[I am sorry for not writing the past three days. Since I am living the life of Tej, I have to do his duties as well.]
Anyway, back to the story.
In that tent, the table is the size of a snooker table and there were three scrolls that were still closed, one large parchment, and a small notebook made of leather. All placed neatly.
They were all old, archaic and I could smell the scent of the demons from there. I walked to them slowly and took a look. They all appeared very delicate. All of them except for the notebook. It looked relatively new compared to the rest.
"What have you found, so far?"
I asked Dhana.
She shrugged and said.
"Not much. Only that notebook was a bit useful. From the previous records of the Old Age, we understood that it is a cipher written in a relatively well-known demon language. It is the native of the Sea Demons.
However, we were unable to deduce what exactly written in it was.
We only knew that it had some coordinates as well as some instructions."
I nodded and took the notebook into my hands. After looking at the cipher, I thought for a moment and waved my hand. A large bundle of books appeared on a nearby table. I skimmed through a couple of books before I picked up the notebook again.
I opened the last page of the notebook which appeared empty.
I looked at the reference book that I was using and said.
"Do we have the blood of Sea Demons? It would be better if it was the blood of that guy that you assassinated."
I asked Dhana. She nodded and waved her hand. A glass vial full of aqua-blue blood appeared in front of me. I removed the vial's cork. After some hesitation, I picked up an inscription brush from my storage and covered it with mana.
I dipped the mana-covered brush into the vial gently and was about to write something on the last page.
"Stop. What do you think you are doing? You only have the authority to examine them, you cannot damage them." I should have seen that coming. Arun stopped me.
I frowned and looked at him.
"I am using a trick mentioned in one of the old books. This will reveal what kind of book this is and we will get some more clues."
"You are basing this off some books that you own? Even the members of investigation bureau were unable to come up with a solution. You just skimmed through a random book you owned and figured out a way?
Do I looked like an idiot? Or are the bureau members, idiots?"
"You said it, not me."
I turned to look at Dhana.
"One thing I figured out from these is that they are personal belongings. Which means, they are considered loot. Which also means, you are just volunteering these things out of goodness of your heart.
According to our kingdom laws and the bureau rules, you don't have to care about the resistance of any idiot and make the final call.
So, do you want me to do it or not?"
Dhana looked at Arun who was grinding his teeth in anger. She nodded faintly and I started painting a rune on the empty page.
I injected my mana into the rune.
"FUCK"
I felt a prickly feeling in my finger. A black colored energy emerged out of the page and spread to my finger. I didn't know how I looked at the moment, later Dhana told me that I became pale and I looked like I was losing my life.
To be honest that was how I felt for a moment, because some of my vitality was sucked in to it. As for the reason…
It is the magic of demons. I trespassed into their domain and that was the price I had to pay. While I hurriedly drank a cleansing potion to get my finger back to normal, the runic patterns on the book started glowing.
Soon, it revealed a couple of strings of numbers.
It was written in code. I don't want to go deep into the strings and how to break that code. However, here is the deal the final solution that I got was the cipher key and it was the word 'Leviathor'
Even as I put those letters together, I shivered in fright. I felt like Eminem a bit. You know… Palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy…. I know not that great of a joke.
But yeah, I was frightened out of my mind.
Because that was the ruler of the Sea Demons. The history books that I read so much came into handy.
"What happened?" Dhana placed her hand on my should and asked.
I gulped down and wiped the sweat off my forehead and showed her the solution. She frowned and I could have sworn that I heard her heartbeat.
"That's the cipher key?" She asked.
I nodded and started decoding the cipher.
The decoded text of the notebook was neatly written on paper and several copies were made instantly.
Long story short, the notebook contained three different types of information.
The first one was something that I was very curious about. The information about the Devil's lair.
"Day 1 after the return.
Up on the orders of the ruler, I was deployed to look for the traces of the Devil. However, because I haven't recovered my complete strength yet, I had to be cautious.
Afternoon: I reached the premises of the Devil's lair. The Devil has disappeared and his lair has been destroyed. The restrictions imposed on us by the devil kin have loosened and the seal of the seas has been removed.
Night: After conveying the message to the Ruler, I was ordered to find the traces of the Devil and report back. The rest of the Scout Generals were deployed to find the locations of the Sealed Marquises.
Day 2 after the return.
As I started my search for the Devil's traces, the invasion against humanity began. The years of oppression have been released and the time for revenge has come.
My search has led me to the southern tip of the Man's land where the war has started.
I sensed the traces of the Devil in the city during the attack. However, the first responders of humanity have come back and cleared the city, erasing the traces.
Day 4 after the return.
I finally picked up the traces of the Devil once again. Near the village a bit away from the shore. I couldn't pinpoint the location as the humans had once again erased the remnants.
However, it seems like the Devil has turned against the humans. Which I had to investigate.
Day 5 after the return.
After some investigation, it is clear that the Devil and the humans are at odds."
It was basically a journal cum log book and soon I landed on a page which confirmed a lot of my suspicions and I am sure it would confirm your suspicions too.
"I sensed the Devil's curse usage. I finally managed to pick up his proper remnant trace. I shall go back to the camp and use Grya's ability to find where the Devil might go next."
"I came back to the camp. Grya however, is in trouble and I asked the ruler to help out in Grya's temporary camp. The human activity has increased and we need all the help we can. I stayed behind to arrange the defense."
And that was the last page.
By now, you must have understood who the Devil was and the Devil's lair could only mean one thing.
What is it though?
I didn't know at that time.
I looked at the rest of the people in the room and all of them seemed to have reached the same conclusion as me. There was no other conclusion anyway. Then all of our eyes landed on the scrolls and the parchment.
I hurriedly stepped forward and started examining them…
However, all of a sudden my hair stood on its end. I had goosebumps that almost heard. In that instant time seemed to have slowed down by a hundred times. I could see a small fly buzzing through the corner of my eye.
I could see the sweat drip down Arun's chin and I could hear the sound of it hitting the soil and the next moment all I knew were three things.
"TEJ"
A scream from Dhana who was closest to me.
*THUD*
I hit the ground and lost my sight as someone tackled me.
*BOOM*
The sound of the roof of the tent blowing up along with the heat that could make a volcanic eruption feel like a baking soda volcano projected on my skin as my vision completely blacked out.
*BOOM*
The earth tremored. Dust and debris came crashing down on me. However, except for the shock from the hit, I didn't feel any of it.