Vintermoor Main Restaurant, Evening
Snow continued to fall outside the restaurant. The glow of lanterns hanging from the ceiling made the room feel warm, a stark contrast to the cold night outside.
At a table near the window, Damian and Liam were enjoying dinner. Before them was a bowl of hot soup and warm bread. Both were still wearing the hunter's coats they had worn during the Hunting Game. Their faces looked tired after two full days of fighting.
Liam slurped his soup greedily. "Two days in the snowy forest... it was much harder than I imagined," he complained. "I feel like I'm going to collapse."
Damian smiled slightly. "You're much stronger now, Liam."
Liam smiled proudly at the compliment. "Thank you, Master Damian."
There was silence again for a moment...
Damian then turned his gaze out the window. "There's one thing that's still bothering me."
Liam turned his head too. "What is it, Master Damian?"
"Team Bloodfangs," Damian said seriously.
Liam's expression immediately turned serious. "I'm thinking about them too."
Liam put his spoon back on the table. "Back in the forest, I saw some monsters that were supposed to attack them... but instead they just gave up."
Damian nodded slowly. "Their aura felt strange too."
He paused for a moment before continuing. "Similar to Velgrin's aura."
Liam swallowed. "So... Master Damian felt the same way?"
"Yes..." Damian leaned back in his chair.
"I'm sure they're not ordinary humans." Before their conversation could continue, the restaurant door suddenly opened.
Bang!
Rin and Tessa entered, slightly out of breath. Both were still wearing thick coats, and a few snowflakes still clung to their shoulders.
"Damian!" Rin called. "We need to talk. Now."
Damian and Liam immediately stood up.
"What's wrong?" Damian asked, confused.
Tessa immediately pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and placed it on the table. "The symbol on Kaldric's cloak." Her tone was serious. "We found it in one of the old books in the public library."
Damian looked surprised. "The library?"
Tessa nodded quickly. "There's no time to explain here."
Without waiting for an answer, Tessa grabbed Damian's wrist. "Come with me."
At the same time, Rin also tugged at Liam's arm. "Liam, come on."
"Eh? But I haven't finished my soup yet…" Liam said.
"Now!" Rin shouted.
"O-Okay!" Liam replied resignedly.
Damian could only exchange glances with Liam before sighing in resignation.
"I have a feeling… this isn't good news."
The four of them quickly left the restaurant and ran through the snow toward the Vintermoor public library. Behind them, Liam's bowl of soup still steamed warm on the table.
Vintermoor Grand Library
The Vintermoor Grand Library was nearly empty that night.
Only a few lanterns illuminated the spacious room, its tall wooden shelves filled with old books. The smell of dust filled the air, while their footsteps echoed softly through the aisles.
Rin stopped in front of a shelf at the very end. "If I remember correctly..." He lifted a small ladder and picked up a thick, dusty book.
Thud!
He placed the book on the reading table. "This is it."
Rin carefully flipped through the pages before finally stopping on a drawing. In the center of the page was a spiral symbol with two horns curving upward.
Liam immediately approached. "Wait..." He squinted, comparing the image to the symbol he still remembered. "Isn't this similar to the symbol on Kaldric's robe?"
Rin nodded slowly. "I wasn't sure at first either." He turned the book upside down. "But if you turn it upside down... it's almost exactly the same."
The atmosphere suddenly fell silent.
Tessa stared at the symbol with a solemn expression. "Then… Kaldric is no ordinary hunter."
Damian crossed his arms as he continued to examine the image.
"The question is… which Demon Lord does this relate to?"
The four of them returned to flipping through several history books arranged on the same shelf. They searched one by one for any records of the symbol.
A few minutes later, Rin suddenly stopped. "I found it." Everyone immediately approached.
Rin pointed to a paragraph on the yellowing page.
"The horned spiral symbol is a symbol once used by the domain of Demon Lord Azareth Velnir, ruler of the eastern region."
Damian read the passage for a moment before nodding slowly.
"I've heard that name before. Azareth Velnir is one of the five Demon Lords ruling the world today, and if I'm not mistaken, he's also the newest Demon Lord."
Rin nodded. "It says here that he only officially became a Demon Lord about twenty years ago."
Tessa stroked her chin. "If that's the case… Why does Kaldric look human?"
The question silenced everyone again.
Rin quickly opened another book beside him. A moment later, his eyes widened.
"Wait… I found something." He flipped the book over so everyone could see the contents. "This is a record of an ancient artifact."
His finger pointed to a name. "Hornveil."
"An ancient necklace that can disguise the physical characteristics of the demon race, such as their horns, eyes, and aura."
"'This artifact is commonly used by elite Demon Lord troops when infiltrating human territory.'"
The room fell silent again.
Damian stared at the page for a long moment. "...So that's it, now it all starts to make sense… That's why the monsters in the Hunting Game didn't attack Bloodfangs. They recognized Kaldric and his group as fellow demons."
Liam nodded immediately. "Yes, Master Damian! That also explains why they were able to hunt monsters without difficulty."
Liam clenched his fists. "Then Kaldric really is a subordinate of Demon Lord Azareth!"
Rin stared at Damian. "Then… what are we going to do?"
Damian closed the book slowly. "We must report this discovery to the Kingdom of Vintermoor."
"But..." Damian sighed softly. "I doubt we can go directly to the King with just these suspicions."
Tessa crossed her arms. "Then?"
Damian thought for a moment before finally raising his gaze. "Let's look for more solid evidence. Kaldric's background must have been recorded during the Hunting Game registration."
Damian looked at his three friends. "Tomorrow morning we go to the Royal Supervisor's Office. I'm sure... there's something they've been hiding."