443. Keep it

“This... this can’t be real, right?”

Alder the Augur Elder leaned back in his chair as he rubbed his temples. Helena Warshade shook her head as she produced a slip of paper.

“Unfortunately, it is true. I consulted with Veronica Adash, a specialist in [Space Magic] to confirm my suspicions. And I even sent an inquiry to Mavos Academy’s Department of Spatial Magic. I received this missive from Professor Isais, one of their lead researchers, in return.”

The Great Tempest Archmage handed the report to Alder. He accepted it, eyes glazing over as he read what it said. He got to his feet and sputtered.

“This is ridiculous. There’s no way this will succeed. Are those Demons mad?”

“They wish to bring the Netherworld to the Mortal Realm. And they may very well succeed. I am in no way a [Cultist], but I wouldn’t exactly call them mad.”

Orgaf snorted from the corner of the room. Helena Warshade, Alder Ashford, Thorsten Siegfrid, Ulric Magnus, and Daniel Song turned towards him. Kaitlin Darkhelm, Laux Lionfist, Scarlet Vermillion, and Peris Dolonia weren’t present. They had their own duties to attend to. Salvos was, in fact, here too— but she was too preoccupied playing with the three baby Wyverns she’d brought with her to pay attention to what was going on.

The Archmage’s eyes flickered briefly to the silver-haired girl. A myriad of questions crossed through Helena’s mind. But she had to hide her suspicion. She quickly composed herself and focused on the issue at hand.

“These Demons are mad because they won’t succeed. No such thing in the history of the Nexeus has ever happened before. Their ritual will fail. They cannot force our planes to merge.”

Organ shrugged.

“Just because something hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it will never happen.”

“Whether or not their ritual will succeed is irrelevant.”

Helena Warshade spoke over the both of them. She stepped forward as everyone turned to face her.

“Even if the ritual fails without our intervention, it shall still bring forth a deluge of Demons from the Netherworld into the Human lands. Already, there are reports from the neighboring states to the Inoria Empire of entire towns and cities being wiped out by hordes of mindless Demons seeking only destruction.”

Apparently that drew Salvos’ attention. The silver-haired girl looked up with furrowed brows.

“Wild Demons.”

She whispered, and only Helena heard it. The Archmage frowned, taking a mental note of it but otherwise didn’t bring it up.

“And that is not to mention the possible spatial-dimensional fallout from a failed ritual. It could be cataclysmic. It could forever scar the Human lands if space collapses on itself. The best course of action is to prevent the ritual from happening entirely.”

“R-right…”

Alder nodded as Orgaf rolled his eyes.

“What’s the plan, then? Sally forth with our slow armies and reach the Inoria Empire after a week or two of marching? Because, if you ask me, that seems pretty inefficient.”

“It would’ve been better if we could perfectly coordinate our attacks on the Inoria Empire. But it seems that that will not be possible now.”

Thorsten Siegfried tapped a finger on his chin as he spoke thoughtfully. Orgaf grinned, leaning back.

“Oh? Is the Den of Souls going to send their [Crusaders] out to battle for once?”

The [Rogue]’s eyes flickered over to Daniel who was standing off to the side.

“Or are you just going to hide behind that [Hero] and make him do all your dirty work for you, pretending you’re actually helping our cause?”

The [Archbishop] from the Den of Souls hesitated, but Ulric Magnus sputtered.

“How dare you insult a member of the Council of Cremont!”

“Enough.”

Helena Warshade’s voice thundered over the room.

“We will not spend another moment pointlessly arguing with each other.”

She turned to Orgaf who just clicked his tongue.

“Orgaf. You are correct. We cannot waste any more time waiting for these Demons to continue making their moves. Laux Lionfist was aware of this, hence why he selected a special team of Diamond Ranked adventurers to head to Inoria first to further investigate this ritual. Scarlet Vermillion herself is already preparing her army to leave as soon as possible too.”

“What about Kaitlin Darkhelm and Peris Dolonia?”

Daniel asked with a raised brow. Helena shook her head.

“What they do is none of my concern. They will have to answer to their own bureaucracy. And if they do not wish to act immediately, then it would be their fault if the world ends.”

The Archmage looked over towards both Ulric Magnus and Thorsten Siegfried.

“The same goes for you, [Archbishops].”

The former looked upset by that comment, while the latter just flushed. With that settled, Helena focused on the next issue at hand.

“Now, Salvos.”

“Huh?”

The silver-haired girl perked up when the Archmage said her name.

“Yes?”

She cocked her head as all heads in the room turned towards her. Helena Warshade narrowed her eyes. The leader of the Rising Veterans Company took a moment to study the silver-haired girl’s expression. Salvos looked so innocent— her confusion could easily be mistaken for naivety. But deep down, she was hiding a vile secret. And the Archmage would discover what it was… eventually.

Stepping forward, Helena Warshade pointed at the glistening artifacts that Salvos wore on her self.

“Salvos. Diamond Ranked adventurer. Sentinel of Secely. Liberator of the Plaguelands. Death of the Destroyer. You possess on your person three of the greatest treasures in all of the Human lands. Three Mythical Grade artifacts that— if in the right hands— could be used to turn the tide of battle against this impending Demon invasion. And if in the wrong hands, could result in the downfall of Humankind as a whole.”

The silver-haired girl backed up uneasily, clearly knowing where this conversation was heading.

“Um… that’s…”

She looked ready to protest. But Helena just closed her eyes.

“I will not ask you to hand over the Treasures of Alexander. I have heard from Laux Lionfist and Kaitlin Darkhelm what happened both times you have been asked to give up those Mythical Grade artifacts. I will rather not cause any infighting. Not right now.”

“Huh. That’s a relief.”

Salvos blinked. However, the Archmage wasn’t finished.

“But while I will not ask you to hand over the Treasures of Alexander, I will ask that you do everything in your power to ensure the Mythical Grade artifacts are safe. To ensure that they are not stolen and employed by the Demons.”

“Welll…”

The silver-haired girl pursed her lips. Helena frowned, and Salvos scratched the back of her head.

“I can’t promise that. But I can say I have a very safe place where I can stash away the Treasures of Alexander! Trust me— it’ll be fine!”

Salvos waved a hand dismissively. For some reason, that didn’t reassure Helena Warshade. Still, she couldn’t dwell on it for too long. She couldn’t let her suspicions of Salvos detract from stopping this planar merger. Perhaps the silver-haired girl wasn’t a Human, but she was an ally right now in dealing with the Demon threat. There was no point in interrogating her.

The Archmage turned away from Salvos, even if she kept an eye on the silver-haired girl. Her main focus was on the other discussions to be had. Discussions on strategy— on planning.

But only one thing was clear: they needed to act now. And act now, they did.

“Look after them for a bit, alright?”

“Already doing.”

Willy snorted. We stood at the very same ornate room where the meeting had been held. It was completely empty apart from a long table in the middle and a balcony door to the side. Everyone had left to go about with their own business except for Willy and I.

I nodded at the [Will O’ Wisp] gratefully before turning back to the baby Wyverns.

“I’ll be going now, ok?”

They whined at me.

“Do you really have to go?”

They asked all at once. I patted them on the head with a smile.

“I will be back soon. I just need to settle some business real quick, alright?”

Novis, Bellum, and Oriur deflated, but they didn’t argue. I smiled at them. They were so well-behaved now. That was good. I turned away from them and pushed open the balcony. I looked out and saw a sea of faces marching both inside the city’s walls and beyond. Armies of soldiers and adventurers were sallying forth, heading to the Inoria Empire to finally put an end to the Demon King’s ritual.

I had to help out too, of course. But right now, that wasn’t my task. I spread my wings wide, wreathing them in blue flames as I took a step forward.

“Seeya in a bit!”

I waved back at the baby Wyverns as they cried out before leaping forward. I took off into the air, soaring higher towards the sky until I was above even the clouds. The city disappeared behind me, and I looked down at the Mythical Grade artifacts I had on me.

It was finally time for me to keep to my end of the bargain and hand them over to Belzu. I knew where he was hiding, and I had promised to give him all the Treasures of Alexander in exchange for the Sword of Alexander. It seemed like a simple enough transaction to make.

But first— I thought to myself as I raised my head casually towards the sky. How do I get rid of this scrying spell Helena has on me?

That… now, that was not going to be easy.