[Alcoham Mountains, Duchy of Branbenburg-Puntia, Dalycon Union of Duchies]
(34th, Black Sea Moon (VII), 644 ASY)
"That's not fire, is it?" Ashe asks timidly.
"Not normal fire, that's for sure…" Tyson shakes his head. "How does that look from an alchemical perspective, Daniel?"
"Like normal fire. It's just a redox reaction that is sustained by magic. There is nothing unusual about it from a chemical standpoint. Except… it's producing red light exclusively. That is very weird." Daniel points towards the flaming remains of what appears to be a body.
"So we're late to the party, huh?" Angelica shakes her head.
"And who's fault is that?" Tyson mutters. Angelica stiffens up.
"Don't blame her, Tyson. When it's that time, it's that time," Ashe tuts.
"Still, why did Lucya and Moricant both have to leave? Can't they stay here and help?" Angelica asks.
"It's better for them to go back. Moricant and Lucya both have no experience with mountains. Remember the last time we tried to force them to climb a mountain?" Daniel responds.
"Then why didn't we leave Angelica behind?" Tyson asks, annoyed.
"I'm not sure. It would have been better, but I feel like something is missing if she does," Daniel shrugs.
"Oh wow… Even you can feel that way?" Ashe suddenly asks. Daniel stops in his tracks.
"What do you mean?" Daniel raises an eyebrow.
"Hmmm? Do you not feel that way? I could've sworn I saw something cross your mind…" Ashe mutters, disappointed.
"What are you two talking about?" Angelica asks.
"Oh, nothing important,"
"We're talking about how Ashe thinks I'm in love with you," At this, both Ashe and Angelica stop walking.
"Now, why did you stop Ashe?" Tyson sighs. "We've all known that you had a crush on Daniel since quite a long time ago, Angelica. Don't try to play dumb now…"
"R-Really? Was it that obvious?" Angelica stutters.
"Yes, it was. Still, though, I don't understand why you think we don't know. You were obviously trying to kiss him during the trek up to Marro Gehanld. You haven't hidden anything," Tyson answers. At this, Angelica turns many shades of red.
"Now now, there is no need to be like that Tyson. I would rather have Angelica's concentration to deal with that," Daniel points at an object further up the mountain.
"To deal with what...?" Ashe asks. Where Daniel seems to point to is simply a stretch of empty forest.
"I could have sworn there was someone there…" Daniel mutters to himself.
"Are you sure you aren't halucinating?" Tyson asks.
"Look, just because you hallucinated doesn't mean anyone else does," Daniel responds sharply.
"Hey! What do you mean by-"
"Everyone shut up!" Tyson starts to respond before being cut off by a panicking Daniel. His eyes dart around like prey being hunted.
"What do"
"Shh," Daniel points to his right. There, an eyeball the size of a basketball has been speared by a metal pole. It slowly crumbles to dust.
"Alright, I think it's completely dead," Daniel sighs.
"What was that?" Tyson asks.
"That's a Demonic Familiar. Someone is watching us. Someone powerful," Daniel mutters.
"So are we going to find them?" Ashe asks.
"Why would we want to find them? That is not our goal," Daniel crosses his arms.
"I don't think we have a choice. A High Demon is nothing to joke at. It's better to dictate the terms of the battle than to wait for an ambush," Tyson rebuttals.
"I understand that, but we need to find the sword as soon as possible," Daniel shakes his head.
"Then we need to find that Demon as soon as possible. We take out the Demon, then we go back to finding the sword," Tyson replies.
"Targeting the Demon could incite an incident with the Unifier. I want to avoid that at all costs. As long as they're just passively observing us, I don't mind. Getting into a fight right now is not what we want, especially since both of us are still recovering from the fight with Argus," Daniel stares at Tyson, waiting for his response. Tyson falls silent.
"Well, we still need to find the elves…" Tyson mutters.
"That we must do," Daniel nods. "Except, why do I feel like I've missed something?" Suddenly the earth shudders.