"There was no one else in the opera that could've done it," Zuimu spoke, tugging on her mask.

Her words were met with the calm gaze of Atomu, and the rather curious head tilts from Chyuuichi.

That night, all attempts at infiltrating the castle to find their Guardian Demons were halted. Instead, the three took the circumstances to explain a few things about the girl without mentioning those less favourable facts. Either way, managing to get through the doorstep, she fainted inside.

Taken to bed, it was Sandy who took care of most of her wounds, with him dispatching Rufus to make up a few soothing drinks with his recipes and Sam to gather the ingredients from the basement-level pantries.

Then, the opera was still burning, but the fire outside wasn't as bright. Koyote concluded that such must've been a demon's work, and if Zuimu, presumably, came back from right there, it meant that she barely survived or was attacked in the nearby streets. A lot was left to speculation.

When the uneasy night turned into morning, Judy arrived, and when Sandy expected a bashing that came with the news of yet another person being present in the lab, she took the request to check her wounds out quite seriously. The actual bashing came with how Sandy treated her wounds and the fact that he used what she called "not that one" medicine.

An hour later or so, she stepped out, announcing that the wounded had woken up.

The others looked at each other, but only Atomu and Chyuuichi decided to step in.

They were to learn, so they stepped through one of the doors to the rooms strung across the wooden basement while the others stood by the walls, listening, pretending to be nonchalant.

Zuimu briefly described her journey from Eversky to Magna, and how she ended up indirectly saving the Nuil from his demise. Such was followed by Chyuuichi's gulp and a short conversation about how he changed. Zuimu took his side through all of this, quite obviously, and Atomu was keen on flashing a smile. Either way, he was the sole reason the girl found herself in Saphrith. After arriving at the port, the guards ceased her Guardian Demon, and lo' and behold, the ceremony began.

She talked of his rather awful singing skills and the disappointing speech he gave her in a bar thereafter, and the next day was quite obvious. With the downpour, a good half of the Royals were directed to the Glam Opera, for a promised recreation of historical events. Surprisingly, Eryk wasn't too keen on wasting his time but found himself rather entranced, describing the meaning of each scene.

Zuimu sat up at this point. She moved her legs into the rather cosy blanket, and glanced through the window for a bit, before turning back to the Paladian and Mirillian.

Atomu inched closer.

"I guess it stemmed from me being bored of the middle point of the show. There was a lot of speaking and not much action. Kind of like that one part in the Paladin."

"I haven't read that." Chyuuichi raised a finger.

"I'm sure Jyuzou would understand."

Jyuzou chuckled, only to be met with the rather judging gazes of the others. He stepped back, a little embarrassed, scratching his neck.

Zuimu rolled her eyes, before shaking her head. "I spotted a figure moving through the darkness, on the balconies above. Maybe it was some actor, ready to join the stage, or someone that turned up late, yet, something intrigued me about the shadows. Then, there it was." she muttered, clenching her fist. "That small spark. Practically silent, and I'm sure if I hadn't been able to see it, it would've been too late already."

"Someone set it on fire?"

"It didn't come from the spark." she shook her head. "It created something far worse."

"What's going on, Zuimu?" Eryk asked. "Bored?"

"Mh!" she pointed up.

"They appeared. Falling like dominoes in that one game from Magna." she scratched a small bandage on her face. "One weak demon turned into hundreds and before I realised what had happened, I saw them jumping towards the Royals hacking their bodies with their sharp claws. I ran towards the staircase and even without a Guardian Demon, I knew had to do something." she closed her eyes. "I unearthed my demonic abilities to counter the demons already there."

Jyuzou moved his hand across the wall, raising his eyebrows with a strange frown. The others looked at each other.

"Another one," Koyote whispered.

"I slashed through, but more and more kept coming. I scoured to push them away from the Royals, as some of them legged it for the exit. It pained me each time I wasn't fast enough to save a life."

"All without a Guardian Demon..?" Atomu shook his head. "That's-"

"I acted tough, but in reality, I think I was more scared than anyone else. Yet, it was my duty to fulfil. I chose to be a Demonear when I ran from home back then." she turned to Chyuuichi. "But I pushed, even if it was meaningless."

"Did the Nuil survive?" Chyuuichi asked.

"I saved him first, thrashing him towards one of the exits, which soon were blocked by the fire. Its cause came from the strongest demon there, and one I couldn't find the courage to battle. One dark swipe after the other, but it didn't budge. Its colossal body kept moving forward, bashing into the stone walls, crashing through the seats until it hit me once, rendering me useless for the rest of the struggles."

Atomu nervously played with a strand of hair.

"I could only observe the things they kept destroying, the lives they were taking. And atop, stood a figure. She must've controlled this entire situation."

"Who?" the Paladian asked.

"A red-haired demon, with a strange, crooked smile."

Atomu's eyes shrunk.

"Red-haired?" Chyuuichi squinted his.

Atomu moved back a little, breathing out. Zuimu glanced. "You know them?"

Atomu shook his head. "I-I must be confusing them for someone else."

Chyuuichi huffed. "Either way, now we have a confirmation of Ronpi and Katha's words! There are demons in Saphrith as we speak!"

"You seem strangely enthusiastic." Zuimu raised her brows.

"Because!" Chyuuichi turned. "Now we can go off of facts and not just speculations! You heard her, Sanpy!" he yelled, running and opening the door. "Get that weapon in works as we speak!"

"Ch-Chyuuichi!" The Paladian snickered.

The others eventually, and rather awkwardly walked inside. Zuimu acted as if she didn't know they listened. "Nine of us, huh?"

"Eleven. There are two demons further along the corridor in the basement." Rufus muttered, turning to Sam, who seemed a little stressed out.

Zuimu tried standing up before a sharp pain kicked her right back in the stomach. She moved back, as Judy ran up to her.

"Rest easy for now, Zuimu. Your body must ache," she uttered.

"I've been through so much worse."

"Don't chance it." Judy sighed, smirking.

"Oh, I remember." Chyuuichi pointed. "Ya almost died in Mount Aria!"

"Enthusiastic there too!" Zuimu yelled, frustrated. "There's your confirmation, um..."

"Judy." Judy cleared her throat.

"Right. I'll have a field day trying to remember all of your names," she muttered.

Judy smiled a little. "I'll be back with some more medicine later."

"How long will this all take?" Zuimu asked, putting the mask closer to her face.

"I don't know. Depends on how your wounds heal, and how much I can trust Sandy's words."

"Y-You want to join us?" Sam asked.

"Of course." Zuimu glanced around. "I haven't seen these people in a year, so no chance that I'm just lying in bed."

"If we manage to find the Guardian Demons, half of all our work will be over." Koyote stepped in, clenching her fists lightly. "You've done a lot already. If all of them were to be killed, who'd know the extent of this strategy?" she spoke. "Right now, we need to focus on the concrete."

Jyuzou stared from the outside, a little unsure.

"Determination or whatnot, I'm sure everyone here is eager to combat that monstrosity," Koyote added. "So, let's not waste time."

And as was said, so did the preparations begin.

***

Once again, Atomu, Chyuuichi and Jyuzou were readying themselves to set out towards the castle, while everyone else worked towards the other, logical solution, being, the making of the Great Weapon.

Sandy was proud to showcase his work to everyone else, although a lot was left to be desired, especially with Judy's mean comments. He was pumped to have the chance to try it out, but that came with lots and lots of the demon seed he had already gathered. Even if, it wasn't enough to power what he called the main spear, and flipping through pages only revealed more flaws.

Sandy furiously kicked everyone out of the room, and the others had to scour and search for something else to put their hands in.

Chyuuichi found a map of the Goldenleaf Castle, stashed among the other papers left on the shelves.

"Here." Chyuuichi pointed.

Sam and Rufus looked down at the sketches, eyeing each other.

"Oh, my," Sam uttered, and Chyuuichi glanced up. "It's like a maze."

"They don't even have bars in there." Rufus shook his head. "For a castle spanning at least half of a district the size of Prope Portam, you'd expect at least a few places to rest in."

"I don't think Royals are too keen on alcohol. It's more about the food, see?" he pointed to a small restaurant downstairs, and downstairs was a very generous estimate. There were at least seven different levels spanning across the big sheet, with darkened out corridors leading elsewhere. "Huh." he squinted his eyes.

"Anyways, what are you searching for?" Rufus asked.

"Presumably, the Thousand Hall. It's probably not marked on the map." Judy uttered. "It's storage space now, and the biggest out there. Where else could it be hiding?"

"We have a vial to answer our questions." Chyuuichi turned to Atomu, who sat on one of the tables.

"Mhm," he answered. "We just need to find the quickest way. Preferably, unnoticeable."

"Right." Sam tapped the side of the map. "I think here's your best solution." he pointed to a few turned corners, as well as hallways hidden beneath hallways, leading towards another staircase and a straight, following to what Judy believed the Thousand Hall to be.

"Off the beaten path, huh?" Atomu muttered, stepping closer.

"Just the most logical answer out there." Sam cracked a small smile. "Prope Portam is full of these neat roads no one treads. Considering that most of them are almost scratched out, I'm sure they're rarely visited."

Rufus nodded, marking the path Sam mentioned with a red pencil that Judy snatched.

Atomu turned to the smiling Sam, who breathed out. "When I was younger, I always wondered if our town had the same hidden tunnels as described in the books Mama read," he uttered. "If I were a Demonear, the inner child in me would be thrilled to join."

Atomu beamed a little, with Chyuuichi's glance.

"B-But, I'll have to support you the other way." Sam continued, nodding. "What's your plan for getting the guards out of the way?"

"Running," Chyuuichi muttered.

"Huh?" Atomu turned.

"Just dash for it and distract him."

"You can steal his weapon." Rufus proposed. "Then make a run for it-"

"Through here." Sam marked with the red pencil. "Up the stairs, and towards the upper levels. You can probably lose him around this corridor."

"Again, this pencil is not for drawing." Judy raised a finger.

Jyuzou watched from afar, before stepping towards the armours, at the other end of the room.

***

"Demonears, huh?" Katha uttered.

"What about them?" Ronpi asked.

"Just a funny thought. Humans are so scared of us, and some insist on picking up the weapon made out of what they fear." she closed her eyes. "It's downright stupid."

Ronpi tilted his head. "Do you not agree with what they're doing?"

"I'm just saying. If there were more demons like us in the world, I'm sure we could fight by the side that wants to get rid of the ones stepping in each other's paths."

Ronpi blinked. "It could work both ways. If there were more humans, taking the demon's side, maybe we wouldn't be sitting here, you know? Tied with these ropes."

"So are you against it?"

"No." he smiled a little. "I know they won't hurt us, especially if we don't hurt them."

Katha moved back a little.

"Do you remember what you were tasked with?" Leiru asked, sticking the sharp end of a knife near Katha's stomach. "To kill. That's your only purpose as a demon."

A few footsteps came out of nowhere. Without a word added, Sandy snatched the two and made a run for the upstairs room.

Shutting the door, the entirety of the chamber was completely pitch black, spare for the small light hanging atop, only shining on the outlines of certain objects in the room.

"I need your help," Sandy admitted.

"S-Seed?" Ronpi asked.

"Not seed!" he smashed the lamp with anger, as it swung back and forth, forcing the other empty ones to absorb the same flame. When the light moved in, the Great Weapon was revealed.

Standing, almost flawlessly, resembling a massive crossbow with a spear in the middle and many open parts and empty bottles at the side.

"Seed as well." Sandy scratched the top of his head. "But I'm completely clueless here~!"

At first, Katha thought that asking a demon to create a weapon that would potentially eradicate the two was ridiculous. However, it made sense, coming back to those words about Demonears. Fight literal fire with fire, or... whatever.

Looking at the machinery revealed confusion, especially for Ronpi, as his expression suggested a brain freeze.

"This part is supposed to fuel the dragging mechanism of the spear, but when it does that, it doesn't absorb the seed from this vial right here!" he pointed to an empty vial. "Also the shot is a little too powerful," he uttered, unearthing some cloth that covered a hole in the wall. "Hell knows where that spear went, and I had to make another one!"

"What material is this?" she asked, trying to point to the spear. Sandy blinked a couple of times, before untying the two demons.

"Ubunga metal!" Sandy folded his arms, confidently.

"What is that?" Ronpi squinted his eyes.

"Really?" Sandy muttered. "Hah, only the most expensive-"

"There's problem number one!" Katha yelled out. "I make all my stuff out of leaves!"

Sandy made a curious expression. "Exactly what makes you think a leaf will be strong enough to kill an army of potential demons, huh?"

"Dad once told of a Guardian Demon that was just a boomerang. I'm pretty sure if it has demon seed then it doesn't matter." Ronpi added, and Katha nodded.

"Okay." Sandy rolled his eyes. "You didn't take weight into consideration."

"Nuh-uh." she stepped closer, before putting her hand on the leaves sticking out from the back of her jacket. With a tight tug, the spear almost formed itself with one touch, and when she placed it down, it matched the same design Sandy went for.

Sandy adjusted his non-existent glasses, before turning. "You just used more leaves."

"Yep!"