In the near darkness, Sarakiel eyed Mikhail, dumbfounded of the latter's response. He did not covet to scoop up this issue in the back of his mind, save for the necessity for it to be discussed.
Having dismissed his adamance, an unwelcomed presumption emerged from the Duke's mind. "Earlier, Malphas talked concerning a dead lad in the forest. Could it be Lord Kh-"
"Stop, Sarakiel. I hope you have the same faith in Khamael that I have. He won't go down without a fight."
The Duke pursed his lips, a way to avoid offending his captain any further. He kept on pondering about questions, but since he wasn't getting a single answer out of it, he felt that there was no use in continuing to do so. Instead, the knight drew some items from the inside pocket of his coat.
"We already brought two with us. What are these additional scrolls for?" Asked Mikhail as his gaze was fixated on the three scrolls that Sarakiel brought out.
"The Emperor instructed me to give this scroll to you. I peered at the contents but it was blank. I believe you'll be able to grasp its purpose."
"I see. Well, if the Emperor assigned that scroll to me, then I'll probably be able to use it."
"That's a relief," Sarakiel said as he handed the commander a rolled black parchment, tied with a white string in the middle.
Mikhail accepted the scroll, examining it promptly.
'This page was torn off from the Emperor's personal grimoire. Why did he give this to me? I'll just clarify with his Majesty when we successfully complete this mission.'
Mikhail set aside his wonderment and moved on to address Sarakiel's lack of interest in the mysterious scroll, "Aren't you interested in this scroll's origin?"
"I don't want to rush you. Reveal it to me immediately when you're ready."
"I appreciate that."
Duke Helian simply studied Percival's countenance to see if there was something going on. Confirming that his commander was serious in his words, he delivered a questionable form of gratitude.
"Thank you, I guess? Let's advance. There are two more scrolls."
"How will they be utilized? Do we get to choose?"
"No, they're already assigned to me and Lord Khamael. Each of these scrolls contains one verse of an advanced ancient spell. They're spells for erasing the seals of Malphas and Ronove."
"Come again?" Mikhail intervened with Sarakiel's explanation. He pinned his forever weary eyes on his companion.
"What are you pertaining to, My Lord?"
Sarakiel has yet to realize that he uttered a nicety of the plan that he shouldn't have prior knowledge of.
"You said Malphas and Ronove. The Emperor knew of Malphas' drifting? I forgot about it, but you deciphered Malphas's name even before me." Mikhail's voice was accusative and a shadow, darker than the visibility inside the forest, loomed over his countenance. At that point, Sarakiel cognized that he didn't elucidate things in the proper order.
"A-ah, kind of? I'm not sentient of the specifics, so please spare me. I was flabbergasted all the while listening to his Majesty's briefing too." Sarakiel briefly considered his statement, curious if it was enough to divert Mikhail's suspicions.
In the meanwhile, Mikhail inhaled and exhaled deeply, repeating the cycle a myriad of times.
'Remember, Khamael is alone. We need to catch up to him. I can confront the ene- I mean, the Emperor later.'
Once he found a pretext to settle his anger down, Mikhail spoke, "Continue with your explanation."
Sarakiel promptly complied, afraid that Mikhail might change his mind.
"The scrolls should be activated within a kilometre's distance from the Demon Nobles. The green scroll will be for Lord Khamael to handle in the presence of Malphas. I will use the blue one to confront Ronove."
"My duty is to divert their attention, correct?"
"Yes, My Lord."
"Then we ought to go where Khamael is. Stand up, Sarakiel."
"Understood, My Lord."
"This area is in the eastern part of the island, not far off from our previous battlefield in the shore. We'll reach it in no time."
Sarakiel nodded his head as he gazed at the path they were about to traverse, and said, "Let's make haste."
With the briefing over, Mikhail and Sarakiel dashed through the forest in order to come to the aid of Khamael as soon as physically possible. They got around exploiting their incantations, for the reason that it was vital to preserve mana. It was by virtue of the mana supply in the island being scarce, courtesy of the demons and monsters' arrival.
The cold air felt prickly on their skin as they sprinted towards their objective.
"My Lord, if we surface as the victors of this ordeal, some seat holders will be called for a meeting with the Emperor, the three of us included." Sarakiel managed to initiate a chat in the midst of their sprint, though he concentrated his gaze on the road they were traversing on.
"Some? Why not include the rest? It will be irritating to deal with people who will complain of us isolating critical information."
"The Emperor's orders, nothing more, nothing less."
For a second time, silence took over their conversation for a little while prior to Sarakiel breaking it himself. "His Majesty is becoming harder to handle these past few diers."
"Are you referring to his attitude from the start?"
Sarakiel chuckled at finally witnessing a huge frown plastered on Mikhail's facade. However, the peace didn't last long. The scene that Sarakiel soon caught sight of was the opposite of what he expected it to be.
The shore was quiet and there were no signs that a battle had occurred within the perceivable distance. Mikhail stopped on his tracks and contemplated, more in a panic, less in serenity.
'What if the demons took Khamael away?! Did they put him in captivity? Alive? Wounded? Or else... dead?' Mikhail shook his head vigorously, trying to get rid of his assumptions. He had the tendency to take into account the worst outcomes when it's apropos to his brother.
Undisclosed to them, a body that was so scorched that it had nearly crumbled to ashes was hidden in the woods, awaiting their late arrival.