Chapter 14 The Captains

-Solar, the king’s private living room

Luke, the commander of demon hunters, knocked on the door of the king’s room.“Your Majesty, this is Luke. I have something to report.”

“Come in.”

Luke opened the door. “Your Majesty,” he greeted as he bowed his head.

“What is it?” The King asked.

Luke stood up straight. “I am sorry to report this to you, Your Majesty, but one of our most skilled demon hunters just died… It is Leo, Your Majesty,”

“What?” The king exclaimed in surprise.

“It is true. They encountered a strange demon when they were hunting demons in the

forbidden forest, Your Majesty.”

“A strange demon? Leo is a strong demon hunter. How strange that demon is that he can kill Leo.”

“The reports stated that the demon possesses a strange ability. Your Majesty, do you remember the big serpent inside the cave of the forbidden forest?”

“Yes. That beast has a venomous ability that can melt hard rocks. What about it?”

“The demon that killed Leo has the same ability as the serpent. She melted Leo, and not a single bone of his was left. I asked Russ to check the memories of the hunters that saw the demon. Here it is, Your Majesty.” Luke handed to the king the sketch that Russ made.

“What?” The evil residing inside the king frowned in confusion. How can a demon hold such an ability? I need to see what kind of demon she is. The shadow thought.

The king ordered Luke to hold a meeting and tell every captain of each group of demon hunters to meet in the meeting room.

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will take my leave now.” Said Luke and bowed before he leaves.

“How peculiar,” the king mumbled as he placed the sheet of paper on his table.

---

After Luke informed every captain in each Guild, he went to the courtyard to see if Prince Clove was still practicing. Upon arriving there, there was no one in sight. He usually practices around this time of the day. Where is Clove? Luke thought.

As Luke headed back inside, he spotted Prince Clove walking in the hallway. “Clove!” he called.

Who is he again? Right. From what I’ve seen in the prince’s memories, he is his uncle. He’s the one who’s close to the prince. His uncle always looks after him. He’s even the one who has been teaching him how to control his powers. I think he’s the only person I can trust in this place. Another thing I’ve noticed in the

prince’s memories is that the people here treat him with hostility; they perceive him as weak and incompetent. They don’t even treat him as an equal, even though he’s royalty and the heir to the throne. Zale thought.

“I went to the courtyard. I thought you were practicing. Where are you going?” Luke asked.

“I’m just roaming around the place.” I need to check the places and the people in the palace, Zale thought.

“Roaming around? Why?” Luke sighed. “Forget it. By the way, there is a meeting later. You should attend as well. You have the right to know what is happening around the Kingdom as the future king of Haria---“

“What is the meeting all about?” Zale asked.

“A-about the demon who killed Leo…”He's interested? Luke thought in confusion.

Demon? I need to gather information about these demons. Grandma said that we need to defeat the devil so that Zerha can return to our world. Zale thought.

“But if you do not want to attend, it’s fine---“

“I’ll be there.”

Luke was surprised by this response. He usually does not like attending meetings since he is afraid of the other captains and the king. Did he change his mind? Well, it is good that he is now interested. Luke thought. “I need to escort the King so you can go to the meeting room first. I'll go now." Luke said and left.

Zale was about to stop him to ask where the meeting room is but Luke was already gone.

...

-Meeting Room-

Luke opened the door for the king. As they entered the room, they saw that the captains of each Guild were already there. They all greeted the king.

“Let me get straight to the point. Leo, Captain of the Dusk Demon Hunters, died.” Luke announced.

The five other captains were shocked. Who would have thought that the captain of one of the strongest hunter groups would die?

“What? Is that true?” Lesly asked. A twenty-eight years old female Captain of the Celeste Demon Hunters.

“There’s no need to be so surprised since he always acts arrogantly and aggressively.” These words came from Marcus, who was thirty years old and a male Captain of the Dark Ravens.

“Well, what should we do now?” asked Valve, the twenty-five years old, male Captain of the Azure Demon Hunters.

“Make a public announcement, of course, tell them that a cocky guy just died.” Allen, the twenty-seven years old, a female Captain of the Black Rose, said.

“By the way, how did he die?” Denver, the youngest captain, asked. He was only eighteen years old, though he was already Captain of a group, specifically Moonlight Demon Hunters.

At last, someone asked about the cause of his death. Luke thought and sighed. He was about to speak when someone opened the door. It was Prince Clove. All of the captains were shocked to see Clove and wondered what made him decide to attend the meeting.

The king, or should we say the devil residing in the body of the king, was the most shocked of them all. He thought that he had already killed the prince. Did he survive? But he shouldn’t have. I already consumed his powers as well as his energy. What went wrong? The devil thought.

“I’m glad you are here, Clove,” the king said, but Clove merely nodded at him.

“Sit down, Clove,” Luke said.

Clove sat beside the Captain of Moonlight. Denver smiled at him, and Clove nodded in response.

Why is the incompetent heir here? Suddenly interested in meetings? Lesley was glaring at Prince Clove. Clove noticed her and glared back at Lesly. She didn’t know why, though she suddenly felt afraid of him. Tsk. Who is she? How dare she stare at me like that? Prince Clove thought.

“Are you alright, Miss Lesly?” Denver asked as he noticed Lesly’s expression. She was startled and unconsciously asked how Leo died. Denver frowned at her eccentric behavior and remained silent.

Luke started to tell the account of how Leo died. The captains were shocked upon hearing the story.

“Is there any demon like that? Demons use dark magic. How could a demon hold power like that?” Valve said.

“You are right. Maybe someone just killed Leo because he’s too arrogant.” Allen remarked.

“And that is you,” Marcus said to Allen.

“What? Are you trying to say that I killed him?” Allen’s face flushed with anger.

“Maybe,” Marcus replied in a bored tone.

“You!” Allen throws a death glare at Marcus, though Marcus just ignores her.

“Let’s all calm down. I asked Russ to look into the memories of the members that were with Leo, so he saw what happened. Here, take a look." Luke lifted the sheet of paper so that everyone would see the drawing.“ Russ drew this and said that this was the demon that killed Leo.”

Prince Clove looked at the image. A demon girl with a big horn on her head, wearing a dress and a cape. Hm? What is that? Clove took a closer look and was astonished by what he saw. I know that pendant...Zerha… Zerha is here! But she became a demon? He thought as he made a questioning look.

“So she holds a strange power? What should we do about her, then?” Allen asked.

“What else? Of course, we should kill her. She’s a demon, after all.” Marcus replied.

Prince Clove suddenly frowned and glared at Marcus. I will not allow anyone to hurt my sister, he thought.

Marcus suddenly felt chills run down his spine. Why do I feel that someone is glaring at me? Is it the witch? Marcus suddenly shifted his gaze to Allen. “What are you looking at?” she asked, but Marcus didn’t answer and merely glared at her.

“Wait,” the king suddenly spoke. “Inform the people of Haria that Leo is dead and that demon killed him. Tell them that whoever finds that demon will get a hefty reward from me.”

“It will be done, Your Majesty,” Luke said.

“May I ask what we will do if that demon is caught, Your Majesty? Should we kill her?” Lesly asked.

“No. We should interrogate her first since she has a strange power.” The King followed the order of the shadow inside him. The devil inside him wanted to know if she is a demon, it was just impossible to have an ability like that.

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

Luke reported another topic regarding the prisoners that they have recently captured. And after the meeting ended, the king left first, followed by four of the captains, leaving only Luke, Prince Clove, and Denver, Captain of Moonlight.

“Luke, how much will the king give as a reward?” Denver asked excitedly.

“Unfortunately, I do not know. Are you planning to look for that demon as well?”

“Ha! Of course, the king said it is a hefty reward. I want money! I hope the reward includes plenty of gold! Right, Prince Clove? Oh wait, you’re already rich...Oh yeah, do you want to come with us to find that demon?” Denver asked, his eyes full of hope.

Denver...He is not very close with Prince Clove, but whenever they bump into each other, Denver always greets him. He’s not like the others who treat the prince with hostility. Zale thought. “If that is fine with you, I will go.” I don’t think I can trust the other captains. Besides, I need someone like him that hunts demons. Judging from the prince’s memories, Luke seldom hunts demons, since he’s always busy in the castle handling things, Zale thought.

“Really? At last, we have a chance to get to know each other!” Denver said enthusiastically.

“Wait! Clove, are you sure you can handle hunting demons now? You are not able to control your powers yet…” Luke said with a concerned expression.

“Don’t worry, I can.” I'm lying, though.

“Well, if you say so. But be careful. Denver, please look out for Clove for me.”

“Yes, of course!” Denver smiled. He was delighted about the opportunity to get close to Clove. “I’ll be taking my leave now. Prince Clove, let’s meet up tomorrow at the Moonlight headquarters!” Denver said before he exited the room.

“I will go now,” Clove said to Luke.

“Alright...” Luke gave Clove a questioning look. Hmm? I think something about him has changed… Sigh. Maybe I’m just imagining things. Luke thought.

.....

-In the realm of Gods and Goddesses of Novels

“I heard you sent a human in that ‘dimension' " Goddess of Time Travel.

“Why did you send an ordinary soul in there?” God of Regression.

“Maybe she/he is overpowered! Right?!" God of Overpowered System.

“After she got reincarnation, another soul awaken on her body! Haha." Goddess of I will Make You The Villainess In The Novel, laughs.

“Ugh! I don't know what happened, after she reincarnates, a soul suddenly entered her body. " Goddess of Reincarnation.

“It is not allowed to have two souls in one body, that is the law of life. If one will not choose to leave the body, both of them will dissipate. One should kill the other soul to live." God of Male Lead's Novel.

“Just hope that the one you send there can survive and someone will tell her that it is not allowed or at least hope that she will realize the situation." Goddess of Female Lead's Novel.

The Goddess of Reincarnation let out a deep sigh as she is worried.

.....