Elsewhere, in a land far to the east of Belmud, in a city similarly grand, if not even more so. Its streets brought to life by commoner and aristocrat alike. The colossal city walls proudly stood erect, it’s mere presence dissuading any enemy force from even attempting to lay siege. Those brave or desperate enough to attack will be met with a hail of arquebuse bullets and crossbow bolts.

And at the direct centre of that city, stood a mighty citadel, perhaps even more impenetrable than the city walls. At the highest balcony of the highest tower of that citadel stood a lone man, his long dark orange hair swaying in the wind.

From there, he placed both hands on the balcony’s railing as he surveyed his city, watching over all of his subjects as they went through their daily lives. At the lofty city walls, he can vaguely see the silhouettes of patrolling soldiers as well as orange flags and banners flapping in the wind. Not a single day passed where the man’s heart didn’t swell with pride whenever he stood up here.

For he is Lord Nathanael Katsuragi, Duke of the Riliana Province and descendent of the great Kamiya Katsuragi, a revered hero summoned from another world. Everyday the city of Riliana, the city founded by Kamiya facilitated trade between the Franko Kingdom and the vassal nations under the Kingdom’s protection.

Although blood not of this world ran through Nathanael’s veins, he would continue to uphold his duty as Riliana’s lord and the inheritor of his family’s legacy. Legend has it that after the daemonic legions and their corrupted underlings were defeated at the climax of the twenty-second Crimson Crusade, Kamiya married one of the royal princesses.

Together, they rebuilt the war-torn Rilliana province with the land that this city stood on as its centre. Now, what began as a lowly settlement has since grown into the prosperous city it is today. And it was Nathaniel’s duty to ensure that it remained that way.

As Nathaniel contemplated his city, he heard the flapping of wings before he felt something perch on his right shoulder. When he glanced at his shoulder, he found a small bright green bunting bird. One that also had glowing blue eyes. Soon, the bird hopped off his shoulder and landed behind him.

Turning around to face the bunting, he found that it has disappeared. Instead, it was replaced by a young woman. She had shoulder-length hair that was a bright green colour and a set of lake blue eyes. Her dark green cloak obscured most of her body excluding her head. After staring at each other for a few seconds, she spoke, the tone of her voice being very formal and impartial.

“Knight Arielle and her host of chivalric knights has set out from the Verdeln Citadel, my liege. They will be arriving at the Principality of Valha in several days. The Eikthyrnir family has been informed ahead of time and are preparing a welcoming reception. His Royal Majesty has also been informed of your actions. You have his support and approval. However...”

“However what, Velvina?”

Velvina’s voice suddenly trailed off as she gave her report, prompting Nathanael to question why. In response, she let out an exasperated sigh before she continued.

“There were some present within the Royal Court that were in opposition to your actions. They state that it may damage our relations with the protectorates. Fortunately, they failed to sway His Majesty’s mind.”

“Tch. Fools. Do they not grasp the urgency of the situation?”

Nathanael would have slammed his fist onto the railing in fury if he failed to suppress his anger properly. Instead, he just felt his eyebrows knit together. On the other hand, Velvina once again sighed before she replied.

“They unfortunately do not, my liege. In fact, they even dare to question your integrity. They say that your actions are nothing more than… than ‘foolish vainglory.’”

“Let them be.”

He waved his hand dismissively as he spoke. These political rivals are far from his seat of power. Their reach is only as far as the Kingdom’s capital and without the support of the King, they can do nothing to harm him.

“We have no reason to concern ourselves with those fools. Eventually, they will be deposed from the Court due to their incompetence. They are no threat to us.”

Velvina only nodded before proceeding to kneel before him and asking for her next orders.

“Understood. My liege. Is there anything else that you wish of me?”

Nathanael turned away from her and gazed at the sky above before he slowly voiced out his next orders.

“Return to the Verdeln Citadel and order the pegasus knights stationed there to be ready on standby, including the accompanying logistics work. The pegasus knights must be able to depart at a moment’s notice. After that you will meet with Arielle and inform her of this information. She will know what to do with it.”

“Pegasus knights? Forgive me for questioning your orders but is such an arrangement necessary, my liege? Arielle is reputed to be a skilled diplomat, a brilliant tactician and an able warrior. I must express my doubt that she will come across a situation where she will require the aid of the pegasus knights, especially since she already has the aid of the Eikthyrnir family.”

Seeing that he needed to quell Velvina’s doubts, he sighed before he explained himself to her.

“Somewhere out there, a transmigrator was summoned. One that was not summoned at Jania’s Gate. One that was summoned without His Majesty’s consent. Somehow, someone crossed the boundaries into our world without the aid of the Royal Magos. Who knows what kind of catastrophic damage this rogue transmigrator could do to the Kingdom, to the world.”

Although she said nothing, they both knew that what he said was correct. After remaining silent for a short while, Nathanael only bluntly and coldly said one sentence.

“It is a threat that must be destroyed.”

Another moment of silence lingered until it was again broken by a voice. This time, it was Velvina’s, her voice still formal and impartial.

“Understood, my liege.”

Shortly after she accepted his order, a green bunting flew past Nathanael’s shoulder before it eventually disappeared in the western sky.

…

Meanwhile, within a dark and damp cavern there was a lone woman. Only a few flickering candles gave light within the cavern. However, the flames of these candles were not the typical yellow-orange flames. Instead, they were all a deep crimson-red colour, painting the rest of the cavern in a similarly red colour.

She only stood at the direct centre, her arms crossed and eyes closed. Apart from a quiver full of blood-red arrows and a sleek black composite bow resting on the floor, there was nothing else within the cavern. The only noise that could be heard was the periodical sound of water drops hitting against the cavern floor. However, another sound soon echoed with the cavern.

“Evanescence. Luminescence and Incandescence demand to speak with you.”

After opening her eyes, Evanescence glanced at the person who spoke, a person wearing a black cloak. The person’s face was obscured by their hood and a featureless black mask that only had two narrow slits for their eyes. Evanescence had no idea whether this person was male or female for their outfit concealed their figure and their mask disfigured their voice.

A few short moments later, another similarly dressed person stepped out of the darkness, coming into the red light. Apart from the slight differences in height, these two people looked identical thanks to their outfits. And there were many more like them within the Crimson Cult. ‘Supplicants’ were what they were known as but Evanescence preferred to call these people ‘livestock.’

With a slight shrug, she responded to the livestock.

“Then let us keep them waiting no longer.”

“By the Crimson Gods will, let the Crimson Calling commence.”

Both supplicants spoke at the same time, as if they shared the same mind. They simultaneously took their right arm out of their cloaks. In their hands was an ornate dagger with a delicate red crystal attached to the bottom of the hilt. Holding their daggers in the air, they chanted a single verse.

“Nigeb llac epyks eht tel.”

A dim red light shone from the crystal in response to their chant, prompting them to repeat the chant.

“Nigeb llac epyks eht tel.”

Soon, they begun to pick up the pace of their chant, the red light glowing brighter with each passing second.

“Nigeb llac epyks eht tel.”

“Nigeb llac epyks eht tel.”

“Nigeb llac epyks eht tel.”

When the red light was at its brightest, they both plunged the daggers into their chests, showing no concern for their own safety. Not long after, their arms and head went limp, yet their body didn’t collapse. After remaining like that for a few seconds, they eventually lifted their heads again. However, their eyes now shone a dark crimson-red light.

While both of them faced Evanescence, they no longer mimicked each other. Now, they were acting as if they were their own person. The one to the left began pacing around, the dagger still embedded in their chest as they moved. On the other hand, the other one to the right stood completely still.

A distinctly feminine voice then came from the pacing supplicant.

“How most displeasing it is to hear that you have failed, Evanescence. To think that someone such as yourself could fail such a critical mission. Perhaps you ought to think twice before undertaking a mission that was not within your capacity.”

“Not within my capacity? Bullshit! You’re scum Incandescence!”

Evanescence couldn’t help instantly retaliating against Incandescence blatant insults. After all–

“You were the one who convinced the others that I could complete the mission with just those warrior recruits! If I had real infernal warriors like I originally requested, perhaps the target wouldn’t have escaped!”

The supplicant possessed by Incandescence stopped pacing upon hearing what Evanescence said. Clearly, the former wanted to make a response to the latter. Yet words evaded her. All that happened was that the two began to glare at each other. From their respective points of view, all they would see was a supplicant possessed by their counterpart glaring at them.

“Enough of this nonsense!”

Their staring contest didn’t last long, soon broken by an oppressive shout from the supplicant avatar who has yet to speak. After it ensured that both of them were listening, it spoke again.

“Evanescence, are you aware of the target’s current whereabouts?”

“Yes. My scouts report that most of the target’s residual ‘transmigration essence’ is focused within the city of Belmud. They have detected no movement from him since.”

Knowing that this supplicant was possessed by Luminescence, the current patriarch of the Crimson Cult, Evanescence clearly spoke out the truth. It would be unwise to do anything else.

“You have nothing to fear, Your Excellency. I will find the target and bring him before you. I just require time and if possible, access to more reliable warriors. The target... has proven himself to be rather elusive.”

When she closed her lips, Evanescence was hoping that Luminescence would accept her request for more warriors. However, what she got instead was Incandescence’s irritating laughter.

“Ahahaha. You’re only praising his skills as an excuse for your failure. You have already failed His Excellency once. Why should he–”

“Because we aren’t the only ones after the target you fool.”

Incandescence was forced to shut up by Luminescence’s oppressive voice. Although he didn’t shout, everyone present felt the repressed anger in his tone. Soon after, Luminescence spoke up again, his voice still just as oppressive as before.

“My sources claim that Frankonian knights are currently on their way to the Principality of Valha. Their objective is obvious. Fortunately for us, we have a head start.”

‘He’ turned his gaze towards Evanescence as he spoke.

“You will have exactly one hundred Infernal Warriors under your command. You will not fail.”

She only knelt onto one knee and responded.

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

“Good”

“Hmph.”

With those final words from Luminescence and Incandescence respectively, the red light from the supplicant avatars faded away. Then their bodies collapsed onto the floor.