In the center of town was a strip of large buildings where most of the city’s governmental functions were carried out. Here was the office of Trade and Commerce, the Royal Court, the Chancellor’s office, and a few others whose functions she did not know offhand. As she approached the buildings, she began to feel an unexplained pressure in the air. It was as though she could feel negativity seeping out from just ahead. Curious, she cautiously approached to get a better look.

What she saw shocked her. It was the strange man from the woods whom she tried to help. There was no mistaking the dark aura that surrounded him. What’s more, he was currently harassing the guards. Despite his injuries and being surrounded by several armed fighters, the black-haired man was proving more than a match.

“What’s with this guy? I can't land a single blow on him!” cried one of the soldiers. "He must be… a-a demon!"

“Stop resisting!” another ordered.

The strange man just laughed maniacally, obviously not taking the guards seriously as they flailed around with uncoordinated attacks.

“The weak will die! All of you drop dead!”

 He waved his hands around and several orbs of dark energy began to flow out and strike the soldiers, knocking them off their feet. Some crashed into walls and fell unconscious. Those who were still awake struggled to even get to their knees.

Kuroshi watched the scene in horror. The man seemed possessed and had strange powers. Even what she assumed to be trained warriors were helpless against him. The purple-haired girl began to fear for the safety of all those around her. It was too much to watch any longer. 

The young woman began to walk forward, her head throbbing slightly. All of her thoughts began to fixate on the idea of doing something even if it was futile.

As the other onlookers watched her approach, they began to yell at her foolishness. "Hey, what are you doing? Don't go near that monster! It's dangerous!"

"Let the guards handle this sort of thing. You wanna get hurt?"

 Her thoughts drowned out all the voices as she neared the black-haired man. Without giving it any thought, she yelled out, “Stop this at once!”

The so-called demon looked at her and sneered. 

“Hey, can’t you wait in line like a good little girl? Or do you just want to die that badly?”

Kuroshi clenched a fist, trying to maintain her courage while trembling in fear. 

“I can’t allow you to hurt these innocent people.”

Without a reply, the spiky-haired man held up his hands. He conjured another dark orb of energy and hurled it toward the young woman. The frightened girl flung up her arms and turned away in panic, having no real game plan beyond verbally confronting the demon. Fortunately, a barrier of light rose up to shield her against the attack. The demon’s face contorted upon seeing this.

“No… it’s that girl again…? Hey, you! What’s your deal?”

Having realized she was unscathed, Kuroshi turned back to the man. 

“I could ask you the same. Why do you go around attacking people? Why are you obsessed with killing?”

“It’s what you humans deserve!”

“Why? What did any of these people do to deserve this?”

Ignoring her questions, the demon walked toward Kuroshi. She found herself frozen in fear as she watched him approach. What was she doing? She was just a village girl. Why did she confront a powerful demon? The insanity of her actions only just hit her.

One of the fallen guards scrambled back to his feet, running off to inform the knights of the situation. This was clearly more than they were capable of handling themselves.

  The demon peered maliciously into the scared girl's eyes as he reached her. “I don’t know what sort of weird powers you have, but I’ll simply choke the life out of you and be done with it.”

He then wrapped a hand around her neck and lifted her off her feet.

Kuroshi gasped for air, grabbing his hand with both hers and trying to pry it off to no avail. Her feet frantically kicked around in the space below her, but she couldn’t break free of his clutches. All the citizens in the area had either fled by now or just watched on, dumbstruck.

Another guard rose to his feet, knowing help would not arrive in time for this girl if he didn't act. Though hurt, he was determined to serve out his duty and his foe did not seem to be paying attention. It was the perfect moment to strike. He raised his long sword and charged at the demon from behind, ready to deliver a blow with all his might. Before he could even begin to swing the weapon, he was sent flying back as the demon casually blasted him with his free hand, not even looking.

The soldier crashed hard into the side of a nearby building and was knocked unconscious. All others were either unable to stand or felt too hopeless to act. The knights may be on their way, but not nearly in time to save the purple-haired damsel.

Kuroshi’s vision began to fade as she was strangled by the demon. As everything grew dark, she suddenly heard a voice calling to her from the depths of her mind.

“Draw your weapon.”

Her weapon? She didn’t understand. What did this mean? She didn’t bring any weapons with her. She didn’t even know how to use any.

“Draw it and strike!”

The next moments went by in a blur for the purple-haired girl. Without even realizing it, she held up her hand, a translucent white light forming the shape of a blade within it. She swiped, slashing the energy right through the demon and causing him to yell out and pain as he dropped her.

She could vaguely hear the man cursing her but was too busy trying to breathe again to make out exact words or even see his reaction. The energy in her hand faded away as she instinctively clutched her own throat, rubbing it a bit.

Those who actually stayed and watched were amazed by the scene they had just witnessed. 

“She repelled the demon! She must be our savior!”

“What…? No… I-”

She turned to face the crowd, nervously waving her hands as her brain tried to process what just occurred. Unfortunately for the overwhelmed girl, the demon was not dead. He returned to his feet and rushed her from behind.

"Gah!"

Just before the demon could strike, he found himself skewered by a spear.

"It's Sir Hector of the Royal Knights!" One of the townspeople exclaimed upon seeing the wielder of the polearm.

Hector, the tall helmeted man dressed in plate mail, kicked the now limp body of the demon off his spear, watching as it lifelessly plopped to the ground. He then pulled off his helmet to reveal his wavy, dark blue locks and bushy beard. His brown eyes focused on the girl who had now turned around to see him. "Never turn your back on an enemy."

"Oh, I uh…" The man dwarfed Kuroshi. He was not only tall but massive in general. His presence was greatly intimidating to the teenager.

"It is not wise to abandon combat unless you are certain your foe is vanquished."

"I'm sorry. I don't really know anything about combat."

"And yet you stood against this man who had taken out our very guards? That seems rather foolhardy."

"I wasn't thinking. I just- I felt like I had to do something."

"You seem to have a special ability despite your clear lack of battle experience. If your power is harmful to these demons, I believe you should come with me to see the Chancellor."

“The Chancellor? But isn’t he a busy man?”

“You're a unique case. I'm sure he can set aside some time to meet with you.”

Kuroshi was hesitant but also still mentally a mess over what just happened. On the other hand, meeting the chancellor could grant her access to the information she sought. For now, she just kept quiet and followed the man inside the large  building.

Eventually, she was led to a tall man with slick black hair and a clean-shaven face. He wore a dark gray, knee-length justacorps style jacket over a patterned doublet shirt and black breeches. Upon their arrival, he quickly began to speak in a businesslike tone.

"Ah, Sir Hector. I heard of the attack. What is the status?"

"The demon plaguing the city has been dealt with. In part due to this young lady."

The suit-wearing man eyed the unfamiliar girl curiously. "And this is?"

"This young maiden took on the demon who was terrorizing the guard. She seems a bit green to me, but she genuinely possesses some sort of power that proved effective against the creature. The crowd was touting her as this era’s savior."

The well-dressed man nodded at this and then turned his attention to Kuroshi with a smile.

 “Allow me to introduce myself. I am James Wilworth, Chancellor of Wallontia.”

“Ah, yes… I heard you were just recently elected to the position. It is an honor to meet you. My name is Kuroshi Kusabana.”

“My, how humble for an alleged savior.”

“I don’t know anything about this ‘savior’ business… but I do seem to have strange powers that have just recently appeared out of nowhere as well as odd dreams telling me of some mission I must undertake. I was hoping to obtain some information and maybe piece this all together.”

The Chancellor took a moment to consider this. 

“Hmm… the royal families of old took it upon themselves to work with the Savior however possible. This tradition is as old as Wallontia itself. We may no longer have kings and queens, but I still feel it’s important to uphold that tradition. That said, your story sounds quite a bit different than what has been recorded in historical texts.”

This made the girl sound uneasy. She was not trying to claim to be anything in particular. She just wanted to learn the truth. 

“I didn’t come here seeking some sort of special aid. I want to learn more about the goddess and the special being she sends to help the people. I want to know how any of this is connected to me.”

The Chancellor folded his arms. 

“The Savior would be entitled to access any knowledge we have in the archives of the Royal Library. You seem rather unsure of yourself, though. I would expect someone with a connection to the goddess to know it. How about a test?”

“A test?” 

“Indeed. I am not in a position to properly judge your authenticity, nor do I have the time to fully assess you. I have a lot of responsibilities demanding my attention. There are, however, four greater spirits that control the flow of magic in this world. Surely such beings would be able to discern the truth of the matter. If you can obtain proof from them, I will acknowledge you as the Chosen One of this time.”

“Four greater spirits…? But I don’t even know anything about them or where to begin to look…”

Chancellor Wilworth put up a hand to stop her. 

“Naturally, there has been much research on them here in Wallontia, as magic is so important in these lands. I will arrange to have one of our scholars accompany you as a guide in your quest, should you accept this challenge.”

The girl knew she had to make an important decision here. She wasn’t sure she would actually be able to do it. How could she get these spirits to even listen to her? Still, perhaps meeting one would be beneficial to her even if she couldn’t get their full cooperation. They likely knew of things beyond human knowledge. One could maybe even give her more clues about the dreams she had been having or her newfound powers.

"I understand the challenge, but will I only have a scholar to accompany me? Not a knight like Sir Hector?"

"I don't know if you're the real deal or not yet. You can't expect me to hand over the captain of the knights as your personal bodyguard for what could be several months. On top of that, the guard has weakened thanks to that attack. I need my knights to defend the people in case more demons should appear. If you can't complete the task with only a guide, you are free to decline."

Kuroshi bit her lip as she felt she had to agree despite the unfavorable terms. “Very well. I will seek out these spirits.”

“Make all of your preparations and head to the academy in the morrow. Your guide will be waiting for you. Now if that is all, I do have a meeting coming up shortly.”

She nodded in acknowledgment. It seemed as though the chancellor was trying to get rid of her at this point but she wanted to remain courteous. “Thank you very much.”

The amethyst-eyed girl then departed, feeling anxious. She would need to make sure she was ready for the journey tomorrow. She would need supplies, probably a new outfit suitable for travel, and plenty of rest. She tackled each of these in order, eventually turning in at the monastery she had stayed the previous night.