As the statue guardians of the temple perished, the disguise that covered the temple's true form finally wore off.
And in the guardians last duty, to avoid the eyes and senses of higher beings—the temple self-destructed and proceeded to destroy itself.
***
As the temple rumbled heavily and shattered into a broken mess, Lucas desperately ran outside and managed to barely escape on time.
Crack—! Boom—! Rumble…
Behind him, the massive ancient temple had finally been reduced to debris.
"Haa… that was close.."
Lucas let out a relieved sigh, his hand rubbing his forehead in exasperation.
Although he looked distracted outwardly, he didn't stop reinforcing his body with aura.
While it was true that he was now safe from the temple crash, he didn't just forget the other danger near him.
Lucas narrowed his eyes.
There was someone other than him, a hostile entity with intelligence and armory. That entity most likely also saw him enter the temple, therefore it wouldn't be a stretch if that entity…
"This is bad..! This is bad..! How did that piece of chained shit manage to find out?! Thalzar, fuck! fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!"
…was somewhere near him.
Lucas immediately turned to look at where the voice came from.
And there behold, a strange dwarfish man with a bow and arrow on his back burrowed on the ground like a greedy, enraged goblin.
"My plan was dairy and rosy perfect. Nothing could go wrong. But…but… how did Thalzar the Chained find out?!"
Lucas sighed in relief. Void Plunge was still active so the entity couldn't see him at all.
Under his gaze the, the dwarfish man, Curain continued to mutter crazily:
"If Thalzar takes a hold of the human, it's all over. Not just for me. But for the entirety of Unrefined too. Darklow will be able to rule Repulse, kicking out Chieftess Zakaria and Unrefined!"
"Dammit..! Dammit..! Chief of Darklow… Thalzar. It's all over. All over. If I don't find any proof of the human, not only will I die in the red moon cycle but Unrefined will also get overtaken by Darklow.."
"Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit!"
Hearing the dwarfish man's mutterings, Lucas listened carefully and organized the information in his mind.
First of all, it seems his identity as a human had been discovered much earlier while he was undertaking the test in the temple.
Second of all, the place he was currently on seems to be within a place called Repulse. And in Repulse there were two factions stationed, Darklow and Unrefined.
Notably, the two factions seem to be hostile against each other. That was an important piece of information.
Thirdly, the Chief of Darklow, Thalzar found his traces and was now searching for him, intending to capture him entirely for themself. On the other hand,the Chieftess of Unrefined, Zakaria still didn't know of his existence.
Fourthly and lastly, it seems his existence as a human was so significant as just taking a hold of him would result in a faction taking over a whole territory.
Lucas rubbed the bridge of his nose, thinking carefully.
'How troublesome…'
The surplus of information brought a lot of bad news for his current situation. He was technically a cornered rabbit with nowhere to go.
He was stuck in a tight-roped position where he was being eyed by two factions, with nowhere to escape and go.
And if Thalzar and Zakaria were called Chief and Chieftess their strength most likely exceeded his.
Worst of all, it seems the natives in this place could identify a human with a glance. That removed his chances of ever mingling with the natives to find more information and temporarily hide.
All around, he was in a massive disadvantage and in a losing position from the get go.
'...There's a lot to think about, but am I in danger if I get captured?'
Lucas thought. Although the news sounded like it was the end for him, there was no mention of killing him but just taking a hold of him.
As though going insane, the dwarfish man continued his mutterings:
"If Thalzar manages to get that human, he won't let it go! Even if Chieftess Zakaria came herself… that chained piece of shit will keep that human safe until he reaches the Bonfire."
"Damn it! It's because that whore Zakaria won't listen to me. Now it's all over…"
'I guess that's the answer. Good.'
Hearing the confirmation from the dwarfish man's rants, Lucas nodded to himself and formed a devious plan in his mind.
At the end of it, his lips curled into a soft smile.
'Hm… it's risky but it is a massive opportunity. If all things go right then the benefits will outweigh the risk.'
Lucas looked down towards the dwarf, his hand playing with the pure white necklace on his neck.
'Yeah, let's go with this plan.'
***
In the Ruination, where ruins and remnant relics of civilization lay.
Thalzar the Chained stood before the ruined world, his brows furrowing in anxiety each and every moment passing.
Turning to look at his back, he spoke in a chilling and impatient tone:
"Have you found the human yet?"
In front of him, the chained followers that he had assigned to survey the place came back and shook their heads.
"Regretfully…"
Boom—!
"Don't continue that sentence."
Thalzar grunted, his feet stomping on the ground and causing a massive shockwave. He narrowed his eyes and turned to look at the massive temple in the Ruination.
"Find the human. Find him. If you can't find him until a red moon cycle, I swear by the End that I'll punish each one of you myself!"
Hearing that, the chained followers trembled and hastily agreed before moving out once more.
Thalzar, in his lone silence, impatiently stood guard on the place. The Aenox Grave group he assigned had still not given feedback yet…
Most likely, they haven't found the human's traces either. The search sounded hopeless in each second.
What if the human was dead? What if the human was already gone?
To Thalzar, each moment he has not found the human yet, increases the chances that the human is already dead or gone.
'No, even the corpse would be beneficial…'
Surely, the Bonfire would find merit to a human corpse. Hopefully. He would settle for that if that was what it took for him to have an edge against Zakaria.
While he was thinking to himself, footsteps echoed near him and a calm, soothing voice resounded:
"Hm… I think… I'm lost. Is this the place?"
Hearing the voice, Thalzar suddenly trembled and widened his eyes. He sniffed and raised his head, staring at the new unknown person.
He couldn't believe it.
Thalzar lips curled, smiling so widely it reached the end of his ears.
He just couldn't believe it.
Speak of the devil, in front of him…
"Huh? A new face. Wait, chains..?"
A black haired man with pale ashen white skin, pure unfettered black eyes and brows stood with a confused, bewildered expression.
But most importantly, the man emitted the stench of a human.
'Come back, now.'
Thalzar transmitted to all of his followers. From the Ruination. From the Aenox Grave. Delight, leaking from his voice.
'I found the human. Hurry.'
"...I think I'm lost. I'm going to go now, Chained Man."
Lucas commented to himself, taking a step back in the process.