The three days of acclimatisation Leon gave to his subordinates passed by quickly. Of course, while Leon said they were free to rest, very few members of Eldorin kicked their feet up and lazed around the entire day.
Bane, their resident intelligence specialist, had gone on an excursion to learn more about El Dorado and the Eternal Storm as a whole. Johann, the genius wizard interested in the arcane, was investigating the runes that Amon had given them to find traces of the lost city. As for Leon and Ellahan, they scouted the entire town to find any signs of cultists.
Each executive contributed in their own way, and the investigation progressed faster than expected. In the three days, Leon received an interesting report.
"... there actually were ghosts?"
Leon furrowed his eyebrows while watching the young man who stood at attention. Standing at over two meters, the goliath who reported to Leon was a recruit of Eldorin, Fenric Ashglyph—a battle monk who used a combination of martial arts and runic magic to overwhelm his foes. Well, even though he was a recruit, the man wasn't a snotty-nosed upstart in his teens.
Deep into his twenties, Fenric's skin was weathered and tanned. Runes were tattooed all over his immaculate muscular body, adding to the immense presence he exuded. But his most striking feature wasn't his emerald eyes or tanned goliath body, but his diamond-cut hair. Shimmering like jewels, Fenric embodied the mystique of a runic master with each passing step.
Any organisation would have sought after a man of such calibre, yet… he joined Eldorin.
In the original story of [Bright], this noble soul would have perished under the Demon Cult's influence. Amon and Yue saved him from his abyssal depths and brought him into the light. Not only that, but using Yue and Johann's knowledge of runic magic, they had further blossomed Fenric's talent, making him a warrior on par with Greater Demons.
Loyal to a fault, Fenric now served under Amon and Eldorin; for this expedition, he would be Leon's right-hand man.
"We were stunned, too, but there's no doubt about it. I saw the phantoms myself."
"How absurd, to think that ghosts were real."
"Yes, sir. There was a middle-aged lady phantom and an elderly man plantom. The lady was screaming out for her lost child, while the old man was sobbing without stop on the street. When we tried to interact with them, they ignored us for fifteen minutes and disappeared entirely."
"I see," Leon nodded his head. "What were they wearing?"
"What kind of outfits did they wear? Was it modern clothing, similar to what we're wearing? Or is it from an ancient time?"
"Now that you mention it… They were wearing strange clothes. Cloths from an ancient civilisation."
Leon's face broke into a smile. According to Amon, the Clay Emperor and El Dorado existed many aeons ago, far longer than the Solaris House or any other dynasty. It was even rumoured that they existed before the Age of Dragons, which defied logic for most who heard it. Nevertheless, if the ghosts seemed to be from another period, it would indicate that the seal on the Clay Emperor was loosening.
"Where did you find them? Also, you said that there were others with you? Why are you the only one reporting?"
Fenric shuffled his eyes to the side, not daring to catch Leon's line of sight. Seeing this, the young Hero had already deduced the reason.
"Hah… They didn't feel the need to report to me directly?"
"Please forgive them; it's just… they only recognise Lord Amon or Lady Yue's authority, and they're adamant about not serving under anyone other than them."
"No, I fully understand. I admire their loyalty."
Just because Leon was given the lead role in this mission, it didn't mean everyone else recognised him as their leader. Bane was the perfect example. He had been serving Amon and Yue since they were teenagers, and he didn't want to be under anyone else. Even now, he was likely reporting to Leon because the pair ordered him to do so, but he was only obliging on the surface.
On his own, Bane would investigate and take liberties beyond his authority, and even go against Leon's orders if he believes the mission dictates it.
But that was just the beginning.
Everyone on Eldorin was saved by Amon and Yue, making them fully loyal to the Fantasy Couple. Most of them were plucked out when the pair eloped the world in their youth, saving children who would have perished and squandered their potential. In the end, under their precise tutelage, those the pair had saved became masters of their crafts.
Knights, magicians, monks, rogues, archers, healers… They were all talents that were one in a million. Even though Leon was the Hero and the number two in command of Eldorin, he had yet to earn all of their respect.
That was precisely why Amon left the lead of this mission to Leon.
He wanted Leon to gain experience as the Hero and take command of Eldorin, managing all those superb talents to gain their confidence.
Alas, it wasn't a smooth start for the young Hero.
"Although I can respect their decision and lessen their punishment, they still breached the chain of command. I will have to reprimand them later on."
"No… I know that I have plenty to do to gain their respect." Leon shook his head and waved off Fenric's adulation. "Now, we have more important things to do. Tell me where you found the ghosts."
Fenric opened the map and drew a circle at a remote part of the town. Leon immediately waved his arm and summoned two of his most loyal subordinates.
"Gale, Adelia… Come here."
Gale and Adelia. Leon's friends since his schooling days and his most ardent supporters. Over the past three years, they had grown by leaps and bounds, and each had at least three Suns condensed. While they likely couldn't match up with the more talented recruits of Eldorin, they were powerful enough to hold their own in battle, and most importantly, they were fiercely loyal to Leon and his cause.
These three years proved good to the childhood friends, who were now a dating couple.
Gale stood tall, a towering figure carved from battle and shadow. His frame was broad-shouldered, built like a war-forged statue—muscles honed not in courts or tournaments, but in the chaos of real battle. Every movement he made held a kind of predatory grace, like a beast that had learned to walk like a man.
His hair was a wild, obsidian mane, thick and untamed, falling in jagged waves to his shoulders. It caught the light like a raven's wing, shimmering faintly with hints of midnight blue when the sun struck just right. Stray strands clung to his face, often damp with rain or blood, framing the sharp lines of his jaw and high cheekbones.
The same growth applied to his lover, the aptly named Dancer of Eldorin.
Adelia's blossoming into a female Knight was inspiring yet inevitable. Towering and lean, she moved like a blade unsheathed—sharp, swift, and impossible to ignore. Her hair was black as the void between stars, long and windswept, braided in places and left wild in others. Strands whipped around her face like dark silk caught in battle wind. It framed features carved in fierce beauty: high cheekbones, a proud brow, and lips that rarely smiled—but when they did, it was the kind of smile that made warriors hesitate.
They were considered to be two of the greatest talents, and their records spoke for themselves.
Hence, Leon was right to trust them with this meaningful task.
"Fenric has discovered a lead to the Clay Emperor. Follow him and assist in his search for the ghosts."
"G-Ghosts? T-They existed?"
Adelia visibly flinched at the mention of ghosts, which only triggered Gale's playfulness.
"Why? Are you afraid of something that can't even touch you?"
"N-no, I'm just shaking from excitement!"
Adelia trembled like a leaf, trying to mask the fear in her chest. Then, with a mischievous grin, she jabbed Gale in the ribs—playful but precise. He doubled over, gasping for air, despite the sheer bulk he'd built over three years of Amon's brutal, iron-forged training. Even with all that muscle, he was still helpless against his lover's teasing touch.
"My god, woman! Are you a gorilla?"
"Want another punch?"
"Hah… Honestly, what am I going to do about you?"
Gale begrudgingly silenced himself while plots of revenge secretly filled his mind. Either way, he couldn't enact his vengeance yet, not while he had work to do.
"So what do you want us to do once we find them? Catch the ghosts? As much as I would like to do that, I'm a pure warrior. Same for Adelia. I doubt we can do anything to ghosts that have no form."
"No, I don't need you to catch them. Just find them and track them down to their origin. I highly suspect that they are related to the Clay Emperor. If they'd appeared, we could find clues about El Dorado, and even a secret passageway to the ancient city."
"Hmmm… Sounds fair, but shouldn't we bring a specialist in ghosts then? Someone like Johann?"
Adelia visibly flinched at the mention of the future Archmage joining her ranks, which didn't go unnoticed by Leon. Sighing, he reassured her: "Johann is busy investigating the runes that Amon had tasked him. We can't waste his resources at this critical juncture. But I understand your concern." Read full story at novelFɪre.net
Adelia relaxed after Leon's statement, albeit for a brief moment. The reason being, the next person that Leon was recommending would be just as uncomfortable for the Valkyrie-like woman to work with.
"Take Eris with you."
"Don't worry, Adelia. If Eris goes with you, your job will be done by sundown. After all… there's no better person to hunt ghosts than a necromancer."