-Callen-

  “Everyone but Callen, Nox, and Harold step out.” Karia immediately dismissed the other men in the meeting. The curiosity on their faces was easy to see, but discipline was even stronger. In a few moments it was just us remaining.

  “Callen, before we continue, I need you to prove you have that trait.” I nodded in compliance and spoke the system display command.

  Karia’s expression was grim but firm. Clearly the display was something she already expected but wanted to confirm beyond a doubt. Nox’s expression, however, was clouded with far more confusion.

  “Lord Nox, I’ll summarize matters so you can understand the weight of the previous matter. Before you were born in the age of the previous pope, this knowledge was far more common; however, in the current era, it is accepted that knowledge bears risks. Throughout the kingdom small and large miracles occur nearly imperceptibly to the common man. Those who do experience such miracles receive this trait and are hunted mercilessly by monsters. The citadel is a sanctuary to collect, train, and protect the blessed. However, if someone with the trait is injured or consumed by a monster, that monster or even a monstrous person will become possessed by a demon.” Karia took a breath, letting the introduction settle for Lord Nox.

  “Previously the church was spread across the kingdom, intent on helping as many as possible to be blessed. I’ve heard it said in those days the kingdom dealt with an incredible rampancy of demons. However, that was before my time. The current pope strictly enforces a policy contrary to his predecessors. Instead of preaching, they have removed all traces of the faith and demons from the general population. With fewer people being blessed, fewer demons rampaged, and the king supported these efforts. Perhaps only the king and pope still remember what kind of threat these demons represent. The recording and sharing of any information about the blessed or demons is highly illegal, so don’t record or share any of this.” Karia pauses her statement and then shifts her focus to me.

  “As matters stand, I can’t afford sending you to join your sister in the citadel since we need you to fight the elves, but in any other circumstance I would have you dragged to the citadel for education. Giving a demon your blood is perhaps the single biggest mistake you could’ve made. Changing those with the hunger into demons is only the most basic use.” I can’t help but swallow nervously as the intensity of Karia’s stare at me gradually sharpens as she reveals more and more how badly I had messed up. As she continued, Nox chimed in.

  “My queen, you said only the king and pope know the full extent, but how is it that you know?” The first thing that came to my mind is that the king must’ve shared with her, but instead Karia’s voice rings out with a prompt matching my own from earlier.

  “System display status trait,”

  “As a child I survived an assassination I shouldn’t have. I awakened, and the church intended to bring me in, but my father was the duke, and he didn’t want me to disappear into the citadel. Instead I was mentored by a promising acolyte at the time, Priest Norold. I had sufficient protection and guidance throughout childhood to hide my allure. Callen, since you are needed on the front, I’ll be giving you the same teachings I’ve received.” With the statement complete, Karia took a deep breath, and a soft silence settled over the room. It was Nox again who broke the silence with another question.

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  “I appreciate being brought into the know on this matter, but I believe we may have strayed from the core issue. Callen, your statement earlier was one suggesting that the Duke has become a demon. What are our countermeasures? What should we do?” Karia nodded in appreciation before getting back to the topic.

  “While I am familiar with the fact that demons are far stronger than their original host, I'm unfamiliar with how dangerous a demon on the duke’s level is. If I go by the normal response force size, then we would need five dukes to hunt him. Which means only the king or the pope can reasonably stand against him. If he comes north to fight us, it will be a complete slaughter if we are lucky. We might be able to trade our lives as well as the entire army to slay him, but I wouldn’t count on it.” I can feel a chill crawling down my back at Karia’s estimates. Despite that, I couldn’t help but feel that she might have a point. When Callia and I ambushed Lexia while she was eating my arm, it was clear she wasn’t ready to fight us. Despite that, she completely overpowered us with her weird shadow manipulation. If she didn’t have an allergic reaction to my mana, the encounter might’ve gone very differently. I snap back to focus as Karia continues.

  “Originally I intended to draft a letter for the king to send additional forces. The central domain is low, but some unthreatened nobles and the south still have plenty of men. Now that has changed. I’ll be sending an emergency notice to the king and pope. Until the threat of the duke is resolved, our task is to restrain and hold back the elven army to the best of our abilities. Stop sending messengers and spies south to draw as little attention as possible; hopefully the demon doesn’t take interest in us. Tell the men we are taking a defensive stance until reinforcements from the south come, and send your scouts to keep track of the elves.” With her statement complete, the meeting was finished, and we all parted ways. Nox left to update his men while Harold and I went back to our forces to settle the men down and share the plans. Honestly, thinking over the whole mess, I’m glad that fixing this mess isn’t being put on me. It's better to leave it to the king.

  Once everyone was settled into temporary lodging, one of Lord Nox’s servants led me to the manor. Turns out being nobility comes with benefits; in this case, it was priority in the nice accommodations. Despite getting to enjoy a top-class room, Karia’s warning about the duke put any thoughts of enjoying it to the back of my mind. Since we weren’t going to get any help any time soon, I needed to come up with a better means of breaking the veil on the elves. The other issue was everyone else’s inability to perceive the veil, but making an enchantment to let someone see it was beyond my ability. I could imbue my level 100 mana sense into an item, but its effect would be weaker as my enchanting skill couldn’t perfectly remake it. I paused and looked at one skill that I hadn’t dared practice regularly, Dominate Mana. Since I was feeling restless, why not try making my first tier five enchantment? Reaching into the void, I pulled out Callia’s wooden practice spear and got to work.

  I leaned backward, groaning after hours dedicated to my craft, groaning as the stiff muscles stretched. My result? The cinders of what used to be a spear. However, it wasn’t because of any mistake I made but because the wood of a normal tree simply couldn’t handle my efforts. Conveniently, Callia had inadvertently acquired some top-notch wood. The scraps leftover from the withered tree branch that she had to shave back into a spear. Still, I would need to speak with a local woodworker to see if there were any tricks to binding powerful materials. At least I just happened to be in the woodworking capital of the country.

  Setting the ruined project aside, I made my way from the manor back to the northern wall. Looking out, I saw no sign of any conflict throughout the entire night, just the ominous silence of the forest that concealed our enemy. Scouts had been dispatched, so we could only wait and hope someone makes it back with information. With no urgent business, I stepped back down from the wall. Since the elves weren’t making trouble for some reason, it seemed I had a chance to seek out the local crafters.

  Resistance

  High Priest Norold groaned in satisfaction as his friend carefully restored his ribs. News of his attempted coup was already echoing throughout the citadel.

  However, it was a hard pill for most who knew him to swallow. Especially the various girls that Norold had freed from the pope’s influence. In particular, the paladin core was inclined to side with him. Despite the limited authority he held, he was the priest in charge of external affairs, meaning he had frequent interaction with the guards, demon hunters, and recruit escorts. While most of the lower-ranking members hadn’t been informed, a subtle tension was building.

  Norold had a majority of the warriors, but Helod had a superior defensive position at the heart of the tower as well as whatever tricks his consortium with demons won him. Neither was willing to irreversibly harm the tower, leading to a cold war between the core and the outer guard. Norold winced as the last of the injuries cleared up. While organizing and bringing the paladins to his side, he had ignored the injury. Most of the healers were aligned with the inner tower, so finding a healer he could trust had been a difficult task. Standing up, he thanked the healer before moving back to the gathering of trusted allies and old friends who backed him without a second thought.

  Step by step he recounted his visit to the tower and subsequent escape. The others shared equal concern. As veteran demon hunters, he trusted them to understand the stakes of the standoff. Should they fail, unspeakable horror and calamity might befall humanity. However, this wasn’t an issue they alone could face. He had already sent his trusted companion to call for aid from the only force in the kingdom strong enough to intervene if the pope fell to demonic possession, the king.

  Ephesians 3:20 NIV - Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,