"It's a great honor... to be acknowledged, and be... in your presence m'lady. It is not every day that us Nafuri fohr, welcome your kind into our domain," Bolo, the chief of the dark goblins said.

Arka was astonished at this hulking giant. Even more so, one that was capable of speaking her language. She did meet another giant prior to Bolo, but the first giant she met tried to kill her and her friend when it saw them both.

"The pleasure is all mine, 'twas good fortunes to be designated and perform a census in your impregnable domain," Neferah spoke out loud, ensuring that the dark goblin chieftain heard her loud and clear.

The chieftain laughed heartily, flattered by Neferah's comment.

As Bolo guided them, Arka observes that the town was thriving with dark goblins, going in and out of the town's shabby buildings. Surprisingly, these dark goblins also had numerous tents set up for them to camp. Neferah was right about these goblins being hunters. They knew about basic survival. They even seemed to have armor repair stations and workshops set up near the vicinities of the tents that surround the town. Some of these dark goblins seemed to also own a wolf companion with three black eyes with reddish pupils.

Those are Weephounds. Arka recalled her encounter in the forest with Banelfsing and Mikrim.

The dark goblins and those who owned a Weephound companion prefer staying outside under the sky with their tents instead of the more well-founded town buildings. They neglected the manmade structures they captured; evident by the wear and tear.

There weren't any humans though wherever Arka looked.

Where are all the townspeople? This thought bothers her.

"Please, m'lady you are too kind," The giant goblin said with its deep, and gurgling voice. "For us Nafuri fohr, it is the first time that any representative from the demon capital arrive here. It should only be... be natural that we would be grateful of you coming here," he said in a delighted, gurgled-like deep voice.

Bolo stopped in his tracks, prompting Neferah and Arka and the goblin guardsmen following them to stop as well. He knelt down to reach Neferah near eye-level.

With his humongous hands, he then reached out to the loremaster’s right hand.

He brought her right hand closer to his fiendish face lightly facing downward, and kissed it gently to show his courtesy.

The dark goblins in the town who camped outside next to their tents stopped what they were doing to witness this.

Neferah remained stoic by this kiss as if the loremaster has already seen this type of gesture performed numerous times across her travels.

He rose from his position, and as he did, the dark goblins within their vicinity returned to their work of sharpening their weapons with the grindstones that were set up also near their tents. The dark goblins also worked on lining up the chains of their own chainmail, and improving the conditioning of their leather armors through these workstations.

"Shall I ask my troops to serve you some refreshments?" Bolo asked, twiddling his thumbs.

"Me and my helper are fine. I do appreciate the amiable gesture, chieftain," Neferah replied, Bolo nodded.

"Alright, then, m'lady, I suppose... you would be doing this census... now?" The giant dark goblin said this as if struggling to find the precise words he wanted to say in his vocabulary.

"That is correct, chieftain,"

Bolo stared off into the distance. "Are there any things that you need to... do this census?" He turned his attention back to Neferah as he found a way to find clarity with his words after some struggle.

"Not anymore, as I have already brought my tools and belongings that I need to conduct this," Neferah said. "I would like to ask however, is there anything else that I have to provide to you to ensure that I would not be disturbed anymore in performing my duties?"

"Oh," The chieftain exclaimed. "There's nothing left for you to do, I will have my men not bother you during your work," Bolo said.

"That is good then, any means of the sort of inconsequential circumstances is what I need none of during my work,” as Neferah said this, Bolo scratched his head and ceased for a moment as if picking up what she has just said to him.

He then made a deep breath. "All of you!" He shouted with a thunderous roar to ensure all his men heard him loud and clear. Along with that, he slammed his gigantic mace on the ground among the groups of dark goblins that surround them to further call for their attention. They stopped whatever they were doing in response. "the Loremaster will conduct a census of our family! Do not bother her in any way during her work! Or else, we’ll feed you to the hounds!"

As the dark goblins heard this command from Bolo, they returned to resume their duties, while some of them who were resting near their tents began to relay their chieftain's message for other dark goblins within the town to be informed.

"Will that be all?" Bolo asked.

"That was most impressive," Neferah said. "I am all but amazed by the hard-working populace you have gathered here,"

Bolo smiled this time showing more of the sharp, carnivorous-like teeth he had between his large canines.

"If we are done here, I must be off to commence my work," Neferah said.

"Very well, m'lady,” However, just as Neferah and Arka was about to leave—

“There is just one thing left...” The giant goblin said. “I want to ask for... more of your time, maybe stay with us here... for a feast at dusk," he said.

"A feast?" Neferah reiterated.

"Yes, m'lady," Bolo said with a now lower, gurgled-like deep voice.

"But chieftain, are you sure about this? I know that you may be occupied by more important matters,"

"It's alright!" Bolo said as if eager on what he was about to say next with the same smile that revealed his giant canines. "I want to... enjoy your company, to sit and dine with you... more importantly, as our first visitor from the Demon Capital," he said.

Neferah decided to consider for a while. She placed a thumb and index finger under her chin. Her eyelids partially opened as if in deep thought.

As she finished her own thoughts, she turned back to Bolo. "Very well, then... I gladly accept your proposal,"

Arka saw that Bolo looked as if he was well pleased to find that the demon loremaster agree to his request. Even more so it looked like Bolo’s invitation felt even more sweeter since he had been struggling for words. It was obviously the chieftain's first time on trying to have any relations outside of his own territory.

Everything seemed to have gone smoothly just as Neferah told Arka on infiltrating the town occupied by dark goblins when they planned how to enter it previously.

All that was left was how to annihilate their enemy to which, Arka presumed it would be the ferocious, giant goblin that stood the biggest among the rest who wielded a mace.

As Neferah and the Bolo were about to say their farewells Arka suddenly got poked in the back with the blunt shoe of a spear of a dark goblin guardsman.

"Don't stare, human... Only those that the chief finds as his equal can look upon the chief!" The dark goblin berated Arka and snarled in its raspy voice.

Arka was not used to this kind of hostile interaction. She tolerated this treatment from the dark goblin.

She wanted to speak up, but she just couldn't, nor could she think of the words that she wanted to say in her head. It was unfair treatment against humans like her in Helamir.

This discrimination against her was something she knows already which was told to her just previously.

Well aware of the current position she was in, however, it was in her best interest to lay low for now if she wanted to have a chance to stop the problem of mana being eaten away from where they were.

Bolo's head turned upon hearing this from his guardsman. "Excuse me, what?" Bolo told this creature, as if he took offense to this.

Arka was taken by surprise. The dark goblins within the vicinity began to hide in fear of their chieftain's fury. Some of them wanted to approach, wanting to calm down the chieftain.

The dark goblin looked up its chieftain, speechless, and clueless as to whatever it did wrong.

Bolo quickly grabbed hold of the dark goblin guardsman by the arm. He held onto this creature's arm in an uncomfortable manner; bent with its hand toward its chest. This made the creature drop the spear it was holding. Its gurgled voice sounded a squeak.

He lifted the guardsman up effortlessly, uncaring of the humiliating position the creature was in.

The dark goblin winced and twitched in pain and reflexively tried to pull away from Bolo's grasp.

"What did you say to the human?" Bolo began to interrogate the dark goblin.

"I... I just told the human it cannot look up at you!"

"Why not!?" Bolo shouted at it with its now, deep and monstrous voice. He started to squeeze hard on the dark goblin's arm.

The guardsman grunted, trying its best to bear with the pain.

Arka swore she heard the creature's shoulder blade crack.

"B... because you're the boss, Bolo!" The dark goblin then shouted in pain. It continued to try its best in talking. "The human should show its respect!"

"What respect...?" Bolo, the Chieftain of the dark goblins felt the need to look again at this creature in disbelief. "You think the human doesn't know that!?" He gestured to the human by moving the dark goblin he was carrying toward Arka, and back to himself as if he was talking to a doll.

"No! No, Chief!" It cried out in more pain, exclaiming Bolo's title. Bolo slowly but surely, continued to destroy the helpless creature's arm like a twig.

"Then why did you tell the human this? Are you putting words into my mouth? Do you think I'm stupid—"

"—No, Chief Bolo!!!"

"Do you think the human is stupid then—"

"—No sir, no!!!"

The dark goblin urgently exchanged replies with Bolo, as it reveres the chieftain; not wanting the giant to be in anymore displeasure.

"Then don't tell the human what to do!"

Bolo swiftly then raised the dark goblin above him as if presenting it as an example to the other dark goblins in the vicinity.

"You see this? This whole town was built by humans—!"

"—Yes, Chief Bolo! Yes!" Then the dark goblin felt its arm crack even more. Its elbow bone tore through its flesh.

It shouted, trying to drown out the pain with its cries.

"And we took this place ourselves! And now, you're telling the human to respect me?"

He then brought the dark goblin he was holding toward Arka as if to point it at her.

"The human works under a demon! Don't you get that?" Bolo pointed at his own head as if he was explaining something obvious to a toddler while balancing the mace that rested on his shoulder that he clutched with his arm.

Bolo immediately and forcefully brought the dark goblin he held brutishly close to his face next.

"It knows that it should respect me!" He emphasized toward the helpless creature.

"Y... Yes...!" Was all the dark goblin could say; It felt itself about to faint due to the excruciating pain.

Bolo shouted at the top of his lungs into the fainting dark goblin's face out of rage while he beats his own chest with his other hand. "That's clear! You hear me?" He pointed at it and continued yelling, "That is clear—"

"Bolo!" Neferah intruded. Bolo immediately paid his attention to her. "Do keep a cool head. I believe there are far important matters that we have to attend to,"

Arka saw that Bolo began to smile and chuckle after being brought back to his senses by the demonic loremaster. His large belly jiggled, along with his canines.

"Yes, m'lady," Bolo said, as his rage began to quell. "I will keep... a cool head,"

Bolo lowered the fainted dark goblin back on the pavement.

Then he suddenly brought up a fist—

He squashed the unconscious creature, flattening it against the town's strip. He made a crater with the now, lifeless corpse of the dark goblin.

Arka gawked, wide eyed at the turn of events. She was speechless as she watched the creature's blood and guts explode and splash on Bolo’s leg, leaving a bloodied pavement.

Neferah however, despite the harsh scene, remained stoic toward the whole scenario.

“You,” Bolo beckoned the dark goblin guardsman who was following them previously. After making brief, non-verbal gestures and pointing at the town’s entrance, it returned to its duties as if understanding perfectly what was its chieftain’s wishes.

The titan then began to walk away from Arka and Neferah to return into town with his heavy and thundering footsteps along with the dangling chainmail loincloth. The gigantic mace he held in his one hand also shook in rhythm with his footsteps.

A group of dark goblins began to approach the body of their dead comrade, intending to dispose of its remains.

"That creature, Bolo is the one feeding off the source of mana in this domain," Neferah started to pace back and forth, as Bolo continued walking away from them.

"I see... so we'll have to take him out,"

"This could be our only opportunity, hero... we could swiftly and decisively, strike him with his back turned with the Willesse unless—" Neferah stopped her pacing and drew her attention to Arka. "You may have come up with a different artifice of treacherous design, otherwise?"

Getting into town somehow was the first step, and it was done with convenience and without resorting to violence thanks to Neferah's help.

What would be the next best step that they should take?

Arka thought carefully of what they should do next.

What if the humans were indeed gone? Will there ever be a better opportunity that Arka could find to slay the chieftain?

"I have a different suggestion, a-actually,"

And if they do slay the chieftain, would it mean that if there were still enslaved humans in town, would it put these townspeople's lives at risk?

Arka decided to—

"I think they're taking hostage of the townspeople somewhere, and we should try to look," Arka said.

Neferah uttered a low hum under her voice, expressing her consideration of Arka's opinion. "And what observation have you made to say a thing as such?"

"W-Well, I—"

Arka choked on what she was about to say, because she hasn't really noticed anything different.

"I don't really know honestly... and nothing else seems to tell me if there are any humans left in this place,"

Neferah frowned as if disappointed with Arka for a brief moment when she said this.

"Is that so... I thought you may have arrived at a similar conclusion as I have. Truth be told, I was interested on how much you could discern from our surroundings," Neferah gestured with an open palm. "Although, I may have overestimated the powers of observation that you humans possess."

As Arka felt disheartened with what Neferah told her, the loremaster smirked.

"However, your intuition indeed, ‘twas on the right direction. I have done some brief observations during my talk with the chieftain, and there was perchance; leads that supports the conclusion of there, possibly being—surviving humans on this encampment,"

Neferah pointed at the buildings within the town.

"The worn structures in contrast with the Nafuri fohr's numerous workstations and tents hint a disparity. Their tools and apparatuses are all maintained in such a way that only creatures possessing of highly dexterous extremities would be capable of doing. For some reason, these tools are all still at mint-condition despite the prolonged duration of time they have stayed here evident by contrasting with the worn structures,"

"Nafuri fohr are not capable of such precise maintenance. Unless, they trade with other races, steal from other humans, or concoct alchemy of their own. However, with the state of this world, this would be all unlikely, another lead, would be their relations with the Weephounds... these beasts look to be domesticated. This is something Nafuri fohr have no learned to do in the wild, but something they may have observed from humans.”

Neferah watched the dark goblins pick up the broken, severed, and squashed pieces of their unfortunate comrade and took all of him away.

"This place has not been abandoned by humans yet," She said.

Neferah saw and concluded all that in just a few minutes with her exchange with that giant...?

Arka thought that a demon's eyes were keen just as Neferah told her. It was incredible and astonishing to for her to see it happen. At that moment, she felt like she lost a sense of fear with her kind, even only briefly.

She was mesmerized by Neferah's wit, and her practice of her gifts.

"With that said, I presume that you prefer to search of any humans on this town that would remain then, is that correct, hero?"

Arka felt herself brought back to her senses upon being called.

"Yeah... I want us to investigate where the townspeople are," she said.

Neferah nodded.

"Very well... then we might proceed with our treachery against the chieftain at dusk,"

Arka and Neferah then looked around the massive town. They ventured within the numerous encampments set up within.

They even explored the corners of the town of these high wooden walls.

All that greeted them were more dark goblins and weephounds, abandoned and empty shops, buildings, and the wear and tear of various structures. The shingles from the roofs also collapsed which almost fell on top of them as they went underneath any of the town's archways

They continued their search for any clue, any sign that there could be a living human who was hidden in sight.

Still, they still could not find anyone.

As more time passed on their search and rescue mission on this town, Arka started to worry that maybe her choice has only caused delay, losing their only chance to slay Bolo earlier.

Arka and Neferah stopped once again in another location in town.

"Can you sense... anyone in this place?"

Neferah closed her eyes. She concentrated and sensed her surroundings for any of the enslaved humans.

"There are no humans in this location as well," Neferah said while opening her eyes again, to no prevail.

Arka sighed.

The shadows of the worn structures of the invaded town grew larger and larger until it enshrouded over the two unlikely adventuring companions.

"As much as I know how you want to continue I regrettably have to say that we may have to conclude our investigation here..."

Arka looked up the sky and saw that the sun has set.

"It is almost time,"

It was dusk.

Arka frowned within the confines of her darkened close-helmet.

If only Ban was here, he could have probably helped track these people better... She thought.

Arka began to feel like she was about to give in to her frustration.

She was also tired as she still hasn't gotten any good sleep. She stayed up all night with Neferah on their journey of crossing the border, and still in the middle of digesting the fact that she was a—

"Hero, calm yourself," Neferah noticed Arka's change of mood by the of sudden increase of rhythm of her heartbeat. "We will find these humans soon... we must be patient,"

The clouds of the night sky divided, revealing the moon where its moonlight touched the swordsman's darkened-steel armor she wore. A gentle reflection returned to the stellar faces of the unknown cosmos.

Even in my world, it would take a miracle to find a large group of missing people... I guess I kept my expectations too high.

"All there is left to do, is to eliminate the target for now," Neferah said.

Arka turned to Neferah, "When that happens at the feast, then there won't be avoiding any battle then..."

"Then the worse has come to worst. You will have to ready your blade,"

The Willesse that was hidden in her cloak on her back tilted a bit revealing part of its monstrous-like fuller. They both began to walk away from their location.

Neferah and Arka walked up a set of short, wooden stairs that had an open riser with a closed stringer. The weight of Neferah's black boots and Arka's darkened-steel sabatons sounded a creak for each step they took—climbing toward the townhall's entrance. Two dark goblin soldiers in a sufficiently equipped chainmail armor set and a spear guarded this area.

They both bowed their heads upon seeing Neferah. The dark goblins opened the double doors for her.

They scowled against Arka as she approached who was following behind the demon loremaster. She continued to pay no mind to this aggression.

After passing the foyer, what awaited them both in the main hall was a big crowd of dark goblins and an egregiously elongated dining table that was set with different food from chicken, to a giant boar, from mutton... there was even a gigantic pot of stew at the center of this table where the dark goblins fall in a disorganized line from both sides while pushing and shoving with each other to fill their own bowls.

Some of the crowd of dark goblins within the hall did arm wrestling in unorganized groups, some of them had group conversations, while some of them were brawling whilst getting pitted into different groups to keep on with their brawls. They avoided drawing attention to themselves by restricting these brawls around at the corners of the main halls and past the other interconnected rooms that surround.

The metal chandeliers were shaking as the sport and banter flooded Arka and Neferah's senses.

At the end of this main hall of the dining table, sat Bolo, Chieftain of the Nafuri fohr on a grand seat tailored just for him.

The giant stood up as he saw Neferah. He paid little mind to Arka, with his sights focused only on the loremaster.

Bolo’s height reached the chandeliers within the main hall. He began to approach Arka and Neferah while moving these chandeliers out of the way. The crowd of dark goblins immediately gave way for him as if out of instinct despite the rowdy activities.

The town hall quaked gently as he approached with each step. He was being careful not to damage the inside of the building.

"I'm delighted you came to this feast, demoness!" Bolo exclaimed, with open arms. "Sit anywhere you like! We'll be havin' a ceremony to celebrate!"

"What would this celebration be about, chieftain?" Neferah questioned Bolo as he stopped in front of her.

"I’m very happy you asked! We will be celebrating your arrival to my domain! We welcome the Demon Capital to have... good relations with the Nafuri fohr!”

“Is that so...” Neferah understood what the chieftain wanted to say. “Recognition is the means of this celebration?” A rhetorical question, for the purpose of clarification. “Frankly, the demon capital only recognizes and acknowledges power to those possessing strength, wisdom, and talent that far exceeds its commonly known standards...”

Bolo made a brief pause. Dumbfounded by Neferah’s description of the demon capital, his voiced droned as if it was trying to escape from his larynx.

He chuckled. “I am glad you also see the same way then... us Nafuri fohr b...believe we can survive by making sure we stay strong!” He said as he once again tried to struggle to find the right words.

Neferah chuckled as well in return, and smiled at Bolo.

As Arka saw Neferah’s expression, she knew that it was not a smile of indebtedness. What Neferah gave was a wry smile. She said her brief description of the demon capital not as a way to express her eagerness for introductions, but as a way to imply her unfavorable opinion of Bolo.

Arka noticed this mockery against the hulking giant in front of them, whom was unable to discern this look from her.

“Well, I shall return to my seat. Your seat is at the edge of the table closest to mine,” Then, Bolo turned to Arka, “Your helper sits with the new-blood,”

Arka looked to Neferah to see if it was all fine, and then she glanced back up at Bolo.

“Much obliged,” Neferah said.

Bolo turned his back slowly to them. And then, he started to return to his seat in the same, thundering fashion with the dark goblins moving out of harm’s way.

Bolo then called out to two of his dark goblin grunts. “You there, bring our guest and the helper to their seats,” Bolo said after making gestures with one hand pointing to Arka and Neferah.

The two, dark goblin grunts began to approach them.

Just then, Neferah leaned closer Arka. It looks like there was something she had to inform her. This might be the last time they could speak.

“They are beneath the floor,” she whispered to her ear behind the swordsman’s darkened-steel helmet. She heard her words clearly amongst the rowdy crowd.

They were then led to their seats.