A few days had passed without incident, despite the seemingly growing tensions with the elven threat, spearheaded by a mysterious benefactor. I had managed to scrounge up just enough Exp to push me to level nineteen, and I had decided to use it on a random reward. I was incredibly close to hitting level twenty and finally getting the quest to evolve into a Demon Duke. Still, the Exp gains had slowed down ever since my efforts were shifted towards attacking and defending from the elves.

  [You have received a useful item!]

  [I’ll be the judge of that.]

  Seems interesting!

  [Let’s test it out.]

  I glanced through my inventory, taking in the epic dungeon key that Lioren had given me, but I was still hesitant to use it right away. Leaving everyone behind, or worse, taking a large portion of Mount Boom’s fighting strength away from another potential invasion seemed unwise.

  It’ll have to wait.

  [Lame.] Joshua scoffed.

  “Lucivar!” A voice called out. I turned, my eyes sweeping across the stone interior of the Warg’s den as I stepped out from the large entrance.

  “Cedric. Any news?” I asked.

  The small demon came to a stop a few feet away from me, outfitted in his signature black cloak. “Yes. We encountered an elven supply route to the south of the settlement near Ossara’s forest.”

  I had entrusted scouting measures to Fang and Cedric. I also offered for Zorrack to go along with his Warg companion, but oddly enough, the large demon had refused vehemently, which seemed unlike him, but I didn’t waste any time pressing for answers. The Kingdom of Ilvareth, which was the name the two elven soldiers Cedric and I had been spotted by a few weeks back had called the capital of the elves, was to the northeast of Mount Boom. Apparently, a second settlement was formed to the south, roughly the same size as the one my companions and I had destroyed, but we weren’t sure whether there were more further to the east.

  “Leading back to Ilvareth?” I questioned.

  Cedric nodded.

  “Still no signs of any other settlements?”

  “None that me or Fang have seen, but we still haven’t ventured further North than Ilvareth or further to the east.”

  “I see,” I said slowly, stroking my chin. I was no king or general, so I decided to discuss the matter with Viressa at some point. She had suggested that we focus first on disrupting elven operations near our territory, in order to halt any possible attacks on Mount Boom in retaliation. Considering they knew our location now, an attack was bound to happen at any time, but Eztara was reassurance that we would likely be able to repel any advances. After having witnessed his battle against Lunarius back in the Moonwake Jungle’s boss room, I had a strong feeling that even the elven king, Calenvir, I remembered, would find it difficult to defeat Eztara on his own.

  [Isarion would probably eat him alive, though.] Joshua commented.

  True…

  The presence of the Aspect of Chaos was an unforeseen and unpredictable variable. Since the few days after having spotted him in the elven capital, I had been reluctant to aggravate the situation any further in fear of retribution from a foe I was ill-equipped to handle.

  I could always summon Lunarius with Shadow Mark if it came down to it, but I’m not sure if he would even be willing to help.

  It was difficult to rely wholly on the Primordial Black, especially considering he was somehow shrouded in more mysteries than the Aspect.

  My head hurt just thinking about it.

  “Are you okay, Lucivar?” Cedric asked worriedly, slowly inching closer.

  I smiled thinly, then shifted my gaze to the small boy's soft, blue hair. “Of course, Cedric.” I chuckled softly, ruffling the demon's hair, eliciting a small laugh, like that of an embarrassed child being seen off on their first day of school.

  “What should we do, then?” The assassin class demon inquired.

  “Let’s pay our good friends a visit,” I replied.

  The angel's large, white wings shimmered in the sunlight beside me, almost glowing with an unnatural holy light. They were feathered, but somehow they stayed stubbornly attached to the girl beside me.

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  “You need to get some combat experience, so I’ll be hanging back for this. If something bad happens, though, remember to activate the Shadow Mark,” I whispered.

  Atea responded with a determined nod.

  I had brought her, Kril, and Azazel along with me for the small skirmish. I wanted to bring Lioren as well, but it seemed he still held a grudge against my first Imp friend. The Ashmane insisted that he was better off helping out back at Mount Boom.

  “Kril, Azazel, whenever you’re ready,” I prompted, and the pair leapt into action. A convoy of elven soldiers, roughly fifty in total by my estimate, was traveling along a dirt path. I spotted two captains marked by their silver armour, one riding a wagon at the front and another at the back, while a handful of horse riders escorted the main group of soldiers. The wagons held barrels of supplies and weapons, and they were headed towards the southern elf settlement that Cedric and Fang had spotted a few days back.

  [Let me at 'em!] Joshua yelled.

  We’re just gonna watch this time around.

  [I’m so fucking bored, you asshole!]

  Yeah, yeah.

  Joshua grunted in disbelief, then went silent. I momentarily contemplated summoning Signeir to help out, but I had a feeling that he might’ve gone a little crazy and leave behind no one for Atea to practice against.

  “Once they start distracting the captains, I want you to use your new skill and try fighting some of the soldiers,” I coached the angel beside me. She had gone on a few expeditions with my demon companions, who had taught her a thing or two, and she had managed to level up a few times and select the priest class.

  “My skills are mainly meant for healing, though, it’s kinda hard to apply them in battle…” Atea replied hesitantly.

  “You got this,” I said casually, then pushed the girl forward with a strong hand.

  “What—”

  An elven horse rider immediately spotted my three companions. “Intruders!” He screamed.

  The convoy immediately came to a halt, but a plume of violet flames engulfed the captain in front, resulting in a chaotic fear spreading across the elven soldiers. They screamed in panic as Kril activated Assault Mode, landing with a heavy thud at the back end of the convoy.

  “You will have the pleasure of meeting your end at the hands of I, Kril, Imp Duke of Hell!” He held out his massive, muscled arm, then released a blast of purple energy, blowing apart several wagons into fragments of wood and sending a crowd of soldiers flying into the air.

  “Now’s your time,” I prompted.

  Atea flew forward, flapping her wings in the air, then activated her skill.

  A glowing halo burst to life above her head, as well as a spiked mace made entirely of golden light.

  [Holy Manifestation]

  The skill that she had once used to momentarily confuse the Mawstrider in Isarion’s domain was now able to manifest weaponry in addition to the golden halo above Atea’s head, although I wasn’t quite sure of the additional effects of the skill. She dove down, sweeping her weapon wide and batting two soldiers to the ground with a single blow. Another moved forward, swinging his spear wildly, but she dodged effortlessly and brought him to his knees with a single attack.

  She’s doing pretty good!

  [I wouldn’t speak too soon, Carter.]

  At the parasite’s words, an elven horse rider suddenly joined the fray, slamming his lance into the angel’s shoulders and drawing blood as she was sent hurtling backward.

  Shit! Should we help her?

  But there was no need, as I watched Atea slowly rising from the ground. She clenched her teeth, raising a glowing green palm and slowly closing the wound on her shoulder.

  [Life-Link]

  Two beams of light suddenly shot out from her body, attaching themselves to Kril and Azazel before slowly fading away.

  What the heck was that?

  Suddenly, Atea began to glow with golden light, as if she were being held in the palm of a god. She smiled, then charged forward in the blink of an eye, no longer caring if she got hit or not. Each time a silver blade or spear would pierce her skin, the wound would almost immediately disappear, as if it had never happened.

  I watched as Kril and Azazel continued to fight, effortlessly toying with the elven captains they each were assigned to defeat. I had instructed them not to kill them too quickly, but I also had no reason to ask for their survival. If Iseldrynn, the elven girl with the ice magic, had no relevant information, then there was little reason to suspect that the other captains did either.

  I needed to find someone like Valthir, or better yet, Lirien himself.

  The skirmish was over in what seemed like the blink of an eye, and I watched as Kril and Azazel almost simultaneously finished off their respective opponents, one with a blast of purple chaos magic, while the other wielded brilliant violet fire. Atea made quick work of the remaining elven soldiers, although her healing properties seemed to lessen as Kril and Azazel slowed down their fighting.

  “What was that skill you used? The life-link thing?” I asked, slowly approaching the trio standing amidst the carnage they had just created. I averted my eyes from the bodies below me, still feeling uncaring for the elven soldiers, yet conflicted by the death permeating the air around me.

  “Any damage dealt by those two,” Atea gestured with a thumb. “Would heal me and vice versa. Since they were fighting so many enemies, it ended up being really effective.” She smiled, but grimaced as she accidentally stumbled over the corpse of an elven soldier. “Sorry… this is a lot different than killing the monsters in the swamp.”

  “You get used to it,” I muttered, turning to address my other two companions. “Good work, I see that the captains pose little threat to you guys now!”

  “Absolutely none,” Kril replied confidently.

  “I would’ve beaten him with one hit if you didn’t tell us to take it slow,” Azazel said with a smug smile.

  Kril clenched his teeth, returning to his small form. “I would’ve beaten mine in zero hits! Zero!”

  “That’s not even possible!” Azazel exclaimed, and the pair locked eyes angrily.

  “Alright, alright, that's enough, you two,” I began, suppressing the urge to laugh. “Anyway, I wanted to check out that other Elven settlement Cedric and Fang were talking about, but I’m not sure if I can trust you guys…”

  Atea cleared her throat, then interrupted. “I’m pretty sure Viressa said that you were the one who alerted the elves in the first place.”

  I froze.

  [She ain't wrong.]

  “Yes…” I started slowly. “Well, I’ve learned since then. I just want to see what's going on! Information gathering, I suppose. Let's just all agree not to do anything bad!”

  Azazel glanced at me skeptically, then turned into his dragon form, laying heavily around my neck. “If you say so, brother.”

  “He’s my brother!” Kril yelled, flying towards me and landing on my shoulder, recoiling as Azazel snapped at him with his tiny jaw. “Watch it, pipsqueak!”

  “I’m bigger than you!” Azazel protested.

  “No, you're not!”

  “Who’s bigger, Lucivar, me, or the midget?” the dragon asked.

  “Are they always like this?” Atea whispered as I ignored the question from the true dragon of will.

  I sighed, then smiled. “It seems so.”