Mira was confused, she wasn’t sure if the troll was just somehow able to speak the human language or if a human had transformed into a troll.
“Snowman? Is that you?”
“It is, Mira.”
If it really was a troll, they would have captured her without conversation and tied her to the altar like the other captives.
Thus, this troll was definitely the person she knew as Snowman.
“H-How did you become a troll? What did they do to you?”
Seol laughed.
“I guess you’re shocked by my appearance. This isn’t something that the Sulfur Skull Tribe did to me, but something I did of my own volition.”
“Why?! Why the hell would you want to turn into a fucking troll?”
Snowman scratched his chin.“I have to fit the part if I want them to let me in, no?”
“...What?”
“It’s because the trolls would just let me in if I look like this.”
Mira was stunned, like a hammer had struck her head. However, before she asked any further, she quickly remembered a more urgent matter.
“C-Could you let go of me first though? I think my wrists are going to break.”
“Ah, sorry. Did I hold it too tightly? I just didn’t want to make any sounds as that would become troublesome.”
The troll, which was in actuality Karen, slowly backed away after letting go.
Mira lightly coughed before asking Seol another question.
“So… Why are you here?”
“Why are you here then, Mira?”
“It’s… to save Kibo…”
“I’m the same as well. I came here to rescue Hamun.”
“Then does that mean you plan on fighting the Sulfur Skull Tribe too?”
“I do.”
“With… just four people?”
“Yes.”
Mira shook her head as if she heard preposterous.
“Look, that’s obviously impossible.”
“Weren’t you also planning on just blindly charging at the altar with two people?”
“Well…” Mira then continued, weakly, “It’s because we had no choice… This was the only option we had left…”
“To rescue Kibo, right?”
“Yeah.”
“By the way, I met a man who seemed to be one of your party members.”
“W-Was he alive?”
“He was dead.”
“......”
Their expressions grew dark.
“It’s my fault. If I… If I didn’t bring everyone here… this wouldn’t have happened. If I wanted to kill myself, I should have just done it on my own…”
Jirmo refuted her right away.
“Mira, this isn’t your fault. We volunteered to come here because we all had a debt to repay to Kibo. Don’t trample on the dead party members’ honor. You can’t do that.”
“Jirmo…”
Jirmo then turned to Seol.
“We followed them to rescue Kibo, and we thought we were close to catching up to them. However… after realizing that we were trailing them, they sent trolls after us.”
“Hm… How many did they send?”
“It was… just two trolls. Two trolls swept through close to twenty people on their own. Mira tried fighting while protecting the others, but ended up being pushed back by their combined attacks.”
Mira nodded.
“They’re strong, those two especially. They weren’t normal at all.”
“More importantly, the two of them were only another troll’s subordinates.”
Jamad showed interest after hearing that.
“Who? Did you get a good look at them?”
“I didn’t. Other than the decorated clothes they wore, they had no special characteristics.”
“Hm… then what about the two trolls who attacked you guys?”
“One of them used a long claw-like weapon and the other used a big axe.”
“Hmph, it’s Zoze and Kango. They’re both skilled Sulfur Skull Tribe members.”
“Do you know them?” Seol asked Jamad.
“They’re pretty good, but not to the point that we have to worry about them. They’re just a pair of foul-tempered trolls. Rather, we have to be careful about the troll they serve.”
“Their master, huh… Is there someone that comes to mind?”
“Zando. The same troll who proposed this plan.”
“Is he strong?”
“Somewhat? I’ve never fought him myself so I don’t know. I’m sure I would have crushed him if I fought him though.”
Seol, after understanding the situation better, asked Mira a question.
“Mira, what do you plan to do now?”
“What do you mean?”
“We plan on heading to the altar. What do you plan to do?”
Mira felt emotions bubbling inside of her.
After exiting Nevenia’s borders, it had been one bad experience after another.
Her allies had either been slaughtered by the trolls or had scattered in fear, leaving her in the dark about their survival. Unfortunately, they were also unable to prevent the wooden cage carrying Kibo from reaching the volcano.
It felt like the world was dragging her into the depths of despair.
And now, just as she had become exhausted, Seol showed up.
He then asked her a question.
“Do you wish to fight once more?”
Mira supported her shaky legs with her handaxe before standing up.
In her moment of desperation, her last and only hope extended its hands toward her, and she had no intention of letting go.
Mira tightly gripped Seol’s hand.
“Take me with you. Take me with you to the volcano.”
Seol smiled.
“Then we’ll need to prepare ourselves.”
“...What?”
“Close your eyes.”
“Huh… Huh?”
* * *
The chains that were supporting the altar of fire weren’t ordinary chains.
The chains were processed with shamanic spells to endure a lot of weight, and the chains themselves were also huge.
Though only a few people knew about the chains’ true origin, it was widely known that the chains were passed down from the Tribe Alliance’s headquarters.
And right now, a party was walking on those chains.
It was Seol’s party.
As Seol’s party was about to reach the altar, the guards shouted at them.
“Who are you?!”
Seol, resembling a troll now, stepped forth.
He then saw a few options.
[[You have arrived at the Fire Altar’s entrance. However, guards stand in your path. What do you do?]
1. Kill the guards before the commanders realize it.
2. Ignore them and keep going.
3. [Required: Sleep Spell] Put them to sleep immediately.
4. [Required: Captive] Claim that you are currently transporting a captive.
……]
Seol raised the rope he bound Mira and Jirmo with.
“I’m transporting a prisoner! Make way!”
“What? Are you telling the truth? Why is Zando not with you then?”
- OMG Did they get caught?
- Damn the guards are sharp!
- Objection!
Seol continued without even showing a hint of being flustered.
“We were late because we had to kill some stragglers.”
“Hm…”
Seol noticed that the guard wasn’t fully convinced and began improvising.
“We don't have time to waste here! If we end up lacking offerings because a prisoner was transported late, I'm going to bring it up when Zando asks me why."
“Argh… fine! Come this way!”
- Phew…
- I can’t deny that Snowman has guts LOL
- GRIFFITH!!!
It was Karen, Jamad, Mael, Seol, Jirmo, and Mira.
The party of six safely reached the end of the chain. Now, all they had to do was pass through the altar’s entrance but the guard in front was suspicious of something.
He was suspicious of Jamad.
“Hm… Did we have a troll this big?”
“Hahaha… He’s about as big as Jamad from the Rock Molar Tribe.”
“Why are we talking about someone who’s dead haha?”
It was clear that Jamad was furious, just from looking at his expression, but Jamad tried his best to hide it. After all, the moment he killed that guard, their entire plan would go awry.
Though Jamad was furious because of them, it was also true that he was eye-catching due to his size.
“Well, regardless… Did you guys not see it on your way here?”
“See what?”
“Ah, so you didn’t hear about it? Magra is coming to the altar with his army to receive Purga’s blessing. I heard he was almost here, but I guess you guys haven’t seen him yet.”
Jamad’s pupils shook greatly.
“Huh? Hey, you, what’s wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
"Regardless, the situation has become chaotic with Magra helping out in the ceremony. Zando is on edge because of the Old God Festival, so it's crucial to be cautious."
“Thank you. Goodbye.”
“Haha… You can leave already. I want to have fun with the prisoners.”
“...Are you hurting them?”
“Only those who are disobedient. I’m just making sure they continue to fear us.”
The brutality of the Sulfur Skull Tribe was already notorious throughout the neighboring kingdoms. They were specialists in extracting information from prisoners through torture.
However, in this situation, they were simply torturing for amusement and to set an example.
Since Mira didn’t understand troll language like Jamad or Mael, she had no idea what they were talking about.
But it was also thanks to it that she was able to maintain her composure.
“Well then, good luck.”
“Yeah. Open!”
Rumble…
A door was opened on the south side of the altar.
After Seol’s party safely entered the altar, the door closed behind them.
Thud…
Jamad, after confirming that there was no one around them, slowly began talking.
“Look, there’s a problem.”
“Yeah, this is very dangerous…”
“The additional army is also a problem, but Magra coming here is the biggest problem. Do you know who Magra is?”
“...An elder of the Tribe Alliance.”
“There really is nothing that you don’t know. Then you must also know what this means, right?”
The Troll Tribe Alliance.
It was a group with a deep history behind it.
Though it had many smaller groups within it, if one had to choose a representative entity, the immediate pick would be the Council of Elders.
The Council of Elders was composed of monstrously powerful elders from the previous generation, each representing a different tribe.
As they were formed to ensure the health of the alliance, rather than leading the future of the alliance, they were essentially the symbol of the Tribe Alliance’s strength.
‘...I never expected Magra to come here.’
Magra was a renowned shaman in the Council of Elders, representing the Sulfur Skull Tribe.
“It means that if we fail, we’ll die.”
“Hahaha… Saying that means nothing’s changed. Alright, let’s go. Mael, the central axis is going to be on the lowest floor.”
“Understood. I will find it immediately, then head to the altar.”
After entering the altar, they split up into three parties.
Jamad continued to act as if he was transporting the captives, Mira and Jirmo, while Mael ventured off on his own.
Meanwhile, Seol and Karen had to proceed stealthily, ensuring they wouldn't get caught.
The plan went like this…
While Jamad, Mira, and Jirmo rescued the prisoners, Mael would destroy the central axis of the altar, causing chaos, before rendezvousing with Seol.
During that time, Seol and Karen had to prepare a path to where the Old God Festival was being held.
It was a simple plan, but one that could go awfully awry if a single thing went wrong.
Even so, Karen looked calm.
“By the way, Master… you look awfully ugly right now.”
“You do too, Karen.”
“Woah, this is my first time ever being called ugly. So this is what it felt like… I’m beginning to feel sorry for Jamad now.”
- What did Jamad do to you LMFAOOO
- Other trolls think Jamad is handsome, alright?!
- In fact, he’s even better looking than me!
- …Really? Good luck, dude…
They continued their conversation while heading down the stairs.
Since there were many trolls talking to each other here, it looked very natural.
“By the way… Do you remember our last conversation?”
“It’s hard to remember specific conversations because you talk so much.”
“Argh… I can’t deny that. Regardless, it was during the Fog Ghost thing.”
- There’s only one way I can be sure of myself. When I arrive at the end… the world would be a better place then.
“I remember it.”
“What you said then… I think you were right.”
“...What?”
“You aren’t someone who acts to save the world.”
Karen wasn’t wrong.
Seol’s party wasn’t here to save the citizens in place of Nevenia, or because he felt sympathy for the poor people of Nobira.
It was solely for Hamun.
He was risking danger to save someone useful to him.
“But the funny thing is, your actions do create a better world.”
If Seol were successful in this Adventure, he would end up preventing the Sulfur Skull Tribe from attacking Nevenia and also saving the captured citizens of Nobira, whether he intended to do it or not.
Seol wasn’t actively trying to save the world, but his actions did create a better world. It seemed like the path he intended to take was also such a path.
“So? What are you trying to say?”
“Well…”
And then…
Rumble…
[Fire Altar’s central axis has been offset.]
“It’s a success! Mael did it!”
It made sense why Seol trusted Mael's ability. Mael had just gone to the control room alone and offset the axis.
Mael showed skills expected from someone who was Seol’s first helper.
Rumble Rumble…
Armed trolls flooded down the stairs.
It was obviously to find the person that offset the axis, but they wouldn’t be able to find Mael.
After all, Mael was extremely confident in the role he was given.
After the flood of troll soldiers went down the stairs, a troll arrived late. He found Seol and Karen’s actions strange.
“What are you two doing? Did you not hear Zando’s orders? Why are you dawdling here?”
“Well, that’s because…”
Unsheathe…
[Karen is no longer affected by the Potion of Camouflage’s effects.]
[You are no longer affected by the Potion of Camouflage’s effects.]
Karen smiled as she swung her sword.
“We’re headed up.”
At the Fire Alter, a place where horrible events were about to unfold, a crack was formed.
However, for now, it was just a small crack.
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