The sand castle created by the "Curse Caster."
While the soldiers of the Kingdom of Aiwood and the warriors of the oni tribe fought together in a strange alliance downstairs, Rest and Diebl broke through the ceiling and invaded the interior.
"It looks like this was the right call."
"So it seems. Are they the foreign tribesmen being held hostage?"
Rest and Diebl discovered them.
Before the two stood a prison cell.
A space of about ten tatami mats surrounded by earthen bars. Inside, children of the foreign tribes were packed in tightly.
Oni tribe, Winged tribe, Lizard tribe, Insect tribe, and those who appeared to be from other tribes Rest didn't recognize.
The imprisoned children looked at them with fear and wariness.
"What should we do?"
"We have no choice but to release them as planned. At least our immediate objective is accomplished."
There was no sign of the "Curse Caster" anywhere nearby.
Even using Presence Detection, they couldn't sense any such presence.
Perhaps he had sensed Rest and the others' invasion and fled.
"Ideally, I'd like to bring them back as bargaining chips with the foreign tribes... but it might just pour oil on the fire. Let's pray that the oni boy named Row handles the talking well."
"...You're right."
Rest nodded at Diebl's words.
The foreign tribes had taken a heavy blow from this battle, losing many of their warriors.
From what Row had said... they wanted to stop fighting too.
Once we free the hostages, they'll have no reason to fight and should withdraw.
(I can't really expect them to feel indebted to me for it... but it's enough if they just stop fighting.)
"Row...?"
"...Hm?"
As Rest was talking with Diebl, a faint voice drifted out from the cell.
"Did you just say Row? Do you know my brother?"
The one who had spoken was a little girl with two horns growing from her head.
She had white hair cut in a bob, and her features were quite cute.
If not for her horns, she was no different from a human. Her eyes, filled with fear, were fixed on Rest and the others.
"Yeah, we... well, you could say we're in a cooperative relationship with Row."
Rest said to the oni girl.
He wasn't lying.
They weren't comrades or friends, and he had thoroughly beaten Row in battle, taken him prisoner, and treated him quite harshly, but currently, they had formed a cooperative relationship.
"I'm going to break these cages and free you all now. Please, don't cause any trouble, alright?"
"Understood... everyone, calm down. If we panic, it'll just be more dangerous."
The young girl of the oni tribe calmed the other prisoners down.
She was a smart child. Thanks to her, the children of the foreign tribes who were on the verge of a panic calmed down as well.
"Alright... that's good."
Rest approached the cage and tried to cast a spell.
The cages holding the children were made of hardened earth, but if they were the same material as this castle, they couldn't be destroyed with ordinary mana.
He refined a considerable amount of mana, forming it into blades of wind, and tried to cut through the bars of the cage.
"Lord Rest!"
But... that was when it happened.
In the moment his focus was drawn entirely to firing off his attack magic, Diebl shouted.
The next instant, countless stakes shot out from the floor, walls, and ceiling of the room.
"Guh...!"
"Master Diebl!"
Shielding Rest, Diebl cast a defensive spell.
But... he couldn't completely block the dozens of sharp-tipped stakes, and Diebl's stomach was pierced through.
"Master, are you alright!? I'll heal you right now...!"
"Lord Rest... it's the enemy! Please deal with the enemy rather than worrying about me...!"
"......!"
Rest focused all his senses into his [Presence Detection] spell.
There was still no sign of any humans... but he felt a subtle sense of discomfort coming from the walls of the room.
"Over there...!"
In the sand castle, mana was imbued in every part, from the walls to the floor.
Among it all, there was a spot where the mana was concentrated more strongly.
He released the spell he had constructed to destroy the cage, aiming it right at that point of discomfort.
"Protect me."
At that moment, a muffled voice echoed.
A wall of sand sprouted from the floor. Rest's wind blades shattered two of the triple-layered barriers.
"What incredible power... It's terrifying."
As if seeping out from the wall of sand, a man appeared.
He was a man with a gloomy air about him, his reddish-brown hair hanging down to his eyes.
He was tall, yet his body was thin, his physique resembling a wirework doll.
He wore a black robe-like garment with a hood, and a reversed pentagram was engraved on his chest.
"Young as you are, you're frightening, truly frightening... What an enviable talent."
"You...!"
The gloomy, wirework man who had appeared.
This man must be the "curse caster."
Facing the man who had stabbed his revered master in the gut, Rest's eyes narrowed in anger.
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