Red mentioned nothing to the rest of the group, though.

“Did Rickard and the imperials use some sort of trick to cross?” Reinhart asked.

The bandit hesitated. “I-I don’t think so. At least there was nothing we could see."

“Did you try climbing the cliff side?” Red asked.

“T-The imperials told us not to… But when some of us got desperate, w-we decided to try it. O-One of us climbed first. He was supposed to tell us if everything was safe from up there, but…”

Reinhart laughed. “Let me guess. Was he struck by lightning?”

The bandit shivered and nodded. This didn’t surprise the group, but it was always good to have confirmation.

Narcha grunted. “What kind of items are Rickard and the imperials carrying?”

“T-The imperials have a lot of talismans with them.” the bandit said. “B-But they barely used any. Boss was the one that killed most monsters we came across.”

Narcha also asked the man about how many people were in their group. It matched the numbers Reinhart and Red had gotten earlier.

Reinhart looked over at the others. “Do you have anything else you’d like to ask him?”

Narcha and Eiwin shook their heads. Red, who had heard the same question before, already knew what the man was about to do.

He stared at Reinhart in silence.

The knight noticed his gaze and smiled. “What do you want to do with him, then?”

Much to the boy’s surprise, Reinhart didn’t actually outright kill the man. His question, though, put a difficult expression on Narcha and Eiwin’s faces.

“What do you suggest?” Narcha asked.

The knight shrugged. “We should kill him, of course.”

The bandit shivered. “N-no, please! S-Spare me, I beg you!”

Eiwin frowned at the suggestion. “He’s no longer of any threat to us. He has lost his will to fight and will likely remain here until the trial is over.”

“That’s true.” Reinhart nodded. “But do you remember what the spirit said? Once the trial is completed, everyone else will be teleported outside. By then, this guy right here will also live to see another day and be free to tell other people that the four of us were here. Imagine if that information got spread to the rest of the world…”

He didn’t need to explain it. Red knew that if information about them visiting an inheritance ground got out, they would definitely be targeted by powerful factions, including the Empire. Not even Hector would be able to defend them.

From their expression, it was clear the two women also knew as much.

Eiwin sigh in resignation. "Do what you must.”

Narcha just gritted her teeth and turned away.

“N-No, wait!” the bandit called to them. “Please, I promise not to tell anyone.”

No one responded to his begging, though.

Eiwin called out to Red. “Come, Red. No need to see this.”

The boy wasn’t particularly interested in watching Reinhart kill yet another defenseless bandit, so he didn’t protest as he was led away. He had barely walked out of sight when the man’s cries were cut short by the swing of a sword.

Red also heard something rolling on the ground.

“I hope you can understand why that was necessary.” Eiwin said to him. “I don’t enjoy taking the life of the defenseless, even if they are my enemies. However, if the life of those around me are at risk, then I won’t hesitate to do it, even if it pains me.”

Red, who had gone through the same experience twice already, nodded. “I understand.”

It seemed that the woman was speaking these words more to assuage her own guilt than that of the boy. Narcha, on the other hand, had already pushed aside any of her initial hesitation.

She called out to Reinhart. “Are you done?”

The man walked out from behind the rock, sheathing his sword. “I am.”

“So…” Narcha looked at the rest of them. “Are we going to try sneaking by this snake?”

Only silence greeted her question.

“We need to.” Eiwin nodded. “For Rog.”

Red was aware that there was actually another option. They could make their way back and try their luck in the canyon again - it was still dangerous, but they may be able to gather the spirit stones they needed from the monster dens. There was, however, the issue of time and also the fact that Rog’s pill wasn’t the only thing some of them were aiming for.

‘Narcha’s pill.’

Red guessed this was the reason Eiwin had suggested nothing else. Not that the boy would have done it any other way, either.

“Right then.” Narcha nodded with a resolute expression. She looked over at Reinhart. “Are you going to try it too?”

Reinhart frowned. “I suppose so. If Rickard can do it, why can’t I?”

The warrior then looked over at Red. “What about you, kid?”

Red hesitated. Still, a few seconds later, he nodded. “I will do it.”

Narcha smiled. “I knew you wouldn’t back away from a challenge, no matter how dangerous.”

Eiwin gave him a worried look, but didn’t say anything. After the group made their decisions clear, they started to walk over to the snake.

…

As they approached the monster, the breeze hitting their faces got stronger. What they assumed to be the beast’s breath, though, seemed to be instead a strong wind blowing from behind the monster. The snake wasn’t breathing at all, and Red would have suspected it was dead if he hadn’t felt its fluctuation earlier.

The group stopped walking when they reached 200 meters from the monsters. From here, the snake’s image was even clearer, and they all started to feel some pressure emitting from the hill-sized monster.

Red was the most affected, as his body started to tremble under the strange primordial fear once more. He tried his best to calm himself down, but it didn’t seem to be working.

“There are scorch marks over there.” Reinhart pointed out.

Indeed, there were spots close to the snake where it seemed light had struck and burned the ground. Even some cracks had formed along the rock surface.

“They’re all within 100 meters of the monster or so.” the knight said. “As soon as we cross that, we get judged by the snake, I suppose.”

Red grimaced. This was almost the exact range of his crimson sense.

“So, who’s going first?” Reinhart asked.

“You are.” Narcha said. “We’re not splitting up while you’re here.”

The man grunted. “Fine.”

He turned around and stared at the monster. Only now did the danger of the task seemed to dawn on him, as he sized the creature up. Even a man like Reinhart wasn’t immune to fear, it seemed.

The knight took a deep breath and fished for something in his pocket. It seemed to be some sort of powdered medicine, but Red didn’t have a good look at it. Reinhart poured some of it in his mouth.

“Some tranquilizer.” the man said, throwing the bag towards Red. “Might help you some.”

The boy examined the item, more than happy to accept the gift. Reinhart wasn’t done ingesting things, though, as he took out a pill from his bag. It was one of the pills the imperials had eaten during their fight.

The knight swallowed it without hesitation. Then, a few seconds later, the effects of the pill started to set in as Red observed his muscles visibly contract and expand.

“Well, then… Here I go!”

To their surprise, Reinhart didn’t choose a careful approach to the task. He instead dashed forward with all his strength, making his way towards the monster. There were plenty of gaps between the snake’s body and the cliff wall one could use to pass through, but they all involved climbing over the beast’s body in one way or the other. The knight seemed to be aiming for one of those.

As he got close, his speed slowed down. Red guessed this was because of the monster’s pressure. Still, Reinhart continued to push himself, quickly passing the one hundred meter mark. It was at that moment, though, that the monster stirred.

Its eyes opened up, dark slitted pupil and glowing blue iris shining in the dark. The monster looked down, its gaze setting upon the knight. Reinhart slowed down once again, but he didn’t look up or stop pushing himself. By the time he had reached the snake’s body, the man had slowed down to a trot.

Finally, he set his hands on the beast’s body, intent on climbing up.

Red and the others held their breathes as they watched this. The snake showed no reaction, though, and simply continued to watch the man, slightly tilting its head down. From here, everything seemed to happen too fast and too far for the group to catch all its details.

Reinhart continued to climb over the coils of the snake’s body, approaching an opening big enough that would allow him to pass through. His trot had slowed down to a walk, but the man had never once stopped moving. Finally, he reached the passage between the snake’s body and the canyon wall, disappearing from the group’s view.

The snake turned its head around, looking behind itself. Its slight movement already caused rumbling in the ground, but it didn’t seem to be intent on leaving its position. Red and the others couldn’t see what was happening anymore, and waited for some sign as to whether Reinhart had succeeded or not.

It seemed to come almost a minute later. The snake turned around once more, laying its head down and closing its eyes.

“He succeeded?” Narcha asked, still staring at the snake in disbelief.

Despite all the indications of the man’s success, it was clear that the group wasn’t confident enough to make a conclusion.

“There were no sounds of lightning.” Red said. “He probably succeeded.”

Narcha grunted. “Seems to be the case. I’m not sure whether I’m disappointed he didn’t die or happy that he proved it can be done.” she looked over at her companions. “I’m going next.”

Eiwin frowned. “Are you sure?”

The warrior smiled. “Of course I’m sure. Watch me, I won’t even need to use any pills!”

Narcha exuded confidence in her own strength at that moment, a sight that Red had not seen yet since they met in this place.

“Beside, the two of you need to settle some things first.” she gave Red a meaningful look.

The boy frowned. It was obvious his trembling hadn’t gone unnoticed by the rest of the group.

A reluctant smile came to Eiwin’s expression as she looked over at Narcha. “I trust you, Miss Valt. If you put your heart to it, there’s nothing in this world you can’t accomplish. I believe you can pass this obstacle.”

Narcha laughed. “Of course I can! If Reinhart can do it, how couldn’t I?!”

Red observed their interaction with interest. He knew that any false step in this situation would mean one’s own death, and their companions could do nothing but watch it helplessly, unable to offer their assistance. Yet, right when the boy expected the weight of the situation to bear down on them the most, Narcha and Eiwin instead looked more relaxed and confident.

It made little sense to him.

“Then, I’ll be on my way.” Narcha turned around. “I’ll be waiting for you on the other side.”

She began walking towards the snake.

Red looked over at Eiwin. “Do you think she can make it?”

The woman smiled. “Without a doubt in my mind.”