Chapter 9
It was one day before the dungeon opened.
Each faction was holding its own festival, praying for the safe return of those who would be joining the expedition.
Compared to several hundred years ago, the celebrations were pitifully modest.
Even so, the dungeon opened only once a year.
Everyone had at least made the minimum preparations.
The elves, having barely managed to clean up the sudden disaster that had occurred, offered poems of gratitude to the gods of the forest and earth at three in the afternoon.
At the same time, the dwarves erected a golden pillar dedicated to the gods of alcohol and minerals, then placed an enormous oak barrel on top of it.
The humans—the Sapiens—offered symbols of their respective nations before Justitia, the Goddess of Justice, and burned them.
Lastly, the Were placed statues of the two red-and-blue Knight Gods, Bellium and Nex, at the front of their gathering and surrounded them with flames.
Boom— Boom— Boom— Boom—
As if answering the drums that shook the surroundings, the Were raised their voices and roared.
The warriors struck the ground with their spears while calling out the names of those participating in the expedition one by one.
Whenever a Were heard their own name, they cut a bloody mark across their chest and howled.
When the time came, General Kalkerak, the expedition commander, appeared between the two statues and began a long speech.
He spoke of the history of the Were.
The victories of the Were.
The future of the Were.
And how the spirits of their warriors would protect them along every road ahead.
While thunderous voices continued to pound against everyone's ears in the center of the territory, outside the jurisdiction, a delayed investigation into what had happened was still underway.
“…They died? Those bastards? To humans?”
“I don’t know whether the bodies were moved there afterward, or whether they were moved first and then finished off. But yes.”
They had finally managed to locate a young dwarf expedition member who had witnessed the entire incident from beginning to end.
From him, they learned the full story.
The truth was even more horrifying than they had imagined.
Shameless discrimination and contempt.
A fight caused by that behavior.
A series of inexplicable events.
And finally, gruesome deaths.
“In all fifty years of my life, I’ve never seen such a bizarre and horrific scene. I suppose that’s why I can remember it well enough to tell you all this… but I’d rather not think about it again.”
“…Thank you.”
“The cemetery is around here, so you should at least be able to pay your respects. You can forget about compensating me. If we meet inside the dungeon, just look after me then.”
The cemetery near the southern gate.
Standing before a grave hastily covered with mud and stones, with an old memorial tablet stuck into the ground above it, Isabella Turkan let out a deep sigh.
Nothing was written on the worn wooden board.
“…You stupid bastards.”
Thunk…
She lowered the silver mace she had brought in preparation for a possible fight and bowed her head slightly, mourning her dead brethren.
In a way, Isabella believed she was partially responsible as well.
They were insignificant fools with no talent who had never wanted to put in any effort.
Still, when they were young, they had been little brothers she had cared about in her own way.
At the very least, they had deeply cared for their own race.
They respected their seniors and elders.
Even though they were good-for-nothing loafers, she had believed they understood the minimum standards of proper conduct.
Not that she had paid them much attention.
But somehow, they had continued discriminating against the Sapiens, the supposedly weakest race, even now.
And they had done it in the exact crude, pathetic manner Isabella hated most.
Of course, most of those who gathered in Karaam, the Sanctuary, were already lunatics of one kind or another.
No one became angry at a magical beast because it couldn't understand human speech.
Racial discrimination was one of the worst things imaginable by Isabella's standards.
But other Were thought differently.
Some even actively encouraged it.
When the atmosphere of the entire group was like that, objecting by herself would only make things exhausting.
So Isabella had pretended not to see it.
She had closed her eyes and ears.
As long as they did not go too far, she had rationalized it as something unavoidable for the stability of the group.
And now this had happened.
“You picked the fight first, attacked first, and then got completely destroyed? By the humans you looked down on so much?”
Pathetic idiots.
Now she couldn't even properly scold them.
“If the gods permit you to be reborn… then at least live with honor next time, little brothers. Make this mourning worth something.”
That was the end of her moment of silence.
Isabella quickly returned to the Were territory.
The ceremony was still underway.
Boom— Boom— Boom— Boom—
As the ceremony approached its end, the drumbeats became longer and heavier.
The flames gradually died down.
Meanwhile, the warriors' shouts only grew louder, as though they would pierce the heavens.
After more than twenty minutes of continuous roaring, the ritual finally ended.
The statues were returned to their original places, and the expedition commander gave his men a few final words of advice.
General Kalkerak had finished all his duties for the day when Isabella hurried toward him and deeply bowed her head.
“General.”
“You were quick. I thought it would take longer.”
“I was fortunate.”
“I see. Did you find the scoundrel who killed your brothers?”
“I identified him, but… I couldn't catch him. His movements are simply too difficult to trace.”
“I see.”
“……”
“If fate guides you to him, you will eventually learn what you need to know. Do not concern yourself too much.”
“…Yes.”
“Are we finished? Then you may go.”
However, Isabella did not leave.
She remained standing there for a moment before suddenly dropping onto her left knee.
“Hmm?”
She raised her head and spoke firmly.
“Forgive my impertinence, General, but I wish to participate in this expedition as well.”
“You…?”
“Yes.”
The corners of the general's mouth curved upward, as though he had just seen something interesting.
“Is this for revenge against the one who killed your brethren, Isabella?”
“Of course not.”
“Then?”
“There is something I want to confirm. That is all.”
“Something you wish to confirm… That's a rather weak reason.”
“……”
While Isabella was trying to think of another explanation, the general's scaled hand came down before her.
“Nevertheless, you are welcome, Isabella Turkan. Daughter of Berzan, brave Werefox.”
“…It is an honor to fight alongside you, General. Great Divineheart, Were Drakoshi.”
Isabella lightly kissed the back of his hand, then rose with a smile.
Kalkerak gave her a short nod before heading toward his tent.
She watched his back for a moment before walking toward her own quarters to finish preparing.
“……”
Idiots or not, they had still been her own kind.
And Isabella understood the strength of the Were better than almost anyone.
In this world, the fewer members an intelligent race possessed, the stronger each individual tended to be.
The elves, who had the smallest population among the major races, were unmatched when it came to magic.
The Were, whose population was the second smallest, possessed physical abilities nearly ten times greater than those of Sapiens.
As for the minority races whose total numbers could practically be counted, the gap became enormous.
Each individual among those races possessed strength comparable to one of humanity's heroes.
Seen from that perspective, the Sapiens truly were the weakest race.
Fragile and weak creatures who had little choice but to rely on overwhelming numbers.
“And yet that Sapien… that human…”
All three of her younger brothers had been Werelions.
When it came purely to hand-to-hand combat, they ranked among the strongest fighters even within the Were.
And yet someone had brutally slaughtered those Werelions.
One human.
