The Judgment is the key to rebirth.

He must acquit for all of the sins and temptations they endured to shed his false self. Only then, he will realize his true nature and role in this world.

It's only a matter of time until he reaches the final destination of his journey.

Only then he will return to The World he calls home.

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The World... I call home...

How long do I wait until you reach your Judgement, Aster?

I've been waiting for you since Casia left to investigate. I kept an eye on Gabriel while teaching him some do's and don'ts in our mansion. But there has been no response from him so far.

I am waiting patiently for you to return. So please, Aster...

Don't let me wait too long.

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"Vander?"

I blinked as soon as Gabriel called out to me. It seemed like I was almost lost in my thoughts when I was studying some advanced Alchemy books Casia left me at the library. Although I don't know if it's a good time for me to read since he's currently outside the Demon Territory again. Regardless, I stretch out my arms afterward and turn to Gabriel.

"What is it? Do you need help with your magic again?" I asked. "But I have to warn you again that I'm no great teacher like Casia."

"It's true I need some help on that. It's just he didn't say what he does exactly when he told us he's going back to that village," Gabriel said. "It's the same when I was living in his cave. I'm worried he might do anything crazy there."

Huh. I didn't expect him to worry about Casia like that. I guess he really treated him like me when he found him.

"He might be a big dragon, but he's no idiot. He won't recklessly charge into a human village without any thought and whatever happens to us, he is willing to drop everything to rescue us on a double. At least that's what he vowed to me."

"But what if he gets hurt by those villagers? What if they find out he's a demon dragon?"

I sighed and stood up to pat Gabriel's head. "I assure you that will never happen. Casia is strong for a good reason and he's not the type to expose him." I smirked. "If anything, those humans at the Demon Border should be the ones who should be worried."

To my surprise, Gabriel slowly backed away from me. "Huh? What's the matter?" I didn't do anything to him other than read my books.

"It's just that you're not like Aster. He tends to worry about Casia and me along with many other things. But you... You don't seem to be afraid of everything and are willing to risk just to get something you want. Namely those strange crystals..."

"I don't want to talk about it," I grumbled, not wanting to recall that incident. "I thought it would be easier without Aster around. He's normally the one who made those hybrid Mana Crystals."

"Huh? But you're studying those books about Alchemy? Aren't you supposed to be good at them?"

"Yeah. But compared to me and Aster, he's way above and reckless when it comes to his skills with the crystals. I prefer other ways to apply my alchemy skills."

Before I can continue, I notice Gabriel staring at me strangely. "Wow... You said you're a demon. So I'm expecting that you're all powerful and immortal like the villagers said. So I thought you're good at making evil experiments."

I flinched when he made that comment. "What the hell did they teach you about demons?" I sighed to regain my composure. "It's true about the immortal part. But I'm nowhere near as powerful as Casia and the Demon Lords. I'm a Demi-Fiend, the weakest demon in the Demon Territory. That means having magic and powers aren't enough to be at Casia's level."

"Oh?" Gabriel frowned and looked at me. "Aren't you sad about it?"

I shake my head. "I'm not bothered about it. I get I'm not going to start as the most powerful demon. But it's not enough for me to give up. I'm not relying too much on strength and I rather prefer to use my words than force. As long nobody threatens our home, I'm not gonna raise a finger against our enemies." I sighed. "Of course, I still need to keep myself in shape to prepare myself. I still need to get stronger for Casia's sake."

"To get...stronger..." Gabriel stared at his hand for a while. "Vander, can you help me master magic again? I want to cast spells by the time Casia gets back."

I smirked as I put down my book. "I thought you would ask that again. Like I said, I'm not a good teacher and my teaching methods are...strange, to say the least. Are you prepared for it?"

"...Yes. I also want to get stronger like you. I don't know if it's enough to pay him back, but I don't want to be a boy who gets blamed by everyone again."

He might have other reasons, but I applaud his determination. "Right. Let's head out in the back and start with your Dark magic."

"Why not Fire?"

I groaned. "Trust me. We don't want to make an accident with Casia not around. I learned it the hard way."

I didn't clarify too much about it. There were too many bad memories from my stupidity.

Either way, we head out to start with Gabriel's training.

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"Thank you for the food!"

We took the dishes that the waiter gave us while I looked around the establishment. While it's a small restaurant building in the middle of a village, it's enough to occupy about 4 customers inside. I also noticed some men in armor were also there chattering and drinking about while the cooks and waiters were working hard in the kitchen behind us. They seemed to be friendly just like the villagers when we first arrived and they had no problem with the restaurant by the ecstatic expressions on their faces.

I'm impressed with their flourishing business, but it's not enough to dissuade me from ignoring the truth behind their hospitality. Behind the villagers' warm smiles hid a dark motive and they seemed to do everything to keep us in the dark. However, I'm not the type to let them pull wool over my eyes. They are too blinded to the demon's true nature and I will make sure they will know that when the time comes. For now, all we need now is information and we need all of it before we make a confrontation.

"Man, this food is the best!"

Although I do need to deal with Val's short attention span first. When I turn around, I see a plump woman carrying a few trays on her left hand standing next to him.

"Why thank you, good sir! It's not much, but we're proud of our home-grown veggies, especially with our peppers, green onions, and carrots. They give an extra kick to the soup and salad," she said with a big grin. "Our village may be small, but if it wasn't for the God of Light blessing our harvests, we wouldn't have any food and other necessities for winter. You know, village traditions and all that."

I tilt my head. "The God of Light? I'm surprised you were able to get His blessings for your village. Normally, you would have obtained that kind of blessing when you make an offering big enough for God to accept it."

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"Oh, it's no biggie! We actually have a big ritual we have every two months. We don't want to tell you everything, but all you know is because of it, we managed to get all of the ripened harvests on time for the shipping," the waitress explained. "It's because of this blessing that we managed to sell and export everything we need. So don't sweat the small details."

I guess she's not going to give us more details no matter how much I press her in front of other villagers. I'm not gonna take that risk and save it for later.

"If that's the case, it might explain why most of the kids here are happy and healthy," Val said.

"Yes. Most of them are not only healthy but also strong and smart. They have a bright future ahead as knights, adventurers, and heroes. Who knows, they might be on par with the rumored otherworlders I've heard about."

So they have a hint of arrogance regarding the next generation... And I thought humanity's monarchy was too stuck up for its own good.

"Huh. You have big dreams when it comes to your children. But while being an adventurer is good and all, what about the ones who might inherit the farms and other facilities here?"

"Oh, we haven't forgotten about our dear old village. As long our children have the right qualities, they will contribute to our future."

Right qualities? I'm guessing they have unrealistic expectations with their children as well. I understand parents want what's best for them. But there needs to be a balance between the child's freedom and expectations. It might be the very reason it might be connected with their "ritual" and "village traditions" she mentioned. I guess I need to look a little deeper into this.

"I'm glad to hear that! If no one inherits the farms, then there's no way anyone will replicate these delicious meals!"

I sighed in exasperation. I wish he could take this undercover investigation seriously.

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After the meal, I had the chance to roam around the village in person. Looking around, I can see many villagers and children chattering and playing around respectively with farmers stocking up their stands with fruits, old folks walking around, and some boys playing swordfight with wooden swords. It's normal so far, yet my uneasiness hasn't gone away the moment I arrived here. However, they showed their smiles genuine enough to fool a naive humanoid that I couldn't press them for more information in public. Besides, the soldiers from the Demon Border are still inside the restaurant and there's a chance I may gain unnecessary attention from them. Not to mention they didn't show any unusual behavior that would relate to the investigation.

"It's been a few weeks since our last ritual."

Ritual? I heard it coming from one of the houses I passed by just now. Looks like I found what I've been looking for, but I can't let anyone know I've been eavesdropping. I may have enhanced hearing, but I need some way for me to listen closely.

Hmmm... The stall nearby should do nicely.

"Welcome, young man. Can I help you?" The woman greeted me as I approached her stall.

"Good afternoon to you, too," I greeted back with a smile. "My friend and I are about to head out, but I want to see if I can pack up some snacks for the road."

"Why, sure! I recommend some oranges. We may be way out from the ocean, but it's great for avoiding scurvies!"

It doesn't make sense since I'm not a pirate, but I'll take what she recommended. For now, I'll focus my hearing on those voices while pretending to window shop for a few minutes.

"Yeah. I'm surprised their kid hasn't come back. I can't believe he still believed that his folks would come back for him."

"Not unlike the last one 2 weeks before him. He was a handful and we had no choice but to push him out of the border to complete it."

Another child before Gabriel? That's new and concerning.

"Well, it doesn't matter what happened to him. If you enter the Demon Territory, you will never come back alive. Both of them might be demon food by now and thanks to their sacrifice, our village is thriving than before."

"I thought we might be in trouble if we didn't wait to sacrifice another child after about 4 weeks, but I guess it doubled our blessings for this month."

"I guess we should thank those kids after all. They may be useless with adventuring, fighting, and farming, but they were good at being demon baits for the sake of our traditions. Hahahahaha!!!"

I caught my mana-coated fist once I heard their laughter. Now I know he wasn't the only one who was sacrificed by their ridiculous ritual. But those humans... How dare they treat their young kin like throwable food for the Wild Demons?! Dealing with Gabriel's situation is one thing, but the other children are thrown for the sake of the village's blessings. It might be impossible to locate them since there's a possibility they might be eaten or possessed by demons. But I have to make a mental note in case this comes up again.

"Uh... Sir, are you sure you want to buy all of them?"

Whoops... I was so focused on the conversation behind the house that I realized too late I packed too many fruits in the paper bag.

"O-Oh... I'm so sorry. I must have slipped my mind." I quickly put back most of the fruits before I might drop them in my hastiness. "I'll take 3 apples and 2 oranges, please."

I paid the farmer enough money for the fruits and I bid her farewell afterward. I think that's all of the information I need. All that's left is to meet up with Val and...

"Make way! Make way! The Border Brigade has arrived for the weekly replenishment!"

The [Border Brigade]? I didn't expect the rest of them to arrive so soon. Unless they might be part of the additional Otherworlder recruits I've heard lately.

Before I took a closer look, I saw an older man approaching the soldiers with a smile wide enough to raise my eyebrow.

"It's nice to see you again, Colonel Vain," he greeted with a bow. "We were expecting you from your men, so we prepared them in advance for your arrival."

The man snapped his fingers and two more carried several baskets of fruits, vegetables, spices, and meat.

"Excellent. They are fresh as expected from your butchers and farmers," Vain grinned and checked one of the tomatoes inside. "And our equipment?"

"Our blacksmith is preparing for repairs along with new weapons for your new recruits."

"Ha! As expected from the village who followed the God's will."

Geez... The more I look at them, the more I'm appalled at the village leader's boot-licking attitude. These people remind me of a military armory rather than a quiet village.

"Umm... Forgive me for prying, but are those people inside the wagon the Otherworlders you've spoken of in your letter?" The village leader asked.

"Why yes," Vain answered as he huffed his chest. "They will be aiding us in protecting the lands from those evil demons. I assure you that nothing can get passed the borders under the care of the soldiers and these brave folks inside."

I doubt that. I slowly approached the wagon without gaining the men's attention. Then with my dragon eyes, I took a peek inside the wagon. There, I saw men and women in rags and outfits I had never seen around the Demon Territory and the humanoid civilization. As expected, they were showing fear, despair, and anger towards their "caretakers". They did nothing to help them and from their lanky disposition and bruises on their bodies, they didn't bother feeding them.

I heard from the higher-ups that Otherworlders have abilities beyond our comprehension. Some that have powers of the gods and some created wonderous inventions that cannot be found in the world's past untouched by them. There are also a rare few that possess powers that would befit the people of these lands to call them "heroes". Those are the reasons "summoning rituals" exist mostly to recruit those potential heroes into their cause. Most of the time, they mostly used them as powerful trump cards for their military might and some were treated as disposable researchers meant to upgrade their kingdom's technology in some cases, create weapons of mass destruction.

However, there are a few unlucky Otherworlders who only possess paltry abilities that they deem useless. Some were thrown out from the kingdoms and some were automatically summoned near a labor camp meant to train as bait and meat shields. And inside of that wagon are a few of the unlucky ones. I pity their inevitable fates. But if I act to rescue them, there's a chance my identity will be exposed and the villagers who treated us as equals on the surface will turn against us to the soldiers. It hurts, but I had no choice but to blend into the crowd for a little longer.

"Terrific... Didn't expect the Border guys to come here to ruin the fun."

I turn around to see Val frowning. I share his sentiments and seeing those soldiers are a few times that brought him down from his jolly attitude.

"I feel like it will get a lot worse if we stay here a bit longer. We should head out before they could see us," I suggested.

"You can't save the Others, huh?" I quietly frowned as a response. "I won't argue. I'm frustrated, but I rather not stay here, too."

I guess that's a unanimous decision. We quietly left the village on the other side of the exit as I heard some cheers from the faux heroes behind us.

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I'm worried. Not because of Casia.

Thankfully, Gabriel is in his room sleeping after spending almost the whole day practicing magic together. I know Casia and I know he will come back alive. There's no way I will spend every day worrying about me. He is one of the strongest demons in the territory.

On the other hand, I can't seem to hear Aster again. He tends to be the most vocal when it comes to magic training, yet he picked the worst possible time to sleep again. But this time, I'm more worried after his second slumber.

Because when I looked at my ring again, I tried activating it with my mana and nothing came up.

No tablets about our skills, no numbers, nothing.

Something's up with Aster and I have a feeling this is only the start of the changes not only in the Demon Territory but also in Monochroma itself.