https://youtu.be/u1RSQIVHTLg

The hours came and went, with Ashbel and Viera spending the day talking more tactics regarding the upcoming battle against the hobgoblin. They walked up and down the streets of Suzaku, ate a little more street food, and displayed even more mildly annoyed reactions to having their names shortened by three letters. That last one was mostly Viera, though.

But now, evening had come, and it was dark, the setting sun casting a velvet glow over the city. But one certain individual was clad in white and blue, striking out in the midst of the red light. It was the Knight, standing outside a tall, clean-looking house on the outskirts of the city, surrounded in white pebbles - sticking out like a sore thumb. Despite such an eye-catching building, however, she appeared to be alone. Her blue eyes were shut as she pressed two fingers to her forehead, speaking to someone who didn't seem to be physically there.

"Lance, this is Knight. I'm calling to let you know that Rook and I have returned to our hideout in Suzaku." she said. "Please inform the King. I await orders."

"You only just arrived? Sheesh, I knew you were slow, but this is next-level!" a slimy-sounding male voice spoke in her head, causing her to twitch slightly in frustration. "What the hell is wrong with you, if I may ask? Bishop and I arrived in Seiryu two fucking days ago, you incompetent!"

"Shut up!" the Knight growled. "We were held up, alright? There was...a really resilient demon on the way!"

"And did you kill it?"

"O-Of course we did! You dare doubt our abilities?"

As the Knight spoke indignantly, the Lance seemed to listen from the other end, before letting out a slight chuckle that oozed smugness even with its utter brevity. "Oh, congratulations, you took a little longer than usual to do your job." he taunted. "Do you want a medal?"

"Ugh, why must you always be so...insufferable?" the Knight responded, shaking her head. "Could you just tell the King? I need to know my next orders."

"Of course, my dear Knight." the Lance oozed. "Just for you, I'll leave out the part where you're a total disgrace."

The Knight rolled her eyes, looking back at her surroundings to try and avoid visualising his punchable face. Seeing the reddish light that shone on the rubicund city, the black dirt between the white stones surrounding the house. "Just get that done, please. And please, get the Bishop to report back to me!"

"Aww, don't wanna hear from your old pal Lance?" he sulked, in a manner that even she could tell was mocking. "You wound me, Knight."

"...my apologies, if anything you say is true." which she doubted, naturally, but just in case. "Now, farewell! I wish to enjoy the rest of my night."

"Night night, sleep tight. Don't let that demon you didn't kill bite."

Immediately, the telepathic connection cut off, and it was only after that that the Knight fully processed the Lance's parting words. Immediately, her eyes widened in surprise as she looked frantically at her surroundings, her heart pounding in her chest and filling her veins with fury. How did he know? She'd made sure to tell him that she'd killed the demon, right? He'd always been sharp, but the way she saw it, she should have been beneath suspicion! So how...?

Did that even matter? Between this, her previous encounter with the demon, and what the Rook had told her, it was becoming rather obvious what she had to do now. She would have to find Ashbel once again, and duel him. Whatever would come of their next encounter, she'd have to figure that out on her own, but her next course of action until then was staring her in the face; with glowing, orange eyes and slitted pupils.

.........

https://youtu.be/yn08xgDsckw

The sun rose on Suzaku City, and almost as if perfectly on cue, the citizens rose one-by-one, ready to start their days and fill their proper roles in society. Among them, naturally, was Ashbel, who always made it a point to get up on time so he could get in as much work for a day as possible. So here he stood in the middle of his inn room, ready to start his assignment.

His room was rather simple, with a red rug stretched over wooden floorboards. Wood made up most of the room, which made Ashbel wonder how easy a purely hypothetical arson attack on it would be to pull off. It made up the floors, the desk by the wall, that held a circular mirror, the chair by said desk, the framing on the orange-coloured bed - his sleep on which had been simply divine, by the way, as they clearly cared about the quality of their feathers - and various parts of the wall that weren't instead made of stone. The window at the wall, with thin, crossed bars of wood over it, let in the morning light, illuminating the room.

Dressed in his black robes, Ashbel stretched his arms and stood in the centre of the room, first doing a set of morning exercises - stretches, preceding push-ups, sit-ups and more. Then he practised his sword swings as efficiently as the confines of his room would allow, and he was skilled enough to avoid damaging the surroundings. Satisfied with his warm-up, he sheathed his sword and took it, along with his bow, as he walked out through the wooden door, waiting for Viera in the corridor outside his room. He stared at her door, which was opposite his own, and waited, leaning on his door and crossing his arms while occupying himself by reciting trivia in his head.

Eventually, the door opened, and there stood Viera, walking out and looking up at him, waving politely without facially emoting, her staff in the other hand. "Morning."

"Morning, Viera." he replied, standing up straight. "Have a nice sleep?"

"Sure." she said simply, looking back towards the exit. "Ready to go? We can get a snack on the way if you're hungry."

"Ready when you are." he responded, nodding. "Let's go."

.........

And so, the two advanced, leaving Feather Towers and making their way to the church, stopping only to buy some buns. And eventually, after repeating their walk from yesterday, the two of them arrived at the Cathedral of Rebirth, walking inside. Given the time of day, these hallowed halls were empty, save for the reverend at the altar, who looked up at the two of them hopefully. As they walked past the pews, approaching him, he bowed his head, putting his hands together. "We meet again, Viera - and, of course, her sellsword companion."

"Yo." Ashbel smiled, putting up two fingers as a peace sign.

"Good morning, Reverend." Viera spoke reverently, bowing her head in return. "We're ready to enter the catacombs."

"Yes, I was hoping you might." the priest sighed. "Allow me to lead you there. How does a thousand embers as a reward sound?"

"Sounds pretty good." Ashbel nodded quickly, watching him begin to step towards the back of the church. The demon and the acolyte followed closely by, keeping their weapons close at hand. He led them to a red door, opening it to reveal a small room made entirely from a grey stone. The walls were drab and featureless, and the floor was dusty and dirty. The main feature of the room was a wide staircase, lacking a banister and spiralling downwards - as such that one could make out that whatever laid at the bottom was dark and equally stony. The catacombs - their destination.

"Down these stairs is where the hobgoblin lies." the reverend spoke, gesturing towards said staircase. "We've placed blessings here so that it can't escape. But, as I've said-"

"It won't hold for much longer. We'll be quick." Viera nodded, stepping towards the stairs and examining them. The priest sighed, moving away from it in response.

"Beyond this point, I will not be able to help you." he warned. "If you wish to back out now, it isn't too late."

"Not happening. I never back out." Ashbel shook his head, smiling slightly. Hearing that, the priest gave a relieved smile.

"That...reassures me."

"No need to worry about us, man. We'll get the job done, no bones about it." Ashbel continued, giving a thumbs-up before facing his client. "Right, Viera?"

"Right." the woman nodded, closing her eyes briefly and crossing her arms. "Let's go."

"Take care, you two. And please, come back victorious."

At that, there was silence, as the warrior and the acolyte both took in deep breaths of air, looking towards their destination. Ashbel was the first to proceed, walking down the stairs, and Viera followed him, remaining closely behind as they disappeared into the darkness of the catacombs.

.........

https://youtu.be/xNTwYzoFzck

Dark, cold and damp. That was the state of the Catacombs of Rebirth. The cool, moist air permeating the area was a nice departure from the heat of Suzaku. The scent of minerals wafted through the atmosphere, which made sense, as the whole area was made from the same stone that had made up the stairs above. The catacombs were grey, littered with dark puddles and lined with pillars, each one with epitaphs carved into them. The stairs, dotted with a thin layer of moss, were winding and bleak, all the better to lead its passengers to death itself.

As Ashbel and Viera stepped to the bottom of the wide, tall staircase, dodging the puddle at the bottom, they took in their expansive surroundings. Though Ashbel didn't seem to have any issue, Viera looked around, trying to make out the area despite the lack of lighting. It wasn't impossible, but it was more difficult than usual.

"So, these are the catacombs, huh?" Ashbel murmured, stepping forth and closing his eyes to listen out for any hobgoblin noises among the sound of dripping water. "It's very...wet for a cemetery."

"Yep." Viera nodded slowly, trying to read the epitaphs. "It's pretty damp. Guess even Suzaku has a dark side."

Ashbel watched her closely, observing that she seemed to be having a hard time making things out. So, he snapped his fingers, and a small halo made of crimson fire appeared above her head, emanating light which she was quick to notice. She looked up, raising an eyebrow at the ring of flames before looking at a cheerful Ashbel.

"If there's a dark side, then let there be light!" he quipped, to her very, very mild amusement.

"...uh, thanks." she murmured, stepping towards one of the pillars and reading the words on it. He allowed it, keeping his eyes on her while she read the elegy, her hands held together in respect. She took a deep breath, observing the tall, grey pillar. She assumed it to be erected with earth magic, with the inscription made afterwards. That would explain the lack of gravestones like any typical outdoor cemetery.

"May the Torch claim his innocent soul, and forever protect it from the dawn - Ascalo Reeves."

"Though the tragedy of loss has befallen us, from it, may she find peace - Helen Rema."

"...May they find peace, indeed." Viera murmured, bowing her head before looking back at Ashbel, who simply shrugged.

"You seemed like you wanted to read that. And it's dark here." the demon spoke. "It's my job to help my clients, so..."

She simply nodded at that, clearing her throat. "Don't you find it dark?"

"I'm a salamander. I've basically got night vision." Ashbel tapped the side of his head, grinning cheerfully. "So I don't need help seeing in these conditions, which means you get all of my flame-y goodness to yourself!"

Viera raised an eyebrow, as per usual, and Ashbel chuckled. "Except for the hobgoblin. He's got dibs."

"Do the jokes ever stop with you?"

"Nope! It's how I cope!" Ashbel grinned toothily, his hands on his hips before he pointed somewhere to his south. "Now, I think I heard the goblin somewhere that way. Let's go."

Viera wordlessly nodded, and the two of them began to walk in the implicated direction, continuing to steer clear of all the puddles. As they walked, they enjoyed a brief moment of silence, with Ashbel focusing on the noise so he could lead the way effectively while Viera opted to trust his judgement.

For the most part, what they saw was more of the same. The two of them looked around, and eventually, even Viera could hear those vile sounds - the sounds of crunching, chewing, and heavy breathing. It was...disturbing, to say the least, and made her even more worried than she already was. She visibly cringed, and Ashbel, who looked back at her, took note of this with a smile.

"Never seen a hobgoblin before?"

"I've seen one, yeah." she shook her head. "I've just never had to...hear one in action."

"Well, what'd you expect? Monsters are animals, too. Usually carnivores, to be specific." Ashbel pointed out. "That means they've gotta eat."

"But what's it even eating? Nobody's been down here for days, right?" Viera frowned. "Surely there are no more corpses left for it, right?"

"Probably." Ashbel shrugged. "But if this hobgoblin really is the work of someone's sorcery - which it probably is - then who's to say they can't summon up some more prey for it?"

"You've got a point. But it just seems like so much pointless effort." Viera pointed out. "If I were to summon a hobgoblin to kill people, I'd leave it hungry. That way, anyone it comes across dies more quickly."

"Nice. I'm not even gonna question why you've thought about this."

"What? It's just common sense." Viera frowned. "I'm not even a Warlock."

"There's nothing, ah...common about this scenario, methinks." Ashbel shook his head, smiling slightly. "Look, it's nothing, alright? I'm not judging you."

Viera rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "You'd better be good at your job if I have to put up with this."

"Nobody's better than me. Trust me, you'll make it out alive." Ashbel grinned, placing his hand on his hilt and looking forward. Viera took a deep breath and continued to follow him, gripping tightly onto her staff while keeping her body tense and ready.

"Alright, then. My life is in your hands." she said. "Don't mess with it."