CHAPTER 10: A THEORY OF CONSPIRACY

When the last remaining particles blew away from the wind, Grell and Amaya floated back down towards the man who was still unconscious. Amaya once again checked his condition. Still alive. Barely. She turned to Grell who nodded and took out his phone to call for an ambulance before the both of them once again floated up and hid amongst the trees to wait for the ambulance to come.

They waited for a few minutes before they heard the siren from afar. The both of them then sighed, relaxing at the thought that the man would finally be saved. After making sure that the ambulance would take the man away, Grell and Amaya flew down from their hiding spot and walked tiredly towards the main street to hail a taxi.

They came down to the city last night to play and enjoy the view, so they didn't take any car nor attendants. Even if they did, they were too tired to drive themselves. What they wanted most was a hot, relaxing bath and a good long sleep. They still had plenty to do afterwards.

However, no matter how tired they were, they couldn't seem to put the heavy burden in their hearts, thinking about the hell beast who suddenly appeared. Sitting in the taxi, slouching down, Grell turned to Amaya who had also turned towards him, probably feeling the exact same thing.

"If it is related to the portals…" Grell started, not daring to continue his thought. His body almost went cold from the fear that was also clenching at his heart. His sweat-soaked back felt the chill even more when Amaya sighed and looked down at her hands.

If there really was a traitor amongst the council residing in their magic realm, in their Kingdom Beyond, how disastrous would that be? How heartbreaking? Grell clenched his fists, trying not to lashed out, especially since they were inside an innocent man's vehicle.

"That should not be…" Amaya started. With a voice as soft as the spring breeze, she said to Grell, "However, there is a chance that it is someone who escaped after the great war," she said, sounding unsure, almost hopeful.

"How could that be?" Grell was baffled, but thinking about it, he indeed rather chose this conjecture than the possibility of someone betraying them. That would be a thousand times more difficult to bear. Not only for them, the immortals, but also the entire magic realm-the world beyond, who had given them their absolute faith.

Amaya shook her head, leaning back against the car seat, thinking. Grell took her hand and squeezed it gently, comforting. A Goddess she was, but she was not much different from mortals. With her own thoughts, feelings, and difficulties. Probably even more so because she was born to protect. To love.

"We'll call the others after we rest and ask their opinion going forward, yes?" Grell gave out his advice. He knew that it would be impossible for them to not relay their encounter with the beast to their companions. Grell also felt some worry thinking about whether or not they encountered something unpleasant.

"Yes. Let us do that," Amaya said after a while. She was also worried that her companions would encounter such things, but she also felt the need to sort out her feelings first, lest she misinformed her most loyal subject.

Loyalty… she pondered. Thinking about someone betraying them sent chills down her spine, freezing her whole being. She was a Goddess, yes, but she was also a simple being. Things such as scheme, politis, betrayal, corruption, were something she could never understand.

Amaya shook her head weakly as she got out of the car in front of the Temple of Salvation. The taxi driver looked at them and then at the temple with some trepidation. Amaya smiled gently at him. Indeed, to mortals, the temple only looked like an old, almost dilapidated house. To Amaya and Grell's eyes, however, before them stood a tall and mighty temple made entirely of purple garnet, decorated with various types of other precious gems. It was one of the most lavish temples in the world. The front courtyard was decorated with pink peach blossoms,with a medium sized pond, filled with lotus flowers near the entrance of the temple. The gate was tall and imposing, guarded by two centaurs who bowed towards them respectfully.

Amaya and Grell acknowledge their salute before heading towards the temple. They refused breakfast and many other services offered to them. They only wanted to take a bath and sleep. Anything else would have to wait until after.

So they slept. They slept fitfully. Worry stained their hearts. They tossed and turned in their sleep. It was evening when they finally woke up, feeling neither refreshed nor calm. They refreshed themselves in the bathroom, changed their clothes, and went into the dining room where many attendants had been waiting for them.

The high priestess of Vietnam had been in seclusion the past few months, so the one who had been acting as the host was her direct disciple, a woman in her 40s named Võ Minh Anh, who looked taciturn and even slightly cold. She was standing beside one of the seats of the dining table, waiting. She bowed slightly when Amaya and Grell came in. She sat down when the two sat down, and then signaled to the attendants to start serving the food.

Everything on the table was specialties of Vietnam from every region. It was truly sumptuous. Grell and Amaya ate with relish but still retained their elegance. Võ Minh Anh looked up at them and she opened her mouth to speak, nervousness seeped slightly from her being.

"My Lord and Lady…" she started, but Grell held up his hand and turned to her with a smile on his face.

"High Priestess, shall we leave the matter of work outside the dining table?" Grell asked, not really giving way for an answer other than 'yes'. The High Priestess pursed her lips but acquiesced.

"These foods were directly sent by the chefs of the temples in each region, this priestess hope it is to your liking," she then decided to change the topic so as to not annoy the two.

"High Priestess has good taste," Amaya smiled gently towards her, "this noodle soup is not only delicious but also refreshing," she generously complimented the host.

The soup was one of the most famous noodle soups from Vietnam with chewy rice noodles, a generous heap of thinly sliced beef, and the bean sprouts were fresh and crunchy. It was very much to Amaya's liking.

"It is the honor of the temples' chefs for the Goddess to like the dishes," the High Priestess humbly said, lowering her head so as to not directly stare at the Goddess. Not that it was prohibited; she just felt a slight pressure whenever she caught a glimpse of the gentle but powerful Goddess, however human-like she was.

They ate dinner in a rather somber mood. When they finished, the High Priestess led them to a meeting room. Amaya and Grell sat down, turning towards Võ Minh Anh and beckoned for her to speak. She was still standing up with a rigid posture before she bowed deeply.

"The matter with the hell beats, it is my negligence," she said, "I have dipstach my subordinates and cooperated with the officers from the Kingdom's headquarters in Vietnam, however…" her voice trailed and she sighed heavily.

"You have not found the traces of the beast's origins?" Grell concluded, not entirely surprised. If one could release such a beast in a city as crowded as Hanoi, the person surely had means to conceal their presence.

"We only found out the first place that it was witnessed to have appeared," Võ Minh Anh continued as she opened a projector showing a map of Vietnam. "The beast was seen in the edge of the forest in Thanh Hoa province five nights ago before being seen in Hanoi last night. It didn't attack any humans except for last night… In between Thanh Hoa and Hanoi… It really didn't attack anyone. Not even for feeding. Not until last night." At this point, she also sounded slightly lost.

She was right to feel lost. Hell beast, as scary as it sounded, and as hard as it was to be killed, would only attack those who had been marked with hell fire. They would not attack anyone without one. And people branded by hell fire, meant sinners. The stronger the hell fire indicated the bigger the sin was. It was safe to say, probably aside from toddlers, there were no humans without the mark of hell fire in them.

Therefore, the hell beast went days without attacking humans was something unheard of. And for the hell beast to appear in the same city at the same time as Amaya and Grell? Someone arranged it. The why was quite obvious. The problem was the how and the who.

"What do you want to do?" Grell asked Amaya after a much prolonged silence. He was very much feeling uncomfortable realizing that there was trouble ahead but there were only him and Amaya to solve it. No. He wasn't unconfident about their abilities. But it was also true that they would be more powerful as a team.

"Let us deal with the portal first," Amaya said after she thought it through, "the matter of the beast is somehow tricky. We have no clue as to the purpose of whomever released the beast in the city nor do we know who did it. It is best we proceed with extra caution."

Grell nodded in agreement and turned to the High Priestess, "we will proceed with the original plan. We'll set out to close the portal tomorrow at dawn. When we finish there, we will set out to the place where the beast was first seen," Grell told her.

"We will trouble you to make a command post on each site where the beast was seen, including the park from last night. You will have to send out someone to investigate the footprint of the beast thoroughly and canvass the point of appearance in case there are more hell beasts. You will also need the help of forest fairies to collect the first sunlight of the day. Collect as many as you can just in case," Amaya also instructed her, feeling somehow disheartened.

"As you command," Võ Minh Anh bowed deeply before excusing herself to arrange people to carry out the tasks.

Meanwhile, Grell took out the overseeing globe and contacted the rest of the immortals scattered all over the globe. In truth, he didn't really want to contact them. He was afraid they would be worried. But also, they needed to be warned in case the unscrupulous people also targeted the rest of them.

Grell started as soon as the faces of the people he loved appeared in the air in front of him. He almost choked from longing and woe, "We seem to have a problem."