As far as "helpful information" went, V was not receiving much. According to the elf, the champion class sucked and he knew almost nothing about it. On the other hand, it did demonstrate that the Divine version was quite superior to the normal version. "Well, perhaps I will not become a champion. I just sort of thought it sounded cool!" The elf nodded "If you do end up living long enough to acquire the champion class, do come back and tell me!" The man was almost drooling he was so excited at the prospect. "Certainly! Its thanks to you that I know about it. For now, I will continue working on my swordsman class." V thanked the elf. "We should get going, as we have finished our business, and I’m sure she does not wish to change class." L nodded and thanked the elf as well, before the group headed back out onto the streets.

They decided to return to the inn for a meal, and figure out where to go from there. As they walked however, they quickly learned that the city was abuzz with news. "Did you hear? The Champion of crafting arrived here, fleeing the southern kingdoms!" V had overheard many similar claims in the last few minutes. "We should probably look into this, we lack any meaningful information about the other champions in the city, so anything we can discover could come in handy." L folded her arms as she responded "Certainly, our ignorance is dangerous, but waltzing right up to an, apparently, celebrated public figure, as well as a Divine Champion, has its own risks." As V listened to the buzz of the city, trying to work out where the Champion might be, he grumbled "Yes, thanks, I’m aware of that." After a few minutes of information gathering, V had worked out that, unsurprisingly, the Champion supposedly was at one of the merchant squares in the city. When L asked for directions, the man looked at her skeptically "You uh... you’re not going there to fight the Champion are you?" L shook her head "I only wish to talk with them. There are multiple champions in the city, and I do not wish for this place to become a battleground." The man was still skeptical, but by the look on his face, decided it was unwise to give a Divine Champion bad directions.

As they approached the square, the crowd became denser and livelier. "I'm going to see if he will enchant the family heirloom, so we never have to worry about it breaking!" Another citizen scoffed "That old cat looking thing? I'm going to see if they can enchant this vase to forever produce water! No more trips to the city well for me..." The crowd was debating heavily between themselves on what to ask the Champion to enchant, and, in some cases, if the champion even could carry out their request. "Erm I’m fairly certain even a divine champion cannot make a hammer turn whatever it strikes into gold..." Eika was getting excited, certainly overhearing more than V. "Do you think the Champion could enchant Eika's clothes with the power of flying? No wait, digging! Or wait what if I could walk through fire? Maybe I’ll just ask him to turn my clothes into gold and then use them to buy better clothes?!" V firmly guided Eika with his hand as they made their way through the crowd. When people noticed L's status, they often cleared a small pathway for her, accompanied by whisperers. "Do you think I could get my enchantment before they start fighting?" the speaker was elbowed by his companion "I hope they are not going to destroy the market square... I’m sure the merchant’s guild will raise taxes again to cover it's repair..."

Once V, Eika, and L broke out into the square proper, the crowd turned into chaos. Instead of people slowly pushing their way in, or standing in line. It was a mad gaggle of people and city guard, fruitlessly trying to organize things. In the middle of it all sat an unassuming young man who was clearly the center of attention. His status was hidden, oddly enough, but it was clear he was the Divine Champion everyone was here to see. A few times, V and Eika were pushed away from L and had to navigate back to her. "L, try to stay with me. In open battle, you are much better than I am. But in a crowded city square, I am the superior combatant. So, to speak." V had already seen a few people taking advantage of the chaos by picking pockets. Aside from the normal petty criminals, V had a bad feeling in general. "Both of you keep your eyes and ears open. I can't imagine you are the only Champion here for a look. However, I doubt any of the others will have their status visible. This might be where it all goes down. Especially given the crowded nature of the place, its perfect for a sneak attack." L nodded in agreement. "For now, let us just watch. We might be able to pick out other champions by their behavior."

V wandered through the edges of the crowd, trying to acquire and helpful information. One thing that was interesting was that the Champion really did seem to only be enchanting things. That did not really line up with the rumors surrounding him. Even back in the first town, the rumors of a Divine Champion creating pottery. Sure, it could be another Champion, but how many of the God's sent artisans to a war? As they waded through the crowd, it appeared as if L's status had been noticed by the Champion. Over the crowd, he waved pleasantly, and gestured for L to come over to him. "Well, he's finally seen me." L stated in a flat tone. V considered the situation for a moment before responding. "He probably just wants to talk, perhaps to ask why you are not hiding your status. You go speak with him, see what you can learn. Eika and I will stay near the edges of the square so we can get a wide range of sight. If there is any activity on the rooftops, or large disturbances in the crowd, we will try to alert you. L nodded and confidently strode through the crowd.

"The people have gotten a little quieter."  Eika whispered as she stood watch with V, who nodded "That is to be expected, two champions are having a discussion in the middle of the square. Just keep an eye on the buildings. If any of the Champions have a long-range attack, this would be a perfect time to kill two Divine Champions at once. As Eika scanned the buildings, V kept an eye on the crowd. Suddenly, a man waved at him. For a moment V struggled to remember where he had seen the man before. He placed his hand on his sword as he remembered. It was the man who took O away after they defeated her. He wanted to approach the man, he had questions for him. However, he blinked and the man was gone. Lost in the crowd. He gestured Eika over to one of the nearby alley ways as they slowly made their way through the throng of people. "Eika, I am more certain than ever that there is going to be trouble. If something happens, scout the alley while I grab L's attention. We will make our escape that way. "Eika will keep the alley clear!" She warily looked behind them, before turning back.

L stood in-front of the young man. She judged him to be around the age of seventeen. "So, you are one of those champions who does not fear letting other people know your secrets?" The man's voice was soft and friendly. "I have little to fear in general, however, as you can see, I do not bandy my strengths and weaknesses around for my enemies to see." L's voice on the other hand, held thinly veiled suspicion. The man smiled "Yes I suppose you do have your skills and blessing hidden at-least." he looked around the merchant square before continuing. "I don't suppose you are here to try and kill me? I have it on good authority that the Champion of Darkness is going to try and assassinate me." L restrained the desire to check on Eika and V. "I’m sure I would have hidden my status if I was. Rather, I am here simply to observe, and to gather what information I can." She gazed around. "I suppose a crowd that loves you is a strong weapon, if used correctly." Again, the man smiled "Well yes. That is true. I genuinely enjoy helping people of course, but as a Champion with little combat ability, I found it safest to be the favorite of the local peoples. " They both stood there for a few moments, L suddenly had a thought. "You did not actually think I was here for you, you called me over to try and stop your assassination." The man nodded "I figured that assassinating a Champion with little combat ability is one thing, but doing it while a Champion with a class like Samurai is standing right next to him, is a different matter."

"Eika hears something behind us..." V looked at her as she turned toward the alley. He ears facing forward as she scanned the rather dark alley. Suddenly, without a sound or any warning. A bolt landed squarely in Eika's chest. It took a moment for either of them to respond, the sudden nature of the situation, along with the lack of any meaningful warning made the situation seem surreal. Eika collapsed as V grabbed her. "Wah?...Eika got hit..." V was no expert in crossbow bolt wounds, but he knew where Eika's heart was, and it was clear the bolt had pierced it. He dragged Eika away from the entrance of the alley-way. His brain spinning widely as it tried to catch up to the situation. Why would someone attack Eika? Racism? No, no one who has the power to be silent and invisible in an alleyway in the early evening would waste their strength on that. Was the bolt meant for him? No, it hit Eika directly in the heart, she was obviously the target. As he struggled to piece together the situation, Eika grabbed his arm. "Eika is sorry... I just wanted to help... I was going to be a ranger... and track for you..." A loud explosion emanated from the opposite side of the market, sending the crowd into a panic. V looked down at Eika as he cradled her. She was already losing her color. V shook his head, there was nothing he could do about this situation. Eika also seemed to realize that fact. "When Eika is gone... please don't fight with L ok?" She weakly tried to touch V's face.  He grabbed her hand.

V looked into Eika's eyes as the light slowly faded. His heart pounded loudly in his ears. He had seen many people die in his old life. So many he could only remember the faces of one or two of them. However, every one of them died with anger on their lips. Revenge, hate, sometimes frustration that they did not achieve something before death. However, Eika, as she lay there, only spoke of being sorry, her concern was not for herself, but for V and L. A Rabbitkin who was clearly mistreated in life, and was sold to him as a slave. Regret and anger started to fill V's head. L had said it right? It was his responsibility to take care of Eika. He had made the choice to buy her, solely for his own benefit. A responsibility he willingly took on. However, he never factored Eika in when it came to risk. Sending her forward to scout in the valley, not even considering that this crowd would not only be dangerous for him and L, but for Eika as well. "L saw it. She saw something like this coming." V's thoughts were spiraling out of control. This girl, who only wanted to help, who had in-fact saved his life, was dying because of his negligence, his disregard for her. Wasn't he the one who claimed he hated slavery? And yet did he not treat her like one? Perhaps she ate the same food and wore the same clothes as him, but he valued her as a tool. Just like those that once enslaved V...

He held Eika to his chest "I’m sorry. I’m sorry for treating you like this..." he whispered into her ear. V was angry. He was angry at himself, he was angry at L for not being there to help, he was angry at Eika for not being strong enough to survive, he was angry at the Gods for allowing slavery, and hypocrisy to exist. As Eika took her final breath there in his arms, he hated everything. He hated it all, but most of all, at this moment, he hated whoever had done this to Eika. It was them that caused her death, it was them that forced V to confront his hypocrisy, if it was not for them, Eika would be alive, and he would not be in pain.

┌——————┐
 Blessing of the Mother Goddess has activated!
Mother's Vengeance has activated!
Mother's Rage has activated!
Mother's Wrath has activated!
Mother's Sorrow has activated!
└——————┘

In his mind V could suddenly see the one who shot Eika. Fleeing through the alleys. He stood up, dropping Eika, a single, overriding desire in his mind. Suffer, that man must suffer. Faster than he had ever moved, he darted down the alley. He crashed into someone, or something. It was irrelevant. As he chased the man, he could see his status, could feel the man’s determination, everything.

┌——————┐
Name: Alex
Age: 24
Race: Half-elf
Class: Assassin lv 30
Skills: Silent Movement Lv 10, Silent breathing Lv 10, Steady aim Lv 10, Agility Lv 5, Poison use Lv 10, Enhanced senses Lv 10.
└——————┘

The chase was short, somehow V had caught up with the man. "Are you certain you want to fight me? I'm the second highest level assassin in the entire northern kingdoms. It was just a Rabbitkin. It’s not worth dying ov-" The man saw something in V's eyes that cut him off. He drew two daggers and dropped into a combat stance. V simply walked forward, failing to even draw his weapon. He could not think, could not speak. Suffer, the man must suffer for his crime. The man impaled V's shoulders with his daggers, missing his heart. "Uh well, that was not very smart. There is enough poison on that to kill a mammoth..." The man balked at V. However, V simply stood there for a moment, staring the man in the eyes. He smashed his head into the man’s face, breaking his nose. Suffer, that man must suffer more... As the thought repeated inside of V's mind, he grabbed the man's arm, and in one easy motion, wrenched it out of its socket. Now the man realized his position. V could almost taste the man's fear, which only encouraged his actions. He headbutted the man’s face again, crushing even more bones, his own head was now bleeding, but if he noticed, he certainly did not care. The man was now desperately trying to get away, crawling down the alley. V grabbed his leg, twisting it until he heard a snapping noise. He then sat down on top of the man, and withdrew one of the daggers from his own shoulder. "Stick out your tongue a moment..."

Back in the square, as Eika had just gotten shot. An explosion emanated from one of the buildings. The Champion and L quickly readied themselves for combat, but other than flaming debris, there seemed to be no other causes of concern. As L opened her mouth to ask if the man had any ideas what that was, she felt a Divine Blessing activate, multiple times. She quickly snapped her head in the direction, and saw V sprinting off into an alley. She noted a few other people looked in that direction at the same time, but now was not the time to worry about that. She assumed that he was fighting another champion, and quickly moved to follow him "I’m sure we will speak later." she said to the other champion as she quickly moved toward the alley V ran down. As she got close, she saw people crowded around a small body. L pushed them aside, only to witness Eika's motionless form. L swore. The girl was innocent, she only was caught up in this death game by virtue of a coincidental meeting with V. However, L had always assumed the girl would be killed at some point. She was too innocent, and too weak, to keep up with a death game set up by the God's themselves. She closed Eika's eyes and pointed at the nearest city guard. "Watch her body. I will come retrieve her soon." She took off down the alley, attempting to find V. As she traveled, the path V and whoever he was chasing was clear. Destroyed refuse piles, a fence that was splintered in half, L quickened her pace, worried that V was fighting someone of significant strength.

"W..What?" L stopped short at the sight in front of her. V was holding a bloody dagger, and one was sticking out of his left shoulder. He was standing on the arms of a man in a dark cloak, and was ripping the man’s tongue out with his right hand. The man was doing his best to scream, but it appeared as if V had crushed part of the man's throat as well, only gasping noises emanated from his mouth, which was also full of V's hand at the moment. Of all the things that she could have possibly seen when she caught up to V this was, perhaps, the most unexpected. She called out to V "I don't think the man is going anywhere, if you kill him, we will not get any information" If V even heard her, L could not be sure. "Don't bother. He can no longer hear you. His good sense has been overridden by what I would call "Primal rage." A voice full of malice emanated from a man who was confidently setting on a nearby roof. "Champion of The God of Evil, at your service." The man dropped down, it was not the most graceful of landings, but he was unharmed. "I would be careful, He has all S rank attributes right now, if he turns on you, I doubt you would even have time to wonder what was going on." L furrowed her brow "How would you know that?" The man smiled slyly. "Oh, it’s a part of my abilities. I can see hidden statuses. You’re the Champion of Honor, he’s Motherhood, etc."