Finally, we arrived at Millain one month later. Good new was that I had more or less fresh out the Legend of Asthur. My first arsenal is about 90% complete but I left one piece of legend on blank because I need to know what we were up against. Bad news was that I still couldn't pull anything beyond 49 percent of the maximum potential.
Pulling a demonic sword used by a hero of the continent was draining enough given it's lore and grandeur. Pulling a divine construct or age defining artifact would be an outright suicide. After asking Central, she pretty much confirmed using my best rump card would result in instant death and failed execution.
So why did I did that despite knowing the consequence? It called ambition. Even if it was a personally tailor legend existed to provide me with weapon, I wanted the Legend of Asthur to be more than that. I loved every story I created and wanted them to shine as they should be unlike my father.
I sigh. This remind me of the time Jeane joined the social justice warrior. She got destroyed in the debate so bad and tried to come after the guy who won fair and square. I could not read my father's expression when she got the restraining order filed against her. Probably, disbelief of what is happening in the first place. Yet, despite this, he belittled Jeane in the worse choice of wording possible. Basically adding fuel to the fire and convincing her that the only way to change the world is with what he did: blindness and force. The spirit of my uncle, commonsense bless his soul, was likely squirming his grave.
Lesson of the story kid: there are no such thing as a wrong way. Mistake was simply a lesson to try differently.
Anyway, I had to admit that Millian defied my expectation. I kinda expected the wild west or maybe a European town but...
"What is this place?" I said.
"It was a multi-cultural soup of many adventurer all over the continent," Scathach smiled. "I come once or twice since it founding. It had grown so much."
"Wow," Lux said. "So this is what it look like outside Lightwell?"
The town was huge, a white cement road connected every building like a capillary of commerce. Shops and services lined the street. Some were wooden contraption right out of Arabian stories with hot red cloth wrapping up the decoration. Another were classical shop with chalk like wall and red tile roof right out of fantasy setting. Wooden eastern style hut with paper window and ornate wooden door opened wide welcoming new costumers. People came through and from the street carrying a white ruffled bad of glossary. Couple of guys dressed in blue jacket was dragging a suspicious looking man holding a lizard with sinister fang glistening with venom and scale steaming with black smog. A group of house wives was discussing the price of a fruit and haggling with tire dead-face shopkeeper for all the cent in the world.
It was a peaceful scenery. A reminder that, although life itself was a grind, not all of it was hell. The sense of wonders and recognition was still pretty much alive as these people live their lives as happy as they could.
It kinda nearly a smile to my face. I nearly thought that for once in my life I was not there to win. That this time I could enjoy myself. That was until I remember that a corrupted mega-Corp had infiltrated the town. Several hint pointed that this incident might stirred up a storm.
I had to stopped them. Why couldn't' to catch a break.
"So what do we do next?" Cy said.
"Find a princess from Aztellic Dynasty?" I Said.
"Really," Cy looked at him. "Rem do you know who are the Aztellic?"
"Yeah," I replied. "Our recruitment target was a demon."
The Aztellic Dynasty was the sole empire that was curb-stomping majority of Earth right now. They were responsible for co-opting with Emma Enterprise in kicking North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Hungary, a part of Asia and huge chunk of Africa to the curb. China, for once, decided to play ball to stop them from biting more of Earth territory. Let me made this clear, these guys joined force with a misery ore trader to bite a chunk out of the innocent world and million of people and split the profit. They were not nice guys.
That why I dug up some detail. Like all tragedy, the Aztellic Dynasty was built up from noble cause. They were formed when the demon, living under the oppression and discrimination of the human, broke of to form their own country. Phantasia had many races but, unlike beastmen and elves, demon was discriminate due to the fact that they share physical trait with monster. Given that prejudice from out side, I guess the early days of the Aztellic it would be like Utopia. Yet, hatred couldn't be healed. One unwarranted diplomatic mishap send everything into chaos. The demon armed themselves to protect their home.
Force into death ground, like rat in the corner, they won.
But the victory got into their head. In that moment of weakness and arrogance the demon decided to purge other race's man, woman and child from their side of the continent. Patriotic fervor sent millions to death and the refugee was force to migrate across Ocean into other continent. With massive amount of land to claim, the Demonic Continent was established. It was an empire controlled solely by fear and hatred of what wasn't theirs. Thus they lived to plunder for more resource to sustain their population and war machines. Mercenary was there main export. They hardly import anything due to trade sanction unless it was from Emma Enterprise who was using them as a beat stick. It society was like ancient Sparta, if the Spartan were a untrustworthy war-monger under the pay roll of cooperate mafia with resource of an evil UN.
And the head honcho of this situation is Aztellic Dynasty who were buddied with the Emma Enterprise that was currently crippling their economy. I don't know what that Dynasty was thinking. Did they think that hooking up and trading with the cooperation that milked the future out of their people was a good idea? Were they so delusion that they thought getting more vassel state would solved their problem? I would never know but I do know that they traded slaves to Emma...literally force someone into slavery at the risk of their life to nullify the Phantasia's law.
Want to know the kicker? The slaves were both human and demons. In the end the oppressed become an oppressor.
"Now what do we know?" Scathach said, nudging her sun glass.
We were completely dressed for summer. I am in T-shirt and short, Cy was wearing a summer dressed and sun hat and Lux sported a short shorts and lose fitting white shirt. Looking how loosely the shirt fit on Lux I guess fashion was not really her strong point. Not that I had any right to say anything given how I dressed.
"Well she said we had to find a black Smith Princess who was a daughter of the retired Queen of Aztellic?" I answered.
"Then we had to search for a smithy owned by a Demon race woman." I said. "Who had a daughter working as a blacksmith."
Cy sighed.
"Research agian?"
"It will always be a research Cy." I said flatly in defeat.
...
5 hours.
That was the time we took to do our job. This town had too many blacksmith shop. Finding which one was own by demon race took three-hours. In the end, we were left with fifteenth that fit the criteria. We spent two hours going on shop to shop eliminating anyone of them that was not own by a woman. Until we hit the last three.
The first one show a grand shop selling general good with a succubus store manager out to seduce costumers and several blurry blacksmith working furiously on multiple jewelries.
"Cut," we all agreed on that.
The next one was an auction house owned by a massive werewolf woman and several employees such as imps, Minotaur bouncer and succubus announcer.
"Cut," we said simultaneously.
FInally...this was it.
It was a small cottage situated on the outskirt of the town. The small, badly design and misalign hut had seen a better day. The frayed door, wrinkled with fragility, surely had seen a better day. The stoned making up the tiny hut was cracked and blacken with wears and tears in several places. The hut had wooden board for a window and its roof was a literal half dead hey. Foliage invaded the premised like roaches.
The only place kept well maintain was the small garage spewing black smoke from its roof. Unlike the house, the garage was well built with smokestack a door and a glass case showing weapons.
"I don't know about you but this looked like a place someone who wanted to avoid all contact build." I suggested.
"Yep, a house of an exile queen alright." Cy said in awe at the state of the hut. "Just what would push someone this far."
"They might not had a choice," Lux moved toward a counter and shouted inside. "Hello is there anyone here?!"
We heard a foot step behind us and a ridiculously oppressive mana dropped. Scathach licked her lips with a serious excitement. This could not be good. She only got that looked when she trained someone as insanely talented as Lux.
This person must be a pretty big deal.
"Sorry, but we only served an appointed costumer," said a girl with bright pink-hair and goat horns circling her head like a crown. Behind her was a small demonic wing and a red tail. Her look, chest, waist and everything was in a perfectly seductive ratios, leaving no doubt she was a succubus through and through. "Please understand that our work are an exclusive grand pieces that stood above any armament in this town. It was not something so easily made that you could come knocking anytime. So state your intent at a formal arrangement and we might consider gracing you with our skill if we are interested."
We looked at the demon girl. Lux was blinking. She never blinked, ever. Meanwhile, Cy's jaw dropped to the ground at the polite yet arrogant series of words string together into a sentence. I resisted the urge to retort like I normally would. Unlike Jeane, this girl looked like she could back up the talk. Her clothing was a sport bra worn under a sleeveless jacket and a black short shorts which contrast Lux's white. The outfit emphasis on her thigh and stomach which should not belong to someone her age.
"Now I am interest," Said Scathach. "What is your named girl?"
"My name?" The pink-head nodded in appreciation. "Very well, since you ask it was simply a natural to grace you with the answer! So remember this great name well!"
The girl's scarlet eyes lit one fire.
"My name is Melodina Majesty Sunshine Solarmaria. Nice to meet you."