Seeing the sudden change in scenery, a bewildered look passes over Dez's face as he takes in his surroundings. Looking back at me, I see fear.
"Alright, Dez, I've accommodated your request. I think we can agree that this area is much more suited for a duel. Naturally I'll return us to your tent afterward for the victor's interrogation of the other party. Now, which of us would you like to fight in this duel?" (Mizuki)
Dez is staring at me warily with his sword drawn, and I can see that he's clearly nervous.
"Well, I can clearly tell that I'm not going to pick you…I have no death wish. I don't suppose you'll tell me who I have the best chance against?" (Dez)
He smiles wryly as he says the last part, but Zara steps forward with a smile on her face.
"I was hoping you'd pick me, so I don't mind telling you that I am immeasurably weaker than the other two here. Still, I don't expect you to win. Shall we begin?" (Zara)
As Zara says this, she pulls out her black sword and takes up a defensive stance against Dez. As she does, she mutters and incantation for body enhancement. Dez smiles grimly in her direction and also takes up a sword fighting stance, then nods his consent to start the match.
Immediately, Zara flashes toward Dez and tries to hit him with an overhead slash towards his collarbone, but Dez manages to block it. I slow time to watch the fight in detail.
As he blocks the strike, Dez sweeps his sword to the side to deflect Zara's blade away for a counter, but I see her smile viciously as he does. She lets her sword be pushed to the side and uses the momentum to spin in the air and land a brutal kick against Dez's shoulder that sends him flying several meters.
As Zara lands from the kick, she immediately springs towards Dez again without giving him time to recover, and she begins a barrage of quick side slashes. None of the attacks are particularly heavy strikes, but they're so fast and accurate that Dez is straining just to defend himself.
As she continues the barrage, and Dez's defense becomes less controlled, the flow of Zara's quick strikes changes. Instead of alternating side slashes, they begin to move in a rough circle, forcing Dez's blade around to further reduce the control of his parries.
As one of the strikes pushes his sword and hands a bit further outside their range than normal, Zara quickly doubles her sword back to take advantage of the break in his guard. The bottom of her blade hits near the wrist of his dominant hand on the sword, and she cleanly slices into his flesh towards his fingers.
A mist of blood squirts out from his mangled sword hand, and he loses the grasp on his weapon. Zara quickly uses the opportunity to pull her dagger out and stick it to his throat as he grasps his hand to stop the bleeding.
Dez grimaces from the wound.
"I yield the duel." (Dez)
I'm in shock, and I begin clapping like a proud older brother. Zara glances at me and I flash her a huge grin. Zara flashes me a smug smile in return, but I think she's earned it.
I heal Dez's hand and teleport us back to the tent for a civil conversation, and we all take seats around his desk.
"First off, spectacular swordsmanship Zara. Obviously, your time working with Klaus has paid off, and I'm sure Nina is now dying to fight you again with your physical strength and magic matched." (Mizuki)
Zara gives a polite smile in return, but it's obvious that she's quite pleased with the praise.
"Thank you Mizuki, Klaus is an excellent instructor. I've been eager to test my skills against Nina as well." (Zara)
"Fufufu…anytime you're ready, Zara." (Nina)
Surprisingly, Dez also piles on.
"Indeed, little wolf. Your skill with a blade is nothing short of prodigious. If you can already easily beat me in single combat, and you're truly immeasurably weaker than the others in your party, then I was doomed to begin with. Per our agreement, I will answer any questions you have. Truthfully, I intended to do so the minute I glimpsed Mizuki's power to move us so easily." (Dez)
Well…that's surprisingly cooperative of him, I thought that would be harder.
"Well, Dez, don't feel too bad about not being able to stop us. First, because I have no short-term plans to hurt you or anyone else here, especially based on what I saw while surveilling the camp. Second, because Nina here is an Elder Dragon in human form…no number of demons stood a chance against her." (Mizuki)
Dez's face turns to one of surprise, followed by bitterness and anger. He begins glaring at Nina rebelliously. So, does he have an issue with Elder Dragons, then? If so, I think I might have some idea of what could be going on.
"Alright, Dez, first question. Why do you have this demon army here and are building all those large ships?" (Mizuki)
"The fact that it is an army is true, but it's mostly just a byproduct of our situation. We're building the ships to sail everyone here to the Elven Kingdom. We're here waiting on standby until the ships are completed and we can leave." (Dez)
"Are you planning to invade the Elven Kingdom? What are your plans when you arrive?" (Mizuki)
Dez looks at me with a grim expression, and he responds flatly.
"Our only plans are survival. I suppose it's technically an invasion, but we just need off this continent to ensure our people's safety. We plan to set up a colony in any secluded part of the Elven Kingdom we can find, and if the elves don't try to harm us, we won't be hostile. When the colony is stabilized, we'll consider alerting the elves to our presence and negotiating peacefully, but we'd rather remain unnoticed for as long as possible." (Dez)
As expected, you don't bring civilians and especially children with an invasion force. If they're truly fleeing for their lives…I'm guessing it has something to do with Veyron.
"Alright, Dez, here's the situation. The elves are convinced that you're coming to declare war, and they believe that you're allied with Veyron and the dragon-kin. I've come here to determine what your intentions and motivations are, but I am not officially aligned with either of you. Consider me an intermediary. So, why don't you tell me how you came to be in this situation, so I can facilitate a solution." (Mizuki)
Dez's eyes go wide in surprise, and then his expression becomes thoughtful.
"Several months ago, the Elder Dragon of fire, Veyron, and his dragon-kin showed up to one of the largest demon villages on the continent and mercilessly slaughtered all but a few survivors. Allegedly, he's decided that his existing territory on the western side of the continent is not enough, and he'd like to claim the continent in its entirety. He wants the only race left on the continent to be his dragon-kin, and he told us to flee or die. We've been trying to hold out against the dragon-kin long enough for the ships to be completed." (Dez)
Hmm…I don't see any reason to doubt that, based on what I've personally seen. However…
"The elves noticed a number of dragon-kin within your camp during their surveillance, and three of their soldiers that came to make contact also went missing. How do you explain these events, if not how the elves interpreted them?" (Mizuki)
Dez nods solemnly.
"As I said, we've been plagued by dragon-kin attacks, especially in the wake of Veyron's declaration. We tried keeping dragon-kin prisoners around the camp, to deter their attacks, but the other dragon-kin seemed to not care. The prisoners became a liability, so we got rid of them. I don't know of any elves contacting us, but they could have easily been killed by the dragon-kin in the area. Veyron's campaign has been truly merciless…as far as I know, we're the only the remnants of the demon race on this continent." (Dez)
Dez's face contorts in anguish, and I feel my blood boil at the implied genocide. I can't think of any reason why his story wouldn't be true, and it's certainly more consistent with my own observations than a hostile invasion that's aligned with Veyron. I'll need one more piece of information, but then I should take action.
"Dez, please come here and give me your hand." (Mizuki)
Dez gives me a puzzled look, but he obeys. I tune my magic sense to him, or to demons rather, then scan the surrounding area. I don't sense any other demons outside this camp. I swap back to look for magic power signatures, and I find the cluster of people around 20 km west that I noticed before.
Based on Dez's story, that's likely a group of dragon-kin stationed nearby to deal with the demons. I can't be sure, but it's good enough for now. I release Dez's hand and step away.
"Alright, Dez, it seems likely that you're telling the truth. In that case, I think it's time." (Mizuki)
Dez fixes me with a nervous expression.
"T-Time for what?" (Dez)
I direct an amused smile at him.
"Time for you to meet the elves' queen, obviously." (Mizuki)