376. Wisdom

“Where are we going, Salvos?”

Daniel asked as I carried him away from the adventurer army. Well, it wasn’t really the size of an army. At least, not any army I had ever seen. It was far too small. A fraction of what it had previously been— before Westshield.

It was a good thing it wasn’t a real army; I’d been surprised if that annoying idiot Marwin the Stupid Swordsman was left in charge of a proper army. Seriously, I really wanted to punch him between the legs but stopped myself. That wasn’t something I’d felt compelled to do for a long time!

I grew out of it because Daniel and Edithe said I couldn’t solve all my problems by punching someone between the legs. And when I tried to punch a [Stone Golem] down there once and nothing happened, I realized that was true.

Anyway, I turned to my companions and answered their questions.

“We’re going after that [Savage Agarat], of course. We’ve got to find it as soon as possible. We can’t let it escape. I need to…”

I trailed off. Daniel and Edithe exchanged a glance. The [Mage] scratched her cheek.

“What do you need, Salvos?”

“I need to talk to him.”

I finally sighed. She raised a brow, and I continued.

“That wasn’t a wild Demon. He was a… real Demon. No— not real. That’s not the right word. He was…”

“Sapient?”

Daniel suggested. I looked down at him as he shrugged.

“Or sentient? I don’t really know the difference.”

“That doesn’t matter. So you think it’s intelligent, Salvos?”

Edithe spoke over him as I nodded.

“Yep. He could speak. But he didn’t have a collar, like Belzu. I think I want to ask him some questions, maybe. Before we try to kill him.”

“Are you serious, Salvos?”

Daniel stared at me, aghast. He sputtered as he gestured back at the destroyed where we came from.

“That Demon is responsible for killing hundreds of innocent people! Maybe even more!”

“How are we sure of that?”

I peered at Daniel. He blinked, opening his mouth. But I created a third arm with [Faux Limbs] and wagged a finger.

“Don’t forget, you Humans like to attack Demons on sight for no reason. The [Savage Agarat] was forced into an alien world that is incredibly hostile towards him for no reason. He would be completely justified in killing a few Humans if they attacked him first.”

“I—”

He started, but I continued.

“Or did you forget the lesson you learned from when we first met?”

I created another arm with [Faul Limbs] and crossed my arms that way. He bit his lower lip, hesitating. Edithe glanced between Daniel and I.

“As much as I can see your point Daniel, Salvos is right. We made the same mistake last time around with Salvos. This could just be the same situation… except with a far stronger Demon that can raze down a village for attacking it— him.”

“Yep. And if anything goes wrong, we can just kill him anyway.”

I nodded eagerly. Daniel looked between Edithe and I. He slowly acquiesced.

“Alright. Let’s just hope this doesn’t go badly.”

With that settled, we now just had to find this [Savage Agarat]... where it went.

“If only I had a proper tracking Skill.”

I sighed. I looked through my Status. I wondered if [Demon’s Mark] somehow allowed me to rack down an enemy. I focused, trying to use both [Passive - Master of Material Manipulation] and [Greater Teleportation] to bring me to the [Savage Agarat]. But no— that was not how [Demon’s Mark] worked. That was never how it had worked.

“Edithe, Daniel? Did either of you become a [Tracker] with your second Class?”

“I’m a [Trader], remember?”

Daniel answered, and Edithe shrugged helplessly.

“I’m still kind of undecided.”

“Huh. You should decide to become a [Tracker] then. Or a [Hunter]. Are [Spellcaster Hunters] a thing?”

I wondered aloud. Edithe gave me a proper answer, but I barely paid attention to it.

“Actually, there are quite a few Classes that are a hybrid of [Mage] and [Archer]—”

I looked over my Status again and again. I searched through my [Fragmented Pocket Dimension] for any items I had in store. I had a few pieces of equipment lying around but nothing too useful.

Nope. Nothing to do. I considered finding some kind of [Diviner]. I remembered when I got Hoxle’s help when I was lost in the Plaguelands. He was very helpful, although I highly doubted that even with his help we’d be able to find such a high-leveled Demon that was hiding from us.

I needed help from someone more… powerful.

And that was when I remembered one of the new Skills I gained. It purportedly borrowed the power of something that was beyond my abilities. Something that was great and powerful.

[Manifestation of the Old Gods]. What did it do? I wished I knew. It could’ve been a strong offensive Skill. I remembered Zix having a similar Skill which was highly destructive. It tore apart the landscape with ease, unleashing the forgotten fury of a Dragon onto this modern world. A phantom of a time long gone.

But it had been the [Wrath of the Old Gods]. It made sense that it would be used to destroy. Now… a manifestation. What was a manifestation? Well, I would assume it was more than just a brief memory of destruction.

“Hey, do you guys want to see if something works?”

I turned to my companions with a wide grin. They both gulped, but slowly nodded.

“Sure?”

They spoke at the same time, and immediately regretted it. I laughed.

“Alright, here goes nothing—”

I activated the Skill as I raised both my [Faux Limbs] in the air.

The [Savage Agarat] barely escaped. There were too many of the things there. And one of them in particular was quite powerful. He didn’t expect it. He knew that fighting all of the things would not be easy— that he would probably die when faced with that many enemies of that level. So he targeted the highest-leveled of the things.

As it turned out, there was another strong thing amongst them. One with silver hair. The Archdemon of Wrath hadn’t expected it. He was surprised that it could keep up with him. But he was cunning, and he escaped.

This was a strange world. It was such a stark difference to what he was used to. There was no dark red sky; no rolling hills of white. The stone and the rock— all of it was gone. He was now in a place with a clear blue sky. One that changed and grew dark during the night.

There were trees and houses and lakes and rivers and clouds and oh so many things he wondered about. He even touched grass for the very first time. It was such a change from what he was used to. He couldn’t die now.

Even though this place was far more plentiful with things— or at least, the things gathered together in far more concentrated numbers than the things back in that red world. Such a new place… oh, he couldn’t wait to lay waste to all the new things here.

He couldn’t wait to unleash utter destruction.

And as he descended, he slinked into the background. He was hard to find. Of course he’d have abilities that helped him survive. To camouflage himself and hide away. He wandered for a bit, searching for another prey. There was a gravelly path, and he followed it out of curiosity more than anything else.

Then he heard voices up ahead. A small caravan rode down the road. Things leading things on wheels. The [Savage Agarat] listened.

“Are you sure we should be going to this meeting, Queen Faith?”

Faith El, former princess of the Elutra Kingdom, and the Fallen Queen of Elutra raised her head as she heard the uncertain question come from beyond the carriage. Willow rode on horseback alongside Faith with pursed lips.

Shaking her head, Faith answered simply.

“Believe me, I would love to return to Inoria. But if what Headmaster Skyshredder said is true… we can’t go back. Not without an army that comes from every corner of the Human lands.”

It had to be a true coalition. A proper one that didn’t just rely on the bulk of the Vaun Qieur Empire’s forces. Faith hoped that the gathered parties in Alyras would listen to her plea— that they would act now before it was too late. She took a risk, leaving Mavos Academy like this. After all, a Demon could hunt her down at any time, and Clayton Skyshredder offered her only a few artifacts and this enchanted carriage for protection.

“It’s ridiculous. The more time we waste, the more our people suffer. We could be freeing them here and now rather than spend more time on idle talk and inaction.”

Gavyn was here too. He was the leader of Elutra’s Resistance. And he had wanted to return to Inoria and fight off the Demons rather than waste time here. He only came at Faith’s behest— as the Fallen Queen of Elutra, she was able to convince him to escort her.

“I’m sorry, Gavyn.”

Faith looked towards the other window. At the man scowling as he rode on the opposite side of the carriage to Willow. She bowed her head.

“Unfortunately, this is what must be done. We can only pray that we’ll be able to convince all the parties present at the meeting to act soon.”

Gavyn clicked his tongue. Faith wished there was more she could do. She wished things would be so much easier. But for the sake of her country— of her nation— she would do anything. The Fallen Queen of Elutra played with a ring on her index finger as she sighed. Then she looked up at the sound of Willow’s voice.

“What is… that?”

The [Savage Agarat] found his next target. He saw the small caravan reach the end of the road. And he bared his teeth at them— at the shouting and screaming things as they fell back.

He attacked without any hesitation in the world.