► Friend Or Foe? ◄

Trigger warning: Blood, Death

When Vox arrived at the scene, he saw a dozen people lying on the ground. Mostly humans and a few demons. They seemed to have been burned and were not moving, so Vox assumed they were all dead. But he couldn't see anyone else. He was currently standing a few hundred yards (109,361 yards = 100 meters) away from the outer castle walls to the west. Behind the field with the dozen dead poeple lying around, was the beginning of a forest. Vox could see a few burn marks on the trees, so the fight must have gone further inside it. He always wondered how his friend could use his magic in such an environment without starting a fire. His thoughts were interrupted by another magic explosion not far from his position.

Just, when he was about to enter the forest, he heard rushed footsteps behind him. He turned around to see, that Shoto and Ike had arrived. Ike was visibly disgusted by the corpses in front of him while Shoto looked more sad than disgusted. Even though Vox was curious to know what he was thinking about, he decided to just ask him later. There was a more pressing matter at the moment. So, the demon raised and waved his arm, while calling out to them. 'Stay there, I'll take care of this. It's too dangerous inside the forest.' The other two nodded in return and waited.

Shoto's and Ike's eyes were practically glued to the place Vox entered the forest from. After about five minutes, they heard the rustling of leaves and saw someone coming towards them. They both tensed, but relaxed soon after seeing Vox supporting someone beside him. 'Shu' Ike called out. 'Oh my god. You look awful. What happened?' He gasped. Shu responded, 'I got ambushed on my way back. I was almost there, when they suddenly attacked. I let my guard down for only a moment. Well, you can see how that ended.' He was covered in bruises and cuts, but they didn't seem too deep. Seeing Ike's panicked look, he calmed him down, 'Don't worry. The wounds are only superficial. So, a few herbs should be enough to heal them.'

Ike sighed. 'Phew, ok. But, just to make sure, let me see your injuries for a moment.'

The moment, Ike stepped closer to his two friends, Shoto shouted 'Ike, duck!' Not processing the sudden shouting fast enough, he flipped his head around confused. Then he realized, what was happening. Between the corpses was one person that managed to get back on his feed. The man swung his arm and threw a dagger into Ike's direction. Completely frozen in shock, Ike squinted his eyes awaiting the impact. When he heard the sound of metal clashing together and a flop right after, he opened his eyes again. Beside him stood Shoto with a dagger near Ike's face. The attacker's dagger lay to his feet. He quickly rushed towards the assassin and swiftly ended his life by cutting his throat, and swung his dagger towards the ground to get rid of the blood on it's blade.

The other three stood there in awe of what they had just wittnessed. From the quick reaction to the swift movements paired with the decisive killing intent. They all showed Shoto's experience as an assassin.

Wow. How can someone be that fast? I think he is even faster than my spell casting. I wouldn't stand a chance against him if we were to fight one on one. Shu thought. He was impressed, but also worried, since he didn't know who that purplette was and why he was there. Wait... A young man with purple hair and an experienced assassin at that? Shu remembered hearing about someone like that and since he didn't know anyone else with his description, he started to panic. He had to make sure whether his thoughts were correct. So he had to ask directly, 'Are you Shoto, the demon slayer?'

Before Shoto could answer, Vox raised his hand as a sign to him to not say anything and answered in his stead. 'Not anymore.' The purplettes eyes widened in realization and a smile crossed his lips. Ike took it apon himself to add, 'He is a guild master now.' Shoto was shocked once again. 'Wait, you knew about me? Why didn't you question me. I mean Vox is a demon, so I could have tried to kill him.' Ike shrugged. 'Would a demon slayer help a demon out? I mean, aside from you two meeting for the first time yesterday, he was injured. You could have killed him right then and there as you found him. But you didn't, and Vox doesn't trust just anyone. Sometimes I wonder if he has a sixth sense or something, since he seems to know who he can trust and who he can't trust. And I believe in my friend's judgment.'

Something stirred inside Shoto as he was touched by Ike's words. It was the first time he encountered someone with complete trust for the other. This is true friendship. It feels like I'm seeing Ether and myself.' The young man thought while looking at his dagger which seemed to faintly glow in response. Then he looked up again and said, 'Thank you guys. This means a lot to me.' The other two gave him an understanding smile.

'Ok then. I'll trust him too.' Shu smiled. 'Alright. How about we get you treated first? It would be bad if you got an infection.' Ike hastened. 'You can get to know each other, when I've taken care of you.' He added. Shoto motioned to follow after them. 'I'll make sure there's no other surprise attack.' The others nodded and they made their way back to the castle. Fortunately, nothing else happened until they reached the castle walls entrance.

As soon as they were on safe grounds Vox switched Shu over to Ike, so that he and Shoto could go on ahead and gather the needed herbs discribed by Ike. He grew them in his own office for situations like this. On his way there, Vox's curiosity got the better of him, so he asked Shoto...