395. Treasures that Don't Work

“Because of the simple reason that the Breastplate of Alexander is destroyed.”

Faith El answered Peris Dolonia’s question. The Fallen Queen of Elutra replied without hesitation. She was the only one here blameless— absolved of the sin of inaction. Her pleas had fallen on deaf ears. She had warned them of the Inoria Empire. Even until her country fell.

It was her biggest regret: her failure to rally the Human lands together to protect the Elutra Kingdom. So, now, knowing that the situation had escalated extremely in the last few months, Faith had hoped that the Conference of Alyras would progress swimmingly.

She was wrong.

There was strong opposition against forming an alliance against the Inoria Empire. Everyone was pushing the blame to the Vampire families. Despite their own inaction when Faith had come to them for help. It made her want to lash out— condemn everyone present. But she kept her cool.

Faith understood that she couldn’t let her emotions rule her words and actions. While her father, king Credence, hadn’t really been able to raise her personally with all the other children he had, she was still forced into a high-stress environment of politics and intrigue that forced her to adapt or fall behind. She, of course, adapted. Sometimes, in ways that were more detrimental than productive to attaining her goals. But she always learned and improved.

She remembered how she mistreated and manipulated Daniel Song. Even though they had, in a way, reconciled over their history, it was something that she truly regretted. She wouldn’t allow herself to fail anyone ever again.

Breathing deeply, Faith El faced the room and spoke in a cool voice.

“Without the Breastplate of Alexander, the rest of the Treasures of Alexander are merely Mythic Grade artifacts. No different from the weapons used by Elites who have been felled by the previous Primeval Demon.”

It sounded ridiculous, calling them merely Mythic Grade artifacts. But—

“Perhaps with all of the Treasures of Alexander combined, even a Diamond Ranked adventurer would be able to prevail over a Primeval Demon. But that is not possible now.”

A susurration ran through the room. Whispers of shock. Confusion. Not everyone knew of the full effects of the Treasures of Alexander. Faith knew— Clayton Skyshredder had explained it to her before she left Mavos Academy. He said it would be equal to a Legendary Grade artifact, combined. Except, Faith had never heard of such a tier of artifacts. Clayton himself had been the one to posit the existence of such items during his time as a student, and his assertions had mostly been rejected by the academic community.

But none of that mattered. Not here, not now. Because even if Faith spoke to rebuke Peris Dolonia’s attempts at pushing the responsibility of the Demon threat for someone else to deal with, all that was focused on was the bare basics of what she said.

“The Breastplate of Alexander was destroyed?”

“Impossible! How could this have happened?”

“Who did this? What in the world could’ve destroyed one of the Treasures of Alexander?”

Helena Warshade herself rose to her feet, eyes narrowed and fixed on Faith.

“Are you absolutely certain of this, Queen Faith? Not only is the Breastplate of Alexander designed to be nigh indestructible, it is enchanted with an unparalleled ability to self-repair no matter the damage incurred.”

Jake, that annoying adventurer from the True Valiants, piped up in agreement. He spoke dismissively of Faith, waving a hand off.

“Perhaps to an untrained eye it could be seen as broken, but I highly doubt such a mythical item could be destroyed just like that.”

Faith frowned at the man. His impudence annoyed her, but she didn’t let it show in her voice. She held the gaze of the crowd and spoke a single sentence that dispelled all doubts in an instant.

“Headmaster Clayton Skyshredder himself confirmed that the Breastplate of Alexander is broken. He is looking for a way to repair it, but until then, it cannot be used.”

Jake almost fell off his chair. Rana Alyras’ jaw dropped. Peris Dolonia furrowed his brows but kept an otherwise neutral expression on his face. Laux Lionfist let out a full belly laugh as Helena Warshade lowered her head in thought.

Saffron just sighed, knowing the reason why it was broken.

The others in the room were astounded. Some were already aware of it, like Thorsten Sigefried who just had a knowing look on his face. The Vampires were calm too, apart from the Crimsonfangs. Bolton Crimsonfang, the head of their family, blinked a few times in surprise and turned to the Merrysters to demand an explanation

“Who could’ve done this?”

They all asked. And somewhere, out there, Faith was sure that Salvos was interrupted in whatever she was doing by a sneeze. A well-deserved interruption.

Shaking her head, Faith diverted from the question.

“That doesn’t matter. What matters now is that we do what is necessary. Not one single party present here is capable of putting an end to this Demon threat alone. We have to work together.”

She cast her gaze around the room. There were plenty of powerful people here. Kaitlin Darkhelm, for example, was the Commander of the Vaun Qieur Empire’s Swordsguard Forces. She was said to have been able to go toe-to-toe with Mori Gladius himself in battle.

Scarlet the Red Rose was a newly-minted Elite Ranked adventurer. But she had potential. At the rate of her growth, she could surpass even Orgaf in a decade or so.

Laux Lionfist’s reputation was unsurpassed. He was the most tenacious of the triumvirate leaders of the Forsaken Company. He had apparently fought the Lich of the Plaguelands and its hordes of undead for days on end all by himself. The only reason he left was because he realized that no matter how many times he pummeled that skeleton to dust, it would always regenerate like nothing had happened.

That was not to mention, of course, Helena Warshade. Not much needed to be said about her.

There was also Alder the Augur Elder, Lofus the Broken Berserker, Peris Dolonia the Crown Prince of Dolonia, and so many more individuals who were regarded as the peak of Humankind.

Still, Faith looked at them. All of these powerful people. And she spoke without hesitation.

“I have seen the depths of this Demon threat, and let me tell you: they would crush each and every single one of us if we face them alone.”

Her words hung over the meeting hall heavily. It was not a threat. She fully believed that even the Vaun Qieur Empire in all its might would fail to stop whatever the Demons were doing with Inoria and Elutra.

Everyone remained silent. Faith looked from person to person, waiting for a response. None of them had the gall to speak up. None of them except for the main opposition. The Crown Prince of Dolonia.

Peris Dolonia started.

“I—”

And he couldn’t finish. Because as soon as he opened her mouth, it happened.

Daniel Song laughed as he approached the trio ahead of him. Amanda blinked a few times.

“Who are they?”

“Some friends.”

He replied before turning back to the three adventurers. He waved at them with a smile on his face.

“Jaakko! Zack! Helen! Glad to see you guys made it here just fine!”

“Daniel, it is good to see you here alive too. I had been worried that that Demon might’ve given you guys trouble.”

Jaakko, the Cyclops, answered with a booming voice. Daniel shook his head as he came to a halt before them.

“Well, you know how Salvos is. She took care of it just like that.”

The [Hero] grinned as he snapped a finger. Helena just sighed in relief, while Zack rolled his eyes.

“Did you expect anything less, Helen?”

“Shut up, Zack. I was worried, alright?”

Amanda just shuffled her feet behind Daniel, uncertain of what to say. He didn’t introduce her, much to her discomfort, since she was just standing there quietly as they chatted. Finally, she had enough and jabbed Daniel on the shoulder.

“Hey, aren’t you going to—”

But she couldn’t finish. All three adventurers snapped their heads up as their eyes grew wide. Their attention drawn in an instant.

“That’s—”

There was a commotion towards the gates of the palace. Edithe Dawnrise rushed towards the crowd with Hadrian by her side, ready for battle. But as she arrived at the scene, whatever was happening was already settling down.

She blinked as she watched a [Warrior] with one arm in his Level 100s apprehend a cloaked figure at the gate. It was a woman dressed in garbs. She struggled to break free from the man’s grip.

“Who is that?”

Edithe asked, but Hadrian didn’t know the answer to that either. They exchanged a glance as the cloaked woman sputtered.

“Let me in! I need to be at the meeting. My name is Alix, and I—”

But she was cut off by a loud blast. A thundering boom shook through the city as Edithe and Hadrian braced themselves.

All heads turned to the source of the explosion that came from the west wing of the palace of Alyras. Away from the meeting room. Far on the other side of the palace. The red-haired woman’s eyes widened.

“What is going on?”

Everyone in the meeting room froze when they felt the explosion. Saffron felt a chill creep up on her at the realization of what was going on. Alyras was under attack. She looked towards her father who had the same thought, and they both readied themselves.

Various other nobles and adventurers reached for their weapons, preparing for a fight. It was an attack, and they would fight back, no matter who it was responsible. Helena Warshade narrowed her eyes as she raised her crystalline staff. Some kind of clairvoyance spell, likely.

“That’s from the west wing of the palace.”

Thorsten Sigefried nodded in agreement. The old [Archbishop] was on his feet, speaking in a low voice.

“Demons.”

He looked around and whispered.

“They’re here. Three of them.”

Saffron didn’t know how he knew the specifics, but it must’ve been a Skill. And he was one of the most trusted individuals present, so there was no questioning it. Panic broke out as the reality of the Demon threat slowly sank in. All the previous politicking was gone in an instant, replaced by a growing sense of fear.

“Demons? Here?”

“That can’t be right. Why would they attack this city?”

“We’ll be fine, right? I mean, there’s no way they’d attack us here. We’re surrounded by some of the most powerful fighters in the Human lands.”

That was true. Yet, that didn’t explain the rumbling that shook the palace of Alyras. And, eventually, someone realized what was going on.

“That’s from…”

Anya Veridian, the Matriarch of the Veridian Family, spoke in a trembling voice. She leapt to her feet and dashed out of the room.

“No—”

“Lady Veridian—”

Crocus tried to stop her, but she moved fast, empowered by a boost from her boots. It carried her faster than a haste spell would, bringing her to the other end of the hallway in an instant. Saffron got up as her father gave chase to the Matriach of the Veridian Family.

“Saffron!”

Rana called out to the young Vampire. Saffron looked back at Rana’s way.

“Everyone should stay put— only a few of us should investigate!”

And Saffron went sprinting out the door after her father. But she was slow. Another figure caught up to her in an instant. Lofus, the Broken Berserker, was running next to the pink-haired girl.

“This seems like it’ll be fun.”

Lofus grinned as she hefted a massive battle axe over her shoulder like it was nothing. Saffron opened her mouth, unsure of what to say. Then decided on nothing. After all, she was glad the Elite came along. On her own, Saffron could do nothing. But with Lofus here, perhaps whoever these three Demons were would be easily dealt with.

They turned a few corners before arriving at the west wing of the palace soon enough. They came to a halt at ground zero of a huge explosion. Saffron coughed as a pillar of smoke and ash rose before her, billowing up to the sky and covering the sun.

A dark shadow was cast over the palace of Alyras as a black flame ate away at the ornate walls of the palace. Saffron didn’t dare touch it. It radiated a cold heat that felt wrong to her. But Lofus stamped it out like it was any old flame.

“Come on. They’re just up ahead.”

The Broken Berserker marched forward, walking through rubble and passing over corpses like they weren’t even there. They came to a stop as they caught sight of Crocus Merryster standing over a pair of figures at the center of the blast.

Anya Veridian held her husband by the hand as he lay there in the debris. Amongst fire and brimstone. Saffron looked towards her father, and he shook his head. He’s not going to make it, Crocus seemed to say.

“The Boots of Alexander…”

Lord Ulli Veridian coughed out as his wife desperately tried to pour a healing potion into his burn wounds. But the injuries weren’t closing up. He was a talking corpse. He closed his eyes as Saffron leaned closer.

“T-they… took it. They stole the Boots of Alexander.”

And with that final breath, he went limp.

“Ulli? Ulli please, respond to me—”

Anya desperately clung to his shoulder, but he didn’t respond. He’d barely held on long enough to speak. To tell them about what happened.

Saffron turned back to Lofus who just scowled.

“Seems like whoever did this escaped. Those damn Demon cowards…”

But a chuckle interrupted her. Lofus, Saffron, and Crocus tensed as Anya was still focused on her dead husband. A little figure emerged from the smoke. Black-skinned and an impish grin on his face.

“Now, who escaped again?”

He was short. Barely four feet tall. He waved at them with one of his four arms, laughing. He was a Demon.

“Hello there, mortals.”

[Imp - Lvl. 147]