After the short battle, Demetrius and I rejoined Marie and Reinfried. The four of us traversed the forest, heading to the place that Demetrius had called his “hideout.” Occasionally, we heard a noise somewhere in the thickets, and the wild birds flew toward the sky. These two signs betrayed the location of our pursuers, and we adjusted our path to avoid them—just as caravans do to evade brigands.

In the end, we arrived at a clearing, the perfect spot for a camp. No matter how I looked at it, it seemed artificial. There was nothing to prevent the trees from growing or the bushes from mushrooming, yet not a single seed germinated in the area.

“This is the place,” Demetrius said.

Pausing for a moment, he recited an incantation. A magic circle covered the ground of the entire clearing. Then a small house appeared in front of us, fading in like a phantom. It was nothing but a wooden shack, yet it was impressive how Demetrius had concealed it with magic. It made me wonder again: who was this man, and why was he here in Ashenbrook?

He pushed the flimsy door open and entered. Reinfried followed, looking above his head as he passed through. And Marie and I walked in last, holding hands because she was afraid. The door closed on its own, and Demetrius said, “The shack is invisible again. We’re safe here.”

Marie sat on a chair, while I jumped on the desk next to it and settled there. Reinfried, who seemed exhausted, chose the corner of the room. He lay down and said, “I’ll take a breather, but I’ll be listening.”

Demetrius watched us settle down without any apparent intention to do the same. Then, increasingly restive, he paced across the room like a prowling feline. When I tried to say something, he stopped in front of me, took a deck of tarot cards out, and began to shuffle them. As the cards moved swiftly in his hands, he met my eyes and said, “Who are you?”

“I’ll have to ask you the same question, Demetrius.”

“Are you really an adventurer from the guild?”

“Yeah.”

“But you’re a Void Mage.”

“I just discovered that today. I answered your question, so tell me who you are.”

Demetrius picked a tarot card. It was The Magician. After he flashed it, he returned it to the deck and said with a mischievous smile, “I’m a professor of the history and theory of magic. I work for the Imperial School of the Elements.”

“A professor? At your age?”

“It’s not rare. The school favors talent and ability.”

“Hmm.” It took me some time to picture Demetrius in a lecture hall. “Do you wear this weird hat because you’re a professor?”

“Weird? I thought it was fashionable.”

“Yes, it’s very fashionable,” I said quickly.

“I’m hurt!”

“Come on, it’s futuristic! Anyway, what’s a magic professor doing here?”

“I’m the one who submitted the quest to the guild.”

“You’re the client.”

“Yes. I was studying the Cult of Belphegor as part of my research. I came here to access Faust’s library, but when I arrived, I heard about the disappearances and the rumors.”

“And you realized what was happening.”

“Yes. I hid my real identity and submitted the quest, hoping that professionals would arrive to investigate. But the guild officials sent you.”

“Well, I’m sorry it was me!”

“The stars had misaligned,” Demetrius said. “I couldn’t trust a kid like you.”

“You’re as much a kid as I am,” I said. “I’m seventeen.”

He ignored my comment and continued, “I gave you the protective charm. I felt that it was my duty to protect you, since I brought you here. Day after day, I prayed you’d leave, but you stayed and even allied with Reinfried.”

“The quest was important for me. And it still is.”

Demetrius sighed, “I think I’ve explained everything. Are you satisfied now?”

“Yes, I’m sorry if I forced it out of you. I was just curious.”

“Curiosity is a virtue,” he smiled. “Now, it’s time to discuss our next move. We will leave Marie here and—”

“Wait,” I interrupted. “Can you tell me what happened while I was in the Maida? Faust was about to summon Belphegor, and the cult was celebrating. What happened after that?”

The room plunged into a heavy silence. Marie and Demetrius exchanged furtive looks, as if they had been debating whether they should answer my question. Their lips moved but without sound. Then Marie bit hers and looked down. It seemed that they had reached a conclusion.

“Yes, we should tell you what happened…” Demetrius finally said. He reshuffled his cards, then picked The Wheel of Fortune. After he flashed it, he continued, “Good things come first. We were all saved by Marie.”

“Marie?” I looked at her in surprise. “I knew it! You beat Belphegor with your stick, right?”

“You shouldn’t joke about serious stuff,” she pouted and puffed out her cheeks.

I laughed a little.

Demetrius explained, “After you went to show Faust the grimoire, Marie remembered what she had seen in the Hall of the Mountain King. She panicked and told me everything. And she refused to stay home.”

“I had to do something,” she said. “Your life was in danger.”

“We caught up with you near the ancient caverns,” Demetrius continued. “I followed you into the underground tunnels, and Faust didn’t detect me. I saved Reinfried from the trap, gave him a charm, and asked him to help me rescue you. But…”

“I was already gone.”

“Yes, we were too late. But we retrieved your body before Faust disposed of it.”

“I’m glad you chose to act, Marie,” I said. “You saved my life.”

“You’re giving me too much credit,” she smiled.

Demetrius started to reshuffle his tarot cards. He paused in the middle with a short wince of pain. A moment of hesitation passed. Then he finished the shuffling and picked a card. It was Death. The sight of the Grim Reaper erased our smiles, and he said, “But bad things followed.”

“What happened?” I said.

“After we escaped with your body, Faust attacked Ashenbrook. The cultists went berserk, burning houses and offering sacrifices to Belphegor. The town is under the cult’s control now.”

“It’s even worse than that,” Reinfried said, raising his head a little. “The giant Aberration… Belphegor is on the loose again.”

I hadn’t imagined that the situation was so dreadful. Faust’s wicked plans had been proceeding smoothly, especially after he had gotten rid of the town guards. No one could tell what his next move would be.

“But now that a Void Mage is on our side,” Demetrius said, “we may have a chance to fight back.”

“What’s a Void Mage?” Marie interrupted.

“I’m talking about Lance. He returned to us because he has the ability to absorb demons. With Lance’s power, Reinfried’s Channeling, and my magic, we can stop Belphegor and defeat Faust. Then the cult will naturally collapse.”

“So, we’ll head back to Ashenbrook,” I said.

“Yes, after Reinfried rests.” Demetrius nodded.

***

Demetrius’s shack was like a secluded haven in the heart of a mythical forest, and I enjoyed its comforting safety to the utmost. I snatched a meal to recharge, played backgammon (won once) and chess (lost all games) with Demetrius, and heard from Marie about her interest in botany. I almost felt as if nothing had been happening in the outside world—as if I had been having a good time on a summer afternoon—but a few silent pauses came now and then and reminded me of everyone’s worries.

After two hours had passed, Reinfried stood up and said, “I’m sorry for keeping you waiting. I’m good to go.” There was smudged blood on his neck and hands. He was missing a gauntlet and a knee cap. But he said the words with confidence, and his tone convinced me that he was ready.

“Are you leaving me behind?” Marie said.

“It’s safe here,” Demetrius said, “safer than anywhere else.”

“But I have a protective charm, right? I can come with you.”

“Faust and his mages aren’t ghosts, Marie,” I said. “The charm won’t protect you from them. I promise you we’ll come back as soon as this is over.”

“But…”

“Trust me.”

She nodded reluctantly.

We had to leave her behind for her own good. Her stay would be full of worry and discomfort, but there was no other option. Demetrius stepped out of the shack, and Reinfried and I followed.

“Don’t open the door until we’re back,” Demetrius said.

“I won’t,” Marie said. “Take care.”

The door closed, and the shack disappeared again.

After a few minutes, I was racing through the hazardous forest, Demetrius and Reinfried close by my side. We began our counter-attack. Our previous defeats and failures haunted us, but we didn’t let them stop our advance toward Ashenbrook.

“There they are!” a cultist shouted.

It was another search party sent after us by Faust.

“Don’t let them surround us. Move faster,” Reinfried said, jumping past a dead log. Laikos pounced on him from the trees, but Silverthorne shone with the light of Channeling and split the bodies of the Aberrations in half.

“I’ll handle the demons,” I said, sliding past a thick bush. The demonic ghosts wheeled above me, but I raised my left arm and used the power of Void Mages. The black apparitions were sucked into my palm. They passed through my skin and disappeared forever.

“Leave the mages to me,” Demetrius said, sidestepping ice spears. The cultists fired bolts of lightning, summoned golems, and created whirlwinds. But he was more knowledgeable about magic. He blocked the lightning with a barrier, melted the golems with water spells, and deflected the whirlwind toward the sky. Then he raised deadly stakes from the ground and defeated his opponents.

“We’re getting close,” Reinfried said.

The three of us jumped through the thickets and finally left the forest. In the small pasture where we found ourselves, however, more enemies were lying in ambush. There were six cultists, seven Laikos, and thirteen demons.

“The enemies of the cult will perish!” the leader of the ambush shouted.

“Are you ready, guys?” I said.

Demetrius and Reinfried nodded.

“Paralyze them!” the cultists ordered.

The demons descended from the sky and hovered around us, but there was no need to panic. I absorbed them and left behind no trace of their existence.

“Chew them up!” the cultists shouted.

The Laikos charged with their sharp claws and fangs. They would’ve been a problem if I had been alone, but I had a knight and a mage by my side. Silverthorne shone brightly and blinded the attackers. Then Demetrius fired an electric wave and paralyzed them. Finally, Reinfried and I finished them off with our swords.

“Retreat!” the leader of the ambush said. “We can’t win this fight! Retreat!”

The cultists turned around and dispersed, firing spells randomly to prevent us from pursuing them. Some escaped into the forest. Others scrambled toward Ashenbrook. I wanted to chase after them, but Demetrius stopped me and said, “We’ve got more important fights, my lovely trouper.” Only one hill separated us from Ashenbrook, and we began to climb it.

“Don’t be shocked,” Reinfried said. “The town’s been devastated.”

“I’ve seen worse.” I remembered the Maida and its despair.

We reached the hilltop. The fog was thinner than before, and I had a panoramic view of Ashenbrook. I could see almost everything—the ransacked market, the charred houses, the destroyed farmlands. Only a few spots were hidden by the mist, and they didn’t matter when you considered the big picture. The cultists were roaming the streets, and the demonic ghosts were hovering everywhere. A gigantic black sphere floated in the sky. It looked like the will-o’-the-wisps that I had seen in the Maida, and more ghosts were emerging from inside it.

“Where’s Belphegor?” I said.

There were giant footsteps on the ground. They started in the middle of the town, included the remains of destroyed houses, and continued on the road that the traders’ wagons followed.

“Belphegor’s marching on Azuria…” Reinfried said, staring at the footsteps.

“What? You mean…”

“Yes, we should’ve seen this coming. Faust wants revenge.”

While Reinfried and I arrived at this conclusion, Demetrius seemed to be preoccupied with other thoughts. He wasn’t concerned by the footsteps like us; he didn’t even look toward the ground. His eyes were fixed on the black sphere in the sky. “They shouldn’t have been able to do this. This shouldn’t have worked.” Suddenly, he started running downhill toward Ashenbrook.

I called, but he didn’t answer. Reinfried and I had no choice but to chase after him. It was a sharp declivity, but I ran as fast as I could, and I managed to catch up with him before he entered the town. I grabbed his arm and said, “Demetrius, get a hold of yourself.” He looked at me with reproachful eyes and shook my hand as if to force me to let go, but when Reinfried caught up, he surrendered and stopped.

“The black sphere in the sky,” Demetrius said, “it’s a portal to the Seventh Labyrinth. Old documents have described it.”

“A portal to the Maida?” I said.

“Yes, and if we don’t close it now, it will continue to expand. And it will feed Belphegor with power until he becomes invincible. We need to close this portal before it’s too late.”

“You’re right,” Reinfried said. “But you shouldn’t run off on your own.”

“I’m sorry.” Demetrius took a deep breath. “I lost my composure.”

“So, this thing is a portal…” I looked at the sphere in the sky and watched the number of demons around it increase. “How will we close it?”

“Wait, I need to think,” Demetrius said. “It sustains Belphegor, so it needs to be stabilized with external magic… The size falls under the category Sigma-15… The distortion in space requires a mana source in close proximity…”

For the first time, he sounded like a magic professor, but the jargon left me confused.

“Did you reach something?” I said.

“Yes, there’s a Stabilizing Staff.”

“A what?”

“A portal of this size requires a Stabilizing Staff. It will collapse without the supportive mana.”

“I don’t understand much about magic. But we should break this staff, right?”

“Yes, and we’ll find it in Ashenbrook.”

“Well, I happen to be an expert when it comes to breaking things.” I smirked.

“I know the portal should be our top priority,” Reinfried said. “But Belphegor is on his way to Azuria as we speak. Even if we can’t chase after him now, we should warn the city authorities.”

“I’ll do it.” I took my badge out. Letting a little magic flow through it, I called as loudly as I could, “Rick! I don’t care if you’re busy with your deskwork. You’ve got to answer!”

“What deskwork?” Rick’s voice came from the badge, and his image formed on the small mirror. “The guild disbanded. And you… you didn’t answer any of my calls! Was it a redhead this time? She didn’t steal your belongings, did she? I can’t believe you, Lance.”

I knew Rick’s outburst would continue forever, so I said, “You can lecture me all you want but not now. We’re in big trouble.”

“No, you are in big trouble!”

“The giant Aberration is targeting Azuria.”

“What? Did you fail the quest? Oh boy, I expected this much. Azuria’s city guards will take care of it.”

“No, you don’t understand. Tell the city officials to evacuate Azuria.”

“Evacuate?” Rick burst into laughter. “Over one Aberration?”

“Give me a chance to explain!”

Suddenly, Demetrius took the badge from me and said, “Sir, my name is Demetrius Zahr. I’m a professor at the Imperial School of the Elements.”

Rick stiffened and said, “How can I be of help, Professor?”

“Please do as Lance said. The people are in danger.”

“Yes, but I can’t tell the officials to evacuate the city… This has never happened before. They’ll think I’m crazy.”

“Rick.” I took the badge back. “We don’t have time; we’re going to battle. Do you trust me?”

“I don’t.”

“This isn’t a joke.”

“I don’t trust you, and I won’t trust any of your excuses when you come back.”

“Rick, I—”

“But I’ll believe you for now.” He got up from his seat. “I’ll head to the City Hall. And I’ll ask Master Azemir for help. I’ll say that a professor sends this warning.”

“We’re counting on you.”

“But listen, if it ends up being a false alarm, our reputation will be besmirched. We’ll be laughing stock.”

“I know. But the threat is real.”

Rick nodded hesitantly, and the transmission ended.