"Well, Myne, do you know anyone who can beat him?" asked the man who had been called the mage hunter earlier, the same one who had responded to the king.
"I'm sure any of the S-ranked mages who started their own guilds can fight him on an even footing", replied Myne.
"Ha! You overestimate those fools!" said one of the three men, who hadn't said anything yet.
"You seem to know something we don't?" asked the mage hunter.
After Pectus Volo had left the basement, he climbed the stairs leading to a certain room. This room was neatly furnished with book cases, a table and some chairs, as well as some cupboards.
"Your majesty, are you sure about this? I mean those four …" said an old man who was waiting for him inside the room.
"Don't worry. The Shadow Guard has already been established. I need you to train them well. They should be able to surpass their current levels. Only then will they be able to find the foundation stones at all costs. We still have an unknown adversary. The person who hired Red Crow!" as he said this, he had a frown on his face.
"Even if I train them, they are mercenaries--"
"They were mercenaries!! Now, they are the Shadow Guard. You need to make sure that they are strong enough to fight against S-ranked mages. This way, I will be able to rest well when I send them into the unknown."
"As you command, your majesty", replied the old man. He continued, "We have some news from Sky City."
"Oh? What happened?"
"One of the families coerced a few other families to overthrow the ruling family. From the information provided by our spy, it seems as if they had help from the Cardinal Sins!"
Pectus frowned deeply. "That Pride won't just give it up! I'm sure he's doing this to challenge me again! I think I know what he's trying to do", as he said this, his lips curled up into a creepy smile.
"Also, there are some merchants who were coming from Sky City who were massacred before they reached the city."
"I should know about this because …"
"Among the merchants, there was one who was an acquaintance of the previous governor of Sky City. His current whereabouts are unknown, and from what I gathered, he had managed to find the location of a crypt."
"A crypt, you say. What is so special about this crypt?"
"Well … rumor has it that there are spatial rifts inside this crypt. Your majesty, the only artifacts that can cause spatial rifts--"
"Are foundation stones! Or rather, is the foundation stone of void!" Pectus Volo interrupted. "Well, this won't be bad for a first assignment. Train the Shadow Guard well, and send someone to investigate this matter!"
"As you command, your majesty", the old man bowed slightly, before leaving the room.
"If it was back then, I would have rushed head first into this trap. However, it seems like you haven't changed, Pride. I guess it's time I showed you how I became King of the Alliance", Pectus murmured, as his lips curled up into a wide smile.
******************
Now, far away from the capital and its schemes, there are floating islands. Each island is bigger than a single continent, and some of them are uninhabited. They are covered with dense forests.
On one of these islands, there's a small village, which is located in the middle of the island. Of course, there are other villages which are scattered all over the island, but they mostly live in harmony. The most notable thing about this island is the volcano, which is at the northern edge of the island.
There was a large bonfire burning in the middle of the village, while people were chatting and laughing. On the edge of the bonfire, there was an old man, who was wearing a bright vest, despite the time of the day being at night. Well, the nights on the islands are cold, which was part of the reason for the bonfire. However, it appeared as if he wasn't feeling the cold at all.
Some men arrived at the small village, and they went straight to the bonfire. The old man smiled upon seeing these men. As they arrived, they bowed slightly, before offering their greetings.
"Welcome back! How was the scouting?" the old man laughed as he spoke.
However, there was no response from the men. The old man's smile froze on his lips, before he asked, "Is it that bad?"
"Well, chief, can we speak at your house?" asked the middle-aged man who was leading the others.
"Fine", replied the old man, as he stood up from his seat.
They went into the chief's hut, which wasn't that special. As they arrived, the old man sat on his chair, which looked like a throne made with animal skins and wooden sticks.
"What did you find out?" asked the old man.
"Chief, the entire northern region is now covered in sand!" replied the middle-aged man who had requested privacy earlier.
The old man frowned when he heard this. "This is not good at all. What about the volcano?"
"It's not affected much. However, the forests that were closer to it are no longer there. The trees withered and died, leaving only bare, parched ground."
The old man appeared to be thinking about something, before he asked, "How about the rate at which the sand is spreading?"
"It won't be a long time before it reaches this area too", replied another man.
"Oh? I guess it's time", he sighed before continuing, "I wanted to wait for some time, since I know that they aren't ready yet. However, I'm sure the titan king won't be waiting anymore. The barrier grows weaker with every second."
The old man paused. He then continued, "Varkas, I want to task you with finding the seven seeds! Will you accept this task?"
The middle-aged man who had led the others replied, "Yes chief! For the sake of this world, I will pledge my life!"
"Good! When you find one, bring them to me, but don't tell them everything. They just need to know that the world is in danger, and they can help to save it", said the old man with a sigh. He then continued, "Only the power of the deities can defeat the titan king. However, I'm sure that the seeds are still oblivious to the fact that they even have this power!"
"Eh, chief, shouldn't we just tell them outright?" asked Varkas.
"No! Under no circumstances should you tell them! Since I'm the one who will train them, I will tell them when the time comes. Besides, if they meet, they'll try to kill each other. And they are good to no one if they are dead!" objected the old man.
The men who were inside the house exchanged looks of confusion.
Varkas then continued, "Very well, chief. I will start my journey tomorrow!"
"By the way, take this", as the old man said this, he threw a ring towards Varkas. "It will allow you to teleport eight times. All you need to do is to send your mana into the ring, and any place that you imagine, it will teleport you there. Use those teleports sparingly!"
Varkas caught the ring, before replying, "Thank you chief!"
After Varkas and his men had left, the old man sighed and murmured, "Ezrom is going to kill me for this."