Into the fields of Summer - 117. Crisis

Chapter 116 – Crisis

As the surge of power that flooded me as I ascended into 4^th ascension started to dissipate, I continued to feel unnerved by the potential this newfound power within me. I took a deep breath and looked around, the Planes of Ascension is as beautiful as ever, the grass a kaleidoscope of colors I could not even begin to describe, the forest not far from where I was stood tall and majestic. The sweet melody of the wind and of the stars and the hum of the energy of the flow calmed my nerves. It never ceased to amaze me how such a beautiful place could exist. I took a moment to walk around and discover more about this dimension, but my memory fails me as I try to grasp and create a mental map of the place. It’s as if the place is ever changing and does not have a permanent form.

I gave up on my attempt to map the place out, I just took the beauty and serenity of the dimension. While strolled along the lush greenery, I recalled how an unknown entity helped me with my ascension. I owe great thanks to whomever this being is. I am not sure I would have figured out the 4^th key on my own. I expanded my aura to search for this unknown higher being, but my powers could only sense that I was alone. I sighed in disappointment, but I knew the day will come that I will be able to give my thanks to my patron amongst the higher beings. I tried calling upon the emissaries of the flow, hoping I’d receive some guidance but there was no response.

The flow of time in the Planes of Ascension is hard to describe, one could spend an hour here but you’ll never know how long it has truly passed until you return to wherever you came from. It was almost sunrise when I returned to Greensburg. I was not tired, contrary to that, I felt energized, but I knew I had to rest for a long day ahead.

I had a restful and dreamless sleep and it was the soft knocking of Etalos that nudged me from my slumber. “Yes?” I asked with a yawn.

“Chris, it’s lunch time,” Etalos replied.

“I’ll be right down,” I replied as I stretched my body and prepared for the day.

Everyone has already started to eat when I entered the dining room.

“Mornin’, sleepy head,” Dad teased.

“I had a long night,” I tersely replied.

“Had that meeting with the VHC and WCC last night eh?” Dad asked.

“Yeah…” I replied as I took my seat. Then with a satisfied, borderline smug look on my face, I added, “I ascended again.”

Silence.

“Say what now?” Dad nearly choked as it dawned on him that I wasn’t kidding.

“Chris, are you serious?” Etalos added.

“Yes,” I smiled at them.

“And you decided to say it to us, just now?” Etalos squeaked in surprise. Kalron and Nomir sat silent as they processed the news.

“How?” Dad further inquired.

“It’s a long story…” I replied. Then for the next 15 minutes or so, I recounted the events that led to my ascension.

“Goodness, this is just amazing,” Kalron whispered in shock.

“I can’t believe it myself,” I added.

“How do you feel?” Dad asked.

“When I unlocked the next key, I felt a surge of power rush through my body, but I feel normal now, I’m a bit jumpy and tingly but nothing else.”

“Do you think you should get tested again?” Nomir suggested.

“I think you’re right,” I replied as I cupped my chin and mulled things over. I definitely needed to be tested and scanned again. I didn’t like the prospect of being stuck in that glass tube but I knew it had to be done. The Master Mage and Sarad will surely have some use for the data they will uncover. “I’ll go for a scan later. Etalos can you make the necessary arrangements with the High Mage and Master Healer?”

“Yes, of course. Consider it done.”

--

Early afternoon, I joined Kalron in his office to monitor the events in Libya, Yemen, and India. Several monitors showed news coverage of the civil war in Libya and Yemen. Bits of news about the Blood Pox came as well. Aside from the typical information you’d expect from the news channels, reports from Yal and Kalron’s agents trickled through the secured elvish communications network.

“This doesn’t look good,” I thought out loud as I processed the information in front of us.

“You can say that again,” Kalron said with an exasperated sigh. He then added, “The situation is deteriorating by the minute and there isn’t much we could do right now. There’s so much we don’t know it would be unwise to make a move at this point.”

“I agree, but it can’t be helped that we’re all getting frustrated with all of this.” I retorted.

“Turkish and Egyptian troops have engaged each other in Libya, it’s an undeclared war at this point.” Kalron said as we continued to watch the news.

“They are both fighting for influence in Libya, they have both funded opposing forces in the civil war. War between Saudi Arabia and Iran isn’t far off as well, the Saudi’s have continued to funnel troops across the border into Yemen and the Iranians aren’t happy about it.”

“All we know is that the demons instigated this but we don’t exactly know how. We have to dig further, we’ve sent drones into the area and have hacked into the communication servers of the countries involved. We have also intensified the focus of the magic and aura scanners, we should have more detailed results in a few hours.” Kalron added.

“This is such a different approach compared to the first two demons, it’s as if whoever is behind this is making the humans do most of the damage.” I said while thinking of the things that have happened so far.

“Exactly, same thoughts.” Kalron agreed.

“How is the situation with the new virus, Blood Pox?” I asked.

“It’s still mainly concentrated in India. The WHO investigation has push India to publish statistics. An hour ago they announced 12,000 cases so far, mostly centered in Chennai and the State of Tamil Nadu. Yesterday, the first case outside of India was recorded in Dubai but now it appears it has spread to Europe and Southeast Asia, cases in London, Amsterdam, and Bangkok have now been recorded.” Kalron explained, his face was grim and somber. It was clear Kalron was deeply troubled with how things could continue to worsen, we are in the early stages of this new challenge after all.

While Kalron continued to monitor the situation. I went back to my study to learn new magic spells. I spent an hour honing new techniques and skills. At this point, I could use any additional improvement in my abilities. I just finished studying several new spells when Etalos informed me that I had a video call from Canada’s Triton Command.

“It’s Sarah Marois, from the Triton Command. I believe the Canadian Prime Minister has already made a decision regarding the alliance,” Etalos said.

“Please patch her through,” I replied.

“Good afternoon, Your Highness,” Sarah greeted as the video feed connected.

“Good afternoon, as well. I believe you have some good news?” I asked with a smile.

“Definitely, I am to inform you, that an hour ago our Prime Minister has approved Canada’s entry into the alliance with the WCC, VHC, and the Elvish Realm,” she proudly replied. Then she added, “Together with Stephen Dane, my co-chair of Triton Command, we will be the key liaison officers to the alliance.”

“This is wonderful news. Have the VHC and WCC been informed as well?”

“Not yet, after this call, I will reach out to Councilors Luigi Bonafede and Juan Montero of the Crescent Council, then I will inform Councilor Reza Hatami of the Vampire High Council.”

“I am happy that your government has decided to join us,” I said.

“I look forward to working with you, your highness, we are in the middle of difficult times but with the alliance, I am sure we will overcome this.”

“I hope that is the case,” I tersely replied. I paused then added, “Most likely, from here onwards, we’ll be seeing you and Mr. Dane in our meetings.”

“We are very much excited to be a part of this coalition.”

After my call with Sarah, I decided to send a text message to Victor and August informing them of Canada’s entry into alliance. As expected, both of them were happy that the Canadians have joined us. This will certainly make working with the humans easier. Now we were just waiting for the Europeans and the Americans to decide. I also hope that our friends in the VHC and WCC are making headway in reaching out to other countries. From what I’ve discussed with Luca, Victor’s sire that VHC Councilor Simon Porter of Australia is already in talks with his contacts in the Australian Government while Councilors Liu Sen and Toshimitsu Mori are dealing with their Chinese and Japanese counterparts respectively. August has confided in me that Luigi and Juan, the co-leaders of the WCC, have both asked WCC Councilors Gerard Girardin and Marek Kaminski to convince the Europeans to approve the EU’s participation in the alliance as soon as possible.

I sighed as the thought of how complicated things are about to get. Dealing with the VHC and WCC has been smoother than expected due to my relationship with Victor, Luca, Reza, Konrad and August but I don’t have anything to work with regarding the countries involved. I guess, this is the part where I’ll have to leverage our relationship with the vampires and werewolves to bring the humans closer to the elves.

After a light snack in the afternoon, I checked with Etalos with how things were back in the realm.

“News of the new demon threat here on earth has made it back to the public. The King and Queen are both working hard to assure the citizens that the realm is safe.”

“And what of the barrier?” I asked.

“No leaks of negative energy have been reported,” Etalos replied.

“That’s good, we can’t afford to have citizens fall prey to the sickness brought upon by the malignant energy. If it takes hold in the population, it would certainly cause panic.”

“Hopefully it doesn’t come to that, but the barrier is stronger than ever before. To my understanding, it’s not at any significant strain as of the moment.” Etalos said as he looked over some of his notes. The he added, “I’ve made arrangements for your scan. Don’t forget to go the scanning facility in 3 hours.”

“Thank you Etalos. I don’t know what I’ll do without you.” I sincerely said.

“You’re welcome Chris, working for you is a pleasure. The pay is not bad too,” he laughed as he said that quip about his generous salary.

--

After dinner, I immediately went to the palace for my scan. Uncle Selvenus, The High Mage, and Master Healer were already in the room waiting for me.

“I heard you just ascended again,” My uncle proudly said as he hugged me.

“I guess, that’s the case.” I shyly replied.

“Father and Rehanmir couldn’t join today, they are currently visiting the Royal and Civil Guards.”

“It’s okay, I understand. Things are getting worse back on Earth, I can only assume all of you are busy.”

“You can say that again,” my uncle chuckled as he patted my back.

“We have made several adjustments to the scanner, we have added new crystals in the processor,” Zenfar explained as he pointed at various parts of the glass tube.

“Its scanning capability should be double by now. It should give us a more detailed analysis of your aura and energy pool,” Sarad added.

“Let’s see how things are now,” Zenfar said as he helped me into the scanner.

Inside the glass tube, as Zenfar and Sarad turned on the machine, and I felt the hum and tingle of energy connect with my aura. My uncle looked on as the two experts observed and analyzed the preliminary results. Zenfar and Sarad remained stoic as the data poured in.

The scan ended after 20 minutes. I was with my uncle as the two experts exchanged whispers and nods on each other while they interpreted the results. I didn’t know what to expect but somehow I was anxious and nervous.

“Don’t worry, it will be alright.” My uncle softly squeezed my shoulders as he assured me when he noticed my worried glances on the machine and the two older elves.

Zenfar cleared his throat, and began to explain, “Well… what can I say, I don’t even know where to begin. The scanner barely held on, if you were only a bit stronger Chris, I am sure the machine would have failed.”

“Uh… uhm that’s a good thing right?” I asked.

“Is anything wrong?” My uncle queried.

“No, nothing is wrong,” Sarad assured us. He paused then continued, “Actually, the results are amazing, and unbelievable actually, Chris’ energy readings are off the charts. His energy pool increased by 16.3% compared to his previous scan.”

“16.3% doesn’t sound much,” I retorted.

“Oh! Your Highness! You forget how high your baseline already is, 10% of your previous baseline is already equivalent to a Platinum, so to put it bluntly you’ve gained more than a Platinum’s worth of energy,” Zenfar explained, the excitement clear in his voice.

“That’s simply remarkable,” My uncle said as he softly rubbed my back. He gave me a wink, then added, “I’m proud of you Chris.”

“What else did you find out?” I asked.

“With the upgrades in the machine, we were also able to analyze your aptitude in the various elements and overall energy spell casting,” Sarad replied.

“So…” I asked, waiting for them to further explain the results.

“Well, Chris, as you have demonstrated in your sparring sessions, you’re best with energy spells, your capacity for raw energy manipulation is outstanding. I have never seen the likes of it, no one comes close with your ability to control raw energy. Then as expected you are best with Fire and Water based spells followed by Earth. What is even more surprising despite, just learning Air Magic, you’ve already crossed the threshold of low level platinum air mages,” Zenfar explained.

“These are the preliminary results, we have tons more data points to sift through, we will send you the detailed report once we get this done,” Sarad said as he scrolled through the all glass tablet he had.

“Thank you,” I replied as I breathed a sigh of relief.

“See… that wasn’t that bad at all,” my uncle quipped as we walked back to the residential palace.

“You’re right uncle, thanks for being there with me. I can be such a nervous wreck sometimes.”

“No worries, your father has indeed mentioned that to me. He says you tend to worry too much even before you had all these powers, he once said that even before your soccer games you’d sometimes worry and overthink things and he’d have to snap you out of it,” My uncle said as he smiled at me.

“Oh yeah, I do get over my head sometimes. Speaking of which, I miss playing soccer. Do elves play it?”

My uncle scratched his chin, paused for a moment, then replied, “A modified version of it, but yeah, Here it’s not called soccer or football. We call it Skadras, I can show you how we play it here one of these days.”

“That would be great!” I beamed at my uncle.

“I’m not sure, human soccer would be enough for you at this point. You’d totally crush any opponent of yours.”

“I’m not sure about that,” I replied.

“Uh huh…” My uncle said with an appraising look.

--

Back in Greensburg, I checked with Kalron how things have been while I was gone.

“Chris, I’m not sure if I have any good news for you,” He grimly stated.

“What’s the matter?”

“The distortion in the magical fields have expanded, here take a look.”

Kalron then zoomed in the areas around Tobruk, Ibb, and Chennai. The distortion in the magical fields have indeed enlarged.

“The shapes are irregular,” I noted.

“Yeah, it’s not like the circular distortion with Azarahel in Fort Smith. The one in Tobruk is highly irregular, it’s as if it’s hugging the coast. It’s now roughly 20 kilometers long and 8 kilometers in width. The one in Ibb is a slightly distorted triangle while the one in Chennai is like a 6 pointed star. This doesn’t make sense. Magical theory tells us the most stable distortion should be circular.”

“Any demon bubble?” I inquired.

“No, we haven’t observed those yet.”

“What’s the situation on the ground?”

“Clashes have increased all over Libya but Tobruk seems to be where most of the casualties are. Multiple militias and factions continue to fight for control but the Turkish and Egyptians are the most powerful in the area. Both countries have deployed their armies, air forces and navies to Libya. Since we noted the distortion; 5,000 have already died and hundreds of thousands have been displaced.”

“And the situation in Yemen?”

“The Saudis continue to send troops across the border to take control of Yemen. It’s basically a Saudi invasion of Yemen now. What’s intriguing though is that it appears casualties in the well-armed military of Saudi Arabia is 3.3x higher than what our calculations predicted. It appears they’re taking heavier losses than anticipated.”

“And the situation in India?”

“The virus continues to spread, deaths continue to climb. Blood Pox has spread to other major cities in the country. Several countries have announced travel bans on India too.”

I groaned in frustration, then asked “what now?”

“The alliance build up continues, the Canadians are expected to send soldiers to our joint training facilities within the day.”

“We will need the Europeans should we need to intervene in Libya and Yemen. That is if we are unable to convince the Turkish, Egyptians, and Saudis to pull back.”

“But to these countries they are merely fighting fellow humans and not demons,” Kalron replied.

“We’ll have to somehow explain to them that they are being manipulated into this,” I retorted as I swept back my hair in exasperation. Then I added, “We’ll need VHC and WCC assistance on that.”

Late into the evening, we had a meeting with the VHC, WCC, and the Canadians. We spent 2 hours discussing the situation. The Canadians promised to help in convincing the Europeans to join the alliance. Stephen Dane informed us that Canada, UK, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States are already working behind the scenes to stop any further escalation in Libya and Yemen. With or without the demon threat, the world powers are already working to stop open conflict as they all have shared interest in the security and stability of the region.

The situation in India was also heavily discussed. Norfolk Pharma, the vampire-werewolf joint pharmaceutical company already obtained a sample of the virus and has begun research on a cure. We also asked for a sample of the virus, with the advanced technology of the realm, we were sure that we had something to contribute in studying the virus.

The meeting was stressful but productive. What kept on bothering me was that no demons have appeared. It’s going to be hard to convince other countries and world leaders that the conflicts and this new virus is much more than just another war and epidemic.

--

After the meeting, I went to the realm for a conference with senior elvish government and military officers. Uncle Rehanmir joined me in dealing with several ministers and high ranking members of Akros, Royal Guard and Civil Guard. We were briefed with the realm’s security situation, and the plan of action for a possible large scale intervention back on earth. So far 5,000 elves have crossed the portals and are in the alliance’s joint training facilities. Apparently, we the shortage in protective gems against the negative energy on earth, only 7,000 elvish troops can be deployed on Earth.

Revanjo, a general in the Royal Guard expressed his concern that the elves were taking most of the burden of the situation on Earth.

“Your Highness, with all due respect, I believe the troops and the public would not take it lightly if the elves do most of the work. We have already spilled enough blood as it is. This battle is not only ours but theirs as well,” Revanjo seriously said.

“I understand your concern general. I would like to assure you that as Ambassador, the Vampires, Werewolves, and Humans will equally contribute in this effort. However, I’d like you to understand that they need us, the vampires and werewolves are indeed strong and fast but have limited magical abilities, humans have technology and numbers but are even worse off magic-wise, they need us. Also remember, the threat back on Earth is not solely theirs but ours as well. If Earth falls it is highly likely the barrier will follow,” I said looking the middle aged general in the eye. I looked around the conference room and made it clear to all other senior government and military officers that this fight was ours too and that their support was not only appreciated but rather expected and demanded as well.

After the meeting, I was in my uncle’s study as we discussed other matters of the realm.

“Where’s Prince Havar in all of this?” I asked.

My uncle snorted, then replied, “Weirdly enough, he’s helping us rally the troops. It appears my father’s cousin is more than happy to have elvish troops back on Earth.”

“Why do I not like where this going?” I replied with raised eyebrows.

“I feel the same. He might be working with us, but I can’t help but assume his intentions are not the same as ours. I can imagine him using this situation to his advantage, either to further peddle elvish supremacy or to advocate greater elvish presence on Earth. We are the guardians of Earth in his eyes after all,” My uncle explained shaking his head in sheer frustration before sipping his tea.

I spent 30 minutes discussing military plans with my uncle before I returned home. I was fully drained by the time I got to my bedroom. I had a short video call with Victor who had a busy day as well before falling asleep.

--

“Chris! Chris! Wake up!” Kalron said as he barged into my room. The alarm was clear in his voice. Right behind Kalron was Etalos who had a grim look on his face.

“What is it?” I asked as I roused. My senses automatically kicked in as I knew they’d never enter my room just like that if it wasn’t an emergency. “Demons?” I asked further.

“It’s bad Chris,” Kalron replied as he pulled out his tablet and showed it to me. “Several minutes ago Turkey and Egypt launched airstrikes in Libya and we’re expecting thousands to be dead. Iran has also blockaded the Persian Gulf in retaliation for Saudi Arabia’s continued intervention in Yemen. The price of oil has already risen to $92 a barrel from $67. Governments are panicking and the markets are expected to crash by opening bell.”

“Shit. What do we do now?” I asked as I rubbed my forehead.

“That’s not all…” Kalron added.

“What else?” I asked.

“Here…” Kalron said as he switched the screen to a map showing that the demon distortion has not only enlarged but worsened in gravity as well. It appears the density of demonic energy in Tobruk, Ibb, and Chennai have doubled overnight.

“Has a demon bubble been observed?” I asked.

“No, but we’ve intercepted intel from troops on the ground that the air has shifted in these areas. They are having a hard time describing it but it appears the air is heavier. That’s not all, commanders from the various forces on the ground have noted that the troops under their command have become more mentally unstable in the past few hours.”

“Huh? Mentally unstable? What do you mean?” I inquired as I continued to scroll on the tablet.

“The details are a bit vague but from the communications we’ve tapped it appears that dozens of soldiers have become more violent and reluctant to follow orders. We can also assume that this is also affecting the rebels and civilians on the ground,” Kalron replied.

“Any progress with the Europeans?” I asked Etalos.

“We’re expecting news within a few hours. It’s highly likely they’ll join the alliance,” Etalos replied as he checked his phone for updates from his contacts. The mood in the room what that of frustration, panic, and gloom.

“Have the others been notified of this?” I asked Kalron.

“I’ve sent a copy of the information we have to my contacts in the WCC, VHC, and Canada,” Kalron tersely replied.

“This is not good at all. The general behind this working so differently from that of Yonthar and Azarahel.” I added.

“Chris, we’ve also uncovered something,” Kalron added.

“Yes?”

“Remember how the migrant crossings from North Africa to Europe have been down by 40% in the past few weeks? Refugee crossings from Yemen to Somalia have been down by 55% as well,” Kalron intoned.

“I do, isn’t that because sea crossings are more dangerous during winter?”

“Yes, that’s usually the case but we’ve received reports that human traffickers and entire batches of would be migrant have been kidnapped.”

“How could we miss this? I mean… how could the world not notice this?”

“Chris, the decline in sea crossings have been seen as good news by wealthier nations, they never bothered to look further as to why but now we have reason to assume that thousands if not tens of thousands have already been kidnapped by demons.”

“And demons need humans to create more demons…” I muttered while in deep thought. “The situation is worse than we thought, we have to act quickly. I’ll call an emergency meeting of the Alliance.”

Within 45 minutes, I was on screen with 4 Councilors from the VHC and 6 from WCC, and 2 representatives from Canada. Uncle Selvenus, Kalron, and Etalos joined me to represent the elves. We discussed the further deterioration of the situation and exchanged information. It was decided that more diplomatic pressure will be put on both Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to pull back from their interventions in Libya and Yemen respectively. We also settled to have a more aggressive approach towards controlling the rising epidemic from India. The alliance agreed to donate $250 million dollars to the WHO to handle research and curtailing the spread of Blood Pox. We also decided to offer the Indian government $150 million in exchange for more transparency and access to more details regarding the true extent of the situation in Chennai.

The emergency meeting of the alliance lasted for 2 and half hours and all I could say that it was truly a marathon of information exchange and deliberation. This new demon threat has certainly put everyone on edge as the threat is still working behind the scenes. It’s as if we’re grasping at smoke and only putting out fires as they appear. However, it was agreed that we did not have information to send our own troops on the ground. We found it too risky at this point. For all we know the demons could be coordinating all this chaos from thousands of miles away.

--

Victor joined me for lunch, he looked stressed and tired and I guess I looked the same. This crisis has certainly taken its toll on us. The mood over lunch was somber and it was clear we all didn’t have any appetite.

“I don’t know how people before dealt with demons thousands of years ago, this is testing our limits,” Victor said as he sipped his NuBlood.

“From what I understand, in the past, their attacks were far in between. At best they attacked villages and small towns. Sometimes they did attack minor kingdoms and reveled in the ensuing chaos but it appears the rise of modern civilization has given them much larger room to wreak havoc and spread mischief,” I replied as I recalled what gramps told me about his experiences with demons during his time.

“So the virus has spread to East Asia too huh?” Victor asked.

“Yes, new cases were reported in Tokyo, Taipei, and Hong Kong this morning,” I replied.

“That’s not all,” Kalron interjected.

“What?” Victor and I asked simultaneously.

Kalron showed us his phone and turned on the TV. He then proceeded to show us news that Blood Pox has reached Chicago and Los Angeles, “It’s here.” Kalron grimly replied.

--

After lunch, I decided to go to the Tower, hoping that I’d stumble upon spells or information that would help me. At this point, I knew I had to be much stronger. If the worst case scenario of there being 3 active demon generals is true our forces would be spread too thin, any added strength is welcome at this point. I found my way in the 16^th level of the tower and expanded my aura in case any particular book or scroll would respond. In the end I found myself with 4 books and 5 scrolls, all of which were written in ancient elvish. I called upon the Book of Songs and tapped into its power. As the sudden spike of magic vanished, I found myself understanding everything that’s written.

The books and scrolls contained information and spells on Soul Magic. One particular information I stumbled upon discussed soul resonance. It detailed how a person can connect to other beings using their essence through the flow. It was hard for me to understand but I think I got the gist of it. Basically, anyone that’s powerful enough can manipulate the flow to not only communicate but control anyone or anything that’s connected to the flow. What surprised me the most was when I realized every living thing is connected to the flow. It scared me how one can basically use the flow to impose their wills on others.

Then it hit me, this is basically how demon generals are manipulating the demons they’ve sired, the anamis from the infected vampires and werewolves, and the enhanced humans whose souls they’ve removed and replaced with demon taint. The distortion in the magical field is a manifestation of how the flow is being bent and altered by the demon generals.

As an idea came to mind, I closed my eyes and reached deep inside me. After a moment, I found the sealed essence of Yonthar and Azarahel and tapped into it.

“Look who decided to visit?” Yonthar spoke in my mind.

“What can we do for you dear prince?” Azarahel added as she taunted me with her menacing tone.

I ignored them and tapped into their souls. “What do you think you are doing?!” Yonthar growled as I continued to invade into their essence. The pushback from both demons was strong and I struggled to remain in control of my thoughts as their auras tried to claim those of mine.

“Our energies are incompatible, child!” Azarahel screamed as I felt her essence attempt to break free from the seal deep within me. I decided to pull back and restore the complete seal around the spirits of the two demons generals that dwelled inside me. I was out of breath the moment I opened my eyes again. I felt weak and slightly dizzy but it wasn’t as bad as I expected. As I regained my composure I noticed that my eyes were glowing purple and some streaks of purple covered my right arm. I checked if the seal remained intact. I was relieved when I verified that the demon generals are still secured inside my own pool of energy.

I did not get much from my interaction with Yonthar and Azarahel but I’m sure I’ll make further progress soon. I’ll have to be much more careful next time. I can’t afford to lose control and allow the demon taint within me to take over and control my consciousness.

After my brief interaction with the demon energy inside me, I decided to study more the text I had with me. Reading the scripts from the olden age of the elven realm was tedious and taxing but I knew I had to push through and learn as much as I can. I couldn’t finish all the books and scrolls in one sitting so I decided to bring them with me back home.

--

With books and scrolls in tow, I found myself back in my study. I wasn’t even home for more than 10 minutes when Etalos told me I had a call from Horst Roth of the European Union’s Centurion Force.

“Please patch him through,” I said to Etalos as I took my seat in front of the screen.

“Good afternoon, Your Highness,” Horst greeted.

“I could use some good news Mr. Roth,” I said as I smiled at the handsome German officer.

He gave me a playful smirk and then replied, “Good news is far in between these days but yes, I do have some welcome news for you, The EU Commission has approved our membership of the alliance. From here on forward I, together with Ms. Jacqueline Blanquer will be the representatives of the Centurion Force to the alliance.”

“I am happy to hear this Mr. Roth,” I replied. I steepled my hands then continued, “I guess we’ll be seeing more of each other then?”

“I think that is the case,” He replied.

“Have the WCC and VHC been notified?” I asked.

“We have sent notice to the WCC and VHC but I will personally reach out to Councilor Reza Hatami and Councilor Luigi Bonafede and Councilor Juan Montero.”

“Then I should not take more of your time then, I hope this alliance will work much to the advantage of both our communities Mr. Roth,” I replied with a small smile.

“I hope so as well.”

After my call with Mr. Roth, I decided to check with Kalron for further developments. My friend looked tired in his office as he coordinated the elvish intelligence effort. He was busy typing away in his laptop when I walked in on him.

“Oh Chris…” Kalron startled has he noticed me enter his office.

“Don’t mind me, I just wanted to know how things are.”

“Not good but not too bad, it appears the threat of economic sanctions have made the Turkish and Egyptians think twice about sending more troops to Libya but we’re still not sure if they’ll decide to completely withdraw their troops.”

“At least the situation is not escalating,” I commented.

“In Libya, yes, but the situation in Yemen and Saudi Arabia is different.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, already concerned that what Kalron had for me would not be good.

“The Saudis have refused to balk despite international pressure. From the communications we’ve intercepted, the Saudi Army will send 15,000 more troops to Yemen by tomorrow. In retaliation to Iran’s blockade of the Persian Gulf, it appears the Saudis are preparing airstrikes against Iranian military bases tonight.”

“Kalron… this is not good. Is the international community aware of this? A full blown war between Saudi Arabia and Iran will destabilize the entire region. Millions of lives are at risk.”

“From what I have gathered, the Americans are tacitly supportive of Saudi Arabia’s impending attack against Iran,” Kalron grimly replied. Then Kalron added, “It appears the US government will welcome any move from Saudi Arabia that will weaken Iran.”

“But but… if this continues…” I stuttered as the thought of a large scale conflict erupting in the Middle East.

“I know Chris,” Kalron replied as he shook his head in exasperation.

“We have to deal with the demons as soon as possible. The longer we wait the worse things are becoming. If we have to pull them out of hiding, we should do so.” I suggested. I hesitated for a moment then continued, “I’ll go back to realm, I think I have a plan, we have to force the hand of whoever is behind this.”

“What do you have in mind Chris?”

“I’ll let you know once I get the approval of the King and of the High Circle.”

“Wow… this sounds big,” Kalron muttered.

“It is, we have to make our move. We cannot wait any longer,” I replied before leaving Kalron.

--

I rushed to the palace and it’s good that Patri was already awake.

“Chris…” Patri smiled as he saw me, then noticing my agitated state, he asked, “What is it Chris?”

“Patri, we have to make a move. It will be too late if we don’t put pressure on the demons soon.”

“What is the matter? We already have troops on standby,” Patri replied.

“Yes, but the demons haven’t shown themselves yet. They’re still working in the shadows, manipulating countries into further conflict. I know we decided to wait for the demons to reveal themselves but If we let this go for any longer, we could have a major war in the Middle East soon.”

“What do you suggest?”

“We have to draw the demons out. Send them a message that we are ready to fight them. We need to make it clear to them that we’re out to get them. This chaos back on Earth couldn’t last any longer.” I paused then continued with a slightly softer voice, “Patri, if a large war breaks out back on Earth, do you think the barrier will hold? If millions die… and tens of millions more made refugees, don’t you think that will generate enough negative energy to put the realm’s protection under strain?”

Patri didn’t immediately reply and appeared to be deep in thought. He took a deep breath, then replied, “You are right. What do you have in mind?”

“Kalron noticed that the distortion in the magical fields have increased, so it appears the demons are preparing for their appearance but we can’t wait for that, by the time the reveal themselves the situation would already have worsened back on Earth. We have to force them to show themselves soon. We have to draw them out of hiding. I suggest that we attack first.”

“Huh? Chris, we don’t have enough information, we’ll be risking thousands of lives if we send our troops while knowing so little,” Patri replied.

“I know Patri, I’m not suggesting sending troops. Well, not yet anyway.”

“So… what’s your plan?”

“I can launch powerful Magnus Spells to Tobruk, Ibb, and Chennai. That should send a clear message to the demons that someone’s watching them and that it’s not just the humans that they have to deal with.”

Patri rubbed his chin, then rubbed his hands together. “I know you’re powerful Chris but those places are thousands of miles away from Greensburg. Can your spells reach them?”

“Yes, but I think I’ll have a better chance if I cast my spells from Rome. I can use the portal to get there.” I suggested.

“I see. I guess we don’t have any other choice. I’ll inform the High Circle and the Advisory Council of this decision. You go back to Greensburg and inform the alliance.”

“Thank you Patri,” I replied with a light bow then made my way back home.

Within the next hour I called for an emergency meeting with the Alliance and informed them of my plan. Some Councilors from the VHC and WCC raised concerns as they saw that my proposal will only further provoke the demons. Members of the EU delegation were also worried that any possible retaliation from the demons might lead to an attack against EU territory.

VHC Councilor Jeppe Theil spoke first after I explained my plan, “Your Highness, I understand where you are coming from but don’t you think this will incite a strong response from the demons? I don’t think our forces are ready for combat. We still need at least 48 hours before we have assembled enough forces for a possible ground attack from our end.”

WCC Councilor Simon Flanagan then added, “I agree with Councilor Theil, we’re not yet ready. If the demons decide to release a horde of demons and anami against us, we’ll be put in a very difficult situation.”

“I understand your concern, but we don’t have much time. As we speak, the situation is just getting worse, the more we wait, the stronger the demons are becoming. Remember, every human they get their hands on is fodder for their ranks. I agree, we’re not ready for troop deployment but I’m not asking for that. What I am asking is clearance for me to launch an attack against demon territory to force them to show themselves,” I replied.

“I’m worried that if we attack, we’re putting our member countries at risk. Italy and Malta aren’t that far from Libya,” Horst Roth added.

“If we provoke the demons, all we have to do is hold off any retaliation for the next 48 hours before our forces are ready,” I replied.

“I agree with Prince Christopher, we have allowed the demons free reign for so long. We don’t have time to wait for what their next move is. Libya is in chaos, Yemen is in turmoil, countries are in the brink of war, and we have a virus spreading all over the world. If you’re concerned with any retaliation from the demons once the prince launches his attacks, can you imagine how stronger the demon response will be in the next two days if we continue to wait and allow them to increase in strength and numbers?” August piped in as he supported my plan.

“I agree with Councilor August Smith and His Highness. I know we’re not yet ready but so are the demons. It's obvious they are not yet at full strength and I think it will be our undoing if we allow the demons to continue to grow in the shadows,” Reza added.

After intense deliberation, we agreed to move forward with my plan.

--

Back in the realm, Patri informed me that the High Circle and Advisory Council has consented to my proposal. It did not take long for me to find myself in a high speed train bound for the city of Majnar in the Southern Province. Uncle Rehanmir and Yal accompanied me for this operation.

“I wish we had time to visit my home province, but I guess we’ll have to do that next time,” Yal said to me as we looked at the countryside of the Southern Province. The landscape outside was beautiful, trees and shrubs of various colors. I could even tell that the types of plants in the Southern Province were different to the ones I’ve seen in the Northern Province, Western Province, and Katar. However I was so deep in thought that I failed to fully marvel at the beauty of the Southern countryside, maybe I’ll do that next time.

It took us almost an hour to get to the City of Majnar, 200 kilometers south of the Capital. When we arrived in the station, we were immediately whisked away to the portal by several members of the Civil Guard.

When we arrived in the portal facility, we did not waste time and immediately activated the portal. With a brief flash of light and a slight tingling sensation, we found ourselves in the elvish facility in Rome. The building had several Royal Guards and Akros members in pastel blue and gray uniforms walking around. Then I remembered that the portal in Rome is also being used to funnel our troops into Earth. Outside the facility, a car prepared by the EU’s Centurion Force was waiting for us. We were going to be escorted by agents of the Centurion Force to a naval base outside the City of Rome.

I have never been to Italy, in any other situation I would have taken my chance to look around but this was not the time for a vacation. I guess, I’ll just have to call in Luca’s offer of serving as my tour guide in Italy once all of this is over.

It took as an hour to get to the naval base where an Italian Frigate was waiting for us. 6 agents from the Centurion Force escorted me, my uncle, and Yal into the Italian Frigrate, Carlo Bergamini. The ship is fairly new, equipped with modern weapons, and is at least 44 meters long. Launching my Magnus Spells from land would have risked too much attention from the media and civilian population, so it was decided that I cast my Magnus Spell offshore.

The air was tense as the ship made its way to sea. Our escorts kept silent all throughout the journey while the naval officers we’ve bumped across tried to not draw any attention to themselves.

The ship took us 60 kilometers off the coast of Italy. When we were given the information that we were far enough from the coast, we made our way to the open deck in the forward deck of the ship. Our escorts from the Centurion Force kept their distance, I also noticed at least a dozen officers from the ship observe us.

“Are you ready?” Yal asked.

“Yes…” I replied.

I closed my eyes and expanded my aura. The surge of energy that I released immediately enclosed the entirety of the ship. With another deep breath, I reached out to the flow and sought for my targets. I searched for the demon presence in the flow for more than a minute and when I found where I was supposed to target direct my attacks, I opened my eyes. My uncle and Yal took a two or three steps back away from me as I started to cast a Magnus Spell. For these spells to reach the intended targets with enough force, the amount of energy I will be releasing will be stronger than the usual Magnus Spell.

With my two hands, I formed the core of the spell with an energy ball made of 12 spells. I encased them further with layer upon layer of spell. The air around me felt heavy as the spell continued to gain in strength. I could feel the air become heavier and the waves in the sea get stronger as my spell crossed the 35-spell threshold. I continued to add more spells into the ball of energy, at some point I had to draw upon the Ring of Eyaha to give me more strength to complete my 60-layered Magnus Spell.

Magnus Spells get progressively more difficult as more spells are involved. Only high level Platinums can even cast Magnus Spells that have 8 spells or more embedded in them. Casting a Magnus Spell up to 25 layers is almost second nature to me but any more than that takes more concentration, effort, and power.

Now, holding a bright orb of energy the size of a soccer ball, my hands barely contained the energy, with no hesitation, I threw the ball towards Chennai, India. Then for the next 45 minutes I threw similar Magnus Spells towards Ibb, Yemen and Tobruk, Libya.

The spells were designed to not create any physical damage but instead attack demonic energy. I used my knowledge of demonic aura from the demon generals and from studying soul magic to create spells that would specifically target entities that distorted the magical field. Thus, no human, vampire, or werewolf will be harmed in my attack. If anything, I knew that no demon would be hit by the Magnus Spell but the anti-demon energy it will release upon impact will surely weaken any demons nearby and gain the attention of the demon general or generals behind all this chaos.

I was tired, and almost out of breath after I released the last Magnus Spell. I took a minute to calm my nerves then looked around the deck, my uncle and Yal stood in awe while the humans in the ship stood shell shocked with my display of raw power. I ignored their reactions for the meantime, pulled out my phone and called Kalron.

“Kalron…”

“Yes, your highness?”

“Are you able to monitor the Magnus Spells? I hope I sent them towards the right direction,” I snickered still almost out of breath.

Kalron giggled a bit, then replied, “I never knew a single spell could create enough distortion in the magical fields that our scanners would pick them up but again you’ve proven me wrong. I am monitoring the Magnus Spells as we speak, you’re right on target.

“Now, let’s see how the demons will respond.” I thought out loud.