DEMON'S VIRTUE

"Oh?" Eiro asked as he just kept staring at the monk, who simply smiled at the Demon and nodded his head, "Yes, of course. There is no reason not to guide travelers in need if they require it." The Monk explained, and Eiro simply shrugged.

"Fine. I guess if we need to, then we'll take your help." Eiro told him, before the Monk slowly nodded his head and started showing the group the way to the single Inn in this small village.

On the way, Arc just looked at Eiro, seemingly feeling a little bit concerned, surprisingly, "You sure that's a good idea? We have no idea who that is, and didn't he say that there's something really strong sealed there? Isn't it-"

"Arc, don't worry." Eiro told him with a slight smirk underneath his mask and simply kept looking forward as they followed the monk. It didn't take them long to get to the Inn, and Eiro swiftly made his way inside so that he could pay for a room and a spot in the stables.

He then helped Arc and Clementine quickly bring the carriage to the back of the Inn and then properly instructed them on what to do in case of an emergency, even though that was probably the hundredth time that he told them the exact same thing.

"We know, now just hurry. I don't think we should wait that long with those two, right?" Rudy pointed out with a slight frown, and Eiro simply nodded his head as he picked Leon up off of the ground and held him on his arms, "Just be careful down here while we're gone, alright?" Eiro said, and the others immediately just nodded their heads.

Once Eiro turned around, he spotted Sammy standing there by the door, nervously waiting to climb up this mountain. It was something that she literally needed to do to survive, after all.

"Let's go." The Demon said as he looked at his daughter, and Sammy just nodded her head and followed him as they made their way out toward the Monk that was waiting on the street.

But right as they were walking over toward him, in a voice that was basically a whisper, Eiro told something to Sammy that really surprised her. "When I tell you to, immediately hide what I'm going to do to that guy from Leon, please." Actually, it went beyond shock, since she didn't understand Eiro's reasons behind wanting to do something like that. But even then, Sammy tried to hide that shock for now. After all, there had to be a reason why he was acting this way, right?

"Are you ready to go?" The Monk asked, before Eiro nodded his head in response, "Of course. Lead the way." The Demon said.

And as such, they just followed the monk toward the gates again and quickly stepped through there. A wave of pressure flooded Eiro's body the moment that they did, however, and even Sammy and Leon seemed slightly affected by it.

"It's quite overwhelming when you enter through here the first time, isn't that right?" The Monk asked with a slight laugh, in response to which Eiro just quietly chuckled, "Mhm, it is. Slightly nauseating even."

"Oh, then you must have a quite high perception stat." With a pleasantly surprised expression, the Monk slightly turned his head toward Eiro, "And those two are those that need our help?" He asked next. With a light frown and a bitter smile, Sammy looked back at the Monk, "Yes, we're here to have something unsealed." She explained, and for not a single moment did Eiro avert his eyes from the Monk to see his reaction.

"Then you're at the right place, young lady. The High Priest of our temple is an expert when it comes to sealing." He explained with a simply smile as they all started stepping up the slope in front of them slowly but steadily.

Eiro was actually slightly unnerved being here. The constant pressure coming from whatever being was sealed on this mountain was clouding his senses completely. It might only be clouded when compared to before, though. It did seem like he was still able to see, hear, smell, and sense things pretty well for the most part. Just not as well as Eiro had become used to at this point in time.

But that didn't matter much anyway, since Eiro just kept all of his focus completely on the monk the whole time through without a single moment of hesitation. He knew what that monk really was, after all.

Either way, for now, Eiro figured it might be a good idea to get as much information out of this 'man' as possible.

"Can you tell us what kind of being it is that's sealed here?" Eiro inquired, since he was actually kind of curious about it, and the monk slightly looked toward him and then shook his head, "Sorry, I can't do that." He explained, and Eiro raised his brows suspiciously.

"Why not? Is it something that has to stay hidden or something?" He asked, but once more, the monk looked toward him and quickly shook his head, "No, no, that's not what I meant. I can't tell you, because I don't know. Only the High-Priest knows what exactly is sealed here. We others simply know that it's something that can never be allowed to roam around freely."

Somehow, this made Eiro even more suspicious... and curious. He really wanted to know what kind of being it was now. Who knew, maybe Eiro could somehow convince the High-Priest to tell him. Depending on how it went, Sammy might be able to... 'suggest' it to him. Although, that would probably be a bad lesson. She shouldn't use that skill of hers so freely without bounds.

"I see." Eiro replied, and then thought about what else he may want to know, "Then could you tell us about the temple itself? What do you guys do up there, do you simply sit there and make sure that the seal isn't somehow opened up?"

With a slight chuckle, the monk shook his head, "Of course not. After all, the temple has existed long, long before that being was sealed there. We study an ancient art of sealing developed in this temple, and many monks produced by this temple head out into the world to then vanquish spirits or other strong, dangerous beings by sealing them in safe places until the one comes that can truly destroy whatever being they sealed." The Monk explained to him.

"The art of sealing, hm? Is there any way for an outsider to learn it?" The Demon asked, but the Monk just slightly turned his eyes toward Eiro, finally revealing the kind of expression that Eiro wanted to see. It was really just minor, but the Monk's expression changed for a split moment there. His eye twitched, his lips quivered, and his pupils dilated a fair bit due to what Eiro could only assume to be anger.

But he managed to quickly get himself back under control, and as such replied with a light smile, "I'm afraid not. We are glad to help, but if you wish to learn the art of seals, then you need to have dedicated your entire life toward it already. I was born and raised in that temple, you see? As were all the other disciples and masters for any generation since its existence."

"Hm... I see." Eiro said, slightly disappointedly, and then just looked forward. The path they were on right now was rather steep, and it would take maybe seven or eight reach the pake. It would be an exhausting trip, but he was sure that Sammy and Leon could handle it. He just knew they would.

For maybe two or three hours, they continued walking up the regular path, until they reached a spot that was relatively even. The Monk slowly turned around and looked at Eiro, "Should we take a break? We need to make sure we can truly reach the peak by tonight, after all."

"Right." Eiro replied, and then turned toward Sammy while letting Leon down onto the ground, since Eiro had been carrying him the whole time up until now, "Can you watch him for a while? I want to have a word alone with our dear friend here." Eiro told Sammy as he turned around, but just when he did, Sammy did something that Eiro didn't really expect.

"S-Stop!" She exclaimed, "Why can't you just do it here?" Sammy asked, "Is there any reason to keep secrets from us?"

With a light frown, Eiro turned toward Sammy confusedly, "Of course not. I want to explain the situation, and I don't want you two to be stressed out even more." Eiro told Sammy reassuredly, even though the young woman didn't really buy it.

"M-Mister, how about you just sit down here for a while? I can do the same, it's totally fine." Sammy told the monk, trying to somehow signal him that he was in danger if he went with Eiro, although the Demon just kept staring at her with a deep frown.

"You really trust me that little?" The Demon asked, and Sammy looked at him nervously, unsure what to say. After all, Eiro was about to murder this monk that only wanted to help them! What else was she supposed to do but that?

"I... I-"

"I wasn't going to kill him right off the bat. Maybe I would have cut off a limb or two, maybe stabbed him a little. But he should be able to take it. Ain't I right, mister monk?" Eiro pointed out with a light smile underneath his mask, and the monk slowly turned his face toward Eiro, keeping up the same fake expression as before and slightly chuckled.

"What may you be speaking about?" He asked, but Eiro just continued without responding to him, "Although, depending on what this guy's plan actually is I may have to kill him, sure. If he turns out to actually want to help us, which I truthfully doubt, I would have let him be, really." Eiro sighed deeply, but once more, the monk simply kept staring at Eiro with the same expression.

And then, to Sammy's surprise, Eiro just placed his hand onto his mask, "Come on, you don't need to try and hide it. Let's have a conversation, bud. From Monster..." Just as the Demon started that last sentence, he took off his mask and pulled down his hood, revealing his identity.

The Monk's eyes opened wide, unable to contain the surprise that he felt, although the surprise grew even stronger when he then had a rock-spike inside of the center of his back, piercing through its whole body until it stuck out the stomach. Of course, meanwhile, Nelli made sure that Leon was looking away.

"...to Monster." Eiro continued, and just as he did, a translucent, viscous liquid started dripping down from the 'wound' that Gondos had created with that rock-spike that didn't seem to have affected the monk in the slightest.

With a deep, grumbling sigh, the face of the monk turned blank and all the color completely disappeared from its body.. But not only the color, the skin itself, until it was only a slightly translucent mass of white slime standing there.