The quartet found a quiet place to converse in a nearby ravine. Reysha did a second scan just out of paranoia. Once they had made sure no one was physically around to listen to them, they were secure. No one would be stupid enough to use magic to scry on them out in the Branches.

"I'm against this by default," Korith stated immediately. "We just did a Quest that took us months to complete, with nothing to show for it."

"Nothing except an all-healing flower and the respect of her dad," Reysha drawled sarcastically, pointing at Aclysia. "Not to mention the levels, experience, and generally good karma."

"The flower isn't money."

"You know as well as I do that a panacea sells for shitloads."

Korith crossed her arms over her large breasts. "But are we going to sell it?" Despite being the smallest of the bunch, the shortstack managed quite the glower. "Knowing you lot, we're going to keep it until we come across some unfortunate sod and give it away for free."

"It would be the divine thing to do," Aclysia spoke softly.

"I don't wanna be divine." Korith swayed back and forth on her clawed feet, ponytail swaying from the motion. "I'm in the adventuring business to serve the Hoard. I want money and I want to give that money to the biggest pile of shinies that exists. I've no ambitions to become a god myself."

"I'm with her on that front," Reysha stated.

"May I be entirely upfront?" the guardian angel asked, then proceeded when everyone nodded. "I do not wish to take on this mission for a humanitarian reason. The Leaf is lost, its people evacuated, and our efforts have no guarantee to pay off. I simply wish to kill Parasytes."

"I suppose that is in your nature, my melody," Apexus said.

The rest of the party looked to their leader. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, he looked back, his face as still as an undisturbed pond. "You haven't said anything yet, big man," Reysha pointed out.

"I have no strong conviction on this matter," he responded. "Although my reasons for this vary from your own. For it speaks an obligation to the worlds we inhabit and the experience we will gain from this. One day, we will stand against Apotho. Varying our skill set can only benefit us. Fighting by the side of demons may teach us much."

"And on the negative side, darling?" Aclysia investigated.

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"It is a risk not just of combat. There may be demons affiliated with Jolene or Apotho."

"At the same time, it means we can talk to demons that aren't affiliated with them," Reysha threw in.

"You think that's worthwhile?" Korith asked.

"I… actually do, yeah." Sounding surprised at herself, Reysha leaned against the wall of silver bark. Only after some pondering, did she continue. "I know that demons are… well, they're fucking demons. They're straight up monsters." She grabbed her left arm. "Still, I want to understand them a bit more. Turlesh's death just got me thinking."

"To understand more of the world is never harmful," Aclysia agreed. "We can extend sympathy for horrid fates without letting our empathy defeat us."

"So, I think we're 2 for and 1 against when it comes to going on that Leaf?" Reysha summarized.

"Sounds that way," Korith groaned.

"I will swear you an oath that the next time we have the opportunity, you alone decide what we'll do."

"We better," Korith said. She didn't need to say that their altruism was getting too much for her. Yes, it was the morally right thing to do, but they had their own lives to live outside of just helping people. She was going to stick with this regardless, because she cared more about them than getting rich immediately. 'If nothing else, we will get more powerful.'

While Korith did not need to say more, Apexus wanted to belabour the point. "I am serious. This is our party and your perspective is valid. We ought to find work that advances our interests. We are still mediocre in the quality of our equipment and in broader influence."

"Influence… we might be able to leverage that," Aclysia reckoned. "If we are determined to take on this Quest, then might I negotiate some more with the leader? There is a non-monetary benefit that we can derive from this."

After the whole of the Inevitable party agreed, they went back to Vera. They were let into the tent and greeted with a smile. "I take it you want to say your goodbyes?"

"We have decided to aid you in your endeavour," Aclysia revealed, to the high priestess' pleasant surprise. "However, while accept that there is no monetary compensation for this, we would like an acknowledgement for our deeds. Some kind of token that we can use to prove our worthiness when encountering the Church."

"Certainly, I can issue that. I can have it prepared in your absence. To what party would it go?"

"The Inevitable party, members Apexus, Aclysia, Reysha and Korith," the metal angel responded.

There was no reaction to their names, which was unsurprising. The camp had been there for longer than the Church had been looking for them and since that chapter of their life had long since wrapped up, news about them was of no further interest.

To the Church, they truly were just some random passers-by who had elected, against the odds, to aid them.

Vera wrote their names down. "We do have our means for this. I will elect the honour and medal appropriate for your efforts upon your return and based on the reports of my men."

"That is agreeable," Aclysia stated.

'That makes all of this worthwhile enough,' Korith thought. The Church was present practically everywhere, so a token of their trust was worth something practically everywhere. 'Hopefully this doesn't take forever…'

"We will be around," Apexus stated. "We have our own provisions, so we will not leech off yours. Tell us when your expedition begins and we will come with you."

"Gods bless you for your service to the Omniverse."

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