It was past midday, and the fog hadn’t risen yet.

I would have likely enjoyed the sight of the Shinkoku Empire otherwise. After days of travel across the ocean, I welcomed the opportunity to see solid ground and the island nation was famous for its beauty. Unfortunately, the mist hovering over the country was so thick I couldn’t see the ground, let alone the horizon. The Colmar’s speed considerably slowed down, likely because Marika didn’t wish us to accidentally hit an obstacle.

I wasn’t especially talented when it came to analyzing weather patterns, but I had the feeling this phenomenon wasn’t natural in the slightest.

“Is this kind of fog normal at this time of the year?” I asked Soraseo.

“No,” Soraseo confirmed. “It is not.”

I figured as much. Activating my magical sight confirmed that the fog was saturated with essence. It was probably the result of a witchcrafting ritual of some kind; a spell of such power I could only think of one being capable of casting it.

“She knows,” I said immediately. “She knows we’re coming.”

Soraseo nodded sharply. “The Devil awaits us.”

Eris teleported to our side, her staff glowing in her hands. Its light repelled the mist far enough to let us see shades of mountains in the distance.

“When they say a nun’s role is to light the way for the faithful, I didn’t take it literally,” I teased my lover.

“What can I say? Being a living lighthouse is half the job.” Eris shrugged her shoulders. “Mirokald knows the way to Mount Kazandu and can guide us through the mist, but it doesn’t hurt to give him a little more visibility.”

“That would be wise,” I commented before questioning Soraseo. “Should we expect anything? Besides the likely inevitable demon ambush?”

Soraseo crossed her arms and pondered over the matter. “Mount Kazandu is a sacred mountain,” she explained. “Its depths hold a wealth of runestones which my country harvests. Its base is well-secured with barriers and defenses, but I do not recall any defenses against aerial assaults. Wyvern and pegasi riders are very rare in the east.”

“So we should at least be able to survey the site, if not secure it?” Her nod warmed my heart as I turned back to face Eris. “How long until Rubenzo’s group rejoins us?”

“They were still on their boat when I checked on them yesterday and should make landfall soon,” Eris replied. “We’ll probably reach our destination a few days early.”

Excellent. In that case, we could at least scout out Mount Kazandu before regrouping at the capital.

We had split into two groups after Goldport in order to maximize our chances. Rubenzo, Mersie, and Chronius traveled with the former’s theater troupe by sea and would enter the Shinkoku Empire the ‘legal’ way under the pretense of performing in the capital. Marika, Mirokald, Eris, Soraseo, Beni, and I would instead infiltrate the country from the air. Erika had also decided to stay with our group in order to continue tutoring Beni, which her father agreed to. He probably thought she would be safer with a larger party of heroes than his own team.

I wished I could be as confident. I fully expected Daltia to send demons after us the moment she learned of our location, and Soraseo’s identity might attract attention from the Shinkokan authorities should she be identified too early.

I was about to return inside when the Colmar’s left flank erupted in flames.

I saw a flash of light a mere seconds before a mighty detonation sent wooden and steel shrapnel flying in all directions. The blast pushed the fog back, then caused the entire ship to swing sideways.

I nearly slipped over the armrail and into the void below, but Soraseo managed to catch my cloak just in time. Eris wasn’t so lucky, though she simply teleported back onto the ship the moment she lost her footing. The alarm rang across the airship, like it did when Belgoroth shot its predecessor down from the sky.

It brought back so many bad memories.

“Are we under attack?!” I shouted after Soraseo pulled me back onto the observation deck. I could see the light of flames below us past the smoke, but no flying demon which could have struck us by surprise.

“I don’t see anything!” Eris shouted.

Soraseo drew her sword, her gaze sharper than iron. “The blast came from the inside.”

My jaw clenched on its own. I looked at the plume of smoke rising from the Colmar’s side and quickly pinpointed its source.

“The explosion came from the cargo hold,” I said while rushing inside. “Soraseo, with me! Eris, check on the others!”

Soraseo and I immediately rushed inside the Colmar while Eris teleported away. Raindrops of water dropped from the corridors’ ceiling all across each and every room. After Belgoroth set the first airship ablaze, Marika and I had installed a sprinkler system in its successor by using a system of conveyor belts and water tanks to smother any potential inferno. I hoped it would be enough to prevent its destruction.

Why did the cargo hold explode? We didn’t keep any fire runestones there specifically to avoid this kind of accident. The only area at risk was the engine, which Marika and I watched over with rigor and professionalism. I could only think of one explanation.

We had a saboteur onboard.

My suspicions were only confirmed when we found the door to the cargo hold barricaded from the other side. Soraseo swiftly broke through it with her essence-sharpened sword, which let us walk inside.

I almost had a heart attack when I saw the cargo hold. While the sprinklers successfully contained the fire, a large hole had opened in the ship’s hull and a few of our goods and chests had already fallen through. Thankfully, though they neighed in panic inside their pens, our horses and Mirokald’s drenched stonetusk remained unharmed.

The likely culprit stood at the edge of the smoking hole, her hair flowing in the wind and a jumping bag on her back. The smell of shattered fire runestones lingered in the air around her.

“Erika?” I asked in utter surprise.

Chronius’ daughter turned her head at us, and I immediately felt a chill run down my spine. Something about her posture had turned predatory. Her gaze was colder than ice, her face without emotion; like a bored actor putting on a mask.

“Hello there,” she said with a voice a bit too deep for her. “I’m sorry for the sudden departure, but I have to reunite with my face. Tell Daltia I said hello.”

My blood froze in my veins. I immediately recognized who we were facing, as did Soraseo.

“Where is she, demon?” my friend asked, her sword drawn for the kill. “The real one?”

The thing wearing Erika’s face smiled at us with immense malice. “I stole her.”

Then she jumped into the void.

Soraseo rushed at her and swung her sword, far too late. Her blade missed our infiltrator by an inch. It only took a few seconds for the fake Erika to vanish into the mist.

I stole her. The sentence rang in my head like a curse, even as Marika’s voice rang through the loudspeakers. “We’ve got company coming from the east!”

I heard screeches in the distance, so high-pitched and haunting I could immediately tell they didn’t belong to any natural creature. I saw two huge shadows flying in the mist, followed by a flash of fire coming from above. Eris had unleashed a fireball at a set of creatures approaching us, though I couldn’t tell if she managed to hit either of them.

The explosion had alerted demons to our position.

“Go grab a bow!” I told Soraseo while I rushed deeper into the cargo hold. “I’ll close the hole!”

“Too late,” Soraseo replied while positioning herself near the edge, her sword drawn. “One is coming.”

A monstrous beast flew straight into the cargo hold’s hole before I could ask for details.

The demon was a grotesque perversion of an avian beast, its pale sallow flesh bulging with coarse veins and a sagging underbelly. I had no idea how its ragged wings could sustain a creature nearly as huge as a stoneskin in the air, but it did. The monster broke midway into the cargo hold with a set of talon arms and the disturbingly human face of an obese human with a fanged maw and a crown of horns.

The beast attempted to close its yellow fangs on Soraseo’s head, but my friend easily dodged and slashed the beast across its gut. Disgusting, greasy yellow blood dripped from what should have been a lethal wound, but the monster simply responded with a furious flurry of claws that cut through wood and steel like knives through butter. Soraseo easily danced around its blows and countered with slashes of her own.

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Trusting my friend to handle herself, I moved to the end of the cargo hold. A blue runestone scepter awaited in a glass box inside the wall. I immediately smashed it with my fist and grabbed the object inside.

Before Luciette and Rosaline left us in Goldport to rejoin the Mage, I’d asked for their help in storing some ice essence for future use. This scepter was the result.

I rushed back to assist Soraseo with my new weapon which was cold on my hands. My friend had cut off one of the demon’s talons, while the other failed to smash Soraseo into fine paste. It did succeed in destroying a chest full of jewelry and sending its contents spilling all over the floor and through the hole. I would have been annoyed if the threat of crashing to our deaths didn’t drown out all other concerns.

I pointed the scepter at our invader before it could cause any more damage. Essence flowed out of my weapon in a cloud of white mist that covered the demon’s face and wings in a thick layer of ice. It swiftly lost its balance, which allowed Soraseo to slice its head off in a swift stroke. The corpse turned to red mist swiftly afterward.

Not having to deal with a giant demon allowed me to start plugging the cargo hole with ice. All the water from the sprinklers made that easier. I saw a lightning bolt coursing outside the airship and the shape of a monstrous, gold-scaled griffin falling outside. Eris must have shot it down with a spell.

Nonetheless, tremors continued to rock the airship and it quickly started losing altitude.

“The balloon was damaged!” Marika warned through the loudspeakers. “We’re making an emergency landing!”

I clenched my teeth and focused on closing the hole. I barely had time to see a glimpse of clear water beneath us through the ice before the Colmar hit its surface, the sudden bump sending chests flying across the cargo.

This mission hadn’t started out so well.

----------------------------------------

In the end, Soraseo and I managed to plug the leaks and prevent the Colmar from sinking.

Marika and Mirokald had managed to land the airship into a lake which Soraseo was currently trying to identify with Beni’s assistance. Eris had shot down another demon besides the one we slew, but a third had managed to flee into the mist, which meant it was only a matter of time before it returned with reinforcements.

Whatever the case, if Daltia wasn’t aware of our presence yet, she would soon learn of it. The mere fact that she had aerial demons patrolling the region around the capital meant she expected our visit.

And unfortunately, she wasn’t the only Demon Ancestor we would have to contend with.

“So?” I asked Mirokald as he finished smelling around the cargo hold. “Do you notice anything?”

“Yes, a human’s smell which I do not recognize,” Mirokald growled. “We had a stowaway.”

My jaw clenched on its own and I cursed my inattention. Mirokald, Eris, Marika, and I had spent a good hour searching the ship for any other runestone bombs or hints about the real Erika’s whereabouts. We had found a few explosives near the engine room which the sprinklers had thankfully prevented the detonation of. Things could have been much worse if our intruder had managed to access that room.

I thanked the Goddess only Marika and I had keys to access it. We had crafted some basic safety and anti-infiltration procedures to avoid that very kind of outcome; and unfortunately, it hadn’t been enough.

“And Erika?” Marika asked with a scowl. Out of all of us, she was the most shaken by this turn of events. She had entrusted Chronius’ daughter to teach her son, only to learn that they had been talking to a murderous impostor.

“The two smells join at a certain point,” Mirokald replied grimly. “My guess is that our intruder ambushed her while she was checking on the animals and took her place, but I can’t find the body.”

“They didn’t leave one,” I replied. The more I thought about the implications, the worse the shivers ran down my spine. “They said they had stolen Erika.”

“Stolen?” Marika paled in recognition. “So that thing was–”

“Shamshir,” Eris confirmed with a dark look. “The Shadow of Envy.”

We had shared breakfasts with a Demon Ancestor without any of us realizing it.

The most frightening part about this ordeal was that our marks hadn’t detected Shamshir’s. I knew it made sense considering that they belonged to two different sets, but it showed that we had very few ways of actually identifying them.

“The Shadow usually stops at stealing a victim’s face and memories, but when they want to be thorough, to be certain they won’t slip up in any way or form… they can steal an entire person,” Eris explained to us. “Their face, their body, their soul... They absorb their victim into themselves.”

“So Erika isn’t dead,” Marika said, hopeful.

“No,” Eris replied with a grim look. “But she probably wishes she were.”

A tense silence followed her declaration. Rubenzo had told me of the issues he suffered when he stole memories or pieces of others he couldn’t get rid of. To steal another person, from their soul to their flesh and their entire sense of self, would be a terrifying experience for both parties. Yet the Shadow of Envy didn’t even hesitate.

How many people were stuck inside that monster?

“Can we get her back somehow?” I asked, though I worried it would be a long shot.

Eris didn’t look too confident. “If we kill the Shadow somehow, maybe, or if you trick it into a deal or negotiate one.”

“So they’re keeping her as a hostage,” I guessed.

Marika crossed her arms. “How long has it been? Since the switch?”

“Goldport,” Eris replied, her arms crossed. “It had to be since Goldport. There was no reason the Shadow would travel to Erebia when we were there, while Goldport had a Knot cell hiding in the city and ships that serviced the Shinkoku. I would bet that the switch happened around that time.”

I suspected as much. Erika mostly spent time with us until the exorcism mission, when all of our gathered Heroes cleared the Blight over the Salvadoreen Mansion. If the Shadow had been stalking us for a while, they could have easily switched with her around this time.

I knew it seemed odd that Erika would choose to stay with us rather than follow her father, but I’d chalked that up to her wanting to stay safe with a larger party and to keep tutoring Beni.

“In that case, we must assume that the Shadow knows everything Erika does,” Mirokald concluded. “Maybe more if they managed to steal our memories or spy on our discussions without our notice.”

“Which is an awful lot,” Marika pointed out. “They likely know about the crown and everyone’s identities. If Shamshir approaches Chronius’ group while pretending to be his daughter–”

“I’ll go warn the other group immediately,” Eris cut in. “Though I don’t think the Shadow will take the risk now that we know the truth. I suspect they will instead steal another identity and infiltrate the Devil’s forces. This will put them in the best position to steal the crown when the time comes.”

“We were extremely lucky,” Marika muttered under her breath. “The Shadow might have killed everyone onboard if they had managed to access the alchemical engine. Our safety protocols lessened the damage.”

“I don’t think it was luck, not entirely,” I replied. “If they have been with us since Goldport, then they passed on plenty of opportunities to ambush or cripple us.”

Mirokald clenched his jaw. “If the Shadow has the Assassin’s power, then they could have killed us all in our sleep with a brush of a finger. That fiend allowed us to live.”

“Exactly,” I confirmed. “I suspect they want us delayed, not out of the game.”

Marika scowled. “They think we’ll take care of Daltia for them?”

I nodded in assent. “My guess is that they want us and Daltia’s forces to keep fighting each other so it can exploit the chaos to snatch the new Artifact away. If we had reached Mount Kazandu by air before they were ready to act, we would have had a good chance of seizing the site or at least preventing the Devil of Greed from using it; something which will become much harder now once she learns of our presence. And by letting us know they stole Erika, they can use her as a hostage to blackmail us with.”

“I could use my power to track them down,” Mirokald suggested.

“That wouldn’t help us much,” I replied immediately. “Even if we confronted the Shadow of Envy in battle with our superior numbers, we have no way of actually keeping them in the ground. We don’t know what their soulbound item is, let alone where it’s located.”

“Besides, the Devil of Greed remains our top priority,” Eris added. “Shamshir is individually dangerous, but they lack the means to create an Artifact capable of unraveling reality itself.”

“What do you think the Shadow meant when they said they had to ‘reunite with their face?’” I inquired. I had a gut feeling that this was important somehow.

Eris shook her head. “I cannot say, handsome. Stories say that the Shadow’s true face, gender, and identity were never uncovered, even by their allies.”

Which meant even the Devil of Greed didn’t know more than we did. I wasn’t sure how to take that news. With some luck, Daltia having to deal with another rival might help us prevail.

“Let’s assess the damage done then,” I said while taking coins from my purse. “I will purchase your memories from Goldport and then return them. Since the Shadow does not own what they take, if they have messed with our perception somehow then this should either cancel the deal or the theft.”

I proceeded to test everyone present, and then Soraseo and Beni once we rejoined them on the ship’s deck. I quickly confirmed that Shamshir didn’t steal any of our memories, nor that anyone recalled touching Erika in a way that would have triggered their unique ability. I guessed that our decision to limit physical contact to reduce the risk of Shadow infiltration had partly paid off.

Otherwise, Beni—whom the truth had clearly spooked him to his core—had managed to use his power to help his mother repair the Colmar enough to serve as a normal ship, though it would take a lot more time and resources to make it flight-worthy again. Beni’s ability let him create runestones, but not charge them with the essence we needed to fuel the alchemical furnace; and between the demon attack’s damage and the Shadow’s sabotage, our supplies had hit a record low.

We’d need to return to civilization to restock.

“I believe that this is Lake Upowa, in the wetlands,” Soraseo informed us. “We are a day’s ride away from the capital, Seiraku, and two from Mount Kazandu.”

That both pleased and displeased me. “On one hand, we could buy new wind and fire runestones at the capital,” I said. “On the other hand, the authorities are bound to dispatch a search party to investigate an explosion in the sky so close to their center of power. Considering demons are openly flying around, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Knots have infiltrated the army.”

“I know places along the river where we can hide the Colmar,” Soraseo reassured me. “Coves and secret refuges known only to the imperial family and meant to be used in troubled times.”

“Even if we can resupply, it will take a few days of repair until the Colmar can fly again,” Marika warned us. “Seo, do you think the government can help us secure Mount Kazandu? Or at least send a contingent of soldiers to help us secure the site?”

Soraseo scowled grimly. “I cannot say. I can ask my old teacher, but…” She looked away at the mist-covered lake waters. “I do not know if he is still angry with me.”

While Soraseo had technically fulfilled the conditions her father set to end her exile, her brother ‘ruled’ the empire under a council of regents, none of whom might appreciate the princess’ return. We’d better gain more information before announcing her presence.

“I’ll use my power to alter your face until we can ensure your safety,” I said. “Switch a few colors until no one can recognize you. We’ll buy the runestones we need, gather information, see if we can reunite with Rubenzo’s group there, and act accordingly.”

“Thank you for your wisdom, Robin,” Soraseo replied with a smile of gratitude. “I shall do my best to guide you in return.”

“We’ve got another problem,” Mirokald said with a deep scowl. “Ma and I will attract attention around these parts, won’t we?”

Soraseo nodded sadly. “Our people have never seen yetis nor stonetusks. Your presence will inspire confusion, if not panic.”

“Then we’ll split up,” Mirokald decided. “Ma and I will stick to the wilderness while you rejoin civilization.”

“Are you certain, Miro?” Eris asked. “You don’t know the terrain. The Shinkoku Empire isn’t the northern lands.”

“You wound me, Eris. I’m the Hunter. Nobody can find me in the wilderness unless I let them, and we’ll hide better on our own than with a large group.” Mirokald nodded to himself. “Ma and I will find our own way to the mountain undetected, so we can keep an eye on it. Eris can help us stay in contact and coordinate.”

“You should stick to observation until we can gather forces there,” I advised. “Unless the Artifact ritual seems to be underway, in which case… well…”

“In which case, we’ll do what we can to buy time.” Mirokald shrugged his shoulders, his hand gripping his spear. “I know what I signed up for.”

I exchanged a few glances with the others. All in all, we had a solid plan in spite of the unforeseen circumstances.

The Shinkoku expedition had officially begun.