Putting his hand on the giant's lips, Ash signaled him to remain silent. Someone was coming, and he didn't want to draw their attention.
Soon, three figures emerged from the gloom. One was the soldier, and the other two were his fellow prisoners. The guards were practically dragging them as the duo seemed lifeless.
Multiple new wounds had appeared over their bodies, and Ash could see that one of them had lost his right hand.
'Where are the other three... did they die?'
Ash looked around, finding that there was no one else.
As they entered the prison, he looked into their eyes and found them hollow. He could see them giving up, for they recognized they wouldn't be able to last another day.
Not unless their condition changed.
"Pftt!... you pitiful. I like the way you were struggling. At least I won because of them dying. Please, you can die as well, so I can increase my winnings. Wait, no… now everyone will bet against you… tsk! tsk!"
Clicking his tongue, the guard found the lost opportunity regretful and closed the door.
As the soldier moved out of the way, Ash looked at his face and imprinted it within his psyche.
'Dipshit.. you will be the first to die if I get out of here.'
Ash hated anyone who used the position they are in for exploitation with his whole being.
Sighing, he signaled the giant to remain silent and moved closer toward those who had come in. Getting closer to the one who had lost his hand, he said apologetically,
"I'm so sorry for what happened to you. These guards are really horrible people."
Instead of replying with anything, the man just looked at him with hollow eyes. He didn't have any energy left in him to even nod his head.
Looking around, Ash bit his lip and wiped the blood off the prisoner's hand with the hem of his clothes.
"Ouchh!"
The man whimpered, but Ash calmed him down. After slowly cleaning the wounds, he looked at him and explained,
"Keep the wounds clean, or you will catch an infection pretty quickly."
Saying these words, Ash stood up and began walking toward his side. Midway through, he stopped and turned.
"Wait... your condition is already horrible. Hmm! Is there a way for one to volunteer for another person?"
Hearing this, the prisoner whose wound he had cleaned lifted his head. He couldn't understand why the man would ask this question.
Looking at him with a hopeful gaze, the prisoner barely opened his mouth and screeched,
"Y-yes."
Heaving a sigh of relief, Ash came closer to the prisoner and sat beside him. Leaning closer to him, he asked,
"I only came today, so I don't know how things go inside of this... can you please tell me what kind of game they play... if I know, it will be easier for me to win it. I will continue to volunteer for you."
Listening to these words, the prisoner looked at him as if he were the incarnation of an angel. Leaning closer, he gathered all his energy and murmured,
"T-they put two men...."
It took quite some time to explain the workings of the game they play there.
'So, sometimes the rules change… hmm! Well, it doesn't happen much, so… there is not much to worry about.'
After learning everything, he stood up from there and patted him on the shoulder.
"Well, I got it... rest easy, I will handle your next turn."
Saying this, Ash turned, but before moving toward his part of the prison, he asked,
"Hmm! Can you tell me what your crime was?"
The prisoner was so tired that he didn't even think much and whispered, "Rape and killing of three women."
Hearing this, Ash's expression changed instantly. A scorn appeared over his face as he barely controlled himself from killing the man on the spot.
Taking a deep breath, he slowly walked toward the giant and explained to him about the game as well.
After thinking for a while, he moved toward the other cultists as well.
Although he didn't want to tell them about this, he eventually did. The reason being that if more people lived, the more people there would be to go around, and the better the chances for everyone to live.
After hearing this, Minner closed his eyes and thanked him.
"Let the god bless you for giving us the wisdom…"
Seeing this, Ash couldn't understand how, even after all this, they could remain religious, but remembering how zealously the people of Earth behave, he didn't find their actions weird.
"At least they get some sort of reply from the god."
As he was about to move, Minner grabbed his hand and pulled him closer.
Interpreting this as aggression, Ash was about to get into a defensive position, but he stopped upon hearing his words.
"I can sense the essence of god on you. How did you lie in front of the blood tyrant?"
He asked.
'Essence of god on me!?'
Initially, Ash was confused, wondering whether they had lost even the last semblance of wisdom, but then he remembered something.
'Can they sense that I met with their god?'
Confused, Ash looked at them.
From his expression, it was obvious that at least Minner could. At first, he didn't want to tell the truth, but then something clicked inside his head.
They were fanatics of their god, and he could leverage some of it to his advantage.
'Yes… I met the god, and because of him, I forgot things. He told me to lead you all to salvation.'
Obviously, the last part was something he had made up, but the others didn't know that.
Suddenly, their expressions changed to euphoric in real time.
"The Prophecy was true... it was true..."
They were about to shout out of excitement, but Ash signaled them to calm themselves.
"Silence... there are people here; they will hear us and become a hindrance to us."
'What are they talking about… did they interpret it as something else?'
Confused, he looked at them and found them bowing down.
"Hmm! As you know, my mind is hazy. Can you remind me what the prophecy is?"
Hearing this, Minner nodded his head fast, like a child getting permission to play outside.
"It is the time for his descent... He will claim what is his and reduce everything else to ash. We will be pardoned of our sins and get to enter his divine kingdom. There... there is no shortage of food, wine... everyone will be healthy and have their own place to live..."
Hearing this, a wave of unease passed over him as Ash remembered the quest he had received.
In its description, there was something along the lines:
[Is a kingdom reduced to ash the true scope of his desire?]
Author Note: Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed the chapter, please add it to your Library, leave a comment, and vote with your Power Stones. Your support means a lot! Love you all byee~~