Chapter 33: Sacrifice
The air was thick with dread as Allen, Fina, and Rinni pushed through the undergrowth toward the source of the scream. The pained cry echoed again—closer now—until they broke into a small clearing.
What they saw twisted Allen’s gut.
The beastkin boy lay sprawled on the forest floor, blood matting his fur and staining the moss beneath him. The elf had her boot crushing into his back, her expression blank with cold hatred. The dwarf, grunting with effort, was dragging the boy’s arm toward the dark maw of a yawning hole at the base of an enormous tree. The opening was pitch black, radiating an eerie stillness that made the hairs on Allen’s neck rise.
"Don’t squirm, runt," the elf muttered, eyes flashing. "We’ll be rid of you soon enough."
The dwarf heaved harder. "Just get his scrawny hide over the edge—damned little shit’s barely worth the blood."
Allen didn’t know why the hell they were trying to shove a bleeding kid into that black hole, but his mind didn’t need a reason. The words alone made something snap.
"What the fuck are you doing!?" Allen’s voice exploded across the clearing like thunder, full of venom and disbelief. "Are you all out of your godsdamn minds!?"
The trio of adventurers turned as one, their faces curling into expressions of annoyance and contempt. The human warrior made a lazy motion toward his sword, the elf just sighed.
"Oh, it’s you again," the elf sneered, glancing at Fina and Rinni with naked disgust. "Should’ve known the stray collector would come running."
Allen didn’t stop. "You’re stepping on a kid’s spine and dragging him into some creepy-ass hole like it’s normal—are you insane?!"
The dwarf grunted. "Piss off, outsider. You don’t know what this is, and it ain’t your business."