Harharin's Fierce Battle
Regardless of their own will, where do the souls of those sacrificed to demons go? To the heavens because they were innocent victims? Or to the demon realm because they were offered as tribute?
The answer had already been given in ancient times.
— Those sacrificed against their will offer only their life force and karma to the demons, so their souls return to where they rightfully belong.
This was the conclusion drawn by the ancient grand archmages. Interpretations of karma—something only aura masters or 9th-circle archmages could wield—varied widely, but most people and temples interpreted it thus:
— Live righteously, and even if demons seize you, heaven awaits.
Mages, however, saw it differently. Strictly speaking in terms of demonology, "where they rightfully belong" meant the middle realm—this world. When beings bound by the middle realm's fate have their lives forcibly taken by extradimensional entities, their souls remain in place.
Of course, this didn't mean they became ghosts, the ethereal monsters classified as such due to corrupted mana or demonic energy. Unlike those abominations, a higher being's soul—its core of self-awareness—doesn't warp easily and remains tied to its original world.
"They linger there briefly, until time dulls their pain and grudges, and they let it all go"?
Afterward, they flow to the heavens or demon realm based on the karmic traces of their lives, making it not so different from the temples' view in the end. But mages found something intriguing: among those forcibly sacrificed, souls of great power lingered far longer than expected.
"Like vengeful spirits bound to the earth"?
Only legendary aura masters or equivalent grand shamans could see or handle pure souls. The soul-binding curses used by black mages were, upon closer inspection, mere brain-interference spells.
"Though a grand black mage might be different."
Since such beings existed only in legends, ordinary mages couldn't prove the hypothesis. To Tiny, it had been just an intriguing old tale from Argon.
Until now. He was unwittingly proving it—and feeling it firsthand.
— Human... a human?
— Chieftain...
— Nergui cursed us...
— He made us like this.
— Tell our kin...
'Kyung!'
Thanks to Wolrang's power, the souls were visible, their voices ringing in his ears.
— He subdued us with poison, then offered us as black magic tribute!
In the corner of the massive central tent in Harharin, the souls of those offered to demons lingered. Seeing them directly for the first time left even Tiny momentarily stunned.
Zerik, who had entered the tent with him, glared at him again with fierce eyes.
"What's here?"
Tiny could easily guess why he was angry. He'd confidently led them in, but there was nothing visible to the eye.
He couldn't stay silent.
"......Souls offered to demons."
"What!?"
Zerik's face twisted at the words, a savage aura surging from his entire body. The surrounding mana churned, vividly expressing his rage.
'Yeah. Sounds like bullshit.'
Tiny felt much the same.
'No proof.'
At first, he'd thought Wolrang's reaction meant demonic energy, but souls were impossible to prove to anyone.
Still, grasping at straws, he pressed on.
"The souls say the chieftain—Nergui—offered them as black magic tribute."
He bit his lip, but unexpectedly, Zerik didn't explode. Instead, he responded gravely.
"Can you prove it?"
......Did he actually believe it?
'Why?'
Flustered, but the answer came quickly.
"Well, it's tricky. It's my spirit's power, so......"
His uncertain voice trailed off, but a flash of inspiration struck.
"Ah! I know their names. Just from what I overheard—'Dawa,' 'Sarn,' 'Chechek'...... Aren't there people here who knew them? Family or close ones? If they share facts only they would know, wouldn't that be proof?"
No physical evidence? Then cross-examination would do.
"......Worth trying."
Zerik, who had seemed ready to erupt, nodded reluctantly. And it caused quite a stir.
"Th-that's right! Lord Dawa and the others vanished around the same time. The chieftain said it was dispatch duty......"
"Our daughter's name, our private story...... Th-that's it. We were worried sick when she vanished without a word...... Huhuhk. Great Warrior, what in the world is this?"
"My habit...... Father's words seem true. It was a secret just between us?"
The orcs, hearing the souls' words relayed, stared at Tiny in shock. And Zerik's expression darkened further.
The invisible souls were now proven to him as well. Sure, their spokesperson might recant later, but he had no desire to dismiss a human hero who had fought demon worshippers.
Besides.
'What he said last night......'
— This time, absolutely... I won't let you die so pointlessly, Zerik.
That inexplicable sorrow had fostered unfounded trust. It turned to fury toward an absent someone.
"Nergui, you've truly crossed the line."
Grrrrrrind.
The air heated instantly, pained looks crossing the orcs' faces. A few cross-examinations, and they'd fully bought Tiny's story. On reflection, Zerik's initial anger hadn't been doubt—it was belief.
"......You believe everything I say?"
It was almost disconcerting.
"Is it false?"
Tiny shook his head at the sharp glare.
"No, of course not. But the evidence is thin......"
"It's enough."
"Still, no hard proof......"
"No need. The bereaved confirmed it, and I've judged. Execution follows my will."
Orcs didn't need physical evidence—they were that straightforward.
'......Long live savage orcs.'
The worries of the past dissolved all too easily.
"W-wait!"
"Human, then my mother......?"
"......Does Father's soul linger here?"
The eyes of the grieving posed no issue.
"......Once their grudges are resolved, they'll rest in peace."
It wasn't empty comfort. The ancient grand archmages had said as much.
'Well, afterward they go to heaven or the demon realm based on their soul's weight, so the temples aren't entirely wrong.'
......Or so Argon had told him. Recalling his old comrade, Tiny reassured the orc survivors.
And the words spread like wildfire across the parched plains of Harharin.
"Then we can call Bator's warriors now."
"......We must."
Just as things seemed to unfold smoothly, black rhinoceros banners fluttered chaotically near the southern wall.
— Цркцлвыдфвд уравлвредыул!
Incomprehensible shouts echoed from the southern wall. A foreboding chill brushed his mind as he glanced at Zerik.
"Chieftain, Nergui approaches."
"What!?"
Tiny's eyes widened at the worst timing, but Zerik bared his teeth in a savage grin.
"......Perfect. Time to end it now."
"Are you insane!?"
The reflexive shout slipped out. Realizing it too late.
"With justification on my side, the ancestors will watch over me."
Zerik smirked, clapped his shoulder, and turned away.
'In your past life, that's how you all nearly got wiped out!'
Swallowing the truth he couldn't voice, Tiny groaned inwardly and followed with reluctant steps.
He reaffirmed his resolve from arriving here.
'If worst comes to worst, I grab Zerik and bolt.'
Of course, Zerik wouldn't follow willingly, so at least knocking him out.
Tiny's face soured at the grim foresight. But events unfolded far differently than expected.
"I will punish the lawbreaker!!"
Whether out of consideration, Zerik bellowed in the common tongue. Orc warriors echoed him in their own voices.
"Ущцоыелыдфвьд Уьевдул!"
"Елвлкплы цркцлввьа соулыплцл!"
"Ущцоыелыдфвьа Улаьал!"
The unintelligible cries spread chaotically. But right after.
"Let's go, young friend."
Zerik flashed his fiercest smile yet, using an unfamiliar term of endearment as he clapped his shoulder again.
— If I'd acted right back then, our race wouldn't have fallen like this, nor the Great Warrior's authority diminished so.
Zerik's rare comment on the orc civil war resurfaced.
'......Was the Great Warrior's authority this absolute before the clan's fall?'
Dazed by the realization, Tiny trailed him. Warriors flocked as they moved, surging over the wall en masse.
Beyond, a thousand black rhinoceros riders charged across the southern plain with terrifying momentum.
Thud thud thud thud thud.
The earth-shaking vibrations carried an awe-inspiring menace, but Tiny's face lit up instead.
Not tens of thousands—just a thousand?
'Fewer than expected. Just a detachment. Of course—it's wartime.'
Another overlooked fact dawned, a faint smile tugging his lips.
Then Zerik, drawing vast mana, unleashed a roar that swept the plain.
"Halt there! Nergui! I condemn you for breaking the laws!"
His earth-shattering bellow overshadowed the rhinoceros horde's charge. But.
— Black rhinoceros warriors!! Obey my command!!
The enemy leader's confident retort was no less formidable. And their forms began to change.
Even.
"Grrrgh!"
"Grraaarr!"
"Chieftain!"
The orcs who had glared coldly at their chieftain now erupted in black auras, turning murderous gazes on Tiny and Zerik.
Even the bystanders—or supposed allies—had turned foe.
A sinister energy spread stealthily across the plain, centered on the orcs. Its source: the demonic energy from the black rhinoceros chieftain at the horde's heart.
'How did it turn like this so suddenly?'
"Damn it, Zerik!!"
Flustered, he snapped casually at his sole ally.
"Nergui, you've truly sold your soul!"
Zerik, outraged as if personally insulted, drew the transcendent weapon Honor. A massive silver wolf phantom enveloped him amid a storm of crimson aura.
"I'll tear you to shreds, filth!"
As the wolf phantom cloaking Zerik turned blood-red.
BOOM.
Enveloped in the Blood Wolf's phantom, Zerik shot forward like a red thunderbolt.
Left alone amid a thousand frenzied orc warriors, Tiny could only scan his surroundings in bewilderment.
"Kill the enemy."
"Цоквьа, цтквгал!"
Damn it.
"Knew it'd end up like this......"
Glaring resentfully at his old friend charging ahead alone, the warrior gritted his teeth and drew Stamp.