The ruins of the Mil Kingdom. Over a thousand years ago it was destroyed by the first Demon Lord's invasion. In times past they were the largest and most powerful Kingdom by far. The crowning achievement of humanity, a city of magic and science. Its people were happy, the lands were fertile and the capital city Millia was a beacon of hope to all who saw it. So naturally as demons it was the first one we broke. The Kingdom was situated in the very centre of the continent and the ruins of Millia were now all that remained. It existed as no man's land between Rentolt, the Klerical Kingdom and the Demon-side. A haven for monsters it was rarely visited aside by few daring researchers. Of course at the Heroes current strength those monsters did not matter much.
It had taken one week to reach here from Sasren. Much longer than we first anticipated but we had fun on the way. The Heroes had decided to raise their Adventurer rankings which took some time but it was mostly due to the fact that they ended up fully beating down their examiners…. They seriously lacked the common sense needed to live here. Currently we were all ranked AA, which meant we could pretty much do any job and also have quite a lot of pull within cities, though the Heroes emblem would do that better.
"We're finally here?" Gary yawned and jumped off the cloud.
"What you can't tell by the broken buildings, overgrown foliage or moss covered walls?" Alicia replied.
"Hey you never know. This could just be the ruins to a different Kingdom, right Dave?"
"No, this is it," I said bluntly.
"Tch, you're no fun sometimes." Gary looked around, "For ruins this place is surprisingly preserved."
"That's because we're still at the edge of the city. From what I've heard, it gets worse the further you head in."
Sayuri jumped up onto a nearby building, delicately balancing on the collapsing stone, "Wow, just how far does this place go for."
"It's just as, if not bigger than Elsbeth State. We can only see a portion from here."
"And further in is where we'll find answers?" Carl asked as I dispelled the cloud.
"Most likely." Even I wasn't sure what was here exactly. The first few generations of Demon Lords were the ones who cleared out the city. Recent generations have hardly touched it. The last one would be my Grandfather who used it as the meeting place between us and the Human Kingdoms. Of course that one ended up with him literally being stabbed in the back. Still there would be a few answers for the Heroes to find. Answers that wouldn't be swayed by me or the human side.
We slowly made our way through the streets towards the centre. The paths were cracked from expanding tree roots. The houses were reduced to rubble. Really there was no longer any presence of human life but from these ruins a sense of odd serenity drifted.
Carl had a bitter expression as we walked. Probably thinking of all the monstrosities us demons committed when we destroyed the kingdom. The others were filled with wonderment more than anything else. Eventually as we came closer to the city centre, signs of war from a thousand years ago began to show. Gouges through the land, scratches on the walls and the basic removal of huge plots of land now covered in grass where buildings once were.
"Why… why would they do this?" Carl asked no one but as if on cue a man in a long blue gown burst out of a nearby ally. He was quickly followed by a large bestial monster with bone like armour sporting a stupidly large horn. I couldn't help but be surprised because I hadn't sensed them coming, this place may be more mysterious than I first thought.
"Good afternoon!" the man cheerfully called to us as he dodged the beast's oversized paws. "Ah, oops." The beast caught him in the side and he skidded towards us. Even after taking the hit he stood up straight, simply dusted himself off and continued to greet us. "Not many people visit this area, are you perhaps travellers or researchers?" The man's greying hair and wrinkles indicated his older age but the exact number was hard to tell especially as people became more powerful.
"Umm, shouldn't we handle that first?" Alicia asked as the beast roared seeing more victims to hunt down.
"Apologies. You are indeed correct my fair lady," the man bowed. "Alas as you can see I am having some troubles, if you assist me I would be most grateful." No matter how you looked at it this man had absolutely no tension whatsoever.
"And what makes you believe we can help?" I asked.
"Hmm, the fact that the five of you have not even flinched upon my arrival. You all must be experts in your own right. Also it seems my assaulter is wary of you."
He did have a point. The beast which initially was ready to charge had been caught in Sayuri's glare and Gary's grin. Instead it stayed back nostrils flared as it studied us waiting for an opportunity to strike.
"Boom," Gary waved his staff and the bear was launched into the air…. Several seconds past and it was clear we wouldn't be seeing it come back down.
"Oh my my. You are indeed skilled," the man laughed. "I apologise for barging in like that. My name is Denton Arcrez a researcher working for the Archmage's council." I raised my brow at his introduction. The Archmage's council ruled the small but incredibly powerful country of magicians Felinas. Their lands weren't much but had high concentrations of population and produced the greatest magicians of the human side. At their head was the Archmage an incredibly powerful magician whose life had spanned several centuries. He and his people didn't really take a large role against us demons but as a potential threat he could be considered very high.
"You must have come a long way then," I replied after we all introduced ourselves as adventurers.
"Well isn't this wonderful!" Denton happily cheered, "For such powerful younglings to be here. I wonder if you are looking for work?"
"Work?" Carl tilted his head.
"Yes indeed, but first let us make progress. My camp is quite far but we have a relatively comfortable abode to which I welcome you all." He didn't seem dangerous, weird and eccentric yes, but dangerous no. I agreed to hear his offer on the way so we began to walk.
He continued, "My colleagues and I have been studying these ruins for many years. We are trying to recover the lost magic and technology the Mil Kingdom was once renowned for."
"Isn't it dangerous here?" Sayuri asked.
"Of course but the knowledge we seek is very much worth it. Besides the weakest of us is comparative to an A rank adventurer. We have all trained to be here."
"Then couldn't you have handled that bear yourself?" Alicia questioned him dubiously.
"Haha," he laughed nervously. "Perhaps but I did not want to waste my energy when so many healthy young individuals could help."
"Yes but what do you need us for?"
"Unfortunately we have hit a road block. The monsters in the area have become stronger especially in the area we are studying. To make matters worse their numbers are far too great compared to ours and we are not able to pass without risking our lives."
"So you'd like us to deal with it?" Carl confirmed.
"If possible. Regardless please accompany me to our camp," he smiled and with nothing better to do we followed him. His camp was close to the centre of the city anyway and the answers Carl was seeking would be there.
It wasn't till the early evening when we arrived. We were lucky to have Denton as a guild. Something was interfering with my mana at a large scale. My detection and mapping range had been severely hampered. With the city being in ruins, navigating the streets was hard enough. As we came to camp I could immediately tell why they chose this place to rest. It was situated underneath an expansive tree which spread wide across the area. Its branches protected them from not only bad weather but the tree itself produced an aura that monsters disliked.
"Welcome to our camp," Denton hurried us towards the entrance while the Heroes were entranced by the tree as it sparkled under the setting sun. The camp itself was bustling with other men and women in long blue gowns. There were about two dozen of them in total.
"Master Denton welcome back," a young girl bowed to him. "May I ask who you've brought with you?"
"Powerful adventurers who may be able to help us," he rubbed her head fondly. "Tell the others to prepare food for five more."
"Yes Master," she scurried off happily.
"She's A rank?" Gary mused, "She's even younger than we are."
Denton laughed, "No of course not." Gary looked relieved. He continued, "She's A+." He left us grinning and went to greet the other researchers.
Gary smiled bitterly "I guess I shouldn't be surprised with people like Dave."
Alicia gave him a smack, "It's not like we're the only ones who can be strong."
"Your sister is right," I nodded, "there are many powerful beings in this world that can equal the Heroes. The Demon Lord being just one of them and there are still some that even he cannot oppose alone."
"Well that's a scary thought," Carl grimaced.
"Yeah it really is…." I muttered. Sayuri caught my lapse of confidence but I just smiled and told her it was nothing.
We were led through their camp by Denton and he introduced us to many of his colleagues. Although I was told my predecessors had cleared out the city of valuables, they had a suspicious amount of artefacts here. Eventually we sat down with Denton and a few others around a campfire. They even treated us to dinner, which we were very much thankful for.
"So about this job," I looked to Denton.
"Ah yes the job," Denton smiled. "A few weeks ago we made a unique breakthrough and due to that, as I described before, things have become less hospitable."
"What do you mean breakthrough?" I asked.
One of his companions perked up, "After years of looking at scraps we stumbled upon a new underground part of the city! Untouched by any other civilisation demon or human." My curiosity began to peak as it explained the mass of artefacts. This adventure may just solve a few questions of my own.
"Umm before that could you explain why these ruins are so important?" Carl asked.
"You don't know? Why these ruins were once the capital city of the Mil Kingdom," Denton explained enthusiastically. "It was a kingdom without parallel and existed until the first Demon Lord invaded it. The technology and magic lost here are still mysteries to us even now. If we could even just tap into a small amount of it we could lear-,"
"Ah yes I get that part but why did the demon's invade in the first place?" Carl interrupted. I let out a small smirk. This would be interesting, the researchers from the Archmage's domain were probably the most unbiased of anyone. However it still begged the question if they knew all the right facts.
Denton gave his beard a small tug, "That indeed is a mysterious query that we still do not know for sure. First you must know one thousand years ago the human kingdoms and the demon tribes were not united. However neither side was at war with each other. There was still small disputes between parties but nowhere near the animosity we live with today." So far he was right, however at the time the humans were more aligned than the demon tribes. A fact that they took advantage of and abused our people in the past. Of course that isn't knowledge you'd find in the history books of humans.
"So why did they invade all of a sudden?" Carl had his arms crossed, serious in thought. "If everything was peaceful why break it?"
Denton scoffed, "It was a relative peace. A peace which could be easily broken when one side gathered more power. There are many possible reasons taught by each kingdom. Most would have you believe that it started when a single demon of great power was born. After unifying the various tribes he turned to the humans and from there war broke out. However the mystery is why and who this demon was. It is for this reason why we are here. Old books of legend speak of a monster that was not born from the earth but made by human hands. I and my colleagues are researching this Monster. The times the Monster was mentioned match quite closely to the times just before the Mil Kingdom's fall. Our further investigation have revealed that the Monster most likely originated from this very city and the new underground ruins we found support this hypothesis."
"What kind of monster was it?" Gary asked.
"It was an experiment to give birth to a human monster and is described as a disfigured giant covered in armoured plates. The legends it appeared in were those about valiant knights who managed to spur the monster away from the cities and towns but not one mentions the Monster's death. We here believe that the Monster was real and fled to the demon side."
"And what, it became the first demon lord?" Alicia joked.
"Precisely," Denton smiled. "Filled with vengeance for its creators the Monster then led the demons to destroy the Mil Kingdom."
I hid my bitter expression. He was almost right. That Monster did indeed exist but it didn't flee, it was led towards the demon side after it rampaged the human territories. Caught unaware tens of if not hundreds of thousands of demons lost their lives. It just kept killing and killing, till finally my ancestor the first demon lord was able to seal it away and to stop the creation of another he united the demon tribes and destroyed the Mil Kingdom. A violent response that was fuelled by the anger of those left behind.
"Dave are you okay?" Sayuri asked me quietly from the side. Although my expression was normal, my fist had been tightly clenched.
"I'm just a little engrossed in Denton's story that's all," I smiled reassuringly.
Carl was deep in thought eventually asking, "And since then the humans and demons have been at war?"
"Yes for over a thousand years," Denton replied passively. "The human kingdom's united and pushed back the invasion. Heroes were summoned to combat the Demon Lord and now every fifty years the cycle repeats." He let out a tired and sad smile, "I wonder if there will ever be a day when there is true peace between us."
A lively researcher stood up in anger, "The only time there can be peace is when we have all their heads on pikes." Well that wasn't a very nice image. "After all they've done to us… this time for sure the Heroes will destroy the Demon Lord."
Denton raised his hand to placate him, "We are scholars not warriors, calm yourself."
The young man shifted awkwardly and sat back down, "Sorry Master."
"Now about your job," Denton gestured to the Heroes and I, "We'd like for you to clear out the monsters in the underground ruins. Being AA rank adventurers your strength should suffice. We'll pay you with any treasures we find down there."
Before the Heroes could reply I took Denton's hand, "We accept." I smiled. The Heroes were a bit taken back from my quick response but nodded their acceptance. If Denton was right and the ruins were related to the Monster, I just may be able to solve the problem that had been plaguing my family for the past thousand years.