II. The Mole within the Premises

Mytherion, post-Barren Canyon expedition

Gargantua Forest, 86 years before the Great Human-Demon War

The journey Fred, Dax and Ricardo had at the Barren Canyons didn’t end up as successful as they expected. Upon a few days of map exploration at the canyons, they found their destination, which was the Ancient Ruins, an old abandoned civilization where the human capital once resided. Fred’s aim initially was to search for old libraries and hoped if there were remaining books in there, especially those telling histories from the human race’s point of view.

The long running war composed mainly of two opposing race: the humans and the demons. From the demon’s perspective: one of the approach to gather information inside the premises of the human empire: the Human Capital itself. But that’s suicide, especially for Frederie, who at that time, were still a novice with regards to the Maou duties.

Even though a temporary peace treaty had took effect by that time, gathering intel from the opposing countries was immediately considered as a grave threat. Of course it will ill intentions are punishable by law, depending on which country you are in. Also cases such as those might immediately ignite another huge war, especially if involved were either of the human and the demon race. Both races didn’t want to take huge risks so that move was never an option.

Upon arriving at the ruins the three of them went separate ways and raided the whole city.

The ancient ruins was an old civilization. The huge barren lands spanned multiple hundreds of Mytherion metric pans. The job could be easier if they had more people at their party. But with their current numbers, it was set to take a week or two to raid the whole city’s premises.

The routine was simple, the first to find a library should fire a magic-powered signal flare which Fred have handed the other two. During night they meet up at their rendezvous point. They should. They decided it would be better to stay close during nighttime. They didn’t know what kind of danger they would encounter when being alone.

They were lucky that there were no remaining encounters the rest of their stay.

The first to find the library was Dax. Fred and Ricardo immediately went to the place where the signal flare was fired. The library was huge, almost as big as a small-sized castle a noble with a middle-high class would own. It looked like you may find a book lying on the floor anywhere. But it was like a ghost library.

It took them a whole day to give the whole library a thorough raid, but they found only a handful of books left, those that did not really matter whether salvaged or not. Fred deduced that the books he needed might’ve been either burned or restored at the new human capital. This was a huge proof that records and literature was valued by the humans as much as the demons did.

Nothing much they could do about an empty library, so instead of going back empty-handed, they decided to go to the government and important structures too to find old relics that might serve a purpose.

Dax found himself a new (but really old) dagger. He seemed fond of Daggers. Fred told himself.

Nothing really bear profit. Exhausted and out of resources, the three of them decided to go back to the demon capital.

Back at the main road they luckily passed on a group of travelling merchants bound to the nearest village at the outskirts of Gargantua Forest, one of the villages Morgianna and Fred stayed with before entering the forest.

Having the identities of the two hidden, Ricardo was the one who talked with the merchants. He introduced them as paid mercenaries that he hired to travel with him. It was the best excuse they could offer. Besides, the travelling merchant would feel at ease travelling across the Gargantua Forest with hitchhiked soldiers. Of course both parties were still wary. They were strangers after all. Who knows whether a group of hitchhikers were part of a larger bandit group waiting at the forest to attack them?

Good thing Ricardo showed an item towards them which had them agreed that Fred’s group were not bandits. It might be a proof of valor or a token of relic Ricardo must had obtained from his previous battles. It was a huge help for them.

The merchants with Fred’s group travelled a few more days within the Gargantua Forest. It was really spanned a huge part of land.

Days before they reach the exit of the forest facing the borders of the Demon realm, They passed on scattered debris of carriages, those which looked familiar with those three.

“Could you please stop for a while?” –Ricardo asked the head of the merchants via Fred’s orders.

Dax was perplexed. He did not knew what emotion he should show when he confirmed that the remains of the carriages were same as those the demi-human convoy.

Same as Dax, Fred turned pale. Multiple questions filled his head.

What happened?

What could’ve caused this remains?

Were the convoy attacked by a high-tier creature again?

How much time had passed since this event?

Where’s Morgianna? Thelesmatas, and the others?

But still he didn’t let stress cloud his judgment.

“Calm down Dax. We’re not certain yet about the convoy members. If there are casualties there would be traces of blood or bodies left lying here.”

“Lord Dax, what Lord Maou Fred have just told could prove true. We must calm ourselves at a time like this. Lord Maou Fred, let me talk to the merchants and have them go already. We’re near the border. It would only take us half a day more towards the next village. We could rest there. But we need to investigate this place first.” –Ricardo was really helpful at a time like that.

“O-Okay…” –answered the exhausted Fred.

After the merchants have left, the remaining three sat and gathered at some rock formation near the carriage remains. They rounded up to discuss and cool themselves off.

“This does not look like an indication that a creature attacked. It was more like done by bandits.”

“Preprosterous these are parts of the forest very near the borders of the village if there would be bandits they should be within the demon race that lived by the village. Besides when I and Morgianna stayed by the nearest village by the border we heard nothing about bandits attacking this part of the forest among the merchants.”

“If what Lord Maou stated was true then the bandits should came from the other side of the Forest, or they are natives within this forest already that nobody might have discovered yet. But the point is, there should be guards from the village within these parts already patrolling around, yet there were no news about bandit attacks.”

“The fundamental truth is, the convoy bound to the demon capital had elite guards, Irish and Morgianna. A simple bandit attack should be fended off quickly.”

The three went silent upon Dax’s sudden point. It was very well true a group of bandits won’t stand a chance against a group of elite fighters and trained guards, not to mention Morgianna’s battle capabilities and Irish, which still had an unknown strength.

Fred racked up his brain again.

It was when he tried to retrace the events he and Morgianna have encountered starting from when they entered the forest.

>A few encounters with dire wolves and other low-tier creatures

>A sudden meetup with the demi-human convoy which was supposedly planned by his father

>battle with the mandragoras

>Irish Dux pinning him down at a tree due to him finding out about her hidden feelings towards Dax

>Dax went M.I.A.

>Fred unleashing massive demonic aura to calm the convoy

>A sudden appearance of a high-tier spirit cluster

>Dax being able to control his Transcendence.

>Morgianna agreeing to split and accompany the convoy back to the demon capital.

“I know father had done so many schemes with me already but I was really shocked that he had calculated everything up until the mandragora’s appearance…—” –Fred made a pause.

Mandragoras were not natives at a place like this.

Fred realized there was something amiss.

Mandragoras are creatures dwelling on rich lands where nutrients were always abundant. Before him and Morgianna found the location where Dax’s party battling with the mandragoras was, Fred noticed the quality of the land and the trees within the perimeter. It was lacking of nutrients. That left Fred with two possibilities:

Either the mandragoras evolved and sucked the land dry from nutrients, which proved wrong since a group of 4 mandragoras which evolved would not suck dry a land spanning of a few tens of pans. The second one was, someone force summoned them with the cost of all the nutrients within the span of lands where Fred observed was lacking with.

Fred stood up, gave the perimeter a quick scan with his eyes again.

“Shit…”

“What have you found out Fred”

“Shit.. Shit… Shit… Shit!!”

Fred run towards the nearest tree where there seemed to be a branch sticking out. It was a hilt-looking canister which contained a letter.

“Morgianna, they’re alive.” –Fred confirmed after seeing the penmanship of the letter.

“What does it say?”

Fred gave it a quick read, then fell on his knees.

“I was naïve.”

Fred realized something. At the very beginning of their first meetup with the demi-human convoy, Fred did not realize things that were amiss. He was too focused on determining whether Dax will complete his transcendence. His thirst for knowledge had gotten ahead of him that he lost awareness of his surroundings.

“There was a mole lurking at the convoy.”

Dax and Ricardo turned pale.

“Mandragoras were not native at this forest. They were summoned. This was not father’s ploy. Their goal was initially to eliminate Mae Militum Thelesmata, the individual possessing the calling of The Diplomat*. Me and Morgianna’s sudden appearance was out of their calculations that they have to resume their plot after I left.”

It made sense. What father would plot a scenario that could harm his own son? Fred’s meeting with the convoy was supposed to be the only planned scenario, but there’s an external party that planned an assassination within the convoy.

“Also, the part where the high-tier creature appeared was not a coincidence. It was summoned too. I really put the blame on myself for letting out a huge amount of malice but considering the size of this forest and the nature of the creature, it should not exist, nor gets reached by the malice I let out. Someone must have been controlling it from the sidelines and have it kill me and Mae, who were that time, were away from the main party finding you. I thought all of those were coincidence.”

The enemy concluded that Fred and Morgianna posed a greater threat and must be eliminated first. But with how things turned out, and Fred and Mae were left alone due to Fred’s decisions, the enemy took the greatest chance to hit two birds with one stone. That’s why the spirit cluster never left Fred and Mae who were running around the forest.

“Tell me, was it indicated at the letter?”

“Dax, whatever I tell you, don’t you dare lose yourself here and keep your composure.”

What Fred was about to tell will take a huge toll on Dax’s mentality. Eitherways Dax was more than prepared and nodded.

“Irish Dux Thelesmata have betrayed the demi-human convoy and plotted an assassination of Mae Militum Thelesmata with the Humans. Along with summoners, mages and some of the elite fighters on her side which attacked the convoy and summoned the creatures we initially encountered, there was a skirmish. Morgianna, along with the remaining guards that was on Mae Militum’s side, defended her, but it wasn’t enough. Mae was gravely injured. Morgianna lost her left arm due to a high-class spell she used to drive the pursuers. Irish Dux retreated with the humans who attacked, along with her loyalists. The convoy were split onto two groups, those who sided Irish, and those who still believes in Mae’s recovery.”

Tears were falling down on Dax’s face as Fred continued to tell them whan happened. Ricardo was pale, but was still trying to look calm himself.

The situation was graver than they thought.

“Irish… Why… SHIT!!!” –Dax fell on the ground and slammed it with his fists.

The three of them were silent. Ricardo supported the swaying and out of strength Dax as they continued to walk out of the forest.

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