“…Not at all,” Yuri said. “We were also almost done over here. If you have anything you want to say to them, then you can tell me now, or you will not have the chance in the future.”

  “Tell them that their Captain has surrendered, and that if any of them resist, all of them will have to die.”

  “…You are still too soft.”

  “Why kill when things can be solved in other ways?” Alnea said, before glancing at the battles of his other teammates. Fran, with Norren and Ralph’s help, was containing the two Wanderers towards the back with ease, preventing them from casting any Arcanas or Glyphs to help others. Rather, they were not even able to help themselves, and were suppressed severely by the trio.

  On the other side, Cecilia was having a fun time dancing between her three opponents, overwhelming them with pure strength and speed, with occasional brilliant moves from time to time. Her opponents, on the other hand, were embarrassed and haggard, barely coping up with her moves. Their shields had been scrapped long ago, and their robes were not much better either.

  Let alone finding time to support their teammates, these Wanderers looked like they could not hold on much longer themselves. Especially since they also had to deal with sneak attacks from Forne, Zain, and Karl from time to time. Then again, what else could he have expected from such enemies. Maybe, if it had not been for Yuri’s order for containing their enemies, and not taking them down, they would already be either dead or crippled.

  “…Wanderers of the Greenshield clan!” Alnea said, using his Aspects to amplify his voice, drawing everyone’s attention to himself, while placing his sword’s edge next to the Greenshield Captain’s neck. “Your Captain has already surrendered. It is time for you to give up your pointless resistance.”

  “No!”

  “…Narkhan!” yelled the Wanderer facing Cecilia, before pushing her away with all his strength, and—

  “Where do you think you are going?” Cecilia said, stepping past the flaw in his defence, and punching him in his stomach, making him keel over in pain.

  “You…”

  “Just stay put, or it will be more than your own life that you will be losing,” Cecilia said with a sneer, before proceeding to deal with the other two Wanderers in a similar way. Zain and Karl did not even have to do anything.

  On the other side, Fran, Norren and Ralph had an even easier time stopping their opponents from rushing over to their Captain. After all, unlike the three Wanderers that Cecilia was facing, the two that they faced did not have much skill as Warriors. Still, even if they could not rescue their Captain, that did not stop them from voicing out their opinion.

  “What are you doing, bastard!”

  “Stay away from him!”

  “Don’t hurt him!”

  “…Have you made a mistake?” Alnea said, pressing his sword’s edge a bit deeper into the Greenshield Captain’s neck, scratching it with the crimson winds flowing around his sword. “This is not a negotiation, neither is it a request. Give up your resistance, and maybe you will have a chance to live. Try something else, and I will send all of you to Inkah’s Domain with my own hands. Do you understand?”

  “…This is not over yet,” said the Wanderers who had been fighting Cecilia. “Bras—

  Before the man could continue with his words, the patch of black fog, that had enshrouded a large part of their battlefield, blocking everything that was happening within from everyone’s sight and Spirit, slowly dissipated away, returning back to wherever it had come from, revealing the conditions of the Wanderers within.

  Yuri and Aren were mostly unscathed, showing no signs that they had just been through an intense fight, while the four Greenshield Wanderers were kneeling on the ground, with all sorts of wounds on their bodies. Especially the man who had always been charging at front, the one with the largest shield. Or rather, the one that used to have the largest shield. After the battle earlier, like most of his teammates, his shield too had been scrapped, and lay next to him, broken into a dozen pieces.

  “Pardon me for interrupting you,” Yuri said, glancing indifferently to the man who had been speaking earlier. “Were you saying something?”

  “I—

  “Before you speak, I should remind you that as Wanderers, you must be responsible for what you say.”

  “…Let us give up, Vamos,” said that man, who had been fighting Fran, coming to a stop, and letting out sigh. “We have lost this battle.”

  “Shut up, traitor!” said the man who had been warned by Yuri. “So long as we rescue Narkhan…”

  “…Can you not see it yet?” the man said, gesturing towards the rest of their teammates. “Even if we rescue Narkhan, that will not change anything. Our enemies will still be just as powerful, and we will still lose.”

  “You are wrong on one point,” Alnea said, interrupting the two Greenshield Wanderers. “Like I said, if even one of you tries anything funny, all of you will have to die. Including your Captain. Do you understand?”

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  “…Despicable! If you have the guts, then—

  “Enough!” said the man who had manipulated the trees earlier. “It is over, Vamos. We have lost. Let us end this here. Or do you want everyone else to die for you stupid pride?”

  “…I…”

  “…We surrender,” said the man, raising his hands in the air to express his vulnerability, signalling his teammates to do them same. And though they showed some hesitation, they did follow his example, throwing away their Glyph Tools and weapons before raising their hands in the air. “I hope you keep your word.”

  “…As long as you follow what I say, and answer my questions,” Alnea said, nodding at the man, before glancing towards the river behind him. “Vestia!”

  As if the river had been waiting just for his cue, it became turbulent the moment it heard his call. Not as turbulent as it had been before, when elemental sharks had been rushing about to attack the Greenshield Wanderers, but still enough to draw everyone’s attention to itself. In the next moment, its surface parted ways just like it had done a few minutes ago, making way for a blue robed girl, with pale face and vain steps, to jump out of its depths.

  “…Are you alright?” Alnea said, when he saw Vestia stagger a little as she landed on the ground. Fortunately, Cecilia dissatisfied as she was with Vestia, rushed to her in time to keep her from falling.

  “…It is just a sequela of using too much Spirit Power in a short time,” Vestia said, forcing a smile on to her face, giving a grateful look to Cecilia. “I will be fine with a little rest.”

  “That is why I say that you should put more of your mind into practice, and less on useless things,” Cecilia mumbled. “Just one Arcana, and you are practically useless.”

  “…Do not be so reckless next time,” Alnea said, ignoring Cecilia’s comment, before turning towards the Greenshield Wanderers, and glancing at their Captain. “Are you ready to answer my questions now?”

  “…I would be even more ready if you put your sword away.”

  “Ignore it,” Alnea said, refusing to withdraw his sword. “Which District are you from?”

  “…The Eastern District.”

  “Why did you take so much time to recognise us? Did your clan not tell you how we look like?”

  “…They gave us only your description. And you are not exactly the same as they described. Your hair—

  “Forget the hair. Let us talk about something more important. What did your clan ask you to do when you met us?”

  “…We cannot betray our clan.”

  “…Do you think there is any point in hiding your objective now? Or do you think that you still have a chance to change the result of our battle?”

  “…To stop you completing the Trial. We were asked to stop you completing your Final Trial.”

  “What about my teammates? Did they tell you what you should do with them?”

  “…We did not get any instructions regarding them. Our only aim was to stop you. And we were allowed to use any means to do so.”

  “Fair enough,” Alnea said, ignoring the strange gazes being directed at him. “Tell me about your Trial then. What do you have to do complete your Final Trial?”

  “…Search for some items hidden in and around the river.”

  “As I thought… What about the other Wanderers? Have you met other teams in the Final World?”

  “…It has barely been a little over a couple of hours since we came to the Final World. When would we have time to meet other teams? You are the only other group of Wanderers we met.”

  “Still, you should not be the only team in this area. There should be other teams near us. Teams, that are your competitors. Am I right?”

  “…From what I can tell, their objective should be to search in other parts of the forest, but yes, we will have to fight at the end to decide who will complete the Final Trial in this area of the forest.”

  “So, the river will be safe for a while?”

  “…From other Wanderers, yes. I cannot say for sure if there would not be any Oren Beasts lurking in its waters.”

  “…At least you are honest,” Alnea said, glancing at the man pressed down by his sword with satisfaction. “Then the most important question. Why is this camp so important to you?”

  “…You do not know?”

  “Is there something about this pace that we should know?”

  “You really do not know?”

  “…Do not make me repeat my question.”

  “…Then why did you attack us?”

  “Because we are enemies.”

  “That is it?”

  “Is that not enough?”

  “…I see,” the Greenshield Captain said, before bursting out into a hysterical laughter. “You are right. We are enemies. So why should I tell you what is so special about our camp?”

  “To save your life.”

  “Do you think we are afraid of death?” the Greenshield Captain said, laughing even more hysterically. “Do not underestimate us, Star Seeker! We are the Greenshields! Even if we die, we will never let our honour be trampled upon!”

  “Gathering up with thousands of Wanderers to challenge just the ten of us, all to stop us from completing our Trial… What right do you have to talk about honour?”

  “…Our honour is not something that an unfavoured like you can ever understand.”

  “…Very well then. Are you ready to prove your honour with your death?”

  “…Go ahead!” the Greenshield Captain said, bursting out in an even greater maniacal laughter. “Kill me. But trust me when I say this, your ending will only be worse than mine!”

  “…Are you trying to intimidate me with the other Wanderers in the Final World?”

  “Think whatever you want. Anyways, it will not be long before you will be joining me in Inkah’s Domain.”

  “…Get lost,” Alnea said after a moment of silence, withdrawing his sword, and putting it back in his sheath, while stepping back from the hysterical Greenshield Captain. In response, the latter stopped laughing, and pushed himself into a sitting position, staring at him with incredulous gaze.

  “…What do you mean?”

  “I am asking you to give up your Trial, and leave the Final World.”

  “…Why would you spare us?”

  “Why do I have to kill you? Just because someone asked you to hinder us in our Trial? If I kill everyone like you, would I not have to massacre the entire Lost City?”

  “…Do you think that this will make us feel grateful?” said the Greenshield Captain, gnashing his teeth in rage. “You crushed our dreams!”

  “…You were the one who crushed your dream by challenging us, even if involuntarily,” Alnea said, shaking his head, before glancing at the rest of the Greenshield Wanderers, who had a hint of relief on their faces. “You are welcome to come look for me for revenge. But next time, be prepared to die.”

  “…We will remember this humiliation, Star Seeker!”

  “Get lost from my sight before I change my mind.”