Night came and the king grew more worried about the heroes for the soldiers whom he sent to pick them up reported that they did not found any soul in the hill or the road leading to the town.
"If we lose them now, it would be troublesome for both me and the whole world. Find their whereabouts."
-----
"*yawns* The was unexpectedly comforting, for a room in an inn."
Xyndis was rubbing his eyes as he headed to the dining hall in the inn they went before. After the three arrived at the gates of the town, instead of heading towards the castle to rest, they stayed at the inn where the three of them ate before. As he approached the dining hall, he heard murmurs and gossips between the renters of the place. He looked around for a while and headed towards where Azazel and Levus sat.
"So, what's this fuss all about?"
"Thou took longer to wake up than I expected."
Azazel was eating the same meal he ate before. While Xyndis sat, he ordered the meal he also ate before.
"Yeah, yeah. So, what's up?"
"There hath been news about an army of Epivious heading towards the elven woods where the elves and other races' refugees are located. And this guy, Levus won't stop blabbing about going there to help."
Azazel pointed towards Levus as he said this and Levus quickly swallowed the piece of meat he was chomping down.
"Come on, we are summoned to this world to save it. So what's wrong in helping them. Plus, we managed to pull off the battle with the goblins and who knows? Maybe we can find some information in the elven kingdom."
Azazel and Xyndis thought logically and carefully for a while and deduced that what Levus said is more convenient than staying in one place.
"Fine."
Both of them sighed and agreed to head towards the elven kingdom.
-----
"You guys ready to go? Well then, to the elven kingdom!"
For some reasons, Levus was high spirited for this journey.
"Why do you sound like you're our leader?"
Levus ignored Xyndis' question and started walking to the carriage they rented to reach their destination. After checking if their supplies are enough, they set out and followed the road that was shown by the map which was given to them by the guards at the gates.
"If we follow this road we should be able to reach a place that is great for camping. By the way, are you guys sure we don't have to inform the king that we are going to the elves?"
Levus stared at the map while chomping on a piece of meat that was supposed to be eaten at lunch.
"Why not? 'Tis their fault for sending us with no troops at all, just consider this as revenge."
Azazel with a bored expression said this as he cast a wide area detection magic on a hourly basis while playing chess which he made using magic with Xyndis.
-----
The king drenched in cold sweat was sitting on the throne room when a messenger came.
"Have you found them?"
The king stood up and frantically approached the messenger.
"Y-yes your majesty. B-but..."
"But what?"
"We received reports that they are heading towards Ertea, the kingdom of the elves."
The king stood there frozen and it took a bit of time for him to recover.
-----
Azazel and Xyndis sat inside the carriage with bored expressions while still playing chess as the carriage continues follows the road that was on the map they obtained. So far, nothing eventful happened to them or places around them. As time went by, their boredom grew stronger with each bump they encounter on the road.
"In my world, there are stories about people transported to another world and gain exciting adventures everywhere they go and yet, we are here sitting inside this torture device with wheels and horses. Oh did I forgot to add that this world is in a crisis where it can be destroyed sooner or later?"
Xyndis who had enough of the uneventful journey they had, explained what he think about the flaws of this cliché isekai-like series of event happening to them which was in the documents he was forced to read by his colleagues back in his world.
"If thou want to see something interesting everytime, then I advise you to visit my world for thou shall see innards, blood, explosions and destruction everywhere on a daily basis if you walk around."
Azazel who is unexpectedly maintaining his cool live in a world, as said before, where the rule is survival of the fittest.
"It sounds dangerous so I'd rather not."
"Hey guys! We're finally at the camping site."
Levus informed his comrades in a energetic way.
As they started to unpack their things, Xyndis started to notice something was off.
"Hey guys! Where's the tents?"
Xyndis looked through their stuff and didn't found a single tent and he had forgotten that he forgot to buy one.
"Tent? What is that?"
Azazel asked in confusion.
"What do you mean? Tents are needed when travelling so that, we can sleep comfortably in the outdoors."
Xyndis tried to explain it as best as he could.
"Nope, it does not ring a bell."
Azazel replied to Xyndis in a confused manner because in his world and Levus', tents does not exist due to magic being used in their daily lives and neglected some inventions that they deemed worthless.
"Okay, new question. How will we sleep here without any sort of thing that will protect us from the insects and rain."
"So that is what thy problem. Thou hath not gone travelling before, I assume?"
"I hate to admit it but yes."
"Do not worry. Magic is pretty useful when sleeping outdoors, so leave everything to us."
"Fine."
Xyndis agreed but did not fully trust them.
"W-what happened?"
Xyndis was shocked because there was a dome-like barrier surrounding them and inside the air temperature is normal, not too cold or too hot. Also, Insects and beasts seems to avoid this barrier and does not dare to get close.
"W-what is this? It's convenient."
"'Tis a barrier, Oculus, that wards off animals and other external factors like cold winds and the like. So, is the temperature comfortable enough for thee? Or would thou like to adjust it?"
"No need. It's already fine as it is."
They soon ate dinner and went to find a good sleeping spot and slept.
-----
They were awoken by the sound of a huge explosion which was coming from the forest beside their camping site.
"What was that!?"
Xyndis asked his comrades which was also shocked to hear an explosion at that time of night.
"That I do not know. Anyway, let us go and investigate."
As soon as Azazel was done speaking he readied his sword and the other two followed and readied their own weapons. They left the barrier and sprinted towards the forest. Explosions continue to disturb the quietness of the forest.
"Over there."
Levus pointed at a clearing of the forest. When they arrived, they saw a family of elves that was firing spells while being cornered by a bunch of humans that seems to be slave traders based on their carriage. They were accompanied by a magician who was casting a barrier to deflect the attacks of the family of elves.
"I can't bear to watch this. We need to help."
Xyndis tightly gripped the handle of his guns while waiting for the right moment to attack.
"Xyndis, can thou create a diversion to create a distortion on the barrier?"
Azazel asked Xyndis in a serious tone.
"Fine."
Xyndis shot a fire spell towards the ground near the barrier. The slave traders who have not expected this, panicked and bumped into the magician which caused the magician to loose focus and disperse the barrier.
"So now wha- huh?"
Before Xyndis finished his sentence, he noticed that Azazel was not beside him but teleported behind the enemies. Azazel drew his sword, swung it and sheathed it all in a blink of an eye. Without time to react the slave traders were cut into multiple pieces and blood scattered everywhere. Some companions of the slave traders got off the carriage to attack Azazel but Levus was waiting for this time and killed them.
"Hey are you guys alright?"
Xyndis rushed towards the elven family to check if anyone of them was severely injured.
"Y-yes t-thanks for saving us."
The father was the one who spoke on behalf of his family.
"No problem, but can you tell us why you guys were being captured? I mean the races should be united now because of the catastrophe and all."
"Yeah that is right but there are some who joined forces with the enemy and captured some of the races for experimentations or other stuff."
"Is that so? So, where is the guy who sent the traders to capture you?"
"It's up north, you can find a mansion there. Please save the others."
The father was on all four and begged Xyndis. Xyndis, who is unexpectedly weak to people begging him, released a sigh while scratching his head and chose to accept the task.
"Interesting. Ye, who complains about doing things that are tiresome and have no benefits for him, actually accepted a favor."
Azazel, who cannot endure the urge, teased Xyndis.
"Shut up. What are we gonna do with them?"
Xyndis who was slightly embarrassed asked Azazel because even though they saved them, there's no telling if they will not be in danger after they leave them and head towards the mansion to save the others.
"They will be fine if they stay at the barrier."
"Heard him? Head towards the exit of the forest and stay inside the barrier where our carriage is stationed."
Xyndis told them in a slightly strict tone.
"Thank you very much."
The elves solemnly thanked their saviours and followed Xyndis' directions.
"Now then shall we go?"
Levus who was eating the food he found at the slave traders' carriage asked his comrades.
"Sure, let's go."
The three of them followed the road towards the mansion while staying vigilant for beasts or ambushes.
-----
The mansion was praceful. So peaceful that one would think there are no people living in there. But Azazel already casted a spell around the area and determined that there are prisoners underground, guarded by a few guards, and 2 persons that was inside the study room. One person seems to be the owner of this mansion and the other has a unbelievable amount of magical power.
"So? What is the plan."
Azazel said his findings and asked the two person beside him. They were some distance away from the mansion and hid their presences.
"It would be efficient if we split up in two groups. One group will save the prisoners while the other distracts the two persons upstairs."
Levus presented this strategy which is the most logical one they can use.
"Yeah, that would be great. But how will we split up? Will Levus be the one to save the prisoners and me and Azazel go distract the two?"
Xyndis was willingly cooperating with Levus this time.
"That would be best, considering Levus will only have to fight guards and save the prisoners."
With Azazel's advice, they agreed to go with what they have discussed.
-----
An explosion rang through the air which is the signal for Levus to start moving towards the dungeon. He encountered some guards but they did not stood a chance against the orc king. Soon, he finally reached the cell where the prisoners are being kept.
"Hey, you guys alright?"
Levus asked the elves that are dressed in rags and was bruised in various parts of their bodies.
"Hold on."
Levus casted strengthen and bend the rails like pieces of sticks with his hands.
"Let's go, I'm here to save you."
"B-but what about him? If he finds out about this he'll be mad."
An elf said this while trembling in fear while remembering what 'him' did to them.
"Him? You mean the duke? It's okay, my companions are distracting him."
"No! Not the duke! He's just a pawn. We'll all be killed! Killed!"
The elf was starting to panick which troubled Levus.
"Hey calm down, ok? My companions are pretty powerful, so will you guys just follow me."
"KILLED! KILLED! KILLED!"
Levus lost his patience and karate chopped the elf to make him faint. He carried him and led the prisoners outside. They found a place that has a safe distance from the mansion and stayed there.
"Don't you dare get killed, Azazel! Xyndis!"
Levus and the prisoners waited for the outcome of the battle unfolding on the mansion.
-----
"Art thou ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
Azazel and Xyndis are walking through the courtyard of the mansion. The enemies still hasn't made any move. Azazel, with his Gremoire in hand, walked a few meters away from Xyndis and faced the room in which their enemies are currently in.
"O chaos and destruction which resides in all worlds, heed me! With crimsom flames that blazes through the depths of the netherworld, turn mine foe into ashes and leave nothing of their existence! For 'tis mine will that thou shall follow! Explosion!"
A huge explosion enveloped the whole second floor of the mansion. The second floor is nowhere to be seen. Strangely, there was a magical barrier in the area which was before known as the study until Azazel turned it into ashes. The barrier dispersed and inside was the duke and a mysterious man who was wearing a full body armor that looks like that of a knight's but more grotesque.
"What insects dares to disturb me!?"
The hoarse voice of the man resounded throughout the vicinity of the mansion with the use of magic.
"You now have the attention of the great me, Evito, one of the 13 knights of the Epivious! So what do you pathetic looking weaklings want!? On second thought, all of you die!"
A dark green aura surrounds both the duke and Evito and burst pressure in all directions, having both of them at the center. Azazel and Xyndis readied their weapons and entered a fighting stance while Evito conjured a sword and a shield out of thin air. The duke was preparing spells and Evito entered a stance.
"Xyndis, I shall fight Evito and I shall leave to thee to take care of the duke. 'Tis seems we need to defeat them and abandon the thought of just distracting them."
Azazel strictly said this to Xyndis.
"Got it."
Not having the urge to retort, Xyndis obeyed Azazel.
-----
Azazel and Evito dashed towards each other. Evito swung his sword down but Azazel dodged it and attacked Evito's left side but that attack was blocked by his shield. Both of them retreated some distance with each other and clashed again.
Xyndis took some distance from the two and headed towards where the duke is located. He was assaulted by a volley of spells which he managed to dodge and attack with Luna and Cyrah.
"Let them feel your power, Knight's Despair!"
Knight's Despair is the name of Evito's sword. After chanting, his sword was covered by dark green aura. He swung it downwards and a slash of dark green energy appeared and moved towards Azazel.
"Slay mine enemies, Perpetual Eclipse!"
Azazel named his sword Perpetual Eclipse in honor of the royal family sword back in his world. After chanting, a dark red aura coats his sword. He swung it sideways and a slash of dark red energy also appeared and moved towards Evito.
The two energies collided and exploded. Unfazed by the explosion, Azazel casted a javelin of ice towards Evito but Evito countered it with multiple balls of fire.
Due to the explosion and fragments of the spells casted by the two. Xyndis and the duke was forced to fight in the maze of the mansion.
Xyndis was exchanging attacks with the duke when he stepped on a trap of the duke. The ground he was standing exploded and injured him but not severely.
"Since I'm at a disadvantage, I have no choice then."
The duke was confused of what was Xyndis saying.
"Initialize prediction system. Maximum performance."
"Okay Master!"
A voice of a girl which belonged to Yui replied to Xyndis in his earpiece. Various predictions are now displayed on Xyndis' eyeglass.
"Time to get serious."