Darkness. Complete and utter darkness enveloped Leon.
It took hours before light began to seep through his closed eyelids. He slowly opened his eyes, squinting against the brightness of the room.
As his eyes adjusted to the light, Leon realized that he was in a rather huger place filled with dimly lit lanterns.
'Am I underground?' he thought to himself as he sat up and looked around. The more Leon looked, the more he realized that he was in a vast underground cave that was made into a makeshift settlement.
The walls of the cave were rough and jagged, with veins of glowing crystals running throughout. Leon could hear the sound of water dripping in the distance and feel the cool, damp air on his skin.
Leon rubbed his eyes and looked down at himself. He was still wearing his clothes from the battle, but they were tattered and torn.
He must have been unconscious for quite some time. Leon tried to stand up, but his legs were still exhausted, making him stumble forward. A pair of hands caught him, keeping him from falling.
"Easy there," a voice said, and Leon looked up to see a man standing in front of him. The man was tall and muscular, with a rugged appearance and a thick beard.
"Where am I?" Leon asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
As soon as Leon's eyes met the man's, the latter seemed taken aback and surprised, but quickly composed himself and spoke, "To be frank with you, I don't even know where we are."
"I already talked with the others here, but no one knows how we ended up in this cave. The only noteworthy thing I found out is that everyone here was at the grand harbor of the capital yesterday when suddenly giant tentacles shot forth and attacked the king." The man continued.
Leon listened attentively to the man's words. Why were the people present at the harbor dragged into a cave of some sort, he wondered.
Leon turned to the man and asked, "Do you have any idea why we were brought here?"
The man shook his head. "I wish I knew. We were all knocked unconscious, and when we woke up, we were here. Some of us have been exploring the cave, trying to find a way out or any clues about what happened, but we haven't found much."
Leon nodded, feeling a sense of unease settle in his stomach. He couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.
Just then, horns blared in the distance, and the sound echoed through the cavern.
The man's eyes widened, and he quickly turned his head toward the direction of the noise. Leon followed suit and saw a group of people assembling.
He could see that they were armed with weapons and armored, with a distinct emblem of the royal guard emblazoned on their chests.
"Looks like trouble." the man said, his voice tense.
Leon nodded, and they both made their way towards the group, wondering what could be happening. Being trapped in a cave isn't exactly an ideal situation for him.
As they approached the group of royal guards, a large man came forward from the crowd and called out, "What is the meaning of this? Why am I in this cave? I have a family to take care of!"
His voice boomed through the cave, echoing off the stone walls and causing several others to shout out in agreement. However, there was no response from the guards.
Several of them gave the man glares, looking extremely displeased, but the man continued his tirade, "I demand to be let out of here. Tell us why we're here and what you want from us!"
Slowly but surely, other people heard the commotion and started to gather around. Soon, everyone was present before the royal guards. Only then did one of the men finally respond.
"Attention everyone. First off, let me say that you did not commit any crime and this isn't supposed to serve as a prison or punishment of some sort."
The man's words did little to ease the tension in the air. Everyone was still confused and scared, wondering what was going on.
"This is a direct command from the king himself. All off you have witnessed and were present when a demon attacked his highness at the grand harbor."
"Someone under you, whose demon has not yet been identified or is intentionally hiding it, is responsible for the attack. As the demon is deemed too powerful and poses a threat to our capital, You all are now being detained until we can identify the culprit."
The crowd erupted into a frenzy of protests and outrage, as the news sank in.
People were shouting and pushing, trying to get closer to the guards, demanding answers and explanations.
The situation was quickly spiraling out of control, and Leon could feel the tension in the air thickening.
He knew that being detained in a cave was not a good sign, and the prospect of being stuck there indefinitely was daunting.
But more than that, Leon feared what would happen if they found out that he is the culprit.
By the tone of the royal guard, Leon could figure that revealing his demon would not bode well for him.
Even if he did feel guilty, he had to keep quiet. Rather than potentially risk his life or face severe punishments, Leon decided that silence was the better choice.
After hearing the royal guard's explanation, Leon could tell that the crowd was not convinced by the royal guards' reply.
They still wanted to know why they were being held captive, and the people started asking questions.
"Calm down everyone," one of the royal guards shouted. "If the culprit is discovered, you will be released immediately. Of course, there is still the chance of him intentionally hiding it but do not worry, we came prepared."
"Through bribery...*cough* excuse me, I misspoke. Through persuasion and the guarantee of not harming anyone as well as the promise of safety, we have managed to convince the renowned Truth Demon to aid us in identifying the culprit."
"Sadly, he won't be here until in about 8 days." The guard added.
It took a moment for the crowd to process what the guard just casually mentioned. The Truth Demon isn't a foreign name to them as he regularly struck deals with humans for a hefty price.
Revolving around the ability to discern truth from lies with uncanny accuracy as well as revealing hidden intentions and motivations behind a person's actions made the demon a valuable asset for humans.
Still, for common folk even the thought of deliberately allying with a demon, a creature who was known for its treachery and malevolence, was unsettling.
Skepticism and disbelief rippled through the crowd as they tried to wrap their heads around the idea of a demon aiding humans.
Some muttered their doubts under their breath, while others openly expressed their mistrust.
"Getting help from a Demon?! That's blasphemy! How could you trust such a creature?!" A person yelled out, "What guarantee do we have that this Truth Demon won't deceive us or harm us? How do we know that this isn't just some scheme to further oppress us?"
"Now now, calm down." One of the guards replied, "If you are all that eager to leave this place and don't want the Truth Demon to join us here then the person responsible for the incident should just step forward and reveal themself. We promise that no harm will befall him."
The crowd fell silent, and all eyes turned to each other, searching for any sign of guilt. But nobody stepped forward.
Leon could feel the weight of their suspicion and fear pressing down on him, but he dared not speak up.
'As if I would be naive enough to reveal that I caused all that destruction,' Leon thought to himself
As the crowd continued to murmur amongst themselves, Leon's mind raced with thoughts of escape. He knew he had to leave the cave before the Truth Demon arrived, or he would be exposed.
'Should I sow mistrust and forge fake evidence?' Leon thought to himself but quickly dismissed the thought. For now, there is too little information for him to fabricate a convincing lie.
Besides, inwardly Leon couldn't wait for this gathering to be over.
He doesn't even know what abilities he gained from surviving the encounter against Astaroth nor did he find any tattoo mark on his body.
"It seems that nobody is willing to step forward. Well, since we still have more important business to attend to we will take our leave for now. If you want to get out of here just hand over the culprit."
The guard's words were met with protest, but the royal guards ignored them and walked away with their cohort. No one knew where they went too as they seemingly faded out of existence.
'Finally, time to breathe, let's see what you got for me Astaroth' Leon eagerly pondered, already distancing himself from the crowd.