-Chapter 12: The Hunt Begins-
AN: A new angle that people have probably been waiting for. I had a family Christmas party on Sunday so that delayed me working on this, but Tuesday was a short day, so I did get about the same amount of time to work on this, and I've got Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday off this week. Granted some family will be coming over to stay but I will have more time than I usually do to write on this and will be uploading next Tuesday much like I normally do. Maybe I should be taking a break since it's a holiday week, but I've decided that I wanted to try doing this anyway. Although if there is no chapter next week you can blame my laziness for not taking this brake as an advantage to write more. Sorry for the late upload, I was expecting to have more time to work on this Tuesday, but my sister wanted to visit cousins again, so she went there. Today I found out that one of the people from the party has started throwing up and that means I might be getting sick as well. My throat hurt earlier today so it seems I'm getting sick as well. Fun, fun.
New Story Idea: I've been working on another fanfiction that I don't know when I will begin uploading. If I do start working on it, I'll probably upload a longer chapter once a month. When I do begin uploading it, it might affect The Wanderings of Rulace so that's why this is being mentioned here. I didn't speak about it before because I didn't know if it would get past the concept stage. The story concept is basically this: Rudeus soon after being abandoned by Eris had a dream from Hitogami telling him about a second displacement incident that may occur soon. As such Hitogami tells Rudeus to try using disturb magic on the red orb in the sky. When Rudeus does this it instead teleports him and only him into a mysterious land filled with creatures that are pitch black and have stone masks. The world he is plunged into is known as Remnant. Pretty decent summary if you ask me. I got into RWBY about a month or two ago and thought it would be interesting to put Rudeus into the world and see what he does. He'll be depressed which should hopefully make it more interesting. I don't know what genres I'll go for so you can kinda see that it's bare bones. I have no idea when I'll start uploading this story but it's far enough along that I think I'll at least be doing it at some point. It'll be updated about once per month and Rudeus will struggle with some of the problems he had in volumes 7-10 simply because he is still affected by Eris abandoning him at the end of the anime. For RWBY it's not gonna even start at volume 1 so plot points aren't going to be spoiled. When stuff is spoiled it'll be more like information revealed about the world of Remnant's history. If you want to read it, you won't need to be to be very caught up with RWBY but there may be a few bits and pieces from later. At most I'm looking at Volume 6 episode 3 of the anime but I'll warn people if information from later in the story is spoiled in the author's notes.
-Orsted POV-
There was a report today of a potential Demon God. He was born in the new Superd village we were setting up on the Demon Continent. If what I'm told is correct, then the Demon God originally sparked fear into the hearts of the Superd people and then proceeded to run away with the use of gravity magic. I did not know that the Demon God had possession of gravity magic techniques but considering who he is it's not very surprising. Although it does make me think of Rudeus whenever he uses it, but Rudeus is dead and shouldn't be coming back. I suppose it's possible that Rudeus will come back especially with Rudeus being from Japan like Nanahoshi. Even then it seems incredibly unlikely that he would come back and then just fly out of bed like the report suggests.
It does not matter. The Demon God will be killed, I'm sending some scouts from the Rudo mercenaries to locate the Demon God and then I will come in person to kill him. He is a necessary piece in the destruction of Hitogami. As such I have written several papers detailing this enemy. I must tell the Rudo mercenaries soon what they will be searching for. I don't want to seem so ridiculous, but this is something I must do. I will tell them that a Superd newborn is flying around and terrorizing people and about to start a war… I'm not good at speaking normally and these odd circumstances make it even harder to speak naturally.
Faria came into the room and politely greeted me. She then proceeded to say, "It's time for your scheduled meeting with the mercenaries going on the search for the Demon God, sir. They will be waiting in Meeting Room two." Meeting Room two would be about the size to contain 20 single-person-sized desks. These desks being the ones Rudeus started making for new schools and such. There is also a small stage to have a speech at. I will be speaking on the stage to the leaders of each mercenary squad leader. As per Rudeus' request after realizing how useful his diary was, he made papers to take notes on. The squad leaders will be given lined sheets of paper to take notes because of Rudeus' request. Personally, I can see his point especially with the diary saving him from Hitogami's clutches. Anyways, back to the matter at hand. Giving the mercenaries the information they need. I just need to grab these papers I wrote. Let's see… this one contains all the information on the Demon God's abilities, I had Faria make many copies of it yesterday. As a receptionist for a private company, she doesn't have to greet many people and as such she is perfect for the menial task of copying papers to give to Rudo mercenary members. I could hire more people, but I knew that Faria was bored at the door for most of the day and as they say, strike when the iron is hot. Would that be the correct use of that term? Hm. Close enough. Faria fidgeted in the corner. Did I do something? Ah, yes.
"You may be excused." I forgot to excuse her… I need to get better at socializing. I would add that to my own diary, but it's already written in there several times. Wait, I'm getting distracted again. I guess I've been that way ever since Rudeus' death. Alright, there's also this paper that I wrote detailing what I need to tell the Rudo mercenaries. Funny how they're named after Rudeus… Can't get distracted. I can't get emotional about Rudeus' death again. I need to focus on work. Focus, Orsted. Focus!
-Faria POV-
Orsted's not been in the best state of mind since Rudeus' death. It's understandable to mourn for a friend and be sad about it for some time but I didn't realize Orsted would be sad about Rudeus' death for months… Could Orsted have been… In some relationship with Rudeus? More than just friends? I wouldn't dare speak of it in front of Orsted's face, but it would explain some of his odd tendencies around Rudeus. I would wonder why he didn't confront Rudeus when he had the opportunity, but it seems so obvious when you know Orsted… He's been lacking in the social interaction department for his entire life because of his curse. As such Rudeus, Nanahoshi, and others of dragon race are his only friends and for some reason unknown to me he never got close to any dragon race. Nanahoshi was there but she didn't fight alongside Orsted like Rudeus, she didn't share his goals either. As such his greatest ally would have been Rudeus and Rudeus would thus be his biggest romantic interest. As such he may have wanted to pursue Rudeus in that way…. However, that would be difficult. His curse wasn't even his biggest problem getting with Rudeus… with Rudeus having three wives since Rudeus and Orsted became friends until Eris died which still didn't leave Orsted much time. It's even harder when it's considered that Rudeus hasn't shown a bit of gayness. To someone in Orsted's position Rudeus would seem to be a near impossible romantic partner but also the only option. Or maybe I'm just jumping to assumptions. It's not a good thing for a receptionist to be looking into their boss's relationships but it's just so interesting. Also, if Orsted has some kind of mental breakdown because of this then someone needs to be able to help him. As such, I dictate as receptionist of Orsted Company that keeping an eye on the boss's relationships is a must!
Of course, only a horrible receptionist leaves her boss alone in such a state as such I made the decision to follow the boss and watch his meetings carefully. Maybe I'll find some way to help him. I'm not a horrible receptionist after all!
-Orsted POV-
It appears that Faria has followed me to the meeting room. She's trying to keep it secret for whatever reason and hiding around corners whenever I try to confront her. I have chosen to ignore her as she poses no threat on my touki and has a very low chance of being under Hitogami's influence. I've been around her to much for Hitogami to interact with her for a very long time. As such I've deduced that there is no threat, but I will be keeping an eye on her for this odd behavior. Perhaps she wants to make sure my speech goes well but is trying not to distract me. Anyways, I need to focus on my presentation. I've arrived at the door now so all I must do is open it and enter. Then give what information we have about the mercenaries' mission on the demon continent. The mercenaries already know of where they will be conducting their mission and have been handpicked by myself to make sure Hitogami does not interfere and pick the people best for this job. I will be meeting with the captains of one squad each.
They all bowed as I entered the room. The 90 degree bow that Rudeus did whenever we met. It reminds me of him… Stay focused. I can imagine that there is an unusual expression on my face, but it's not shown for the mask that is on my face. I am thankful for the mask's cover.
"Your squads will be going to the southern section of the demon continent. We have reports from the new Superd village that a child has been cursed with giving fear to all much like myself. This child is most likely the reincarnation of the Demon God Laplace." I paused when they started whispering between themselves and coughed into his fist to regain their attention. "You will not be engaging this enemy but instead will report anything you find to Faria, Kalman the Third, or myself. Once you know of the Demon God's position you will follow him. Send two people that know the area to report back at the nearest possible location. You have permission to use all company teleportation circles and lithograph stones to relay your information.
"As for the Demon God's appearance he stands out. He is Superd with green hair, a baby only a few days old. Aside from the curse that makes you fear him he may also be tracked by the magic he uses. He has shown strong usage of gravity magic in the form of flying. Because of his curse he will most likely not make an appearance in any highly populated areas. This will make him hard to follow but that is why you have been selected for this mission. Use whatever you can to keep up with the Demon God. Your first priority is to survive. Your second priority is to stay with your squad. The Demon Continent is deadly and without your team you may easily die. You are not useful to me dead. It is only with those two things met that you focus on tracking the Demon God. Have I made myself clear?"
"Yes, sir!" They all spoke in unison without a moment's delay. As can be expected of high-ranking mercenaries. These soldiers have been trained with this mission in mind for a few years now. All that is left is to give them the papers that go into further detail on the Demon God's appearance.
"These papers go into further detail of his appearance and provides a map of the region you will most likely find him in." I said as I passed out papers to them. "The red mark indicates the village he was born at; it is where he was last spotted. Considering how far he can travel with gravity magic he may very well be in the northern region or Millis continent as well. If he is not located within the southern half of the Demon Continent, then you may come back here, and you will be provided with maps of the northern half of the Demon Continent and the Millis continent. He may also have access to any of the old teleportation circles that are indicated in green. The letters next to the green marks indicate the locations they lead to. The white marks are large settlements while the yellow marks are small villages, they are to be avoided as the Demon God does not usually go to such locations. In blue are the company teleportation circles. The Demon God does not know of these and are only marked for you to relay your information back here and flee should the Demon God notice you." I took a second to let them process all that information. "You shall begin this mission in two days. Take the teleportation circle to the Superd village in the Southern region when it is time to begin. You are dismissed."