Plan

"Now that everyone is here, let me explain what we are going to do." Deva, the leader of the demon hunters began to explain.

"The demon well is within the foggy area towards the north. We aim to eliminate the demons inside and prevent them from multiplying. For that, we must split into two groups. One group would stand outside to kill the demons that come out while another group ventures in to hunt the demons."

"This will not be an easy mission. So, only those who are rank 4 and above will enter the demon well. The rest should remain here." 

The explanation was mainly meant for the Ice Phoenix clan members. Still, Aru and his group stood nearby and carefully listened.

Deva was sharing some information he had on demons and what their plan was. That was exactly what the chief sent them here to gather. More than helping the demon hunter, they needed information.

More information meant better ways to deal with demons in the future. 

It was a risky mission. But it was worth it.

The explanation was not complicated. Aru noted down everything he said in his mind. 

'Rank 4 and above.' 

Aru scanned his surroundings when the criterion was mentioned. 

'The leader of the Ice Phoenix clan, the demon lady called Nua, 4 more warriors from the Ice Phoenix clan and six warriors from the demon hunter squad including their leader. A grand total of twelve people.' 

These were the people Aru could see as satisfying the criteria. 

'But would they be enough?'

'Was the demon well empty? No! That's not possible.'

'So, how can just twelve people destroy the demon well when there are hundreds or even thousands of demons inside there?'

The leader of the demon hunters, Deva was also a rank 5. But when he considered the old lady Nua was a demon and could betray them any second, he thought the mission was bound to fail.

'Still, it's good that I don't have to go along.' 

"More people from our clan would reach here in a short while. Should we wait for them before entering the demon well?" The young master of the Ice Pheonix clan was concerned, so he asked Deva. 

"We can wait for them until the second wave begins," Deva replied.

"Second wave?" 

Everyone had the same question in their mind.

"Oh! Right, I didn't mention that before, right?

"Demons come out in waves to gather food and infect the living beings nearby. The dead creatures of our world would become their food. The living would be infected. 

Once they have gathered enough food, they return to the demon well to feed the demonic mother creature that we call the demon queen. The queen is a special kind of demon capable of reproduction."

"So, you mean to say that there would be another wave happening soon? And we can use the opportunity to attack."

"Yes, exactly. We can't predict exactly when. But once they used up all the gathered food to reproduce, the demons would come out again to hunt. But this time, the newly born demons would be adapted to the environment of our world. That will make them a lot more dangerous." 

'He could have said that in the beginning. If I had known all this information, I would have stopped my tribe from sending people. Or was hiding this information his plan all along.' Aru thought seeing the gift that keeps on giving.

He felt a little sour thinking that even the demon hunters were not that trustworthy.

"How many of these demon queens are in there?" Taking a moment to think, the young master asked. 

"Fortunately, only one per each demon well." 

"Yes, fortunately…" The young master's voice trailed off. 

"Once we find and kill the demon queen, we declare that the danger of the demon well is over. But that won't be easy. There will be special strong demons that protect the queen." 

'Parasite that takes over the body, a queen that reproduces and the special demons with higher strength. None explains what the lady Nua is.' 

While the rest was concerned about the demon well, Aru was more concerned about Nua. The existence of that old lady was gnawing away at his mind. 

"Do you have an estimate of when the next demon wave will commence?" This time, it was Nua that raised the question.

'A demon asking about demons. Nice trick old lady.' 

Aru knew for a fact that Nua knew more about the demons than them. 

It was a ploy of the Nua to blend in with the humans.

She was smart, unlike the demons he had seen or heard about. 

"Soon is the only thing I can say. The winter migration provided them with more than enough food. Let's just hope the warriors from your clan would reach here fast." Deva replied.

However, his words were not exactly reassuring. 

—

Time went by quickly.

The adults went their way to discuss in detail about the plan while Aru walked around the camp. 

He stood far away from the foggy expanse where the demon well was and observed from the side.

Whenever he looked at the expansive area before him, he was feeling unsettled. There was an ominous aura around the area.

The demon well exists like a pitch-black cylindrical hole carved on the surface of the earth. There was no way to measure the depth with your eyes due to the thick fog all over it.

When he walked around the camp, Aru had overheard some snippets of information regarding the demon well. 

'Once you enter the demon well, you will find yourself inside a large underground cave with many winding paths. At times, these paths would be kilometres long. Just imagine walking in total darkness along these paths.'

'It is a friggin claustrophobic nightmare.'

*Gulp*

Aru's mouth moved creating an audible gulp. For a moment, he didn't want anything to do with the demons anymore.

"H...."

Suddenly, a barely audible sound came from his side. 

"Ah!"

Startled, Aru jumped to move away. Someone or something had sneaked up on him.

But once he saw the person who made the noise, he tilted his neck in doubt. 

'Isn't this the kid that came with the Ice Pheonix Clan's young master?'

*Hs…* Her fluffy and luxurious clothes rustled.

She was trying to talk.

"Hello…" 

With a barely audible voice, she called out.

"Hello." Aru nodded.

"Can I pet it?" With a slight blush, the shy child asked. Her tiny arms were pointing at the baby stone mammoth that was following Aru. 

Although he was a little startled initially, he regained his composure and replied, "You can." 

The child was small and was of similar age to himself. So, he thought there was no harm in letting her pat the baby stone mammoth. 

Hearing his agreement, she smiled like a blossoming flower. 

"Thank you." She promptly said before continuing to ask, "What's his name?"

"Uh!"

'That's right, I didn't even think to name the stone mammoth.' Aru was embarrassed. 

"You can call it Lith."

Aru was in a hurry to hide his embarrassment. So, he names the baby mammoth 'lith' as in monolith. That's the best he could come up with.