CHAPTER 11: VENTURE INTO THE JUNGLE

"Are you okay? You don't look so good," Payton, half a world over, asked with a face full of worry.

Grell took a deep breath before he recounted what he and Amaya experienced just a few hours ago. Including their conjecture and the worry plaguing their minds ever since encountering the hell beast.

Silence befell the room after Grell was finished. Grell looked up at the faces he knew and loved and when he saw worry and apprehension, Grell's heart clenched uncomfortably. He turned to Amaya who was also staring at her companions, sadness apparent in her eyes. She hated it the most when her loved ones were anything but happy.

"Lovis, have the Security Bureau contact every branch and carry out thorough investigation. We have to make sure whether this incident is an isolated one or not. Check every realm and make sure no other hell beast appears anywhere," Allerick started relaying orders, and Lovis nodded readily.

"Have them bring at least a bottle of sunlight of the day, just in case," Grell added gloomily, "you too," he said to his friends who nodded, smiling at him with gratitude.

"About the perpetrators…" Grell started but halted, turning to Amaya who looked downcasted, clearly sad.

"If the hell beast and whoever set it loose was someone who escaped the great war, we'll find them soon enough. Old magic leaves traces even more prominent than the pure earth magic we possess," Mavi said with a lighter tone to appease his companions. "And controlling one hell beast requires a significant amount of magic. They will be found."

"But if it is someone who betrays us…" Gwentyh said slowly, unwilling to even think about it but somehow couldn't stop thinking about such possibilities.

"We'll find them," Allerick said, almost spatting the words. He was not only angry, but also disgusted. He had lived for many centuries and had encountered various types of people. Betrayal was something he could never avoid, especially during his time as a mere mortal. A mere king with a kingdom not even bigger than today's England. But he had thought that cush days were behind him. He thought that after the great war, after the many losses and suffering the realms experienced, there will be peace between the people. It has been proven now that even though he was an immortal who has loved for dozens of centuries, he was still so naive.

"What about the Kingdom?" Morrigan asked.There was also a trace of worry in her eyes. But, as always she hid it behind a cold glint and calm voice.

"For now, let's leave it to the Security Bureau. If there's any lead, some of us will go back," Allerick said after thinking for a while. At present, they still have no clue whatsoever about the hell beast, and the matter of the portals was indeed quite pressing on the other hand. Therefore, Allerick decided as such. He looked up at his friends, inquiring their input. They all nodded, agreeing with him and he smiled at them with gratitude.

"We'll do it like that first," Luca voiced his thoughts, "it wouldn't be too late for some of us to go back when there's a lead," he nodded and said almost to himself. Gwyneth, beside him, had on a very gentle smile as she gently caressed her husband's back. The rest of the immortals had the same consideration, so they nodded in agreement.

"What about the situation on your side?" Lovis then asked Allerick as he remembered the King had also encountered some trouble.

"I have sent someone to collect the fog and sent it to the lab to figure out the effect. But I don't believe it's poisonous. At least not to animals. They could go in and out of the areas with the fog freely without harm," Allerick told them.

"We will deal with the portal in two days," Mavi said, "afterwards, we'll go straight to the village to deal with whatever diseases they have encountered."

"Take extra precautions," Luca said with a frown. Allerick and Mavi nodded. They knew enough not to take things too lightly, lest they suffer grievous consequences.

They talked some more regarding the portals and the hell beast, making sure that each and everyone of them will be extra careful from now on. The night grew deeper for some of them, so they decided to cut the conversation short and reminded each other to keep each other up to date.

Amaya and Grell went back to their rooms to prepare their journey to close the portal. They packed every little magical device they could think of. Amaya put all of them inside her and Grell's concealment bag and hung it on their waists. Grell also concealed his sword and hung it beside the bag. Amaya also casted a special protection blessing on Grell on top of her daily blessings. She also packed a few pouches of blessed ornaments to be given out to those who would be going with them in the morning.

They changed their clothes into their combat clothes in the armory. All black material made out of a thousand year old seven colored-spider silk. The silk was so tough when woven together, able to protect the wearer from even the sharpest blade and arrowhead made of the toughest metal mined by the long-forgotten dwarves. They both had long hairs, so they tied it into a ponytail behind their heads. Neat and tidy.

Both of them had one very serious look. Solemn, even. They haven't been able to put down their hearts ever since they encountered the hell beast the night before. They walked out of the armory and towards the main hall where their subordinates had been waiting for them. Upon seeing them entering, they kneeled down immediately. Amaya waved her hand and kept on walking towards the door, followed by Grell. The people who would be leaving with them followed one after another into the cars prepared by the temple.

It took them almost four hours to travel to one of the most remote parts of the country, stopping on the edge of a dense jungle. Amaya and Grell stood before the jungle, feeling the oppressive aura from inside the dark and gloomy jungle. Meanwhile, their subordinates were busy building a camp for their point of contact. Some of them would stay there while others would follow Amaya and Grell into the jungle later.

They ate breakfast in the car during the journey, and now it was almost time for lunch. So, the subordinates quickly prepared the meal. A simple one so as to not take too much time before they prepare for the journey into the jungle.

The subordinates, mostly magic users, human as they were, were trained both in magic and in various types of combat styles. Amaya gave them a blessing and the pouch she made earlier, making sure they were all well protected before they finally ventured into the jungle. More than half of the subordinates followed behind Amaya and Grell, the only ones who could detect the portals accurately without any devices whatsoever, only relying on magic.

They walked for several hours. The jungle was dense, so the sunlight could only illuminate the way sparsely. It was hot and humid. If not for Amaya casting a spell to conjure some wind, they would have been long drenched in sweat and uncomfortable all the way. When the sun was about to set, they managed to get into an open clearing big enough for them to set up the second camp.

The subordinates hurriedly erected various tents and set up the communication tools and the kitchen as well as the barracks for them to sleep. Amaya and Grell had their own tent, made with magic, it was wide as well as cool inside.

Amaya sat down on the bed, fiddling with a palm-sized blue crystal absentmindedly. She had been feeling out of sorts since she encountered the hell beast. She couldn't keep her heart calm no matter what. And this place was also reeked with an unsettling aura. She was feeling restless. She kept feeling that something was looming over their heads. It wasn't a feeling she liked very much.

As dusk approached, the people were getting even busier by chanting protection spells around the campsite and some people were busy cooking and others were busy checking their equipment. They had the best equipment humans could find since they had contacts all over the world in all walks of life.

Amaya went out of her tent to walk around and make sure the protection was adequate before joining Grell and the head of the mission, a magic user named Kiin. He was one of the captains from the security bureau sent to human realms to serve in the headquarters of the Kingdom in Vietnam. His disguise in the human realm was a police captain in the violent crime division. He was a robust and tall man in his 40s.

"Have the route been decided?" Amaya asked as she joined them on the table. She looked at the map on it and turned to Kiin and Grell.

"Comparing it to the route you've drawn up for us, I think there's an easily accessible path north of the campsite. The trees are less dense but the terrain was slightly ascending. There is also another path, but it's through a swamp…" Kiin told Amaya as he pointed at several points on the map.

"I don't think the swap is a good idea," Grell said from the side, "the path is shorter, but it would take longer just to get through it. Not to mention the surrounding is packed with trees so dense, it will be harder to open a path to get through to the clearing after exiting the swamp."

"Um… I think north is better," Amaya said after thinking for a while as she played with the blue crystal in her hand. "I will leave you to it," Amaya said again after Kiin marked the map and drafted the route.

"Where are you going?" Grell asked, turning to Amaya who was about to go out of the tent.

"I am going to walk around for a while, checking the protection," Amaya told Grell with a smile before going out.

She did want to walk around and check the protection. But also, she had a nagging feeling that something wasn't right. She walked around the whole camp, checking the protection and enhancing them while advising the magic users on the side on how to enhance protection spells.

"What are you looking at?" At some point, Grell joined Amaya, who was standing at the edge of the clearing, facing the dense jungle, and asked her.

"Did you hear something?" Amaya asked instead as she craned her neck further towards the trees, with a frown on her face.

"Hear what?" Grell then also craned his neck to listen to his surroundings. But other than the hustle and bustle of the campsite, he could hear nothing else. "Are there any strange sounds?" he asked with uncertainty.

"Nothing," Amaya said in a whisper. Her fists clenched so tightly she even trembled a little.

"What?" Grell turned to her, not understanding. He stared at her and she turned towards Grell, her face was completely pale, and fear apparent in her eyes that it distraught Grell. "What are you talking about?"

"I hear nothing. Not a single fairy, not a spirit, not even bugs…" Amaya said, voice and body trembling.