Unknown Object

As the scent slowly became stronger, the growls became louder. Finally, a shadow appeared, descending upon the black sky, and then suddenly dropped to the ground with its wings closed. As the leader had expected, it was indeed a succubus. The demon had the appearance of an attractive woman, with ram horns growing on her forehead, featherless wings, and a long tail in the shape of an arrowhead.

In barks and grunts, the werewolves communicated and spread wide, sending some to circle around, cutting off any means of escape for the outsider.

"Greetings, gentlemen." The succubus said with a seductive smile, unimpressed by the display of coordination.

Not falling for her tricks, the group glared at her, their eyes full of hostility. Their lips pulled back to reveal yellow stained fangs, they let out a low warning growl. The message was clear: the demon was not welcomed here.

"My, my… How friendly!" She exclaimed with a sarcastic tone. "I will take the 'gentlemen' back."

As her eyes fell on the young werewolf who was imitating his seniors, trying to intimidate her with his small teeth, she giggled, amused.

"What are you doing here, succubus?" The chief inquired calmly, displeased as he clearly saw the demon's attention shifting to his son.

"You must be the alpha. How about you tell your boys to back off? I did not come here to fight."

"Then leave!" One of the men suddenly shouted, letting out a loud snarl as he took a threatening step forward.

The demon chuckled. "I'm afraid that's not possible. You see, you are not the only one interested by that strange pillar of light."

"It happened within our territory, our pack will take care of it. You have nothing to do here, so leave!"

The whole group became agitated, as everyone followed the example of their brother, shouting and intimidating the demon, trying to make her leave. They strongly believed that since it occurred in their territory, it was their problem and the demon had nothing to do here. However, they were soon interrupted by their leader's voice.

"That's enough." He ordered. "Can't you see her tiara?"

Hearing his words, the group immediately fell silent. Too busy trying to chase the succubus away, they failed to notice the tiara on her forehead. The ornamental band was made of black jewels and seemed directly inserted on her skull. The Twilight diadem. It was an extremely rare magic item which increased its owner's strength or mana, in accordance with their race, and raised their affinity to darkness magic.

It was something that He gave to all His servants, a proof that they belonged to Him. Even though it was a rare item which was worth millions, it was no different than a slave collar. According to some rumors, He would even drop some of His blood on the tiaras, changing their properties and allowing Him to keep track of them. If the demon was indeed one of His servitors, then she was not someone the pack could attack.

"Did you come here on His behalf?" The alpha asked, returning his attention to the succubus.

"You are a smart man," the demon chuckled. "That is correct. He ordered me to investigate about that strange phenomenon."

With their assumptions now confirmed, the werewolves clenched their teeth, understanding that they couldn't chase the intruder away. They were no longer growling, however, they were still showing signs of discontent, glaring at her. Ignoring them, the succubus stepped forward in the direction of the unknown artifact as she forced her way. Seeing the object, she narrowed her eyes.

"Is that it? This is what caused that sudden disruption in the air?" She inquired, doubting her own eyes.

"We don't know that yet," the werewolf alpha responded. "However, it is highly-likely the case."

"What in the world is that thing?" The succubus thought out loud. Like the others, she deemed wiser not to touch the object; however, it did not stop her from approaching it. Being careful not to erase them, she inspected the marks on the ground. "Could it be… a human attack?" She said, as she rubbed her chin.

Out of the four intelligent species that populated the world, humans were known to be the weakest. They neither had the strength and agility of beastmen, nor the high magic affinity of elves. Yet, they were estimated to have the world's largest population. Since the beginning of time, humans counterbalanced their weaknesses with technologies. When they did not have the teeth and claws of beastmen, they invented weapons. When they did not have the magic affinity of elves, they created magic items. More than once, the humans surpassed themselves and surprised the other races by proving their inventiveness.

Right now, seeing the artifact, it was logical to think it was another one of those humans' inventions. An unknown object and an unknown spell. Who else but humans could be responsible?

"Humans did this?" Virion asked, raising his eyebrows.

He had heard that humans preferred long and complex strategies to bold attacks. They were cowards, but coming from them, a surprise attack was still unexpected.

"I don't think this is the case." His father retorted, confirming his doubts. "Even if humans were able to invoke such a powerful magic, they wouldn't be able to do it remotely, and there isn't a single human around here. Besides, I doubt they would want to start another conflict. They have been weakened by the last war. They didn't have enough time to regain forces."

"True, but you never know what's going on in their minds." The succubus muttered. "They could have allied with the elves, or got their hands on some unknown technology. Besides, that thing does look like something the humans would invent…"

Crossing her arms in front of her, she fell silent, pondering. She tried to think of a rational explanation for this situation. A few minutes later, her cogitation was interrupted as two figures appeared from the shadow.

The man called Rufus had returned, accompanied by village's shaman. As soon as he saw the demon, just like the others before him, Rufus took a stance with his teeth bared in a snarl, openly showing his hostility. This time however, the one to mollify him wasn't the alpha, but the shaman behind him.

"Don't. I can feel Him. She is His servitor." He said.

"Correct. Looks like there aren't only stupid people among werewolves!" The succubus exclaimed, clearly provoking the pack.

Ignoring her words, the shaman walked to the side of the leader, as his eyes fell on the artifact. "Is this the reason why you called me?" He asked.

"Yes." The alpha answered. "This is probably what caused the pillar of light. Can you tell us what it is?"

The shaman stayed silent for a while, his eyes not leaving the object. Because of werewolves' racial characteristics, he couldn't be considered a proper mage. However, his knowledge in magic was on par with the greatest mages, and it was said that he had the ability to perceive and interact with the spirit world. He had stayed the pack's shaman for three generations now. Yet, in front of the unknown object, he was just as clueless as the others. He shook his head.

"I've never seen anything like this before. However, this is not a magic artifact. It doesn't emit an ounce of mana."

"Are you saying it's not dangerous?"

"We can't be sure of anything, but as long as no one touches it, nothing should happen. It seems to need some kind of external action to be activated."

It was just as they said. Hearing this, the men exchanged curious glances, while a sudden chill ran down the young Virion's spine, realizing that he could have activated an unknown magic. He let out a relieved sigh, grateful that his father was here to stop him in time.

"Mmmh… This needs to be reported." The succubus muttered.

As she spread her black wings, ready to fly away, all the eyes turned in her direction.

"I will now be going to inform Him of the situation. Until the moment He decides to take action, if He decides to, I will need you and your boys to secure the area." The demon said, addressing herself to the leader. "No one must find about the artifact. No one must touch it. You don't have to be on duty all the time. Creating a barrier should be fine, as long as you don't let anyone get close. Do this and He will reward you."

Without even waiting for an answer, the demon disappeared in the night sky. She didn't let the time to the alpha werewolf to reply, because she didn't need to. It wasn't a request. Anything said on His behalf was to be considered an order. Everyone knew this, those werewolves weren't an exception. Quickly adapting to the situation, the leader turned his gaze on the shaman. Without even uttering a word, he simply gave him a meaningful look. Understanding the silent order, the shaman respectfully bowed his head.

"I will be creating a barrier." He said.

"Good." The leader responded. "Rufus, Yovel and Diego. You stay here with the shaman. The others, you return to the village with me. We need to inform the pack about the situation. Then, we will patrol around the borders. If someone was there, we need to find him."

As they heard their chief's orders, everyone nodded.