26: Variable (1)

A few days had passed since that incident in the library, time in which Mark had tried to talk to Belen, though she continued to ignore him to his growing regret.

Eric was a bit exhausted because he honestly didn't know what to do in this situation, he was happier commanding the soldiers, but now he also had to give his orders to the inhabitants of the camp, though to his relief, Rhea and Elisabeth seemed to be quite good in this section.

Erika was still at the prince's side, watching him silently as she sang him the same song her mother used to lull her to sleep.

Everything was continuing as normal, though to the surprise of the camp's inhabitants, today would be a different day.

* * * * *

"This has got to be a joke..." - Elisabeth said as she felt her pulse stop for a few seconds at the sight of the two women who had appeared at the entrance to the camp.

Rhea was perplexed, confused by this situation, after all, in front of them were the two women who were possibly the most likely to be the traitors of the order.

"What's wrong?" - Altia asked as she frowned slightly - "Is there something wrong with us?"

"N-No, I'm just surprised to hear that you are the granddaughter of the great sage" - replied Rhea while shaking her head.

Altia looked closely at these two women, though they noticed how the beautiful black-haired woman's eyes seemed to sparkle as she watched them.

"Is something wrong?" - Elisabeth asked this time with slight discomfort, for it was as if this girl could see right through their bodies, right into their souls. It was an uncomfortable feeling because it was as if the two of them were standing in front of a snake.

"Oh, sorry, it's just that you guys have a different aura than all the people I've met" - Altia replied with a small smile - "My name is Altia Lughcaster, and this is Artemis, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Uh... my name is Rhea, and this is Elisabeth" - Rhea replied with slight hostility.

Altia cocked her head to the side when she sensed this because it was strange, she had done nothing wrong against these two, but they seemed to be on the defensive.

"Not to sound rude, but... What is the granddaughter of the great sage doing in a dangerous place like this?" - Rhea asked with a frown.

"Oh, we were chosen to keep an eye on the heir of the ring, though I don't see him anywhere" - said Altia as she looked around in search of Ren.

"My best friend at the moment is currently indisposed" - replied Eric, who was completely unaware of what was going through the minds of the two girls - "He is currently unconscious."

"Unconscious?" - repeated Altia with a frown - "Did something happen?"

"He used the ancient art [Divine Connection]" - replied Rhea as she saw that the cat had come out of the bag - "I am sure you understand the consequences."

"[Divine Connection]?" - repeated Altia as her eyebrows contracted slightly - "I see, that explains the pillar of fire we saw from a distance, it makes sense that he would be unconscious if he made a connection with an entity on another astral plane."

"What entity entered this existential plane?" - Artemis asked with a small smile.

"Ifrit" - answered Rhea as she folded her arms.

"Oh, the dweller of the second hell" - said Artemis as she clicked her tongue - "I was hoping it was Ignis of the eternal flame."

"If it had been him, it is quite possible that the heir would have died, the power of Ignis, the eternal flame is too much to be contained within a mortal" - replied Altia as she frowned - "That aside, I would like to see the heir."

"I don't think that's a good idea" - said Rhea as she became defensive.

Altia again frowned - "Did I do something wrong to you to act so hostile?"

"No, this is the first time we've met" - Rea replied as she shook her head.

"So? From your perspective, we should be your allies, we are part of the [Order of Twilight], and I am specifically the granddaughter of one of the 7 sages" - Altia said as she looked around.

"What is the [Order of Twilight]?" - Eric asked as he looked directly at the two girls from the future.

"It is a secret order consisting of 7 great sages who are descendants of the wizards who supported Draco Dragonhart in his mission to defeat the demon king, or rather, demon queen" - answered Elisabeth as she shook her head.

Altia remained silent, however, inside she was frowning, after all, the gender of her past life as a demon queen, was something that only the hero and the priestess knew, this because they were the only ones she let into her throne room, as for the reason for this, it was simple, she wanted to kill the priestess to make the hero fall into the deepest abyss, only to discover that the two were more siblings than a couple, which made her efforts ineffective. Back to the point, what she said was true, Draco and the priestess were the only ones who knew about her gender, and to make sure this information didn't get out, he put a curse on the souls of the two heroes who managed to defeat her.

"Demon queen, don't you think that a little strange?" - Altia asked as she narrowed her eyes - "I mean, there is no information in the library of the sages about whether the demon king is male or female."

Elisabeth and Rhea began to sweat inwardly, though their faces were still expressionless.

"Really?" - Rea asked in surprise - "I swore I read it on an ancient scroll, I guess it has to have been a hypothesis."

"Scroll? I'd like to read it" - said Artemis curiously - "Where is it?"

"Destroyed, it was so old that when I tried to save it, it ended up being destroyed by the passage of time..." - replied Rhea regretfully - "Though if you're so doubtful, you can ask Ren when he wakes up, I'm sure that information exists in the [Tower of Babel]."

Eric frowned slightly because the information about his best friend's ability, should be a secret.

"Relax, we know about the ability more than you think, after all, the [Tower of Babel] is the reason for the creation of the [Order of Twilight]" - replied Altia with a small smile - "We have been waiting for the return of this ability".

"I see..." - muttered Eric while frowning slightly - "Leaving that aside, Ren is currently indisposed, so for now you can rest in one of the castle's rooms."

"Would you mind if I checked the library?" - Artemis asked excitedly.

Eric looked at the two girls, who simply nodded - "Sure, follow me."

The two girls followed the young blond while Elisabeth and Rhea looked at each other.

"I almost screwed up" - Elisabeth said as she bit her lip - "I'm sorry..."

"No, I'm surprised about this too, I didn't expect them to show up" - replied Rea with a frown - "However, this is a bit worrying, we can't let them talk to Ren, at least not until we make sure that they are not dangerous."

"You have a point" - nodded Elisabeth as she thought carefully - "If your hypothesis is true, then..."

"We'd better leave this until this point" - said Rea as she let out a sigh - "After all, we don't know if they are spying on us."

"But they went along with Eric" - said Elisabeth with surprise, although she quickly discovered what her new friend was trying to say - "I see, a familiar..."

* * * * *

"Those two..." - thought Altia as she frowned - "They know more than I thought."

[Is something going on?] - asked Artemis through a mental message.

"Yes, those two seem to know that we are not as "pure" as we show ourselves, in fact, by their words, I feel that they know that we are traitors" - replied Altia while narrowing her eyes - "But that's impossible, they don't know us, I didn't feel a vulnerability in my mind either... And you?"

[Neither, not to mention that they are weak] - answered Artemis with slight perplexity - [Unless we are ignoring something]

"It's possible that there is more information that we don't know, although it's not like that's important right now" - said Altia while looking carefully at the young blond, as her eyes changed to an intense red color.

Eric stopped, and his gaze became vacant.

"Can I ask you a question?" - Altia said with a small smile.

"Sure..." - Eric replied as he nodded weakly. From an external point of view, Eric didn't look any different, though if someone got close enough, they might notice how he seemed to be dreaming with his eyes open.

"Is there something strange about those two women?" - Altia asked with a slightly seductive tone.

"They say they are from the future, and from the information they have given us, it is possible that this is true..." - Eric replied with an empty tone.

Altia's and Artemis' expressions changed drastically when they heard this, after all, neither of them expected this kind of variable.