Josla was sitting in her office, reviewing the status of her army. Three days ago, the wedding ring she received from Korkas fell from her finger, forcing her to fear the worst. She sent her scouts towards that cursed dungeon, but it would take time for them to return. She rallied her armies, but less than thirty thousand soldiers responded. Count Kotna, Viscount Griffith, Viscount Heftin, and Baron Plon replied to her call and reinforced the Capital with their soldiers. The other nobles ignored her or responded that they were already engaged in skirmishes and couldn't afford to send anyone.

"Traitors..." she whispered as she read the next letter sent by another noble who refused the call to arms.

"My Queen, rest assured that the capital is protected by fifty thousand soldiers. We also have the upper hand, since our defensive positions give us an advantage against the attackers." Count Kotna fixed his fancy moustache. "I ordered my household to prepare more soldiers, my Queen."

"I can't believe that no one else answered the call..." Griffith rubbed his chubby chin. "When we put down these cursed rebels, we should deal with the traitors!"

Josla looked at him and tried to smile. "Indeed. Let's hope that King Korkas returns soon so we can use his wisdom to crush the rebels." Something in her head clicked almost painfully, and she felt a piercing headache. "Excuse me, I have to take a rest."

She left the office with the help of two slave girls while the gathered nobles stayed behind. It was a few minutes of awkward silence after which they looked at each other in fear. The spring rain rattled over the glass of the window and while they observed, in unison, the dark clouds brewing on the horizon, all of them seemed to silently share the feeling that King Korkas was not going to return.

•••

It took us two days to discuss everything that was related to our plans in shorter and longer terms. Now we could review the additional questions we had about things that happened recently. I managed to track down Ian and make him attend the meeting along with everyone who participated in Verka’s rescue. But in the end, Amber convinced me that Ian, Lanka and Idna would suffice.

"As you know, Re-kari died protecting you all. Legio Infernus Ignis's first priority right now is the recovery of his body. They reached the destroyed compound and they are now commencing the retrieval mission. I connected with the Praetorian who is guarding Re-kari's body and he confirmed that since the rift closed, he has detected no activity. Rest assured that I will not leave him to rot in that God-forsaken place." I pointed at Ian. "According to your report, you have secured a few items while in there."

"Yes, my Lord." He confirmed and took out three rings of holding. After he placed them on three different plates, he started explaining their contents, beginning with the left side. "In this ring, we have the first golem creature we fought against after entering the tomb proper. It's amazing on so many levels and its core is something impressive. The golem in this ring was knocked out, and we managed to store it while it was still functioning. In the second ring, I stored the golem cores we obtained during the battle..."

He stopped after seeing the terrified faces of Eternals. Hestia raised her hand and pointed at both rings. "Mister Ian, these cursed tools have to be destroyed. They are not the items you want to even touch."

"With all due respect, my Lady, we do not possess the skills necessary to forge or create new golem cores. Every single one of them is priceless!" Ian protested.

"Ian." I looked at him calmly. "I am sure there is far more than one reason for Hestia to warn us against using these cores. My Queen?"

"Thank you, Theon." Hestia smiled and took a deep breath before she proceeded with an explanation. "These items indeed can pass as golem cores, however, as I told you before, these are not what they seem to be. They are cursed tools. Each one of them was forged in a fire that burned people alive. Their suffering and despair shaped these cores and continues to power them." Ian paled after hearing that, his face slowly turning grey. Hestia sighed slowly. "I wish Hephaestus was here. He was far more knowledgeable about such things..."

"He was. But it's not like we are seeing these for the first time..." Zeus exhaled and continued instead of Hestia. "They are called Void Hearts, and indeed you could foolishly use them as golem cores, Ian. However, the golems with these Hearts will always turn on you in the moment of your greatest need. Anything with them inside would serve Void Gods. They can't be purified, they can't be repurposed, and they can only be destroyed, albeit through great effort. Oh... One more thing. The 'golems' you fought back then were not golems at all. Pure, innocent people were abducted by the Void or Chaos cultists, and after Heart of Void is forged, it is force-fed to such an unfortunate person, turning them into unwilling puppets. Then their soul further powers such a core until the core is destroyed. Destroying these cursed items is the only salvation for those whose lives were lost during the creation of this abominable tool. You still wish to use them, Ian?"

"No... We should destroy them all immediately, God Zeus," Ian said quietly after he slowly stood up and deeply bowed towards Zeus and Hestia. "I am so sorry, my Queen, for my foolish words."

"This is not an easy task at all..." Zephyr saddened. "Grandine's fire was able to melt them, freeing the souls of those trapped."

"Could we just bury them at the cemetery?" Irene tilted her head and looked at the storage ring. "The power of consecrated soil should break any curse that traps souls and allow them to move on."

"We can always try, but I don't think it would be that easy." Hera put her fist under her chin. "We would need anti-daemon spells, I'm afraid. What's in the last ring?"

"In the second chamber, where the torture tools were, laid hundreds of dead bodies. I just stored them in the ring so we could bury them with dignity." Ian trembled at the memory of that sight.

"You have... WHAT?!" Hestia's jaw dropped as she weakly buried her head in her arms. "For Heavens... We have a problem."

"He stored undead Guards of the Abyss in a storage ring?" Zeus snickered.

"That's not funny at all, Zeus!" Hera frowned.

"Calm down, please. Judging by your reactions, I see we might have a problem, but I want some details." I stopped their bickering.

"Normally, one of the chambers in Void or Chaos Temples is full of relentless undead, who simply can't be destroyed. They consist of weak cultists who were unable to bear the power bestowed by their wicked Gods. Some are even victims who tried to join the cultists. They try to cut their way in, but at some point, some will become too tired to move and the cultists kill the weak. Then they join the cultists as another unfortunate, sacrificed soul." Hestia offered an answer. "I don't know if they can be destroyed at all..."

"Maybe the answer is again to bury them in the cemetery?" I asked.

"They are weak on their own so I guess we could test that on one of them..." Hestia sighed but the other Eternals just nodded, except for Verka, for whom everything was as new as for the rest of us.

"All right, after we finish this meeting, we can try to get rid of void things." I nodded and hummed under my breath. "Hera, you mentioned anti-daemon spells. What's the difference between Daemons and Devilkins?"

"You're serious?" Hera looked at me in surprise and then her eyes went wide as she saw the same ignorant look on the faces of others who were not Eternals. "Oh, Heavens... Simply put, Devilkins are normal people of the world who just happen to live mostly in the Shadow Realm. Once they were a noble, perhaps a bit too proud, group of people. Daemons, on the other hand, are servants of evil but they are not servants of Void. Well... Maybe they could be affiliated with Chaos, but there is no solid proof. They seem to have their own agenda."

"So... Daemons and Devilkins are not related?" I wanted to confirm this one for sure.

"Not at all." Hera shrugged.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

"If that's true, then can anyone explain this?" I summoned one of my trash swords because there was no need to destroy a good one. "Daemon Slaying Blade: Galatine."

The simple, short bronze sword transformed with cracks of lightning and bright flashes of light. It became a pristine longsword, its blade shining as if it was made from the purest silver. Everyone looked in astonishment at the sword that crackled with power and reflected the bright sun's rays like a mirror. "I am fairly sure I have obtained this sword because I have killed so many Devilkins and Demons during the Battle for Dragon's Gate. So this is what boggles me. I killed Demons, but the Legendary sword in my hand insists it's a Daemon Slaying Blade. Daemon and Demon. What the fuck?"

"Okay... This is strange, I admit." Hera rubbed her chin.

"Less than you think, Hera." Zeus sighed and donned his teacher's face. "It's as old as the Daemons. The process called daemonification is responsible for twisting those who fall into evil too much. If someone undergoes daemonification, they usually become far more violent, aggressive and impulsive. At the beginning of the process, they retain their identity, but that state usually won't last long. Depending on the individual's willpower and some other qualities, such a person can resist the Daemon, but eventually, they are bound to fail. Once the process is complete, a true Daemon possesses the body of a deamonified person. In the case of animals or monsters, there is usually no strong will to resist possession, so the process is far faster."

"Oh right... Creatures, monsters or even people can be daemonified..." Hera tapped her forehead. "It flew out of my mind since Daemons were last seen over six or seven thousand years ago."

"I wouldn't be so sure. I still believe that the Dark Empire which attacked the continent of Aderon during the Age of Heroes was led by a Daemon Lord or even Daemon King." Zephyr crossed his arms in front of him.

"Oh come on, Zephyr!" Hera frowned at him.

"Why did they use so many Daemonic beasts while their warriors seemed to be willful servants?" Zephyr insisted.

"Pfff... Fine. I can give the benefit of doubt to your theory." Hera threw her hands above her hand angrily, but Zephyr just smirked victoriously.

"All right. So we can agree that at least some of the Devilkins, back then, became daemonified?" The sword in my hand crumbled into dust. The low-tier swords couldn't withstand transformation for long.

"Cahrona's brother, almost for sure, was daemonified." Hestia nodded in confirmation.

"Luna, you knew about that?" I looked at my cute Kitsune.

"To be honest, no. I can't recall any information about Daemons... Unless..." Her ears moved angrily as she clenched her fists. "Unless I was robbed of those memories!"

"Ahh... Our old enemy. Lord Dickhead..." I nodded with understanding. "That would explain this."

"Lord Dickhead?" Zeus giggled. "Whose that?"

"No clue. I made up his name as well. A long time ago..." I started to be interrupted almost instantly.

"Last autumn..." Amber rolled her eyes and giggled. "But I get it. It feels so long ago..."

"Yeah." I smiled warmly back. "It was probably just right after I was sent to this world. This mysterious entity was robbing or even destroying my memories bit by bit. Later on, we discovered that Amber and Irene were attacked in the same manner as well, but it seems that the damage done to them was not that extensive. I almost caught him, however, he managed to slip away. After that, Stella managed to create barriers around Avalon, with their main purpose being to protect us from such sneak attacks. After that, Lord Dickhead did not dare to attack us again. However, I can't rule out that he was not targeting Luna as well."

"Another hidden enemy..." Zeus sighed.

"I think I know who you talking about." Vali scratched the side of his head. "Technically, he doesn't have a name. Practically speaking, however, his name is Zar-Jir'kulun. It's a cursed sword with a soul of its own. Hmmm... No, that's wrong. It's a magical parasite whose real body looks like a sword. Upon touching it, Zar-Jir'kulun will instantly kill such a person and take over their body and all memories. I believe his powers revolved around meddling with the memories of others. He was a Dark Empire General, so I have no idea what he is doing on our continent."

"Wait... If he had no name then... Bfff... Hahahaha!" Zephyr started laughing uncontrollably and afterwards, all the Eternals started laughing.

"What is so funny?" I asked in a bored tone. "I really don't like to be left outside the joke..."

"Sorry..." Zephyr took a deep breath to calm himself. "You named him. Given how strong you are, I am sure of it. After all, he is an item, not a living being, so if your power was enough to almost trap him, they were enough to change his ownership as well. Zar-Jir'kulun might be a parasitic sword in the service of a Daemon Lord, but if you truly named him, he has no choice but to serve you now forever. Or even if he is strong enough to rebel, he can't attack you or anyone in your service."

"Pfff... So now he is called Lord Dickhead and basically is harmless?" I cracked a smile.

"Oh no. He is still dangerous, but you will know immediately if he is around." Hestia smiled. "For anyone else, just stay away from any fancy-looking, overdone, big, black swords with grotesque blood-red finishes that look flashy but unwieldy. I will try to provide you with a drawing."

"Fair enough." I nodded. "Now, the last thing that is bothering me: ley line gates."

"What about them?" The Eternals, including Hestia, looked at me puzzled.

"They were sealed. The Dragon's Gate is the last intact and slowly recovering node that remains in the world!" Luna looked at them with terror painted on her face. I watched as they all turned serious in an instant.

"What?" Hestia was the first to look at Luna and I.

"As far as we can tell, it's true. Dragon's Gate, fortunately, was located in the Shadow of Avalon. The grand fortifications are now protecting it from any attackers. Legio Umbra is holding guard at that fort and one thousand Praetorians are guarding the Gate itself." I nodded. "I thought we told you about that when we met?"

"But you didn’t tell us that Dragon Gate was the last active leyline node in the world!" Zeus ruffled his hair. "We are not Gaya! We can't sense ley lines! This is bad! Very, very bad!"

"We just have to break the seals placed on the other nodes, yes?" I shrugged.

"Theon, I don't know where they are." Luna gave me an apologetic look. "I assumed that I could sense them, but no. The ley lines have started rebuilding, but it will take millennia to rebuild them at this rate."

"Why don't we just ask Cahrona Ashes about the location of other nodes?" Amber looked calmly at the panicking Eternals. "She seems to understand that she was very wrong. What's more, she might be valuable as an ally." She faintly smirked.

"Explain," I knew that smile.

"First of all, she is a legitimate princess of the Devilkins," Amber replied as I groaned, knowing fully well where she was going, only to be thoroughly ignored. "No matter if you like it or not, Theon. If you make her your Queen or concubine, she will gain authority to contest or even wrestle the power of the current leaders of the Devilkins."

"Theon, Amber is right." Irene shrugged and sipped her tea. "I know you do not like this idea..."

"Oh, I wouldn't say so..." Aoi grinned while ostentatiously looking at her wedding ring.

I rubbed my eyes in defeat while some people chuckled. Yes, they were kinda right... Giving the option of political marriage or waging another war the choice was very obvious, especially from the perspective of Mortals. "I... Kind of...*sigh* Accept this reality."

"Thank you, Theon." Amber smiled brightly at me and surprisingly did not continue the topic of a political marriage. "You said that Cahrona's brother was Daemonified? You got close to her, Hestia?"

"Yes. Cahrona believed in the false image of mine." Hestia tapped her lips thoughtfully. "I see her from time to time since she smoothly transitioned into believing in the real me. She is a changed person after we severed all the bad influence she was under. Anyway! She told me about her brother and his sudden change a bit over a year ago. I am fairly sure he was Daemonified and after I explained what happened to him, Cahrona was devastated."

"Don't expect me to pity her." I shrugged and pointed at Amber, Irene and Luna. "I want to remind you that she wanted to sacrifice the three of you."

"Details..." Amber waved her hand as if she wanted to repel a mosquito. "We... Well, technically, you slayed most of her friends and her only brother. So we are even, I guess."

"Ughh... You know what, I don't want to argue about it. How is she going to be useful?" I rubbed my temples.

"As I said, you can use her to gain control over Devilkins. She is a princess after all." Amber tried again.

"But she is rather weak. Even before anything that happened with Devilkins, they were fairly similar to Dragonkins. Maybe less brutal but certainly magic and martial prowess were important status factors." Hera sighed.

"So how is this a problem?" Hestia asked, visibly amused while mana fire coiled around her slender arm.

"Fair point..." Hera smiled in return.

"*ekhem* However..." Amber raised her voice slightly. "Even if Theon doesn't want to use her to secure the loyalty of Devilkins, her knowledge about the Shadow Realm is still useful. She not only knows how to navigate in that place but she potentially might lead us to some of the sealed leyline nodes. This is the real reason why I believe she is going to be useful."

"Ohhhh..." At least half of the people around the table, me included, must have felt awkward now.