Chronicles of the Red Sovereign

It was the third and final day of the exam when the unexpected happened. It was also an unforgettable day for those in Mt. Tala Island.

Freya and I were down with one task left; harvesting ten fruits of the mutated fire treant.

Now usually, wood-type monsters were weak against fire, but this treant got mutated for unknown reasons and it was currently a C-Class monster. It wasn’t a rare case, but it was definitely uncommon. From what I knew, fruits harvested from a fire treant can be used as the main ingredient of a fireproof potion.

-Wow, the Alchemy Department will definitely have a field trip after this. Maybe I can make some of my own too.

Both Freya and I were crouched on a nearby bush, just outside of the treant’s detecting range. We had already discussed what we had to do prior and the two of us had completely understood that the two of us needed the utmost cooperation if we want to perform with flying colors for the exam.

“Do you remember the plan?” I asked Freya who was eager to show what she could do.

“I remember it okay? You’ve been reminding me the whole morning! Even when we were fighting those D-Class wolves!”

“Just remember to not rush things after all we still have about five hours before the deadline.”

“I know.”

At that moment, I placed my hands on the ground and released a cold aura, lowering the temperature around the fire treant. Truth be told, it took quite the effort since we were near an active volcano, but we needed to weaken the wood monster before we do any other moves.

Once I gave Freya the signal, the two of us immediately started getting up from our positions and slowly made our way to the fire treant’s blindside.

Just as I was about to unleash an attack, Freya as well, I suddenly felt an incoming unfamiliar presence.

For the short time that I spent with the teachers and the students of the Magic Department on the first day of the exam, I was already familiar with their auras and magical signatures. The one coming in mine and Freya’s way was not one of those.

And no, it wasn’t a monster’s. The aura was not familiar to me but I know what kind of aura it was; demonic aura.

I immediately pulled the chain that connected me to Freya and pulled her to my side. This earned me a glare from her but I trapped her body with my legs and placed my hand over her mouth to shut her up. I held up a finger on my mouth and pointed to a direction.

From the direction I pointed, a huge creature emerged. It was about three feet with a bulky green body, two prominent black horns were on its head and it was carrying a spiked club on one of its four arms. I felt Freya tense up in my grip as the creature, the demon, finally came into full view.

The aura wasn’t strong, but a demon was not something I was ready to face alone in my current state.

I saw the demon look around, confused. It was as if trying to find his way around the forest we were in.

-How come I didn’t notice them right away?

Moments later, the demon left the area and once he was out of sight, I let go of Freya who took in deep breaths.

“That was a demon.” I heard her mumble.

I was a bit shocked at her words. For the people living in the current era, demons no longer existed but in stories and legends. I did not think someone other than me and those that work for Aunt Zaira could identify their aura. If others could see demons at the moment, they would lump them together with other monsters.

“How did you figure that one out?” I asked.

“That time when you accidentally dragged me into your mindscape, you called that yellow-eyed creature a demon. The guy that just passed has the same aura, only weaker, but obviously a creature I can’t handle.”

I have to say, Freya was very commendable at her conclusion.

“I still can’t believe there are demons in this era.” she added. “I thought they were all subjugated and slayed after the founding of the empire.”

Of course Freya would say that. Her family’s ancestors took part in slaying the stragglers of the last demon war more than a hundred years ago.

“Let’s return to the base camp where the teachers are monitoring us.” I suggested.

“Why? The teachers probably already know about the demon and are working on it. Let’s just work on harvesting the fruits from the fire treant.”

I couldn’t help but shake my head in disbelief.

-And I even complimented her. Don’t get frustrated Nyx, she doesn’t know any better because she lacks experience.

“You‘re an idiot.”

“What did you say?!”

“Listen to me.” I said. “Right now, we’re somewhere near the foot of the volcano, and remember that the volcano is at the center of the island. If the teachers are already aware that that demon is in the island, then they have already cancelled the exam and ordered us to return.”

She paused for a moment, a hand below her chin. “You have a point. But Hysi, do you think that demon is a native here?”

“Impossible. Until yesterday, I did not sense that kind of aura.”

“Then do you think that demon is alone in the island?”

I froze. She just asked a valid question. From what I knew of demons, even when I was still a deity, they usually move in groups. The only exceptions are those really strong ones like the demon nobles and those that ranked above. But even then, demon nobles were usually accompanied by greater demons as an aide. Meanwhile lesser demons usually move in groups and were usually led by a greater demon.

-If my guess is right, the demon that passed just now was a lesser demon.

“Freya,” I called. “I think we really have to return to where the teachers are.”

“By the look of your face, you just realized something. I don’t like you but I already know never to doubt your intuition and sense of battle.”

“Wow. Thanks for the compliment.”

She just rolled her eyes and we started moving north, where the teachers were located.

But things weren’t always easy…

“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!”

Freya and I froze on the spot and turned to the direction of where the scream came from.

“That voice belongs to Linda.” I heard Freya mutter and moved to that direction. And since we were connected via chains, I had to move with her.

We ran for about a minute before we reached a small clearing. Along the way, we encountered a few low level monsters but they did not even pay us any attention. The looked like they were fleeing.

From where we were, I could see the demon we encountered standing before a pair who was wearing the uniform of the Imperial Academy, one of them being Linda von Chrishni, Freya’s friend. And from the looks of it, the demon was about to either kill them or eat them, probably both.

I immediately devised a plan on how Freya and I could get Linda and her partner out of harm’s way, but Freya already beat me to it when she suddenly launched herself towards danger.

-Damn it Freya!

Because of the chain linking us together, I was dragged with her. I could’ve stopped her from going but she was using her magic to strengthen herself as well as increase her speed so she was able to drag me with her with no problem. I did not have any other choice but to work with her and adjust my position.

I saw Freya swung the fan she had been using as her main weapon. It was the same fan I gave to her last December. A wind blade was immediately shot towards the demon which struck its arm. Dark violet blood immediately spurted from the wound which looked deep, but not enough to cause heavy damage.

I followed up Freya’s attack with a fire ball and used ice spikes to pin the demon in place.

Once we landed, Freya immediately scooped Linda while I got her partner and we retreated at a distance.

“We need to go.” I said and I received no complaints which I was thankful for.

But…

“Hurk!”

I felt something wrap on my waist and I was immediately pulled back to the direction where the demon was.

-Shit!

“Linda! Go to where the teachers are! Tell them what’s going on! Tell the about the demon!” I heard Freya shout.

Once Linda and her partner were out of our sights, I felt myself get slammed to a tree and air got knocked out of me.