With the mock battle over, Gilligan and his team, along with Orchid, returned to the castle. One of the guards joined Gilligan's side to tell him that his presence was required in the throne room. Without hesitating, Gilligan went at once, leaving the others to wait for him. The group was awkwardly silent during the time he was gone as none of them felt comfortable talking about what happened between Seravis and Orchid. After a short while, Gilligan finally returned.
"How'd it go?" Seravis asked.
"New orders from His Majesty. According to one of the representatives of the Light Country, a Demon has appeared in their lands. It has defeated a handful of their guards, and has now escaped into the Earth Country with two of the castle maids as hostages." Gilligan explained.
"A Demon? You mean a Dark?" Orobus asked.
"Indeed. Though we have no direct association between the Lights' and Darks' feuds, we cannot allow them to take their problems into our homes." Gilligan said. "That being said, we are to hunt down this Demon and put a stop to them. In the event that we cannot defeat them, we will do what we can to redirect them." He added on.
"Alright, sounds simple enough." Seravis pounded one fist into the other hand.
"Do we know what they look like?" Keinath asked, almost monotone.
"The one informed said they wore a black mask and cloak, and their height reaches over most men." Gilligan stated.
Orchid, for whatever reason, got a weird feeling in her chest. Even though she felt it, she knew it wasn't from her. "Young? Was that you?" She asked in thought.
"My apologizes. I did not expect you to be affected by my emotions." Young answered calmly.
"What's wrong?"
"This Demon they speak of. I feel I might know of them."
"What? How?"
"I cannot say. However, I could very well be mistaken."
"So you won't know until you see them?" Orchid asked but Young didn't reply. "Hey, you still there? I know you can hear me!" She thought-shouted to him but still Young didn't respond. How could he know of some random demon when he's been trapped in stone for who knows how many cycles? Orchid did not know.
"So, where do we start?" Carder asked.
"We will be heading for the Mountain Divide. It is said that the Demon was last heading for there and will likely be going right through the capital. We must stop them before that happens."
"Yes, sir!" The men chanted in unison. Orchid could only think about Young. Why did he think he knew this Demon and what was that feeling she got? It was unfamiliar to her.
As the men mounted their horses, Orchid could only stand beside her horse, thinking.
"Hey Orchid, you alright?" Keinath asked worried.
"Wha-? I'm fine." She answered quickly and got on her horse.
"So what can we expect of the Demon?" Orobus questioned as the seven rode out towards the mountains.
"Supposedly they are versed in Fire, despite the fact that Dark is their base Attribute." Gilligan informed.
"Interesting. That does make for an interesting combination. Fires tend to focus on effect damage, while Darks' abilities are versatile, however, costly." Keinath noted.
"Indeed. Assuming the Demon is consistent, Carder, I want you to be ready with your 'Doubled Counter' Skill." Gilligan ordered and Carder nodded firmly.
"What do you mean 'consistent'?" Orchid asked.
"We do not know if that is their only method of fighting. For all we know the Demon could possess other abilities and use different strategies, therefore we must approach this with extreme caution and be ready for anything."
"Yes sir!" Everyone chanted, except Orchid.
"So what happens if we miss this Demon?" Orchid asked.
"What are you saying?" Asked Seravis with a hint of ruffled pride.
"I'm saying that if we're all together like this, who's to say that the enemy will just happen to be exactly where we're headed?" She rephrased herself.
Gilligan let out a sigh. "It seems you're a step ahead of me, Orchid. I was planning to have us split up so as to increase our chances of encountering the enemy. I am worried about their abilities, and I do not like going into a fight without much information." He explained.
"But aren't you guys supposed to be the best of the best? What are you worried about?" Orchid pressed. The others, Seravis especially, were becoming irritated.
"What I am worried about is if the enemy is a Master Duelist. If so, our only hope is to hit them with everything we have immediately. The one who informed us stated very clearly that they were incredibly hostile and should be taken out if encountered." Gilligan stated.
"So what now?"
"Now we work out the teams."