A short time later, we are standing on the coast of the demon continent where Nina flew to yesterday.
"So, Zara, what do you think?" (Mizuki)
Zara is looking out at the ocean with her eyes sparkling.
"Mizuki, you're telling me that the Elven Kingdom is in that direction? I can't even see it…there's nothing but water." (Zara)
"Fufufu…that's right, that's an ocean. I'm guessing you've never seen one?" (Mizuki)
Zara just shakes her head in disbelief. Then, after a few more minutes she turns to us and nods that she's ready. I pick Nina and Zara up with me and take off via max speed stealth flight north, towards the coastal cluster of people.
Eventually, we arrive above a huge expanse of humanoids and tents scattered across an open plain – the people probably number over ten thousand. The group is relatively close to the oceanside, so this is likely the demon army that was reported by initial elven scouts.
I move us closer to the ground to observe the people, and notice that they're pretty much like humans, except for a few key differences. They have some variation of light brown skin, dark-colored blue, green, or purple hair, and most have small horns – overall, very cliché demons.
I use magic sense to scan the area for people, and I notice another cluster of them about 20 km east of here. That is close enough that I didn't distinguish it yesterday. They're not as numerous as the thousands here, but they do seem to be much stronger on the average. A separate force, maybe?
Looking around the camp, I see mostly male and female demons with armor and weaponry, but I also see several more civilian-looking demons. Overall, it's still 80% soldier-type demons.
As I continue moving over the camp, I come across a small arrangement of tents in the center. I feel my blood run cold…there's small demon children concentrated in this area. I'm no expert on war, but you don't bring children to the front lines when you're preparing for it. What the hell is going on?
I continue moving us through the camp until I notice one larger-looking tent with a couple of armed demons standing outside it. If I had to guess, that person is higher up the food chain of the camp, if not in charge altogether.
"Nina, Zara, I'm going to take us where I think the leader is while concealed. It should be safe for us to talk inside my spell, but I'd be quiet, just in case." (Mizuki)
They both nod their agreement, and I take us down toward the command tent and land in front of it. Looking into the tent, I see one 40s-looking demon man looking over papers tiredly at a desk. I don't see anyone else inside the actual tent. I send a quick message to Nina and Zara.
[Stay directly behind me so we all stay invisible.] (Mizuki)
They nod their agreement, and I walk into the tent between the guards. Then, I apply a magic cage against physical attacks around the inside of the tent, and layer it with a silencing spell as well. As I do, the background noise from the outside cuts off abruptly, and the demon inside the tent stands up cautiously and calls out.
"Guards! What's the situation?"
Not seeing any reaction from them or hearing a response, his expression becomes puzzled. At this time, I drop our concealment spells and apply max body enhancement on myself. Seeing us all three appear, his eyes go wide.
"Hello! Don't bother trying to escape or call for help, I've created an impenetrable barrier around the tent that also blocks sound from traveling in or out. I'm not here to hurt you, I just need answers to questions. Why don't we start with your name and role here? My name is Mizuki, and these companions of mine are Nina and Zara." (Mizuki)
Nina and Zara give light head nods to the demon, and he narrows his eyes at us and grabs the handle of the sword at his waist.
"My name is Dez, and I am the general of the forces here. However, that's all the information you'll be getting from me, because I don't take kindly to infiltrators in my camp. I'll be getting more answers from you, though, after we take you as prisoners. Draw your sword and prepare for combat." (Dez)
Dez the demon general, huh? I don't hate it. He's not the talking type, though, it seems. As he finishes his declaration, he draws his long sword.
"I have a better idea, Dez. How about a little friendly wager between warriors? You fight one of us of your choosing, until surrender or incapacitation. If you win, I'll answer every question that you have willingly. If we win, you must do the same. Likely, after that we'll depart without further bloodshed. It's a lot easier than torturing us, and you'd only have to fight one person, so what do you say?" (Mizuki)
Dez looks at me with a puzzled expression.
"Mizuki, why would I agree to that? Even if I win, you could just go back on your word, and I'd have gained nothing." (Dez)
"I suppose that's partially true. However, for what little it's worth, I don't break promises. Also, I'd say you do gain something by agreeing to the duel, even if I lie. If you forego it and fight now, it will be 3v1, but if you do the duel and I break our deal, it's 1v1 then 2v1 and you stalled for time, which still sounds like a good thing to me. So, want to reconsider?" (Mizuki)
Dez narrows his eyes at me, and he is wearing a confused expression. After a minute, he chuckles dryly.
"Fufu…sure. This small tent is not ideal for a duel, however, want to go outside?" (Dez)
His behavior obviously suggests that he'd love to have his people join in on his dilemma by me lowering the barrier, but also that he knows I'm not stupid enough to agree to it. He'd be wrong, though! I smile at him with an amused expression.
"That's an excellent point Dez. I think we should take this outside!" (Mizuki)
As I say this, I focus on pouring all the magic I can into the spells in this tent, so they'll hold for a while. Following my agreeable response, Dez shoots me a dumbfounded look. As he does, I teleport all four of us to the demon continent coast where we first arrived.