Chapter 338: The Strange Demon Clan
As expected of the world's most skilled spatial magic master, Kurtz's teleportation magic was precise and efficient. After a brief moment of dizziness, Flamme found herself on a plain.
Judging by the surrounding landscape and the temperature, she had arrived in the northern region.
Without hesitation, she cast a flight spell and flew into the air. Looking around, the earth still bore the marks of war, with many scorched lands visible, but the large-scale battles had disappeared. Only scattered battle echoes remained in the far distance.
Just as Teacher Kurtz had said, the war in the North was indeed nearing its end.
Without hesitation, Flamme sensed the location marker Olivia had sent her via a secret method, then transformed into a streak of light and sped toward the indicated spot.
Before long, she landed in front of a seemingly unremarkable cave. Faint traces of magic remained at the entrance, suggesting it had been treated to isolate the interior from the outside world.
Upon entering the cave, she found it brighter than she had imagined, clearly due to someone casting a simple lighting spell.
In the distance, she saw Olivia's signature pure white wings. The Skywing Clan elder stood there quietly, and not far from her sat a petite figure.
Flamme's gaze swept quickly across the entire cave, but she couldn't find any trace of Carlo. She walked quickly to Olivia's side and asked in a low voice, "Senior Olivia, Carlo... where is he?"
Olivia turned her head and shook it. "He's already gone. After I found him and had a brief encounter with him, he left alone, leaving only this demon behind."
Olivia had already given Carlo the magical runes that Kurtz had entrusted to her.
With these runes, Carlo would be able to use the life-absorbing magic more effectively, but he would focus his attacks on the demons and wouldn't target humans.
As for what Carlo would become a thousand years from now, that was another matter. After all, he wasn't Kurtz. If he wanted immortality, he had to pay a price.
Flamme's lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but then stopped.
She wanted to ask which direction Carlo had gone or what his possible destination might be, but considering Professor Kurtz's attitude, she swallowed her words.
She understood that her primary task was to fulfill her teacher's request and bring back that strange demon. As for Carlo, she vaguely guessed that her teacher might have other plans, but she wasn't sure what they were.
After temporarily suppressing her thoughts about Carlo, Flamme finally focused all her attention on the objective of this mission.
It was a little girl, about seven or eight years old, wearing slightly oversized, coarse-cloth clothes and sitting quietly on a rock. She had beautiful short black hair, fair skin, and delicate features like a doll. However, what was most striking were the two small but distinct jet-black horns on either side of her forehead, clearly indicating her identity as a demon.
If it weren't for those prominent horns, anyone who saw such a cute little face would mistake her for a lost human toddler.
However, Flamme was not too surprised by this. It was not uncommon for demons to occasionally appear who looked almost exactly like humans and were incredibly handsome or beautiful.
What truly shocked Flamme was not the girl's harmless appearance, but the aura emanating from her.
In her perception, a power completely at odds with the nature of demons was continuously emanating from the little girl, a divine aura.
The sensation was so distinct that Flamme's heart skipped a beat the moment she sensed it. It felt wrong. Fundamentally wrong.
She glanced at Olivia beside her, subconsciously confirming that although this divine aura was equally pure, it was markedly different from Olivia's divine power, which stemmed from the Skywing Clan's faith and essence of life.
This was not something that had been acquired or imitated. Instead, it was something that was innate, or rather, something that had seeped out from the very source of the girl's existence.
"How is this possible?" Flamme exclaimed inwardly.
How could a demon possibly exude such a strong aura of holiness? This was completely illogical.
At that moment, she finally understood why Teacher Kurtz had called this demon strange and why he had specifically instructed that she be brought back safely. The girl might hold deeper secrets about the demon race, and even touch on the formula for its life essence that Master Kurtz mentioned.
The little demon girl, or rather, Solis, seemed to sense Flamme's gaze and looked up at her. Her expression didn't shift. Indifferent, devoid of curiosity, fear, or hostility. Only an almost hollow calmness.
Demons are born without the ability to understand complex emotions. Their behavior is driven more by instinct.
Solis looked at the new woman who had appeared before her. In her perception, this woman was very powerful, no less so than the winged creature beside her.
This caused a slight sense of confusion in her small mind. Where had that human gone, the one who had stayed by her side ever since she had gained consciousness, constantly drawing life force from her? Did he no longer need her?
This feeling of abandonment, for demons who cannot comprehend emotions, was merely a logical confusion arising from a change in patterns.
Unable to contain her questions any longer, Flamme turned to Olivia and inquired, "Senior Olivia, what exactly is going on? Do you know the origins of this demon? And what about that divine aura emanating from her?"
Olivia shook her head. "I don't know. When I discovered Carlo's trail and came here, I found him with this demon. According to him, he found her in the deepest part of a vast underground labyrinth."
"Carlo had said she possessed an immense life force, and it was by absorbing the life energy emanating from her that he was finally able to perfect the magic that could absorb demons' life force. Then, he had named this demon Solis."
Upon hearing her name called, Solis instinctively looked up at the two people in front of her. A flicker of recognition, nothing more.
After listening to Olivia's account, Flamme's gaze returned to Solis, her thoughts becoming increasingly complex.
The labyrinth Carlo had mentioned was probably the one where he had fallen. Even Flamme hadn't expected that the labyrinth not only housed a terrifyingly powerful creature, but also held a demon at its deepest point.
Now, Carlo had used her to complete the magic, but had left her alone. Had he drained enough of her life force, or had he discovered other problems? Either way, the answer didn't matter now. This demon, Solis, had to be brought back.
[End of Chapter]