The Fate of The Reincarnated

16. Signs of the unknown

Sven, who was well aware of the academy's unrelenting nature, yawned in exhaustion as he splashed water on his face. Its brutality had been starkly brought to light yesterday, but he was determined not to give in.

He got ready for the day ahead by moving towards the balcony of the dorm building where all the students lived. He warmed up for his daily workout, which included pull-ups and dumbbell lifts, by stretching his muscles beforehand. His desire to gain muscle was evident.

Sven in need of a boost, quickly drank a cup of coffee he had made the previous evening. He was prepared to take advantage of the opportunities it would present because today was sure to be just as interesting. "It's time to get going!" Before leaving the dorm, he told his dorm mates that he was ready to take on whatever the day had in store.

Sven was caught off guard as he hurried out of his door and met with an unexpected force, falling backward. Holding his head for a minute, he looked up to see Liric Titanfall, the legendary and fearsome adventurer known as the world's strongest, standing before him. Hex Althrathor, an outstanding gold rank in his own right, stood next to Liric.

Sven's eyes widened in shock, wondering if this unbelievable encounter was just a dream. In an effort to grasp the gravity of the situation, he murmured, "A gold plate and the only Painite-ranked adventurer." “Umm, did I do something wrong?” Being in the presence of such renowned figures made Sven uncomfortable and excited at the same time. He mustered a clumsy smile.

"Sven Ianbris, you're wanted for a mission," Hex announced, and Liric shot him a glance, but Hex paid no mind. "It's an official request from the council, so don't worry about school and quests today. You're on paid leave."

Sven's face turned red with excitement, and he began to sweat. Why would they need him if there were already two explorers of their caliber? What did he have? Was it because of his artifact? His hand automatically reached for his pocket in search of the priceless object he always kept concealed there.

"Don't fret, Sven. We simply need your unique abilities to handle a sneaky demon," Hex reassured him, and Sven's guard visibly dropped. Liric, however, continued to regard him with a skeptical expression.

The formerly gorgeous catacombs of Alza bore the marks of Quan's demonic fury as they rode toward them on several of Hex's beasts. Despite the removal of the dead bodies, the devastation caused by the strong demon was still visible.

Liric couldn't help but ask about the nature of the presence Hex had felt along the road, seeking to determine whether it was Merlo or another demon of comparable power.

Hex pondered for a moment before responding, "It felt like a fire was burning me. Its flame burning relentlessly until I moved past the location where I felt it."

"Its presence felt like that of a raging fire," Liric mused, a shard of ice rotating playfully around his hand. "Interesting. I wonder how that would affect me." He chuckled, though, in truth, he already knew the answer all too well.

"So where exactly did you feel it?" Liric asked while walking around, hoping to be struck by the sensation of the demon's presence.

"Right here. I have no idea if it was a passing demon or a fixed one." Hex replied.

"Ah, I see," Liric sighed. "Well Sven time for a pop quiz, What are the differences between a random passing demon and a fixed one."

Sven quickly straightened up his posture before answering the question. "Umm, the-" His voice cracked whenever he thought about the fact that the man in front of him was responsible for the deaths of countless sentient demons all by himself, The fact that the most famous demon hunter was in front of him, in the flesh was baffling. "The difference between them is quite simple, passing demons just refer to demons who have their own ability and techniques because they have sufficient mana, This type of demon travels from nation to nation trying to consume humans."

"Good, now the other?" The shard of ice that danced on Liric's palm melted into a puddle and Hex noticed it.

"The other is quite simple as well, fixed demons make a contract with a place basically gaining mana from whatever people, animals or creatures die there or in some extreme cases even pass by, by stealing their mana. They most times can only move around that certain location, but they are extremely strong when in said location." Sven explained.

[Cloak]

[Sound magic: Complete silence]

Hex grabbed Sven pulling him out of what seemed like a tree's vine hitting the ground so hard it broke, "What!?" Sven asked but he couldn't hear his own voice and although he could see himself his skin was translucent. "Is this Hex's technique?" Instantly an arm tapped his shoulder.

"That demon is strong, and I gotta come clean kid. We don't need you, we needed the fact your mana smelt delightful to the demons. No demon, passing or fixed would reveal its presence to Liric due to how overwhelming his mana was, however, yours successfully cloaked his. Sorry for lying to you."

He knew something was up from the very moment they came to his house, "Don't be Mr. Althrathor, not a lot of adventurers can brag about seeing Liric fight a demon firsthand."

"I guess that's one way of looking at it."

Liric stood in the middle of the chaos, more so annoyed that his ice shard was melted by the demon's presence. He could feel the presence of Hex and Sven move away as the demon spawned and he clapped silently for the gold-plated adventurer, he somehow didn't think that he would pick up on the ice shard melting. "Props."

"An adventurer. There was one with an amazing scent. Where is he?" The fixed demon now sprouted from the ground resembled a woman that completely assimilated with a tree, with her entire body bearing a green complexion, with vines for hair. "It's not you! You smell bitter, you feel bitter!"

"I tried hiding my mana signature, guess you could still feel it, well the Ianbris kid did his job pretty nicely. I guess it's my turn now." He cracked his neck and fingers.

"You smell bitter but a bit of that never killed anyone." The demon spoke again this time its speech pattern more refined.

"Hm?" Liric stopped in between a stretch.

"I am a sentient demon, I know who you are Liric Titanfall."

"Oh really, that should speed this up." Liric walked toward the demon.

"I'm smart enough to know how this ends." The demon spoke and what seemed like glass broke. "I've undone my contract with this place."

"It broke its contract? Demons that can break their contract must surely have relations to Merlo." Liric thought.

"However, I must admit, I'm rather curious to put my abilities to the test against you. After all, there's a chance that your infamous reputation might be a bit exaggerated," Liric declared with a confident grin. In an instant, a blazing inferno enveloped the demon, causing its previously green vines to transform into a vibrant red. But to Liric's surprise, the demon's vines did not burn or crumble to ash.

[Forest magic: Exuberant Fire] From below Liric grew several vines wrapped in fire, each of them snapping and growing to ridiculous heights. The demon looked at Liric as it conjured up its spell. "Destroy him, wild vines!" The vines snapped at Liric, with each one snapping about a thousand times within the span of a second.

Dust and other debris were thrown up as the burning vines slammed into the ground, enveloping the battlefield in a thick fog. But after the muck and the dust were gone, there was a strange silence. Liric stood in the middle of the silence, the air around him chilly and frozen. The flaming vines that had been whipping at him were now broken and frozen, lying on the ground like shattered ice.

"Impossible!" gasped the demon as it attempted to retreat, but in an instant, Liric appeared behind it. With a powerful kick, he sent the demon hurtling into the atmosphere.

"Care to hear an amusing tale?" Liric chuckled, soaring through the air with the demon he had kicked, both feet positioned above it as if using the creature as a makeshift pillow during their descent back to the earth's surface. "According to the texts, demons have always held the upper hand since time immemorial, or so they claim."

After their landing, both Liric and the forest demon found themselves several meters deep in the ground. Liric swiftly jumped once more, driving the demon even further into the earth. "Even the council members had a tough time dealing with your mightiest demon, along with a few other individuals," Liric remarked. He accelerated back to the top of the crater he had made, paused for a second, and then continued, grinning. "However... your kind didn't account for my birth."

[Forest magic: Maytr, the pinnacle of beauty] A spectacular forest emerged from the crater's interior, covered with a large variety of vegetation, including beautiful rosebushes and delicate cherry blossoms. But in the midst of this beautiful beauty, thorns came out each of them snapping at Liric. However, they failed to hurt him, though, appearing to be repulsed by an unknown force.

"You want to hide within that forest forever? That's not very strong-demon-like." Liric jumped above the forest, levitating in the air above it. "I didn't want to waste mana on you but I suppose it's inevitable."

[Frost magic: a glimpse of Everest] "If you hide in that forest. You'll die." Liric pointed out as a surge of frost magic was being accumulated above him. "Hex, get the kid away from here. At least to the entrance of Gales. If not. You'll die too."

Hex followed Liric's instructions without any hesitation. He grabbed Sven in a second and mounted his magic beast before taking off towards the entrance of Gales. "He never holds back; the council is definitely gonna have a field day with him," Hex remarked, knowing Liric's fondness for bold actions.

The forest demon looked out from the safety of her forest and felt a mixture of fear and false security. She felt safe because of the forest's power to protect her, but it was very horrifying to see a massive mountain growing above her that was almost the same size as Everest.

[Note: A lot of Earth’s mountains and things are named the same in this world because of the fact a lot of AE’s subjects have visited this world.]

"Still gonna hide? Very well, I'll have Inka read memories off your corpse. It's not very efficient but it'll do." Liric waved his hand and the colossal construct he had created was pushed into the ground.

A massive ice mountain that rivaled Everest's size was brutally shoved into the center of the forest, unleashing destruction comparable to a nuclear detonation. Even from the far-off territories of Leigrix, hundreds of kilometers away, the peak of the impact was apparent. This was enough to completely envelop the entirety of Alza. The once-dense forest was destroyed as the mountain fell, leaving a massive crater in its wake.

It was time to find the demon's remnants amidst all the devastation. Only two severed limbs and one demonic foot were visible as Liric observed the scene, heaving a deep sigh. The remainder of the demon's body appeared to have gotten away. "It ran," Liric mumbled, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Liric observed the aftermath of his failed attempt to defeat the forest demon as he stared at the destroyed ruins and the surroundings. He couldn't help but smile at the sheer destructive power he wielded, regardless of the outcome. He made a firm statement, "You won't be so lucky next time, forest demon."