"I am Arakis Nul Dieth, the one you commonly call the Demon Lord. I applaud you for breaking free of my seal...I see, so this is what that woman wanted...I was baited spectacularly!", he spewed out his name and complemented the man with a hint of admiration.

While traveling to Profectus, Arakis noticed the obsidian tower peeking from some cliffs at a distance. His curiosity drew him and his Generals to the site, yet they unexpectedly came across a young beastman at the base of the tower. Arakis felt nothing strange about the boy and yet his curiosity was piqued after the young beastman spouted his role. Of the many things the young boy informed them, the most interesting bit of information he learned was the tower's name, 'Folkvangr'.

While in the middle of asking questions, his group came across a series of adventurers. His extended life experience enabled him to decipher the surprise and fear attached to the older beastman's face. Arakis recognized the team instantly from the mirage and his curiosity grew further. He understood he was lured with multiple methods to Profectus City, but he wasn't sure what or who he'd meet upon arrival. Originally, he planned to confront the Fairy that managed to defeat his General, yet that plan became twisted after meeting the behemoths and witnessing the mirage.

He still desired to meet the woman, but he couldn't feel her presence anywhere in the either the structure or the region. That mana signature that he was able to feel even at a distance disappeared as soon as he entered the mountain valley connected to the Northern region of Profectus. Though he became somewhat frustrated at the sudden disappearance, the clue left behind substituted that frustration with a growing desire to explore this new, unknown, situation.

Arakis didn't hold many expectations in order to prevent himself from being disappointed, but between the odd structure that retained an immense invisible barrier protecting it that rivaled even Sacramentum and the adventurers capable of repelling his suppression, even he had to admit he was pleasantly surprised. Delivering a rare moment of recognition to the man, Arakis introduced himself and with pure emotion in his eyes, requested the other party to respond in kind.

Kelvin had regained control over his body, but the effort consumed to do that was anything but light. Despite that consumption, his mind remained racing and clear. The man before him self identified as the Demon Lord. Considering his position, Kelvin could only image a few reasons why he was at Folkvangr. He placed a bet on that loose reasoning and collected his thoughts to prepare for what would soon occur. As it turns out, Kelvin would apparently become the first representative of the allied forces to meet the original Demon Lord. Fighting the heavy fatigue that assaulted his muscles, he stiffened his body and issued a common response.

"I'm Kelvin Belmore, Leader of Team Satyr. We are an A ranked adventuring team. Please forgive my team and I for we aren't familiar with noble either noble or demon courtesies."

"Fix yourself child. I'm a victim of this new tyrant just as you. I saw your fight on the mirage, it was respectable enough. I don't intend to hurt you or your team...Rather, I believe there are questions that need answers.", Arakis projected his voice and gaze past Kelvin to the female beastman behind the counter.

Despite the unique blood lust attached to that gaze and pressure, the girl appeared unaffected. Arakis' face contorted in the most subtle of ways with confusion. Though he tested the adventurers and they appeared to repel his pressure, both the younger beastmen appeared unaffected by it. At first, he thought the two were in fact older than they appeared, but the conversation with the boy suggested otherwise. The only other idea he could think of was the barrier surrounding the structure was somehow lending its protection to the beastmen. While not impossible, such a feat was nearing the realm of the Gods.

"Welcome to Folkvangr. My name is Maria. You may consider me similar to the adventurer guild's counter-"

"There's no need. We overheard you the first time. Let's just skip to the questions...Where is the master of this place?", Arakis interrupted Maria's introduction drawing a subtle frown from her.

"Empress Fardom will not meet anyone who has failed to prove themself within the Zone.", Maria remained calm and answered the Demon Lord with a hint of vagueness.

Her job was not to answer questions as she suggested earlier, but to direct 'invaders' into the Zone at every opportunity. Utilizing the experience she picked up during her travels with her parents, she maintained her novice business smile and started analyzing the Demon Lord across from her. Though her faith and loyalty to the woman 'Lapis Lazuli Fardom' was more or less in deference of her benefactor Topazia Shields, she herself witnessed the power behind the woman claiming an Empress title. Her absolute confidence to stare down the exceptional man across from her and defer his direct questions stemmed from that observance.

As if to demonstrate her power, Empress Fardom forced Maria and Shino to join her inside the obsidian carriage during its first transit to Profectus City. Due to that, they both witnessed the ancient magic colliding with her barrier. Needless to say, the siblings became fervent believers of her strength with hardly a moments time after.

"Child, I'm not someone you should deny requests to so easily. With your position, you would have the means to contact that woman. Bring her out."

Maria digested the situation internally and swept her eyes across the demon and his team. She judged their attitudes to be within bounds and match well with personality types Lapis gave her. Despite her brass nature, Maria never expected her training to be put to use so quickly. She gathered her bearings, returned her sight to Demon Lord, drew a smile and cut him off.

"Empress Fardom will not meet anyone who has failed to prove their worth within the Zone. Her Eminence wouldn't have the time to meet every crook and hero who called her out. Even if I did request her presence, she would not oblige someone with so little clout. If you would like to meet her eminence, you may enter the Zones and work your way to her."

An unbridled smile flashed across her face baring a set of sharp white canines. Her challenging tone wasn't hidden in the slightest. Generals Zannon and Larkis took the insult to their Lord's prestige to heart and flared up instantly. Flickering from view, Larkis appeared before the front desk mid backhand swing. Despite the immediate danger, the cub remained calm as if testing the waters.

Moments before the hand made contact, Maria's smile tensed up, but also grew larger appearing somewhat sinister. She banked her safety and pride on her faith in the power of the woman titled Empress and held her ground despite her fear.

The moment passed as quickly as it began and yet the expected outcome betrayed everyone's expectations. The hand landed across the cub's face and yet an equal and opposite force ricocheted the hand with a crisp popping noise. Seconds later a guttural groan escaped from General Larkis. He cradled his hand against his side while invoking a subtle healing magic. The sheer force of the hit dislocated his wrist stunning the crowd.

Demon Lord Arakis' gaze sharpened. He analyzed the entire exchange and yet the force that resisted his general mystified him. Despite his attention, he was unable to sense even the slightest fluctuation of mana in the air. He was forced to conclude that the two cubs were focal points of mana and acted as walking batteries for the shields surrounding them. While he was unable to see the exact moment of invocation, he could sense the subtle flow of mana converging on the female cub as if to refill the lost mana.

Maria collected herself despite the astonished gazes directed at her and resumed her duties. Her gaze flickered to the man who assaulted her and her sinister smile turned innocent.

"As your leader asked to skipped the rules earlier, I assume you're at least aware of them. In accordance with the powers vested in me as a representative of her Empress Fardom, I'll now execute punishment."

Two clanks reverberated through the room drawing the attention of team Satyr and the Demon Lord. Despite their heightened awareness, the two groups failed to perceive the golem that fell from the ceiling. It slammed into the ground behind Maria and took a moment to restore its posture. Obviously under the command of Maria, the golem, which appeared nearly human like with the exception of the bright blowing orb attached to its chest, moved with apparent aggression. It leaped across the counter dividing Maria and the General before charging at General Larkis.

Enraged by his earlier failure, General Larkis refused to back down against the intruder and moved to engage the creature. He kneaded mana and invoked a physical enhancement upon himself while also invoking precision type magic. Mana swirled around his uninjured fist before conforming to his specifications and followed after Larkis as he engaged the golem. Ignoring any tricks, Larkis directed his fist straight at the orb glowing on the golem's chest.

Perhaps he was too use to fighting the lumbering giants along the way as General Larkis severely underestimated the golem before him. The golem deflected the fist with a swing of its arm, barely scratching itself in the process, and slipped into General Larkis' chest. It spun around in the cramped distance between them dragging a leg across the tile and tearing Larkis' legs from under him. Only a moment later, the golem elbowed the slanted Larkis launching him like an arrow towards the exit.

The golem moved to recover its posture once more, but held its ground rather than chase after the injured Demon. The quick succession of events drew a cautioned response from all parties involved. Demon Lord Arakis watched the fight with a gaze of wonderment. In particular, his focus on the golem drew his curiosity. Flickering from view, he appear beside the golem and grasped at its arm to subdue it.

Despite his quick movements, the golem was able to respond in kind dodging the grasp and returning a strike far faster than what was used against General Larkis. The look of astonishment grew further on Arakis' face. The demon turned a questioning gaze to the cub behind the counter. Her demeanor had yet to change and that innocent smile remained as if taunting him. He deposed his frustrations and took a distance from the golem before asking.

"Child, is this the strongest creature in this Zone?"

Maria responded in kind as if everything that just occurred was par for the course.

"I'm unable to give you an accurate assessment, but in terms of raw strength, it should rank around thirty or fortieth."

"That's to say there are creature stronger than this, yet weaker in raw strength? What a wonderland this Zone is. I want to meet your master all the more. Child. I'll give you one last chance to bring out your Empress. Don't mistake my power, that shield protecting you has an upper limit. I can easily over power it."

Despite the threat, Maria remained calm. Before she had a chance to reply though, an angry shout came from the young cub aside the group. Shino, who was stunned from the entire exchange, finally came out of his stupor only to hear his sister being threatened.

"If you hurt big sister, Lady Lapis will kill you!"

As she looked at her younger brother, Maria's expression softened. She returned her gaze to the Demon Lord and retorted.

"As my younger brother said, our master is extremely protective. I fear you would regret driving me against a wall. You may not believe she can harm you, but..."

She waved her hand and from the center orb of the golem, a projection materialized in the air. Zannon and Larkis both turned wide eyed at the depicted scene.

"I'm sure you're familiar with the city in the projection. If you push us into a corner, her Empress has no qualms about wiping your fantastic city off the face of this planet. Furthermore, an endless slaughter will fall onto the demon territory. I'm certain even the great Demon Lord would value his citizens to a certain degree, yes? It's far more economical for you to simply earn the right to meet her highness rather than brute force you way there at great sacrifice."

Arakis took a new look at the young cub standing against him. His fresh eyes no longer treated the girl as a standard minion but instead with the respect associated with civil representatives. Despite the new perspective though, he took a step closer shrinking the distance between him and her. His eyes drifted from her visage to the projection for only a moment. Step by step, he entered the final few meters of separation before he started exuding a dense mana from his body.

As though the collection of mana surrounding him were given life, it tumbled across the ground like fog before surrounding the young beast. The fog itself lacked any intent, but the impression of it surrounding the girl placed dents into Shino's faith about the security promised to them. Seemingly in response to that wound, a second golem dropped from the sky landing behind Maria. Through the entire ordeal, the calm demeanor never shook around the girl.

With his perception locked onto the immobile golem behind him and the newer one defending the girl, Arakis took a moment of silence before withdrawing his intentions.

"Child, you're lucky your owner cares enough to lend out such a degree of strength. Fine... Fine. I'll play this little game of yours. Five years was it?"

Demon Lord Arakis threw his perception towards a flight of stairs that were seemingly empty. Despite the lack of presence, his gaze remained fixed on an intangible entity he believed to be there. Despite his questioning attitude, the absent space remained silent.

"Since you refuse to appear after luring me here, I expect you show yourself in five years. I'll let it pass this time in deference to your plan, however I doubt there's much for me to gain from this wonderland you've created."

He remained fixed at the empty space, but ordered his generals.

"Zannon, Larkis. Form a team and participate in this game. Our host appears too shy at this point to appear before me. Once Elkune arrives, loop her in."

"Yes, Sir.", the two reverently responded before the Demon Lord flickered from existence.

His disappearance appeared to trigger the two golems who crumbled into the ground as if their existence were transitory and created only for this single encounter. Still unfazed by the encounter, and even somewhat emboldened, Maria provided a challenging glance at the remaining two Generals. Despite their frustration appearing on their face, they remained fixed in place. Internally, Maria predicted they would remain silent until their third member arrived. With that, she turned her gaze to the other group that arrived.

"Would you like to enter the Zone? Do you have any more questions?"

Kelvin couldn't help but wield a wry smile at the girl's nonchalant question. He only shrugged his shoulders before moving closer to the counter. Behind him, Shino returned with a shovel and bucket in hand. The cub ran off the moment the golem disintegrated, apparently to clean up the mess left behind.

***

"He's quite aggressive."

"He is. You would be too if I baited you to the middle of no where and left you hanging."

Lapis delivered such a statement beside an innocent smile. Seeing her lack of concern, Hiiro felt his smile twitch.

"You're not concerned about his retaliation?"

"I am not. He will most assuredly destroy every golem I sent to Sacramentum. They just do not have the power to withstand him. Though he retreated today, I do not believe he will in the future. I must make further plans to deal with him in particular."

"Oh? The almighty Empress can't beat the previous Demon Lord? That's a very scary thought... Thinking back, I'm the one who'd be fighting that guy eventually, you realize? My future's looking pretty bleak..."

"Oh? What a pain it must be to grow old. The elderly lack the confidence to face their juniors!"

The teasing phrase slipped from her mouth as she swiped an orb from mid air. The display that once projected Folkvangr's lobby dispersed into particles following the current her hand left behind. She turned around and focused her attention back onto the massive array etching itself into the ground. Strolling up to her to watch the show, Hiiro couldn't help but mutter under his breath.

"Even if you added my previous age up with me now, I'm pretty sure that guy is at least ten times my age, though."

His eyes followed one of many small orbs of light that tore through the ground, etching the various components of the array. He felt a pair eyes on him and as his gaze turned to the side, he locked onto a rather somber pair of azure eyes. The smile and teases that adorned her fair face only moments ago were nowhere to be seen. From that gaze alone, Hiiro knew they could no longer put off what needed to be done.

"I will follow you every step of the way. Don't second guess yourself. If anything goes wrong, I'll be there to help you fix it."

"There is still a chance to stop this. The damage is limited so far. Is this something I should really be doing even though I am no resident of this world?"

"Even the mighty Empress hesitates when the moment comes, eh? There's a saying in my old world, A person often meets their destiny on the road they took to avoid it. I'm somehow convinced that this would have happened regardless of if you initiated it, or someone else did. The truth is, no matter who started this, you most likely would have been caught up in it at the end. If that's the case, then it's better for you to have full control over it from the beginning. That being said, it's time to begin."

Hiiro moved before Lapis and cupped her cheek with his palm. He remained calm with a stoic and confident air that seemed to exude from his very bones. The moment of hesitation that once flickered in her eyes vanished. Lapis slowly closed her eyes and upon reopening them, clear determination emanated from her very core. She took the hand on her cheek into hand gripping it tightly while tossing a series of orbs into the air. Each orb took its place before her with tracings systematically illuminating their interior as if following the pulse of a heart.

Before the two, dozens of panels solidified. On each panel, one of a series of golems made with exquisite care came into focus. Of those panels, one in particular appeared in the forefront of all others. Wagging its nonexistent tail, Petri floating around on screen eager for the order.

"Petri, start with Azmodius."

***

Moments before the command against Azmodius, many diverse groups of Fairies had surrounded a selection of the many behemoths. Their goal was to probe into the golems and further their mediocre understanding of the creatures. Amongst the many groups, one in particular had set up a group formation and were in the middle of funneling their mana into magic circuit that encased the behemoth.

Inside the circuit, water magic was refined and reinforced until it became strong enough to cut through the golem's exterior. Having discovered the initial weakness of the creatures, Azmodius as well as many other nations quickly sprung into action to maim or destroy the beasts that had already encroached on their territory. Despite grasping the weakness though, the required strength to damage the larger creatures simply exceeded the capabilities of the average individual.

The group of Fairies took advantage of their natural advantage in controlling mana and had already succeeded in maiming hundreds of the golems closest to their capitol Clodbury. It was this success that boosted the moral of the Fairies and instigated further cooperation and enthusiasm amongst their race. After all, there's few who would turn traitor when faced against a losing enemy.

The magic circuit controlled by the Fairies was nearing completion with its cut as fractures spider webbed across the golems surface. With excited faces, the group had already reported their success up the chain despite only being nearly complete.

Unbeknown to them, their lackadaisical attitude and overconfidence from repeated success caused them to overlook the sudden pulse of dim light from the orb entrenched on the colossus. Unlike other regions, the golems that invaded Azmodius resembled aged glass with an earthen splatter across the surface. Moss covered many of its spider like limbs and the orb entrenched in the abdomen like structure of the creature revealed only two thirds of its surface at most.

That orb pulsed once more with an intensity far greater than its dim predecessor. From the corner of his eyes, the leader of that Fairy group caught the potent flicker and his expression warped only moments later.

"Disperse!"

His command lacked no authority, nor was it ill timed or delayed, however his fellow team members reacted far too late to the order. The orb pulsed once more and a scream torn through the air as a bisected Fairy corpse ripped two new trails through the forest. The aged trunks of many millennium old trees hardly hampered the piece meal corpse, losing their base and toppling over with voluminous thuds against the ground.

Their companion, helplessly slaughtered before their eyes, only served to freeze the over confident group in place. It wasn't that they misunderstood the situation, nor had they forgotten their leader's order. Rather the shock and awe from the instant change in their situation was far too reflective from the situation seconds prior. Their eyes were locked onto the stained limb that torn through their ally and it was only after watching it swing once more through another member that fear finally overtook their shock.

"Disperse! Retreat! Retreat!"

The leader remained calm and continued issuing orders to the group while also constructing multiple message birds. He retreated to a limb in the distance that retained a view of the beast and continued to assess the situation. To his horror, faded screams reverberated through the forest form where he knew were brother and sister teams. At the moment, he knew the passive behemoths they thought to be harmless had awaken and assumed a far more vicious persona.

Despite recognizing the danger, the leader remained calm and continued to observe the situation as it unfolded all while beaconing the information back to Azmodius capitol.

At the moment in Clodbury, the response devision, that had been hastily created by Queen Dazzlevine prior to her departure, was being flooded by reports. Despite the flood of reports, dedicated messengers consolidated the reports with ashen faces and briefed their local leaders. Although their Queen was absent, their command structure was firm. Representing in place of their Queen was a man renowned for his skillful tactics and calm disposition, General Halfvine.

Each report built the situation in General's mind and his orders were both precise and swift. It took only hours to evacuate populace from the active conflict zones and assemble strike teams against the behemoths. Such miraculous leadership and strategy halted the progress of the behemoths for days.

Unfortunately, though General Halfvine possessed such skills, there was little he could do about the discrepancy in both power and numbers. The sad facts were that for every mobile behemoth, a team of 20 or more Fairies were required to subdue it. Further, the death of a single behemoth was merely a drop in the ocean as they were unable to reduce their overall numbers. As time passed, the Fairies were pushed back further and further until General Halfvine was forced to consider an originally impossible decision.

"My Queen, this General's unable to prevent the beasts from invading further. Our clan is powerless to halt their progression."

"And so you wish to evacuate?"

"Yes."

Queen Dazzlevine was fixed upon a stool in her room. Beside her, Countess Sugimoto, Mr. Redmon, Maria, Kelvin and a few other important members listened into the transmission with knitted brows. In contrast to what should have been a lavish welcoming ceremony for the Queen of Azmodius, the reports of the invasion reached her moments she arrived in Profectus turning the event into a serious affair. Knowing of the ambiguous connection between Profectus City and Empress Fardom, Queen Dazzlevine withheld nothing and practically dominated Profectus City within minutes.

The unexpected action drew excitement from the Shadow Guards who arrived days prior, yet upon receiving news of the reason, reality doused what excitement there was and worry replaced it. Days of discussion proceeded until Queen Dazzlevine became satisfied with her understanding of Profectus City's relationship with Empress Fardom. Despite her satisfaction in understanding though, it did little to help curb the emergency afflicting her territory.

Hourly reports from General Halfvine kept all participants up to date with the conflicts and as the situation grew progressively worse, the shelved topics were finally brought to light.

"Where do you suggest we evacuate to? You should be aware the alliance with our neighbor only goes as far as notification and non-aggression. If we suddenly appear in their territory.. Argh, I don't even want to imagine the headaches..."

"This General suggests we renegotiate the treaty. This General is sure you're aware of the recent upheaval in Klasika. Their rulers have already changed hands and their new government is just settling in. This General doesn't believe the sudden awakenings of the behemoths to be only circumstantial. Rather, this General believes this to only be the beginning. Sooner or later, the other behemoths will begin to move."

"You're suggesting we take advantage of the loose power balance of the Humans and inject ourselves into their territory under plea and trade of knowledge? Do you intend for us to disgrace ourselves Davis Halfvine!?"

The fury in her tone nearly torn the room asunder with windows shattering and creaks resounding to the power. The weaker participants near the Queen were forced to knees under the pressure. Despite the anger directed at him, General Halfvine only took a knee and restated his position.

"This General has thought of countless methods to delay the inevitable, but without destroying the source of the behemoths, this General knows of no other way to preserve this one's species. In face of such a great threat, this General believes the disgrace is unavoidable. My Queen, this General is only capable of advising with his greatest effort. My Queen knows of this General's past accomplishments and temperament. This General beseeches my Lady Queen to look at the grand survival of our species and not the momentary lapse of honor."

"..."

Fury no longer dominated Queen Dazzlevine's expression and instead a complex mixture of emotions contested one another. Her knitted brows distorted what innocence and purity that use to emanate from her. Her thoughts spun under the gaze of the room and within that silence, her expression eased as if a struggle finally ended. Her gaze returned to the kneeling General in the transmission and after releasing a deep breath, she ordered.

"Prepare for evacuation. Select a sparsely populated territory in Klasika... Don't be discreet about it. I'll go negotiate with the Humans. Luckily they just went through a revolution, otherwise I doubt there'd be room for negotiations."

"Truly lucky, my Queen. This General will prepare and execute the evacuation in a timely fashion."

Queen Dazzlevine snapped her fingers, closing the transmission and settling the matter. Her gaze rotated amongst the members in the room until before finally landing on Kelvin. The two exchanged glances and as if reading her mind, Kelvin responded to the gaze first.

"We didn't meet Empress Fardom at the Castle. I don't know what's going on either, but I already told you everything that happened to us up there. If not for the fact you got an emergency transmission, we would have already entered the dungeon to start scouting it... From what we saw, Empress Fardom wasn't even on site."

Her frustrations ignited, Queen Dazzlevine obliterated the stool below her, landing her on feet in the process. That furious temperament lasted only a moment before she took a deep breath and regained her calm. Decisive eyes flickered across the members present before landing on Countess Sugimoto jolting the poor woman under the surprising pressure. A blast of mana segregated the room as a crystalline wall enveloped the two women, isolating their visage from others.

"Countess Sugimoto, are you willing to enter an alliance with this Queen?"

"You're asking an ally of an enemy for an alliance? Forgive me for saying so, but that's an exceptionally foolish move, Queen. What's your intent?"

"Empress Fardom has yet to enforce any restriction upon you. I don't believe she has any intent of utilizing you beyond solidifying Profectus as the final bastion. With the degree of freedom she gave you, to include retaining your ruling rights, you should still be able to forge alliances."

"I don't understand your reasoning. What would Azmodius gain from such an alliance? You might not believe it, but Profectus is rather weak. We certainly have stronger members than normal, but in the end, we're only small city with a over average populace. If you're asking for me to lend you strength to retake Azmodius, I'm afraid that's impossible."

"Obviously. Do not underestimate this Queen's thoughts. You will not form an alliance with Azmodius nor will this Queen ask you for soldiers. This Queen only asks for a haven when the time comes. As it stands, Azmodius is lost. After this evacuation, we will likely be assimilated into Klasika. Such a folding of national power feels akin to puppetry. If this Queen predicts correctly, then soon... Soon this continent will have its geographic borders realigned."

Deep in thought from the Fairy Queen's prediction, Countess Sugimoto thought hard over the 'haven' requested. Such a term was far too vague for her to properly consider as a haven could be seen either as a form of protection granted to Queen Dazzlevine which Empress Fardom may interpret as a betrayal, or as protection granted to her from external influences other than Empress Fardom which the faux ruler may agree with. Under such a vague interpretation, Countess Sugimoto raised her questioning eyes to meet the beautiful Fairy across from her.

"Queen Dazzlevine, with my authority over Profectus, I agree to an alliance under the condition Profectus remain a neutral party, defensive party, against any forces I consider a threat to Profectus City's autonomous government. If you're fine with that degree of an alliance, then we should discuss what the individual, Queen Dazzlevine, will provide to this alliance."

A thin smile broke the stoic face of the fairy Queen.

As Queen Dazzlevine and Countess Sugimoto negotiated the terms of their contract, across the country three individuals started steadily making their way over a beaten trail that lead to Profectus. Allison and Sahib were walking at a relaxed pace since their departure of Inmont city. Beside the two, a young man with long fiery crimson hair mimicked their gait. Allison's eyes glanced across the handsome man before exhaling an excessively long sigh.

Prior to their departure from Inmont City, the rather innocent looking man beside her raised virtual hell as he fought the behemoths. Despite other adventurers and Knights on site utilizing water magic to damage the beasts, it was only this abnormal creature beside her who managed to obliterate the damned things through fire and flames. Rather than kill them, the sight was more reminiscent of a blacksmith refining a large ore.

Though the group appeared relaxed, the mob of Knights and adventurers trailing hundreds of meters behind them served to report the real situation. Was it for protection? Due to admiration? Perhaps the group were resolved to help capture the leader of the behemoths? As much as Allison wished any of those to be the case, the sad truth is the group was now on the run. Although they participated in subjugating the many behemoths, their new party member Crim was a bit too destructive while dispatching the beasts. The intense flames used to bring each creature to the ground, without surprise, spread to the surrounding buildings as well.

The man himself seemed to care little about the fallout though and pursued absolute destruction of the creatures at his fastest pace to help eliminate any delay to their journey. That lack of concern resulted in the man himself joining the list of subjugation targets. The unfortunate fallout from his actions spilled over to his newly acquired teammates as well. Crim associated himself with Allison and Sahib, joining their group despite their obvious attempt at avoiding him in public. Such a rendezvous blacklisted the two heroes ending their short stint as legal adventurers.

"You couldn't have waited until the end? Just 20 minutes more? Could have met us outside the city? What 'your team mate, your responsibility'? Since when does shared responsibility mean I'm now suddenly a criminal too? Isn't this unfair? Could..."

Allison continually muttered complaints under her breath while occasionally sneaking peeks at the trailing group far behind them. Because their blacklisting happened so quickly, the team was forced to escape from threat of being detained on site. Though she hadn't been able to see the bounty placed on their head, the pack of wolves behind them signaled their value well enough.

"... Hey Crim... Can you do anything about those guys?"

"..."

"No no no no! Wait! Forget I asked! Just... Just block their path with fire or something instead..."

Allison quickly retracted her own words for fear of sentencing the mob behind her to their early deaths. In regard to her desire, Crim only took a moment to knead enough mana before invoking his magic. Unlike the flaming wall Allison expected, the ground sagged behind them all while emitting an increasing degree of heat. To the dismay of the adventurers even further back, they found the ground below them becoming soft and malleable. Their feet flexed the ground with each step and as they progressed, the ground gradually succumb further until it began affecting their balance.

A few rather aggressive heroes amongst the group broke from the pack and rushed forward. Allison could imagine what their thoughts were, but it only took a simple glance at the ground just behind her group to know there was only a film of earth covering the death below it. Despite her knowledge, she chose to kill the chicken to scare the monkey and allowed fate to play the cards dealt. As expected, the few heroes who broached the new territory raised their voice one at a time as each was caught in an unfortunate step, puncturing the thin earth and driving their foot into the molten vat below.

The adventurers took note of the few brave men's state and held their position.

"How long will this last?"

"10 days without rain, 6 with."

"Oh wow... How far does it go?"

Allison tried to gauge the length of the death trap, but was unable to find a termination point. Rather, she instead found trees and smoke far into the distance suggesting there'll soon be a new note added to the history books. Rather than bother with the overpowered fellow beside her, she just shrugged her shoulders, ignored the group behind them and continued on their path.

"We should arrive in Profectus within the week, but I don't know if target is still there or not. Do you have a plan?"

"The mana resonance is still there, but it has been growing weak."

"... That's it?"

"We should hurry."

"Right..."

The misfit team pushed on despite the lack of clear objects, leadership or communication.

Seven days later, various major news topics spread throughout the continent. Of the topics, three in particular stood out.

First, The Fairy's territory Azmodius was overrun by behemoths. The Fairy race, which was already lacking in numbers, escaped into their border nation Klasika and carved our a section of the territory for itself. Unlike what the world expected though, Klasika appeared to accept the invaders as if it were normal. Rumors behind the scenes ranged from Queen Dazzlevine selling herself to the newly formed Klasika government to the Fairies being too powerful for Klasika to excise them.

Despite the rumors, it took only days after the immigration for Fairies to start appearing throughout Klasika's native forces. The integration of forces appeared to confirm a newly formed alliance at the very least.

Another interesting news, being passed less by rumor mill and more through active advertisement by Adventurer Guild nodes, revolved around initial results of excursions into the newly formed 'dungeons'. Initially thought of as death traps, volunteer groups holding great pride pioneered many of the smaller dungeons with some even clearing the enclosures completely.

Their resulting rewards greatly surprised the public after bringing back gems, rare earth minerals, and even a small amount of unknown crystals that seemed to exhibit a grand affect of amplifying magic circuits. These discoveries were spread by the Adventurer Guild as fast as their information network allowed, even to the extent borrowing their host nation's power.

Finally, information gathered by A rank team Satyr on Arakis Nul Dieth, Demon Lord of Relictus, was distributed to all world leaders and publicized to boost public moral. With some cherry picking of the team's information, it was on that day that the world collectively understood that even their lifelong enemy disregarded past enmity to tackle the new threat that was Empress Fardom, the self proclaimed new ruler and destroyer of the world. Such information confused many citizens and through interpretations of the cherry picked information, they collectively vacillated on the issue.

The common collective opinion, despite the many interpretations, began to lean heavily towards establishing communication with Demons. Under such pressure, the newly formed government acquiesced to their constituents and only two days after news spread, Klasika formalized a moderate diplomat group consisting of Faeries, Humans and beastmen. Not a day later, Klasika sent their group off with fanfare, not forgetting to spread their decision to their own populace of course.

Though not nearly as popular if judged by the standards of the entire Klasika territory, there was a rather odd rumor that also spread around. Apparently, just north of Inmont City, a chain of volcanoes became active without notice. The resulting destruction could hardly be described as anything more than a localized disaster, so the rumors fell out quickly. The only outlandish item related to it that caught people's attention was the claim of many adventurers in Inmont.

As their city was known to have suffered through flames similar to hell after the behemoths attacked, many just attributed their claims to stress and trauma. Far too many important things were happening for the world to care about such a small city.

While the world circulated news amongst itself and adapted to its newfound stresses, a particular Demon Lord sat upon his throne in Sacramentum. Long returned from the black spire dubbed Folkvangr, Arakis assembled the many talented researchers under his command. Despite his long reign, Arakis never once personally claimed credit for the massive advancements related to magic that defined Sacramentum.

The Demon Lord himself knew it was the collective efforts of the men kneeling before him now. His serpentine eyes crawled each figure, waiting for the last few members to arrive.

The many researchers remained fixed in place shaking somewhat, thought not due to fear, but rather excitement. Every time their Lord collected them before him like so, advanced concepts related to magic were tossed at them for research. Though it's true the man himself didn't personally invent nor revolutionize any magic, it could hardly be denied that it was his ideas and dream projects which spurred future development.

The throne room's door creaked and with it, the final research member took a knee in the crowd. Arakis gave a final sweep of the group before placing them at ease. He waved his hand to signal guards at the side of the room before speaking.

"This Lord has reigned for hundreds of years and never took his Queen. You're nagging over the years will end soon, but this Lord requires your assistance to help drive this Lord's Queen out of hiding."

His words tore the calm demeanor from the researchers and only brought ever more fervent gazes upon him. Arakis couldn't help but smile wryly in the back off his mind at their response. Hundreds of years ago, none of his people dared to even look him in the face, much less question or pressure him. Yet as time passed and Sacramentum grew in power, his visage on the many Demons changed from that of an untouchable God to something more of a protective deity.

Such a change of impression brought with it a change in actions. The once fearful gazes directed at him warped into pious gazes and the cautious nature used to interact with him became protective instead. Arakis himself never cared to be worshiped, nor did he care if he was feared. He only ever remained in power and enacted on his ideas as a form of entertainment, though he never mentioned such a thing out loud, even if he did, it'd be a wonder if followers even cared at this stage.

"This is wonder! My Lord, who was deemed worthy of such an honor and how can we assist you?"

A representative of the researches spoke out with a truly fervent gaze. This man often acted as the spokesman of the group as he held the roll of director of research. His position required weekly debriefs to Arakis and after hundreds of encounters, he was one of the few advisors close enough to provide opinion to his liege.

He, the Generals, and many other advisors with close contact to Arakis have repeatedly advised him to grow his royal line, yet their efforts were largely ignored. Now that their Lord finally found an interest, this man appeared to grow 300 years younger.

Vrrrrrrrr!

Drawn creaks and reverberations spread through the space drawing the room's attention. Between two large throne doors, the carapace of a medium sized behemoth was dragged in by great effort of a group of guards. With its appearance, Arakis continued.

"This Lord's Queen sent her pets as a gift. Those creatures retain a relation of some sort to her. This Lord wants you to discover that relationship and figure out a way to track that relationship. You need only discover the mechanism and means. This Lord will recover his Queen himself. Hundreds of years of waiting, this Lord can afford to flirt and play."

The man researchers restored their gaze upon their Lord at his words and with that, their eyes also widened. For the first time in hundreds of years, they saw a grin plastered across their Lord's handsome face. His serpentine eyes appeared to glow in excitement and the aura exuding from him could only be described as infectious. The Director started shaking once again, filled with an overabundance of enthusiasm.

His eyes and visage shinning, the Director knelt upon a knee with his compatriots following. Their unified cry tore through the air in response.

"As your Liege commands!"