The Augen is a special commission in charge of intelligence gathering throughout the Central Continent, so anyone's surprise is to be expected if they could see three of their agents slithering through Numidea's dense forests - half a world away from their activity zone.
Even more shocking would be the confusion of the younger agents, who weren't even aware of their mission's true purpose yet.
Their leader, Arne, was a veteran in Lichtenhimmel's spy agency and seemed to be the only one who understood that expedition's importance.
"Old man, could you remind me why we're going through this hell?" said one of them as he forced his way through a wall of thorns, continuously waving his little blade.
"Shut up, Rolf. If we get attacked again by a Nightmare because you're bitching about every little bush, I'll strangle you myself." answered Lutz in a calm voice, bending his body awkwardly to bypass a particularly vicious tree formation.
"As if you could, little man. I'll take you on at any time of the day." Rolf smiled through his snarky remark, knowing very well that Lutz hated any mention of his height.
As usual, he didn't find it funny and threw his knife straight at him. Rolf prepared to leap away, but Arne caught the projectile mid-air without even looking back.
"Shht, you idiots! This isn't the time. The forest is crawling with Nightmares, and you're fooling around without a care in the world. I can't believe this is the best your generation has to offer."
He let out an exasperated sigh before giving Lutz his knife back.
"I wasn't expecting much of you anyway, as this trip makes little sense for anyone but us."
"How so, old man?" asked Rolf in a lowered voice.
"You idiot. It's obvious, we're going to establish a base there, right, Master Arne? The Augen doesn't have one yet in the Occidian Continent." added Lutz while getting closer to his comrades.
"No, not in this part of the continent anyway," answered Arne, as his tone got more somber. "We're headed towards Numidea, a nation ruled by Sorcerers. Needless to say, we're unwelcome there."
"They hate us as much as we hate them, right? But then, why go there? I doubt they'll be much of a threat this far from Lichtenhimmel."
"Well, that's debatable, but it's not the reason. Numideans have a coming of age ceremony, where, if you're a good enough warrior, you're allowed to set out and 'discover the world'. After that, you're supposed to come back and strengthen the nation with your newly acquired knowledge and experience. Now, the majority of them don't usually go very far, and it has mostly become a bothersome festival whose sole purpose is to attract foreign spellcasters in search of talented students."
"I guess that'll be our cover, right? But what's the real reason behind our expedition?" Rolf was confused, though Lutz seemed to pick up on something. He immediately added:
"It's about the rumors, isn't it? The birth of a Sorcerer's child."
Rolf stifled a laugh, thinking it was a joke. Though Lutz's tone and Arne's look quickly made it go away.
"But it can't be right… I mean, those rumors were around when I was a little boy, everyone thought they were false. After all, Sorcerers are infertile. That's the rule. Everybody knows that..." Rolf seemed less and less convinced as he went on, finally going silent.
"It's true. Our intelligence provider disappeared shortly after sending that message, exactly seventeen years ago. At that time, we were busy dealing with the Greis' murder sprees and couldn't afford to send another team all the way here." Arne shivered as he remembered that horrendous period and Lutz quickly added:
"Also, if I remember right, our current route was only discovered a year ago."
"Yes, before that, you had to cross the Sibylline Peaks to reach Numidea by land. I wouldn't wish for my worst enemy to go through that..." the veteran briefly trailed off before regaining his focus:
"Anyway, Seine Majestat Himself gave the order for this operati-..."
"The King?" Rolf and Lutz almost cried in unison before rapidly hushing themselves and checking around for any sign of Nightmares.
"Yes yes… I was as shocked as you are right now. It seems that he had this on His mind for a long time, as he wanted us to be there right before the festival. The 'child' would be seventeen, and thus, a candidate for the coming of age ceremony."
A light flickered on Lutz's eyes; he finally understood.
"And what better warrior than the offspring of a Sorcerer? They are powerful monsters themselves, I could only imagine what their descendants will be able to accomplish."
"Now, don't forget," Arne quickly interjected, turning his eyes towards Rolf. "We still aren't absolutely sure that this information is true. After all, this would completely break our understanding of the world's history. The spawns of the Witch were always thought to be sterile, as a sort of 'balance'. The might of Sorcerers is the stuff of legends, and their incredibly long lifespan has made them the best allies and worst enemies of humanity, depending on the era. Imagine if they were able to reproduce... I don't think we'd stand a chance against such a calamity."
"I'm a little bit scared now…" said Rolf before a shadow quickly passed in front of him.
"Get down, NOW!"
Rolf and Lutz followed the order instantly as an enormous, almost shapeless Nightmare caught the air above them. Arne had to squint to correctly see the creature, only helped by the few wisps of light under the giant trees.
It was a dark and lean lump of black - ethereal as all Nightmares are - floating in the air like a jellyfish. In its centre sat what Arne theorized to be its face, a greyish mask with two aligned empty holes - probably its eyes - and a vertical slit going all the way down to where its chin was supposed to be.
After its initial attack, it turned elegantly around itself, an inky, somewhat spectral trail following behind it. The Nightmare was probably thinking about whether to keep attacking them or flee to wait for another chance. It was intelligent and frighteningly so. Despite being quite capable spellcasters themselves, the species native to the Numidean Region truly gave them a hard time.
Finally making its decision, the Nightmare sprouted two blackish and giant-sized arms from its sides before using them to open the vertical slit in the middle of its "face." It was the mouth, that much was certain, as endless rows of teeth were now visible. Yet that wasn't all.
Arne could sense that Mana was gathering dangerously behind its maw, only waiting for the chance to be fired. A beam with that concentration would surely kill them in a single hit, and neither he nor his companions were proficient in Sealing spells, so they couldn't protect themselves with barriers.
"Rolf, Lutz, prepare to dodge this one."
He heard the agreeing grunt of his juniors and prepared to launch himself out of the way before a second shadow caught his eyes.
Someone struck the Nightmare's face directly, stopping its Mana channelling. As the impact made the forest tremble, the creature hit the ground, confused. A moment later, the mysterious attacker landed near Arne.
It was a tall young woman, her blond hair arranged hastily in a bun and her skin tanned by the sun. She wore what seemed to be Numidean warrior garments, with a bit of armour here and there to guarantee some protection. But what attracted his attention the most was the "weapon" she used to hit the Nightmare. It was a giant trunk, taller and more prominent than her.
Arne couldn't find what to say, and even Lutz and Rolf were similarly speechless. Though, they didn't get to be for much longer, as a shout came from way behind them.
"Decima! Slow down! You didn't hit it with my trunk, did you? It's a gift from my mother, you musclehead!"
The Augen agents quickly turned towards him, and the shouting young man seemed particularly bizarre to Arne. He also wore Numidean warrior garments, but while the woman's were stale and unkempt, his were a bright red that even high-ranked officials would struggle to acquire back in Lichtenhimmel. He appeared to be around eighteen or seventeen, and a black ornamental cloth covered his eyes. His hair was short but as fiery as his clothes, and various trinkets dangled from his ears and neck.
Arne was very good at judging warriors from one look alone as a veteran. The feeling that boy gave him was strange and ominous, and his years of experience yelled at him to get out of there.
Unfortunately, he couldn't as the Nightmare began to move again.
It lunged at the woman he assumed was named Decima from the ground. She swiftly evaded the attack while moving the giant trunk out of the way. As if reading her thoughts, the creature sprouted its two blackish arms again, trying to crush its opponent mid-air. Any other fighter would have used a spell to get out of this situation, but what she did shocked Arne.
Decima let go of the giant trunk, blocking the Nightmare's arms with her hands. Albeit doable for any spellcaster familiar with Enhancement spells, it was a different case for her. The veteran couldn't detect any Mana being channelled through her hands, and she didn't use any incantations, which meant that incredible physical strength was naturally hers.
She twisted the creature's arms and brought it closer to her. Then, she struck its face with her foot. A seemingly powerful blow, as the shockwave from the impact resonated through this part of the forest, and cracks appeared on the monster's greyish mask.
The Nightmare hit the ground again, but Decima followed relentlessly this time. She landed on its face with her elbow, cracking it even further before unleashing a flurry of blows, the likes of which Arne had never seen. Each strike summoned a wind blast which forced him further, and further back as the creature cried in despair, its voice a disturbing ululation.
Finally, it heaved its last breath - the black, spectral light that animated it exited its corpse and flew towards the sky, a scene familiar to those who specialized in hunting these creatures.
Arne turned to Rolf only to find the young man with fiery hair beside him instead. His companions were on either side of the clearing, mouth agape. The Numidean boy sighed as if he did all the work before saying:
"Hmpf, it took its time to die. Alright, Decima, now I'll be the one carrying the trunk!"
The woman approached them, her forehead slick with sweat. She gave them a big smile and slapped her companion on the back.
"I'm sorry lil' Aeden! Let me keep carrying it, I'll be sure to not hit anything with it next time. That filthy Nightmare had me running through the entire forest.. couldn't help but slap it hard."
Decima guffawed before turning towards Arne. Her expression instantly became severe, and a flicker of hostility passed through her eyes. The veteran could sense it - if they turned out to be a threat, she'd crush them with no hesitation.
"And who you might be?"
Fortunately, his experience helped him keep his composure while he answered:
"First, thanks for helping us, we're not used to the Numidean Nightmares yet. I'm Laszlo, and those are Iwan and Ilke. We're spellcasters from the Central Continent, and we came all the way here for the festival."
"Huh? Central Continent? Must've been quite the journey. I'm Decima. We don't see much of your kind here, most come from up North," she dusted her clothes, before adding: "Anyway, glad to help. That one was harassing us for hours. It fled when I tried to make it pay… I guess it was distracted by you."
If she was suspicious, Arne couldn't tell. Her face became a mask the moment he mentioned the Central Continent. It was best to wrap that up quickly and resume their trip.
"They're vicious creatures alright, I'd have loved to give you something, but we lost most of our belongings near the forests' entrance to a swarm of Nightmares. We better keep going before it gets dark. Would you mind showing us the way to the nearest city?"
"Not at all. Actually, it's easy. I flattened lots of trees while chasing the Nightmare, just follow the trail, then continue east and you'll eventually reach Lucretia. Though the outer barrier is closed at night so you'll have to camp out if you're not there before the sun's down."
"Right, thanks again for your help."
Arne made a sign for his juniors to join him, then followed the indications as quickly as possible without raising their suspicions. He sensed the redhead's oppressive gaze for a long time before they were out of sight. A few moments later, he heaved a sigh of relief, and his companions started breathing again.
"What.. were they?"
"You noticed it too Rolf? That woman isn't human. She didn't use any Enhancement spells, that was pure physical strength."
"I guess you're right, Lutz. But it wasn't only her. The boy had an uncanny presence, especially with the cloth on his eyes. Is it a common Numidean accessory, old man? Hey, do you hear us?"
Arne was taken from the depth of his mind by Rolf's constant calls.
"Yes yes, the woman's a Homunculus. I'm sure of it. Occidian Homunculi are often designed with monstrous strength, though, the one who intrigued me the most was the boy."
"Why?" asked Lutz, he didn't feel anything particular about him.
"He wasn't human either, I could sense similar structures to the woman's. They were made by the same spellcraftsman."
"Neat! You were able to sense that with simple Mana detection? I knew I should've followed those courses in the academy." Lutz rolled his eyes as Rolf beamed at their senior.
"You'd need to be a full-fledged Mathematician for that, a few courses aren't gonna cut it."
"Shut it, Lutz, you're only good at hitting stuff. Must be nice getting outclassed by a Homunculus."
"I wasn't outclassed! I'm sure I could beat her in a fight!"
"Yes, keep lying to yourself. That'll make you feel better, for sure."
Lutz was about to send Rolf flying with a good punch before Arne intervened, hushing both of them.
"Shut the hell up, you blathering fools. I didn't finish. I couldn't pry more, as the boy was keenly aware of my detection. But I could still tell that he wasn't a pure Homunculus."
"Not a pure Homunculus? Isn't crossbreeding between Homunculi and humans forbidden?"
"In Lichtenhimmel, yes, but who knows in these lands? Anyway, his other half wasn't human either. I couldn't pinpoint what it was, but it unsettled me. We should finish our mission quickly, I'm not at ease this far from our King's reach."
"If an Augen veteran said that, I guess we can't argue. I wonder what other kind of spellcasters there are in Numidea…"