451. Deceit

There he was. The Champion of the Human Lands. The leader of the Remembered Order Company. A [Divine Spearmaster], Elite Ranked adventurer, and the second highest-leveled [Warrior] in the world.

Mori Gladius.

The crowd gushed over his return— their panic over Helena Warshade’s disappearance forgotten.

“He’s back!”

They said with glee.

“He will save us all!”

They cheered, hopefully.

Scarlet the Red Rose pushed her way to the front of the crowd. She cried tears of joy when she saw her mentor— her leader. The [Priests] and [Bishops] from the Council of Cremont gaped at this miracle. Even the [Crusaders] accompanying the two [Archbishops] looked aghast beneath their visor.

It was certainly due cause for celebration. In fact, I was pretty sure that people were more excited over the return of Mori Gladius than they were for the reveal of there being a [Hero].

Poor, Daniel, I thought as I shook my head. His big moment has been overshadowed so quickly…

But there was a problem here. A problem with this whole celebratory moment. While everyone was happy and excited, Helena Warshade and I were antsy. Nervous. I shifted back, fidgeting as I looked towards Mori Gladius.

The problem was— this wasn’t actually Mori Gladius. This wasn’t the Champion of the Human Lands. Sure, he might’ve looked like him, but he was actually…

Belzu. The Primeval Demon who burned all of Nixa to the ground. The one who was partially responsible for killing Mori Gladius himself. As a master illusionist, Belzu had decided to… concoct an illusion. This illusion.

It was insane. Even I thought it was insane! And most people would say that I was insane!

Helena Warshade clearly disapproved of this. I did too! It was too risky— but Belzu had somehow, after a few hours of arguing, convinced us to let this happen. It… actually made some sense. His argument was predicated entirely on his usefulness. While he was a master of deceit, he could only do so much while working from the shadows.

—--

“Absolutely not. I will never let this vile Demon desecrate the honor of the Champion of the Human Lands.”

Helena Warshade stood her ground. She was clearly upset— hostile. But unlike before, she didn’t look like she was ready to kill Belzu at any moment. Well, maybe that was because she was too tired to do anything against him.

“Honor… such a Human thing. It is neither based on practicality nor a need for survival. I see now reason why I should acknowledge such a foolish concept.”

Belzu scoffed, shaking his head. Helena crossed her brows and turned to me.

“I understand working against a common foe, but this Primeval Demon is still our enemy, Salvos. Do you really believe his lies here? Do you think he is doing this with our best interest in mind?”

I backed up, her gaze looming over me. I agreed with her— I really did. This was probably a ploy for Belzu to somehow betray us in the future… probably. But still, as insane as it sounded, he wouldn’t have suggested this without a reason, right?

“I mean…”

I scratched my cheek as I turned to Belzu.

“What even makes you think this is a good idea?”

The Primeval Demon shook his head.

“Do you not realize that we are on the precipice of defeat? That if the grand ritual has already begun, there is not much time left to stop it? You seek to enlist my help to put a halt to this madness, but you shan’t allow me to take the battlefield against this existential threat to your world?”

“Can’t you just… I don’t know, use your illusions from the sidelines or something?”

“My magic works best when incorporated in the battlefield with an army by my side. And even besides that, there is much I cannot do alone. Not against Levithus and his minions. But if you wish to lose this war over something so trivial, go ahead. I will gladly watch the end of Humankind from the sidelines if you wish for it.”

I hesitated. I glanced back at Helena Warshade who still looked disapproving. I knew that Belzu had some ulterior motive, probably. Yet, I… somewhat agreed with Belz here. I had seen him fight with and without an army— his magic worked best when it was aided by others. But Helena was still unhappy about this, so there had to be a middle ground, right?

“Why not just pretend to be some other Human? Why must you disguise yourself as Mori Gladius?”

“I have seen his power. I know how he fights. And our levels are similar. I would be able to mimic him better than I would be able to mimic any other Human with my illusions.”

“Alright, then what about… I don’t know, creating your own Human form?”

I suggested with a shrug. Belzu just gave me a blank stare. He didn’t even bother gracing it with an answer— which ultimately answered that. I sighed.

—--

And after some more back and forth between Helena Warshade and Belzu, the Archmage unhappily acquiesced. The Primeval Demon followed us back to Alyras, although he hid himself beyond the walls of the city. Instead, he created an illusion that he could scry. One that wore the body of Mori Gladius. Which resulted in… this.

The crowd gushed around Belzu’s illusion of Mori Gladius as he remained silent. Scarlet Vermillion stepped forward, asking in a trembling voice.

“Archmage Warshade— what happened? They said you’d vanished… then now…”

The young Elite bit her lower lip. She took in a deep breath, regaining her composure. She shook her head and spoke in a calmer voice.

“How did you find him?”

For a moment, the normally cool Archmage of Mavos Academy closed her eyes. Helena Warshade’s lips twisted, and she didn’t say a word. Then she regained her composure

“I do not know. You’ll have to ask him yourself. Apparently… he does not remember a thing.”

“What?”

Scarlet blinked. Her mouth hung open. A susurration swept across the room. The Red Rose blinked as Helena started away from the crowd, not answering any other questions.

I watched the scene unfold, pursing my lips. Mori just stood there, not saying a word. His eyes were glazed over. He hardly looked at anyone in the room. It almost seemed like he wasn’t paying attention to anything or anyone— but I knew it was simply because Belzu was slowly taking in the scene.

Scarlet the Red Rose staggered back as she looked over to the apparition before her.

“Mori, that’s not true, right? You still have your memories, don’t you?”

He raised his head, looking her in the eyes for a moment. Then he tilted his head and spoke softly.

“Do I know you?”

The whisperings died down. There was a cough. The room grew silent. Scarlet’s eyes slowly widened. Her mouth bobbed open, mouthing a silent ‘oh’. She just stared at him without moving. He tilted his head again, and finally, I moved.

“Sorry! We’ll be right back!”

I grabbed Mori Gladius by the shoulder and took off after Helena Warshade.