Darius Black. An Otherworlder and behind a number of schemes, including hurting one of his classmates. It was likely that he may be behind a number of corrupt people, and although no clear evidence is present, he may even have connections to the people behind the attempted assassination of Raevin.

Or at least, that was what Raevin was thinking as he processed all this information. As such, he had accelerated his own thoughts greatly by using his Unique Skill, Analysis Room.

When activated, this skill would accelerate his own thoughts greatly, and place him in a mental room created in his own head. There, he could lay out evidence, details, move around and examine things. With this, he could see new details he missed the first time, think out a case, and work on the various details.

However, while analyzing this, a curious name appeared on one ducment. Heywood.

"Heywood...that was the bastard behind attacking Aer. But, I focused my efforts on Darius...why would he...hold on".

He then started to put things together. Enemies, people who were aware of them. Potential threats. He also remembered a report of increased criminal activity, and the knights were spread thin, investigating reports of werewolves and vampires that had become more prominent in the area.

"Could it be...he did all this to spread out the defenses of the kingdom? Then he plans to attack, but why would my brain think Heywood is involved?"

He looked through all the evidence. All the reports. But then he remembered Aer. The most talented Dragon Knight yet, graduating the Academy at just twelve years old.

Heywood was the one that killed Aer, and caused him to reincarnate. Just like him, his death was timed in a very weird way.

"They happened at the same time...Darius, could he have been aware somehow? Now that I think about it, Ruuruu...he seems to have awakened his memories before anyone else. He was also already in a more mature, granted unaging, body upon birth. Rayheart said she fell...but, that Demon Lord tracked her down so quickly after regaining her memories...Fang became the puppet of a Demon Lord. Rikuo, a toy for a vampire that killed him right at that time?"

And then there was the god many of them had supposedly met, Ciel.

"Could it be Ciel set this up so our fates would cause us to die here...or perhaps, someone else decided to trigger all of us Reincarnators at once? One fell swoop, restoring everyone's memories in a such a way that it would seem like divine intervention, but something else instead?"

Raevin was grasping at straws, but the alternative was strange as well.

"I see...the coincidence, even for Divine Fate, is too strong. But what breaks the pattern is Ruuruu. That means, all of our deaths and activations...they were not by chance. They were deliberately triggered by someone, and not a god. If a god did that, they would have made sure Ruuruu activated with the rest of us. And leaving aside Rayheart, who seemed accidental but somehow had a Demon Lord zero in on her and attack her within days, all of our deaths were caused either by someone connected to a Demon Lord, or from unknown parties".

He then put Heywood's name among the others who had caused their various deaths.

"Which means, Heywood should have one too. A connection to a Demon Lord. But no, wait. That is not enough. There is still the fact there was some level of divine fate. I expected to find one or two people, but somehow I have met with six other Reincarnators upon arriving here at the Imperial Capital".

He then levitated up the other photos. Since this was a mindspace, he could freely do things like this.

"I think....this was a combination, of Divine Fate, and Demon Lord intervention. A god, likely Ciel, set up the dominos, but then someone else meddled in things. Moved them around, made the pieces move. Its a mess...but its a mess because there are two different plots going on. Two sides, fighting over control. And even now, we are being manipulated, going with the flow".

It was impossible for Ruuruu to have had his issues with Darius unless the memories were triggered upon their death, or at least something traumatic happening like death, such as going through what Ruuruu went through.

But it was also impossible for a Demon Lord to potentially find them all, influence them, and time things so purposefully. So that meant a Demon Lord can affect their fates and trigger something, but they were destined to all awaken at this time anyways. But for some reason, a Demon Lord decided to sync kill them all and trigger all their memories at the exact same time.

And then somehow, all of this led them here. To Darius.

"I have no evidence, and frankly half of it still doesn't make much sense to me. I dont know why, or how, or who...but, if this is right, then I think things are about to get very bad here. And perhaps...that is why that is..."

And so, Raevin returned to reality, and looked over his classmates who were still discussing things.

"Guys, we need to get ready for combat" Raevin muttered. "I think we are about to be attacked".

"You sure?" Rikuo asked.

"Yeah. I am. This entire place might become a bloodbath if we are not prepared".

"I think its a tad bit scary, the influence a Demon Lord has over the guard and knights of the Imperial Capital".

Fang could not help but mutter those words into the wind, as no one else seemed to register them. However, they were all thinking the same things as they were. Somehow, they had become known as a "Special Adventurer Investigation Team" to these people, who had swarmed here now and organized for a raid on an extremely suspicious place full of magical shielding meant to conceal them from detection.

There were various mutterings of dark rituals, possible assassination plots against royalty, and other such things. Many of them were even connecting the increase of criminal activity to these groups. And it wasn't just baseless, their scouts and such were noticing those people they could see having those connections, and noticing them in possession of other physical evidence.

And this whole massive operation had only taken a few hours to build up. The captain of the guards, a Knight Commander, several others, and even Lutessa and the three of them would lead the assault. It seemed they couldn't get around that, and something had Fang riled up and ready to go anyways.

Now that I think about it, he has seemed extra motivated since he noticed that smell...perhaps, its bringing back the bad memories of the people who caused him all that suffering in the forest? I am a bit worried about his mental health, if that is the case...

However, any time Lutessa tried to get close to him and talk about it, he didn't seem like he would listen. Not only that, but he scolded her something firerce for trying to determine and control what they would do.

"Alright everyone, the moment they see us they will likely become hostile" Knight Commander Gerald said, as everyone readied their blades. "We have looked into things, and incidentally, around the time people remembered a slight increase in activity in this area coincides with commoner child abduction case increases in every village and city surrounding the Imperial Capital. Because of that, we are also treating this as a rescue mission. We have confirmed the children are all around thirteen years of age, just about to reach adulthood, but also some younger have also been abducted".

Hearing that, the teacher part of Lutessa was even feeling fired up a bit. She felt as if, although her students took priority, it was good to save any child in need.

"Lets do this, Arlit!"

"Yeah, lets go Ardet!"

Even the twins seemed fired up.

"Alright...forces, advance!"

And so, the charge began. Perhaps it might seem comical to some, but considering the stakes, the potential threat, and the potential cases they could solve, they did not want to hold back. Legions of guards swarmed the streets, flooding towards the place in question. From above, it appeared as if a mob of guards were overkill charging a run down building.

However, the ones at the front suddenly drew their swords, with black flames appearing along them. A small spark of black flames leaked out, and flew inside in a flash.

"That must have been a message to those inside! Quickly, capture and secure them!"

A few guards rushed ahead, but those that wielded the black flames cut through their shields and weapons like it was nothing. However, they then got stabbed from the side, as the number of guards overwhelmed them.

In terms of combat power, they were certainly strong and superior. They began to dodge and block weapons, and cut through a few guards even. But they recieved countless wounds, and eventually they were cut down and killed before everyone headed inside.

That was because it had essentially become twenty versus two, with the twenty having reinforcements every time they knocked one back or killed one. The guards didn't die easily either, properly taking measures and being wary of the opponents, so as they pushed further in, very few were actually lost.

Gerald, Lutessa, Fang, Ardet, and Arlit immediately rushed forward, but as they did, they felt a massive rupture right before they could reach the building itself. As enemies came back to block them off, a stream of black light errupted from the building in question, and a portal seemed to open in the sky.

And from that portal, a large army of Demons emerged. A terrifying sight, demons armed with countless weapons seemed to fly out, and some moved through the sky as if they were flying shadows. The sky darkened, and a general feeling of fear washed over them.

"Whatever is creating that portal is in here! We need to rush in and destroy it!"

Gerald rallied the troops, restoring their morale and getting them focused. However, as they reached the actual building, they came across a sight that made them pause once more.

There were children, dressed in a single large T shirt that went down to their knees. It looked ragged and bad, and they looked as if they had not properly bathed or rested in awhile. Black collars were around their necks, and one had even collapsed to the ground.

"Please...no...save me....I don't want to....ahhhg?!"

The child muttered such a thing, but then the collar appeared to give him a very painful electric shock. The moment it did, his eyes seemed to start glowing red, as he got up and took out a black dagger.

"Kill...the intuders..."

"These children...they are under some sort of mind control!"

Gerald said that, but the guards hesistated. Even if they were nearly adults, they were still children, and still innocent. And, it did not look like the children would just step aside. Especially Lutessa, she did not want to fire at children who were being forced against their will to do this.

"Partial Transformation: Wolf Claws".

The one who then charged ahead was the wolfkin boy, Fang. He hopped between them all, and then slashed at them. At first, Gerald and the guards were not sure what he was thinking or how he could be so merciless.

But as the children fell, they had no mortal wounds. And more importantly, broken collars fell to the floor.

Fang used the speed and strength he had as a werewolf, even in his human form, and cut through the collars with his claws. He used the enhanced senses he possessed to increase his visual acuity, and he precisely targeted the collars and the collars only, sparing the children themselves. Even as more and more of them came into the hallway, trying to stab him, he ducked and jumped and dodged, and even knocked a few weapons away.

It was almost like a dance. It was rough but fast, however to the watchers, even if it was not elegant, even if it was haphazard and violent, it was beautiful as how he was accurately and deftly sparing the children's lives.

No more...I wont let these guys turn anyone else into slaves!

His motivations were fierce, as his face showed how upset he was.

"Rejuvenation pulse".

"Mental Clarity".

The twins meanwhile cast magic on those he had rescued, to help restore their strength and restore their minds.

"Come on you guys. Or do you plan on making a child do all the work for you?" Fang asked those who were in a trance, snapping them back to reality.

"Guards, you heard him! Lets do this!"

Meanwhile, with the Imperial Castle Defenses down, the Demons seemed to know and expect that, and began flooding the castle en mass.

The third princess, Dace, and Haru had found the party room, but it was already in chaos. They were not sure what was happening in the summoning room, so they decided to hide in a storage room on the other side, where Elaine could focus on Haru's recovery.

"How is it? How is Haru doing?"

"This is difficult...I need more potions".

Hearing that, Dace took out a healing potion and a mana potion. He forced Haru to drink it, while he gave the mana potion to Elaine. This would give her more magical energy, while also assisting with Haru's recovery. She began to sing, and Haru's wounds began to regenerate even faster.

However, the whole castle shook a bit suddenly.

"Dace, what was that?"

"It seems like the castle is under attack. With the magical defenses down, this place is probably getting invaded easily. Pretty soon, things will get really bad".

"What can we do?"

"We focus on Haru's recovery. It might help though, if we did this" Dace mentioned, as he removed a ring on Haru's thumb. The moment it was removed, fox ears appears upon his head, and a fox tail was sticking out from behind. "At the very least, this thing wont be draining his mana, however little it was".

To think he had to pose as a human, just because human servants are more common so Jezre wouldn't beat him as much. This is a much better look for him though. And what Jezre wants doesn't matter anymore.

"Is there anything we can do to speed up his recovery?" Dace asked.

"Remove his clothes. Healing auras are better when applied directly to the skin, not through cloth, since its more pure and less diluted".

"Right, of course" Dace said, as he began to undress Haru, going until he was completely naked. "You always say 'Nothing in this world is convient' Haru, but please...dont die. You are my treasured friend, and you are convienent for me!"

"Me too! You are my convienent hubby! I wont let it! I wont let you die!" Elaine said, when she started to sing louder, and more strongly, putting Haru's head in her lap as she did. Her healing aura strengthened, and it covered him from head to toe, healing not only his current injury, but all injuries he recieved. Even the scar around his heart was something that seemed to be healing.

It was as if her magical powers, enhanced by royal blood, were growing further and further, from her love of Haru.

""So wake up, Haru!!!""

"Flames, burn my enemies into ash! Coiling Flame Boas!"

Iosi unleashed another flame magic, having already changed into his combat clothes. Although it was really just the outfit he was wearing when he first met Raevin.

"Crecent Shadow Slash!"

And meanwhile Raevin just cut the head off of a demon with a shadow blade that flew from his sword, as Iosi's flames burned through a few of them.

"I thought Demons were supposed to be tougher then this?" Raevin asked as he and Iosi were back to back. They were surrounded, since they had encountered demons before they could regroup with the others, who went to get their combat gear and belongings.

"These are just low ranked...well, now the lowest ranked though. Besides, we are both very skilled in combat. These sorts of things are nothing".

"The issue though is the numbers" Raevin mentioned, as Iosi defended him from a fireball using a magic barrier. The Demons seemed to have noticed they were a threat, so rather then going after the panicking nobles, they had begun to focus on them.

"You know, I dont think this is going all that well, if Demons keep showing up like this we will run out of mana you know?"

"And stamina...but its fine. We just need to hold on until those two idiots start to cause a stir".

Raevin thought of the two idiots, Rayheart and Yulari. Once those two started going on a rampage, that should help.

"Erm, but you know, those two are mortals as well. This amount..."

Raevin's fantasy of them exterminating all demons was suddenly broken by Iosi, who was the realistic one for a change.

"Crap...yeah okay, we better find more solutions".

"I just wonder, what is taking the others so long?"

"Storm Sparrows!"

Rikuo unleashed a powerful magic, as sparrows made of thunder and lightning flew down a hallway and swarmed the demons within. Another one tried to get around and attack him, but Arila cut him down using her sword while Herra distracted a few others with shadow clones. Demons seemed resistant to normal weapons, but...

"Arila, is your staying down?"

"Yep, just fine!"

"...as expected, you seem normal but are actually abnormal".

As Rikuo said that, a few demons that were coming towards them were suddenly hit by a bright light and radiated divine energy, and hurt Rikuo a bit to be near. When it faded, the demons didn't exist anymore. Not just turned to ash. Their clothes and weapons were on the floor, but no trace of the demons themselves remained. They had quite litterally been deleted.

"Its good I found you, Rikuo" the king said, as he was escorted by royal guard along with the crown princess. "I hate to spring this upon you, but...the situation has evolved into such a way, they are trying to damage the mechanics of the summoning machine. The room itself is secure, but the construct has mechanisms that are protected lower down and throughout the castle. The barriers there are seperate from the main system, so they are still up, but...if something happens, we would be unable to summon heroes. So please, I need you to perform the summoning right away!"

It seemed the situation had accelerated the plans, and that perhaps the demons were targeting them in part to deal with the summoning.

Well, im sure thats the pretense anyways, but I am sure Darius is behind this. I probably have a target on my head, so best be careful.

Rikuo thought of that, and nodded.

"Understood, lets get there immediately".

"Oh, but we just reunited..."

Suddenly, a voice was heard that made Rikuo feel an incredible pressure. A voice that haunted him in the deepest of his nightmares, a voice that caused him no end of stress.

It was a voice that sent shivers down his spine, and made the air seem cold to the touch. His eyes widened, and his worst fears became realizied. Panic and fear set in, as his heart beat faster then it ever had before.

As from the corridor that led in the direction of the hero summoning room, someone who was akin to a terrifying demon to Rikuo walked forwards.

Her beauty seemed glamorous, but at the same time, one could sense an air of danger around her. If looks could kill, hers would be a lethal bloody appearance. Rikuo stepped backwards, and if he had not used the bathroom earlier, he would have soiled himself right here and now at this very moment.

"Did you really think you could escape from me, Rikuo~" Teleka said with a wink. A wink that reminded him of all the suffering and torture she put him through, all the abuse he endured, all the terrible things done to him.

The ancient vampire, Teleka, had appeared before him, with some subordinates in tow.

"Naughty naughty boy, its time I took you back home and educated you properly".

It was Teleka, Rikuo's worst fear in the flesh.