The Demon King’s Hero Of Light - Volume 1 Chapter 168 168 Tidings Of Things To Come

Channeling the smoke up through the trees, away from the elves, Aella watched from far too close, as the fire burnt what was left of the tree to the ground. She could hear the elves shouting at her to get back, but she ignored them. As long as the bag protected the kitten from the heat, she was going to enjoy her fire finally getting a chance to play, instead of just her air.

Frederik and Alfred told the elves she would be fine, and got them to stop yelling at her, but she knew that they were still freaked out. At least she let the elves get down from the tree before she released the flames to race up from the roots where they had consumed the altar and the demon imp first. Her earrings, now somehow a part of her, had informed her that an imp was actually a type of small demon, that no longer existed here on this realm. She had always thought an imp was a demon who was too weak to participate, since she had been called that countless times down in the pits.

Once the fire was dying down, and she refused to let it spread to other trees by promising it future fun, Aella finally turned to those who stood behind her. Alfred and Frederik were as close as the heat allowed them, ready to jump in if she summoned them for some reason. The princess Daefina and king Elalar were behind them, though Elalar looked a little more pale than normal.

“Your Majesty, are you sure you should be up after the incident just now?” asked Aella, approaching him.

“I am fine, King Aella,” he responded formally. “I am sorry that my people keep dragging you into things that should not involve you. I trust the issue with Lord Avalon has been completely dealt with?”

Aella nodded, noting that he ignored asking about the obvious magic behind the fire and smoke. Did he know she was the hero, or did he assume she had other magic after seeing her able to teleport?

“He was in cahoots with a demon that meant I did need to get involved. I am sorry that one of my people was still able to cause harm after moving my kingdom away. I trust you would be willing to speak to me further on the subject in private?” she asked, glancing around at the crowd that was watching them.

“Of course,” he nodded, turning towards the palace. “Let’s discuss this further while we enjoy a meal. I hope that nothing that happened today will jeopardize our friendship?”

“Elalar, I understand all to well how difficult it can be to control absolutely everything within your kingdom, and how difficult one individual can make things for everyone. I intend to find out more about what I have learned today, to ensure that things like this don’t happen again, and hope that you are willing to do the same. There could be other lions being held captive in other homes throughout your kingdom. If you find them, I would suggest you deal with them accordingly. All those I rescued from Lord Avalon’s estate needed to be put down due to the lack of socializing and physical disabilities they suffered, except for this one,” she added, patting the bag on her front.

Waving at the guards as they entered into the palace grounds, Aella grinned at the look of panic one of them flashed her way, and the quick way he jerked his hand away from the handle of his sword. Elalar frowned in confusion at the elf’s actions, but didn’t question them as he continued their conversation.

“I will have every household and estate searched, no matter how much I trust them, to ensure there are no others out there, and a full investigation will be carried out to find out what was going on in the Avalon Estate. Strangely, the servants were very subdued as they were taken to the dungeons. I also owe you thanks for saving my life. I don’t remember exactly what happened, only that Lord Avalon was not himself when I spoke to him last.”

“I believe he had made a pact with an imp, one of my people who was no longer associated with my kingdom, as all imps were believed to have died out a long time ago. That is one of the things I was wanting to ask you about. You had mentioned that your people only follow one god, and yet Avalon had made a contract with the imp, granting him powers and taking away all sensation of pain. There was an altar in his bas.e.m.e.nt to the imp, where it was tied to it with magic. Do you have any way of explaining how that was possible?”

Elalar held his hands behind him as they walked through the halls of the palace, deep in thought. “My grandfather was the one who instated the rules concerning the elven god. He insisted that any elf who didn’t follow an elven god couldn’t be considered a true elf. It always seemed reasonable, and I never questioned it. In my entire lifetime, I have never had an issue with someone building an altar and worshipping a different god. Do you know how one of your people, who should have been dead, could possibly have ended up here?”

“Only through magic, could I see it happening, but before my palace exploded, releasing all of the magic back into the realm, I don’t know how it could have survived. The imp seemed to have been around for a while, not just in the last couple of months.”

“My people used to be known for being incredibly skilled with magic. It is said in our ancient histories that we helped these trees grow so massive, and that we used to be able to speak with them. But of course, there also used to be a story about one of my people being a hero who could control plants and aided them in growing, but that is silly since all of the heroes are obviously human.”

Aella kept her mouth shut on that, because it was the first time she had heard of another hero with an ability not mentioned before. She had no doubts that they probably did have a hero with those abilities, but the question remained on what happened to the plant hero?

“Perhaps Lord Avalon found a way to wake the imp up from some magical slumber by using the altar?” Aella suggested. “Because of the lack of magic in our realm, I have had no opportunity to learn magic myself, but now that it is returned, perhaps we could both start learning it again. If what you say, about your people being proficient in magic with plants at one time, is true, then I see no reason why you shouldn’t attempt to reignite that magic in your bloodline. It may prove as a useful distraction for your people from the fact I just took away all of your lions.”

“I will have to look into that,” he agreed, opening a door into a study for them to be able to sit and talk in peace.

Aella glanced around the room, wondering if Bridgette would kill her if she didn’t acquire these books, but then decided she just wouldn’t tell her about them.

“My sister tells me that you rescued me from Lord Avalon, but as I said before, I don’t remember anything. Regardless, I owe you my thanks for saving me. May I ask what happened with Lord Avalon? You had mentioned he made a deal with a demon imp?” King Elalar said as he sat down.

“Apparently, he was able to contact, or wake the imp, using the altar in his bas.e.m.e.nt. The imp granted him powers, and he tried to use those powers when I arrived after I had the Hero of Light take you to safety. I killed him, and made certain he was utterly destroyed, so that he couldn’t return and take out his frustrations on you and your people. I’m not familiar with the magic the imp was using, but I also destroyed him. One of my people had mentioned seeing an altar in the dwarven mines, and I am concerned there could be some connection to this one, somehow. I will trust you to look into it, perhaps by using the princess to contact the new dwarven king. If there is some connection, I would recommend burning the whole altar in fire until it was reduced to ashes. Judging from the dwarven smelters, I would think that an easy task for them.”

“Is that why the estate suddenly flared into flames? The heat was so intense, I don’t understand how you were able to withstand them.”

“I have a magical understanding of flames,” said Aella with a small smile, letting him know she wasn’t going to admit to anything. “You may want to add that the fumes from burning the altar will be deadly to those who breath it, in case the dwarves do go through with that.”

The king nodded, sitting back to think about what all she had told him.

“Just out of curiosity, what was the object the princess was going to send me to fetch?” asked Aella, watching as the king’s frown deepened.

“She didn’t seriously mention that, did she?” he groaned. “It was a magical artifact that none of our best hunters could find, rumored to have been lost in the ancient training grounds during my great-grandfather’s time. I wouldn’t have you waste your time with such childish requests.”

“Oh, but now you have my attention. What kind of magical artifact?” she asked, leaning forward in interest.