Wait! I'm not a Demigod, I'm a Gamer!

Chapter 21: Party

Adventurers is seen picking up broken pieces of wood by hand and magic, receptionists point in various directions to direct the adventurers. Gunter taking the lead as he instructs each and every person, planning repairs and checking for any injuries. Thankfully, only two sported several cuts and bruises, who happened to have been in the arena at the time. Yuuya sits on a bencher, using his light magic to heal the cuts while Sam held onto his shoulder to put on a some clear ointment on his bruises. The human's face scrunched up in worry. "Are you sure you're okay? Do you feel any pain anywhere else?" Yuuya chuckles at his friend's questions. "I'm fine, honest! I've suffered worse." Sam's grip tightens, "I know..." Yuuya halts his light magic and sighs, sensing his friend's growing sadness. "I'm fine. Really. Everything is okay now." Sam nods and puts away the ointment. "I know. Just...try not to be so reckless in the future okay?" Yuuya smiles and takes his hand, "I will, I promise!" Sam finally smiles back, happy his friend will be more cautious. A loud yell draws their attention, Damian is seen shouting at a nervous woman in a white rob holding a tall wooden staff that had a small leaf on top. "That fucking hurts! Can't you heal better!?" The woman stutters out an apology as she tries to chant a healing spell. Sam's eyebrows furrow in annoyance at the scene, "Can't that guy say thanks at least once? Healing is a lot of work and isn't always easy. Ungrateful bastard." Yuuya frowns at the interaction and decides to step in. He gets up and walks over the injured man still shouting at the poor woman. "I'll take it from here. You go help the Guildmaster." The woman gives him a relieved smile and dashes away before Damian could get the chance to stop her. "Hey wait-what the fuck was that for?" Yuuya sighs tiredly and kneels down, his hands out as he begins to heal the squirming man. "I'm healing you so stop moving please." Damian reluctantly stops his movements, grumbling in displeasure while crossing his arms. Despite his disagreements, he can't help but marvel over the disguised beast-man's magic abilities. Once fully healed, Yuuya gives Damian a stern look, waiting silently for a reply. Damian looks at him, his eyebrows scrunched in confusion, "What?" The ombré haired man asks rudely. Yuuya continues to stare as he answers, "Well I just healed you so it's only polite that you thank me." Damian scoffs as he looks away, "Why the hell should I? You're the one that gave me these injuries." Yuuya leans in closer, startling the man, "True, I gave you those injuries, but you're the one that caused the ceiling to come down and nearly hurt everyone here. If you're not gonna thank me then the least you can do is apologize to them." Shame fills Damian's face, remembering how his fire magic hit the ceiling when he was trying to hit Yuuya. A couple of minutes in silence go by before Damian sighs angrily and gets up to walk in the center of the room. "Hey! Everyone!" All the adventurers and receptionists halt their movements, giving the ombré haired man their full attention. A blush covers his cheeks as he looks around, his voice barely above a whisper, "Umm...I'm...sorry. I shouldn't have...hit the ceiling." He points up while continuing, "And...I'm sorry...for throwing a giant fireball at you all...I shouldn't have...let my anger out." He bows down, avoiding the shocked looks he was receiving, "Please forgive me." Silence fills the air, several people too shocked to say anything. Gunter smiles kindly as he walks over to Damian, his head still down. He places his hand on his head, gently petting his hair that surprises the man to look up, "It's okay son. All is forgiven. I'm glad you realized the damage you caused and took responsibility over it." More adventurers walk over to the stunned man and say their own forgiveness, finding the whole ordeal very sweet. Damian's face grows more red at all the attention he was getting, not at all expected everyone to be so nice to him despite all the chaos he created. Yuuya smiles happily as Sam stands next to him, "That's better. See Sam, he's not so bad." Sam gives him an uneasy look. "Maybe...We'll see." Damian notices the pair standing off to the side and walks over to them. Sam stiffens, ready for the man to yell at them, while Yuuya stares curiously, wondering what his next move is. Damian's cheeks darken slightly as he looks away, his hand absentmindedly rubbing his hair, "Th-thanks...for healing me." Yuuya smiles brightly and pulls the flustered man in a hug, "Of course! Glad to help! Especially now that you're a part of our party!" Sam and Damian chokes at Yuuya's response and sudden actions. Sam not liking the fact that Yuuya was hugging someone else while Damian tries to push him away, his face turning completely red. "Wh-what!? Who says I'm joining!?" Yuuya looks at him with a pout. "You did. You said that if I beat you, you would join our party." He looks at the Guildmaster, who's finding the scene hilarious, "Right Guildmaster?" Gunter nods as he walks to the group. "Yup! I witnessed the entire exchange. Now Damian..." He puts his hands on Damian's and Yuuya's back, giving the flustered man a deathly smile, "You're not calling me a liar are you? You are a man of your word, right?" Silently daring the man to oppose him. Damian's face goes pale as he realizes there's no escape.
Damian reluctantly agrees to honor his word, making Gunter and Yuuya smile happily as they continue to help with the repairs. Afterwards, Yuuya leads Sam and Damian back to the inn, wanting to get some food and rest, the day's events having drained the majority of his strength. Sam and Damian don't say a word the entire way, too upset with the current situation. Yuuya pushes the door open and greets Grace, the woman looking up from her book and smiles at him. "Welcome back Yuuya, Sam! Dinner will be served soon." She spots Damian behind the pair, looking grumpy. "Who's your new friend?" Yuuya smiles brightly as he wraps his arm around Damian's neck to pull him forward while Sam crosses his arms. "This is Damian! He's a part of our party from here on out." Grace smiles brighter and holds out her hand, "Nice to meet you Damian! My name is Grace, I run this inn. Let me know if you need anything." Damian nods his head, pushing Yuuya's arm off and shakes her hand, trying to be polite. The memory of Yuuya's cold face back when he defeated and healed him scarring his mind. "Hi. Can I get a room?" Sam gives him a quizzical look, "Why do you need a room here? You're a noble. Don't you have some fancy mansion you can stay in?" Damian glares at Sam slowly walking up to him, "Because. A party needs to stick together, it's Adventurer's Guild protocols." The atmosphere starts to get tense as the men glare at each other. Yuuya and Grace watch from the sides nervously. "I get that, but my question is: why here?" Sparks of electricity clash as the men glare harder. Sensing another fight about to occur, Yuuya gets in between the two, getting a weird sense of deja vu, laughing awkwardly. "Okay! I think that it's time we head to our rooms. Grace, do you have a couple of rooms connected?" Grace quickly looks through her ledger and hands him a couple of keys. "Just these two, both rooms will have a couple of beds with a closet and a desk. Is that alright?" Yuuya grabs Sam's and Damian's hands, making them blush, and drags them up the stairs with him. "Perfect! Thanks!" Just before out of earshot, Grace yells up, "Dinner will be ready in twenty!" Yuuya leads the pair to the new rooms, sighing in relief at avoiding more fights. The group walks into the room, seeing another door on the left side that leads into the spare room. Yuuya full on collapses on one of the bed, groaning in exhaustion. "Oof! I'm beat." Sam sits on the other bed while Damian goes into the spare room. "Yuuya." Said man turns to look at his friend, giving him his attention. "Why did you recruit him? He's not truth worthy. You can't keep up this appearance all day and night!" Yuuya sighs and sits up, fully facing Sam. "I've got this...feeling. I think we can trust him." Sam stands up suddenly and points towards the door leading into the spare room. "Trust that guy!? The one who picked a fight with us on our first day? The one who has been stalking us for a week? The one who challenged you to a fight-threatening to take the one thing keeping you safe from the outside world? The one...who nearly squashed an entire arena filled audience?" Yuuya stays silent as he lets Sam vent, waiting patiently. Once Sam stops talking for a couple of seconds, Yuuya speaks, "Yes." Sam drops his hands while looking up at the ceiling, trying to calm his nerves. "Why?" The question was meant to sound angry, instead it sounded tired. Yuuya walks over to Sam and takes his hands, "Because...I just have this...feeling. The same feeling I got from you back when we first met. Please..." He grips his hands a little tighter, not enough to hurt him but enough to register his plead, "Trust me. You don't have to trust him right now, but I want you to give this a chance. Please...For me." He pulls out the biggest puppy eyed look he has ever given, breaking Sam's resolve. The man sighs, shaking his head while chuckling, "Fine. But! I'm only doing this for you...I still don't like that guy." Yuuya squeals happily and pulls him into a hug. "Ooo thank you thank you thank you! You're the best!" Sam laughs, his cheeks blushing slightly. The pair miss a set of gold eyes from the doorway, having heard and seen everything. "Just what are you?" Damian whispers quietly to himself.
The following week turns out very...interesting for the newfound three-person group. Due to Yuuya's and Sam's rank, Damian was forced to handle lower ranked quests, pissing the man more and making him criticize the pair more than they would like. Thankfully, Damian kept to his word and helped them out of quests. He gave them advice when it came to finding rarer medicinal herbs, showing them a secret garden in the forest, drawing and hunting down large groups of monsters, and how to make connections in the capital to receive better pay. The ombré haired man even started teaching Sam how to handle a weapon. Sadly, Sam couldn't fully use a sword, finding daggers easier to handle, making Damian having change tactics. Yuuya grows happier as the days go by, finally understanding when Gunter told him what a great guy Damian is. The disguised beat-man feels proud for recruiting him, and slight guilt for hiding his true identity from the man. Sam starts to grow to like the new recruit, not expecting him to be such a great help, especially when he started to get weapon training, finally grasping Yuuya's instincts. Even Damian has grown to appreciate the pair. In the beginning, he found teaching them how to properly handle quests quite annoying, but the longer he taught them, the more he saw them understanding his lessons. Allowing him to feel heard and understood, something he never received from his own family. He found watching Yuuya fight amazing and beautiful. The way he swung his sword like a master and controlled his magic as if he's done it for centuries. Damian kept getting butterflies in his stomach every time Yuuya smiled or laughed, finding the man adorable and confusing. Yuuya made sure to include Damian in all activities, not wanting anyone to be third wheeled. The disguised beast-man started to teach the stubborn man how to use his magic without chanting. It took some time, a lot longer than with Sam, thanks to his disbelief in the matter. However, once the man started to actually concentrate, his fire magic started to appear without chanting, catching Damian off guard and making him finally agree that Yuuya's method truly did work. It took time and patience, both traits Damian was not accustomed to. Sam decided to show Damian how to collect plants better without damaging the roots and how to skin prey more efficiently. The group were always together, Yuuya always made sure his party ate meals together, complete quests together, and even went to bed at the same time. At night Yuuya put up a shadow barrier around him, a small statue of a crow with the power to hide anyone and thing in its veil from the outside hidden under his bed, to keep Damian from seeing his true form. After two months together, Sam and Yuuya reach to rank C, finally matching Damian's level. "We did it! We're C-rank adventurers!" Yuuya and Sam cheer gleefully while jumping up and down, Damian off to the side groaning at the ridiculous scene. "Yeah yeah whatever. This is the last stage where you can easily get promoted. Now comes the tricky part." The expert in the group pulls the pair to an empty table, after of course Yuuya ordered some food. "In order for us to get to rank B there are three main components. First, someone in the guild has to evaluate you to see if you are even qualified to get to rank B. That has to come from one of the receptionists or the Guildmaster. That's pretty easy, especially since we moved up so quickly." A waiter comes by and drops off their order, Yuuya eating in flash while Damian continues, "Second, we have to take a written exam. It'll mostly be about specific monster and plant anatomy and territory locations." Hearing there will be a written test, Yuuya groans and slams his head on the table, startling the two. "Noooo I suck at written exams...I barely passed the registration exam." Sam rubs his back comfortingly while Damian smirks, "Tough luck, we all have to take it. No excuses." Damian responds, not the least bit sympathetic. "I'll help you study." Sam encourages gently, making Damian frown. "Hey I'll help too! I've taken that test five times, I practically know all the answers by now." Yuuya lifts his head to give Damian a quizzical look, "Five times? But how did you fail then?" Damian laces his hands together, "That's the third component's fault. We have to complete a B-rank quest. We are limited to two choices: handling a noble disruption like protecting their assets, or monster hunt to collect a purple core." Yuuya and Sam nod along, now fully understanding the process. "Okay then, we'll have Amanda or Mr. Gunter evaluate us. Then, we'll take the written test, after you guys help me study. Next, we take a B-rank quest. Damian, since you've done this before which type of quest should we take?" Damian answers back after taking a sip from his drink, "The monster hunt. I know where there are some undead monsters residing that's causing some trouble to nearby villages." Sam looks at Damian in confusion, "Why not handle the noble disruption one? You're a noble, surely you have connections." Damian slams his cup down hard, his fire magic slightly burning the wood. "Hell no. I would rather die than help those uptight, rich sons of bitches." Sam leans back in surprise, he opens his mouth to question further but stops when a hand grabs his arm suddenly. Yuuya silently shakes his head, his eyes saying to drop the subject. Sam bites his lip and listens to Yuuya's quiet request. The exchange does not go unnoticed by their third member. "Alright. Let's see Amanda after we eat." The group finishes their food quietly, each one in their own world. Once done, Yuuya leads his friends to Amanda's counter. "Hello gentlemen! How can I help you today?" Yuuya drums his fingers on the counter while answering, "Hi Amanda! We were wondering if you could evaluate us to reach rank B please." Amanda's eyes widen at the request. "Um are you sure? You and Sam just got promoted to rank C." Yuuya nods while pointing behind him towards Damian. "Yeah, I'm sure. Damian has been rank C for a while. Thanks to his expertise, Sam and I gained a lot more experience than we ever could on our own. I'd say we're ready." Amanda smiles and pulls a few sheets of paper and heads to the stairs, looking back at the group, "This way please." The group follows her to a separate room on the second floor containing a few bookcases, a large desk with a couple of stacks of paper on top, two couches across from each other with a coffee table in between. Yuuya, Sam, and Damian sit on one side couch while Amanda sits in the other. She lays her papers out until she's holding one in her clipboard, clicking her pen. "Right! Let's begin." The whole ordeal takes a couple of hours, the woman asking the men many questions. Some that were easy, some were difficult, some even confused the group. Once Amanda reviews the papers, she gives the men across from her a kind smile, "Congrats gentlemen, you passed your evaluation." Yuuya shouts in triumph and pulls the flustered humans into a hug, making Amanda giggle at Sam's and Damian's red faces. "I, Amanda Wells, fully recognize you three as potential B-rank adventurers. You may schedule when you would like to take the written test." Damian leans over, finally able to escape the disguised beast-man's grip. "A week from today." Yuuya gawks at him, his mouth opening and closing in shock. "A week!? Am I really gonna be ready by then?" Damian turns to Yuuya as Amanda writes down their scheduled date. "You'll be fine. We'll hold off on taking any more quests to get you to study. Alright?" Yuuya comically cries at the thought of having to study, "Okay..." Sam smiles gently and pats his back, trying to reassure the man. The whole week was spent back in their rooms at the inn, books slowly filling up Sam's and Yuuya's room. Yuuya is sitting at the desk reading one of the many books given to him. True to their word, Sam and Damian both tutored the disguised beast-man, making studying harder as the two argue over how to properly teach him. The torture ends on the day of the test, making Yuuya relieved and nervous. Amanda once again leads the group to the second floor, directing them into separate rooms. Yuuya looks at Sam and Damian, anxiety filling his eyes. Sam smiles encouragingly while Damian yells, "Give them hell!" Making Yuuya smile and bravely enter the room. After three hours, all three men exit their testing rooms, looking at each other before Sam and Damian walk up to the disguised beast-man, his head hung low. "Yuuya? How did it go?" "Yeah, did you pass?" A couple beats of silence past before Yuuya raises his fist in the air with the proudest of smiles. "I did it! I actually did it! I knew all the answers this time!" Comical tears fall down Yuuya's face as he cheers in victory. Sam and Damian patting him on the back. A rare smile crossing the usual hot-tempered male. Two out of the three tests complete. Now leads the final test: the B-rank quest fulfillment.
Yuuya, Damian, and Sam scan the giant bulletin board, collecting as much of the B-rank monster hunting quests they could get. They lay out all the sheets on an empty table, sorting out ones that were too difficulty and not in the area Damian knew. "Okay so golems are off the table, we don't understand their functions yet." Damian reasons as Sam pulls another sheet off, "No vampires either. We don't have any protective charms or holy objects on us." Yuuya sweatdrops at the comment, "Technically...I do, but Damian doesn't know about my black space ability yet. Best to keep that to myself for now." Yuuya pulls out another sheet, presenting it to the group. "What about a lich?"Damian's and Sam's faces pale and snatch the paper right out his hands. "Are you crazy!? There's no way our group can handle a lich!" "Our group needs to be bigger in order to take on a lich. They can summon hordes of the undead at once!" Yuuya looks down depressingly before another sheet catches his eye. He gingerly pulls it up and shows it, "What about this one?" Damian and Sam look at the Yuuya's suggestion, sharing a look before nodding. The quest showed some details regarding a banshee terrorizing a nearby village. Gunter approves their mission, allowing them to head off, taking them two days to reach the village. During the trip, the trio are seen riding in a carriage. The coachman holding on to the reins as he takes the group to their destination. Sam lying on the floor of the carriage, a blanket covering his form as he sleeps. Damian and Yuuya are seating near the edge of the carriage, watching as the scenery goes by. Neither man says a word, enjoying the ride's peacefulness. Damian looks at Yuuya, seeing the disguised beast-man staring at the stars, his mind far away. "Hey Yuuya." Said man snaps back to reality and looks at Damian, "Hmm?" Damian takes a moment, trying to gather his thoughts, before speaking, "Why did you...How come...Aren't you curious?" Yuuya tilts his head to the side in confusion. "What do you mean?" Damian sighs in frustration as he combs his hair. "Don't you find it weird that...a noble like me...is an adventurer? Aren't you curious why I chose this?" Yuuya looks up for a second in thought before turning back to Damian. "I mean, I am a little curious. But not because a noble like you is an adventurer, just why did you want to be an adventurer. Even then..." He looks back to the sky, his eyes gazing at the stars. "It's not my place to ask. It's your life, you have the right to keep to yourself. Unless you are in physical pain, I won't ever force you to tell me your private life...In fact, do you want to know why we wanted to be adventurers?" Damian furrows his brows in thought before nodding, shaking his head as he realizes the disguised beast-man was not facing him, "Sure." Yuuya smiles as he looks back at him, "Well, as long as I've known, I wanted to explore. I wanted to see the world and go on exciting adventures. I wanted...to be free." Memories of all the bullying he endured as Sakura in school flashes his mind, making him gulp down his emotions. "I was picked on a lot as a kid...I never fought back. I just...carried on my day, trying to get through all the bullying until I got home...to my family. My oldest brother always assured me that, I wouldn't have to deal with it forever. That the time would come when I would get to go out and live my life, away from the tormenting. That was my dream: to travel the world. My brother always wanted to travel, but he was too busy raising me and my siblings. I swore I would go out in his stead, bring him all the memories I would create out there back to him." Unshed tears fills his eyes, but he simply wipes them away. "*Sniff* As for Sam, he wanted to come with me. He wanted to help me with my dream...I'm still learning about the world and he was worried I wouldn't last five seconds in the capital, which he was probably right. He's really amazing." Yuuya misses Damian's frown as he clears his throat. "Okay...Thanks...for telling me." Yuuya looks back at him and smiles warmly, "Of course! You're a part of this party, we stick together. If you ever want to talk or have any more questions you can always come to me. I can't speak for Sam, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind having a chat with you." A lightbulb suddenly appears above his head at a thought. "Ah! Here." He opens his bag, summoning his black space without letting Damian see. A black threaded talisman drops into his hand, a pendant showing two tigers looking like they were chasing each other in a ying-yang fashion. Even the tigers were colored in the same way, one tiger was white with black stripes while the other was black with white stripes. He hands it to the ombré haired man, his face scrunched in puzzlement, "What's this?" Yuuya smiles brightly while the man inspects his new gift, "It's called the Leonis talisman. It'll protect you." Damian raises one eyebrow up, "Protect me?" Yuuya nods as he takes one of his hands, making him blush lightly, "I'm not calling you weak, but I still worry about you. Both of you. You guys could be the strongest men in the world and that wouldn't stop me from worrying about your safety's. I just want you guys to be careful...We protect each other, okay?" Damian nods, not letting go of his hand. "Okay." Yuuya looks over at Sam, having sensed the man woke up a while ago, "Okay Sam?" Damian jumps in surprise seeing Sam turn to look at them from the floor, now realizing the man was awake. "Understood." Yuuya smiles and gently pulls Damian down to the floor, lying down with Sam. Once everyone had a blanket on, Yuuya sighs and quietly says, "Goodnight guys." "Goodnight Yuuya." Yuuya stays awake, he couldn't afford to sleep with Damian next to him, when his shoulder was poked. "Psst!" Yuuya looks over and sees Damian awake, still clutching onto the talisman. "Hey, what happened to your family?" Having experienced several adventurers sharing depressing tales regarding their own folks and past, giving him a sense that the usually cheery man was hiding more than he was letting on. Yuuya looks up, avoiding his stare as he softly replies, "They're not here. It's just me." With that, Yuuya turns his back on him, signaling the end of their conversation.
The trio finally reached their destination, shock filling their bones. The place looked run down and nearly abandoned. Yuuya's nose picks up on the rotting smell of death, forcing him to take slow steps in case he grows sick. Thankfully, the village chief explains the story of how the village turned out the way it is today. One of the villagers accidentally found an abandoned house in the middle of the woods, she had discovered a beautiful silver music box that still played music and a little statue of a hummingbird lifts up and spins. The woman took it back with her to the village, awakening the spirit within the abandoned house. Since then, a banshee comes every night to scream and terrify the villagers. Due to the banshee's nature, several people went deaf and more died, not being able to handle the deathly screams. The woman tried to return the music box, but she disappeared in the house, never been heard or seen since. The sun was slowly setting, so the group asks for directions to the house which luckily the chief knew. It took less than an hour before the group found the house. The stench of old blood and rotten meat filling Yuuya's nostrils, forcing him to stay outside. "I *cough* I can't go in...The smell...is too strong" Sam rubs his back worryingly while Damian inspects the house from the outside, sensing no spirits. "You okay Yuuya? Take your time, just breathe." That was the problem, the more Yuuya breathed, the more he smells the disgusting scent. Damian turns back and yells out, "Sam! You're with me. Yuuya just stay outside, okay? Shout if something happens." The disguised beast-man holds out a thumbs up, cursing under his breath for his sensitive nose. Sam leaves his side, taking one last look at the struggling man before following Damian in. The house had a living room, kitchen, and one other room with the door slightly ajarred that blocked the pair's view. The place was covered in dust, its furniture ruined from years of untidiness and the outside elements. The chimney having several holes punched in, bricks scattered on the floor. Damian summons fire in the palm of his hand and notices something red on the floor. He holds his hand out, halting Sam's movements. "What is it?" He whispers, afraid they have company. Damian nods to the floor, informing Sam of the red trail. Sam's eyes widen as he kneels down. He gently touches the red trail, sticky to the touch. Sam frowns as he looks back up, "Blood." Damian sighs worriedly, "Right." He uses his fire to light up the place more, the blood trail leading to the other room. The pair carefully and quietly follow the blood trail, slowly opening the door more. Sam gasps quietly while covering his mouth as Damian narrows his eyes, forcing himself to remain calm. There, in the room, lay a bare mattress in a wooden bed frame, a few pictures barely hanging on, the images had longed been ruined by time, and a desk with a broken mirror. The only thing that was clean was a silver box sitting innocently in the middle of the desk. What holds the men's attention is a woman's body, dangling in the center of the room. Her hands tied to the ceiling by what looks to be a white ribbon stained with blood. Her face contorted in a silent scream, as if pleading in her final moments, her eyes rolled up towards the ceiling, her face covered in blood. The woman's midsection was cut deep enough to have her intestines spilling out into the floor, her once bright yellow dress stained heavily with her blood. Her feet dangling a couple inches off the floor, a large red puddle under her. Sam looks away, trying desperately to keep his food down, while Damian walks around her till he finds a small birthmark resembling a teardrop on her shoulder, the village chief having informed them the missing woman's features before they left. Damian sighs as he observes the body, "This is Miss Cross. The one that's been missing for a few days." He looks over and sees the clean silver box on the desk, and walks over to it. He opens it and a little silver hummingbird rises up while calming music starts playing, "She was trying to return it. I'm guessing the banshee didn't appreciate having her possessions taken." Sam nods, still trying and failing to not get sick. "S-so it *coughs* it would seem..." The pair decide to leave the body, wanting to put her to rest after taking the banshee out. Both not liking the idea, but not wanted to get ambushed while digging. When the pair exit, they see Yuuya far off from the house, talking softly to someone. "Yuuya?"
While Damian and Sam enter the house, Yuuya is still holding onto his knees, fighting the urge to vomit. "Uggg this sucks! Is this what Yuuya smells every time I explored the darken ruins in the game. Mmpth! I am so sorry." A cold breeze passes him, snapping him out his internal torture. The disguised beast-man looks around, not seeing or hearing anything. The hair in the back of his neck stands up, sensing a being nearby. Yuuya looks, but doesn't see anything or anyone. No matter where he looked, there was no one around even though his senses were still telling him there was. Yuuya hums in thought before a memory pops up. Back as Sakura, she entered, playing Yuuya, into the underwater castle ruins. When she got into the throne room, Yuuya couldn't move. She kept getting an alert that something was stopping her character. It turned out the ghost of the fallen kingdom's princess was the one holding him in place, starting up a hidden quest. He remembers that he could only see her once he put on the Reaper's cloak, a magical item that allows the wearer to see, hear, and touch spirits. Looking around, checking to see if anyone was around before summoning a black space, pulling out the Reaper's cloak, resembling the night sky. The fabric black with a few shiny spots, twinkling like the stars, and a wore out golden cord. Once he ties the cord, efficiently wearing the cloak, he sees a woman suddenly appearing out of thin air. Her misty form a glowing, pale blue as she cries softly by a tree. The disguised beast-man gulps while thinking, "Holy shit! This actually works. Awesome! Oh wait...that means..." He walk over to her and slowly kneels down to her level, not wanting to startle the spirit. "Hey, are you okay?" The woman gasps in shock and looks at him, fear in her eyes. "Y-you can see-see me?" Yuuya nods and places his hand on her cold shoulder, seeing a faint teardrop birthmark. "Yes. Are you...Miss Cross?" Her eyes widen in surprise and shakily grabs his hand on her shoulder. "Ho-how did you kn-know?" He sighs sadly, frowning, "Looks like I was right...We didn't make it in time." Before the man could grow depressed, he notices her looking behind her, her entire body quivers in terror as she sees something in the distant. "You have to leave, it's not safe! She's coming back!" Yuuya tries to calm her while questioning her, "It's okay, it'll be alright. Who's coming?" "Yuuya?" He turns behind him at hearing his name, seeing Sam and Damian walking out of the house, looks of worry and confusion on their faces. When he looks back, the woman was gone, disappeared. Yuuya looks around, not seeing her anywhere. He slowly gets up, getting a bad feeling in his bones. The pair speed walk to their third member, they grab onto him as he slowly scouts the area with his eyes while Sam questions him, "Yuuya, what are you doing? Who were you talking to?" Damian tries to look around, not seeing a single person around. He looks back to the man, finally registering the new article of clothing. "What's this?" Yuuya responds without looking, "A magical item that lets me interact with ghosts. Found Miss Cross, her body must be close by. Spirits tend to stay near their bodies." Damian and Sam share a look before Sam speaks, "Uh yeah...We um...found her body inside." A loud crack draws their attention, seemingly close to them. Damian draws his sword out while Sam summons his magic, both at the ready. Yuuya continues to look around, waiting for a sign. The trio barely notices the sun going down all the way, night taking over. A loud scream is heard from the distance, making all three shiver, the scream sounding nonhuman. "She's coming." Yuuya summons a small ball of light, trying to illuminate the area better for them. Damian reaches into his pocket and holds out three sets of wax earplugs to the pair. "Here, put these on. It'll block out the banshee's screams. We can't afford to go insane here." Sam and Yuuya nod and graciously take the offered items. Damian and Sam quickly put theirs in while Yuuya struggles to put his on, his disguise proving to be difficult. Before Yuuya could figure out how to put them on, a sudden force slams into him as a loud shriek rings in his ears. "Yuuya!" Shouted the humans as they watch the disguised beast-man crash into a tree. It takes him a few seconds to collect his bearings, his ears ringing in pain. Sam and Damian try to go to him before a gray misty figure suddenly appears, blocking them from getting closer. Yuuya blearily looks up and sees a tall woman in a black raggedy dress, her arms littered with cuts and dried blood, her nails long and sharp that resembles claws, long flowing, white hair going all the way down her legs. What scares Yuuya the most is her face, her eyes sunken looking like she had no skin, skin pale as the moonlight, her teeth stained in red as she opens her mouth to wail. Her eyes, a glowing gray that reveal so much anger. The banshee standing over him, ready to strike. "Oh shit..." Yuuya comments before the banshee screeches and pounces.