The hall's doors burst open, revealing four figures in different-colored armor, approaching a throne with its back to them. The room was enormous, with rich gold embroidery on the walls and several stands. One of these displayed a full suit of golden armor, with lion's mouths on the shoulders and at the center of the chest. However, it appeared visibly damaged, and despite visible repairs, there were still some deep scratches, particularly on the right shoulder pad. Those present wondered what could have caused such damage to such a powerful suit of armor.

  "We're all here, Gold."

  The red-armored knight, the Red Dragon Lord, declared loudly as he approached the throne in the center of the room, which overlooked a colossal fireplace, depicting the open mouth of a sleeping lion.

  "Thank you for coming here, my faithful companions. I know that, except for Red, you have all retired to private life, but I have summoned you because I need the help of my old comrades."

  The words of the figure on the throne were sincere and revealed admiration.

  "There's no need to apologize, Gold. If you brought us all together here, it means something serious has happened!"

  It was the black-armored knight who spoke, Beetlhop, or the Beetle Black Lord, the largest and most robust of the company, with thick armor and beetle-like horns on his shoulders and forehead. His deep, almost intimidating voice, combined with his colossal appearance, undoubtedly made him the most visually fearsome of the knights present.

  "May I know what's happening?"

  "By the way Red was talking about it, it sounded like something terrifying."

  The Platinum Wolf Lord muttered, followed closely by the Silver Fish Lord. Both seemed interested and quite concerned by the sudden call. Their gazes rested on the lion's armor, which lay majestically on its stand. They still wondered what could have damaged it like that.

  "Red wasn't exaggerating, my friends..."

  The words of the figure on his throne- the Golden Lyon Lord- had a solemn tone, barely concealing the concern hidden beneath. However, his companions knew him too well, and noticed it immediately. Except for Red, each of them had served as a member of the Forever Knights for over five centuries, so they knew their leader well. That said, none dared openly express their surprise, out of respect for their companion, who had even gone so far as to ask for their help despite knowing they had other priorities.

  "I supposed."

  Beetlhop sighed, connecting his gaze with the others, intently observing the golden armor at the side of the room.

  "I apologize again for not revealing my appearance immediately when we first met— I could never have accompanied you otherwise. My kind has little trust in humans and demi-humans, but now we have more important things to discuss!"

  The Golden Lyon Lord's tone grew more worried, as if fearing his companions' reaction. Noticing the change in his leader's voice, Beetlhop crossed his arms and looked at the throne, which still concealed Gold's true form. Only his clawed arms and part of the golden fur covering them were visible.

  "Gold- whatever happened, we are ready! We are powerful! We may not be on your level, but that doesn't mean we're weak! After all, if you didn't have to set limits, you'd be the most powerful being in this world!"

  The insect knight's words were full of admiration, despite the harshness of his tone, which made it sound more like a warning than an encouragement. The others seemed to nod in agreement, but there was no guarantee they shared Beetlhop's opinion. The black-armored knight had been very blunt, calling Gold the strongest in their world. Among them, he was certainly the most powerful and skilled. But, in their reality, extremely dangerous creatures existed- like the Primordial Demons or Primordial Dragons. Against such beings, they doubted their leader's victory was assured, but no one, of course, declared this openly for very obvious reasons.

  "Ah, thanks for your kind words, Beetlhop...But I'm not so sure, unfortunately."

  Gold's words surprised the entire group. Everyone knew he wasn't one to boast about his strength, but no one expected the opposite. They were astonished that their leader would show such a vulnerable side—the lack of confidence in Gold's voice alone was enough to make everyone's heart rate rise. The message being conveyed was crystal clear: something had happened—something terrible.

  The Golden Lyon Lord flashed back to the clash with that mysterious being he'd faced only a few days earlier. He'd never felt that kind of fear in battle before. He was the Lion Knight! The proudest, strongest, and bravest of the Forever Knights. Despite his conscience of his great strength, the mere thought of facing that supposed "Dragonoid" sent a chill down his spine, causing his heart to race to the point of pain.

  Is this fear? The anxiety of not being able to win?

  Gold sighed and tried to calm himself, barely managing to do so. He'd never found himself in a situation like this, not even during that ill-fated battle seven hundred years ago, when...

  No! I don't have to think about it...I won't make the same mistake.

  He coughed forcefully to restore his calm and confident facade. As the leader, he could show concern to a certain extent, preventing it from turning into weakness.

  "My trusted companions! I believe something dark has come to our world. The voice has spoken again..."

  "I sensed it too. Maybe it will bring some good this time?"

  “I rule that out, Silver.”

  Gold paused. Many evil presences had been helpful in the past, bringing about positive outcomes for their world- even after bloody wars, so Silver's idea wasn't entirely wrong. But this time, he was certain that whatever had arrived couldn't be defined as good.

  "I sense that his alignment is evil, something that can only lead to the destruction of our world. That is why I have called upon you, my trusted companions! I know you have retired, but I ask you to return to action once more, to defend this world, if only for one last time..."

  Gold's words pierced the hearts of those present, especially Beetlhop, who stepped forward further, standing next to Red, as if to symbolize the support he wanted to give his leader.

  "Gold, I'm with you! If there's a battle to be fought, you can count on Beelthop!"

  "I'm glad my friend. Are all you guys in?"

  "We can't back out now, can we, Silver?"

  "Yes, Platinum! I agree!"

  "You already know my answer, Gold!"

  After Red reaffirmed his choice, Beetlhop turned back to the golden armor, showing interest in the obvious scuff marks and severe damage. He was the only one brave enough to ask what had happened, and whether the repairs were the result of a fight that had heightened Gold's suspicions about the evilness of whatever the voice had summoned.

  "What damaged your armor like that? It's almost as hard as mine, and I specialize in alternating offense and defense."

  As he thought about his answer, Gold panicked again at the memory of his confrontation with the girl called Almodea, but he managed to keep his emotions in check and maintain an authoritative tone. He couldn't let himself appear weak.

  "It was an unknown dragonoid, and she turned out to be an extremely powerful foe—the strongest and most terrifying I've ever faced! Her name should be Almodea Fearterror, if I understood correctly."

  Even though the armor covered him completely, Beetlhop's surprise at those words could be seen.

  "A-A dragonkin? Is there a half-dragon that strong that can match even you?"

  The beetle stammered, utterly confused. It was unthinkable to him that a dragonkin could have stood up to Gold, capable of defeating even Ancient Dragons, considered among the most fearsome of their kind.

  "We don't know if she was a dragonoid, actually..."

  Red commented, entering the conversation between the two with a bang.

  "What do you mean?"

  “I was also present at the fight and, before being teleported to a random point in the Bashad Federation, I used Dragon Obliterator on her, but it had almost no effect.”

  “The point?”

  “The point is, it should have hurt her like hell, being a spell extremely effective on dragons!”

  "That's exactly what made me doubt that she was a dragon. Her energy was too corrupted, more like the one of a demon."

  Gold finished in place of Red, remaining seated on his throne.

  "Wait, a demon? Are we sure of it? If so, it would be on par with one of the Twelve Archdemons, the sworn enemies of the Theocracy...along with us, of course."

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  Silver's question drew all eyes to him. While it was common knowledge that only two of the Twelve Archdemons were actually demons, the title itself was usually used to refer to extremely powerful beings. Similarly, humans called those considered the pinnacle of their race Heroes. In the popular mind, demons were evil and mysterious beings, considered very dangerous at any stage of their evolution. For this very reason, people began calling “Demon” even those who weren't actually demons themselves.

  "Wait a minute, let’s all calm down...What if she really is a dragonoid? If I remember correctly, there is one among the Archdemons. She is the daughter of an Ancient Dragon; one of her level could easily resist Red 's Dragon Obliterator."

  Platinum spoke up. Those present knew exactly who she was referring to: Lasty Nava, the princess of the Dragon State. It was said she was the youngest of three sisters, the other two illegitimate, but that wasn't reliable news.

  "Perhaps, but she wouldn't have been able to hold her own against Red and me together with the same ease. Besides, why use a false name? I believe that Almodea is one of the beings summoned here by the voice of the universe."

  Gold replied coldly, so as to leave no further doubt. Little was known about Nava, but it was certain that she was not the most brilliant strategist. Her lands were ruled by her parents, and she had joined the Twelve Archdemons for unknown reasons. Furthermore, the Draconic Kingdom had no reason to attack the Nexia Empire, nor to pick a fight with Gold. The possibility that Almodea and Lasty Nava were the same person- as Platinum suggested- was highly unlikely.

  "I'm 100% sure she was a demon. The question we should ask ourselves, though, is who gave her a name..."

  Everyone fell silent to reason. Demons were powerful creatures, but they had limitations in the mortal world. The fact that this mysterious demoness- or dragonkin, whatever she was- could display such strength even when theoretically weakened by Gold's Divine Magic was disconcerting.

  "If so, she could be a Primordial. That would explain her strength..."

  Beetlhop’s comment was met with support from the other knights—it was the only explanation they could come up with. Any one of the Ten Primordials, especially the three most powerful, could easily hold their own against Red and Gold.

  "So, what should we do, Gold?"

  Silver's question broke through the mutterings of agreement. None of the knights present could answer the question with certainty, and so they all turned to their leader, hoping to hear some pearls of wisdom.

  "For now, we're staying in the shadows. We don't know if this demoness has any allies other than that giant woman who can teleport people away. Besides, we have to be careful of the Theocracy..."

  "Yes! Just because there's a greater evil, we can't forget the lesser one! Reia is at war with the Dark Elf King, and we can't fool ourselves into thinking it'll stop there. It would have attacked the Elven Kingdom too, if they'd found them..."

  The elven race was divided into two great families: light elves and dark elves. Originally, they were a single faction, but after a long war of succession, the kingdom split in two, with the light elves hiding somewhere unknown thanks to the magic of the magical tree Yggdrasill. The dark elves, however, remained in the original kingdom, which had been at war with the Theocracy of Reia for several decades.

  "You're right, Red. We can't act directly without assessing the opposing force, but we must still honor our vow—to defend this world from anyone who would destroy it!"

  Beetlhop's voice boomed across the room, quickly gathering support.

  "Then I say let's stand up again, my trusted companions! We won't make any more mistakes!"

  Gold's words galvanized the knights, who raised their arms in the air, ready for action. They crossed their weapons, ready to fight one last time to defend their world. They were the only ones who could do so without intending to dominate it.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  "Lift your heads up."

  Almodeus thundered, sitting in his chair and observing his subordinates. Everyone was present except the members of the Terror Trio, who were staying on their designated floors. They would be summoned later. Also, absent was Almodea, still in her room resting with her succubi.

  "The conquest of the Dark Jade Forest is upon us!"

  The demon began proudly, waving his right fist as if it were a flag.

  “This will be the first military action we will undertake in this world, so I expect maximum commitment!”

  "Yes!"

  They all responded in unison to the solemn words of the absolute ruler. Some were excited, others anxious for their first mission in this unknown world. Rumors were circulating that Almodeus intended to move against the forest, but the motives behind this move were yet to be explained.

  "Absolute Lord, how do you intend to proceed?"

  Sergio asked, already fantasizing about the amazing stratagem he assumed their omniscient master had concocted. In reality, Almodeus had devised a simple plan of action that even a child could have thought of. Given the limited information he had, it hadn't been possible for him to devise anything more complex.

  I'm hoping someone has some suggestions. My idea is simple, so it can be improved.

  "In a week, we will send emissaries to every demi-human village in the forest. They must carry a clear and precise message: submission or death!"

  Almodeus's words surprised everyone present, except Shockwave- for predictable reasons. Sergio initially believed this idea was too simplistic and that their master had other hidden agendas, which their mind was not yet capable of comprehending. Despite these doubts, the drone remained silent, not wanting to disrespect his master.

  "Oh, yes! It will be my honor to subdue every tribe in your name, my lord!"

  Hardshell roared, full of grit.

  And now who's going to tell him?

  Almodeus raised his hand to his forehead. He had bad news for his subordinate.

  "Hardshell...You are not among the emissaries I have chosen."

  "What!?"

  The drone's enthusiasm shattered into a thousand pieces.

  "W-Why? My Lord, please! Give me—"

  "Silence, Hardshell! Lord Almodeus has spoken! He knows, we do not! Your demands are an insult to our lord!"

  "Eh? No! I didn't mean to prevail..."

  Hardshell had fallen to his knees, begging his master to let him do his thing, but Morello's harsh words sent him into a panic. In their eyes, if Almodeus had earmarked Hardshell for the messenger job, it was for good reason. They understood the warrior's disappointment, but couldn't justify such irreverent behavior, like asking their master to reconsider his choice.

  "Calm down! I didn't rule out Hardshell for some trivial reason. I just thought it more appropriate to send other subjects, equipped with immunity to mind control to avoid problems should we encounter the opponents Almodea faced."

  The demon's solemn words calmed the spirits of his subordinates. Above all, they allayed Hardshell's panic, who rose to his feet and began to listen to his master's reasoning. For his part, Almodeus had chosen the various emissaries through a process of elimination, first eliminating the less diplomatic and more violent subordinates, like Hardshell or Nikusa. Extermination was an option, and would have yielded valuable corpses for the spawning of decent-level undead, but having several demi humans native to that world under control could be an advantage in its own right.

  "Now, if everything is clear, I would like to move on to the emissaries identities..."

  After receiving only signs of approval, Almodeus took a deep breath, ready to announce the messengers who would carry his words to the various tribes of the forest.

  "The emissaries will be: Almodea, Shaco and Hirashi."

  He declared aloud.

  “Almodea will handle the Oni, Shaco the orcs, and Hirashi the lizardmen. Any questions?”

  He was reluctant to send his daughter on a mission after what had happened, but he knew full well that the girl would raise a fuss if she were left out. Hirashi and Almodea had been chosen to give them experience on the field, especially the latter. They needed to learn to make their way with words, and not just by killing everyone in their path. This was especially true for Almodea. He also had another reason for sending his daughter despite her recent ups and downs. The girl was quite discouraged over her failure, so Almodeus hoped that a successful mission would lift her spirits.

  "Hem...just a question, my lord."

  "Tell me, Sergio. What's bothering you?"

  "Who will go to the goblins? They're in the Dark Jade too."

  Almodeus nodded at that question, but he already had an answer ready.

  "I'll go! I'll personally take care of subduing the Goblins. Let's just say I've reserved this little fun for myself."

  Almodeus's words made it seem as if the choice had been made purely for entertainment purposes, but in reality the demon's reasoning was slightly more complex. He had deliberately chosen for himself the easiest target, the goblins, so that Hirashi and Almodea would be left with the more complex ones, forcing them to put in a minimum of effort. From the limited information he had received from his spies sent into the forest, he had deduced that those least inclined to submission would be the lizardmen. The Oni could be reasoned with, while the goblins would be extremely easy prey. However, there was no news of the orcs—they seemed almost as if they had disappeared from the radar—for that reason he had decided to entrust their subjugation to Shaco.

  That damn clown...He's locked himself in his own floor and I'll have to warn him personally.

  After the Ambessa incident, Shaco had returned to the seventeenth floor of Fear Tower, his domain, and hadn't come out since. He was probably planning some kind of prank.

  Normally, Almodeus would never have entrusted him with such a mission. Shaco was certainly not a reliable diplomat, but he was the only one available. Nocturn was busy on a mission in Orwell's Sacred Kingdom, while Anxy was too anxious to send her alone and would have refused the assignment—Almodeus couldn't bring himself to force that poor woman.

  "Any other questions?"

  "Yes, I have! If I may ask, what do we do with the trolls? After all, there is a small mountain range in the Dark Jade territories inhabited by mountain trolls."

  Almodeus found Cortex's question very coherent. It was natural to wonder why the trolls had been exempted from the conquest.

  "The answer is simple, Cortex. We are conquering the Forest to prevent monsters from invading us in the future, blowing our cover up. The trolls are the furthest from us; it would be pointless to send forces to exterminate them."

  In his speech, Almodeus had implied that any interaction with the trolls would lead to battle—they were known to be stupid and senseless creatures. They would never submit to opponents they perceived as weaker than themselves. That said, if the trolls were hostile, they would be reciprocated with the same kind of hostility.

  "If there are no further questions, I would begin preparations..."

  The demon, receiving only a few approvals, cleared his throat and went on to explain how they should proceed. The initiative would take place in a week, but there were still many details to discuss, such as what to do if one of the tribes was unwilling to cooperate and what rewards to give to those who bowed their heads in fear and reverence.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  As night fell, the Dark Jade Forest slept peacefully, unaware of the impending tsunami that would soon engulf it.

  While everyone was resting, monsters and beasts alike, two figures met in secret near a tree marked with an X on its hollow trunk. They were both men: the first was tall and slender, dressed in a red jester's robe and a smiling mask that covered his face, leaving only his left eye visible through a small opening; the second man was slightly shorter, dressed in elegant robes and carrying a walking stick in his right hand. He also wore a mask, though it had a pointed beak on the front, making him resemble a plague doctor.

  When the two met, they greeted each other respectfully. The tall one spoke first:

  “Master Gerud! What a joy to see you! How's our plan going?”

  "All right, Laplace! He 'll be very happy with how we're manipulating the Troll King! We'll soon have what He wants!"

  The jester laughed at those words, but maintained a subservient tone and posture. It seemed as if he was the lower-ranking of the two. Despite this, the other still seemed to show him a great deal of respect.

  “And the dryads? Did they notice anything?”

  “Not yet, dear Gerud. But let's keep our guard up! And how's it going with the Sand Crocodile?”

  “Not good, I need more time. I'm sure He will understand...”

  “Let's hope so! I know your boss, and he's not exactly a friendly guy when he's angry.”

  "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. The seeds are all planted! If things go according to plan, this place will be the scene of a great revolution! He will fill us with fame and glory!"

  "Hahaha! I'm glad, dear Gerud! I can't wait to report back! Speaking of which, do you need anything else from your boss?"

  "Not yet! Everything is going perfectly! Soon the entire Dark Jade Forest will be his!"

  "Chaos will reign! And from chaos, peace and fun will arise!"

  The jester's laughter far outshone Gerud's, but both voices faded into the glorious silence of the night. Once again, the forest slept soundly, but for how long?