Chapter 16 – Past Prominence

Reina stirred in her bed, slowly regaining consciousness. With it came the memories of the day before.

After the unsettling realization that she didn't survive the ordeal in Savia due to her own actions, Reina and her party went back the way they came when they first arrived at the Wave. Numerous bodies from the defeated monsters remained, waiting to be absorbed into her weapon.

Corpse Chaser Totem
(abilities locked) Equip Bonus: agility 6

Corpse Wings Totem
(abilities locked) Equip Bonus: forged spirit range up (medium)

Flaming Brute Crosier
(abilities locked) Equip Bonus: Forge "Immolation", Spirit Slot 1, fire resistance up (small)
Equip Effect: moderate fire spell amp

Zombie Template unlocked!
Traits: Undead, defense up (medium), attack up (medium), HP up (high), agility down (small), fire vulnerability (small), holy vulnerability (high)

The weapons were a bit strange. Their abilities and appearances—aside from the obvious weirdness—were fine. What caught her attention was how much of a bonus they got from her power up methods. The bonus provided from having spirit contracts varied slightly between weapon forms, but all three of these got higher bonuses, with the one from the boss having the highest.

The tokens she had also seemed to increase on them, though not the bonuses from the gacha. Though, the tokens she got from these monsters were also better. She wouldn't be able to get more of them until the next Wave, if at all. These monsters weren't in the previous Wave here. The boss, however, gave a token that was just called "Boss Token". It gave a bonus to all stats, and it wasn't insignificant.

Speaking of the boss, the crosier resembled a metal staff, though the top of it was curled around in a spiral and resembled fire. It's equip bonus was also interesting. Reina could prepare another spirit with a different set of abilities selected for it. She tested it out a bit before bed and would continue to do so after unlocking it. Immolation also set her forged spirit on fire, much like the Flaming Brute. The only downside was that it was a toggle ability, consuming MP while active.

The template was also interesting, though Reina wasn't in a rush to see what her spirit would look like with it on. It probably wasn't worse than the insect one, but she'd find out sooner or later.

It took a fair amount of time to collect all the bodies along their path, plus the ones the knights killed defending the town. Then it was several hours of walking before they made it back to the capital. While all Reina wanted was to sit down and really consider everything she knew, the king had other plans.

The feast was already planned, but hearing the low casualty count spurred on the festivities. King Tarik insisted Reina and her party attend, giving her another taste of royal treatment, just like back in Savia. This time, she felt like she earned some of the flattery thrown her way. That didn't mean she particularly enjoyed the attention.

When she found the opportunity, Reina slipped away and got herself in bed.

After a long night, she finally opened her eyes to prepare for the day. What greeted her were a pair of round things in her vision, though not the ones she'd gotten accustomed to seeing. Two blazing red eyes combined with an easygoing smile were the first things Reina saw this day. The other orbs were visible, of course, just not as advertised at the moment.

"Sleep well, Boss?" Maria asked, her hand on Reina's head.

The smaller woman let out a sigh. "I'm too used to this."

With a small laugh, Maria moved her hand over to rest on Reina's cheek, causing it to instantly heat up.

"I've slept enough anyway." Reina immediately sat up in the bed and swung her legs over the edge.

"So cold! And I was feeling nice and warm, too~." Maria cooed, though she didn't stop her.

"I'll buy you a coat. It's not like I can't afford it." Reina remarked. They'd be receiving a reward for fighting in the Wave from the king soon.

"Can't I just keep holding onto you?" Maria asked. Reina didn't need to look at her to know she was smirking.

With a look at her armor set on the table, Reina repressed a grimace. She was so out of it that she attended the feast in her armor instead of changing into something less revealing—like the shirt from her previous armor, which she currently wore. She'd gotten a cloak for traveling, but that wasn't exactly party clothes.

"I should kick her out before I change. Don't want her getting any more handsy than she already has been." Reina thought.

When she turned to tell Maria just that, she found the woman right in front of her. Her head was lowered to Reina's level.

"You know, the way your eyes shine make you look like a vampire." Reina told the wizard.

"What do you mean? Vampires' eyes are black." Maria said without a hint of joking.

"Of course they are." Reina sighed. Zombies and Demon Lords weren't enough. Vampire needed to be in this world, too. Well, the zombies were from the Wave, but Reina wouldn't be surprised if some were shambling about thanks to some necromancer.

Maria cracked a small smile. "You feeling better, Boss?"

"I guess…" Reina scratched the back of her head.

She wasn't quite sure how to process what she learned. Of course, having those four during the Wave made it much easier than it could have been. That prospect paled in comparison to the implications of what exactly this Demon Lord wanted from her.

As far as Reina could figure, the Demon Lord—Derdir—wanted her to do something, but she couldn't really guess as to what. Since he sent them to keep her alive during the Wave, it was a safe bet he didn't want the world destroyed by the Waves. There'd be no point ruling over a burned down world. From what she gathered, those monsters were stronger and more plentiful than the last Wave. While not on the same scale as Savia, there'd be plenty of death and destruction if she wasn't around to fight the Wave or at least bring in knights to help.

Plus, what that other Demon Lord—Karth—said implied that the Waves got stronger over time, or the more Waves that happened. If that was the case, she'd have to keep getting stronger as well.

Was that the reason she was allowed to live? Fight the Waves to keep the world safe enough for him to conquer it? If so, it wasn't a bad strategy. But once she got powerful enough, that could easily change.

"You don't think those witches knew about their uncle, right?" Reina asked, confirming what Maria told her yesterday.

"They didn't seem like they were lying." Maria nodded, straightening out. "Vyrdrun thought so, too."

It would have been so much easier if that wasn't the case. Reina could just place them in "Team Evil" and think nothing else of it. Apparently, those three siblings earned a reputation of being proficient potion brewers. If something strong was needed, people would favor them over the alchemists and herbalists, even the ones in the capital.

"I don't think they're bad people…" Reina murmured.

Maria gave her a smile and held her face in her hands. "I know. That's why you didn't say anything about them knowing the Demon Lord to the king."

"Mm." Reina grunted. "I don't plan on it either."

Aside from the good they do selling their potions and the help they provided, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to make them a target. The Demon Lord invaded Savia's capital like it was nothing. His army couldn't possibly be limitless, but getting his nieces and nephew involved in unnecessary trouble wouldn't end well.

In all likelihood, the Demon Lord could either send messages through orators like she heard about before, or he could travel much more quickly than her. It seemed to be the latter of the two, given he has wings and Reina knew teleportation magic existed in several forms. His request also sounded like something to be said in person.

It also felt like wasted effort to keep her identity hidden while she, Maria, and Vyrdrun traveled to Lespax.

"Then there's nothing to worry about right now!" Maria wrapped Reina in a fierce hug, which the smaller woman immediately began trying to escape from.

"Why are you like this!?" Reina called out, trying not to be smothered.

"I have to thank you some way~. My new staff is wonderful!" Maria excitedly said.

Two drops from the Wave boss were already being put to use. One was a staff for Maria that increased the damage and control of her fire spells. For Vyrdrun, a long spear replaced the lance that got broken. It also had a fire enchantment on it, fitting the theme of the boss.

"Just get dressed already!" Reina managed to separate from the overfriendly wizard. "You have your own room with a bed and everything anyway!"

"But your bed is more comfortable and comes with a heat source! Besides, heroes are supposed to bed fair maidens after battle." Maria playfully argued, but she went about getting dressed all the same.

Reina decided to follow suit. "Don't watch while I change." She ordered.

"Aw~." Maria whined, but Reina could see over her shoulder that the wizard wasn't looking.

Not wanting it to take longer than necessary, Reina got to work. Her thoughts, however, drifted to something else Karth said yesterday.

"Who was the Great Unifier?" Reina asked, taking off her shirt and grabbing her armor.

"Hm? No idea." Maria said as she picked up her dress.

"Don't you know lots of things about Gromnar? They sound pretty important." Reina said, fitting the band of metal around her chest.

"None of the Gromnar I talked to ever mentioned them. Well, it would have been 20 years ago, so I can understand that." Maria slowly pulled the dress up over her from the ground.

"Twenty…Karth mentioned two heroes died fighting the first Demon Lord. The Spirit Forger was one of them?" Reina asked.

"And the Cleaver Hero." Maria nodded, lacing up the side of her dress. "The current Chisel Hero is the same one from back then."

"So it would've been before that fight. How long was the last Spirit Forger around?"

"About a month, I think."

"A month!?" Reina shouted. "How could they fight a Demon Lord that was apparently the strongest one?"

"Well, the other two heroes took her around to quickly gain levels." Maria answered.

"Ah…" The other things Karth mentioned filled in the holes. Reina had no doubt that Gromnar gave a lot of XP, given how strong Vyrdrun was at his level. And the Keston Empire didn't like Gromnar. It wasn't hard to fill in the dots of what probably happened.

"They killed a lot of Gromnar, didn't they?" Reina asked anyway.

"They did." Maria nodded.

"And there was probably an army of Gromnar fighting the three of them at one point too." Reina reasoned. She finished with her top part and pulled the armored skirt up next, belting it around her.

"That's true was well…" Maria trailed off for a moment, slowing in her movements slightly. "I recall there was a large battle between the three heroes and many Gromnar."

Reina figured that would be the case. The threat of a Demon Lord probably convinced them to gain levels quickly. If she had to guess, this Gromnar was killed after uniting a few tribes to fight back against the heroes.

It was a wonder Vyrdrun trusted her at all.

"I probably shouldn't talk to Vyrdrun about this then." Reina said dejectedly.

"Why not?" Maria asked easily, finished lacing her dress. "At worst, he just won't say anything. If you don't, I probably will. You've gotten me curious."

"Seriously?" Reina asked, draping her cloak around herself.

"Yep!" Maria happily stated, donning her own cloak. "If you don't want me to, you better ask before the end of the day."

Reina sighed, but there was no getting around it. She wanted to know more about Vyrdrun and his thoughts on things. He was already helping her, so it couldn't hurt that much to ask.

"By the way, Boss," Maria turned around, a smirk on her face, "I could feel your eyes on me the whole time. So I'm not allowed to watch you change, but it's fine for you~?"

"Breakfast!" Reina turned and marched to the door, face red.

~Forging Legends~

The first meal of the day passed by quick enough. Unlike before, the king wasn't present. It was only Reina's party, plus the knights that went with them to the Wave. None of them were seriously injured in the Wave, which showed in how they carried on in their talks of heroism.

It was rather similar to how they were during the feast. From what Reina recalled, the nobles present cozied up to a number of knights, probably those either from prominent families or ones who could marry into their own. Reina wasn't an expert on politics, especially in this type of society, but that seemed like the most likely scenario to her.

After breakfast, the trio went before the king again in the throne room.

"For your actions in the Wave and safeguarding my citizens, I hereby award you 20 geld." King Tarik said, gesturing to the sack on the tray carried by one of the attendants.

"Twenty geld…that's two thousand simoleons!" It was the largest sum of money Reina encountered in this world.

"As you are likely aware by now, these coins can be used in most other countries." King Tarik added.

That was another bit Reina remembered from her lessons with Maria. Since Keston spread its influence far and wide, their currency became the most common. Commerce with a single currency was easier, so even the countries never part of the empire had adopted it. There were probably outliers, but those countries probably weren't as wealthy if they couldn't trade as much.

"In addition," the king continued, "I've charted a ship in the port town north of here to take you up to Gathana. I also have a letter of introduction for you, though it may not end up aiding you."

King Tarik explained further. While Lespax wasn't in open conflict with Gathana, the country with the Adamantine Gate, there weren't any peace treaties or trade agreements either. Only private merchants traded with them on rare occasions, since tariffs into and out of that country were high. Any goods Lespax might get from Gathana were through the country between them, and even then trade with that country was small due to past conflicts.

"Thank you for your generosity, King Tarik." Reina gave him a slight bow.

"It is my pleasure to aid any and all heroes who fight against the Waves." Tarik looked over and gestured to another attendant.

Reina heard a quiet sigh as the second attendant came forward. The noise was from the same advisor whose main job appeared to be keeping the king from acting inappropriately.

"I have also been informed you did not partake of any wine from the feast, nor from the supper prepared the evening before the Wave." King Tarik said with a smile. "Therefore, I present to you one of my favorite ales from my personal supply, in the hope that you enjoy it in the future."

"I…thank you again, King Tarik." Reina accepted the cask of alcohol.

She didn't know about the other two, but she was too young to drink in her world and didn't have much desire to try it out here.

With the reward dispersed, the group of three got on their way. The nipeigh they got from those bandits was waiting for them near the stables, hooked up to their acquire cart and ready to go.

They only had two stops before leaving. The first was at the Dragon Hourglass for Vyrdrun and Maria to go through another round of class corrections. There was no hassle getting through this time, as minor as it was before.

The second stop was with the blacksmith that outfitted them. Reina wasn't sure how he'd handle the news that his weapon got destroyed and replaced in the same day. It was his craft, after all. She really hoped he didn't take it badly.

"The master? He's gone traveling," The apprentice said when they arrived and asked for him.

"He is?" Reina questioned. "When the Wave happened yesterday?"

"Heh, yeah, he's a strange one…" The apprenticed let out an exasperated sigh. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Well, I mostly wanted to tell him his armor worked really well." The damage it spread to the other monsters, while not a huge amount, did help whittle them down a bit. "And to ask if he had anything else, now that my level has gone up."

"Unfortunately, Master takes his best pieces with him when he travels." The apprentice said. "Nothing else we have, or that I can make, would compare to what you're already wearing."

"I see…" It seemed she'd have to accept wearing this armor for some time.

"If you do come across Master, maybe you could commission something from him." The apprentice added. "The cost will be lowered if you can supply the materials. I'm sure you got plenty of monster parts from the Wave."

That had some merit to it. If some of the qualities of the monsters could be passed onto the weapons and armor, it would really be something. Perhaps she could get some flaming armor to damage anything that touched her or her forged spirit. Double Immolation sounded pretty nice.

"Come on, Boss!" Maria slid next to her, arm around her bare shoulder. "It looks good on you~."

"Yeah, thanks." Reina responded, annoyed.

The apprentice chuckled. "I won't comment on that, but the armor is still quite good. Besides, that would normally cost you about 19 geld.

"That…would eat up almost the entire reward." Reina's eyes quivered.

"Well, it is really good armor." The apprentice nodded. "And, honestly, that's at a discount. Master Baric gives favorable rates to his best customers, and the heroes are included in that."

If Reina had a blacksmith that good who saw her favorably, it was good enough for her. She thanked the apprentice for his time and asked to send her thanks to Baric whenever he returned.

With all their stops out of the way, the party left the city heading north. It would take about a day to reach the port the ship was docked at.

"So!" Maria began not five minutes after leaving the city gate. "Let's continue with your lessons."

"Can we not?" Reina pleaded. Her brain was back in working order and she didn't want it ruined again just yet.

"Oh fine~." Maria leaned back in her seat on the cart. "What should we discuss?"

There was the obvious topic with Vyrdrun, but it didn't need to happen just yet. Of course, Reina needed to come up with something to stall.

"Um, how about I talk to you about magic from my games?" Reina offered, hopeful.

"Ooh. That sounds fun." Maria smiled at her.

Reina returned the smile. "Alright. So, there's a few versions of these games. One is Dungeons and Dragons, and the other is Pathfinder…"

And so, Reina talked. She talked as if her life depended on it. Her sanity likely did, so it was just as well.

She first had to set the stage as to how these games were played. Pen and paper, dice to determine if actions worked, the roll of dungeon master, and so on. Some concepts came easier, what with XP and levels being native to this world they were in. Different races, different classes, feats, skills, the frankly absurd price of anything if you weren't an adventurer in most of the editions.

Then, she came to the meat of the subject: magic. She talked about how spells worked, how the different magic types and spellcasters functioned, and the balance between them. Spells of every sort came to her mind as examples to give, from the weakest Ray of Frost to the mightiest Meteor Swarm and Time Stop, and even some Epic spells.

It wasn't a one-sided conversation, at least not completely. Maria asked her fair share of questions, mostly about how the arcane casters got theirs spells and the way to make new ones. It was no boast to say Reina had extensive knowledge on the inner workings of those games. In fact, one might say she knew too much about them.

"You're quite passionate about this." Maria commented.

"I've played them for a while now. It's part of the reason I was a bit…awestruck when I first arrived here." Reina admitted.

"Well, you've certainly given me some things to think about~." Maria gave her a wink. "But don't you think you've stalled long enough?"

Reina winced at her words. True enough, it was close to sundown. They stopped a couple times to let the nipeigh get some water and food, but otherwise traveled all day. During that time, Reina hadn't spoken to Vyrdrun about what she should.

Reina glanced at the Gromnar walking next to them before she turned back to Maria and whispered. "Can you hold off on asking?"

Maria shook her head and whispered back. "I'm far too curious now."

"But it's not that important, right?"

The wizard let out a sigh. "Why don't you want to ask?"

"It's…I just don't want him to be upset by it." Reina said.

"He probably won't be." Maria argued.

"You know he saved my life twice, right?" Reina asked. "If the last Spirit Forger, or Totem Hero, killed this Great Unifier, I don't think I should bring it up with him."

Maria raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yes, really." Reina nodded. "It's like…maybe not exactly, but imagine some woman killed someone important to you and then her daughter started acting friendly with you. The daughter doesn't know, but that doesn't change who she came from. Talking about it just seems like—

Maria cut her off with a loud laugh. "Aw~. You have a crush on him, don't you?"

"Maria!" Reina shouted at her before turning to Vyrdrun, horror plastered on her face.

Vyrdrun cocked his head to the side. "Is something wrong?"

Reina couldn't form the words. Maria did, though. "Just a bit of girl talk. Don't mind us~."

"Hm." He gave a nod and continued to walk.

Mouth moving with no words exiting, Reina turned back to a smirking Maria.

"I'm talking in a different language, one I know he doesn't speak." Maria explained. "So, you can just relax while I talk."

It seemed the weapon attached to Reina came with a slight drawback with the abundantly useful translation function.

"You like him. I can tell." Maria said, causing what one might describe as a blush on Reina's face. "A young woman falling for the man who saved her life. It's sweet."

Reina repressed a low growl. "If you're making fun of me…"

"Oh my~!" Maria laughed, covering her mouth. "Not at all! I really mean it. But I don't think he feels the same way, nor would he ever."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Reina demanded.

Maria, however, shook her head. "I don't think that's for me to say. You should ask Vyrdrun, just like you should ask him about that other topic."

Reina scrunched up her hands on her lap. "It's not that easy."

"Sure it is!" Maria beamed at her. "Here, I'll help."

"What—" Reina's look of shock did nothing to deter the woman.

"Hey, Vyrdrun~!" She called out.

The Gromnar looked back over. Reina gave him a brief smile before turning back to Maria, head shaking rapidly.

"Boss has something she wants to talk to you about~."

"I am going to kill this woman!" Reina silently vowed.

"What is it?" Vyrdrun asked.

"Ah, it's nothing!" Reina quickly said.

"I'll ask if you won't." Maria said, hopefully in that other language.

"You wouldn't dare." Reina gave her a hard, dangerous look. The wizard just stuck out her tongue in response.

"Well, Vyrdrun, it's a somewhat personal topic." Maria began. Reina couldn't tell which question she was actually going to ask him. "You see—"

"Who was the Great Unifier?" Reina quickly asked in her place.

There it was. The question was out in the open now.

"Hm." Vyrdrun gave a low grunt. "He was human mage, and a friend to the Gromnar."

"A human?" Reina questioned. That already killed her hypothesis on the matter.

Vyrdrun nodded. "Yes. Some human mages have been friendly with Gromnar in the past, but only he put in the effort to communicate with all Gromnar. During his life, he travelled to many villages and spoke with as many tribes as he could, or so the story goes.

"Unlike most mages who only saw Gromnar shamans and druids as people to be wary of, he learned much of our culture and way of life. Any disputes we had with humans, he'd mediate and find solutions that didn't involve battle. He truly saw us as a people to understand and work together with. However, it wasn't to last."

Vyrdrun lowered his head, a scowl forming on his face.

"One day, the humans of the empire betrayed him. He demanded blood. Many Gromnar warriors of various tribes volunteered and joined him. Together, they did battle against the empire."

Reina could practically feel her heart stop. What he was implying…

"In the end, the Great Unifier was defeated. A sole surviving Gromnar saw his final moment. Though he managed to defeat the Cleaver Hero, the Totem Hero gave her life to end his. Together, after mortally wounding one another, they fell into the depths of the earth."

Reina had no response to the story. She couldn't quite process it all. One point stood out among everything else.

"Was he…" She began, her mouth suddenly feeling dry. "Was the Great Unifier…also the first Demon Lord?"

Vyrdrun raised his head slightly, looking over at the pair of women. "The tales of these Demon Lords never reached my tribe before, so I wasn't certain. After traveling with you for this short time, I have begun to believe so."

"I realized it this morning." Maria offered. "I don't know who he was before or what his conflict with the Keston Empire was, but there was a large battle involving many Gromnar on the side of the Demon Lord."

Reina's only thought was to pull on the reins of the nipeigh, making it come to a stop. She looked at Vyrdrun, trying to form the right words.

"I…don't know what to say." It was the only thing she could think of.

"Sorry, Boss. Until a few minutes ago, I thought that's what you were already thinking this morning." Maria said, hand on Reina's shoulder.

"Are you really fine working with me?" Reina asked him. "If the last Totem Hero killed your people's Great Unifier, and he was the first Demon Lord…There's one who's trying to conquer the world now, probably. Shouldn't…"

"It matters not." Vyrdrun held up his hand, halting her thought process. "If someone decided to take up a mantle the Great Unifier didn't choose for himself, that is not my concern."

"Then…" Reina gripped one arm with the other. "Why do you travel with me? Shouldn't you hate me?"

Vyrdrun turned his head to the side. "I'm still trying to figure that out." He looked back Reina, his eyes meeting hers. "What I do know is that you are not your predecessor. You've done no wrong by me or my people. Perhaps we were fated to meet. If so, I wish to see what fate has in store for you."

Hesitantly, Reina gave him a slight nod. Maria, however, pulled her in close.

"See, Boss?" The wizard gave her a cheeky smile. "I told you it was fine."

"Yeah, you did." Reina smiled in turn.

~Forging Legends~

"Witches! This is your last chance! Come out now and we'll let you live!"

Crescent idly tapped the table she sat at. It took over a day to get home, with a little help from magic, and not even an hour passed after arriving before they were getting harassed.

"I'm sure there's a lesson to be learned here." Crescent commented.

"Yeah." Molly nodded from her spot next to the window. She gazed out at the group, which she said was at least 20 strong. "I should have let Alister break that man's arm."

"Or, when someone says we'll regret something, they might try to act on it." Crescent added.

One of the first people Molly pointed out was the alchemist who commanded the golem back in the capital. His two flunkies were with him, along with many others.

"I wish we knew they were part of the Red Brotherhood." Galen stood next to Alister, staff in hand. "We could have made a lot of money."

"Unlikely, since we wouldn't be able to prove it." Alister noted. "Shall I remove them from our home?"

"I suppose so." Crescent sighed. "The wards here won't keep them out forever."

Alister nodded and picked up his greatsword. As always, his armor was already on. He'd be able to take out a few after taking a few steps outside, but he'd need support to not get overwhelmed. Mindless monsters were one thing, but people tended to prefer tactics over mob rushing. That was especially true with the company of slavers waiting for them.

"Hey, who the hell are—" The voice of the alchemist was cut short. In its place was a bloody scream.

"Oh, wow…" Molly continued watching from the window.

"What is it?" Crescent asked, looking up.

Galen walked over to the same window and peeked out. As the screams and cries for help and mercy sounded from the world outside, Galen turned back and held his hand to his mouth.

"Haha, well…" Molly looked over at Crescent, a difficult smile on her face. "Take a guess."

Crescent gave her a pleased smile and rested her chin on her folded hands. She knew full well what was happening.

It took less than a minute for the noise to stop. A single set of heavy footsteps approached their home, stopping just outside the door.

Smiling, Molly moved over and opened it. Standing just outside was Uncle Derdir, claws bloody from his work.

"You had an infestation." He calmly said, stepping into their home.

Crescent almost laughed at that. Their uncle's sense of humor could be a bit morbid at times.

"I'll go clean up the mess." Alister volunteered, moving through the doorway. He and Uncle never got along, mostly due to Uncle's view on him.

"Would you like some tea, Uncle?" Crescent offered. Derdir shook his head.

"I won't be long." He took a seat at the table, Galen and Molly joining them.

"You want to know how Miss Reina performed during the Wave?" Crescent asked, getting right to the point.

"Hm." Derdir grunted, leaning on the table lightly as to not break it. "And if that fool tried to cause any trouble."

Crescent nodded and told him everything that happened that day, Molly and Galen adding a bit here and there. She wasn't exactly being truthful to Reina before about not spying on her. Uncle didn't want to know about Reina's abilities or weakness, though. He just wanted to know how she handled herself.

The retelling didn't stop after that Demon Lord's death, as much as Molly probably wanted it to.

"I didn't mean to say that." Molly sheepishly admitted. "I know you didn't want her to know about you asking us to watch over her, but…"

"I was hoping to keep that hidden longer, but what's done is done." Derdir stated evenly. Crescent thought it sounded like he expected this as an outcome. Not to speak ill of her sister, but she did tend to speak without thinking.

Aside from including Molly's slipup, Crescent added on what Reina's assessment of Derdir was, minus one detail.

"She seemed pretty capable, but she got all crazy at the end." Molly shrugged. "Thinking you're a Demon Lord and all."

"Hm." Derdir nodded. "I can see why she might think that."

"But you're way better than them!" Molly quickly added. "Most of them just make themselves look like monsters and go crazy from it."

There was a connection there Molly clearly wasn't seeing. Galen didn't seem to make it either. Crescent did, though. She'd made it years ago. Transfigurations like the one Uncle went through weren't easy. It required years of knowledge, not only of spirits and spells but alchemy as well. Not something easily gained.

This type of thing almost necessitated it being taught and expanded on rather than researched from scratch. Mother and Derdir were two people who were taught such things, but they weren't the only students. There were others, most of whom had already died. Most of those deaths happened long ago, back when their father was still alive and Galen was a baby. Of course, that didn't mean some of those apprentices didn't have apprentices of their own.

It was entirely possible, likely even, that those new apprentices were the Demon Lords that popped up over the last two decades. Young idiots that let a bit of power go to their heads. Young…

"Is something the matter?" Derdir asked, making Crescent realize she wasn't paying attention.

"O-Oh, no, Uncle." She quickly assured him. "But, speaking of that man."

With a wave of her hand, Crescent slowly levitated something from the nearby shelf. A sheathe with an athame inside it softly landed on the table.

"We didn't end up needing this. Would you like it back?" She asked.

"No, keep it." Derdir shook his head. "You may need it one day."

Crescent doubted that, but she didn't doubt its power. The moment she first held it, she could tell it was dangerous, even before she appraised it. Black, crackling energy came off the blade when it was drawn. If she channeled her spells through it, the amount of power she could unleash would be impressive to say the least. At her level, a single spell through it could have probably killed that Demon Lord.

That wasn't the only thing Uncle had given them. He created some super elixirs to heal almost any injury, just in case that Demon Lord was stronger than he thought. Alister didn't need one, of course, but Crescent and her siblings weren't like him.

"Is there anything else?" Derdir asked them.

"Yes." Crescent wanted to say. The notion was crazy.

Just because the students of students were quite possibly those Demon Lords didn't mean their uncle was. Like Molly said, they were all crazy; belligerent, too. Most didn't last a few weeks after revealing themselves. Uncle Derdir, who had become like this years ago, couldn't possibly have gone mad.

And Lola. Sweet, little Lola. That girl was like another sister to them. Galen was quite happy when she did visit, since it was like he had a younger sister. At 15 years old, there was no way Uncle would have done something to her. Besides, the subtle transmutations weren't his area of expertise. Lola visited barely a week before Savia got attacked. Even if Derdir altered her body like his in that time, it would take at least a month for it to be complete and she wouldn't be able to move around during the process. Crescent knew that much.

"No, Uncle, I believe that's everything." Crescent gave him a smile.

"Alright." With that, he stood from the table. "Thank you again for your help. Stay safe, children."

"Come on, Uncle, we're all adults here!" Molly protested in jest.

This was fine. Crescent didn't need to ask pointless questions. Uncle cared about his daughter. He wouldn't subject her to anything like that. He loved her, just like he loved the three of them. Stern, perhaps, but very caring.

The death and destruction told of at Savia's capital, there was no way Uncle Derdir had any part in that.

Author's Notes:

I made a couple adjustments in some of the previous chapters. Nothing big, just some times and dates. Made it so the Wave would happen "a little over two weeks" from when Reina and Vyrdrun first learned about Lespax from that merchant. They spent an extra day in the insect forest I didn't account for and I recorded some days wrong in my notes. Should all be good now, for those who were keeping track. For those curious, I have Day 1 being when Reina was summoned, to now Day 23 as they travel to the port town.

I wasn't sure when I was going to do this reveal, but I couldn't think of how to keep it hidden while expanding on it at the same time. Yes, the first Demon Lord and the Gromnar's Great Unifier were the same person. One man's god is another man's devil and all that.

This chapter took me a bit longer to really start writing. Dropped something I was going to do after the talk about the first Demon Lord since it didn't mesh well with the tone. I might revisit it later, it just depends. More flavor of the world than anything central, though it might become more prominent later.

Reina channels me a little bit near the end. After 4E of D&D, I went into 3.5 and fell in love with it, trying to learn all I could. Then came all the other books from that version, which there are many. In the first chapter with Reina making those min-max characters for her group, that's something I did (mostly for myself and only for fun). I may have filled my head with a bit too much worthless knowledge…