Perhaps For Love, Or Maybe Justice (A Tokusatsu/Magical Girl Quest)

1… 2… 3…

(You hear the sound of static, before a familiar silhouette comes into view on the camcorder video that you're watching.

Thursday, February 23, 2080
Late at night.

Hey there Rei. It's me, Himari. If you're watching this, chances are that you're amnesiac, or I'm dead. Hopefully number one.

While I'm probably not going back to the Guild…

(Himari gets closer to the camera, before covering it up. When the camera opens up again, she's sitting in the middle of Jun's living room.)

Especially now that Akimitsu-san set up a proper bed and mattress for me, I'm still used to Guild protocols. I'm filming this as my version of an Onboarding video. Now, granted, I'm not stating my name, purpose, and future wanted job in the Guild… but I digress.

What I'm here to talk about is the current structure of the Guild. Now, I can probably just tell you about this in a short five minute meeting, but then again, amnesiac or dead. Hopefully, you won't ever have to watch this video. Now, Jun?

(Jun appears from off camera, before rolling in a whiteboard. He shoots the camera and Kuromi a thumbs up, before walking back into his room.)

Now, if you can't see this very clearly illustrated pyramid that I've so carefully drawn, then that's probably because this 2000s era ancient fucking relic of a camrecorder is so bad. Jun, this is your fault! You could have at least trusted me with something from 2010!

(Inaudible)

Well, it's not my fault that you beat me in Smash Bros a few times! …or fifty.

Ahem, but I digress. Here, let me just show you…

(Kuromi flips over the whiteboard, revealing a crudely drawn pyramid, with 5 different layers.)

Ok, so the International Assassin's Guild is well— they're the pyramid as a whole. They are an organization founded… um, well, I don't really know that part. They gather mercenaries, hired guns, and raised assassins to complete any kind of contract.

Usually, that involves hits, but they're not too proud to loan out hired guns. They've managed to stay around because they kill a surprising amount of criminals, and thanks to some good security practices. I think the killed criminals part is probably because of police doing nothing, but I'm only the tech security girl, so I don't know much about that second thing.

Ok, refocusing now… see, at the bottom of this ladder, are your Footsoldiers. This encompasses the random hired guns that we get, and the newer recruits, the… "kids".

God, how long ago was that? Like, how many years has it been again?

Then you've got the Operatives and Shades, who both occupy the second and largest tier of strength. Operatives are usually named after a certain type of flower, and are the bulk of our force. I'd count one operative as equal to five regular people with guns. They're pretty good.

As for Shades, I only heard a bit about them, before you knocked me out and left me here. Apparently, they're… Void monsters? Ones that have similar durability and strength to a Rider or Magical Girl, but not much in terms of brains. Hina was one of the brains behind that operation, you'd have to ask her.

After that, you've got the Lieutenants, of which there aren't as many of. Me and my friend Hanzo and Hina got promoted to this level right after we made our contract with the Void. To put it simply, each Lieutenant is in charge of a Division— about 100 members, with a mixture of Footsoldiers and Operatives. I was in charge of the Hacking Division, but we were occasionally in charge of infiltrating and killing people in larger corps or VR.

To be honest though, Lieutenants are also chosen for their combat prowess, and I'm only high-Operative when it comes to fighting. Hanzo, Hina, and some other Lieutenants would kill our ass 9 times out of 10.

If you see one of them, run. Flee. Rei, you're strong, Rider or not. But you can't kill Hanzo. Hina would probably drag you to the ends of the ocean, and some of the others would… well, you can probably imagine what happened to the last guy who crossed some of the hotter tempered Lieutenants.

And all Lieutenants are scouted and then appointed directly by… oh I loathe these guys… the Three Pillars. They're also called the Three Generals, or Generals for short. In order, they are Solferina, Cyanaos, and Zara. They report directly to the Overboss, and they are so annoying. They're all HumaGears made for killing, so they can't take a damn joke.

I think that Solferina died though, so they're trying to replace her. For now, we've got Two Pillars. I've written up their combat capabilities, so ask Jun for those later.

And finally, our Overboss, the leader of this whole organization. I'm gonna be honest. We know nothing about them. We know that a lot of the money goes directly to them. We know that they're as powerful as all the Pillars combined.

And nothing else. Like, man, we don't even know what the Overboss's face looks like. There's probably a good reason for that, though. Kill the Boss, and the whole organization would start to fail. The Pillars wouldn't be able to run the Guild, since they're mostly made for serving, not leading. Problem is, I've got no clue where to start. Nobody does.

(Kuromi finishes her spiel, and pushes the whiteboard back down the hallway, before collapsing on the couch.)

Aight, thanks for watching. It's been nice to actually tell somebody about this stuff.

Oh, and remember Rei, if something goes wrong and you end up having to watch this video, it wasn't my fault— blame it on Jun. Trust me, that always works.

Alright, that should cover my ass if Rei ends up amnesiac… huh? WAIT, WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS HUNK OF JUNK IS STILL O—

---

[Himari Kuromi has been moved from Assassin's Guild Member to Main Character in Personae Dramatis!]
[Himari Kuromi has gotten to Relationship Level 1 (Just Like Me?) with you!]
[Himari Kuromi has gotten her own Character Sheet! Scroll below Akemi to find her!]

---

Author's Note:
God, I'm tired. Just biked for two hours straight yesterday.

But if there are two things I'm committed to, I'm committed to:

1. The bit.
2. My Quests.

Please make a comment on this chapter, even without votes! Just saying that you love my characters or quoting a part of this chapter that you liked makes my day.

Have a great day, heroes.

Friday, February 24, 9:30 AM
Nerima, Tokyo

The subway ride doesn't take long at all, but your nerves make it feel like it's been ten hours. The train itself is fairly bog standard though, basic seats, no free food... Since you wanted to save money, you went with the more economy bullet train instead of the faster Glyph-powered train. At the very least, you haven't needed to buy a car or anything expensive like that. A bike and a basic allowance from your savings has gotten you far enough.

Across the aisle, Jun and Himari are sitting on the other side. Himari seems to have fallen asleep on Jun's shoulder, and he's just focused on something on his laptop.

Is that hacker girl snoring? Well, at least she isn't that loud.

After a while, the train stops, and a synthesized voice calls out your station. With a yawn, you and your new partners get off at the station and sit down on the closest bench. Himari blinks away the sleep from her eyes, as Jun puts away his laptop and pulls out a few pieces of paper.

The district of Tokyo that you've gotten to is pretty far from Shibuya and Akihabara— you haven't bothered to memorize the name though.

Himari looks through Jun's papers (cleverly disguised as an indie newspaper) with curiosity in her eyes. "So this is where you guys think Kaneko Akemi's at? It's in the middle of nowhere."

"Not think, know. We've searched for every alias that Akemi could or would have taken on," Jun explains, "and after some process of elimination with Rei's help, I managed to identify a common link— a lot these people live in apartments owned by this consourtium."

"Akemi loves people. Socializing was always her thing, but she's extremely smart beneath the surface. So she'd want somewhere that's safe from the Guild. With all that in mind, she probably paid somebody to become a jouhatsu— a completely incognito person." You add.

Himari seems to connect the dots while looking through Jun's papers. "And these apartments… don't need ID, do they? Heck, it looks like they even finance some of the people scrubbing the records in the first place. She must have thought this through."

Jun snaps the papers shut, and then gets off the bench. "Let's go. The longer we stand here the closer the Guild gets."

---

Friday, February 24, 9:45 AM
Rensoku Residential

Jun's right outside, and Himari's right behind you as you enter the lounge. Once again, the Rensoku people have managed to pick some of the most bog-standard, mediocre furniture. Some of the leather is already peeling off the chairs, and is the AC even on? Probably not.

As you look up, you can tell that the receptionist is just like the last one that you met. Extremely frosty. "Hello there, what can I do for you?" She says, with a faux politeness.

[Mental Check (DC 40, Rei)]
[Total: 35+17=52. Success!]

You roll your eyes. "I'm here for Kaneko Akemi."

"We don't have anybody by that name. You might be in the wrong place."

"I'm an old friend of hers. Also, I know that her current name is… "Ms. Atsugi"? We just would like it if you notified her that we're coming upstairs."

The receptionist narrows her eyes. "…Miss Atsugi isn't here right now. You might want to come back some other day."

…And Ms. Atsugi will have conveniently left by the time we've come back.

[Mental Check (DC 30, Himari) ]
[Total: 52+25=77. Great Success!]

Himari just shrugs. "Alright then, we'll leave. Just tell her that the Guild is coming, and some of her friends that could have helped are out at brunch…"

The receptionist seems to pale. "W-wait! Just let me call my boss first…"

You lean over to Himari, so that you can whisper. "How'd you figure that out?"

She leans in to share. "Nobody really likes our Guild. They'll consider our offer so that the Guild doesn't murder their paying clients, or at the very least call Akemi before kicking us out."

---

A bit later, the receptionist gets off her phone, unlocks a drawer with a fingerprint scanner, and tosses you two tiny metallic disc Glyphs. "Here, it's a guest keycard to room 259. Apply it to your skin, it'll last until the end of today."

Glyph identification is uncommon compared to a keypad lock, but it's not too unheard of. The only thing that prevents it from being touched as the best thing in security since the concept of privacy is its price. Which they probably don't care about that much, considering how much garbage money the average company running places like these probably has.

Himari silently leaves the lobby, without even thanking the receptionist. You thank the lady, before running into the elevator right before it closes.

---

Room 259. Dear god, you've been waiting for this day for about a few years by now. You tap your fingers together nervously. Kuromi just rolls her eyes. "If you don't ring the doorbell, I will."

"Ok! Geez, I'm doing it now."

You tap the doorbell. It's not a smart doorbell unlike all the others on this floor, seems like just a classic magnet and bell setup. Definitely her.

You hear a voice from indoors. "Coming!"

The door opens, and you see her. She's got the same old sky blue eyes and bleached white hair, and it looks like she was probably going out to tour the city later— she's got her streetwear on, all colorful and bright.

Akemi blinks when she sees you, and she stares, dumbfounded. "Rei? You look tired."

You can't hold it back anymore. You immediately tackle her and draw her into a hug. "Akemi! It's great to see you!"

Ok, ok, compose yourself. This isn't the time to be crying into her shoulder over the fact that your best friend has an apartment of her own and is living in peace and has her own job which is so great—

[Social Check (DC 60, Rei)]
[Total: 55+17=72. Success!]

Ahem.

Ok, refocusing. You pull out of the hug, and nod at her. "Me and Kuromi over here are getting chased by a cult and the Guild respectively. I wanted to find you, see if you could help."

Akemi raises an eyebrow. "Don't worry, I'll help, but are you actually Rei? I've had one or two people pretend to be you in the past five years."

Himari looks at you in a panic. "Rei, do you guys have a secret passcode?"

You sigh. It's embarrassing, but you do. You clear your throat, and begin in a deadpan voice. "Personally, I think that the best type of anime is isekai."

Akemi smiles. "Yes, but that's only true if—"

You both say the second part at the same time. "The world is ending and all the good animators died from overwork."

Akemi squeals before dragging you into another hug, and you just barely manage to flail your arms out to keep your balance. She's a bit taller than you, so it's a lot harder than it sounds.

"Ohmygod you look great, Rei! Here, come on in and I'll make you some food."

You look at Himari, who just shrugs. Looks like you'll be here for a bit longer than you thought.

---

Akemi's Apartment
9:50 AM

Akemi's apartment can best be charitably described as lived-in. The floors are clean, but you can see stuff like manga and cosmetics stacked on top of the tables. Some posters from a seemingly random assortment of anime are in the back, and there is no TV, only a small bookshelf. That last part seems to be annoying Himari.

The hacker taps her fingers against the table which you all are eating instant ramen on. "By the way, do you have a television here? I wanted to keep up with that new episode of the Kagurabachi remaster that just released."

Akemi shoves another scoop of noodles down her throat, before shrugging. "Nope. I'm not that good at taking care of anything more complicated than my smartphone. Stuff like that always seems to break on me! The last time one of my neighbors bought me a new doorbell, it overheated and almost set my door on fire."

You can just see the sweat dropping off of Himari's forehead. "Ok, that's good to know…"

Akemi sets down her chopsticks, before turning her plastic stool over in your direction. "By the way, who's that Guild defect that you brought with you? You never said much about her."

You cough, trying to hide how awkward the next part is gonna be. "Actually, her name is Himari Kuromi. She's actually a Lieutenant… who me and Jun basically forcefully adopted. After she tried to kill me."

Himari smiles awkwardly. "Um, hey? I'm Kuromi… mediocre assassin and master hacker."

[Social Check (DC 65, Himari)]
[-5 from Cursed Eyes (Reduced by Rei)]
[64+6-5=65. Exact Success!]

Akemi seems to have an internal debate with herself about whether she should kick Himari out, before shrugging. "Anybody's welcome in this house, as long as you don't mess with me or anybody else. Now, you done with your food, Rei?"

You look down. One habit that the Guild left you with was a noticeably... efficient way of eating. Time spent enjoying your food was time spent not taking any missions, not rising up the ladder. Essentially, the ramen's already done by the time you actually look at it.

You nod. "Yeah, I am. Let's get down to business."

Akemi nods, before putting both her elbows on the table. Her face goes from a smile to a well-concealed veil of serenity. You've seen this before— she's essentially shifted into business mode. "Tell me everything that's happened so far, Rei. I should be able to help."

So you do.

---

Akemi coughs into her sleeve after hearing everything that you've been going through for about three weeks for now. "Sounds absolutely insane, so that's on track for you, Rei. I've actually encountered the Skull Faces myself."

Himari blinks in surprise, before standing up from her stool. "Wait, for real?! Why didn't you tell us while Rei was yapping about her story?!"

Akemi sighs, before gesturing for Himari to sit down. "It's polite to not talk while others are speaking. Besides, it was only two guys, and the wounds I got weren't that bad."

Akemi brushes her long hair to the side, and— ouch. Behind her left tuft of hair, you see her cheek has some scars on it. It looks like a knife wound. She sighs. "I've been doing my own investigation into this "Umbra". So far, they seem content to set up these Void Glyphs around the city. Those Glyphs spawn these things called "Shades", but the Shades always get taken out before anyone can get good video of them."

Himari seems confused. "That's weird. I thought the Shades were a Guild thing that they were doing in the Magical Studies division. I haven't heard much about Umbra, I just thought that they were some thugs that we could ignore."

"Well, that's what I thought too, but…" Akemi bends down, before grabbing what looks like a key from below the table. She walks over to the bookshelf, before moving a book and inserting the key into a small keyhole behind it. And suddenly, the second she turns the key, a small white cat pops out! It floats through the bookcase wall, before stopping at your feet.

It purrs before opening its mouth and talking to you in a weirdly deep voice. You're talking Dio or Toji Fushigiro deep. "Rei. It's good to see you again."

Himari just points at the cat, blank eyes wide and mouth agape. "W-why is the cat talking?"

"I'm asking the same question, and why does the cat know me?!" You add.

Akemi somehow seems the most confused out of all of you. "Wait, you guys can see the cat?"

What?!

[GENUINELY] [WTF]

The cat floats through the air over to Akemi, before lightly scratching her on the leg. "I told you Ms. Akemi, call me Purrson! And I'm pretty sure I remember you Rei, though to be fair my memories are all muddled up like Tokyo's waters. Don't you remember me as well, Rei?"

[Well, do you remember? (DC 90, Mental)]
[Total: 72+17=89. So close! Near Success.]

You look down at the cat— Purrson, really look. You focus a bit more, squint your eyes and--

something tickles at your brain.
For a second, you remember a dream, where you heard a deep voice talking to you, one that seemed to come from up, down... every single direction.
The next time we meet, you'll just remember this as a dream. And I won't remember you.
You remember seeing a flash of bug compound eyes, before seeing Akemi in beautiful black clothes.
And I am so sorry you cannot escape the slaughter that was ordained for you the second you chose to be a hero.
And something... takes you back to your Guild days. The days when you felt it was hopeless, like your death was just inevitable no matter what you did. The days when you just went to your bunk and just... tried to curl up into a ball to get away from everything.

...You remember seeing a white cat, right in the corner of your eyes.
I'm sorry. I believe in you. Please win. For love. For justice. For those wonderful beings called humanity.
All of those memories flash and blare in your brain, screaming that it's so obvious! Keep looking! It's clear that the cat is—

-and then you blink, and something slips from your grasp, and you are left with the sinking feeling that you just forgot something important. As you lift up the cat in your hands, you manage to dredge three things from your sinking memories.

This cat is very important. You know this cat.

Purson is not a cat.

You look back up, almost wrenching your head away from Purrson's green pupils. "Akemi," you begin slowly, "why the hell do you have some sort of supernatural being or yokai in your house? And why does he talk?!"

Akemi finishes turning that key and unlocking the door, before looking back at you with confusion. "Man, don't ask me! I just found him after the contract I made with the devil."

"The WHAT—"

In the corner, poor Himari is just staring at all of you like her brain is about to combust. "C-can we all just calm down. Please? And Akemi, please explain."

All of you turn around to look at Himari. Akemi opens her mouth, before closing it again. "…Yeah, we should probably start from the beginning of my week."

---

Akemi walks over to the hidden bookshelf compartment, before unlocking it. Inside the wall are two little boxes: one contains a beautifully decorated sword, with a tiny golden bell tied to it. The bell itself reminds you of something you'd put on a cat's collar. Akemi takes a deep breath, before beginning to explain.

"Ok, so you know how I was talking about the Skull Faces and how I fought them off? For the week after that, two weeks ago, I kept on noticing guys tailing me. They never actually interacted with me, but I always noticed people tailing me on my subway routes and daily walks."

"So you think those were Umbra spies?" Himari asks.

"Almost definitely. Now, I was getting paranoid, as any good Guild member does." Akemi reaches over into the second box, where you see a small little bundle of blankets. Purrson likely was sleeping there before he heard Akemi. "And then I saw this."

From the very back of the box, Akemi reaches over and removes one blanket, revealing—

[Perception Check (DC ???)]
[Rei: 81. Success.
Himari: 1. Critical Failure.
Akemi: 19, but she's already seen it. Near Success.]

Inside the compartment, you see another cat-like creature. But unlike Purrson, who is currently perched up on Akemi's shoulder, there's no mistaking this for a normal animal.

It has black fur. It has wings. It has closed eyes, and a strangely emotionless smile plastered on its face. It is alien in a way that should not exist on this planet, with a head much too big for its neck.

It is also dead. Its throat has been ripped apart, torn into… oh, you don't even want to look at it anymore. You don't know why, but something about the fact that it's dead relieves you.

Himari just blinks her blank eyes in disbelief. "…What are we looking at?"

Akemi looks at the mangled corpse-thing with something dark in her eyes. "It's the devil. I think. It approached me, and it offered me one wish."

You look at Akemi with concern. "Akemi, what did you wish for?"

Himari eyes the box, but seems to completely gloss over the black creature. "…I can't see anything in there, but don't tell me you made a contract with something related to that Void power."

"…"

Oh goddammit. "Akemi, seriously, what did you wish for?"

She grits her teeth. "I wished for a promise of safety in the future— essentially, I wanted another wish later. It laughed like a bitch, before giving me this," Akemi rolls up her sleeve, revealing a deep claw wound, colored purple, "and saying that I had to give up something as "Collateral" to contact it later on."

"And let me guess," Himari asks, "you gave it something, it gave you Magical Girl powers, refused to explain shit, then left?"

"No that's… actually weirdly accurate. It happened to you too?" Akemi asks, and Himari nods.

Akemi continues. "So yeah. Eventually, I went home, and when I found this little thing in my house, I realized that it was some sort of evil thing. So I tried to kill it, and that's when Purrson just appeared. Just one moment he wasn't there, and then— boom! He just leapt over and attacked the thing, leading to what you're seeing now.

Purrson nods, before stretching out and then jumping onto your shoulder. "I don't remember much about who or what I am. But when I saw that thing that called itself Pahal, I attacked it on instinct. Afterwards, I decided to stay with Akemi, for a reason I couldn't explain, until I met you, Rei."

You open and then shut your mouth. This is a lot to take in.

No kidding.

Akemi just nods, before closing the door on the bookshelf compartments. "It's still confusing to me as well, but I did get one useful thing out of the Void-being as I was making my contract. It told me about Umbra, and how they were making a plan for Awakening Day. Purrson confirmed that info as well."

Purrson jumps down to the floor, and nods his little cat head. "It's just one of those things that I remember, but I don't know the reason I remember it. I wish I knew more, Rei."

Himari seems confused. "Awakening Day? What's that?"

"It's the day the first Glyph was discovered, and when we learned to use Magic. The Guild probably kept you inside during it, because they wouldn't want you to see the festivals. If what Akemi's saying is right, it'd be the perfect day to launch an assassination. There's enough booze and floats in the streets that any big killing spree could be passed off as an accident if they were good at it." You respond.

Akemi nods, before walking over to her kitchen to grab some tea, and instantly heating it up with a casted Fire Glyph from her drawer. You all walk back to that small table, and Akemi hands you both a cup to calm your nerves. "I think that if what you're saying is true, Rei, then Umbra could reasonably choose that day to set loose some Shades, and probably kill us."

You still have a lot of questions. Akemi's a swordswoman? Since when? And how can Purrson talk? You shake your head, before taking a sip of your tea. "We can discuss this later, Akemi. For now, let's try to catch up on what we've been doing with our lives."

"Let's."

Suddenly, the doorbell rings. Himari seems to snap to attention, as Akemi puts down her cup of tea and gets up to answer it. "Give me a second, Rei, I'll be right with you."

---

NEW DEADLINE SET:

5 WEEKS UNTIL REVERSAL OF AWAKENING. (29TH OF MARCH)

ON FAILURE:
DEATH (PROBABLE)
SOMETHING HORRIBLE (ALMOST GUARANTEED)

EXTRA LIVES LEFT: 3

---

What did Akemi give up as Collateral?

[ ] Some of Her Health
-Minus 5 to Akemi's Physical.
-Akemi gains the Flaw [Fragile Outfit]. Reducing her health to 7 or less will knock her out of Magical Girl form, making her a liability in combat.

[ ] Her Magic
-Minus 5 to Akemi's Magical.
-Akemi gains the Flaw [Mana-Deterred]. She takes +3 damage from any Magical attacks.

[ ] A Piece of Her Soul
-Akemi gains the Flaw [Void-Bound]
-She must kill and absorb a Shade once every month in order to not transform into one herself.
-In exchange, she gets +10 to all rolls in combat.

[ ] ??? (Write-In, @QM)
-Exceedingly subject to veto.

Choose Akemi's Sword:

[ ] The Voidcutter
"When a pro moves, you don't see it coming."
[ ] The Undrawn
"DO NOT UNSHEATH ME WITHOUT HONOR."
[ ] The Grand Armory
"It was too big, too thick, and too heavy to be called a sword. It was more like… a thick slab of iron."


There's a knock on the door. Who is it?

[ ] Just the pizza guy.
-Ok, kinda anticlimactic, but I guess…
-(Fight Akemi in Magical Girl form, 2 v 1. This will be a friendly bout, and Purrson will intervene if anybody looks like they could seriously get hurt.)
- (Gain a small bit of EXP, and a great understanding of Akemi's strengths and weaknesses.)
-(Look, hero vs hero and villain vs villain fights are just peak shonen, ok?)

[ ] A frantic neighbor.
-In this apartment complex? That's some seriously bad news.
-(Fight a Shade, your first MoW. [Monster of the Week.])
-(Gain a medium amount of EXP, and maybe some Capital.)
-(We can call that a bonding experience for the girls afterwards. )

[ ] …Him.
-YOU!
-(Fight… the Dokurokan, the boss of the Skull Mask guys. It's 3v1, but you haven't gotten to your squad's maximum capacity yet, and he's still very strong.)
-(This early? You should know that even if you win, you aren't ending the arc early. Gain a frankly ludicrous amount of Capital and so much EXP, if you get in reasonable damage. Assuming you live.)
-(No, instant kill effects will not work on [Nemesis] enemies. Plan Start With A Finisher will not work nearly as well.)
Atry's Advice: It's always nice to see a friend again. Enjoy it, and don't do anything stupid.

---

Author's Note:
Oh this one's a long chapter. Worth it, though!

I've changed my pfp to MultiCrack Office Faust from Limbus Company. I personally think that Himari and Faust have a lot in common. (And if you disagree with me on that, finish Murder On The Warp Express first!)

There was a bit of foreshadowing for Purrson/[REDACTED] being a cat. Just a tiny bit.

MrKermie said:

Anyways, gotta go. Purrson is not above clawing out my throat if I give you any more spoilers,

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

You just didn't notice at the time.

Anyways, Purrson's name comes from one of the demons from the Ars Goetia. He just added an extra "r" to be a complete fuck about it and make the pun. If you hadn't picked Aid From A Friend, he likely would have shown up around Arc 2 or 3 as the plot-mandated Mysterious Protector.

Quoting Wikipedia:

Wikipedia said:

Purson (also Curson, Pursan) is a Great King of Hell, being served and obeyed by twenty-two legions of demons.
Not to be confused with Corson.
He knows of hidden things, can find treasures, and tells past, present and future.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

As for Akemi, well… Let's just say that now that you've learned about Umbra's plans, she'll be pretty integral to stopping this first scheme of theirs. Watch out for the Guild next arc as well!

Happy voting, heroes!