Onvyr arrived at the grand library together with a small number of royal guards, ready to intact the will of the demon lord should anyone attempt to disobey.

He was to be given full access to the library, something that is rarely given to those not affiliated with the Vu’ul clan. The safekeeping of Its knowledge has been managed by them for generations, and they hold their sacred duty of guarding the wisdom of the great spirits very seriously, sometimes to their own detriment.

The Vu’ul clan has never been fond of combat, they were scholars after all, not warriors. Their security is often flawed but it has been good enough to keep all intruders from entering the deepest part of the library, where the oldest of scriptures is stored.

Onvyr was met by the head of the Vu’ul clan upon his arrival, Nula Vu’ul, who was quite agitated by his appearance as he knew what it meant.

“greetings Onvyr, I apologize for the cold welcome but as you can see we are preoccupied. So, what brings you here?”

“I apologize for the sudden visit, but I am here to take over the investigation under orders of the demon lord.”

Onvyr was quick to answer and bring up the name of the demon lord, attempting to snuff any opposition before it even arose. His frustration made him care very little for pleasantries and it showed in his attitude.

“what are his majesty’s orders exactly?”

“I’ll leave these guards here to explain the details, I’m afraid I’ve no time to waste I must make my way to the library at once.”

Nula Vu’ul was left behind to argue with guards over the decision while Onvyr made his way into the library. He thought of the possible target of Shiira, but it was nearly impossible to know without further information. The library was massive after all, containing countless books and papers, most written in languages even he can’t understand.

The closer he got to the library entrance the more guards he encountered, many of them from different clans who came to assist the Vu’ul clan in case another attack was to happen. All the great clans sent some of their members to help, however, this act was one of need, not charity.

Very few demons are allowed inside the deepest part of the library, and due to the secrecy of the Vu’ul clan, they have no clue as to what is inside. All clans have secrets, ones that can threaten their position or even their very existence if leaked.

Onvyr hated the hypocrisy of the great clans, and while it didn’t show on his face he was internally disgusted by the display of their too-faced nature taking place right in front of him.

“What are you doing here? I thought a simple break-in would be below your pay grade.”

He was shocked when he heard the familiar voice of Adam reach out to him from within the crowd.

“w-what are you doing here?”

It was like a permanent force field that both attracted and repelled the demons surrounding Adam. they all kept their distance but were watching him like cornered prey, both in fear, shock, and awe. The warriors of the many clans believed him to be one of the strongest beings to ever walk the battlefield and the scholars of the Vu’ul clan saw him as the most interesting object of study they could ask for, but one that could kill them in the blink of an eye.

“I’m here to provide support as a member of the In’shi clan, I believe my fighting prowess is more than enough for the job.”

Idiot, you want to go into the library, don’t you?

His ruse was seen through immediately by Onvyr, but he didn’t know what to do with the information. trying to coax him into leaving might backfire if Adam was to make a scene. The demon lord already suspected him of being an accomplice, a public squabble right next to the scene of the crime would only worsen the situation.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Maybe this isn’t a bad thing at all…maybe I can even use it to my advantage. He might know things that I don’t, he was a part of the human army, they must’ve had intel on the different clans and their unique magic.

“all right come with me, I need to investigate the library. Turns out this is no small matter at all, I’ll give the details on the way.”

The building they entered was a humble one, nothing like the extravagant palace of the demon lord or the court Adam was trialed in earlier today. It was more practical in design, made to house as many demons as possible without sacrificing too much comfort.

“the grand library is in here? This place is even smaller than you-I mean our clan’s headquarters, although, it does feel strangely…cozy here.”

Onvyr, the ever so calm demon, couldn’t hide the amusement on his face.

“that’s because it’s a human design. This building is unique you know, it was built especially for the Vu’ul clan shortly after the civil war ended. To this day they are the only clan to have their headquarters in the capital. the others, including ours, have vast territories they rule in the name of the demon lord. The buildings here are just outposts made for members of a particular clan to stay in when needed.”

Adam looked around in amusement, now able to see the human influence on the architecture of the place. he was so absorbed in his sightseeing that he missed the big grin that Onvyr had on his face.

“it must’ve been built by the military then, huh, no wonder I felt at home.”

“the military did build it, it was meant to house a vault of information after all. Construction was finished in under a year too; quite impressive, especially considering the era.”

Adam was unimpressed by the time frame. The building wasn’t very big or very fortified. It was adequate as a type of pseudo-military housing unit, not an unbreakable vault of secret information.

“well I can see why it was broken into, it’s not very well made for security. No guard towers, gates, or fences. Anyone can make his way in here”

“hahaha, Moren, my friend. I think you have a very wrong idea of what the library is, but we are here now so I’ll let you see for yourself.”

Adam braced himself as they neared a normal-looking door, he imagined what would lie beyond it and it made him slightly excited. Perhaps it was a vast library cramped into a small space via magic, or perhaps the door led to a pocket dimension where the library is, making this building nothing but a container for it.

He heard a lot of rumors about the demons and their powers during the war, but there was no way of verifying what was true or false. Tales of demons transforming into dragons, reversing time, and even turning humans into demons with a touch ran rampant among the soldiers of mankind. Adam saw this as an opportunity to confirm one of the old myths firsthand, however, what he saw once the door opened was nothing like he imagined.

A normal-looking, empty white room with no books or shells to be seen greeted the disappointed Adam.

“…is this it? are you going to teleport us somewhere now or what? Because I see no books here.”

Onvyr chuckled and gestured for Adam to stand in the middle of the room.

“as I said, this place was built by humans, and as such it’s made using human methods and logic”

The floor shook as if reacting to his words and slowly began to descend. Taking Adam and Onvyr along with it.

“the library…is an underground vault?”

Adam spoke in a surprised tone, and his shock only grew the further they descended.

“it’s comprised of 26 floors, A to Z. each floor contains millions of books and they get progressively smaller the further down you go, and once the lift moves another static floor takes its place. simplistic, yet fiercely efficient…quit the human design don’t you think?”

Adam quickly grasped just how massive the library truly is, and why onvyr found the time it took to build it to be impressive. It was an underground hive that would’ve taken many workers and resources to construct, things he didn’t expect the army would spare.

“the lift needs a specific pattern of magic to be released before it moves, every floor has a unique pattern and all patterns change on daily basis. It was the architect’s idea to have the room where the lift is located to be as plain as possible if you were wondering, he claimed it to be an extra layer of security.”

“how was it broken into then?”

“that girl must’ve caught the guards in the middle of changing shifts. She sunk in and knocked them out after learning the pattern. It’s quite impressive, one needs to be very sensitive to magical forces to do that, and she did it for multiple floors, all the way to F floor.”

Adam was impressed by the skill of the so-called terrorist, but one small part of Onvyr’s explanation grabbed his interest.

“girl?”

“Shiira, one of the three members of the Ash’ai clan that made first contact with you, do you remember her?”

Adam recalled his battle with Uzan and his quick talk with Shiira, the scarred demon who was healing Bari while he toyed with her superior. His image of her was similar to the one Onvyr had, she was a noble warrior and dedicated soldier, not a terrorist or thief.

“we’re here, she was apprehended in section F-25. The bodies of the two demons who were killed by her there were collected, but other than that everything was left the same as it was. remember we’re here to investigate and that is it, try not to start anything with the guards.”

Adam waved his hands in acknowledgment and walked off the platform, ready to start his search for answers and help with Onvyr’s investigation along the way.