They continued walking for several more miles. The further they traveled, the thinner the mist got. After more than three hours, the forest eventually cleared up.

Ellis breathed in the fresh air. In actuality, the air here did not smell all that different from the blue-tinted haze. Still, he could not help but feel a certain sense of… satisfaction.

The group decided to take a temporary break. They sat in a small clearing where the grass and the bushes had long withered away. Without the constant threat of death looming over their shoulders, they took this opportunity to untie their ropes.

Meanwhile, Ellis quietly surveyed his surroundings. The forest beyond the mist border was noticeably darker than the forest outside. In addition, there were fewer trees now. While the trees had remained relatively large throughout their journey, their numbers had steadily dwindled. This sort of trend continued the deeper they ventured. Now, there were barely a dozen trees within his immediate vicinity.

Looking up, he also noticed that the canopy was a lot denser than before. Light could barely penetrate it, and what little did came out in the form of penny-sized rays. A feeling of still somberness permeated through the air.

Did the trees grow shorter or were the leaves of this forest that big to begin with? The illusion of distance was a scary thing, but Ellis was more inclined to believe the fantastical alternative; something within this forest had changed.

“We’re close now,” Hal-Wrynn stated as he stretched out his sore limbs. “Just a, just a bit more until we get to our destination.”

“…”

Ellis took note of the stiffness on his face. He could only shake his head. The boy’s ever-increasing nervousness was quite a sight to behold. It manifested itself into an overly rigid and overly serious dead-pan expression.

Still, he’s not nearly as bad as a certain someone…

Ellis discreetly glanced over at Grisella. Right now, the solitary witch looked particularly rattled. Her eyes swirled, while her hands fidgeted uncontrollably. If it wasn’t for the perpetual smile plastered on her face, then she would have looked no different from a drugged-up addict… in fact, the smile made it even worse.

The two locked eyes. After a moment of hesitation, Grisella scooted towards him.

“You remember the plan, right?” she whispered directly into his ear.

Ellis felt a slight tingle run down his spine. The sensation of her warm breath momentarily short-circuited his brain.

He shook his head and slightly craned his neck away from her.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry I remember it.” Ellis noncommittally responded. After a short pause, he couldn’t help but add, “still, are you sure about this plan of yours? To be honest, it’s kind of bad…”

In order for this plan to properly come into fruition, there were certain… things that he needed to accomplish. Suffice to say, he was not a big fan of the plan.

“You’re the last person I want to hear that from!” Grisella irately responded. She was fine with criticism, but she did not want it to come from a guy who only ever relied on his brute strength to solve his problems. Grisella inwardly scoffed to herself. She firmly believed that Ellis did not know a single thing about the complex intricacies that came with making a plan. “Besides, you’re the one who told me to come up with one. At least try to look grateful!”

“Right, about that...” He awkwardly coughed. “Now that I think about it, do we really need a plan?”

“You…” Grisella desperately fought back against the rising anger that threatened to spill out of her throat. She took a deep breath and practically pleaded through gritted teeth. “Please, just follow the plan, alright?”

“I can’t guarantee anything…” He looked over at her from the corner of his eye. After a few seconds of hesitation, he eventually breathed out a sigh, “but I’ll at least put in some effort, so you better give me a reward when this is all over, alright?”

Grisella’ cheeks slightly reddened. “I, I definitely won’t! For whose sake do you think I came up with this plan? If anything, you should give me a reward.”

Ellis thought about it for a moment. “Alright,” he nodded, “I’ll get you a reward.”

Hearing his easy-going, almost flippant response, for some reason, she suddenly felt uneasy. “Wait a minute, on second thought, never mind. You don’t need to get me any—”

“Too late.” Ellis cut her off. “It’s already decided. Look forward to it.”

She hurriedly shook her head. “No, no, no, seriously I don’t need anything!”

“But you just asked for one?”

“That was, that was a rhetorical question! Ignore it! Please!”

“Didn’t sound very rhetorical to me.”

“Then, it was a misunderstanding!”

“Sounds like a very unlikely misunderstanding.”

“Just don’t get me one, please!”

“Why do you sound so scared? It’s just a reward.”

She felt a cold sweat dripping down her back. It’s not that I’m scared of the reward, but rather, I’m scared of the person giving the reward!

Knowing Ellis, she did not dare to gamble with that slightly deranged and wholly ignorant mind of his!

Just before she could say anything, in the distance, Hal-Wrynn suddenly clapped his hands. He stood back up and spoke. “Alright everyone, let’s continue!”

With that, their conversation came to an abrupt close. Ellis gave Grisella one last ambiguous smile before he picked himself up and followed after their distant guide.

Grisella stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. The stress that weighed down on her mind exponentially increased.

****

The next few miles passed by in a blink of an eye.

Along the way, Ena’s ears slightly twitched. The wolves also grew restless. Ellis had long since noticed their reaction, but he did not pay them much attention. Judging by their expressions, whatever threat lay ahead, if there really was one, did not seem all that dangerous.

Instead, Grisella’s plan kept replaying in the back of his mind. Like before, he still believed it to be unnecessary, but since he had already agreed to do it, he might as well give it a try.

As long as nothing too annoying happens, then I’ll keep playing along.

Ellis casually thought to himself as he continued down a narrow-beaten path.

After roughly thirty minutes, the group came to an abrupt stop. They stood on a small hill. A few hundred meters away from the hill was the cerulean blue of the water’s surface. Even from such a distance, he smelled the distinct scent that was unique to Ilpin’s river.

They had finally arrived and for the first time, Ellis caught sight of the looming ‘threat’ that had hovered over their heads for the better part of a week.

He slightly craned his neck forward. His eyes locked onto the thing that sat near the shoreline.

“A campsite…” From beside him, Grisella whispered words reached his ears. A look of conflict flashed through her face.

She turned towards Ellis and stared silently at his impassive expression. She probed his face, searching for any indication that he might follow through with her plan. After a few seconds, she still could not find anything.

Ellis kept his eyes locked onto the Majin campsite below.

Over four dozen leather-bound teepee-style tents. They looked to be made out of monster hide… or maybe that was just regular fur? Ellis could not really tell.

There was a giant mound of packed dirt on the eastern wing of the campsite. It was shaped like a man-made hole, but that wasn’t what attracted his attention. Ellis noticed the wooden sticks blocking its entrance. In his eyes, it resembled a crude version of the bars usually found within jail cells.

Smoke exuded out from a giant bonfire near the center of the campsite. There were people there too. He had trouble making them out, but their skin was pale-blue.

“Majins…” Grisella’s nodded to herself. “There really are Majins down there. This is a fully staffed and fully operational Majin base!”

Numerous thoughts and questions echoed through Ellis’s head, but just then, his eyes instinctively fell on their little guide. From their initial arrival up until now, the boy’s expression remained unchanged.

It was as if he had long expected such an outcome.

So, he really did know about it…

Despite finally confirming this theory, there were still a number of questions left in the air. For instance, how well was Hal acquainted with the Majins? Were they friends or was it a relationship similar to a master and slave?

He stared fixedly at the young boy. Hal-Wrynn shuffled his feet, but otherwise remained silent.

A few seconds of silence passed. Without warning, Grisella suddenly shouted. “Look over there!” She pointed towards the campsite. Ellis instinctively turned his head. He watched with wide-eyed fascination as a group of blue-skinned humanoids flooded out of the campsite. They ran straight towards their little hill!

“They found us,” Grisella mumbled. She paused for a moment. “No, from the very moment we entered their territory, they were already aware.”

As if to validate her statement, the surrounding area exploded into a cacophony of noise. The bushes rustled while the dead leaves crunched. More blue-skinned humanoids emerged out from the dark shadows of the forest.

“So that’s what those things were…” Ellis mumbled underneath his breath as his drooping eyes lazily scanned through the surroundings. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t noticed the lifeforms hidden within the trees, but rather, he had chosen to ignore them.

Originally, he had assumed they were nothing more than monsters. Even still, he chose not to attack. After all, he couldn’t really bother with such weak enemies. Not even the wolf pack felt motivated by such a low level of competition.

Unlike the squirrels, the Majins wielded crude iron weapons and wore thick leather armor. Ellis also noticed that a single horn protruded out from each of their foreheads.

The newcomers quickly surrounded their group.

“As expected of a Majin base. It is well guarded.” Hal-Wrynn blandly stated. There was a dim glimmer within his emerald irises. For all the disinterest that he displayed, Ellis distinctly noted that the boy’s entire body had grown tense.

This reaction only served to confuse him even further.

For a little mastermind, he sure gets nervous a lot.

Ellis found this slightly amusing.

Since they were already ‘surrounded’, the group did not bother to resist. They simply waited for the cavalry to get here.

After approximately one minute and thirty seconds, the main ‘army’ that originated from within the campsite finally arrived.

A tall Majin with broad shoulders and a large pot belly suddenly stepped forward. Ellis scrutinized the newcomer. Pale-blue skin and a single horn on its forehead. He had to admit; they did not really look like the typical demon that he had imagined.

In fact, they more resembled the Oni of East-Asian mythology.

The tall Majin circled their group like a shark sniffing for blood in the water. His beady golden eyes narrowed. After a short silence, he pointed to Hal-Wrynn and said,

“Bring the Squirrel boy back to the campsite.” To his surprise, the Majins spoke in a language that Ellis could understand. It was the common language widely used by the people of Lull. It also happened to be the only language that Alma had bothered to pre-install.

“As you wish Captain Redrick,” another Majin responded. He hurriedly ran up to the little boy. Hal’s shoulders tensed, but the soldier seemingly did not notice. He gruffly pushed the boy forward. Hal-Wrynn did not bother to resist. He stumbled forward before he wordlessly walked towards the campsite.

What a rough reception… Ellis clicked his tongue. By the time he turned back over to the Captain of the Majins, Hal-Wrynn was long gone.

“What of the others, Captain?” Another Majin soldier asked. “What do we do with them?”

Captain Redrick thought for a moment. “Bring the humans back to camp. The Commander will judge them. As for these filthy monsters, just kill them.” The tall Majin coldly responded. “We could use the fresh meat.”

“As you wish captain!”

Hearing such an exchange, Ellis unconsciously chuckled.

It was ridiculous. In his ears, such threatening words sounded no different from the babblings of a toddler! Rather than feel offended or scared, all he felt for these guys was pity. They were like frogs that knew not the immensity of the world beyond the well!

For example, take the current line-up that currently encircled them. An army like that wasn’t even enough to serve as one of Plush’s appetizers.

Still, Ellis recalled back to his current objective. He closed his mouth shut and tried to put on his most convincing ‘scared-witless’ face.

Unfortunately, his previous actions did not go unnoticed by the others.

“Did you just laugh?” The cold voice of the Majin Captain echoed loudly through the air.

Oh shit, I pissed him off… Ellis inwardly groaned.

“…”

He did not respond. Talking now would only serve to worsen the current situation. It was best to just keep his mouth shut.

“Oi, I’m talking to you.” Unfortunately, Ellis’s silence only further aggravated the Majin. The big-bellied captain swaggered towards him. Each and every one of his footsteps left behind a noticeable imprint on the soft soil below.

As a prestigious member of a Majin War Tribe, they placed great emphasis on immaterial things such as pride and honor. To them, there was no greater slight than humiliation!

It was somewhat unbelievable, but for the first time in his entire life, Redrick had been laughed at. What’s more, not only did this random invader laugh at him, he also did it in front of Redrick’s subordinates! No sensible Majin would ever take such an insult lying down.

At the very least, the perpetrator needed to die!

A dark shadow loomed over Ellis’s head. The Majin Captain towered well above his height. Looking up, all he could see were a pair of beady, bloodshot eyes glaring daggers at him.

The Majin reached for Ellis’s neck. Just before Redrick could touch him, a wave of killing intent suddenly bombarded the poor Majin.

“!”

Redrick’s movements came to an abrupt stop. Cold sweat drenched his back wet, while his shoulders uncontrollably trembled. Instinctively, Redrick turned his head. He quickly spotted a particular wolf staring directly at him. It was relatively small, with black fur and a white discoloration on its left ear.

The moment they met eyes, he immediately lost control of his entire body. His heart throbbed, his tongue dried up, and even his knees grew wobbly. Drowning. That’s what it felt like. He was drowning in a never-ending pool of killing intent.

The killing intent had only been directed at Redrick, so nobody else noticed anything. While the rest of the Majins were confused as to why their boss suddenly stopped moving, Ellis had long noticed Wight’s involvement. A slight smile formed on the tip of his lips.

He mouthed out a silent thank you to the little wolf, before he signaled for her to stop. She hesitated for a moment, but ultimately complied.

The killing intent instantly vanished. Redrick took a step back and almost collapsed on the ground. Fortunately, he managed to lean against one of his soldiers just in the nick of time.

What the… what the hell just happened! He stared at the little wolf with frightened eyes. Even if it looked all weak and innocent now, the last few seconds were forever ingrained in his heart. His eyes drifted over towards the rest of the wolves.

“…”

No matter how hard he stared, they looked mundane and ordinary. For all intents and purposes, they were nothing more than a measly pack of weak monsters.

Redrick furrowed his brow. Was I hallucinating?

Despite his doubts, after that dose of killing intent, he did not dare to be reckless.

“Captain, what happened?” A voice snapped him out of his reverie.

He quickly noticed that his soldiers were giving him weird looks. His face flushed red. He immediately stood back up and glared at the wolves. A part of him wanted to regain face and order the massacre of these weak monsters. Of course, he didn’t go through with it, but the thought still remained within his head.

“What should we do next, boss?” Another soldier asked him.

A feeling of frustration welled up within Redrick’s heart. I don’t fucking know, dumbass! Figure it out yourself!

Of course, in order to preserve his image, he kept his inner thoughts bottled up.

Just as he was hesitating over what to do next, Ellis suddenly spoke up.

“Go.”

Redrick turned to the source of the voice, but he did not say anything.

In response, Wight let out a whimper. She obviously wanted to stay, but Ellis simply shook his head. “Go,” he repeated.

Prompted by his words, the wolves (plus one fox) nodded their heads and walked peacefully towards the tree line.

Normally, the Majin soldiers would have attacked by now, but their Captain’s weird behavior stopped them. What’s more, said Captain was completely silent! Redrick glared fixedly at the procession of wolves.

After a while, someone finally couldn’t take it anymore. A Majin soldier hesitantly asked, “s-should we just let them go like that?”

By this point, Redrick had managed to calm down. He let out a cough. “Let them go. I am feeling merciful today.”

He tried to play it off as arrogance, but beyond everyone’s eyes, his back was drenched in layers of cold sweat. Even though he did not like how the young man suddenly spoke up like that, he was inwardly grateful.

After the wolves left, he eventually turned his attention back over to the remaining captives. With the source of the killing intent gone, he had regained much of his pride.

“Take them to the campsite!” The pot-bellied Majin ordered with a booming voice.

“Yes, Captain!” The Majins soldiers immediately scampered into action. Now that their captain was finally back to normal, they could not afford to hesitate! With raised swords and pointed spears, the army goaded the captives to move.

After a moment of hesitation, Grisella languidly made her way to the campsite. On the other hand, Ellis simply stood there. He stared out into the distant tree line. No matter how many times the Majins yelled at him, he did not move.

Right now, he was watching a rather comedic scene.

In a place far past where the normal eye could see, for some unknown reason, after they left, Wight and Ena suddenly started fighting. It had devolved to the point where Ena found herself clamped onto the back of Wight’s neck like a leech. No matter how hard the poor wolf tried to shake her off, Ena was persistent!

Jeez, can’t those two get along for once? He inwardly shook his head.

The grey-haired youth’s blank gaze served only to annoy the Majin Captain. He pushed past his bumbling soldiers. Redrick was about to teach Ellis a lesson, when suddenly—

“Ah?”

Ellis glanced up at him from the corner of his eye.

For a moment, Redrick’s body stopped. What was that? What the hell?

Unlike last time, there was no overbearing killing intent, only an unassuming young man with a dull gaze.

So why? Why did I stop?

He could not figure out why his own body had responded like that. The Majin captain continued to stare at Ellis with an expression that contained both fear and confusion. At that moment, Ellis suddenly tilted his head to the side.

Redrick immediately reacted. He took a hasty step back and raised his weapon out in front of him.

“W-what is it? What are you trying to do!?” To the surprise of his subordinates, Redrick suddenly started shouting.

Ellis smiled amicably. He couldn’t help but feel slightly amused. Every time this dude moved, his belly jiggled like pudding.

“Nothing, really. I’m just your captive, after all. I can’t do anything. Just take me to your campsite, yeah?”

“R-right,” Redrick hesitated. In all of his years of service, he had never once met such an agreeable captive. Seeing how subservient Ellis was acting, he couldn’t help but second-guess himself.

I must have a cold or something… After a few seconds of silent contemplation, he quickly dismissed his earlier fears as nothing more than tricks of the mind.

Redrick nodded. He straightened his back and tried his best to regain his former ‘dignified’ self. “Start moving, human.”

He motioned to the faraway camp with his hand, but strangely enough, the Majin Captain did not dare approach.

Seeing all this, Ellis once again felt slightly amused. Without another word, he turned towards the river and leisurely made his way to the campsite.

Like this, for the first time since he got to this new world, Ellis had become a prisoner.