The Red One calmly walked through the darkened forest, her bare feet crunching twigs and branches underfoot as she traveled in a straight line. Soon enough, she arrived at her destination. A goblin encampment that had been set up outside a cave system.
Goblins normally didn't make encampments this well though, it was large and had timber walls with barricades and trenches on the outside of them. One might think said goblins would attack The Red One as she approached, but not these. The goblins at the gate simply shivered quietly in fear as they shifted their gazes away. Entering unimpeded, The Red One continued onward through the camp.
Similar to the goblins at the gate, they all averted their gazes and cowered in fear as she entered the cave at the cliff wall. Continuing deeper, she passed by less and less goblins and began to pass by lesser demons instead. Unlike the goblins, they did not cower, but instead bowed their heads in respect as she passed by. Eventually she arrived before a large steel set of double doors.
The Red One inhaled quietly before opening the doors and exhaling. Before moving to the center of the room, she turned around and pushed the doors shut again. Then and only then did she approach the middle of the room and prostrate herself, showing submission to the being sitting in a ornate chair at the back of the room. Said being was facing away from her and sat at a large desk to match their size, seemingly going over paperwork.
"Speak, give your report as normal." The being said in an old and scratchy voice.
"Yes, my lord." The Red One replied as she raised her head up. However, there was something unusual. A tall female demon with tones muscles, purple skin and skimpy clothing was leaning against the table her master was working on. Licking her beestung lips as she looked at The Red One.
"Eem..." The Red One started to try speaking but was too confused.
"Do not mind, report as normal. The Demon General of Lust is not here on business. They are simply visiting. Continue." Her master, The Demon General of Knowledge, said.
"Yes, My lord." The Red One nodded her head.
"I failed to enter the Hero's party, there were deeply unexpected complications." The Red One started.
"There was a human noble capable of magic on a level matching mine who was chosen instead of I. But..." The Red One began to hesitate.
"Continue." Her master ordered.
"An unknown knight from an unknown land was present and entered as a mage. It was surprising as they were quite the powerful looking human. They were very tall and wore full plate armor made of golden metal with exquisite carving, and they wielded a large Warhammer of the same metal. They had the aura of a veteran warrior, similar to the Demon General of Power." The Red One continued.
"I tried to extract information while remaining friendly with them and learned that they possessed expertise in Force Magic and Pure Mana magic-" She said but was interrupted by a snicker from both her master and his guest.
"Continue." Her master ordered.
"I too laughed when he explained such a thing. They had previously boasted that they entered as mage to avoid accidentally killing someone as a warrior. I believed it to be a bluff and labeled them a non-issue. But when the battle began, he used an unknown tier of Force Magic to immobilize all of the mages present, including myself." The Red One explained.
"Only myself and the human mage I previously mentioned were able to dispel the effects and come to our feet. He should have been rattled but had remained calm despite us breaking free, he even taunted us. From his attitude and skill, I had at that point figured he was a combat veteran." The Red One continued on but winced internally as she remembered the next bit of her report. Her face remained unfazed though.
"Both myself and the human mage attacked at once, but the strange knight was completely unharmed after taking both spells without moving. After that, he used similar force magic to before and forced myself and the human mage to ground again. After being declared the winner, he joined the Hero's party and recommended that the human mage come along instead of myself." The Red One said, finishing the first half of her report.
"Hm... odd, you should be superior to any human mage that would've been willing to join the Hero. Was my illusion magic faulty?" Her master asked.
"No, My Lord. If it had been then that strange knight would have killed me rather than let me go. Everyone was convinced that I was a dwarven mage thanks to your magic, I'm sure of it." The Red One replied.
"Yes...yes you're right. If you had been discovered, you would not be making such a calm report. Continue on." Her master said, waving one of his boney, gray skinned hands at her.
"After winning, the knight began introducing himself but was cut off by the hero-" She started.
"Ah, speaking of the Hero how was he?" Her Master interrupted.
"He was as the intelligence suggested, so were his companions." She replied.
"Hm, and what about that knight? Did you dig up any information about him?" He asked, beginning to write something down.
"Yes, my lord. Afterwards they went to a tavern to eat and introduce one another. I followed behind them and remained close by to listen in on their conversation." The Red One began to speak up a little in order to get important information across.
"He is from a faraway country and claims to be elderly. He is indeed a combat veteran and even has access to the second tier of spatial magic-"
"What!?" Her Master shouted as he looked over his chair, his elderly face scrunched up in disbelief.
"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes. He took a bag of golden coins from a spatial pocket, although I do not know if them having access to the second tier was true. After that, he removed his helmet to eat and was quite young looking contrary to his behavior and claims of seniority. He somewhat implied he stays young with magic." The Red One said, finishing the second half of her report.
"Hrm...this is concerning. Deeply. Deeply concerning." Her Master mused as he wrote upon parchment.
"The name of the knight is apparently 'Gorum'. I don't recall any countries that such a name would stem from. But they are not noble blood, I know that. They claimed to be a commoner." The Red One said, trying to please her Master further with knowledge.
"Was he good looking?" A stout female voice suddenly said. It was the Demon General of Lust.
"Eem...yes, Madame Vivien. I believe he was fairly attractive but...I do not understand the tactical importance of such information. Forgive me." The Red One said, lowering her head in apology to the Demon General.
"Hahh? You don't? Well maybe I should teach you all about it? I'm sure a little cutie like you could use a prime education on the subject~" The Demon General said, licking her lips as she stared at the Red One with predatory eyes.
The Red One knew very well what she was implying, The Demon General of Lust was a violent pervert that controlled mostly succubi and incubi. However, those normally proud demons were all husks in front of Vivien. Her treatment of her soldiers was sickening even to crueler demons.
"I-..." The Red One shivered as she tried to speak, racking her brain for any way of escape.
"Focus, Vivien. You were talking about the mystery knight, were you not?" Her Master interjected, much to the relief of The Red One.
"Ahh, right right. Mmm...such a powerful sounding human, I wonder what his screams sound like?" The Demon General pondered as she looked to the ceiling, chuckling to herself as she immersed in dark fantasy.