When Magnus said that the kingdom was infiltrated, the disastrous aura subsided. He was then worried because of its disappearance. He came out of the palace in a hurry to locate the aura.
"Target detecting." He couldn't detect the same aura it was as if it vanished whole. He widened the scope of his magic sensing ability from a 10-kilometer radius to a hundred-kilometer.
"This is unbelievable. It really disappeared."
He called Magnus through telepathy and told him what he did and Magnus told him the same thing.
"Neither I cannot detect it."
"Magnus, how did that monster infiltrated the kingdom? If it came from the outside of Spring Square, there's a low chance of it getting inside."
"Indeed, my king. The four defensive high masters didn't have any report of infiltration. The barriers are still intact."
"It didn't come from the outside?"
"That's still a mystery. It just popped out and released an immense aura and then it disappeared. It was first seen in the museum and killed four knights on duty. And if it was from the outside, how did it managed to enter the kingdom without you even noticing it when that creature possesses such tremendous aura? You with the widest scope of magic sensing ability?"
"Even low-ranking magicians could feel a strong aura like that. Magnus, alert each squadron. I believe this is no ordinary demon."
In the sky, there's a black creature floating steadily in mid-air. Its wings are not yet outstretched. Eyes are closed seems like sleeping.
The people beneath are unaware of the possible dangers that might happen at any moment. The king once again tried to pinpoint the fearsome creature but failed to find. The kingdom that is in harmony might become chaotic in a few moments, everything could change just by a single attack he thought. The king was in so much concern. He still couldn't find the enemy and it made him more concerned. An enemy you can't see is dangerous.
"Magnus, this is getting worse. We don't know when will that demon move. I'm putting the Spring Circle at danger state right now." The king, talking to Magnus through telepathy halted walking with a brave face.
"No dangers shall be done."
The decree spread to everyone residing in the Spring Circle and was immediately followed by all. High-ranking officials ordered their men to secure people's safety. The places and sights; animated earlier, became silent and wrapped in fear. A demon had infiltrated the center of the Spring Kingdom and citizens wondered how it happened.
Back in the room of King Claudio, the girl that was sleeping opened her eyes when an evil aura touched her skin. She trembled because of the uneasiness it brought and the sense of familiarity. Even feeling feeble, she stood up and walked to the window to look the outside. No people around the streets but knights in squadrons on guard were what she saw and in their heads, there were multiple threads of aura going up to the sky. Her eyes followed the countless threads and she stopped after seeing the strange creature floating mid-air. It was a beast for her. It's like the thing in the sky was sucking everyone's life force. She knew that the thing she's seeing that moment will bring catastrophe. For no reason, something was telling her to do something, to help. She became worried. The thread she saw began to fade and the creature up above opened its one eye. At that moment, Claudio, Magnus, and the masters inside the Spring Circle paused. A powerful wave of aura was just released. Claudio began to search the root of that powerful wave that passed them. He closed his eyes and envisioned all the aura surrounding him. He flinched at the diabolical aura he saw coming from the sky.
"Magnus, I found the demon!" They nodded and Magnus cited a magic spell.
"Captains of each squad, prepare!" Magnus followed Claudio. From a distance, the demon that they're looking for earlier was immobile. It has the size of an average human so as its body but with wings still not outstretched. It has an eye on the forehead. Its eye moved and darted at them.
"On your guard!" Captains of each squad led their team for the formation and began to cast their magic.
"This demon is intimidating. It isn't moving but I feel like it already realized what are we going to do." The uneasiness in the atmosphere was doubled when they saw the demon unhurriedly stretched out its wings. Magnus signaled everyone to hold their ready-to-fire offenses.
"Humans." The demon talked and aghast was seen in everyone's face. It was everybody's first time encountering a demon talked. Knights and masters tried to measure its power. They thought it's definitely a demon at the D-4 category.
"Lowly beings dared to defy me." The demon wandered his eyes below like examining the place.
"I see, everything has changed. How long has it been? Decades? Centuries? It makes me want to wipe out this place." Claudio felt the resentment the way those words were spoken. He flew towards the demon enough for them to exchange conversations.
"I am the king of this place you want to wipe out, Claudio Lockstream IV. Who are you, demon?" As soon as Claudio told his name, the demon smiled. The smile gradually became a burst of laughter. It brought an unusual fear to the knights below.
"I thought I traveled through time? So I didn't. How could I ever forget that name? You of all and your damn wife." As the demon discharged a dense aura, the blue color of the sky was replaced by dark clouds with thunderbolts.
"What do you know about my wife?" Claudio, not bothered by the unpleasant aura focused his eyes on the demon and the demon seemed to be interested.
"All I know about that bitch... I want to kill her. Slaughter and turn every piece of her to shreds but I can't do that anymore. Your wife had already died." It laughed again and that made Claudio slightly lost his composure.
"I will ask you once again. What do you know about my wife." Every word he said weighs authority. The air encircling the king was heating up. Magnus, even several meters away covered his body a magic barrier.
"Claude, your magic is reaching the ground." Worried Magnus, feared that people might be hurt below as the king's magic had reached the ground.
"Magnus, relay this message to everyone. This demon surpasses the D-4 category. We can't be at ease and all knights specializing in defense should start making a barrier to cover the people."
Magnus knew that it would be a tough battle after confirming it himself. The power of the demon surpasses far beyond the D-4 category. A Danger-5 category must be that one foe.
"And Mag, call the nearest Pillar."
Magnus' forehead creased after hearing Claudio.
"Call the nearest Pillar? Why? Aren't you exaggerating a bit?" Magnus believed that his friend Claudio could defeat the demon. He believed Claudio was the strongest.
"Mag, something's happening with my body, the seal is getting weaker. Do it, hurry."
"But leaving you here with only three masters– ouch!" Magnus pressed the temple of his head. Their communication was interrupted by the demon's growing aura.
"Do it."
The sensation that Magnus was feeling felt the same way sixteen years ago near the border of the Earth Region. He looked at his friend. Claudio was restraining his own magic. Due to the demon's immense aura, it created a strong electromagnetic field that hinders magic communication skills. Magnus activated his lightning magic and left the scene in a hurry.
"Demon, how did you get here?" Claudio covered his body a barrier for his mana was leaking. "And what do you know about my wife?"
"Don't fool with me human. You know that I was the one who killed Flora Zeymer right in front of you. That's right, I killed her with these hands of mine." The demon said it casually.
"Why?" They stared for a long time before the demon answered.
"For fun." Claudio's breathing halted, he remembered what happened in the past. The past he's trying to not think of. His wife, lying in his own hands, lifeless. The air near him surrounding him heated up until it turned to a blazing fire. He equaled the level of his foe.
The force they were exuding shook the ground and made the whole sky turned to black. The demon closed its wings again.
"You, you are not that king." The demon mumbled after it elevated itself.
"But the spirit inside your body is the same." The demon was grasping the situation. The last battle. What happened to them and the human who looks exactly like the king he resented the most.
"I get it. So we were really sealed that day." The demon laughed an ominous laugh and then abruptly shut its mouth. The knights below knew that it would be dangerous to let their guards down even for a mere one second. The demon spread its wings and one flap generates a huge bolt of lightning.
"If this is your greetings to me for coming back, I shall give you my appreciation!"
"Prepare for the–"
"Ahh!" A woman freaked out as the head of a knight flew and broke her window. The devil above discharged the lightning in its wings again hitting the houses and infrastructures. The knights' barrier was easily destroyed.
"This is my revenge! Die!"
Three masters and four captains immediately guarded the king. One master of defensive magic deflected the incoming strike of lightning. The other two made combustion magic and fired it to the demon. They did a direct hit but when the smoke was gone, there wasn't much of a damage to its body. The four captains cited an incantation in unison and after finishing it, a series of five elemental magic hit the demon for a very long time. Everyone in the kingdom knew how powerful the four captains so they felt relieved but the king didn't. He sensed a coming attack and immediately cast a counterattack.
"It...it survived our quadra series?!"
"On your left!" It was so quick! Two of the captain flew so far after receiving a kick from the demon. Claudio attacked by sending a giant ball of red flame. It missed the target but he fired a barrage of the same magic spell. He then mixed the fire in the wind making the air around them sweltering.
"Conjoining magic: scorch, complete."
"Puny attacks won't leave a scratch on me." It started charging a huge bolt of lightning in its wings again. This time, the direction of the attack is going for the king. Claudio managed to make a magic barrier in that milliseconds but it shattered and electrified him. If he hadn't concentrated the aura into his chest, he could have been badly injured. Bleeding and still catching his breath, he prepared for the next attack.
"Scorch magic: Emancipation!" The wind freely flows anywhere in this world. Contrary to the name of his magic "emancipation", it is restraining magic. A combination of wind and fire. The giant ball of red flames earlier was the first step. Claudio threw those flames so he could put magic circles around the demon.
"I wasn't just throwing fire at you. Look around."
"Look around you too."
Claudio looked at the dark clouds, it seemed to release thunderbolts all at once.
"Just one command and your beloved people will be in crisp."
Claudio didn't predict it. One wrong move and all his people might die. The demon laughed again, insulting the king.
"What will you do now, human?"