The Extra Can't be A Hero

Chapter 95: The Generation of Luminaries (1)

Amon returned to the Solfea and the Solaris House almost immediately after killing the Blood Demon.

Unsurprisingly, the Solaris House would be curious after his victory over one of the most ancient and powerful Demons. How did he know of its existence, how did he manage to kill it and the other details of the Blood Demon?

To do so, they had summoned him to a tribunal to investigate his actions. The tribunal consisted of the Solaris Patriarch, Alrock. The Black Order’s Commander, Carmen. And the Knight who was present when Amon killed the Blood Demon, Horus.

Standing at attention in front of the three mighty Solaris Knights, Amon waited for them to give the first word. He’d been standing still for about a minute now while Alrock and Carmen read their reports. Only Horus wore an amicable smile that unnerved Amon, who didn’t know what his fate would be.

Ultimately, the Solaris Patriarch was the first to break the silence.

"You know, when you’d volunteered to aid the tragedy in Mistwood, I’d thought you’d learnt how to stay out of trouble. But you really can’t help yourself, huh?"

Alrock frowned and admonished the young man. Although his scolding wasn’t stern, Amon could sense a sense of helplessness and dread in his defeated voice.

"Coming across an ancient Demon, not only that, one that the Solaris House had sealed. Young’un... I’m starting to question if you’re just a magnet for misfortune or if you’re planning all this deliberately."

"..."

Of course, the latter was true. However, Amon couldn’t just tell him that. He remained silent as the Patriarch closed his binder and requested a proper report:

"Tell me everything."

"Like I mentioned in my report, I noticed an irregularity..."

"I’m not interested in that," Alrock stopped Amon mid-sentence and stared into his soul. "Tell me how you defeated the Blood Demon. Horus recounted that it’s not an enemy you could face."

Alrock cut straight to the point. Even after being damaged by the Holy Sword, the Blood Demon wasn’t a foe that a mere Three Sun True Knight could take on. Even after knowing Amon was hiding his strength, it was still hard to believe this eighteen-year-old could defeat a monstrous entity such as the Blood Demon.

Knowing the panel wouldn’t take a superficial answer, Amon told half-truths.

"Honestly, I was lucky. After being cracked by the Holy Sword, the Blood Demon’s soul weakened greatly. And when it trapped me in its barrier, it had expanded most of its mana. From then on, it was a battle of attrition. I focused on defending myself while forcing the Blood Demon to leak mana. That’s how I won."

"Is that really all?"

Alrock frowned, obviously not buying into the whole story. Given the stories he’d heard about the Blood Demon from Horus, it was right of him to be sceptical. Fortunately, Amon had another scapegoat.

"... To tell the truth, I received help from the Elune House, or in particular, Yue. She’d given me a protection artefact as a gift, and I have it on my body ever since. It saved my life multiple times when I was trapped in the barrier."

"Hoh? Was that how you resisted the Blood Demon’s domination?"

"Precisely."

"And where is this artefact now? May we see it?"

"I apologise, but I cannot do that. At least, without the Elune House’s permission."

Amon was forced to tell this lie. The best way to get out of this predicament was to put all the blame on Yue. After all, no matter how powerful the Solaris House was, they couldn’t just pressure another mighty House to present evidence and break the goodwill between them.

Hearing that, Alrock didn’t wish to push the matter further. It wasn’t a secret that the heir of the Elune House was obsessed over Amon, so it was normal for her to invest a fortune into protecting him. He was thankful for the fact that Yue was smitten with Amon. Otherwise, the Solaris House would have lost a valuable Knight.

"Hoh, the Elune Princess sure treasures you."

Carmen broke her silence with a half-impressed, half-annoyed snort. In her view, Yue was both a valued asset and an annoying hindrance. It was no secret that Yue showered Amon with gifts, and an inside joke within the Black Order called her Amon’s sugar mommy. However, at the same time, Yue was the reason for Amon’s tendency to go AWOL, even jeopardising his perfect mission record.

"Thanks..."

"My Lord, I do have one concern."

Horus interrupted the cordial exchange with a serious statement. He drew the attention of his fellow panel mates and continued:

"Investigating the Demon Cult may prove difficult, particularly since we do not have jurisdiction to scour other regions. The Solaris House may be able to search Solfea and all the nearby regions, but anything further than that would be challenging."

"You’re right..."

Even though the Solaris House was a monolithic organisation, it was ultimately bound to the same rules as any member of the Hyades Republic. They couldn’t force their way into another autonomous region and forcibly request those governments to comply with their investigations.

If they had concrete evidence, that would be another story. However, right now, they only had Amon and Yue’s testimonies. That was hardly enough for governments to follow the Solaris House’s requests.

"Can’t we just investigate secretly? My Knights are specialised in it, after all."

Carmen raised her hand and questioned.

Historically, the Black Order was used for covert operations such as espionage and spying. Additionally, they were trained to move in the shadows and take on multiple opponents at once, making them the perfect choice to investigate the claws of the Demon Cult secretly.

"That should be our last resort. If we can obtain permission diplomatically, our investigations would be much smoother."

For a hammer, everything was a nail. Being the Black Order’s Commander, Carmen could only solve situations with her fists. However, Alrock was a skilled warrior and an excellent statesman.

"Can we count on the Elune House to join our investigations?"

Alrock asked out loud, not to anyone in particular. However, only one person could give him an answer.

"... I’ll ask Yue."

Amon replied half-hesitantly. Yue had long forced the Elune House to scour through Eshon, eradicating any signs of the Demon Cult. Due to her efforts, Eshon was likely the most secure region in Hyades, at least from the nefarious claws of the Demon Cult.

As for the Solaris House, Amon knew that some traitors and several secretive bases were hidden throughout Solfea. Therefore, he could only weed them out with Carmen’s help.

But surprisingly, Horus had other plans.

"If possible, I would like to start an elite task force."

The distinguished gentleman spoke out with a faintly-lit smile. All the while, Horus’ eyes never left Amon’s body as he gave the Solaris Lord a bold request.

"An elite task force? What for?"

"If we want to hunt Demons, shouldn’t we create a task force specialising in that? Free from the burdens of an Order and given the freedom to do whatever they want in the name of eradicating Demons."

"That sounds good. But why are you bringing that up now?"

"Well... Wouldn’t it be good if we had members that hunted Demons before? Members that are powerful, hungry, but most importantly... young?"

"You can’t mean..."

At that moment, everyone in the room realised what the Pillar Knight was getting at. Alrock and Carmen pivoted their heads straight to Amon, who was wearing a slightly stunned expression.

"I suggest we create an independent task force... with Amon as its leader."