Four brothers were sitting by the side of the dirt road. Their body was warm from being near the campfire. Darkness came when the sun disappeared.

Two old horses were pulling an old wagon. It was full of junk and other useless items. Inside the wagon were also their food and personal belongings.

One of the brothers was a man in his twenties. He climbed the wagon and was looking for the pot he placed. He pulled out the pot from beneath the pile of irons and woods. He fell from the wagon and was laying on the ground with his vision blurred.

"What was that!?" a slightly hoarse voice from the direction of the campfire.

"It's nothing!" the man who fell replied. "I got the pot," he stood up and wiped his clothes. He walked over to his brothers who were waiting for him.

Around the campfire, three men are wearing ordinary clothes. One was elderly, the other was in his 'not so prime' age, and the last was only a teenager. They have short haircuts. When life was hard, they have little care for hair that protects the head.

"Bring the pot here, De," the old man called.

The old man's arm held a leather cloth filled with water. He immediately poured the water in when the pot was given to him. The sound of water filling the iron pot echoed clearly. After it was full, the old man hung the pot on a hanger over the campfire.

"Abim, where are the vegetables?" the old man's hand went up asking for something.

"Just a little bit more," the person in his 'not so prime' year was big and held a small knife.

His hair was already turning white. His burly body wrinkled, he could see the veins showing on his tan skin. The big man seemed to have a hard time cutting the vegetables, so his teenage brother helped.

He was just like his older brother, tan-skinned and slightly shorter than his burly older brother. He started cutting rapidly. They could hear the knife cutting. He immediately dipped all the vegetables into the boiling water when he finished cutting.

The elderly man put the minced meat into the pot and started stirring the soup while the others waited for the dish to finish.

The three brothers just watched the campfire heating the bottom shell of the pot whilst the fire was creating a crackling sound. They were silent and looked at it. Bored, the youngest brother started playing with the soil. The eldest brother stopped stirring the pot and closed it. Smoke came out of the skids of the pot lid, though not much was visible leaving it.

"Royyan, stop playing with the soil! I don't want the food to be dirty because of that," said his elder brother.

The teenager acknowledged, worthy of someone who didn't know better. Seeing him, the younger brother brought a book.

"Want to hear a story?"

"Another demon story?" the little brother asked weakly.

Seeing the cover of the book that reads "demons", the older brother hesitated to answer.

"Eh... no. It's different."

"Now we want to hear it," said the huge man. "Please, tell us this new story."

"Your lectures certainly bring results as a storyteller, Ade," commented the eldest brother.

Ade immediately stood up from his seat and walked to the cart looking for a new book. A large bag he opened. The contents were old antique books. He looked at every book, and all of them explained about the devil.

"Not this, not this one either," he muttered, rummaging through the book's arrangement. In the end, he found something.

A thick and large book, Ade does not remember that he owns this literature. He just didn't remember how it got here. Not wanting to keep his brothers waiting, Ade walked back with the enormous book by his side.

The size and thickness of the book immediately amazed the brothers who saw it. The second oldest brother named Abim can't wait to see the contents.

"What's in it, Ade? It's a thick book!" Aldi, the eldest brother exclaimed.

He dropped the book to the ground, and dust flew everywhere. Ade coughed. He sat down and opened the heavy cover.

“How far we had been through. The tongue that we have is very different, yet the same. This book is written in the ancient southern language. It’s the same with our southern language, but it can be different. I learned this exact language when I’m pursuing a history degree at The University of Uthgaard. How long it has been...” he rubbed the book cover. “Do I still remember how to utter these words?” he whispered to himself.

"What does it say, De?" asked the youngest brother.

"This time I brought a book called 'Demens' in the ancient southern language," he was a little hesitant. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to read you something I'm not very fluent in. So come closer and listen carefully."

As everyone got closer, they looked curious about the story. Ade opened his mouth, and everyone waited for the sound to come out of him.

"Before I continue this story, do you know what demens are?"

"Yes, I know," answered Abim. "They're living creatures who turn into mutants."

Ade gave a thumbs up.

"That's right. Demens is one of the mistakes we humans made. A mistake that brought us to the pinnacle of knowledge for the collective good. A lot has been affected by the results of this failure, and the payoff is still not as much as bad. I wish they didn't create these creatures, but what can we do?

Demens are humans, animals, and plants that change because of mutations. They become demens after crossing the line of what was called being a mutant. Not that all mutants are demens. However, it's safe to say all demens are mutants."

"You mean?"

"Aldi. Do you know about the legend of the inquisitor?"

The old man's body backed away and stayed silent. He just shook his head.

"I doubt it, but you can answer it."

"The inquisitor is a soldier, like Abim. The difference is that if Abim is a human, the inquisitor is a mutant."

"Ooh! Do they have fangs? Sharp nails?" asked the youngest brother excitedly. "Oh! Do they have sharp horns?"

"Inquisitor... is just like us," Ade explained.

"Then what sets them apart from humans directly?" Roy scratched his head.

"Just looking at it can't tell if someone is an inquisitor. It's hard to tell mutants like them blending with humans. However, there's one thing that sets them apart from everyone else. If you see a very big and tall man or woman, there is a huge chance that they are an inquisitor or a huge northerner."

"How tall is it? One hundred and eight? One hundred and nine?" asked Abim.

"I'm not sure. Each inquisitor is different. What matters is that they are tall and very strong," Ade didn’t doubt his answer.

"I've never seen or heard of anyone like that," the eldest brother was surprised.

"Maybe they really are gone," said Abim pessimistically.

"Eh, Abim," the teenager rebuked his brother. "Have you ever seen the inquisitor?"

"Never," he answered while shaking his head.

"And I know why Abim never saw him, Roy," Ade said to bait his little brother to ask him the question.

"Because of what?"

"Now I will tell you the story," he turned a new page in the dusty book.

"Demens, From Roots to Leaves. Chapter one: From Demons to Demens."