It appeared that fate had its way of toying with her, that much Esperia was certain of. It all began during a peaceful morning during the spring season. Although she had been staying in Hargeon for quite a while already, the young lady had started to notice she was getting restless. Perhaps it was because she was an adventurous soul at heart, but ever since she settled down in the port, Esperia felt as if something had been missing. It was a feeling she felt ever since Fia had disappeared, and it was a feeling that had grown over the years. Although, it seemed like today would be a day where she couldn't bask in the memories of the distant past. No, for today it seemed like she was about to be drawn into an adventure once more.

She had been seated in a chair inside one of the more fanciful taverns of Hargeon, sipping from a goblet of some delicious fruit juice when rushed footsteps approached the entrance of the tavern. It didn't take long for her to associate that with a sign for trouble, and her assumption was soon rewarded when the door opened and a man came tumbling in, stuttering in a panic.

"Help! Someone please help us! There are pirates!"

A soft audible sigh escaped her lips. Pirates, again? They truly seemed like a plague, akin to vermin that would return no matter how many of their kin you slain. Recalling her last encounter with them, and the things they did to that merchant filled her with a lingering feeling of anger, and perhaps that had been the source of motivation for her to take action today, for she soon rose up from her seat and approached the man that was calling for help.

"Take a deep breath sir." She began, resting a hand reassuringly on his shoulder. "Where did you see those pirates?"

The man turned toward her, his eyes clearly showing a glimmer of hope at her words. The idea that she was willing to help the man despite the announcement that his problems involved pirates either showed her overconfidence or her skill as a fighter. Now she thought about it, perhaps it might have been overconfidence. Esperia was not exactly a fighter, she specialized more in enhancing people, but that was before she had obtained a little present of hers.

"There are pirates near the coast! They are preparing for an attack of sorts!" It was clear that it would be only a matter of time before Port Hargeon would turn into a battlefield.

Unfortunately, she had already checked the guild hall of Blue Pegasus during the morning and most of its members were out and about currently, to the point only Liana was there, and in all honesty? She didn't want to expose the elven maiden to the presence of pirates. Whether it was because of their friendship or lingering feelings of her childhood crush on her, she simply didn't want to expose Liana to such a threat. No... she would take on the pirates by herself!

"Please tell the guard to be alert, I'll take a look and see if I can't handle the pirates on my own."

Of course the man seemed worried about the idea of letting her go off all by herself, but she merely winked at the man and declared with a smile. "As Blue Pegasus' Sweetheart it is my responsibility to keep my darlings safe~ so be a good darling and help warn the port of this threat."

And with those words she left the tavern, oblivious to the effect her rallying words would have had upon the people in the tavern. But for now? For now it was time to hunt some pirates!

It didn't take long for her to arrive at the beach, and for some reason she couldn't help but feel nostalgic at the sight. In just a few weeks this place would be turned into a festival as Blue Pegasus would do their utmost to lift the spirits of everyone in the port by means of those festivities. She wouldn't- and couldn't accept the idea of allowing those pirates to ruin the opportunity for everyone to have fun.

To chase their dreams and ambitions, to indulge in their desires... That was what it meant to be the Demon Lord of Lust, right? She could even feel Asmodeus' silent approval at her thoughts, but today she wouldn't be relying on Asmodeus to do her dirty work. No, instead she had chosen to take on this task on her own, wanting to prove that even she herself could protect those that were dear to her.

It was only a short trip before she arrived back at the cove where she had once dealt with the pirates in the past, and as if there was some cruel sense of irony this band of pirates had used the very same cove to hide in to prepare their attack. Fortunately for Esperia this cove had plenty of high elevation points which would make her idea work quite well.

Crouching down amidst the grass she placed the bandaged 'present' in front of her, unwrapping its covers to reveal a beautiful sniper rifle. It was a weapon she had ordered to help her with combative capacities when she didn't have to focus on supporting others. Not to mention, while few knew about it: she was quite a gun bunny.

Raising the sniper rifle into her arms she gazed through the scope, her lips curving up slightly as she noticed the leader of the pirates, at least judging from his fancy attire and with a soft pull of the trigger she could see through her scope that the man was cleanly hit in the head, collapsing lifeless onto the ground as his men looked around worriedly.

"Boom~ Headshot~"

It was pure chaos in the cove as various pirates were looking around in a panic, the chaos that Esperia took advantage of, for her scope allowed her to see her enemy easily, and with her training it was just a matter of time before she locked onto another pirate and cleanly hit them in the head.

"This almost feels like duck hunting." Esperia chimed in mild amusement as she reloaded her sniper rifle and gazed through the scope. After yet another shot she had already slain three of them, and the pirates still had no clue about who was shooting them or where they were hiding. In fact, some of the pirates even started arguing among each other, shouting about a traitor!

It was easy, too easy in fact. Even as she shot down a fourth member of the pirates, it seemed the young mage her inexperience in actual combat was about to show, because she was oblivious about the approaching threat of a pirate who had cleverly thought about going for hinger ground in the hope of figuring out where their enemy had been lurking, not that it was helping them much currently. At least till the pirate had spotted Esperia and had decided to start sneaking closer toward her.

Esperia meanwhile had remained focused on shooting down the pirates in the cove, having taken a fifth victim without feeling even a shred of remorse. Perhaps it was her hatred for pirates, or her growth as Asmodeus' chosen but Esperia truly felt not a shred of sympathy for those men.

Unfortunately, it was after she had fired that the pirate sneaking up on her was about to take action, raising a blade, and only the soft rustle of the grass behind her made Esperia rapidly turn around, just in time for her to raise her rifle like a shield to intercept the swing of the man!

For a moment they remained locked in a struggle as Esperia pulled herself upright and with a swift kick to the man's groin made him reel backwards, giving her a moment to aim her rifle and shoot the man in the chest, making the pirate collapse backwards.

However, unfortunately for Esperia the struggle had made her lose her balance at the cliff, and soon she went tumbling down into the cove!

It was rather fortunate that for Esperia she was never alone, for even if her fall had happened without her expecting it, Asmodeus already stirred into action and Esperia could feel her body instinctively move, a flick of her fingertips causing a pair of black feathered wings to emerge from her back as she made a safe descend toward the surface.

"I guess I got to thank you for that one." Esperia muttered softly, earning a chuckle from Asmodeus who replied with a sheepish giggle. "Don't mention it my dear~ Although keep your eyes open, we got some unpleasant company heading your way."

And soon Esperia could see just what Asmodeus was talking about. From the other side of the cove several pirates had spotted her and were charging toward her with drawn scimmitars. Although the first few fell quite easily with some well-aimed shots, their numbers were far superior than her firing rate, and soon Esperia found herself attempting to escape from the encroaching pirates! Dashing to the side she attempted to head for the passage she remembered from her last trip to the cove, but unfortunately for her just as she passed some of the corpses she had shot down earlier, two pirates were awaiting her arrival, a wicked grin on their face as slowly but certainly they approached toward her.

Was there no escape for her? Raising her rifle she rapidly unleashed a bullet at one of the men, and right before the second one reached her she was able to gun them down also.

She was clearly outnumbered... Had it been reckless of her to assume she could handle all those pirates on her own? Dashing out of her hiding spot Esperia soon noticed she had arrived at the literal end of the line, for a crowd of pirates were standing between her and her escape route. What in the world could she do now?

It was odd, despite the fact she was backed into a corner Esperia didn't feel despair, nor hopelessness. If anything, she felt anger and frustration at being caught like this.

"I guess Ali has been influencing us more than we thought she did Asmodeus~" The Demon Lord smiled gently at her, a light nod of her head following. "Mhmm~ That she tends to do~ Quite a peculiar lady she is, but a suitable mentor for you~ Only second to me of course."

Esperia giggled softly at those words. Raising her rifle up. "Better don't disappoint my mentors then~" And with those words she shot her rifle, the moment the bullet collided against the chest of one of the pirates a small explosion of ice engulfed those near him, but it did little to halt the encroaching amount.

"If I didn't knew better, those men aren't looking for the usual thing you give them Asmodeus." Muttering her joke under her breath Esperia darted among the pirates, unloading one bullet after another at the men till one finally caught a hold of her, a violent kick in her stomach making the girl stagger backwards, and at the same time one of the pirates raised his sword into the air, a violent downwards sweep following toward her back.

Unfortunately she was caught by surprise, the blade sinking deep into her shoulder, and a immense pain coursed through her being as she collapsed onto her knees.

Her eyes widened in disbelief as she saw her arm falling motionless on the ground, the blood that seeped from the wound already making her lightheaded as she collapsed sideways onto the sand.

Was this the end? Was she going to die here? Alone? No, she refused such an ending! She wanted an ending where she had reached for her desires, where all her dreams and ambitions had turned into a reality!

Gritting her teeth she tried to gather the last of her strength when she shouted from the top of her lungs: "ALI! LIA!"

But she knew she couldn't, and shouldn't have expected anyone to come to her rescue...

Yet the end never came. Instead she heard a sizzling sound, like something tearing through the wind and then bodies falling onto the ground. With the last of her strength Esperia lifted her gaze and saw something that she would have described as only happening in stories. A large crowd had rallied at the edge of the cove, but she recognized them quite easily: From the adventurers she shared drinks with at the tavern, to the local guards she used to tease when they were off-duty. Even local merchants and Harold who she had saved during her last encounter with pirates had appeared. But for what reason? She... could it be?

Standing at the frontline one of the captains of the guard raised his sword and shouted proudly: "CHARGE! DON'T LET THOSE BASTARDS TAKE AWAY OUR SWEETHEART!"

A rallying cry that resounded among the men as they charged down the cove. For a moment she couldn't help but smile as her consciousness faded away, but not before she heard Asmodeus whispering softly.

"To think that you earned their loyalty through friendship instead of lust... You really are a peculiar girl... my beloved successor~"

She was unsure how much time had passed since then. Was it hours. Days? It took a while before Esperia finally regained her consciousness, her eyes opening slowly as she tried to raise her body upright, but instead a sharp throbbing pain in her shoulder made her quickly decide otherwise.

"Easy now miss." A masculine voice called out to her, and as she tried to focus her sight Esperia started to slowly see that she was no longer inside the cove. Instead she found herself in what appeared to be a hospital room, at one side of her bed stood a man in a doctor's coat, looking worriedly at her while at the other side stood the man who had rallied the people earlier to help her at the cove.

"Glad to see you among the living again Esperia, but you should rest a bit longer. I'm afraid that the fight took quite its toll upon you. Despite the fact we rallied as quickly as possible, it took time for us to find the cove, and during that time..."

The man lowered his head, a pained look upon his face as he bowed his head in apologize. "I'm sorry... Despite the surgeons their best efforts it was impossible for us to reattach your arm."

Esperia blinked in confusion at the statement, looking to her left shoulder, her entire arm being bandaged. "But... I can feel my arm?"

The surgeon shook his head lightly in denial to that statement. "Unfortunately that is not your arm miss. The people of Hargeon demanded the best to be rallied to take care of you, and when we couldn't save your arm, we tried to attach a prosthetic to it. It's one of the best in the world, so you shouldn't have any problems resuming your work-"

But for Esperia those words seemingly made her world freeze over. "You're saying... my arm is gone?"

A harsh price to pay for her recklessness...