Akeru was expecting a lot of things, but he certainly was not expecting this when he entered this facility.
"Those things gave me an eerie feeling. What exactly are they?" Erza asked.
"They are devils. I really wasn't expecting them to be imprisoned in this facility. I guess Diamond Kingdom is trying to experiment on them to find ways to use them," Akeru said with a grim expression on his face.
'Was the existence of devils really widespread? However this facility is at a very secret location, and I don't think all of the members of Eight Shining General know about this. I was really shocked at first witnessing a Mid-ranking devil unleashed in Clover Kingdom and now this.'
Thoughts clashed at a very quick speed in Akeru's head.
He had subconsciously activated his focus spell and was analyzing this situation.
'Okay, let's see. Nacht's family knew about the existence of devils, and the knights who came to apprehend them along with Morgen did seem to know a bit about devils, as contact with devils or such forbidden rituals was forbidden.
So it does align with my initial assumption. The Spade Kingdom was similar with that Bone guy's family, so it's not a far stretch to think Heart and Diamond are similar. Though I don't know about the former, this base is very close to Spade Kingdom, so maybe in the past some family transmigrated to this town, leading to this knowledge coming here?'
"I guess this does fit with the theme of this city's name, but what exactly are devils?" Erza asked.
Currently, they were talking like this due to no one being present nearby to hear them.
"Well, let's say they are an ancient race that comes from a different dimension? I myself don't know in detail, as the information on this is scarce and is closely guarded due to the dangers it possesses."
Akeru internally went through some mental checks to decide how much he could divulge.
'If somehow this information gets connected to me, I would just mention that I came across a person from the Spade Kingdom who told me this information.'
"They are very powerful beings and are classified into four ranks," Akeru turned towards the devils, which were clearly bound by some sort of arrays, their power clearly being restricted.
"Low-ranking, Mid-ranking, High-ranking, and Highest-ranking."
"Well, these are low-ranking, as containing anything higher is not possible with this method," Akeru said while using '3D Witness' to observe whether anybody was nearby or not.
"These are only low-ranking? These give me dangerous vibes," Erza said, shocked that the devils in front of them were the weakest.
"Well, to safely subdue a low-ranking devil requires a Grand Magic level knight."
Erza blinked.
She blinked again.
"What the fuck, are these guys lunatics?" She said in a shocked tone, repeating Akeru's words.
She finally understood why Akeru was shocked before.
"I know, right? Though I guess those runes could contain them. Also, they probably are the lowest among that rank, so it worked," Akeru said while looking at various devils of weird shapes, none of them resembling a humanoid.
"What about the strength of Mid-ranking and above?" Erza asked with curiosity.
"Mid-ranking devils are very hard to kill. Generally, it requires a huge amount of mana to take care of low-ranking devils by normal means; however, you cannot defeat a Mid-ranking devil by that method," Akeru's hands clenched into fists as he remembered his encounter with the Mid-ranking devil.
Erza noticed his action, as it was unusual for him to show emotions outwardly.
"So, what is required then?"
"Well, you need unique magic to defeat them." 'Or Arcane stage mages, though I could be considered an arcane stage mage, my attack method is through elemental magic only.'
"Or you could use an unholy amount of mana in your spells to defeat them."
"Is that even possible to control such an amount of mana?" Erza asked in a doubtful tone.
"Well, there are certain techniques to do that," Akeru thought while looking at his mana zone.
'Well, I need to create a spell on the level of Ultimate magic soon if I want to have any chance of survival in the future. I already have mana method; it's time to increase my understanding of mana,' Akeru made a mental note.
"You seem to know a lot regarding this, boss. Have you encountered a devil before?" Erza suddenly asked.
"Well, this is confidential information... actually, I don't know if it is confidential or not as nobody told me to keep it secret but treat it as such, in case we get in trouble," Akeru chuckled.
"A few months ago, I did encounter a Mid-ranking devil."
"Woah, you fought such a being before?"
Both of them were chatting like they weren't present in a place they weren't supposed to be.
"Well, 'fight' won't be the right term. That guy was playing around with me; if he had been serious from the start, I wouldn't be here," Akeru admitted honestly.
"That thing must be very strong."
"Yup, the Wizard King appeared at the right time, otherwise I would have been a goner."
"Wait, The Wizard King himself took action?"
By this point, Akeru had already created measures to prevent the sound from escaping their location, as Erza's voice was only getting louder as time passed.
"Well, yeah, he was able to kill that guy with relative ease."
"The Wizard King must be very strong, though that does make me curious about the strength of High and Highest-ranking devils."
"Those things are beyond our comprehension at this point. Let's not think about meaningless things; also, we are not here to chat, we are here to create chaos," Akeru reminded her of their original purpose.
"Right," Erza reluctantly agreed with him, though it seemed she had more questions.
'Well, I wasn't supposed to say so much. Well, not like it matters,' Akeru shrugged at his own blunder.
---
Time: ???, Space: ???
"Raviel-chan, who do you want me to meet?" A blue-haired girl asked a white-haired girl.
They were both kids, below the age of 10.
"Well, it's one of my friends. He introduced me to the orphanage," the white-haired girl said while they entered a clearing where a black-haired boy was present.
A cloak was present on him, which hid everything apart from his face.
"Yo, who's this with you?" The black-haired boy asked.
"She is the friend I was talking about."
"Oh, nice to meet you," the boy smiled and greeted the blue-haired girl.
"Hmph, nice to meet you too." For some reason, the boy ticked the girl off somehow.
"It's not really nice to talk like that when you first meet somebody," the white-haired girl admonished her friend, while the black-haired boy just laughed at her reply.
They talked a bit about ordinary topics while the girl finally opened up to the boy and talked normally.
"So, what is your dream?"
"I want to become rich so that I can repay Miss Aiko and help others," the white-haired girl was the first one to voice her goals.
"That is a nice goal. Maybe you should try becoming a magic knight. I have heard that they make a lot of money. I also want to become a magic knight," the boy said with a smile.
"It would be hard to become a magic knight. They only take people with talent, and I think only 1 in 1,000 people can become them," the blue-haired girl suddenly said.
"Do you think we won't be able to become magic knights?" The boy asked with a grin.
"I never said that. I just said it would be hard. Hmph, I also want to become a magic knight, and I will become a better one than you," the blue-haired girl said to the black-haired boy.
"Hehe, how about we make a promise? In 10 years, we'll see who is the best magic knight?" The white-haired girl suggested while seeing the other two being competitive.
"I'm in."
"Fine, I will show you how I become the best knight. My name is Miko, don't forget this name," the blue-haired girl said arrogantly.
"Hehe, I am Raviel, though you are saying it like we are going separate ways or something," the white-haired girl decided to imitate her friend.
"How childish, I am..."
---
Author's Note:
And that was the second-last flashback. We will have one more, but it will be short and will be present before a certain event.
I think most of you could guess the identity of the boy by now, though it shouldn't be still completely clear, right? Also, do mention why you think your guess would be correct. I really like such feedback.
Also, if you got the previous answer correct, then you could even guess what the last flashback would be.
Also, if you have any complaints regarding this story till now, feel free to share them. I will consider them, as it really helps to improve the story.
You won't get an understanding author like me these days who will listen to reader complaints *wink* *wink* xD.
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