Walking back to his room, Zion wanted to change his clothes as there were blood stains on them. He walked through the corridor of his home, relishing in the beauty of its construction.
"Son," Zaleena called out
"Yes, mom?"
"You're going back to school in two days right?"
"Oh yeah, the academy starts back up huh?"
Nobles attend the Academy for Magic and Martial Arts where they can build their future and make connections. Commoners can also join but it's a lot harder for them.
"Yeah, I'm going back. Lidia would probably kill me if I didn't."
"That's true." She chuckled. "Speaking of your fiance, she's on her way here and should arrive in an hour or so."
"Okay, I'll see you later then." He hugged his mother, changed his clothes, and met Lacey, Ginger, and three other people at the carriage.
"Young Master!!!!!!" Ginger, his bodyguard ran up to him, crushing his bones with a strong hug.
"H-Hey Ginger, nice to see you too."
"We're still on for sparring today right?" She asked, her eyes full of excitement.
"Yeah, I'm still down for that. Gotta finish with business first though."
"Understood. Can't wait!" She skipped with joy and entered the carriage.
Zion reached his destination in about forty-five minutes. Upon arriving, they headed straight for Carl's cabin and began searching for the compass. The place was a disaster—clothes strewn about, papers scattered everywhere, and cutlery scattered across the floor.
"What a fucking mess," Zion complained
"Did you see where he placed the compass young master?" Lacey asked, turning to him.
"Nah, I only saw him with it here before he was captured. Search the whole place, and grab anything useful, no matter how obscure it is. As a treasure hunter, he must've had some important documents around."
Zion looked around but didn't notice anything of importance. He had expected this since this place was only a temporary residence.
'It would be shocking if he had anything important here in the first place.' He thought to himself.
It was fortunate that Carl had just acquired the compass because if Zion had found him a bit later, he was sure the compass would have been hidden away somewhere.
"Young master, there is a trap door on the floor under the bed," Ginger said as she moved the bed out of the way, opening the trap door.
Inside was a box wrapped in a cloth, most likely where the compass was hidden. Using his Aura force, a skill he created that acts like telekinesis, he grabbed the box, removed the cloth, and opened it.
"Bingo." Zion smiled, looking at the golden compass with a mana crystal carved as its needle.
"We got what we came for, let's go. And burn this place to the ground." He stepped outside, examining the compass.
"Is it pointing in any direction?" Lacey asked
"No. It's not even working. Oh wait, let me inject mana into it." And as he predicted, by injecting mana into the compass, the needle moved and started pointing in a direction.
"The compass is pointing west." Zion looked in the western direction and squinted his eyes as a frown appeared on his face.
"Isn't the corrupted forest west of this location?"
"Yeah. Finding something in there will be difficult. As long as it's not too deep in the forest, we should be fine." He put the compass in a storage ring he always wore, getting ready to head back home.
He took one step forward and paused. His eyes darted to the trees around them, sensing if anything was out of place.
"Young Master, what's wrong-"
"Shhh! We're being watched." He tapped into his mana, scanning the area, but detected nothing out of the ordinary. Everything seemed fine, yet he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
He sighed and stepped toward his carriage, but before his foot hit the ground, he heard a faint crunch from behind—no one was there, and all his men were ahead of him.
Without turning, he reached back with his aura, pulling whatever was there toward him. When it came within range, he struck it with his fist, sending it crashing into a tree.
"COUGH! You, bastard." Shimmering into the light was a short being, around the size of a Dwarf child. It had red skin, large orange eyes, small horns on its head, small bat-like wings on its back, and a pointed tail.
"An imp?" Zion was shocked looking at the demonic creature. He had read books about demons, expanding his knowledge on all fronts in order to complete the task given to him.
Zion didn't believe that demons had broken through the barrier placed by the gods, but standing before him was proof that they had done so.
"So Carl was telling the truth." Zion chuckled
"Die, human!" The imp's lips curled as a swirling fireball of red and black energy formed, hurling toward Zion with deadly intent.
Zion smiled confidently, extending one hand to catch the fireball, effortlessly vanquishing it with a swift, firm clench of his fist.
'Hmm? Was my hand burned? That attack didn't have the power to hurt me... Wait, demonic energy—the power demons use. If the books I've read are correct, demonic energy can eat away at mana. That's the only logical explanation. I'll need to run some tests later.'
"Shit!" The imp tried to fly away, but an invisible force grabbed its wings, ripping them off.
"Arghhhh!!!! My wings!!!!"
"So," Zion pulled the Imp into his grasp, holding his hand around its neck tightly. "Are there other demons here in the middle world?" he asked, but the imp didn't respond, only struggling to get out of Zion's grip.
"Not gonna talk huh? No matter, I have ways to get what I want." The soul rune appeared on Zion's hands and he attempted to read the imp's mind.
"S-Stay back!" The imp snarled, releasing a burst of fire from its mouth, aiming to scorch Zion's face. But Zion was already prepared, amplifying the mana around his head to create a protective barrier that withstood the flames without a hint of damage.
"Let's see what's in that little head of yours." He placed his fingers on the imp's head, disregarding the flames, and entered its mind.
"N-Nooooo!!!!" As soon as the imp felt the energy enter his head, something inside its body triggered, blowing up the imp in the process, blood and guts spreading everywhere.
"Augh! Shit! A self-destruct spell was placed in his fucking soul! These guys are prepared." He turned to see the scattered remains of the imp suddenly combust leaving no trace of it behind.
"It seems like the demons don't want anyone to know about their existence," Lacey concluded from the self-destruction and burning of the imp's body.
"I agree, but there's nothing we can do for now. Inform everyone to stay alert for demons. Since we share the same goal, I'm sure we'll cross paths again. I don't think they'll be a major threat, but it's smart to stay prepared. Damn it! Now I can't run my tests!"
He kicked the ground, tripping in the process and faceplanting into the ground. Getting up, his face reddened with embarrassment. "No one saw that!"
"Saw what? You tripping and falling on your face, young master?" Lacey asked with a sinister grin.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" He grabbed his head and walked to his carriage in shame.