"Ah," I said, suddenly remembering, "there’s this festival I roped the dwarves into holding, to commemorate their fall into our hands."
Vilskapa began trembling again—poor dwarf.
"Won’t you come around? Master Raven would like that."
"Hmph, over my dead body will I frolic with those barbaric—"
"Fine, I’ll just tell Master Raven that you swore on your life never to appear at events that honor his supremacy," I interrupted with a wave. "Maybe I’ll even add that you said if you ever showed up for any reason, it would be to cause trouble."
The air seemed to burn as she dashed toward me in the blink of an eye. Her cheeks were drawn into a pout as she reached out and pulled at mine.
"That’s not fair," she grumbled.
It was settled. She would join them in a short while. She also promised to say nothing of my rather nefarious plan to cut off the cultists from the land of the living—and even went so far as to offer me the red-haired kitsune as her contribution to the rally.
Meh. I am certain it is merely her way of keeping an eye on my business.
Still, I asked her to point me in the right direction to Jorō’s domain.
"The Shadow Realm works in ways we do not fully understand," she advised. "I would recommend you go to that fool, Trigger, and have him show her to you."
"Tamayō, did you fight with Jorō?" I asked.
"That is only natural. We have fought ever since she joined us."
Tsk! So if she senses Tamayō opening a portal, she’ll attack with killing intent!
At least I should be grateful she warned me.
I might be stronger than Jorō, but she — as well as most of Master Raven’s followers — possesses a penetrating power that would be troublesome to deal with.
Besides, this is a good opportunity to deepen my understanding of the Shadow Realm.
If even Tamayō cannot fully grasp its nature, then it must hold far more secrets than I imagined.
The space beside us fractured like glass, shards of dim light scattering outward before dissolving into nothing — a portal to take us to Trigger’s domain.
"Bye. I’ll let you in on more information about the plan," I said to her, then the dwarves and I stepped into the shattered space.
That Tamayō... had she been training?
Her Prime Value, which used to hover around nine hundred and twenty thousand, was now one million four hundred thousand.
The leap was far too unnatural. How on earth did she achieve it before the next volume?!
The darkness consumed us again, though this time it felt more directed — a controlled pull through a narrow channel rather than a disorienting plunge. It carried us forward before releasing us into another place entirely.
We stood upon a vast, flat expanse that rolled out to the horizon. The sky above was heavy with swollen, restless clouds, a dim silver light trying to break through but failing.
Sparse tufts of dark grass sprouted across the ground, each blade tipped with dew that glimmered faintly despite the gloom.
In the distance, rising starkly against the muted backdrop, loomed a massive estate wrought in black and gold — its towers and spires like sharpened fangs, its walls veined with gilded patterns that shimmered faintly as though alive.
The estate’s silhouette was regal yet predatory, perfectly befitting a ruler of the Specter Wolves.
I couldn’t help but smile when I saw it.
Without a word, I seized both dwarves by the collars and bolted forward.
"Eh?! Lady Levina?!" Vilskapa yelped at my sudden acceleration.
"Lady Levina, I’ll do well behind you! Piggyback me!" Valhugr pleaded, clearly trying to tempt fate.
It only took a few seconds for them to understand why I was zigzagging across the field at such speed. Each time my feet struck the earth in a sudden shift of direction, the flat, brittle ground fractured beneath me, sending jagged cracks racing outward like lightning.
I leapt, glided, and evaded everything hurled at me, moving at the very limit of my speed.
"Get over there and stop him!" I barked to the men.
"Stop who?!" Vilskapa cried, his voice carrying both disbelief and dread.
"The Lord of the domain, of course... Trigger," I answered curtly.
Ignoring the pale, almost sickly look on Vilskapa’s face, I drew every ounce of strength into my arms, pivoted sharply, and with a precise twist, I flung the both of them across the vast open field.
They hurtled through the air until they crashed onto the fortress-like building that marked the very heart of Trigger’s territory. The place was an imposing masterpiece of the Shadow Realm’s darker architecture — a sprawling mansion built in the style of a grand crime Lord’s stronghold.
Its towering black-brick walls were reinforced with steel latticework and gilded trim, each surface reflecting the faint, ever-present glimmer of dim golden lights that seemed to leak from within.
Massive arched windows, barred yet elegant, stretched along the façade, and high above, a balcony ringed with wrought-iron railings overlooked the entire front court like a throne surveying loyal subjects.
As the two dwarves tilted their heads upward to begin the hunt, they froze.
"I commend you all for getting this close unharmed..." Trigger’s voice cut through the still air. He stood on the grand front balcony, framed by the glow of warm, dim light spilling from behind him, his confident smile only deepening the tension.
In his hands was an absurdly large weapon — a monstrosity spanning nearly eight feet in length and thick as an elephant’s body, the kind of firearm that could have been forged for a giant rather than a man.
The yawning muzzle of the weapon was leveled squarely at the trembling pair, its diameter wide enough to fit them both with room to spare. A low hum began to reverberate through the courtyard as the interior of the barrel came alive with an ominous golden glow — a light that mirrored the sharp, predatory gleam of Trigger’s own golden eyes.
"But I’ll have to send you away," he said with unnerving calm. "And mind you, this blast will erase both your vessel and your soul. No rebirth... just complete, irreversible death."
He was not joking about that... That weapon he’s holding is a massive of chaotic magic energy.
I had assumed he was only trying to frighten them — Trigger isn’t that deranged...