Demon's Virtue

Lugo trotted through the busy roads of the capital city. Eiro sat on his back, trying to make sure nobody could see that something was off with him.

Though, maybe that was just some kind of anxiety; logically, Eiro knew that he had the level of control over his body that it was near impossible for others to see even the slightest difference, at least as long as he didn't try to make any major movements.

If he were to suddenly get into a highly complex fist-fight with someone like Kassandra, then maybe that was going to be different, but especially just sitting on Lugo's back it would be impossible for others to see.

Well, maybe the masters would be able to tell, but that was something that Eiro could discuss with them later; he was quite curious to know exactly how his behaviour looked from the perspective of someone without the 'Ultimate Perception' bestowed upon him by the Five of Pentacles.

And, one of those masters was slowly coming into sight in front of him. Orion of Dagger Mastery; the middle aged man was swiftly moving through the crowd as if he was jogging through an empty road. Of course, Eiro was also moving similarly, though not through swiftness or because Lugo was trying to avoid people. It was the other way around.

The crowd was starting to mutter and talk, and Eiro was making an active effort to release just the right amount of an aura that these people could perceive so that they would pay attention to him and Lugo. The moment they'd notice them, they would step aside, letting Lugo move forward without having to slow down in the slightest.

Eiro took a deep breath, infusing the air in his lungs with magic, as he started to speak with as much of that magical air as he could. The vibrations of his vocal cords and the further shaping through the shaping of his mouth and lips was carried into that magical air, and Eiro pushed that through the crowd.

The wind carried a message from Eiro right to Orion, who heard what he had said and glanced behind him.

Seeing a man he didn't know seated on top of the massive stag's back was certainly surprising to him, especially considering that this man's voice sounded familiar. Orion stopped walking for a moment and locked eyes with Eiro.

And right then, a deep shiver came over the demon's back; a wave of malice and bloodlust flowed out from Orion's stare.

Despite his fairly innocuous appearance, as he looked barely different from any other middle aged, slowly graying man you may see out and about in this city if you didn't look too closely at the deeply defined muscles on his arms, just the slightest intent of malice made Orion seem utterly terrifying from Eiro's point of view.

Of course, fear wasn't something that Eiro had to worry about anymore these days; it was a natural physical response and he knew how to overcome and control himself. Since he was manipulating many of his bodily functions through magic in the first place, such as the flow of his blood through his veins, Eiro could ensure that the instincts instilled in his body wouldn't cause any issues.

And mentally, Eiro was confident that he wasn't going to fall victim even to a master's attempt at intimidation.

Though, while the Demon was safe from those intimidations, there was someone that wasn't. Bavet.

Lugo was fine; a master was able to determine who exactly they targeted, but from Orion's perspective, Eiro and Bavet were one and the same entity, so they were both affected. Eiro quickly fused himself with as much of Bavet's slime as he could. While he wasn't able to manipulate it in the same way that Bavet did, he could at least assist in keeping up the form that had already been given to it.

But that wasn't going to make everything better. Bavet still had control over a large amount of the slime, and he was clearly freaking out, so Eiro had just one thing that he could do. He placed his hand onto his chest, creating a barrier that protected Bavet's core from anything and everything with the help of the invisibility potion, the Ace of Cups.

Any of the parts of Bavet's slime that were still exposed to Orion's bloodlust were quickly absorbed by Eiro as he took control to keep its shape, letting Bavet slowly calm down.

"Orion," Eiro said as Lugo carefully approached, "Would you mind accompanying me? I'm currently looking for your friends."

The Master frowned lightly as he heard Eiro's voice, still trying to make sure if he was right. He only heard Eiro briefly during his explanation of events since after Shimour left the manor back then, but right now he was carrying himself quite differently so the way that he spoke and his intonations were different. The noble persona had to be a lot more dignified than what Eiro was usually like.

"Sorry, but do I know you?" Orion finally asked, and Eiro let out a slight laugh, nodding his head immediately in response.

"Of course, is your eyesight really still so bad? I am Eiro, dear friend," the Demon explained, and Orion's bloodlust was immediately released as he awkwardly stumbled over his own words.

"Huh? Eiro, you- Oh, right..." Orion replied, nervously looking around at all the people that were staring. Or, were supposed to be staring. But somehow, they were all quickly moving on again as if Eiro and Orion suddenly disappeared. Now that he didn't have to block the bloodlust, Eiro was able to use the invisibility potion to hide himself, Lugo, and Orion from the active perception of the crowd.

They still walked around them, avoiding running into them, but none of them stared. It was almost as if they were actively trying not to stare.

"I guess you really have learned a thing or two from Shimour..." Orion replied, but Eiro slowly shook his head with a laugh.

"Sadly not quite. This is the Ace of Cups. I'm not nearly skilled enough to make this kind of thing happen without the potion's assistance, but I'm trying to figure out ways to make it happen," Eiro explained, as Orion curiously looked him up and down.

"Right, so... why do you look like that? Is that the aftermath of your 'Evolution'? That slime friend of yours mentioned that you initiated it."

Eiro scoffed and shook his head, "No, definitely not. Evolutions at this point take months, and they're quite impressive. And, frankly, I don't believe I will end up looking like a simple man. From the changes to my body, I will most likely look less like one.

Currently, Bavet, my 'slime friend' is fused into my body and helps my transformation," the Demon quickly explained the situation to Orion, who curiously listened with his hands behind his back.

"I see, I see. Well, why did you want to talk to me? Do you need help finding one of the others?"

"Well, sort of. I would love your help finding Shimour, but I know some ways to just have him find me. I just want to talk to all of you about this city and your intentions here; I promised the King that I would make sure none of you cause trouble."

Orion let out a slight laugh that he was hiding behind his fist, "Cause trouble? We are not children, Eiro."

"...When Partax arrived, he violently and loudly invaded the academy to find me during work. Which, in itself is excusable, but I assume that someone like you must have heard of the incident at the academy last year."

The master's heart skipped a beat as he awkwardly looked to the side, "I see what you mean, then... In that case, the ones you may most need to worry about would be Meshi and Kassandra. Meshi has no sense of private property and may find himself in places he doesn't belong, while Kassandra can get quite... aggressive. Shimour should be fine on his own, however."

"Yeah... I figured. Frankly, I'm more worried about Kassandra right now. I'm already tracking Meshi's mana, so I'll find him in time, but Kassandra can cause trouble. And she hates me, so having one of you with me would make me feel a little safer."

"I see. In that case, let us go. I already know where she should be."