Page 4045

And that first encounter hadn't even been the only time. The second encounter with Chaos had been at Bellvine, when those mad creatures began showing up--and more importantly, when Morgunov had gotten ahold of both Damian and Germal at once.

That entire battle had become a mad haze in his memory over the years, but here and now, thinking back on it with this new context fresh in his mind, that particular was feeling especially clear.

Morgunov had gotten to Germal. Holding him by his head. Seemingly to 'show' him something. And then done the same thing to Damian, hadn't he?

Parson had fought to free them both, but in the end, he had also ended up in basically the same position, at the Mad Demon's mercy.

And Morgunov had been about to 'show' him something, too, judging from the way he'd been talking. The only reason he hadn't done so... was because...

The wolf.

Parson's mind refocused. Reprioritized. And then he remembered everything Morgunov had said to the beast. Along with everything he'd witnessed in the recent battle.

What monstrous power the wolf had wielded. Incredible all those years ago, but now even moreso.

"Koh is the key," he found himself saying. "The Prime Hunt, yes? That's what Morgunov called it, back when he was possessed at Bellvine. And in this latest fight, Koh... clearly, something changed with him. He turned on Germal. Or Ettol, rather, didn't he?"

"Mm," hummed Damian. "So if we can learn more about him, then perhaps we can learn more about this enemy."

'Easier said than done,' said Feromas. 'It's not like we never tried. Even the Prime Archivers in Luugh couldn't help us when we sought to learn more about Koh.'

'Hmm, I wonder about that,' said Overra.

'What do you mean?' said Feromas.

'The Archivers are supposedly neutral,' she said, 'but I have long had my suspicions about that. Just because they do not side with either the Vanguard or Abolish does not mean that they are without an agenda of their own.'

'Well, of course they have one. Everyone does. But what relevance does that have here? Do you have some reason to believe that they are untrustworthy on this particular subject?'

'Think about it. If these Primordials are such an ancient and powerful fixture of the world, then why is so little known about them?'

'You're implying the Archivers are in league with them?'

'Someone must be. And they seem well-positioned.'

"Sounds worth investigating," said Damian.