It was as good a stopping point as any other. Now that we had done all this, it was time to go. I was at half health and I had not clue how all the others were doing. Better to quit while we were ahead. "Everyone. It's time to retreat. I will meet you at the shore! Let's go!" I called out loud before running towards the river. Rook and Knight both nodded their heads and followed me. When we made it to the bank of the river, we saw the hermit. He had gone back to whatever it was he had been doing before we got there. "Hello! We've finished looking around. Can you send the boat back!?" I yelled. He turned to me and looked at us all. Without a word, he went to the bank on his side and got in the canoe. He rowed it over to us. It took him about 15 minutes. Luckily, the oni were scared of the water. We were safe. When the hermit got to us, he said "The canoe only fits 2 people." I equipped Knight and Rook as katanas on my back and got in. "That's handy." he said. I thanked him again for coming to get us. He scoffed. "Killing demons is a holy act. Might as well get you guys to do it."
Very shrewd of him. Very exploitative too. Then again, Blade Spirits got stronger with every kill. None of my servants were complaining about this. I got out of the canoe when we got on our side. With that, the river hermit had become a recurring quest giver. Every so often, I could use his boat to go over to the other side. Now that we were safe, it was time see the evolution of Ras and Uri. I let them take mortal form. To my surprise they had not changed much at all. "Did you guys not evolve?" I asked them. Uri and Ras shared a nervous look. "M-master, you yourself said that you wanted daggers to aid you. We took that to heart." Uri hesitantly said. Ras asked "Was that... incorrect?" They were second guessing themselves. I quickly pulled them in a group hug. "I did say that. I was just making sure that you enjoyed the results of your evolution. You are mine. I would never throw you out of my inner circle if you wanted to be a bit longer." I said. They both looked like they were actually going to cry. "M-master!" Ras sobbed. "You're much too good to us, Master!" Uri cried out.
Uri
Ras
