"Memories of the past"

-------------------------------------

I'm sorry that the chapter comes a little later, I was on vacation over the weekend and actually wanted to publish on Sunday evening as usual. However, the train was a few hours late and so I didn't arrive until just before midnight and just wanted to go to bed. I hope you like it anyway.

-------------------------------------

Third-person POV

It was early in the morning, so early that the sun had not yet risen and yet the whole capital was in turmoil. People were running wildly through the city, panicked and scared; some even looked awestruck as they gazed at the spectacle. And who could have blamed them? In the middle of the night, without a warning, a giant flame wall had sprouted out of the ground and isolated a big part of the capital where the warehouses were locked.

The city was in chaos, and yet there were a few who tried to keep a cool head. In one of the many buildings owned by the adventurer guild, a colorful crowd of people had gathered in the meeting room. Though it consisted of many adventures, not all of them were connected through the guild. A golden blonde woman pulled away from the back wall of the room and walked, flanked by two women purposefully towards the table set up in the middle.

"Dear adventures, You deserve my deepest thanks for following my call in such a difficult time. It breaks my heart that I have to ask so much from you and that I, as the princess, am not able to do more for the citizens of this country, but please listen to what I have to say," pleaded the blond princess and bowed her head, which earned sounds of awe and of approval.

"Most of you must have already discovered the reason you were summoned here today by the head of the adventurer guilt..." said the princess and gestured to the muscular woman beside her; she looked old, but her eyes were still sharp like the ones of a hawk.

"Today in the morning, a part of the capital was engulfed by a giant wall of flames that measured over 15 meters. Fortunately, these flames are really harmless; this was confirmed by the leader of Blue Rose," continued the princess and pointed at the other woman at her side.

"This is correct; I touched the flames still; I felt no heat nor harm, but I couldn't get far for insides dwell many demons." Confirmed the other blonde woman at the princess side.

"We now know who is responsible for this: He introduced himself as the Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth. According to him, he is also supposed to be part of a dangerous organization called the Sin Council, whose members have a similar level of strength to him. Furthermore, he has powerful underlings consisting of demons and other magical creatures." explained Renner

"Do we know how powerful he is?" asked one of the present higher-ranking adventurers, prompting the leader of the blue rose to step forward.

"One of his close servants, a spider maid demon, engaged with the giant warrior Gargaran and the smart thief Tia; they were completely outmatched and only able to beat her after they gained the support from Evileye. Jaldabaoath then showed up in person, prevented us from killing the insect maid, and managed then to forcefully teleport Tia and Gargaran away, though he claimed that was another member from the Sin Council that also seemed to be inside the city." finished Lakyus and looked at the present adventurers who were furiously discussing her story with themselves.

"Adventurers from the Adamantit rank abducted?" one murmured in horror

"That is insane..." cried out another adventurer.

"You can't expect us to fight..." a third interrupted, but his voice was lost in the crowd.

"ENOUGH!" shouted Evileye, shutting everyone up.

"I know what you want to say...I faught Jaldabaoth; I kept throwing spells at him that didn't hurt him. I was without hope... But still, we can't just give up; this time we have Sir Momon on our side, an enemy that even Jaldabaoath wasn't keen on fighting and an opponent that made him retreat rather than risking a fight. With him on our side, we are able to defeat him... With him, we can win." finished Evileye raising her hands in a dramatic fashion toward the black knight standing in the shadows.

Exited chatter erupted from the adventures; the presence of the black knight seemed to calm them down and raise their morale.

"That is right," the princess interrupted the turmoil.

"With Sir Momon, victory is possible, but it still cannot be archived lightly. In order to bring him into the middle of the raging inferno, we have to intercept the enemy forces; after all, Jaldabaoth has positioned several Demon hordes inside the flame wall. Since many Demons are able to fly, we have to keep them on the ground in order to give Sir Momon the ability to fly into the enemy base and give him the chance to fight the archfiend." Renner revealed the strategy.

"Does this mean Blue Rose will fight at the front against the Demons?" asked a high-ranked adventurer

"That's right, since two of our members were kidnapped, we have been weakened greatly. Evileye is the only one who will go with Sir Momon to help against the Insect maid should she be present. Tina and me, on the other hand, will join the rest at the front," explained Lakyus.

"And what about the warrior captain?" another interjected

"I will be at the castle with my men to protect the king; it is of the utmost importance," said Gazef.

"What? We are going to the front, and the nobles are just going to sit by." One adventurer snapped, earning the approval of the others.

"Damn nobles"

"Who do they think they are?"

"Egoistical bunch of assholes"

"I can't believe..."

"Please stop! I am angry too, but remember not everyone is the same; everyone present is being paid by the Princess personal funds, and also Sir Momon is only here today because of Marquis Raven, who has hired him," appeased the leader of the blue rose and received murmurs of approval.

"Alright," interrupted Princess Renner, the dark mood."

"Now that everyone has calmed down, let's go over the plan again. I want a team to cover the south side... at the same time this team will enter from the...

-------------------------------------

A group of people gathered in the office of the head of the adventure guild; they had retreated there after the meeting to plan further strategies in the coming counterattack against the invasion. Many high-ranking people were present, including the remaining members of the Blue Rose, Princess Renner, her lapdog Climb, the warrior captain Gazef Stronoff, the leader of the Adventure Guild, as well as the two members of the Adventure Team, Darkness Momon and Nabe. And even if it was a strategic meeting between allies, tempers still ran high.

"Speak," Lakyus demanded, her face twitching in a rare case of suppressed anger.

"Lakyus..." Evileye tried.

"No, none of that. Our friends are on the line; they have been kidnapped, and he knows more." Lakyus insisted, her eyes not leaving The Dark Knight's visor.

"Haaaa, I understand, but first, please let me, thank you. You did not need to have waited until we were in fewer company. You could have spoken to me about it in front of the others, but you did not." thanked Momon, holding her firm gaze.

"I did not have a choice in that, did I? Had the rest of the adventurers known what they were getting into, morale would have dropped, further diminishing our chance of victory," said Lakyus, her gaze softening.

"All right," declared Momon.

"I do not know much, but I will share with you what I know; it is not a pretty history, but maybe you will find something in it that could help us with your abducted comrades," said Momon.

"Once upon a time..."

-------------------------------------