Chronicles of the Red Sovereign

She took out a double headed axe and swung it using her free hand. I watched her put the black orb on the bag dangling beside her and got into a stance. I also brandished my twin swords, Rile and Sanx, and got into a defensive position.

I could hear Vyfal growl just above us, but I did not dare take my eyes off the figure in front of me.

"You're a demon." I muttered.

"Oho, so someone can actually recognize me."

"It's hard to forget."

Memories of the war against the demon realm back when I was still a fox deity flashed in my mind. Many warriors and acquaintances of mine died in that war. I shook my head and focused at the current situation. Unlike the demons from back then, the demon in front of me was weaker, but I wasn't sure I'd win against her with my current body.

"Are you the one who caused the dungeon break?" I asked.

"Take a guess."

She suddenly lunged at me and swung her axe once she was at a considerable distance. I deflected her attack with both of my swords then reinforced my swords and entire body with energy and with much struggle, managed to throw her away from me.

"You're strong, I like that."

The two of us started exchanging blows. Our weapons clashed with each other and occasionally threw kicks at one another. All of a sudden, she took her distance and fire converged at her blade. My eyes widened as the ball of fire she was forming was lunged at me. I jumped out of the way and jumped in a high arch. I twisted my body midair and delivered a kick which landed on her head.

When she recovered from her stupor, she suddenly sneered at me and her red eyes started glowing. I felt a chill run up my spine as her axe vanished and she was slowly engulfed in fire. She lunged at me with her nails already extended like some sort of claws. She started clawing at me and I did my best to evade it. I could see some sort of liquid dropping from her nails; poison.

"You're going to die!" she yelled and started to shout at a really loud voice.

As she yelled, a big ball of fire formed just above her head. I noticed that the fire had some black tinge in it, so it definitely wasn't a regular fire. My eyes widened as I felt the strong force of her spell. I could not deflect such a massive fireball at my current strength!

She released the fireball and it went to my direction. Both of my feet were rooted to the ground and I felt fear. I waited for the impact but it did not arrive. I heard an explosion, but I did not feel the force of it. I opened my eyes and saw a golden barrier around me. I looked to my side and saw Aunt Zaira, her clothes stained her blood.

"Aunt Zaira! You've conquered the dungeon?!" I exclaimed.

"It took longer than I intended, but yeah." she answered nonchalantly. "Anyway, we have an interesting spectator. No, she's not a spectator she's the one who did this."

"She is!"

The barrier vanished and I stood closer to Aunt Zaira, facing the demon who was still seething.

"A demon? I haven't seen one in a long time."

A strong pressure suddenly emitted from Aunt Zaira. Even though I had been around that pressure, I still felt stuffy and my legs started to wobble.

"You-" it looked like I wasn't the only one. "You're the archmage they warned me about!"

"Oho? You got warned about me but you still made a mess in Praiji Empire? How impudent."

Aunt Zaira's voice sounded edgy and dangerous. "I think this conversation is over."

A ball of wind suddenly formed in Aunt Zaira's hand, but before she could launch it to our enemy, the demon already vanished.

"She escaped." I muttered.

"Still... a demon huh." she smirked. "Yow-e-sa."

We returned to the battlefield and I saw that they were already almost finished. Eliza and Edmund had joined them the fray. I glanced at Aunt Zaira who only gave me a nod. I immediately left her side and slayed a few of the remaining monsters.

My thoughts drifted to what just happened. A demon had not appeared ever since the defeat of the demon king, more than a hundred years ago and the purge of the demons that went after that. And the language Aunt Zaira used, somehow, I found it familiar, but I could not remember where I heard it or what it meant. I was pretty sure it was somewhere in my mind, but nothing came up.

After the battle, my adoptive siblings and I were inside Sebastian's tent. Most of the soldiers were cleaning up in the field. Meanwhile Aunt Zaira and Commander Houster were in a meeting with the emperor's envoy. They were probably discussing about the demon that showed up. I was also debating whether to tell Eliza and the others about it.

The twins were currently telling us what happened in the dungeon.

"-and Aunt Zaira just watched us kill every monster that we came acros withs." Eliza said. "But I think she did it on purpose."

"Aunt Zaira was probably measuring your ability to clear a dungeon." Torii commented.

"Oh yeah. She never really comes with us when we clear dungeons back in Celestine Territory." added Sebastian.

"Makes sense." replied Eliza.

"But Aunt Zaira fought and defeated the final boss herself." said Edmund. "I haven't seen Aunt Zaira's skills in a long time. It was amazing."

Archduchess Zaira Chrishni von Celestine was the strongest mage in Central Continent. It was one of the reasons nobody messes with the Celestine Family.

The five of them (four mostly since Zach doesn't really speak much) continued talking about the dungeon.

"Hey guys, what do you think about demons?" I asked all of a sudden, interrupting their fun conversation.

""Demons?"" they asked.

"Yeah."

"Why are you talking about demons all of a sudden?" asked Edmund.

"You know… Like, what if they're around these days or something like that." I said.

"Luna, the demons have been defeated in the last Demon-Human War more than a hundred years ago." replied Sebastian. "The continent's strongest mages sealed them, including Aunt Zaira. Well, she used the name Mira during that era, but still. There's no way they're around these days."

"It's a 'what if', Seb." I said. "I mean, it's a spell and no spell lasts forever. And spells have loopholes. You know what I mean."

"Luna," Eliza sat next to me and patted my shoulder. "Those demons are no longer a threat, you understand? They're sealed and there's no way they'll return."

In mind, I couldn't help but retort at her words. Thousands of years ago, demons waged war against the gods and immortals but ended up being defeated. They were sealed but humans broke the seal and they were revived. Whether it was the humans' fault or the oversight of the gods, the spell still broke. And besides, the demon I saw that afternoon was proof of that.

"But-"

"Enough talking about that. We're supposed to be happy since we fought off a dungeon break." said Sebastian.

We all just agreed with him, the demon forgotten somewhere inside my head.

***

Meanwhile, in the command tent of the base, Archduchess Celestine, Commander Houster and Prince Jin (the emperor's younger brother), were discussing about the recent events.

"Somebody deliberately sabotaged the dungeon's barrier and caused the dungeon break." announced the archduchess in a monotone voice.

"That we know already archduchess. The question is who?" said Prince Jin who was the envoy of the emperor.

"What you know is not enough your highness." retorted the archduchess and flashed a smirk. "Should I enlighten you?"

"Please."

"I raided the dungeon with two of my students and found out that it had been conquered but the dungeon core was left intact."

""What?"" asked both the prince and the commander.

"Important items were also already looted so we were not able to collect much." she added. "Anyway, whoever did that is incredibly smart and powerful."

"Who would ever dare do something like that?" asked the commander.

"Do you believe demons will return among our midst?"

The two males just stared at her like she grew two heads. From what they knew, the demons were defeated and sealed upon the founding of Praiji Empire. And most importantly, the archduchess' mother, Archduchess Mira Chrishni von Celestine, participated in the sealing herself.

"Demons, archduchess? Do you really believe they would return?" asked the commander.

"My mother believed they would return."

"Archduchess, the seal upon them is very strong. The gods helped us form it!" exclaimed the prince.

"Everything has an expiration." she added again. "Both living and non-living things, much less a seal. Whether they broke it, weakened it or there's an involvement of a third party, it's still much better to be prepared. Whether you heed my words or not, it's up to you. Just don't come crying to me once it happens."