Two days later.
Early in the morning, outside Imai, a grand caravan slowly approached the towering marble gate. It bore banners marked with the royal insignia of the Hellion Empire, their long streamers trailed beautifully in the wind. Hundreds of armored guards marched in formation, master mages stood at the ready, and arcane archers brought up the rear. Two massive fluffy beasts, Dragon Bears, flanked the convoy, their heavy steps shaking the ground.
-
Hidden away in the back most carriage sat a young girl. She was hidden behind red curtains and guarded more closely than any normal noble should be.
She had short blond hair and sharp eyes. Her face was round and chubby with freckles. She was arrogant and indifferent, seemingly carrying herself in a way that almost surpassed her status.
She wore a long pink dress that was decorated with an array of decadent and dazzling jewelry.
Her cheek was cupped in her hand as she leaned against the side of the carriage.
With a raise of the hand, she briefly pulled back the curtain and looked out at the mass of people that had gathered.
"These people probably don't even recognize me, heh?"
She scoffed, her young face frowning in displeasure.
The remark was directed at the older woman who sat opposite to her. This woman wore a simple maids costume and carried herself in a way that reflected age and experience.
"Princess, you shouldn't blame them. Many of these people haven't left the mountain before, it's only natural that they're ignorant."
"Hump! I feel that that's no excuse."
She turned away and looked at the old maid with a scowl.
"Why have we arrived so early? Didn't you say that we'll arrive with my sister?"
The young girl's eyes flickered with a deep malice.
She continued, "you didn't arrange this so that I wouldn't mess up my sister's appearance, right…?
The old maid's eyes widened, a sudden panic flashing past.
"Princess, please! I am completely loyal to you! I have no con-"
"Quiet." The voice was cold and low, not at all matching the cute young girl's appearance.
"Princess, I-" "Quiet!" She shouted.
"Do you know why I always have to be so cruel…?" She snapped her fingers and the door was pulled open by a silent shadow.
"Please, I didn't! Mmm!" The old maid's mouth was gagged and she was silently dragged away by a shadow with a snap, completely unnoticed by the crowd.
The carriage door closed, leaving the young girl to finish her sentence alone…
"It's because traitors like you never stop appearing in front of me..."
This was Rolilly Hellion, the third princess of the Hellion Empire.
* * *
On the road not far behind Rolilly's caravan, three people followed at a distance.
Unlike the high profile approach of the third princess, these three travelers quickly blended in with the crowd and disappeared among the countless faces.
The man in the lead, a black clothed alchemist, pushed through the crowd and led the two youths behind him towards the city.
The youngest of the three, a girl around sixteen, tilted her head cautiously as she looked at the distant procession. "Master Hitrid, I recognize that flag, but this doesn't look like the Hellion Empire's convoy. What's going on?"
The black clothed man continued to pull them along, casually explaining in a cold voice. "That should be the third princess. From what I know, she's a bit of an outlier in the royal family."
Pen asked, suddenly interested. "How can a princess be an outlier? Shouldn't she be pampered?"
"Enough questions, she's a troublemaker, make sure to avoid her in the future. For now, we need to find a place to stay, so focus."
* * *
Away from the hustle and bustle of the front gate, Petra was sending away her first customer.
It had been two whole days, but only this old man had found his way here.
Petra sold him a cure for an old ailment, then waved the kind old man on his way. She cutely called out, asking him to come again, fully aware that he would never be able to find this place again.
After he left, Petra called over Soryn and asked a question that had been bothering her for quite some time.
"What exactly is the difference between the Adventurers Guild and the Mercenary Alliance?" Petra asked this because she was sure that the old man was a retired adventurer.
Soryn patiently explained, "The Adventurers Guild is mostly located in the south. They are a powerful organization that comes from off the continent. Once you register, you can complete tasks to increase your rank. It's a little bit like a labor trade, only much more orderly."
"And the Mercenary Alliance?"
"The Mercenary Alliance, unlike the Adventurers Guild, is an original organization founded when humans first came to the Cross Continent. Unlike the fair trade system, the Mercenary Alliance pays you to do things. In addition, they also care a lot less about the law."
Petra tilted her head.
Something didn't feel right about that explanation.
Soryn nodded. "Mm, they're dangerous. On the surface, the Mercenary Alliance is only composed of five forces. Although most people know that it's nine, the last four don't usually appear easily."
Petra listened quietly, pulling out some popcorn from somewhere.
"The White Wolf, Silver Shield, Silver Eye, Black Chain, and Black Lion are the public face of the Mercenary Alliance. The Violet Cap, Gray Snake, White Skull, and Red Hand, make up the troublesome part."
"Mm? Munch munch munch…"
"The Violet Cap is a group of witch-like women who like to play with people's minds. They are all Controllers that specialize in mental manipulation."
"The Grey Snake is a group of cold and emotionless assassins that function as the Mercenary Alliance's sword in the dark. Some of the names on their list could easily implicate the Mercenary Alliance, so they usually keep a distance."
"The White Skull is a group of necromancers who have no bottom line. I once heard that they killed an entire family, just to revive them and use them as a trap to get at a certain noble."
"Finally, the Red Hand is the most mysterious. They are a group of people who use unknown technology to do things that far surpass what should normally be possible. They are a group of faceless scientists that will do anything to achieve their goal."
"Hey, are you listening!"
"Ah? Yes, the Red Skull, I heard!"
Bang!
"The Red Hand!" Soryn smacked Petra on the head.
"You clearly don't care!"
Petra rubbed her head.
* * *
As night slowly came, in another place, a few dark clothed figures were slowly gathering under an abandoned roof. With the night's arrival, the number of people entering the city had momentarily slowed, allowing those who sought silent entry an easier time.
From the window emerged a dark shadow.
The man retracted his hood to reveal the face of a young man. He wore black robes and had an arrogant solace. He had sharp black eyes with short black hair. His left ear was pierced three times, and he looks slightly feminine.
If Petra were here, she would recognize him as the disguised demon from the Solarin Castle. The only difference was that the current him had two small horns protruding about ten centimeters from his temples.
With his arrival, there were now thirteen people in the room.
"Am I the last? That's good enough."
A middle-aged woman near the back pulled down her hood and agreed. "Losing only two of us is better than we originally thought."
Following her, the other eleven all retracted their hoods. Like the first man, all thirteen of them were demons with differing horns, all unique in shape and length.
"Do you know who has already arrived?"
The man answered, "So far, only the crazy girl from the empire has arrived. Aside from a few small names, there isn't anyone worth mentioning."
"How long until the competition starts?" The woman asked.
"Only a few days."
"We have time."
"Keep a low profile. We're here to figure out what's going on, not to start a fight."
The woman scoffed. "If that's the case, then I feel bad for those two."
"They should be fine, just chased away."
"Heh, I hope so. Then tell me, what do you really want? I don't believe you called us all here just to spectate."
The man nodded. "We're here to find someone".
"That's it? You're risking us being discovered by the Church of Light just so you can pull a person out of the Sky Towers prison? Who?"
The man paused.
He was thinking about how to introduce his target.
"I think… you should all know him as the 'Queen's Spear'."
"Hah? That's impossible! How can he be here? Didn't he die after Avollan fell to the High Elves? Don't tell me you're looking for a corpse!?"
The blacked haired demon just shrugged.
A bald man to the side asked, "Can you explain more?"
"Although he's been trapped here, there's always been rumors about his contracted beast roaming around. Recently, these sightings have become more frequent. People have even started to claim that the bird speaks in maddened riddles and chaotic whispers, proclaiming things such as 'the Kings guard will return', and the 'bloodline continues'."
"I think it's gone mad!"
"That's not reliable."
From the side, a bulky bald man with two backward facing horns cut in, "If that's all, we wouldn't be here, right?"
"Heh, that's right. Although brief, our Seer had seen a flicker of that bloodline. Soon, a new Demon King will rise!"
There was a long silence.
In the back, the first to break the silence was an old man with only a single horn remaining. He asked, "I have 180 demons under me. What do we need to do?"
* * *
The next day.
Things continued with the arrival of the Mercenary Alliance early that morning.
They came on foot, forming a vast procession of thousands of mercenaries that stretched across the road. Among them came independent teams and soldiers that served the Silver Shield. Men and women from every profession, even those of rarer pathways, appeared in mass.
In the lead walked three figures, Anchor of the Silver Shield, his black armor shining under the sun, Villina of the Violet Cap, her purple black robes rippling with each step, and Hexfill, the White Wolf, the true leader of the Mercenary Alliance.
They approached with an orderly chaos, maintaining unity through division. Each mercenary group was well behaved and followed without incident.
-
Later that same day, the Western region's Black Tower personally arrived with a large group of Apprentices and Mages. Unlike the Sky Tower, they specialized in very different fields, so their ability to divine the next calamity was relatively weak.
They arrived riding on top of the backs of a small army of Swamp Dragons, massive reptilian beasts that were similar to komodo dragons. The creatures hissed and roared as they moved with a ferocious momentum. Among those that came were roughly a hundred mages and four hundred apprentices, their temperaments were aggressive and unyielding, the traits one needed to survive in the western region.
The team was led by seven Tower Teachers, and one Tower Pillar (Elder).
* * *
Shortly after the Black Tower's arrival, as the sky dimmed and the last light of day began to fade, another great power appeared.
They appeared as a silent procession moving up the main road.
It was the Tibon Family.
The Tibon Family was strange in many ways. They seemed to be connected to everything, yet no one truly knew anything about them. Though they claimed to come from the western region, their exact origins were unknown. They were known as dark alchemists, tainted by taboo and poison, yet their skills in medicine were so profound that even the most godly healers praised them.
They came as a small group of only seven people, each one carrying an unnatural aura that made the air itself seem heavy and distorted with a low chill.
At their front walked a tall man in a black robe lined with crimson threads, his eyes were a dull gold and he was completely unblinking, like a serpent watching from the side. Behind him followed a woman whose face was hidden by a bone-white mask shaped like a butterfly, the scent of herbs and rot trailed faintly behind her. The youngest of the group, a boy no older than fifteen, carried a long metal case strapped across his back, and every now and then, something inside it shifted and clinked softly, seemingly containing alchemy equipment.
Two others walked in silence, one with pale skin and black eyes as clear as glass, the other with red markings coiled across his neck like veins. The last pair, twin sisters, wore matching alchemy robes, their skin faintly luminescent under the setting sun, almost like something that had been refined too many times, no longer quite human, but still maintaining an impossible beauty.
Each step they took made the crowd instinctively move aside, parting like water before a blade.
A quiet, uneasy fear spread among those watching, not from sound or threat, but from the sheer aura.
By the time the Tibon Family passed through the gates, the sun had vanished completely.
The city fell silent as night crept in.
* * *