High above the planet’s cloud, far past the eyes of mortals, the Goddess of light observes the planet below. “My chosen heroes have made significant progress, I’m glad. I’m disappointed with the King abandoning them, but he’ll soon learn his mistake. That demonic plane is a nuisance, but its invasions rarely become such a big problem. I still have trust in the heroes’ resolve,” she says, her golden locks of hair fluttering in the solar winds.

Her gaze turns contemplative as she thinks, “That enthusiastic elf has made an appearance on this planet, I don’t approve of his methods of puncturing a hole through the dimension barrier, but its damage is hardly permanent. Still, it’s best he keeps those actions to a minimum, lest we provoke the big guy’s anger. I won’t take responsibility if the planet is abandoned and cast out from his care.”

Her eyes shift towards the green moon; it’s radiant light casting a soft glow on her beautiful complexion. A hint of fear can be seen in her gaze. She says in an uncertain tone, “This is merely one planet, it’s actions are certainly insignificant to your gaze, right? Don’t mind the actions of those below, continue your woeful slumber; my holy light shall continue blocking your power.”

“The elf managed to evade my gaze briefly; an elusive power covered that whole Guild. I need to investigate this phenomenon further but now is a sensitive time. The days are aligning, and his sorrow has begun radiating its fury. I must remain here and keep watch; the heroes have to fend for themselves, lest my power fails while aiding them,” the Goddess concludes, her gaze forever locked on the glowing, green moon, high in the sky.

On the planet below, time ticks by, unaware of the perils from up high. Two months pass after Centum’s burst of power, and few people question the Guild’s explanation of the strange event. From outside, the heroes enter the Guild; a gold card hung around each of their necks. Gazes of admiration follow their footsteps. One spectator comments to a new adventurer next to him, “See them? They’re a legend around here. The fastest team to ever reach the rank of gold in the whole of Lucina.”

They find themselves a table. Cale separates from them, and he goes to hand in their quest. “Here you are, the horns of a minotaur. I don’t know which crazy person wants this, but he better appreciate the effort we put in to collect these,” Cale says, handing over the enormous pair of bull-like horns. “The quest has an appropriate reward, so you can’t complain. Here, take this,” Rebecca says, handing him a bag full of coins.

“Did anything interesting happen while we were gone?” Cale asks, a casual atmosphere hovering between them. Rebecca frowns in response as she says, “It’s not looking good. The King’s offensive has failed miserably. The armies were rooted, and some demonic beasts have managed to breach the borders. They’ve hastily reorganised their defences, but the damage they’ve suffered is irreparable.”

Cale’s gaze hardens, his breath drawing short, “I see. I certainly expected more from the King, but I’ve prepared for this possibility. I’ll ask the Assassin’s Guild for more information. Thanks for informing me.” Rebecca’s eyes grow weary, the stress of the invasion showing its signs. She bites her lower lip as she watches Cale depart.

Cale returns to his group, and he relays the information. Next to him, Emily stands up and says, “I’ll go and ask Sam, I doubt they’ll limit our access to information now that we’re gold rank.” Cale nods in response and says, “Also, find out everything you can about the demonic beasts’ origins. We have managed to save up a small fortune, don’t hesitate to splurge, if need be.”

She walks towards the bar. Sam steps forward to greet her, “How’s my favourite customer? I’ve barely seen you around these past weeks. Need a drink; it’s on the house?” Emily’s lips arch into a small smile, and she says, “A drink would be nice, thanks.” Sam quickly pours her a beer, its foam reaching the glass’ rim.

Taking a big sip, Emily asks, “I need some information; you won’t hold back on me now that I’m gold rank, right?” Sam’s smile dims, his gaze growing severe. He asks, “A big order today, huh? What information do you want to know? Do be warned; everything has an appropriate price associated with it.”

Emily’s smile remains steady as she says, “I don’t mind. I need to know everything related to the King’s offensive and its disastrous results. Also, I want all the information you have on the demonic beasts’ origins.” “I knew you were going to be a big customer. How I miss the days where you asked the simple questions,” Sam responds, a small sigh escaping his lips.

“Well, you are gold rank, so you do meet the minimum qualifications, but do you have appropriate coinage to pay?” he asks with a sly tone. Emily reaches into her backpack and pulls out a bag full of coins. She drops it down on the countertop; it’s weight almost knocking her drink over. “Will this be sufficient?” she asks, her smile growing mischievous.

Sam’s eyes briefly widen in surprise as he says, “Climbing to gold rank in record time seems to have some lucrative benefits.” He draws the bag closer, inspecting its contents and comments, “Maybe I should get into the adventuring business? This amount is enough; there’s no hard price on sensitive information. The Guild merely wants to see some token of sincerity from its customer.”

Sam turns around and enters the bar’s backroom through a small door. After a couple of minutes, he returns with a thick binder in hand. “I suggest we continue this discussion in one of the back rooms, these documents aren’t meant for the prying eyes of strangers,” Sam says, leading Emily towards a separate room.

In an empty room, containing only a single table and two chairs, Sam places down the document and says, “I’ll begin with the King’s offensive, this will also cover the demonic beast’s origins.” They both find a chair, and he continues speaking, “Originally, no demonic beast inhabited this planet, but one day, on the fringes of our borders, a giant, glowing portal appeared from thin air. Scouts were sent to investigate the phenomenon, but they were brutally slaughtered by the multitude of mutated beasts that emerged; we call these mutated monsters the demonic beasts.”

Sam opens the folder and begins recounting the details inside. “Originally, the border easily slaughtered the demonic beasts, but as time passed, their numbers and strength kept growing. Thus, the King ordered the summoning of heroes to defeat these beasts. Unfortunately, the King decided to abandon this plan. It’s a tragedy that he failed to recognise the summoned heroes’ strength and beauty,” Sam says, throws a knowing wink at Emily, but she just rolls her eyes.

She clears her throat and says, “So you knew all along, huh? Well, it wasn’t really a secret anyway. Now, can you please continue, there are more important things at stake. Leave your superfluous advances for some other time.” Sam’s smile widens in response, her comments failing to discourage him.

Returning his gaze towards the documents, Sam continues, “The King’s plan was to launch an all-out offensive on the demonic portal. The King realised that they were doomed to lose in a battle of attrition and thus decided on this plan. They were planning to overwhelm the demons and seal the portal with holy power.”

“At first, the plan was a success. Through superior numbers and tactics, they managed to force the demonic hordes back to the doorstep of the portal. After months of battle, they only needed one last push to drive the horde away completely, but disaster struck. From the depth of the enormous portal, three demonic beast lords emerged,” Sam says.

“They wielded overwhelming power and massacred their way through the unprepared army. One of the demonic beast lords was a rarely seen flying variant, and its aerial attacks wreaked havoc on the back lines. The army was forced to retreat, their months of progress evaporating in an instant. Fortunately, they managed to regroup at the fortresses of the old borders, but some demonic beasts have managed to bypass the borders during the confusion,” he concludes.

Sam shuts the folder and sighs in defeat, “That’s all the information we have. The demonic beasts are all emerging from one portal, but their numbers are seemingly endless. I hope you find this information useful but head my advice; you might be summoned heroes, but an assault on the portal is tantamount to suicide.”

Across the table, Emily sits in silence. For a full minute, she digests the flood of information that Sam delivered. Her expression grows serious as she stands up and says, “I see why you would limit the spread of this information; everyone would drown in panic if it got out. Your worries are unneeded; we alone manage our actions. Besides, if we don’t act now, then who will?”

Sam shakes head as he watches Emily leave and he says to himself, “I only want you to avoid a needless death. I knew I shouldn’t have grown attached to her; heroes are too suicidal by nature.” He packs up the documents into the folder and recloses it. Throwing one last glance at her departing figure, he says to her, “Make sure you come back alive, okay?” While disappearing around the corner, she flashed him a gentle smile in response, its meaning buried deep in her heart.

Emily makes her way back to the others and sits down at their table. Studying Emily’s solemn expression, Cale asks, “Are you alright? What information did you manage to find?” Emily quickly smiles in response, masking the mixed emotion in her heart. With her usual enthusiasm, she responds, “I’m fine, there’s nothing to worry about. I’ve managed to find out a lot of information.”

She recounts everything Sam said, but tactfully skips the unrelated parts. Sitting opposite Emily, Mia says in a depressed tone, “How many people died because of the King’s selfish actions? If we were there, we might have managed to save everyone.” Hearing her comment, Emily quickly interjects, “It’s not our fault Mia, you can’t blame yourself for the King’s idiotic actions.”

Having considered the information Emily delivered, Cale says, “She’s right, Mia, it’s not your fault, but I do agree that we need to take action. We’ve been preparing for long enough; I believe it’s time us to step up and finish the quest we were summoned to complete. We’ll prepare our supplies and equipment. There’s no reason to keep saving money, so make sure you all acquire the best equipment that we can afford.”

Cale stands up and says, “We have little time to waste, tomorrow we’ll be heading for the border. For now, we’ll each go in separate directions, just make sure to be ready by tomorrow morning.” He turns around and heads towards Rebecca’s desk. Behind him, the rest also stand up, and they depart the Guildhall.

Arriving at her desk, Cale says, “We’ve bought all the information we need from the assassin’s Guild. Thus, we’ve decided to head out and join the front lines tomorrow. You’ve given us so much help these past months, so you deserve to know. We’ll be heading out tomorrow morning, so I just wanted to thank you properly before we depart.”

Their eyes lock and with a caring tone, she responds, “I know I can’t convince you to stay, such a request would be too selfish. Still, I want you to know that I cherished the time we spent together. I’ll pray every day for your safe return. I’ll be here waiting, so don’t you dare forget about me, okay?” Cale sincerely nods his head and turns to leave, a tinge of regret lining his gaze.

On his usual seat at the bar, Centum watches the scenes unfold. He reaches into his pocket and takes out the leather book. He flips through its numerous pages, each filled with hundreds of words. Halfway through the book, he reaches the first blank page. His gaze grows deep as he says to himself, “It seems their tale might be shorter than I imagined. Unfortunately, not all heroic tales are free of tragedy…”