“Let me take a look!”

Bey, stroking his impressive mustache, walked over energetically.

“Look at this! It’s not too bad! You’ll be alright!”

“Th-thank you…”

Egru managed to smile as he spoke.

“I’ll believe you…”

“That’s right! Just hang in there a little longer!”

Bey quickly looked around. He couldn’t help but sigh. It was the worst place for a patient to stay. All kinds of garbage and filth were left to rot. The stagnant puddles gave off a foul odor.

“Wake up, Egru!”

“Ah…”

At Tuunri’s cry, Egru opened his eyes that were slowly closing. In his drowsy state, he smelled the damp earth of the garbage dump.

“Over here, Chief!”

Just then, two large figures approached.

‘Can I…’

Egru thought. Be surprised so many times in a row? His stomach and back were very hot, but he was so happy he forgot all about it.

“What’s your name?”

One of the large figures asked.

He was an Orc.

His skin color was slightly darker than Egru’s, but he knew better than anyone.

A born warrior race. Guardians of the South.

Except for their characteristic skin color, pointed ears, and fangs, they looked no different from humans. The black hair braided in several strands looked very impressive.

Egru felt like he was going to cry. But for some reason, he was too dry and nothing came out. As if his body lacked moisture.

As Egru stared blankly up at his kin, Tuunri answered for him.

“His name is ‘Egru’.”

“…I see.”

The Orc called Chief seemed to know something.

“He looks young, how old is he?”

“N-no. I’m… twenty-two…”

“That’s young for an Orc. As you know, demons live much longer than humans.”

The Orc Chief looked at Egru.

“His fangs haven’t even grown in properly, so it’s certain. Even if he’s a half-human.”

Egru managed to open his mouth. Though weak, his voice was excited at meeting an Orc for the first time.

“If… if it’s not too rude… may I ask… your name…”

“I’m the kidnapper.”

“…Pardon?”

“No, he’s the Chief.”

The subordinate standing beside him waved his hands and corrected.

“Come on, Chief, why are you teasing an already injured kid?”

“I’m not teasing.”

“Huh? Oh, no way! Then this guy…!”

The subordinate who had been looking down at Egru’s wounds turned away with a complicated expression.

“Orcs value loyalty and duty to their kin more than their own lives.”

The Orc Chief said.

“Egru, if we had known you were in the system, we would never have…”

His brow furrowed painfully as he looked down at the skinny Egru.

“Left you in such a poor environment.”

Egru couldn’t quite understand what “poor” meant. He was just grateful that someone seemed to be angry on his behalf. The feeling of someone supporting him wasn’t bad at all.

“Were you born and raised here?”

Egru nodded slowly.

“This is unacceptable. Even if human blood is mixed in, to treat one of our own like this.”

The Orc Chief knelt on one knee beside Egru. He didn’t seem to care at all about getting blood on his clothes. His rough, large hand completely enveloped Egru’s bony one.

“Our fresh olive-colored skin is our pride. We’ll definitely take you to our kin’s home, so hang in there.”

“B-but…”

This is my home. Egru couldn’t bring himself to reveal his true feelings.

“Th-thank you so much… May I… ask your name…”

“Just call me Big Brother for now.”

The Orc Chief stood up and instructed his subordinate.

“Keep talking to him. Don’t let him fall asleep.”

“Yes, Chief.”

“May the High God be with you.”

With these final words, the Orc Chief nodded to Tuunri. Tuunri walked away with him, looking uncomfortable.

“How’s his condition?”

The Orc Chief asked once they were far enough away.

“It’s a penetrating wound. He’s already done for.”

“Don’t say that. Are you going to give up on a demon’s life so easily?”

“Then why don’t you try removing the barrier right now!”

Tuunri, who had raised her voice without realizing it, looked back at Egru and lowered her voice.

“You think I want to say this? It’s hopeless when the liver is pierced, especially here. We can’t even provide proper treatment in this barren garbage dump.”

“I’ve spent a long time on battlefields. There are Orcs who survive worse injuries than this.”

“I’m sure they had sufficient supplies and equipment there. You’re not going out to fight with wooden spears like primitives, are you?”

“Explain the treatment method. Tell me what I need to do.”

At the Orc Chief’s calm attitude, Tuunri’s intensity subsided a little. Having calmed down somewhat, she hid her welling tears.

“We need to transfer him to a hospital immediately. At the very least, we need clean water or medicine. He must be in terrible pain right now. It’s amazing how quiet he is when he should be screaming. I wish we had some painkillers. But of course, we don’t have anything like that since we were all dragged here in the middle of the night.”

“…”

“I don’t even understand what such a young child was doing in the system in the first place. It’s a place even grown adults are reluctant to enter carelessly. There’s no way a demon would bring such a small child to the system…”

Tuunri suddenly looked down at her blood-covered hands. It wasn’t her blood.

“It might be better to end it painlessly.”

“Don’t give up. I’ll go back and try to break the wall again.”

“It’s useless. In the end, we need to break the barrier. How can we break a magic barrier when none of us have a shred of magic power left? Trying it on Egru, the only one without restraints, is… out of the question. Look at his condition.”

Tuunri looked up at the night sky. Perhaps because of the barrier, not a single star could be seen.

‘If only we didn’t have these damn restraints…’

We could have tried something. It wasn’t a particularly great wide-area barrier. Rather, it seemed hastily and sloppily made. But it wove simple formulas together with maximum efficiency. The combination was so unexpected that at first, it was difficult even to reverse-engineer it.

“Whoever made this barrier formula is either a genius or a pervert. To make me this frustrated in such a short time.”

Given that they even put up a noise cancellation spell, their purpose was clear. For now, she could only hope her guess was wrong.

“Communication devices and artifacts are all out of service too.”

“We have to try as much as we can.”

The Orc Chief said calmly. Tuunri irritably stomped her feet.

“The Empire shouldn’t have that many good magicians. If humans made this barrier, the caster should be inside. Humans aren’t that good at constructing barriers. There must be a separate core somewhere, but why can’t I find it no matter how much I search? If we could just destroy that…”

Tuunri roughly messed up her curly hair.

“Damn it! Since it’s a hastily constructed barrier, there must be a gap somewhere! We need another exit to begin with! You saw it through the dog hole too! Even if we get out of here, we’ll just die at the hands of the Imperial soldiers outside… Aah!”

Bang!

The Orc Chief instantly pulled Tuunri towards him. A large fireball fell where Tuunri had just been standing.

Tuunri’s neck bristled as she looked at the crater in the ground.

“Dodge.”

The Orc Chief said.

“It’s catapult fire.”

Tuunri looked up again. Large fireballs began to fly across the transparent barrier.

“D-did I get hit?”

“No.”

The Orc Chief immediately ran over and helped Egru sit up.

“Come here. Hold on to me. We need to move.”

“Stop, stop it… It, it hurts…”

Egru was in agony. Dark blood gushed out from his open wound. The arrow shaft lodged in his body seemed to be twisting with the intense movement.

“Woof! Woof! Grrrr!”

Seeing Egru in pain, the big dog barked at the Orc Chief. Its long snout wrinkled fiercely.

“If you go ahead… I’ll, I’ll definitely follow later…”

“No. If you stay still, you’ll die.”

The Orc Chief said.

Around them, other demons began to pray.

“Oh High God…”

“They’re trying to burn us all to death. Those damned…”

The Orc subordinate, carefully lifting Egru with Bey, asked:

“Chief! What is this? Is it a bombing?”

“No. It’s fire that isn’t hot. Still, be careful.”

“They really think our lives are as cheap as flies…!”

Tuunri, who had run over a bit late, spat out curses.

The Orc Chief looked up at the consecutive fireballs flying in.

It’s a massacre.

The meaning of this one-sided slaughter is a declaration of war against demons.

“It’s war after 400 years.”