Flaxseed slammed a fist onto the table, fury blazing. “That witch Lunaria, venom through and through! We have to strip mask off and show the world what is!”
Jared placed a steadying hand on his shoulder. “Not yet. We still know far too little about Blackshade Demon Palace. One reckless move and she’ll smell the hunt. Right now, we must strengthen our abilities and secure proof of what happened to your clan.”
Flaxseed’s brows knitted. “But where do we even start? We scoured every ancient record in the palace; not one line explains the truth behind its fall.”
“Perhaps we could start from the forces around Nine Serpent Mountain.” Jared tapped the tabletop, thinking aloud. “Lunaria mentioned some of them growing restless. They might remember whispers from that night. She wants them to test us, we will let her, while we use this as an opportunity to investigate in return.”
Flaxseed’s eyes sparked with sudden clarity. “Brilliant! We pretend to deal with those factions, and in the chaos, we listen for buried truths.”
Jared rose, cloak swirling behind him. “Then we leave at once. But first, one last task…”
***
Under the cover of night, they slipped into the palace’s archive vault.
Jared wove a thread of spiritual energy through the iron lock, tumblers clicked, and the massive doors sighed open.
Row upon row of towering shelves greeted them, each sagging beneath scrolls, tomes, and ancient records whose dust smelled of forgotten centuries.
Jared and Flaxseed split up beneath flickering light, pawing through brittle scrolls that smelled of smoke and age.
Cobwebs clung to their sleeves as they hunted for any clue about the slaughter of the Flaxseed clan. At last, Flaxseed let out a gasp, prompting Jared to hurry over.
Flaxseed held aloft a yellowed war dossier, its binding ready to crumble. The ink, though faded, still screamed of carnage two thousand eight hundred years past: the Blackshade Demon Palace had marched against the Flaxseed clan after the latter uncovered their sinister plan to release the demon general from the Abyss of Fallen Demons.
“So that’s the truth!” Rage and grief flashed across Flaxseed’s eyes as skimmed the record. “Blackshade Demon Palace wiped out my entire clan just to bury this secret!”
Jared’s face went rigid. “Lunaria lied to us from the start. She may even have taken the field that very night…”
Hearing this, Flaxseed’s temper ignited.
“We confront now!” He spun toward the exit, ready to storm the palace halls.
Jared yanked back. “Wait! One fragile scroll is not proof enough, and this palace swarms with men. We would be cut down before a single question left our lips.”
Flaxseed’s fists trembled with the refusal to give up. “Then what? Just forget about it?”
“Never,” Jared answered, his voice like winter steel. “We escape first, keep this dossier safe, and strike on our terms. Vengeance will come, but not inside fortress.”
They tucked the fragile scroll inside Jared’s coat, slipped from the archive vault, and melted into the night beyond Blackshade Demon Palace’s walls.
Heading east, they pushed toward the forces encircling Nine Serpent Mountain, all the while bracing for the shadow of Blackshade Demon Palace’s pursuit that would surely follow.
Three days later, after dodging several demon patrols, they reached the outskirts of Nine Serpent Mountain. The demonic aura there lay thinner than in the depths, yet an eerie, suffocating silence pressed on every step.
“Jared, right ahead is Mistwood Forest!” Flaxseed pointed ahead at the thick, white mist. According to the markings on their beast-hide map, it was the territory of Blackwind Stronghold.
