After planning his route, Ashton had made his way through town. The way to the cathedral wasn't that complicated, but with monsters and road blockages, either through cars or things that monsters constructed for temporary camps, it was a bit safer and easier to just move around them. It just took a small bit longer than he hoped.

  The pixies were still with Ashton as well, after all. If possible, he wanted to find a place for the treasure pixie as fast as he could, if there was one of those in the first place.

  After getting to the cathedral, Ashton was going to take the long way around and head toward the forest, where he would try to find any trace of a fairy sanctuary. Hopefully, by the time the sun came up, Ashton could at least find some clues. Then, he had to head to the primary school, meet with Millie to show her that he was still alive as he promised to do, and would then go back to Calibur.

  Usually, by now, Ashton should be able to see the cathedral already. Of course, he himself couldn't, but he was having Poppy keep an eye out while the treasure pixie was sleeping in Ashton's pocket.

  By tugging on his hair, Poppy was telling him that she was able to see the church's towers. While Ashton had seen this place a few times from afar since the quests started, he still wanted to make doubly sure that he was going the exact right away. Navigating the world without being able to confirm things with your own eyes was something he was still struggling to get used to.

  But it also didn't take long for Ashton to find some walls that had been constructed, using cars, tables, and basically anyone they could find to build them, as was the norm. Beyond it, some people were standing and talking. They seemed surprisingly upbeat, considering how beat up they also were. It was also the middle of the night. Even the people keeping guard at Calibur were struggling to stay awake.

  "Yo, can I come in?" Ashton asked, mentally preparing himself for what kind of environment this camp was going to be. The people beyond the wall were clearly confused, and soon climbed up some ladder leaning against the side of the wall.

  A man soon looked down at Ashton, and pulled back a little confused. Of course, what he was seeing was a rather confusing sight. Ashton was wearing a bright cloak, a mask covering his eyes, and was currently holding the summoner's staff.

  If possible, when meeting with new people he couldn't yet trust, he wanted to hide his full capabilities as much as he could. People of earth didn't know anything about summoning, so it was fine even if he revealed some things there. But hiding the fact that he could fight with a staff beyond that was just an added layer that would make things easy for him should the situation go sour.

  "Hello? I won't stay long, I'm just trying to find my friend's parents," Ashton explained, and the man quickly listened.

  "Your friend's... I see..." His expression turned sour, and he slowly nodded. "In that case, please do come inside. I will lower a ladder for you, just give me a minute."

  Ashton smiled and shook his head, though he doubted the man could see him do so. "No need."

  The wall wasn't actually that tall, and there were plenty of spots that he could hold onto. So, with a quick jump up, and by grabbing the right part of the wall to pull himself up and over, he soon leapt over the barricade, landing before the man even reached the bottom of the ladder again.

  Him and the woman that he was talking to just now were looking at him confused and startled. With a smile, Ashton just started walking.

  The woman was the first to react, quickly rushing after Ashton. "E-Excuse me, but how did you do that just now?"

  "Hm? That? I just jumped."

  "You jumped? Over the wall?"

  "Okay fine, technically some climbing was involved, but don't tell anyone," Ashton laughed, continuing to walk forward. "By the way, the people I'm looking for should be pretty involved in this area, even before all of this. Their names are Jonah and Carol Baker."

  The moment Ashton said those names, the demeanour of the two changed even more. They were... complicated expressions. At first they seemed excited, but they stopped themselves from saying anything.

  "I see..." the man let out. "So their daughter..."

  Ashton raised a brow confused. Do they think that Clementine died? Ah, yeah, maybe it did sound like 'that' kind of mission to them. Seeking out someone else's parents to tell them what happened to their kid. Well, it didn't matter to Ashton. As long as this let him meet them and make sure that they were alright, he didn't really care.

  The two brought Ashton over to the main doors of the cathedral. They were just slightly ajar. As Ashton walked into the building, he soon spotted people sleeping and resting, huddled together for comfort. It was all pretty bare-bones, but the people that were awake seemed happy, at least.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Ashton kept an eye out for Clementine's parents, though he was led to the altar in the front. There was a door adjacent to it, and the two that guided Ashton here seemed to want him to go inside. They seemed scared to walk the couple steps up toward the alter themselves.

  Instead, they showed a brief prayer, then turned back around and left.

  Ashton knocked on the door that he was pointed toward, and quickly pushed it open. It was a relatively small room, all things considered. Ashton could 'see' the entirety of it once he stepped inside, actually letting him compress his range to see everything better. There were some shelves and storage cabinets, some religious items, and a big crucifix on the opposing wall. There was also a small table in the middle of the room, that a man was standing in front of, wearing well-decorated robes.

  Compared to everyone else, he was the only one that was looking well-cared for. His head was shaven completely smooth, and so was his face. The last time Ashton saw him, though, he definitely still had a pretty rough beard. Actually, as he stepped closer and compressed his channelling range even further, Ashton realised that the man was even missing his eyebrows.

  On the other side of the table was Carol, Jonah's wife. She looked better compared to the other people in the church, though she still looked roughed-up. Though for her, those injuries weren't caused by a monster. At least not a full one.

  "Hm?" he turned around, with a slightly surprised smile. "We have a guest, I see? Who could you be?"

  "Are you Jonah and Carol Baker?" Ashton asked, just trying to make sure. The air that this man was giving off was eery. He seemed uncanny compared to the last time Ashton saw him, but he quickly nodded anyway.

  "That would be me, yes. And you are?"

  "Clementine's friend. She asked me to make sure that you're alright. And now that I've done that, I'll take my leave."

  "Clementine?" Carol let out with a gasp. "Is she alright?"

  Ashton shrugged. "As 'alright' as anyone can be under these circumstances, I suppose."

  Jonah slightly stared down at Ashton. Had he always been this tall?

  "And why didn't our daughter come to look for us herself?"

  If he could, Ashton would be glaring back at Jonah right now. "You know exactly why."

  "Of course I do," Jonah said as he shook his head, letting out a long, disappointed sigh. "What a truly unfilial daughter we have raised."

  "Hah?" Ashton let out, unprepared for that response. "Unfilial? Are you fucking kidding me? If you're going to call her unfilial, be a father first."

  He turned and decided to walk away. There was no reason to stick around any longer. Ashton confirmed they were alright, and maybe even a little too energetic.

  Maybe like this, he could spend a little more time looking for a sanctuary.

  But just as Ashton tried to leave, Jonah attempted to put a hand onto his shoulder. Before he could, Ashton spun the summoner's staff around and pushed the bottom against Jonah's wrist, quickly pushing it back away.

  "Don't touch me with those filthy hands."

  "Filthy? How dare you? I am the saviour of all those people out there, who do you think you are calling filthy?!"

  "Saviour?" Ashton repeated, before slowly starting to laugh. That was absolutely hilarious. The only person this man ever 'saved' was himself. "Good one, for sure."

  Though he was surprisingly hiding it well, Jonah seemed a bit angrier than before. He grabbed something that had been laying on the table this whole time. A mace. A weapon often wielded by classes like Clerics. As Jonah raised it, the mana shook around it as it shifted into what is generally considered 'Holy Energy'. Really, it was just a particular sort of mana infused with the power of 'faith'. Nothing inherently holy about it. The moment Jonah grabbed this weapon and it began to glow, Carol flinched and took a step back.

  "I am the saviour, the one closest to the divine one! And you will treat me as such!"

  Right now, Jonah was threatening Ashton with that weapon. To others, a metal club wielded by a man of Jonah's stature would seem pretty frightening, but to Ashton? It was barely enough to get him to stop yawning.

  "Mm-hm, whatever you say, oh so great 'saviour'. I'll be off now," Ashton waved briefly.

  As if disappointed by that answer, Jonah shook his head and clicked his tongue. "And here I was, giving you another chance because you said you know Clementine. For all I know, you were just trying to sneak your way in here, pretending to know our daughter." Jonah pulled up the mace. "And you shall pay for that sin of falsehood."

  He swung the weapon down, but Ashton just sidestepped the attack, pulled back his staff, hit Jonah's adam's apple with the bottom, and the moment he flinched even slightly, swept away Jonah's feet until he was laying on his back, the mace a few steps away.

  "I'd prefer not having to beat up people your age, so stop that, alright?" Ashton let out a long sigh, pulling back the hood of his cloak. "And if you're either too stupid or too blind to realize, I'm Ashton Garling, you twit."

  "A-Ashton?" Jonah asked, surprised. "Why would you do this? Have I not always treated you with kindness?"

  "Huh? The fuck are you talking about, 'kindness'?" Ashton almost wanted to laugh again, if this weren't one of the most insulting things he had heard in a while. "If you don't remember, you beat the shit out of me once for daring to try and stop you from hitting your own daughter. You colluded with that absolute fucking dickhead to take everything from me after my father died. And to top it all off..."

  Ashton stepped closer, kneeling down in front of Jonah. He put his hand around the man's throat, and began to choke him. "In the midst of all this, you couldn't act like an actual human being. What was it that left you like this, huh? Did you kill someone? Was it you beating up your own wife with that fucking mace of yours? Or was your heart just always rotten enough that the system figured you should be a 'Marked' from the very start? I don't know why you are one of the ones with their sanity intact, but you clearly are." Ashton ground his teeth, but in the end, stood back up. "The only reason I'm not killing you outright, although it would be incredibly useful to me, is because, despite all that you've done to her, Clementine would be sad if you died. You hear that?"

  Ashton closed his eyes, sighing. He knew he was going to regret this. Maybe he should just turn back around and stomp down on this man's head. But if he did that, sooner or later, Clementine would find out that Ashton was the one that killed her father. And even if she would probably understand if explained... Ashton also knew that it would break her heart.

  "I don't know if you're being supported by a constellation, or if you're just somehow able to hold on anyway, but the moment I realise that you turn into more of a monster, I'm going to actually come back and kill you. Don't make me regret it."