The Scorn of the Moon

Diane's job request had taken her as far north as the small peninsula in the northwest area of Fiore, and seemingly for nothing. When she arrived at the location, there was no one there. Having walked all the way there in order to save money, it was safe to say that she was thoroughly exhausted. She'd walked all through the night and even into the early morning, thankfully able to take shade in the thick canopy of trees, only to find that the job request had just been a joke. Just great. She should have know, right? A reward like this...  in addition to the usual Jewel for this type of job, there had been a promise of news about the whereabouts of Glaciem, the ice demon that had raised her and taught her the magic she now used.

Flashback:

Although the job had been a waste of time, it was more of a letdown than anything. Diane wanted more than anything to be reunited with the only other being who truly understood her and that could feel what she felt. She'd never truly made any friends, and anyways, it wasn't the same as having someone who could tell what you were thinking with just a look, or be able to make everything right again with a few simple words. Any other person might've considered Glaciemto be cold and standoffish, but they didn't understand how Diane felt about the demon that had raised her. The demon that had taken care of her when she felt alone, or told her that she would be strong enough to become her own woman one day. She didn't know it at that time, but when she looked back, she could clearly see that Glaciem had been raising her in preparation for the day that she'd finally leave.

Honestly, at first, Diane had been destroyed by her abandonment; she curled up into a ball and tried to sleep, but sleep would not come. All she could do was fear, fear that she would never see Glaciem again. Although she never did see the demon that raised her again, she realized that all she'd learned had helped her to become her own person, and that she wasn't helpless and weak. She was able to take care of herself even in the worst of times, and was able to fend for herself thanks to what she'd learned. It wasn't easy at first, to have someone there for you one day, and the next have them completely disappear. But it had helped Diane grow strong and tough, and eventually she became the person she was today.

Still, it had been hard during the time; she might have lost her way multiple times were it not for the fact that she knew that her upbringing would have all been for nothing. It was sad to move on and try to forget about Glaciem but at the time it had been all Diane could do. Now, however, she was looking for the ice demon more than ever. She needed to know why the demon had abandoned her all those long years ago.

As Diane turned to leave the forsaken place, a small, abandoned shack in the woods that had asked for her help getting rid of poachers in the area or something like that, she heard movement in the trees around her, and knew something was up. She drew her crescent blade, watching closely as five men appeared from the forest around her.

"Who would have thought that the Ice Devil Slayer would have actually fallen for this? It's almost sad, honestly," one man said, chuckling.

"Yes, to think that one raised by a fearsome demon would turn out to be so foolish. How surprising," another replied, obviously pleased with himself.

A third added, "I wonder if they're all dumb enough to fall for this trick. I wouldn't be surprised. We're going to make tons of Jewel off of these Devil Slayer lacrima if that's true."

Devil Slayer lacrima? So that was the reason the job had requested for her to come alone. Of course, it all made sense now. Still, there was no way in the world that Diane was going to be taken down by a bunch of idiots like these.

"Now, now, boys, let's take it nice and slow," the fourth said, a rugged and more handsome man than the rest. "She's a Devil Slayer, like it or not, so this isn't going to be easy. Don't underestimate her, no matter what you do."

"Right you are," the fifth and final man commented, looking straight at me. "This one doesn't look like a coward who will lay down at the first blow. Don't let your guards down, or else this will have all been for nothing." He seemed to be the oldest and wisest in the group, as one could see.

"Alright, have all you losers had enough time to talk? Let's get down to business; I'll take you all on at once, and you try to beat me. This should be a fun warm up for the walk back home," I ask, cracking my knuckles as I advance.

"Not so fast!" the second man of the group shouted. "Red Skull!" he said, creating a fuchsia colored magic circle on the ground.

Ah, great. Fire Magic. Looks like I was going to have to take this guy down first. I parried as best I could with my blade, sweeping the flames away in an arc before dashing forward, the blade latched onto my back.

"Ice Devil's Freezing Fist!" Diane shouted, smashing her hand which was covered in blunt ice into his abdomen. The guy grunted before flying backwards, knocking out almost instantly as he collided against a tree. The ice from this spell caused a layer of ice to form around the target's body for a short period of time, so he wasn't going anywhere.

"Alright, who's up next? That wasn't even fun, you guys need to keep things going or else I'll get bored," Diane said in all seriousness.

"L-listen here you, I won't let you get away with doing that to Calaphas, got it?" the third man said. It was only a couple of seconds before he ended up on the floor, and I only had to use my sword to sweep up his ankle before knocking him into the ground with a well-timed Ice Devil's Crystalline Claw.

Finally, it came down to the last three. The handsome and older men looked at each other, secretly discussing their next step, likely through some form of Telepathy or something. The first man, however, seemed a little pale and clammy, but he seemed to care about money more than anything as he charged at me, his Animal Possession: Tiger Soul covering his right arm. Well then, since he was coming at me with all he had, it was only fair to do the same..

"Ice Devil's Rage!" Diane shouted after taking in a deep breath. When she released it, a large cone of ice shards shot forth from her mouth, smashing into the enemy and sending him flying into the branches of an oak, leaving him covered in cuts and bruises. It'd also torn up a bit of the ground as it flew by, wedges where the ice had chipped through now carved into the earth.

"Well then, I guess that just leaves it down to you two. Are you ready to take me on after seeing what I did to your friends here, or would you rather give up quietly?" Diane asked, narrowing her eyes.

"We think we'll take our leave. After all, we only got roped up in this due to having a debt to these guys," the handsome one said, gesturing to the fallen men. "I hope you understand."

"Hmph. Just make sure to tell everyone that Lunari spared your lives. I like a little good publicity every now and then, and it's only fair after what your group put me through."

"We'll make sure to do that, as well as bring the authorities back here to pick these men up. Thank you for your kindness, it is very much appreciated," the old man said. "I'm sorry we inconvenienced you."

"Tell that to my feet," Diane muttered, still frustrated. "Anyways, you should have been much stronger if you were going to challenge a Devil Slayer," I replied, grinning before saying, "Good-bye, and please try to stay out of trouble. I wouldn't want to have to come back here."

Once Diane was finally out of sight for a couple of minutes, the two men began to speak in earnest.

"Who would have thought that she was strong enough to take down our guild's top three, huh, Darius?" the younger, handsome man said.

"Quiet, you fool. Of course she was capable. We severely underestimated her," the older man said, clicking his tongue in annoyance. "Still, all went more or less according to plan. We were able to accurately evaluate her strength, and next time we'll be able to take her down easily, with the whole guild backing us."

"What next time?" Diane muttered, appearing behind them. "This ends now."

The two men, shocked, had no time to react as she sent the Ice Devil's Jagged Jewel at the both of them, the chunk of ice rocking them without any warning. Did they really think she wouldn't notice that they'd been working with the men earlier, and that she wouldn't stick around to find out what their plan was? Pleased with her work, Diane made a quick stop at the nearest town's police station to report what had happened before finally heading back home.