Realms of Magic: Demon Invasion

63. Agnes

"It's a teleportation scroll!"

The smoke thickens. Madam Fron steps out of the smoke. "Bloody cold. This must be Lutzia."

"I greet the King of Lutzia," she says as soon as she notices Darryl's royal attire.

"A teleportation scroll capable of breaching through my capital's defenses ... I'd expect nothing less from the Ace of Irvine."

"Ace of Irvine ... how very long have I not heard that title used," Madam Fron says. "Judging that you and my students here are not trying to kill each other, a truce has been established."

"An alliance and a friendship, yes. What brought you here?"

"Lord Abel is dead."

Silence for a second.

"What?" Aelita asks. "Who-what?"

"Well, we did fend him off, but he certainly would've not died from his injuries, would he?" I murmur. Madam Fron glances briefly at Darryl.

"My agents just intercepted the report by the Princess of Terror. Something killed him, but what?"

"The Princess of Terror, you say?" Darryl barks. "Not her! Valerie!"

The noblewoman from earlier returns. Flinching shortly after seeing Madam Fron, she bows down her head. "Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Order all our fleets to move to our southern border alongside our mage divisions. Put all armies in high alert. The Princess of Terror is nearby."

Valerie hastily leaves. "So we do have one thing in common in the first place," Madam Fron comments.

"Lord Abel wasn't close to dying when he retreated. He just knew the odds were stacked against him," Darryl says. "Knowing Lumiya, it's perfectly possible that she was the culprit–with her sidekick Weiss, perhaps."

"Not implausible, I agree," Madam Fron says. "She wouldn't want the Empire to be too powerful."

"Right. Anything else?" Darryl asks.

"I found Agnes," Madam Fron replies. "Vio's got a demon inside her and we need to know what is going on."

"Agnes? Agnes the fairy?" Darryl asks. "She's been here for decades. I'll call her if you wish."

"That would be most pleasant, thank you."

Darryl leaves. Madam Fron breathes a relieved sigh. "Good riddance, good riddance. But who could have killed Lord Abel?" she murmurs. Then she smirks. "If it's really Roenzia, their queen has just made a massive blunder."

Darryl very soon returns with his aide Valerie and a fairy–Agnes. She dons a simple tunic cloth, draping over her tiny body–perhaps only eighty centimetres tall. Her hair is of the purest gold, her ears sharp, even sharper than an elf's.

"What do you want?" Agnes asks brashly. Darryl points at me.

Agnes slants her eyes. They widen a second later. "A demon king ...."

Agnes breathes heavily. She puts her hands on my shoulders. "Touch my shoulders, everyone," she whispers.

I close my eyes, not knowing what to come. When I reopen them, the hospital room is gone, replaced by a mountain-like scenery, with rock solid ground. The sun shines quite brightly, but the air is cold.

Madam Fron, Darryl, Agnes, John, and Aelita materialize behind me. "Where is this?" Madam Fron asks.

"Vio's mind. If there is a demon king here, we would see him soon."

And the demon king materializes, too. He's a young man, two metres tall, enchained to a mountain. His hair is silky blond and long.

"At last, you've come," he says. "I am Merango."

Madam Fron slants her eyes. "Watch out," she says. "This person ... all of us combined wouldn't stand a chance."

"I am weak and bound. What is there to fear?" he murmurs. "What do you seek?"

"Who are you?" I ask. "And how come you're inside me?"

"Oh, how I wish I could explain," he says. "I don't know either–blame memory loss. But I know I was usurped. I am the King."

"And I remember that this world's discovery was the cause of the coup. Something about war or no war."

"That's informative, I guess. But of no value," Madam Fron sighs. "So you want your throne back?"

"Naturally."

War or no war? So that means Merango opposes warring against us?

I look at the faces of Madam Fron and Darryl; clearly, their ideas are the same. "Then we'll help you," Darryl says. "Then this war will be over."

I blink and the mountainous world is gone. The hospital room returns. "Can't do that for long," Agnes says.

"So there are two kings," Darryl concludes. "And if we help this one win, the war will be over."

"So we should get him out of me!" I say.

"Yeah, well, if only there were someone around who could do it," Agnes scorns.

"You couldn't?" Madam Fron mutters.

"This is beyond me. Best case scenario, Vio becomes a vegetable. Worst case, well ...."

Madam Fron sighs. "If Agnes couldn't, nobody else could. This demon doesn't seem very malevolent, either, so exorcising him isn't really a top priority."

"Nonetheless, we should be careful," Darryl says. "You know a demon doesn't enter a host for no reason."

"This is my theory," Madam Fron murmurs. "Merango lost the civil war, escaped to this world, and inhibited Vio to keep himself alive."

"And the attack Vanya repelled when Vio was four," Madam Fron says. "Was probably an attempt to destroy Merango."

Of course! How come I've never thought of it; why would they target a random four-year-old?

"I don't have access to this kind of information," Darryl says. "But it would make sense. They were hiding after all. To come out would be a gamble."

"Which failed, luckily," I say.

"Yes. Indeed, that gamble alerted us all  that they are returning," Madam Fron says. "My business here is done. They shouldn't know that I'm here."

She vanishes in a cloak of blue smoke. "Would you mind accompanying me to the celebration feast?" Darryl asks me.

"C-celebration feast?" I mutter.

"Why, yes. I fended off Lord Abel with your help, after all," Darryl says, a radiant smile blazing from him.

"W-with pleasure, I guess." My face blushes. Aelita murmurs funnily.

"Follow me."