Interlude 1

At the same time.

The City of Pines.

The captain of the Rune Knights, aka Jin Prague, was in the office assigned to him and analyzed the current situation, because of which he was actually sent to this God-forsaken place. Everything turned out very well so far — well, apart from the fact that he would return home only in a week, if not more.

The Demon Slayer who suddenly appeared was able to prevent the obscurantism of one of the dark guilds that are part of the Balam Alliance. His subordinates didn't even have to do anything — after all, they were sent to check the outbreak of demonic energy, and they came to everything ready. It was an important victory, but the fact that someone who was specialized for hunting demons appeared on the side of the kingdom was more pleasing.

"If we had had him before..."

Jin clenched his fist at the memories that came flooding back. He still remembered the day when Deliora, one of the demons of the Book of Zeref, destroyed his hometown in an Iceberg, in which he had a wife and twin sons. Fior, with the support of Bosco, began to gather troops to help the neighboring state, in which he signed up as a simple soldier, but after the arrival of the corps, he was able to find only the ruins of the city and a demon sealed in an Ice Coffin.

Since then, the man has been imbued with hatred and fear of demonic power. And so, four days ago, after learning about a new outbreak in the City of Pines, he gathered his squad and headed here. What was his surprise when their scanner pointed to a young guy of slightly unusual appearance who was calmly in the middle of a crowded square. However, the interrogation, although it was very nervous for the captain, gave hope that if the demons appeared again, they would have a worthy ally. True, the fact that Virgil looked at his eighty-one to twenty was slightly embarrassing, but not that much.

"He seems like a good guy. The Cube of Eternal Truth cannot be deceived even by the Chosen of God, and his actions speak better than words." — Jin smiled to himself, remembering with amusement how the guy hesitated, answering some questions.

There was a knock on the door, after which one of Prague's subordinates entered the room.

— Report, — he said dryly and at the same time wearily, putting a pile of documents on the table.

Nodding to him and pointing to a chair, Jin plunged into reading while the knight sank into the offered seat with a sigh, instantly falling asleep.

As the information was analyzed, the man frowned more and more.

As Virgil whispered, the Chicken's Foot did not just arrange fun in the city. As the metropolitan interrogator found out, they were trying to distract the forces of the Rune Knights from the operation of another dark guild — the Heart of the Grimoire. It is not known what this community has done, but given the fact that the captain finds out about it only now, they succeeded. And if we recall that these magicians were among the most knowledgeable about demons…

"That's a dirty trick," he thought, reaching for the cigarettes in his pocket, but just in time he hit his hand.

"I can't handle this alone. We should send a report to Ultear Milkovich. She is responsible for everything related to the Balam Union. Although..."

Jin stole a glance at the dossier, which contained information about one demon fighter. After weighing the pros and cons in his mind, he made a decision. After all, no one will mind if he involves an "outside specialist" in the investigation?

***

The Base Of the Dark Guild "Heart of the Grimoire".

A couple of days before the events described.

In the hall of the flying cruiser, which was the base for the dark guild, there were two: a man and a woman.

He was quite tall and muscular, considering his very advanced age. His hair and long beard had long been gray, and his right eye was covered with a bandage. The clothes consisted of armor with a helmet and a black cape. By his posture on the throne, one could understand the high status of a master, because only a strong person could manage one of the three strongest illegal guilds.

She was a young attractive girl with a very outstanding figure. Her dark purple hair fell freely to her shoulder blades, and her brown eyes stared intently at the interlocutor. Her outfit consisted of a dress that practically hugged her figure, leaving nothing to the imagination. But there was a strange thing — if you look closely, you could see small distortions and understand that instead of a person there is now an ethereal projection created from mana.

— Was your operation successful, Lord Hades? — respectfully bowing her head, she asked.

— Yes, and all thanks to the distracting maneuver of our subordinates, — the named one said with a cheerful chuckle (apparently remembering these very subordinates), — But why did you send me a report in which you declared their complete defeat?

— Something... unforeseen happened, — Ultear said with a delay, twisting her beautiful face, "I don't want to assume this, but it seems that a "man" specialized in killing demons has appeared in the Earthly region.

— More details, — the master demanded, changing his pose to a more focused one.

— Virgil, eighty-one years old with a mismatch of appearance. Not a local — does not know the language, as he had a special medallion. Uses demonic energy for unidentified spells. He carries an unknown weapon, which also emits, among other things, impressions of Spatial magic. Super speed, possession of Ice, Fire and Thunder and partly Solid-light magic, as well as skills with cold weapons. I was able to destroy a Chicken's Foot in less than five minutes, where most of the time was occupied by searches and dialogues.

Hades was already grimacing now. The girl stood humbly and waited, straining more and more internally. She was afraid of her master's displeasure, and now he was clearly displeased.

— Minimum S-rank, and quite high. At the level of Gildarts, if not higher. This could be a problem. Does he know about our plans?

— Absolutely not. He's only been in Fiore for a day, and he doesn't even know the current situation yet. At the moment, he is unlikely to care about us. And, as far as I know, he expressed a desire to join the Phantom Lord, and they are known for their rather ambiguous reputation.

—It's good, — Hades nodded with satisfaction, — To put surveillance on him, but without fanaticism — the main thing is not to notice us.

— It will be executed.

— Could someone else have found out about our operation?

— Captain Jin can start digging in this direction. But I have a countermeasure: I will give him a false trail, and then unknown dark ones will kill him. As usual, — the beauty smiled sweetly and modestly shrugged her shoulders.

Only nodding, the master said:

— Free.

After bowing, the Urtir projection disappeared, leaving the old man alone with his thoughts.

"Virgil... demonic energy. It looks like this is the Yamato owner he was talking about."

The man understood that the information given out by one of the allies of the Heart of the Grimoire turned out to be true. As well as other pieces of a puzzle still unknown to him. And so far, something didn't add up. Yes, Hades was counting on the help of some... personalities, in exchange for which he had to observe the outside world. But gradually coming true events did not please him at all. Rather, they even scared me. And it looks like he will have to build up his own power — after all, a storm was approaching. And it is unknown what strength it will be.

"Well, Envy has arrived. Only Anger and Pride remained."