The leader was very careful.
Before we were taken outside of the cells, our hands were tied up in a complicated knot. Our feet were bound together with around one meter rope in-between just so that we were able to walk on our own.
When we got out of the prison, it was already dark outside but the full moon was shining brightly. Other than the many men who came to take us to the ceremony venue, there were also a bunch of other people who walked in front of us and led the procession.
The little children were given the task to scatter flower petals on the road, the elder men were hitting drums rhythmically, and the women were singing a somber ballad that was no different from a funeral song. The guards held fire torches in their left hands and spears in their right hands.
I was not sure whether I should laugh or cry. I did not get to attend my own funeral in my past life, so I guessed that I should thank the tribe for the generosity. On the other side, it was a little too early for my funeral in this life!
The procession took us up the steep path that led to the peak of a mountain. We had maybe walked around an hour before we finally arrived at the top. The rest of the tribal folk had been waiting for us to arrive. Fire torches were hung at a strategic place to ensure that there was enough lighting for the ceremony.
The children, the women, and the men took their seats on the ground together with the other tribal folk while the guard stayed with us.
The only other person who was standing was a tall, cloaked figure who was covered from top to bottom in black clothes.
"Aiiieh kiz polama! Erru gua beshimo!"
A male voice rang out when the cloaked figure crossed his arms before his chest and addressed the ceremony attendees.
"Beshimo! Beshimo! Beshimo!" the tribal folk chanted excitedly while making the same gesture.
Then the cloaked figure turned his attention toward us and spoke in English, "Welcome, offerings."
Another person who could speak English. And he happened to be the creepiest of them all. When he performed a low bow in front of us, I noticed how long his limbs were. And how skinny he was.
"I am the priest who serves the God of Harvest directly. Your arrival is truly a blessing for us. The harvesting season is about to begin!!!"
The same words were repeated in the tribal language and the tribal folk enthusiastically chanted the words. They could not wait to sacrifice us.
"If I may ask, how do you deal with the harvest before you sacrificed the three players before us?"
I was not very interested to know, but I had to do something to prolong our life. I hoped that the girls would come up with something.
The priest turned toward me, but I was unable to see his face. It was obscured by the hood and the night.
"Very well, if the offering wants to know then I shall answer. The God of Harvest still needs some time to receive all of you, anyway."
Gee, thanks...
"For the longest of time, our tribe has lived in harmony with the Kingdom of Paradise Island. One day, our Queen was kidnapped. Without our Queen, our tribe is weak. We were subjected to the Gods' whim. So you see, we are also victims here."
I scoffed.
"How are you victims?" I asked pointedly. "The way I see it, you get to enjoy your harvest season after murdering people in cold blood. You are just accomplices to the God of Harvest's sick schemes."
The man stilled for a while, digesting the words that I just said. And then he came up with more things to say.
"The Grand Master had ensured that the sacrificial offerings would be reborn into a new, better life. That they are miserable in their current life, so why not grant them some helping hands."
I stared at the cloaked man in disbelief.
"If we were really miserable, would we have begged to be released?"
"The Grand Master claimed that the sacrificial offerings did not know what was good for them, so we must proceed with the ritual no matter what."
"The Grand Master is mistaken," I huffed. "You are all mistaken."
"No, we are not. You are," the cloaked priest stubbornly claimed. "The time has come to send the sacrificial offerings to the God of Harvest. Fare well, offerings. May you be born in a better life."
At the end of his words, a booming sound was heard and a crack opened up on the ground just behind him.
An array of spells lit up around the crack, and the earth crumbled. The crack turned into a small hole, and the small hole turned into a big one. Beneath the hole was a lake of hot, burning lava.
"ATO SU KALEN!!!" the priest shouted.
"ATO SU KALEN!"
"ATO SU KALEN!!!"
The disturbing chanting only added to the horror. They meant to throw us into the lake of lava!
The guards that had been holding onto us dragged us toward the hell hole dutifully. They had decided that I would be the first one to die. The red color of the lava reflected itself in my eyes. I was terrified to death.
Just before the guard pushed me in, HellWitch screamed. "ANTARES, MOVE ASIDE!!!"
pαпᵈα-noνɐ1·сoМ I moved aside obediently. In a split second, HellWitch already bumped my guard in the direction of the gaping hole. His facial expression was a mix of shock and fear as he helplessly fell into the hole and disappeared inside the lake of lava.
HellWitch had managed to free herself using some of the extra swords that she had in her inventory. She quickly cut me free and handed me another sword. Beginner sword it might be, but still better than nothing.
Chaos ensued when the tribal folk saw one of their own fall into the lake of lava.
"HOW DARE YOU!!!" the priest roared in anger. "GET THEM!"
HellWitch and I quickly released Cecilia and SakuraChan. We could not begin to thank HellWitch for being such a sword hoarder. She actually kept her old swords in the inventory just because of their sentimental values.
"Our staffs!" I hissed to Cecilia and SakuraChan. "And HellWitch's sword! We need to find them!"
"Great idea, Antares but who the hell knows where they hide our weapons??" Cecilia screamed while slashing around with the sword carelessly.
I scanned the surrounding area. In face of the unexpected chaos, the tribal folk started to run around like chickens who just lost their mother. Among those people, I located someone who might just know where our weapons were stashed at.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
I knew that HellWitch pushed another poor guard down to the lake of lava without even looking back. My target, the young woman who brought us our last meal was all confused. She could not decide where to run off to. She kept bumping against people one by one and ended up staying in the same spot mostly.
And that was when I grabbed her shoulder and held my blade against her neck.
A fearful shriek escaped her when she saw my face.
"Don't kill me," she said, tears streaking down her cheeks. "Don't kill me, waaahhhh... don't kill me."
The leader saw the young woman being held hostage. He screamed in terror, "Alana! Nooo, Alana!!!"
I immediately understood. The young woman was most likely his daughter.
"Stay back!" I shouted while dragging Alana, the young woman, toward my friends who were still busy fighting against the guards. Truthfully, the only one who was proficient with the sword was HellWitch. Everyone else was blindly stabbing and slashing. Their only advantage right now was the shock that spread among the tribal folk after seeing two guards being thrown into the lake of lava.
While the majority of the tribal folk had already run back home, the leader and the priest remained. I counted around ten guards altogether that still remained at the ritual ceremony venue. They were the only ones with spears, but they looked too terrified to get closer to us.
I deliberately dragged Alana closer to the lava hole just to emphasize my point. I wanted them to think that I really wanted to throw her down the wretched hole. Alana screamed and kicked at me, but thankfully I was still stronger than she was. I wanted to tell her to calm down, and that I did not mean to harm her.
Not as long as my demands were fulfilled, naturally.
Next to me, the three girls took the time to recover from the adrenaline rush. I saw that they were all wounded to some degree. HellWitch got some shallow scratches on her arms, Cecilia's leg was bleeding, and SakuraChan was holding onto her side while wincing in pain.
"Hold on, Sakura," Cecilia comforted her. "Soon. As soon as you get your staff, you will be able to heal yourself."
I directed my gaze at the men in front of us.
"We want our weapons back and exit this place safely. Only then will I release your daughter unharmed."
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