"You win" the Emperor admitted, folding his arms.
"Let's hear your demands"
"Huh?" the others were perplexed.
The Emperor had never been one to act sane, so they expected him to attack.
The Emperor looked at them.
"The people are being massacred, so I can't start fighting now. Besides, we'll soon come under siege, as it seems all other places have been attacked"
He turned to Fredrick.
"Name your terms"
"Nothing much, just an additional decade of tax exemption and an additional decade of buffer zone"
"I'll give you two years each"
"Nine years"
"Three years"
"Eight and a half years"
"Three and a half years"
The rest of the Grandmasters simply stared as they haggled terms until they agreed on five years.
Then, Fredrick sighed in relief, before taking out a few scrolls and unfolding them.
"Four years ago we came across the body of a child. The eyes had been gouged out and the skin was blackened, but not burnt, and the body was devoid of blood" he paused.
"Nudging our noses here and there, we caught on to something. Following this trail, we discovered the existence of a secretive group with sinister intentions and a wide range of influence"
"They call themselves the Red Spawn. They're Demon worshippers and their mission, from what we've gleaned, is to have the world burn, or conquer it"
"That's it?" muttered Getrahan.
"Before I arrived, you had no idea where to start looking to solve the current crisis, but now we have a trail so we can plan better"
"Still, none of this explains why the Grandmasters were attacked"
"Grandmasters were attacked?" Fredrick pretended not to know.
Jebas went on to explain all that had transpired.
"Hmm" Fredrick contemplated.
It was always better to feign ignorance. He'd gotten more information than expected.
"They seek to cause chaos" said Raven.
"We've already established their sinister motives, so what better way to make the world burn than to kill the strongest combatants?"
It was plausible.
"But is that really all it is?" Deneris had doubts.
"And if it is, then Gaga and Izaret would be Demon worshippers"
"Or just colluding with them" Jebas added.
"It doesn't matter. Anyone relating to demon's has to die!" Getrahan proclaimed.
Fredrick took charge.
"Like the rest of you, we received word from a few who spotted two figures in black walking by when the beasts grew abnormally bloodthirsty"
"And you think those people are Demon worshippers?"
"Not think. We're almost, no, now I'm certain" Fredrick replied.
"They caused the beast tide as a distraction while they attacked grandmasters"
"Then why haven't they attacked us?" Getrahan questioned.
"If I had to guess…" Fredrick answered.
"They're saving the best for last"
The Grandmasters went quiet.
They looked to the Emperor, who hadn't spoken since.
"Since we know who they are, we mustn't allow them any more time" the Emperor said.
"Just as they did, we'll launch a swift ambush and kill the few we can then retreat"
"Retreat?" they wondered if they'd heard it right.
"You might have not heard, but Oakbear has died" they were shocked.
"They have a poison specialized in killing Grandmasters, and Oakbear was injected with it. They might even have other things we do not know of"
Their expressions stiffened.
"Regardless" said Fredrick.
"We have to take the battle to them. There has to be a reason why they haven't attacked us, and I would hate to find out what it is. So, how do we go about this?"
They sat in silence until Fredrick spoke…
"How long is he going to stand there?"
The Emperor snapped his finger.
"Come in"
The door opened to reveal a woman in a glittering green dress with long green hair and a very unfriendly glare.
It was the Queen of Iris, Mervida, the wither queen.
There were still a few wounds on her.
Jebas dropped a comment.
"The more the merrier it is then"
Sitting down, she clasped her palms.
"So, it was a she" said Fredrick.
They felt her presence even before entering. They just didn't point it out as courtesy to the Emperor.
"She heard everything we said, so we don't need to repeat ourselves"
"Might I ask why she's here?" inquired Deneris.
"I was attacked as well, by Ervin and Vladun, they-"
Jebas interrupted.
"Wait, the Kings of Vorus and Raixeros? I thought they hated each other?!"
"Apparently not" said Fredrick.
"Now, how shall we go about it?" the Emperor asked, putting an end to banter.
"In conclusion, we know that they have an obsession with blood"
_______________
In a dim cave, with torches hung to the walls and a sigil depicting two triangles inside a circle drawn with blood on the floor, sat the demon leader, meditating while shirtless, revealing his six packs, refined musculature, and light brown skin.
With his mask off, he was revealed to be a fairly old man, brown hair falling below his shoulder.
Then, the sigil glowed, gaining a deeper shade of red. The leader's eyes snapped open to reveal red eyes.
The ground beneath where he sat seemed to disappear, revealing somewhere not in Orion, but with scorched and cracked soil.
Then, the face of a creature came into view.
"Greetings my lord!" the leader proclaimed.
"The eye has discerned the characteristics of the source of the ordained destruction. You are to find him and kill him!"
"What of the plan?"
"There won't be a plan if this isn't dealt with!"
"Forgive me" the leader hastily spoke.
"Here are the attributes. Twelve cycles. Dark eyes. Silver hair. Royalty"
The leader nodded as he had memorized it.
"And the ongoing preparations?"
"We have masked our true intent with mass Chaos. Even our allies know not of our true intention"
"Mass chaos…such lovely words. Good. Very Good. Now-"
The leader interrupted him.
"When will I get to see the face of my true lord?"
The creature answered instantly.
"When you succeed. Succeed and you will see his face as he welcomes you to our race. Else, never you speak of this again"
"Forgive me for my insolence"
"Taking care of the child is top priority, there can be no mistakes"
The leader nodded.
"As such, the Lord has decided to bless you with these"
The mirror-like ground rippled like water. A part of it sank like soil, and then a hand - red as blood with scaled skin and four claws - pushed forward from within, no, from the other side.
Reaching out from the other side, the hand began burning, the scales melting one after another, dropping into the mirror floor.
The leader stretched his palm, to which the hand dropped pieces of glass, or something akin to it, red as it was, like what you'd get after frying sugar.
The moment the leader got the glass piece, the hand pulled back.
The face of the creature came into view soon after.
"Eat them" it said.
The leader did as he was told, putting them in his mouth, and the piece melted.
The leader was weary but swallowed it.
Entering his gullet, the leader felt a grow hot sensation and, as the seconds passed, it grew hotter. It didn't take long to feel like he was burning.
"Ahh!" he shouted.
"It's a gift from the lord. He wants you to take care of the child personally. There can be no mistakes"
The creature shut the connection, leaving evil crackles, and then, the ground went back to normal.
The leader spasmed on the ground, vein popping as his skin turned red hot.
His red pupils turned black in its entirety, and then he stopped twitching.
For a long while, he lay still, and then…
"Hiek!" he snapped awake, raising himself to a sit as he stared at his arms that now had scales, though few and far inbetween. It was a glorious achievement for him.
Then, he touched the middle of his head, feeling a lump covered by his hair and his smile stretched wide.
His motivation to see the assignment through skyrocketed.
'12 years old, Dark eyes, Silver hair and Royalty…such peculiar attributes. He should be easy to find'
He stood up and got to it.
There was no time to lose.
_______________
The day passed and Ezra woke early to the sound of marching feet.
Waking outside, a guard rammed into him.
"Sir, I was on my to call you. We have a problem"
"No worries. Lead me"
Reaching the edge of the palisades, they met a compartment of armed men standing at the gate while holding torches.
They numbered anywhere between one thousand and two thousand.
"Might I get a name?"
A man raised his hand, his voice booming…
"Sir John here, Master-rank, and these are my colleagues from Black Jaws"
Ezra nodded.
"Let them in"
The gates were subsequently opened and they entered.
The sound of feet woke many others who came outside to see what the ruckus was about.
The compartment reached the palisades and Ezra approached them, stretching out a palm to Sir John.
"Sir Ezra, commander of the Emery squad"
"The pleasure is mine" said Sir John.
"Have you come as mercenaries or-"
"No no no" John said, waving nonchalantly.
"It is the pleasure of our guild to protect the Empire"
Ezra gave a small nod, expressionless.
He knew they'd come since he spoke to Fredrick.
He was also the one who persuaded Fredrick into sharing the information with the other Grandmasters.
Originally, Black Jaws would take a while longer before sending help, but Ezra felt that was unneeded after reaching here and seeing the underwhelming number of soldiers.
"Might I know which of you are Knights, Mages and Shifters?"
Sir John flashed a smile, but was shocked inwardly. Most others would receive them more grandiose or at least have an expression.
This guy looked like he genuinely didn't give a F*CK.
