The sand fortress was a creation of the Sorcerer.
As the Aiwood Kingdom soldiers and Ogrekin warriors forged their strange alliance on the floors below, Rest and Dieble smashed through the ceiling to infiltrate the upper reaches.
"It looks like we hit the jackpot," Rest noted.
"So it seems. Are these the foreign tribesmen held as hostages?"
Rest and Dieble stood before the discovery. A prison cell loomed in front of them, a space roughly the size of ten tatami mats enclosed by bars of hardened earth. Children from various foreign tribes were packed inside, huddled so closely there was hardly room to move.
Among them were members of the Ogrekin, Winged, Lizardman, and Insectman races, along with others Rest didn't recognize. Imprisoned and terrified, they turned wary, fearful eyes toward the intruders.
"What’s the plan?" Rest asked.
"We have no choice but to release them as intended. For now, our primary objective is achieved," Dieble replied.
There was no sign of anyone resembling a Sorcerer in the immediate vicinity. Even when Rest used his [Presence Search] magic, he couldn't detect a single hostile presence nearby. He wondered if they had sensed the intrusion and fled.
"Ideally, I would prefer to take them back as leverage for negotiations with the tribes... but doing so might just pour oil on the fire," Dieble continued. "Let’s pray that Ogrekin boy, Rou, can smooth things over on his end."
"You're right," Rest said with a nod.
The foreign tribes had suffered a devastating blow in this battle, losing many of their warriors. According to Rou, they were just as eager to end the fighting as the Kingdom was. Once the hostages were freed, they would have no reason to continue their assault and should withdraw.
Rest thought to himself, I don't expect them to feel grateful, but it's enough if they just sheath their blades.
"Rou...?" a small voice whispered from inside the cell.
"Hmm?" Rest turned toward the sound.
"Did you just say Rou?" the voice asked. "Do you know my brother?"
The speaker was a young girl with two horns protruding from her head. She had white hair cut into a neat bob and a lovely face. Aside from the horns, she looked remarkably human. Her eyes, brimming with fear, stared up at Rest.
"Yeah. We’re in a... well, a cooperative relationship with him," Rest told the young Ogrekin girl.
He wasn't lying. They weren't exactly comrades or friends—considering Rest had beaten Rou down, taken him prisoner, and treated him rather harshly during the battle—but they were currently working together.
"I’m going to break this cage and set you all free now. Please, just don't panic or do anything reckless, okay?"
"I understand," the girl said, then turned to the others. "Everyone, stay calm. If we move around too much, it’ll only be more dangerous."
The girl was clever. Thanks to her intervention, the other children, who had been on the verge of a panicked outburst, settled down immediately.
"Good. That’s it," Rest said.
He stepped toward the bars and began to channel his magic. The cage was made of magically hardened earth; if it was anything like the rest of the fortress, ordinary mana wouldn't leave a scratch. He gathered a significant amount of mana, shaping it into a Wind Blade intended to slice right through the lattice.
"Lord Rest!" Dieble’s voice suddenly rang out.
In that split second, while Rest’s concentration was entirely focused on his offensive magic, Dieble screamed a warning. A moment later, countless spikes erupted from the floor, walls, and ceiling.
"Guh...!"
"Professor Dieble!"
Dieble had thrown himself in front of Rest, activating his defensive magic. However, he couldn't deflect every one of the dozens of razor-sharp stakes. Several of them impaled him through the stomach.
"Professor! Are you alright? I’ll use Heal right now...!"
"Lord Rest... the enemy!" Dieble gasped. "Forget about me—deal with them!"
Rest focused every nerve on his [Presence Search]. Still, he sensed no human presence... and yet, he felt a subtle, jarring discord coming from the wall.
"There!"
Every inch of the sand castle was infused with mana. Within that flow, he spotted a single point where the energy was unnaturally concentrated. He redirected the magic he had prepared for the cage and fired it directly at the anomaly.
"Protect me," a muffled voice murmured.
Walls of sand rose from the floor in an instant. Rest’s Wind Blade shattered the first two layers of the triple-barrier before dissipating.
"What incredible power... How terrifying."
A man appeared, seemingly seeping out from the sand wall itself. He had a sullen air about him, with reddish-brown hair long enough to obscure his eyes. He was tall but so skeletal and thin that he resembled a spindly wireframe doll. He wore a hooded black robe with an inverted pentagram engraved over his chest.
"So young, yet so dangerous... Such enviable talent."
"You...!" Rest growled.
The man before him was undoubtedly the Sorcerer. Staring at the individual who had just impaled his mentor, Rest felt his eyes narrow with a cold, sharpening rage.