Strangely enough, the throne room's darkness was slightly offset by a faint, glowing mist. There was no visible pathway to tread on, so Jered and Evelyn walked forward.
"It's been at least 150 or so years since the last bunch of humans passed by here," the voice said in what could be interpreted as a reminiscing tone, "Back then, I hoped we could have ironed out our differences, shaken hands, and finally begin an era where the Ginnungs and the Humans could finally be at peace with each other."
After a dozen seconds of orienting themselves through the darkness—and following the voice—they finally managed to make out the outline of a throne, upon which sat someone.
"A foolish thought. 'Peace is for the weak', one of them said. Quite arrogantly too, if I may so myself. I didn't know who this man was until years later, when he crusaded against us, in the name of a Shadow. Can you believe it? People followed him too, because he promised power and victory. Those weren't empty promises either. This man conquered vast expanses of land. He decimated our races and forced us into hiding. He slew the Deviling King and forced his offspring to feast upon his head. The Angels fell when they stumbled upon him. The Elves, Fae, Demons, and even the Dragonkin met heavy losses because of him. Him—a lone man—raged through Archiland, wreaking chaos and death."
Jered listened reverently to the tale. Evelyn, being more knowledgeable than him, already knew about that story.
"Eventually, the World's Spirit herself had to put an end to his tyranny. With the help of the Guardians, she managed to injure him to the point that he had to flee to the human plane. I've heard that he died a few years ago," the voice paused to loosen out a deep sigh, "His ambition was misplaced, but his power... that's something you can't help but respect greatly. Humans are such an interesting race. They're so average, but sometimes, one of the special ones appear, and all of a sudden, the course of history is changed."
"..."
"But we're not here to talk about the past, are we?"
"My Lord, what is it that you wished to speak to us about?" Jered inquired politely.
"Ah yes, actually, I didn't have much of a reason to prompt a meeting with you two. I did it on a whim, to evaluate you perhaps. I've developed quite the disdain for humans, but respect also. And I wanted to see which of those categories you'd fall under," the Lord explained, shifting his attention on Jered, "You're quite young to be an Elder Magician, aren't you?"
"So I've been told, sir."
The Lord's tone took on an appreciative ring, "A human child has attained such a respectable accomplishment. I'm sorry to say this, but I'm warring with myself on whether I should kill you or not."
"We wouldn't be having this discussion if our death is what you truly wanted. Your daughter told us you're a reasonable man, and I don't think she was lying," Jered said with a small smile, "In fact, she has been very accommodating of our presence here."
A laugh rumbled out.
"Ah, Seline... my sweet Seline," the Lord whispered melancholy, with the barest of hints of longing, "She's such a precious girl. I failed her... in a way a father shouldn't. I'm not reasonable by any means. If I were, many a tragedy could have been avoided."
"..."
"Tell me, young human, which organization do you belong to?"
Evelyn cleared her throat, "We belong to Ashy Petals, not sure if you've heard of it."
"I'm afraid I haven't."
Not surprising.
"Oh, well... we operate mostly on the human plane," she explained.
A thoughtful hum resounded, "And that's where you two come from, correct?"
"Y-Yes..."
Jered recalled Seline's words. 'Lying isn't an option,' he thought. The Lord's mana was so powerful that his words were seemingly infused in it. The aura he gave off was one of royalty, authority, and immense power. He was a Royal Tier, at least. Definitely not someone you could simply lie to and expect him not to notice, "May I ask you something, my Lord?"
The Lord replied with a grunt of approval.
"Do you know something about the Wolfkins in this area?"
"Am I supposed to? As far as I know, there isn't any pack of Wolkins in the Abyss Gulf."
Jered pursed his lips inward, shooting a look at Evelyn. Abyss Gulf. Is that where they were? Unfortunately, his teacher's lost look and bitter smile told him that she had no idea what and where it was. Just great!
"I see..."
The Lord tapped his fingers against the armrest of his throne, "Is something troubling you, child?"
'Do not lie.' Jered told himself before staring at the outline of the Lord's head, presumably where his eyes were, "Actually... yes, sir. We were hunting a pack of Wolfkins in the human plane. It was a task our organization entrusted us with. However, something went wrong, and we were forced to flee through the portal the Wolfkins came from. The place we ended up in didn't have any signs of life, let alone of Wolfkins."
"Oh, you mean the Barren Battlefield?"
"The Barren Battlefield?"
"The wasteland. Considering the direction you were coming from, that must have been the place."
Jered nodded, "Yes, a huge fight broke out there, so we left as soon as we could."
The Lord chuckled, "That's normal. A war is going on there. I'm surprised you made it out of there alive. I wonder if it's luck or destiny."
"A war between who?" Evelyn chimed in.
"Between the Primordial Behemoths and the Fallen Angels. It's a good thing we're quite far from the Barren Battlefield, and protected by Helgrind. As powerful as I am, I wouldn't be able to protect my kind from them."
Jered knew of the Fallen Angels—he had read about them. As for the Primordial Behemoths? They weren't mentioned in 'A Record of Magical Creatures'. Evelyn's face was scrunched up in thought as she mulled over the Lord's words.
"Don't think too much about it. Now that we have chit-chatted, let's get to the main point. I reckon you want to go back to the human plane, right?"
They nodded in unison.
"That's the idea, yes."
"Hm. Technically, I could send you back without any problems..."
Jered could already hear the incoming 'but...'.
"... but, there would be no benefit for me in doing so."
As expected. In all fairness, it was understandable. It was not like the Lord was obliged to help them. He didn't owe them anything. As a matter of fact, they were the intruders. Still, it bummed Jered out that they'd have to pay something—potentially nefarious—to get that one-way ticket back home, "What do you want?" he asked exasperatedly.
Evelyn nudged his arm, whispering something about being more polite.
He was too tired for that. He was not going to lick the Lord's ass, that was for sure.
"It's a trivial matter, honestly," the Lord said matter-of-factly, "We're going on an expedition underground, and we could use the additional manpower."
And so the cards were revealed.
"I'm sorry, but what kind of expedition?"
The Lord steepled his fingers beneath his chin, "An underground expedition. Helgrind is more than a simple barrier against outside threats. It's a gate, kid. A gate that stops those in hell from coming back. However, sometimes the gate can't hold all of them back, and it opens. So it's our job to clean up the strays and make sure the gate is closed," he readily elaborated, "You're quite lucky. You just happened to get here when a hell breakout occurred."
Jered wished he had more time to think of an appropriate answer, or a follow-up question. Did they even have a choice in the matter? Certainly not. He doubted the Lord would have let them go if he refused, "Can I talk it out with Evelyn first? Privately."
He swore he could see the Lord's lips curve upward.
"Of course. You have a day's time to make your decision, for that's when the expedition starts."
The door behind them swung open.
The feeble, outside lighting poured in, but it didn't make the room's darkness recede. Jered reasoned that it must have been a spell that generated such a macabre, dark ambiance.
"Seline will show you your temporary accommodations," the Lord stated, "I hope to hear from you as soon as tomorrow morning. Have a blissful sleep."
----
The rain was incessant. And not even the cozy sound of drops drumming against the canopy made the silence any better.
Evelyn had taken out her torn clothes and wore the replacement Seline had provided them with. It was a very old-fashioned, white nightgown, but it hugged her figure perfectly. Jered didn't need anything else besides new pants and clean underwear since he's always slept shirtless. The bedroom they stayed in had only one bed. No furniture, no decorations, and no windows.
It was no royal treatment, but it was certainly an upgrade considering their last arrangement.
A tray of food had been delivered to them, and that was the last time they heard of Seline. She was the only other Ginnung in the mansion. At least, Jered hadn't seen any maids, butlers, or any other personnel.
It was deep in the night, but Evelyn's continuous tossing and turning kept Jered awake.
Then she stopped, and turned towards him.
Her doe-like eyes blinked, as if expecting him to initiate a conversation. And when he didn't, she sighed, scooting closer to him, "Jered?"
"Hmm?"
"You haven't said a thing the whole time... what's going on?"
He ignored the concern laced in her voice, "I'm just thinking, Evelyn, with my eyes closed."
"I thought we were going to talk."
"About the expedition?"
She nodded, "Yes."
"There's nothing to talk about though. The Lord knows we can't, and won't, refuse. The only way home is through him, unless we get our hands on a relic—which is very unlikely, or I somehow manage to unlock my fourth vein—even more unlikely."
A stretch of silence ensued.
"We can't rely on him. We don't know if he's really going to help us after all."
She wasn't wrong.
"I know, but what do you want to do? Escape? And go where?"
"No, but... I was hoping we could jot down a plan, you know, in case something goes south."
He considered her words with a thoughtful frown, "Honestly, the Lord is a Royal Tier. I don't know what we could possibly do to get away right under his nose. But if shit hits the fan, get behind me. I'll use that fire spell again."
'Soul Eater', and 'Pharaoh's Flame'.
That combo easily disposed of the Alpha. Jered didn't know how it would fare against a Royal Tier, and truth be told, he'd rather not find out. The Lord was not only a Ginnung, a race he knew nothing of, but he was considerably more powerful than him, not to mention more experienced too.
"Isn't it... dangerous?" Evelyn whispered, shuffling uncomfortably beneath the blanket, "You were out cold for quite a while... and then you got the mana flu."
"It should be less of a problem now that I'm an Elder Magician. And I'll use it only if necessary."
That did appease her a bit, "What a mess," she mumbled into her pillow.
"On the bright side, we're sleeping on a bed."
"But we might die."
He shrugged nonchalantly, "Only if we're not careful. There'll be others participating in the expedition, and the Lord will probably fight with us too. I don't know how powerful those strays are, but if the Lord is the strongest being here, then as long as you stick by my side, we should be pretty safe."
"Oh, yes, I'll make sure to hold onto you," she quipped with a roll of her eyes.
"You can hold onto me now if you want," he suggested with a knowing look.
She turned to the other side of the bed, "Goodnight, Jered."
"So... no stress relieving sex?"
"Nuh-huh."
"..."