Mountain of Corpses

Over the next several days, Haalfrin combs the land with Nella, Dee, Garr, and Talfon (4 of the surviving prisoners of Floor B33, with only Vic being left behind to keep tabs on the warden) Together, they're looking for Warden Prella, as well as any hidden boats they could sail away on.

While the search may be fruitless at first glance, they do witness a lot happening. Given Dee's report about the situation with the natives, they all know by now that native mages have been extinct in this land for some time now.

They also learn a few things from talking to the new warden about the situation. He tells them about how with so few guards left and no detention facilities anymore, it became impossible to keep track of all the prisoners.

With all this in mind, it only makes sense for the ex-prisoners to escape, find these helpless natives, and do what they will without fear of consequences. Most of the roaming bandits they find have taken over villages, formed alliances with each other, and declared themselves the lords of this land. It doesn't help much that the natives think they have god-like power that can't be questioned.

Watching these bandits act like they're big shots is annoying to Haalfrin, so he does kill them whenever he finds them… though not before questioning them.

Over their travels, they come across a collection of tents and dimly lit fires. Thinking more bandits are down there, Haalfrin lowers himself with his flight spell, and he lands some distance away.

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The acting warden is leaning over a large, flat rock in the middle of the wrecked fortress on top. On the flat surface is the village chief's map. "Hmm…" the warden mutters, "It doesn't say which way is north."

"Sir," one of the guards points out, "Even if we knew where north was on the map, we wouldn't know which direction Brancotte is. It appears we have a large sea on all sides."

Plus, it's not like any of these guards have ever been sailors before, so none of them even realize that you can use the stars to tell directions.

"Gah!" the head officer yells in frustration, "So annoying!"

The man had never thought he'd be a warden one day, though, considering the wreckage around him, there's not much meaning to that title anymore. Still, he's not used to acting professionally and containing his emotions like a typical leader.

Thus, all the other soldiers awkwardly look at their leader. They all share his frustrations, but they were hoping he'd have a solution.

Once the warden calms down, he asks abruptly, "Where's Haalfrin?"

"Sir, he left with his 4 followers… He-"

A man's voice interrupts from the side, "After Dee came back up the mountain with your boys, she went with Haalfrin and the others to find Prella. If she hasn't left the island yet, she definitely knows how to get back to the empire." Vic leans back against the rock he's resting against, and he goes back to munching on his stale bread.

"Oh…," the warden looks down in worry, "I hope the man comes back and lets us know how to get back home too. He might just take Prella and sail away."

"Not gonna happen," Vic rebuts him, "I'm still here, so he's coming back."

Vic and the warden both get a lost look on their faces. "I hope Prella is still on the island…"

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The next we see, several bandits are fleeing in all directions. "AAAH!" many haunting screams cry out for their comrades in the night.

"Goddess, did the help you were talking about come?" one of the other villagers next to Prella asks. Prella is still planted in the ground, so she can't turn her head to look at the other prisoner.

"I don't know," Prella says hopefully. "It could be more escaped prisoners, or it could be the guards. Or…" She shakes her head. "Better not think about that possibility."

Prella looks on and sees a bandit off in the shade of the trees fall over dead with a sword in his throat. With her sharp, enhanced eyes, she sees the symbol of the Pit on the pommel. "It's them!" Prella cries out in relief. "We've been found!"

The villagers around Prella get excited, and they quickly pass the word to everyone else. This is the first time these people have felt optimistic ever since they lost half their population to the demons' raid.

It only takes less than a minute before all the screaming stops, and the surrounding forest is left in gloomy silence – only disturbed by the rustling of leaves on the wind.

"That was fast…," Prella mutters nervously. "No way the battle is over that quickly…"

Just as she's wondering about whether her subordinates or the ex-prisoners won the battle, she hears a gruff voice behind her.

"Haven't seen you in a while, old woman."

…Something… about that voice feels familiar…

Prella feels a large hand grip the top of her skull, and she feels a powerful body-reinforcement spell course through her bones – protecting her from further injuries as she's physically ripped out of the ground and thrown to the side like an unwanted weed.

The "goddess" groans and looks up at the man looming over her. The moon in the sky is casting the man's shadow on her – making him look like some sort of monster with all important features shrouded in a silhouette.

…In the end, Prella only recognizes who this is when Haalfrin crouches down and puts his face close enough for her to see him clearly.

"AAAH!!!" the woman screams in terror as she tries scooting further away. She curls into a ball and tries her best to appear small in front of Haalfrin.

…And all the other villagers watch on in shock. Should a goddess really be acting like that?

Haalfrin ignores the other villagers while several other strangers emerge from the woods and start releasing them.

Knowing the villagers are fully taken care of, the man lifts Prella up with a telekinesis spell and says, "I'll be short. Show me how to get back to Brancotte."

Mustering up the last of her courage, Prella spits in his face and shouts, "Never! I can't let a Demon like you get back there and destroy even more lives!"

The Demon of the Pit slightly curls his fingers, and Prella feels an immense pressure tighten around her body. The force is so strong that she can't breathe, and she feels her bones creaking and getting ready to snap.

She then feels a slight black Aura touch her heart and threaten to squeeze. "I won't ask again," the demon says in a dead pan voice.

Prella momentarily blacks out under both the pressure on her bones and on her spirit. So, she doesn't get to answer him immediately.

Thinking the woman is just being stubborn, Haalfrin's voice oozes out irately, "In fact, I don't even need to ask you. The Crow goddess knows where the Pit is, else she wouldn't have been able to send Dakka here. I can just kill you now and ask Freyya when she comes to pick up your soul. I don't need you."

Just when he's about to crumple Prella's body like a piece of scrap paper, the woman screams out desperately, "IT'S NORTHEAST! If you sail at 35 degrees to the northeast, you'll arrive at the empire again. I… Please don't kill me or the villagers! We're no threat to you!"

Haalfrin scoffs, "I only kill people who get in my way." He leans forward and puts a foot on her prone stomach. "You're lucky I'm not the type to have hard feelings over an officer doing her job, else I'd torture you to death for keeping me locked up for so long."

He takes his foot off and starts to walk away. "Thanks for your cooperation." He turns and flies off with them all on a flying spell, leaving Prella behind to hope and pray Brancotte won't curse her name for generations to come.

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Once Haalfrin is gone, and Prella is left with the other surviving villagers, Dina clutches Prella's shirt and asks, "Who was that?"

Fondly, Prella scratches the girl's rough hair and replies loud enough for everyone to hear, "He's the most powerful demon from the Pit. He's so powerful that nobody in the land can defeat him, even if they all gathered together. Not even me and my allies can win."

Hearing this, the villagers get even more nervous. "What're we going to do if it comes back!?" one of the older women cries out in fear. Other loud murmurings overtake the crowd as chaos threatens to spill out.

They only calm down when Prella reassures them all, "That one has no interest in this land. Remember the questions he asked me? He wants to leave here and never come back. So long as you don't get in his way, he probably won't kill you."

Now, all the villagers can do is pray that the Demon of the Pit really does leave as soon as possible and that their goddess is right about him.

…Now, all Prella can do is pray that Haalfrin keeps his hands to himself and doesn't destroy the empire when he gets back.

Before Prella can get her bearings, 2 of Haalfrin's followers approach her from behind and slap an extra pair of mana-sealing cuffs on her. "By the way, Haalfrin said you're going to sail off with him. He doesn't want you sending him off in the wrong direction."

"!!!" ~ Prella