As they approached the large group of humans huddling together in the square, Alia felt a knot of anxiety grow in her stomach. It was bizarre. She felt comfortable around demons, yet the idea of being around humans felt strange, almost unnatural.
She figured she had inherited all of her powers from her ga character, and had verified much of it; Alia had previously found ti to play around with her aether, to fold it upon itself in different ways as she prepared the intention to Speak so of the many Words she knew from the many combat branches she specialized in. It was a pleasant surprise to find they all seed to be available to her, and most interestingly, they appeared to provoke certain emotions as they were prepared. Perhaps this was why healing made her feel so good.
Knowing that, and feeling the anxiety in her stomach, Alia pondered as to whether she had also inherited the demonic trait of being mistrustful of humans, despite being a literal human herself.
Or was she? Whatever mysterious force had given her this opportunity of a new life, had built her the body of her ga character, which, last she rembered, was polymorphed into that of a cute human woman. However, was she still in a polymorphed state? Was her true form still that of a mighty archdemon, and this current body a temporary veneer of… blue eyes and blond prettiness?
Serena had seed to take to her quite well, which delighted Alia, and so had Dagon and Tos, other than the initial talk of murdering her, of course. Was this friendliness because she was still truly a demon behind the scenes, and they were picking up on this on a subconscious level?
Well, she could think more about that later.
They arrived in the square.
The mood was, at best, grim. Hundreds of humans, maybe half a thousand, were cramd in the square. They wore either work clothes or were barely dressed, huddling blankets against the cool air, despite the sun overhead. The Vengeance had attacked the port early in the morning, and many of the port’s residents had not woken up yet.
A separate group, numbering about a hundred, had been cornered off, and judging by the white and blue uniforms that looked so very similar to her own, Alia made an educated guess that these were the remains of the defenders.
Their eyes were downcast, the atmosphere somber. The cries of children and won could be heard, and the wails of those in pain. Many of them clenched prayer beads, muttering comforts to themselves. Parents kept their children close, but many of the young seed to be missing guardians, instead, what looked like older brothers and sisters were hugging their younger siblings close, speaking words of comfort to them.
So of them would never again see their parents.
It was a terrible sight, an awful situation that tugged at her heartstrings. Alia was powerful, she knew that much, and she also knew she was ignorant of this world. Could she have prevented this? All she had was power. She was sure she could have destroyed the Vengeance, saving the port from this fate. She could also have wiped out the fortress, the surrounding islands, and all the human aircraft, preventing the torpedo from hitting the ship. Or she could have simply left, and let the battle happen anyway.
What she didn’t know, is how she could have prevented it altogether, without making herself an enemy of one or both sides of the conflict. This was, she supposed, sothing solved in the realm of diplomacy, a subject that went very much against her brutally honest nature.
At the very least she could make things better, for both demons and humans. At least by doing sothing she could feel in control of a tiny part of this conflict.
“Hey…” she whispered to Serena, leaning in so only she could hear. “Are you able to provide them with any dical supplies? Aid from Hillbrand and her team?”
Serena shook her head, “They hate us, and understandably so. So small number of them would accept care, but just attempting it would cause this situation to spiral out of control.” She bent towards Alia, speaking even more quietly; “a decade of propaganda has led to so ridiculous beliefs fernt among the humans. Many of them believe we eat them.”
Alia gave a solemn smile. “I suppose we don’t taste very nice, too stringy.” A weak joke, an attempt to lighten the mood. “Anything I should know, before I begin?”
“... you’re smarter than you pretend to be, aren’t you? I thought the concept of caution was completely foreign to you.”
“So unfair…”
“Firstly,” Serena said, raising a finger, “nothing big or flashy. Do it slowly, one by one.” A second finger joined the first. “Secondly, if asked, do not say you are a captive. Tell them the truth, you are under my employnt, and willingly so. Thirdly, and this is the most important, do not imply in any way you have any connection to the human church, or any church for that matter.”
“Okay!” Alia whispered back.
“... and don’t over-exert yourself!” she added, as Alia stepped forward amongst the humans.
They were lined in rough columns, with just enough space for her and the demon guards to walk up and down the square. Alia strolled forward, so murmuring having started as more and more humans, civilians and soldiers alike, noticed her. Alia’s high perception made it easy to capture these snippets.
“Sis, who’s that person?”
“A republican officer… ?”
“I’ve never seen her before… ”
“She wasn’t part of the garrison. A slave?”
She bent down next to a man who seed to have been caught in an explosion. His body was riddled with small cuts and wounds, and his eyes were covered in bandages. A nasty bump on his chest suggested one or more of his ribs had broken, threatening to pierce through the skin. A young girl, perhaps in her early teens, was holding the man’s hand, her face wet with tears.
“Hello there,” she said, intentionally making her voice just loud enough to carry over the square, audible to all. “Is this man your father?” The girl’s eyes t her own, red and raw from crying. She looked Alia over, before nodding slowly.
“Da’ worked in the warehouses… he… he got blown up-!” her voice broke at the end, unable to stop herself from sobbing.
“Would it be okay, if I healed him? Is that alright?” She let her voice take on the tone she had heard for so many years in the hospital. The tone she had grown to truly despise, the doctor’s bedside manner, but now… now she was the one rendering aid she began to understand its value.
“You… you can do that? Make da’ better?” The girl stopped sobbing, her eyes growing wide like saucers.
“I can. I would need to touch him, is that okay?”
“Y-yes! Please miss…”
Alia gently touched the man’s chest, and invoking one of the lesser healing spells, golden light, with flecks of blue, traveled from her own body into the injured man. Within seconds, he was breathing normally, the cuts and wounds had closed up and the broken ribs nded. The man reached up and removed the bandages around his eyes.
“I can see… I can see! Oh, my daughter! My sweet, I can see your beautiful face again!”
“Da!” The girl threw herself into her father’s arms, weeping loudly.
“Thank you! Thank you, holy priestess! I’m not worthy… a thousand blessings upon you!” The man cried, grasping her hand with his own, his eyes brimming with gratitude.
“Thank you!” Alia bead, as the crowd now had its full attention upon her.
“She healed him!”
“Is she a captive?”
“A mber of the church, here? Are we saved?”
“Why would they let her help us…”
“I…” Alia said, standing up. The crowd grew silent as she spoke. “... am a traveling healer, not a mber of the church, offering my services to those in need! I have obtained permission from the captain,” she gestured to Serena, “to render aid to all of you. I would very much like to heal those who need it, so please, allow this kindness…” she punctuated her little speech with a polite bow. Hopefully bowing was seen as polite in this world’s human culture.
Unfortunately, the focus of the crowd now seed to be on Serena herself, and the atmosphere that had started to be touched by optimism and hope was now laden with fear.
“The… sword demon!”
“The captain of the black ship!”
“We’re dood!”
“Lord, save us!”
“Tsk!” Serena spat, drawing her firearm and firing it into the air. The sound of the gunshot sent birds flying into the air across the port, and within the square, the humans cowered. “I don’t have ti for this! Alia!”
“Y-yes, Lady Halen!”
“You have one hour. Heal whover you can. Guards!”
“Yes, captain!” ca a chorus from the surrounding demons.
“If any of them start causing problems, shoot them! If they’re too cowardly to accept the aid of my human then they can et their maker! Soone get Dagon!”
“Aye, captain!”
Well, that was a little bit aggressive, but it had kept things from escalating. Alia put her hand up.
“Okay!” She said, trying to sound cheerful. “Who needs healing? Quickly now! I haven’t got long!” A long silence followed, then, a soft voice broke out.
“My arm… is broken. Please…”
“No problem!” Alia bounced to the next person, and then the next, and the next after that. Each flash of gold and blue was followed by a flurry of gratitude and as the gratitudes rang out, the touch of hope once again fell upon the captive humans.
After a while, Dagon appeared and replaced Serena, who walked off towards the port’s citadel. She would wonder later what that was about. For now, she had more work to do, more happiness to spread.
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