See who shows up.

"The wait is killing me," you admit. The stump you're using as a seat isn't all that comfortable, but it's something. Eva, Amara, and Niki sit around you. Your sword lays flat in your hands. Slowly, you drag a finger up the cracks, which look to be larger than before.

Snow wanders up beside you. She takes a seat as well, lowering herself down along with the metal case tied to her back. "I understand your feeling."

"Does this kind of thing happen on Earth?" Eva asks.

"Definitely not," you reply. "Well, people fight, and there are wars, but I wouldn't say people raiding castles to fight a Demon King. That's something from books, video games, or shows. Like, we did have an era of castles, but that was a long time ago, and we just sort of use that general period of time to write fiction for some reason. There were knights, but no dragons. Castles, but no magic. Basically a really boring version of this."

You shiver as Dajy's nails tickle over your neck and wrap around your shoulders from behind. "You're worrying too much, my dear."

"This group is still pretty short." Fang chimes in from nowhere. She plants her hands on her hips. "If our numbers are too small, we might just get stomped."

"You're pretty short! Don't be so pessimistic. You're going to stress Kyle out," Eva blurts out in response.

"... Sorry. I'm just nervous," she mutters. "I didn't mean to bring everyone down. I've tackled criminals on the streets of Avana for some time, but I've never faced anything like this."

"She does have a point, however. We do lack in numbers," Nyllia says. "That being said, we do have a team of elites. Though the fewer people we have, the larger the danger that we will not all make it back out."

"Don't say that," you snap back. "Even if our whole party is everyone in camp right now, we won't lose anyone."

"You shouldn't talk to her like that," Bill says. "She has far more experience in combat than you do."

"This isn't normal combat. I don't think anybody here has any experience in this, right?"

Nyllia raises her hand. She walks up to you, and places a hand on your shoulder. There isn't a hint of fear in her eyes, despite the high succubus claiming your back directly beside her. "No. Mr. Warren is correct. Rather, I should say Sir Warren. If anyone here had the most experience with handling a Demon King, it would actually be him."

"Are we interrupting something?" a voice calls out from nearby.

You turn to see two individuals. The first has long lavender hair, a short beard, and has two rabbit ears protruding up from his head. He wears a dark red robe, and clutches a wooden staff curling around a pearl at the tip. The second is an elven woman with long blond hair, a flowing white dress, and in her hand is a silver staff ending in a crescent moon around a bright blue crystal.

"Mother!" Amara shouts.

Eva is shocked as well. "Dad!"

Rada Beela and Yaera Tedrilui are present.

"Do you know each other?" you ask.

Lord Beela chuckles. "Not specifically. We have met in passing, but Ms. Tedrilui is rather well-known for her kindness. We just so happened to cross paths on the way, so we travelled together."

Amara throws her arms around her mother. "It is good to see you again."

Meanwhile, he turns to Eva and clears his throat. "Yes. We will do everything we can to help prevent the spread of the Demon King's influence."

You look to Eva as well, but when nothing is said, you speak up. "What about the rest of the Circle?"

"I have my doubts. Lady Sulta is busy at work running Redbloom Academy while the Grand Master is elsewhere, and for better or for worse, many members of the Circle lean more towards the scholar than the warrior. But I couldn't stand knowing how close this Sa'dis truly was to the people of Tivera, and with my daughter going as well..."

"Thank you," Eva mutters. She crosses her arms. "Thanks for coming, dad."

"It's my pleasure."

Hell yeah! We have a high level mage and a high level cleric. That's a massive boost to our numbers.