Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Truth and Conspiracy.
Mykel and the others listened to Harold's interesting story, and Aurea couldn't stop smiling because she found it funny. Although it sounded crazy, Mykel listened to every single thing Harold said because he was interested in what Harold believed.
"So you're a conspiracy theorist?" Aurea asked jokingly.
Harold stared at Aurea and he looked a bit pissed and annoyed by that question. It was the first time that someone looked at her with that kind of expression which made her a bit surprised.
"You think everything I said is baseless speculation? If that's what you think, then wait here and I'll show you something that will shock you and give you nightmares," Harold said as he stood up.
"Is that a challenge?" Aurea asked with a mocking smile as she watched Harold go to the other room.
"Can you not be an asshole, Aurea. We are his guest here," Elena said as she looked at Aurea with her eyebrows raised. "Where are your manners?" Elena asked.
"Sorry, I just found it funny about demons living among humans and trying to rule over the world. A demon that pretends to be a human, I can't take it seriously," Aurea answered as she raised her hands.
"You know that Mykel did exactly the same thing right? And what we experienced was the result of his action making a deal with demons," Jeanne said as she looked at Aurea. "You were possessed by a demon and what makes it so funny to you if you experienced it yourself?" Jeanne asked with her eyebrows raised.
"Well, that was just a fiction story, but you have a point..." Aurea replied and felt defeated.
Harold came back with an old diary book in his hand, and then he put it down on the table. He pointed at it and said, "Open it, and you're going to tremble in fear."
Mykel grabbed the book and the first thing he saw was an old photo that was attached to the page. A black and white photo of a big hall with statues on the sides that were covered in curtains. What took Mykel's attention were the people in the photo, they were soldiers and he could tell from what year the photo was taken.
"This photo was taken during world war two?" Mykel asked because he knew the armband on the soldiers' right arms.
"Yes, this photo was taken in Austria after Nazis took the castles that were owned by the Redshield family. These are the proof of everything I said," Harold said as he nodded his head.
Mykel turned the pages and saw the same hall, but this time there was a giant circle in the middle with weird symbols. They started to believe in what Harold said, and when Mykel turned the next page, they immediately believed in what Harold said.
"Are these, human remains?" Jeanne asked as she looked at Harold.
"Yes. They got all the evidence that the Redshield family did some kind of ritual. They also found a lot of things in there based on what I read in the letters, but unfortunately, I couldn't get the documents they found in there," Harold answered as he stared blankly at the table.
Mykel turned the page and saw the copy of the letters that Harold mentioned earlier. Elena took the letters and realized it was in German language, so she didn't know what she was reading. Harold then gave the translated ones to her so she could read them.
"Commandant, we have investigated the castle, and we have found remnants of unknown objects scattered all over the floor. It wasn't human skin, flesh, or bone, but it was something else that was tougher than steel but as soft as flesh. We also found teeth that weren't belong to humans or animals," Elena said as she read the letter.
"Commandant, there's something that we want you to see once we are back. We have captured something that looks like a human but it wasn't. We tried to communicate with it, but it didn't speak our tongue. It was aggressive as a bear, and we shot it many times, but the body started to heal itself," Elena read the second letter.
"Commandant, the thing we captured started to speak our tongue, and it said something about the end of the world. It called itself a demon from hell, and it was brought to our world through a ritual of sacrifices. We have found most of the answers to our questions." Elena read the third letter. "Commandant, please inform the leader that it wasn't the only one that was brought to our world. There are dozens of them and they're called the Dukes. Commandant, we are not only fighting humans, but we are also dealing with creatures from hell," Elena continued.
"We have lost the war as our opponents got help from demons. We can't prove what we saw and heard because we are the demons in their eyes. If the world is really going to be ruled by demons, may God have mercy on our souls," Elena said after she read the last letter.
Mykel was reading the journal as he listened to the report that Elena was telling. He read that the Nazis were in fact losing a lot of men drastically after those letters and how they lost the war not long after. It was just a theory that Harold made, but if they really fought demons, then Mykel believed it wasn't a surprise that they lost the war.
"The Dukes... they're the commander of the princess of hell," Mykel said as he glanced at the letters.
"That's right! So you know about it as well?" Harold replied as he looked at Mykel with excitement.
"Yes, I know about them," Mykel nodded his head slowly. "The fact that a single family did all the summoning rituals, means their whole family is protected by them, at least the ones from the main family," Mykel said as he stared at the empty glass in front of him.
Harold nodded his head in agreement, and then he grabbed the bottle of whiskey and poured it into Mykel's glass.
"You said that you were doing business with Alfredo. What kind of business you're doing with him?" Harold asked with curiosity.
"Selling demon bodies, and the last one was the big one that I killed," Mykel answered.
Harold was shocked and he suddenly trembled in fear when he heard that.
"What have you done?!" Harold asked with his eyes trembling.
"It's just a demon body. Their bodies are nothing since the souls should have been sent back to hell," Elena said and she looked confused.
"What are you talking about? They're using those bodies to resurrect them back to life! Or worse, they're going to use those bodies to summon something more powerful! Perhaps as strong or even stronger than the Dukes!" Harold yelled and he was still in disbelief.
"Summoning rituals need human bodies, not demon bodies, especially dead ones. They're useless," Aurea said.
"Humans, animals, demons? What's the difference? Not all demons ask what they want for a ritual. They can even be summoned with money or even some stones. What makes you think that demons only need human sacrifice? As long as they were offered something, the demons will take it and ask for something that they truly want when they got summoned," Harold answered and explained it to the four of them.
"Are you also a demonologist?" Mykel asked.
"Yes, and this is my whole life's research. I know about demons more than anyone," Harold answered.
Everyone looked at Mykel and thought if it would be a problem for them in the future. Knowing they had been sending thousands of demons to the Redshield family. But Mykel was more curious about something else, and that was why the Redshield Guild was included in the top ten Guilds in the world.
"These Dukes, do you have any information about them?" Mykel asked.
"This is just a speculation, but they're currently working with Alfredo. Perhaps, they're closer than you think," Harold answered. "I can't get information about them since the documents about the Dukes are nowhere to be found. I said that earlier that I couldn't find the documents about it," Harold continued.
"I see, I think that's all that I want to know for now. Let's meet again later, Harold," Mykel said as he stood up and fixed his suit.
"Hold on a minute. You're not worried about what you did? You gave them what they wanted, and you're not feeling bad or concerned about it?" Harold asked.
"Why should I? If they're stupid enough to face me, then I'll gladly send them all back to hell," Mykel answered.
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