Alright, TakeWalker, I must apologize. I read this almost as soon as you posted it, and yet I haven't commented on it. I just needed time to figure out exactly what I wanted to say. Now, this may go everywhere, but here it is:

First, great job on both fights. I really like how you're showing Carmel is more than capable of (for lack of a better phrase) kicking ass alongside Ryouji and Steinar. Good choice having her sit out of the big battle, though. As for Steinar, he seems to be becoming more support than anything. Not that's a bad thing, but in these last two battles, he acted more like a victim or distraction than anything. Maybe I'm just looking too much into this.

As for Ryouji, anger for the win! It will be interesting to see what the side affects of white hair and gaunt hands will be. Though I gotta admit, there was one part of the battle that was sort of disappointing. When Shiriu said that to kill Yamauba they'd have to kill the heart which may or may not be in the body, I was thinking "Oh, cool! I wonder where it is!" Then I read, I find out it was in her body, and all Ryouji had to do was fire at random to beat her. I don't know, that just was different. I mean, it makes perfect sense, just... When someone drops a hint like that I expect it to happen. This went against that, which I guess isn't a bad thing. Just different.

Of course, now I'm just as lost as Carmel and Steinar as to where this will go. Still no Alpha and Beta (assuming Ryouji's Alpha went to someone else of course) so I have that to look forward too. Anyways, I must say this was an exciting first season. Everything wrapped up nicely, with a little bit left to string me along. Can't wait for the next (though I know I must). Good luck with stuff. Hope I didn't waste your time with this long comment! Later!

Yes, I liked having Carmel really open up on the demons. :) Like I said, the main purpose of this little side story is to show our heroes wreaking havoc on their opponents without worrying about killing. Unfortunately, the demons seem unaffected by her illusions, so she has to club them senseless instead.

Steinar's role is defender, so he takes a lot of hits while protecting his friends. He's also a good distraction, just because he can withstand so much extra damage (although he does seem to have a problem with demon acid). He takes this role very seriously, though, and doesn't mind being in a support role so long as he's in the fight.

Remember too that all three of them are beaten and exhausted before going into that final fight. Carmel's been casting far more spells than she's used to, which is why she finally passes out (you can think of it as her 'mana' being drained). Steinar's least bad off, but getting his stone skin burned off yet again makes it hard for him to recover. And Ryouji took a serious beating at the hands of the shadow demon, not to mention a concussion from getting thrown into the tunnels. I actually had a list of all his injuries written down to remind myself "PLEASE KEEP THE BADASS DOWN", but that last healing spell is just enough to make sure that he doesn't trip over his own damn feet before taking out Yamauba.

The reason for that rapid aging has been mentioned before, but it may have been fairly subtle. :) I'll let you wonder about it until season 2 starts up, though.

Yeah, the way to kill Yamauba is not something I'm proud of, and I'll probably change that later on. Quite frankly, I don't have any fucking clue why Ryouji would be able to kill her when so many others haven't. I mean, yes, he's one of the most powerful Archers in Shogunate history, and he's got HOLY FIRE ARROWS which turn demons into dust, but... Ugh, I don't know. It's going to require some more thought and some revision, but thankfully it won't change anything beyond this chapter.

And I'm glad you have no idea what'll happen next. :D I had intended for the clue, if you will, to be present in Shiriu's dying words, but I decided it would be better to leave things hanging. ;D Don't worry, the path shall reveal itself once again! And don't forget about the Delta and Gamma Archers. I can't wait to introduce them! (And yes, Ryouji's the Alpha still. They couldn't not give it to him, tradition is just that important.)

And finally, thank you for the long comment, I really like them. :3

Cool. Your response adequately showed me your intentions for Carmel and Steinar, and I like that. And yeah, I knew they were cut up, bruised, and bleeding (to quote 'Wayside'), so I figured they were on their last legs. Steinar sure has a lot of enthusiastic energy, which I like.

As for Yamauba, if you do decide to change it (and this is just an idea) you could go with what you hinted and have her heart be outside her body, but in the room. For extra creepiness, you could go tell tale heart, and as Ryouji starts pounding away at her body, the beating gets louder until he finally hears it, and shoots that. Just a weird Halloween idea. I mean, Yamauba is cool, and i can see the advantages Ryouji would have over others. But like you said, there was something about the execution that made me say ugh a little too.

Still, I thoroughly enjoy this series. And I'm glad you like my long comments.

Well, the only thing I can see is it being somehow entombed in her throne. Which wouldn't be a great idea, honestly. I mean, if you can separate your heart from your body, why keep it in the same fucking room, y'know?

The thing that bothers me is I was trying to come up with some kind of legend about her back in ep. 9 or 10, something about 'only the pure of heart' can defeat her. And that's it, that's all I can come up with. :|

I dunno, maybe I will move the heart into her throne. Maybe she has to stay in the same room for the proximity effect, but she's safe from anyone who hasn't figured out her secret.

I know. The only way to explain having would be proximity effect. It would also explain why she has humans brought to her instead of taking a more proactive role.

And then I found a huge problem with my idea. There is a stone demon nearby who we now know is not entirely happy with his current work environment. What's to stop him from crushing it. Gah! I'm getting too into this minor detail. I say don't worry about. I'm just being picky. Ignore me!

Well, so long as Yamauba lives, the lesser demons are held under her sway. That doesn't mean that they don't have free thoughts, however, as the stone demon demonstrates.

Would you believe I hadn't planned that little part of this story? c.c