" Captain Veritas, we have arrived!" shouted the pilot." Do you see the reservoir down there? That is the gate to the Halcyon of Fulish! The gate locator on your phone still works? Please advance, other Hunters will follow you shortly."

Veritas nodded at the pilot. He checked his companions, and noticed all of them were as ready as him. He could not see Tetrax's face, but her stance and her clenching fists were enough for him. Aria and Hiatus, as mentally disturbed as they were, showed him eyes filled with determination. Veritas felt like he wanted to get to know them better.

" Maybe after all of this"

With that thought in mind, he dived down first, into the ice-cold water. As he closed his eyes waiting for the moment his body blending with the water, he pondered when and how " all of this" would come to an end.

______________________________________________________________________________

Under any other circumstances, Aria might have found the desire to admire the beauty of Fulish's domain, but after dícovering that her best friend was possibly a psychopath, and even more so the demon lord himself, it was only understandable that she was completely oblivious to the scenery. Furthermore, the scenery was not that admirable, either.

What welcomed Aria and the other when they entered Fulish's Halcyon was not a stunning, vast steppe basked in sunlight but rather a barren land beneath a smoky sky filled with lightning and thunder. Looming afar were spreading flames and colossal demons whose roars engulfed everything. The whole island was ready to fall apart.

" We are too late," said Veritas." The Pillar of Light, it must have fallen into the demons' hand

" Don't give up yet," said Hiatus." We must go there. That tower, it must be where Fulish is. It is the only one still standing."

" It must be at least 12 miles from here to there," said Veritas.

" Well, we'll run there," said Tetrax."If I use my full speed I may reach that tower in less than 10 minutes."

"You can reach that kind of speed?" asked Veritas with his eyes wide open.

" Duh. You guys stay here and wait for reinforcement, I'm going ahead."

" Hiatus and I will go with you," said Aria.

" Sorry, but I don't really think you can keep up."

" We can. Well, Hiatus can, and he will carry me." Aria glanced at Hiatus.

" Runes! Yeah, how can I forget that?" said Tetrax as she palmed her forehead."But will runes be enough?"

" Hiatus' speed and runes will be more than enough," said Aria and she took out a piece of chalk.

"Aria, you are overestimating me—"

" This isn't the time to hide your true strength, Hiatus!" she raised her voice." Wander is there, and we will know the truth no matter what!"

Aria felt bad about raising her voice at Hiatus, but she was determined that she must catch up with Wander. She could tolerate any thing, but not lie, deception and betrayal.

" You three will be fine, right?" asked Veritas."The reinforcement may not arrive soon enough"

" They are with me, Captain." said Tetrax.

" Is that supposed to sound assuring?" Veritas raised his eyebrows.

" Yes. Worry not, it'll be just fine, Veritas."

"Done. Stand in there, Hiatus." said Aria." I don't bring catalyst substances, so the effects are weakened, but your speed will more than suffice."

Aria climbed on her friend's back. She nodded at Tetrax before chanting the incantation. Simultaneously, Hiatus activated his demon form. The three bid Veritas goodbye, then dashed towards the tower.

______________________________________________________________________________

The path to the tower was clear at first. The three did not have any trouble running across the steppe, which was devoid of obstacles, rendering it quite simple for them to observe the surroundings. However, the steppe soon gave way to a much more treacherous area: forest.

Just like Mirilad, the island's forest instilled anxiety and uneasiness in Aria and Hiatus. However, worse than Mirilad, the trees of this forest possessed crowns so interwoven that they turned themselves into the sky of the forest, a sky painted black. Without the lightning above and the spreading fire, the three would have had much difficulty advancing.

All the creatures in the forests, at least ones that the three could discern from the darkness, had fallen unconscious. Hiatus shuddered, this scenery was eerily familiar to him.

" You okay? Does the Demex upset you?" asked Hiatus.

" I'm doing okay. Just a little nauseous." Aria answered, tightening her arms around Hiatus's neck." I'm sorry."

" For what?"

" For raising my voice, and forcing you to do this. I know you want to hide your true power, but this situation does not allow that."

Hiatus did not reply.

" You know me. I cannot tolerate it when lied to, big lies that is. I want to trust Wander, yet deep down, there's this voice telling me he did deceive us. Then again, I still hope that he didn't do those terrible things. And that he is not Samundo. I must see him, no matter what."

The flames around them started to grow in size and in intensity. The noise from the battlefield grew in volume, stimulating the senses of the three. Before long they realized that they had escaped the forest, or rather the fire had help them burned down large groups of trees, clearing their path, enabling them to see the figures of the demons.

"Keep your eyes open." said Hiatus."You see those shadows over there? They are demons, and they will be the first you ever fight."

Aria was overwhelmed by the outburst of emotion within her. For the first time in her life, with her own eyes, Aria saw demons. They came in all forms and sizes, and despite the frightening appearances of some, Aria could not stop gazing at them. She felt fear, excitement, anxiety, and joy simultaneously. Her whole body trembled, and she absorbed all of her surrounding into her consciousness.

" You guys take the left, I take the right." said Tetrax.

In a blink an eye, Tetrax vanished from their sight. Instantly, the demons on their right got cut down without even knowing what struck them. Tetrax flashed through waves of demons, leaving only a shadow and a trail of defeated demons behind her. She swung her sword with so high a speed that it resembled a fleeting air current rather than a chunk of metal.

" She really lived up to the name of a Singulus Digiti." said Aria." I want to try too."

She reached for her sword with her shaking hands then unsheathed it. She tried to recall the lessons she learned at the institution.

" Stance, breathing, sword position, what's else? It must be perfect"

"Aria," Hiatus patter her shoulder."If you get bogged down in theoretical lesson, you will never truly fight. Stay close."

Aria nodded and charged at the demons along with Hiatus. The demons roared as they saw the two approaching. Their pupils moved frantically, their claws grew longer and their muscles veins emerged under their skins.

Hiatus was not as fast as Tetrax, but he was no less efficient. Each of his strike was decisive, neutralizing the enemies instantly. Aria did not get to fight a single demon since all of them failed to even approach her. Her friend's sense of combat was too keen, enabling him to detect every approaching enemies. She was deeply impressed by his technique and his stance on the battlefield. Reflected upon her irises was a experienced hunter who calmly put his enemies down; his whole presence blended in with the blood and fire of the battlefield. At that moment, Aria knew her doubt was no more: both of her friends were more than they showed her.

" You are distracted." Hiatus said in a cold voice as he struck down another demon

" I'm sorry. But none on the demons can take advantage of that, not with you here."

" One is approaching from the left. I leave that to you. "

Aria glanced at her prey. It was a medium-size demon with a hunch on its back and its mannerism akin to that of a monkey. Its two disproportionately gigantic hands slammed on the ground with each stride it made.

" How will it attack? Its hands are the most developed body parts."

Aria conceived a dozen ways the demon could attack her with its hand, and for each way she thought of a counter-attack. The demon plunged itself at her, both arms raised over the head ready to grind her into jam. Aria had already predicted this move, and so just nanoseconds after its arms were raised, she dashed forward and let her sword run through its torso. The monster let out a painful cry as it turned to look at Aria with fierce eyes.

It was an acknowledged truth, though not universally, that the first time one vanquished a life, the act would leave one greatly distressed. Aria experienced the same thing. She thought she was ready to put the demon down for good, but when she witnessed its struggle for survival, her heart sank. The demon, instead of being threatening, were pitiable. She could feel her grip on the sword loosened as she watched the demon stagger towards her. And so, not until the demon was only 2 meters from her did she swing her sword and end its life. She wanted it to live for just a little longer.

Aria stared at the carcass of the demon, knowing that all the others had been taken care of by her companions. Hiatus walked towards her, patted on her back.

" You did well."

" No, not well. I was pathetic. I couldn't finish it in one strike. And for a second there I wanted it to live."

" It's normal to feel like that. Had you been completely nonchalant about killing it, I would have been disturbed."

" First time huh?" said Tetrax as she approached the two." That brooding expression cannot be mistaken. And boy, where did you learn to fight this well? Too well, in fact."

" What to say? I am a genius" Hiatus shrugged.

" Genius? Or experienced?" said Tetrax." Well, I would like to know more, but ain't have time for that. Listen, the tower is close, but the demons will not let us pass that easily. I will clear the way , and you two follow me. If we are lucky, people in that tower will let us in."

" People?"

Tetrax pointed at the tiny moving dots upon the sky. Hiatus and Aria could see those dots were actually people, most likely summoners, riding horse-like creatures, attacking the demons below.

" I have been wondering where all the colossal demons we saw go." said Tetrax. "It seems they have defeated them."

" How did the demons even find this place?" asked Hiatus."It's super well-hidden."

" Obviously not well-hidden enough. Let's go, yo—."

An earsplitting roar emerged blasting away everything around the three. It was like a nuclear bomb that swept away everything in its path. A nauseous sensation overcame her, and she vomited. Next to her, Hiatus was thrown off balance a bit, and Tetrax was greatly disturbed.

Miles away from them, a massive demon spread its wings and leapt into the sky. Its Demex overwhelmed even its fellow demons.

______________________________________________________________________________

" A Titanium demon out of nowhere," Tetrax ground her teeth." Only one answer: the demons are coming from within the island."

" What shall we do now?" asked Hiatus." Aria won't get used to it soon enough. Another Demex like that will knock her out cold."

" I know. We can't fight that thing in this state. We still aim for that tower. Carry her. "

With Aria in his arms, Hiatus ran towards the tower. Tetrax ran ahead of him, clearing the path. As they got closer to the tower, the number of demons grew higher and their density also increased. Nonetheless, Tetrax was not slowed down or made less efficient. Her sword still cut beautifully and decisively.

" Hey, watch this." she shouted.

She stopped her advance for one second, sheathed her sword, lowered her knees to gain momentum. Without warning, she dashed through waves of demons, and her the after image of her sword proliferated in space, creating a web made entirely from the slashed of her sword, dismembering every demon in her way.

" Impressive, righhht?"

" I will compliment you when we are inside that tower, not outside it."

" Oh shoot, incoming magical balls!" shouted Tetrax.

Hiatus looked up at the sky and detected hundreds of projectiles hurled at them. The summoners had decided to use mass destruction spells, wreaking indiscriminating havoc on all those that moved beneath them. Hiatus could feel his ears turn deaf from the all the explosions caused by summoners' spells. The ground he treaded on quaked aggressively, the demons approaching him all got blasted to pieces. Hiatus was forced to push his concentration to the breaking point, for just one slip-up would be more than enough to critically wound both Aria and him. With none of his handicap, Tetrax reached the tower before him.

" The tower is inaccessible" said she, nodding up." Look."

The Singulus Digiti pointed to the entrance of the tower. What had once been a beautiful gate was now reduced to a massive hole infested with dozens of demons trying to find their way into the tower. Their bodies were pressed against each other, blending into something resembling a lump of meat with hundreds of veins trampling on each other. From time to time, the summoners inside the tower would cast a spell that blow away the demons, but soon enough the creatures would fill the hole.

" Who knows how far those demons have reached." said Tetrax." They may as well have invaded half of the tower. We cannot go in that way. "

" We must get into contact with the summoners up there then." Hiatus pointed up.

" You find cover. I will take care of the communication."

Tetrax observed the surrounding to look for a medium-size demon. After the prey had been pinpointed, she charged at it and let her sword run through its stomach. She did not detach her weapon from the carcass, instead she used the former to drag the latter on the ground, and the blood from the body left a vivid trail on the ground, providing Tetrax with enough blood to write the letter H. She repeated the process with other preys, and after a few minutes a huge " Help" appeared on the ground, vivid enough for people up high to notice.

"I swear, demons get fatter and fatter each year!" said Tetrax as she swept the sweats on her forehead.

" Remind me to never get stuck on an island with you, alone." Hiatus stared at Tetrax." I don't want to think what you will do to write S.O.S. with only one body."

" Our ride has come! I really should appreciate my writing skill more."

A summoner landed a few meters away from the three hunters. The thing he was riding resemble a legless pegasus. Its skin was transparent, revealing cogs, wires, belts, cylinders and other machineries enveloped in electricity.

The summoners signal the three to get on, and they wasted no time doing so. After they had got on, the creature took off, and the hunters got a full view of the battle.

______________________________________________________________________________

Half of Fulish's domain was engulf by fire and infested with demons. Hundreds of smoke pillars joined to create one enormous blanket shadowing the island. The summoners hurled at their enemies any spell they could think of, further devastating the terrain. Explosions manifested mere meters apart with increasing frequency. The titanium demon was no short of a more sinister version of Muloculus, shooting beams at everything that moves while releasing its Demex at intervals.

" This is hell." said Hiatus." What exactly happened here?"

" We don't know." said the summoner." Grandmaster Vivien sent us here, and we only arrived like two hours ago. Those who came before us said that Fulish had gone missing, and out of nowhere the demons came. "

" Did they mention anyone named Wander or Maria?" asked Tetrax.

" I don't have time to ask. And why are you hunters here? How do you even know this place? "

" I don't want to bring more bad news to you guys." said Tetrax. "But it's very likely Samundo is on this island. Well, not that likely, now I think about it."

" The heck? That son of a gun's really good at picking the time and place for his return, isn't he?"

" You seem much calmer than expected?" asked Tetrax.

" Well, this is the 20th time, isn't it? It's getting ridiculous rather than scary!" the summoner said laughing.

"You won't laugh like that for long," said Hiatus." This time is nothing like before. "

" I bet they say that last time, too. But enough, I'm going to drop you guys off at the tower. You guys can't help much up here. Is that ok?"

With no concern for the hunters' answer, the summoner drove the creature towards the top of the tower. His comrades noticed his arrival, temporarily disabling the protection spell to let him drop the hunters off. He then returned to the battlefield as his comrades watched on in anxiety.

" Is that girl wounded?" asked a summoner.

" No, she just passed out from that Demex."

" Take her down the medical ward. If you want to assist us, please help fend off the demons on the 30th floor. Don't let them advance any further. This tower is the last place we have."

" Roger that," said Tetrax. "By the way, did you see a certain boy named Wander"?

" The hunter boy? He's in the forest."

" You mean that hellfire down there?" asked Hiatus.

" Yes. Callus told me he went there with Elecaimant to seek lord Fulish."

" What about Maria?" asked Hiatus.

" That girl was also down there. She was with king Fulish."

Hiatus and Tetrax exchanged glances. The two both feel their guts suddenly twisted by a invisible force. After thanking the summoners, the two descended to the medical ward.

" You'll go help them stop the demons." said Hiatus." I'll take her to the ward then catch up later."

Tetrax nodded. As she watched Hiatus heading for the ward, she looked out of a nearby window and wonder what took Veritas and the reinforcement so long.

______________________________________________________________________________

Miles away from the tower.

" What do you mean you can't get in?" asked Veritas.

" Captain, there's something wrong with the Halcyon," said his subordinate."Its gate is changing non-stop! We cannot pinpoint the location. All attempts to get in fail. We suggest you leave before that becomes impossible too."

Veritas closed his eyes and thought of a solution. Not one was satisfying to him.

" All troops on stand-by mode until further notice. Keep locating the gate, and once it's fixed, move in immediately. "

" Yes, Captain."

Veritas looked at the sky, and realized that there was no real sky, just the Pacific ocean with millions of megatons of water looming above his head, as well as the heads of anything within Fulish's Domain.

______________________________________________________________________________

Tetrax was busy cutting up demons when Hiatus arrived at the 30th floor . All the summoners were greatly impressed by her sword technique and her speed. No demon could escape her watch. She was in the front, while the summoners stood behin, hurling spells at the demons and turning carcasses into walls.

" Over here!" she playfully shouted."Hiatus, join! This isn't as hard as I thought."

" Sure, why not." said Hiatus as he unsheathed his sword."I take the left"

Hiatus again utilized the style he adopted back on the battlefield. He did not rely on speed but utmost precision. He let the demons come to him then cut them down with one strike. His effort combined with Tetrax's ensured no demon could advance.

" I talked to them a bit." said Tetrax." Basically your friend is still a nice kid. Or so they were told. Watch out for that one."

Hiatus beheaded a Pil- a small type of demon with a jaw of sharks and claws of lions.

" Do you trust him?"

" No."

Tetrax swung her sword as she added." Too straight-forward."

" How am I supposed to answer?"

" You could have said "I don't know" at least,considering he's your friend."

" Irrelevant."

" What will you do then, if he's truly Samundo?"

Hiatus cut another Pil in half. He tightened his grip. He cursed Tetrax: the hunter had known the answer before she even asked. Whether the answer she had was righ or wrong, it was up to him.

______________________________________________________________________________

When Aria woke up, the smell of disinfectant instantly worsened her lingering nauseousness, and she found the urge to fall back into her sleep. However, the moans of pain coming from the wounded disturbed her so much she forced herself to get up and make sense of her surroundings. The first time she wished she found herself in Mrs. Matilda's office.

What she saw in the medical ward she would never forget, for that was the first time she truly witnessed war casualties. Back at the institution, everything had been happening so fast she hardly paid attention to the dead and the injured. Now, she had all the time she needed to absorb the pain of others. Others that were struggling to breathe, desperately looking for their gone limbs as tears streamed down their faces or staring at the ceiling with lifeless eyes.

" What have you done this time, Wander?"

A passionate anger surged within Aria. Everything had been one big lie. Wander turned out to be a sick psycho, and very likely the demon lord. Jonathan, despite his long-standing grudge, had a reason for being a bully, and a darn good one. Hiatus hid his power. All the dead students at the institution might have been rescued if she had forced Wander to tell everything. How many lies would she be exposed to next, she wondered.

" No use tormenting myself over that matter."

Suppressing her emotions and thoughts, Aria stood up then offered her assistance to the summoners. They smilingly nodded after brief hesitation. She helped them move the injured, clean the wounds, applied medicines, and change the bandages. The summoners were delighted by both her enthusiasm and her skill with first-aid.

" Young Hunters aren't so bad after all," said one of the summoner." Your friend Wander was also very nice. He helped save someone important to me."

" He was the one who indirectly caused the massacre back at the Institution." replied Aria.

The summoners all suspended their job and stared at Aria, unable to believe what they had just heard. Only the moans brought their attention to their job.

" For whatever reason, he's needed by the demons, and that girl Maria, in order to get to him, chose to sacrifice both summoners and hunters back at our school." Aria clarified.

" The demons have plan?" asked a summoner." Samundo has returned? And what massacre?"

" You haven't known?" Aria asked in disbelief.

" No, not until now."

Aria's brow furrowed as she contemplated the summoners' ignorance of current affairs, then she realized that Samundo's return had yet to make it to the public media. She only knew what happened thanks to Veritas.

" Samundo has returned and even now they haven't announced anything?" asked the summoners

Aria knew they had a point. It was not a good idea to hold back this type of information. The sooner everyone knew of the demon lord's return, the better prepared they would be. If what Veritas said was true, then it must have been a few months since his resurrection, and Aria wondered why the mass of people were still kept in the dark.

" This is unbelievable." said Aria."No one knew? Your comrades from the higher-up didn't tell you anything?

All the summoners shook their heads.

" At least you do know Maria is here because she's after the an artifact Fulish is protecting, right?"

The shaking heads again, accompanied by grimaces of terror.

" What artifacts?" One of them asked.

" Oh wow, you really don't know anything," said Aria. "That's... discomforting."

______________________________________________________________________________

Even at his full speed, it would take Veritas 16 minutes to reach the tower. He wished he had asked Aria how to write the speed-enhancing runes.

The reinforcement told him they would not be able to enter the Halcyon anytime soon, and suggested that he headed for where the others were then informed them of the overall situation. It was unnecessary, since even though he was miles away from the battlefield, he still felt the terrorizing Demex of that colossal winged demon. He knew it must be hell on earth over there, and he hesitated.

Those events had been more than he bargained for. He had never expected to meet a Singulus Digiti, ventured into the territories of 2 level 7 Familiars, and chased the demon lord himself. Maybe this would not have happened if Chancellor Alados had not decided to conceal everything.

" They don't need to know. Not yet."

" But why, sir?"

" Just carry out my order, Veritas."

With just those words, hundreds of millions hunters were kept in the dark, and from all the bits of information he salvaged, the majority of summoners suffered the same fate. Vivien and Alados seemed to have join hand in one of the grandest cover-ups in history.

" Maybe they assume they can defeat Samundo without letting people know he's back"

A deafening sound interrupted Veritas' train of thoughts. The smell of ionized particles pervaded the air. Veritas looked up and got goose bumps all over his body as he noticed a convoluted web made out of lightning threads enveloping the sky. From the direction of the battlefield, a blinding light manifested as the winged monster got pierced by lightning.

______________________________________________________________________________

The summoners at the tower all relished in the signs of Fulish's return. They looked on with satisfaction as hundreds of lightning bolts relentlessly struck the demons below, either burning them or turning them to ash. The winged demon could not even locate Fulish's location, thus it was subjected to merciless attack without even a chance of fighting back. In mere minutes, its burning enormous body fell to the ground in the joyous cry of all summoners.

" Everyone, king Fulish has returned." A summoner rushed into the medical ward." He's okay. The king is okay."

" Is Wander with him?" asked Aria.

" Yes, the boy is with him."

" Excuse me, I must see him," said Aria as she left the medical ward.

The short path to Wander seemed to extend forever for Aria. Each step she took, it became harder to keep her composure. She suddenly lost her confidence, she doubted she was ready to handle the truth.

" You have nothing to fear. Wander is in the wrong"

She kept repeating the sentences in her mind to keep herself moving forward. Her mouth went dry, her fists tightened. She could hear Wander's voice, not much different from what she remembered. Just a few steps more, and she could see her friend. She stopped.

Had it not been for Hiatus patting her shoulder, Aria might have found herself unable to move an inch. She looked at him.

" It's okay," said Hiatus" Let's go."

She nodded. And with Tetrax and Hiatus, she walked towards Wander.

We have reached the end of part 1. I'm pretty sure part 2 will turn your view on this story upside down. Ready for a ride! For the next few days I will try to post bonus chapter, some lore and part 2 simultaneously. Thank you for reading!