the last option is the best,” Ash said in a defeated tone while a smile spread across Emelia’s face.
“I agree.”
“The real question is who should we send,” Emelia pondered. “It will have to be someone whose words can carry a bit of weight and also someone we can trust.”
“I will go,” Ash said after thinking for a bit.
“Out of the question,” Emelia said standing from her seat.
“Who else could we send that you trust?” Ash asked with a raised eyebrow. “Not only am I your husband so I hold a good deal of sway with the duchy.”
“Kingdom now,” Emelia corrected him. “Albeit a small one. We have broken away from the king so now we are independent.”
“Noted,” Ash said rolling his eyes. “I am also the maoh or demon king if you wish to look at it that way. If I go the king will not be able to overlook my words.”
“No he couldn’t but he could have you hauled before a mass of people to behead,” Emelia almost screamed.
“I would like to see him try,” Tolarea said menacingly.
“Emelia we both know this is the best choice,” Ash said reassuringly.
“I don’t like it,” Emelia said crossing her arms and pouting.
“Neither do I, but it has to be done,” Ash replied.
After the decision was made Ash spent the next three days with Emelia and his daughter. Ash had to admit that he was more than a little nervous about the coming meeting. Thankfully Ash would not be going alone. Not only would his guards be going with him but he would also bringing alone five knights from the former duchy and two more high ranking demons that had fought in the war for extra protection. The main reason for the two extra demon guards were that both could fly and in an emergency they could get him out. Ash didn’t like to think about this since it meant that he would have to leave his wives behind while he fled but none of the seemed to give it much thought.
The night before he left all of Ash’s friends and adopted family gathered at Emelia’s house for a large farewell party. Yuki, Shina, Milly, as well as Helen and her family were all present.
Helen was just as forward and outspoken as he remembered. She might have even became a little more forward since the last time they had met since she had taken over a government post close to Emelia. From what Emelia had said Helen was doing a great job, even better than expected. She had no problems dealing with snotty nobles and Emelia enjoyed the few that came to her personally to complain.
Surprising to Ash Yuki was not clingy. It seemed that in Ash’s absence she had grown up a lot. Ash couldn’t help but have a complicated feeling about her new independence. Milly on the other hand spent the whole night clamped to Ash. She was still young but she was not dumb and understood that soon as would be leaving again. Thankfully no one seemed to mind the small panther ear girl as she rode on his shoulders. In fact the only looks he got were ones of envy from many of the women in the room.
As the night came to an end Ash snuck away to a small sitting room away from everyone else. As soon as he was seated one of the maids brought him a small glass of wine. “Do you need anything else my lord?” The maid asked after sitting the bottle of wine on the table.
“Just some quiet,” Ash said as he leaned back in his chair.
“It had been months since Ash had really had any time to himself. When he was in the demon kingdom one of his new wives was always around and the only time he had to himself was the time he spent in the privy. Then there was the war, which kept him completely occupied and ever since he had returned Emelia had barely given him enough space to breath. He loved all of the people in his life but that didn’t mean he didn’t want some time alone every now and then so that he could recharge.
Taking a deep breath Ash took a small sip of the win and look at the white ceiling. “When will this be over?” Ash asked himself.
He knew that going to meet with the king was the best
choice for a quick and hopefully peaceful end to the war but he also knew that it could turn blood fast if things didn’t go well. If that happened a war could drag on for years if not decades.
While he had some time to himself Ash started to look over his new abilities. He had gained the abilities weeks ago but he really didn’t have much of a chance to look them over. Ash was always amazed when he gained an ability from another human since they seemed to be much better than the ones he gained from monsters. He knew from his own research that almost all of them could be found if he killed the right monster but that was easier said than done since many of the monsters were very high level. The more he thought about it the more he started to form a theory. Most likely the abilities from stronger monsters had a better chance to be passed down among bloodlines from generation to generation.
Most of the abilities had a number of uses but two of them stuck out among the others. Port, and dimensional door could be extremely useful. Even at a low level port could be used in a number of ways while Dimensional door would make likely have to be leveled up a great deal before it could be used for more than a quick escape during battle.
Thinking of this Ash decided that the trip would be a great time to practice the two new abilities and level them up since neither of them required an enemy for them to be used against. Happy with his choice ash quickly drained the rest of his glass and moved to rejoin the others in the main room.
Demonic Valor #10-11
The next morning Emelia, Yuki, Shina, and Milly all gathered at the front gate of the city to see Ash off. After giving each one a hug and light kiss Ash mounted his carriage.
After they had left the city far behind Ash removed himself from the carriage and stretched his legs. Even though he had not ridden for long Ash had found the ride very uncomfortable.
“My lord has something happened?” one of his demon guards asked when Ash exited.
“No…Not really,” Ash replied. “There are just a few things I would like to try out.”
“Understood my lord,” the demon said bowing before returning to his post.
Reborn: 6-10 Page 45
