Lifeline (6)

Ormi Noark was part of the expedition force. After getting separated from the main group, he had ended up trapped in the burning Great Demon Realm with two allies.

And in truth, I already knew how their story ended.

[Day 711. At long last, Zephyros and I agreed on one thing. Today, we die.]

In the end, this entire group would meet a despair-filled death.

[Do you know who I am?]

The moment I realized that the diary’s author was named Ormi Noark, my thoughts went in a different direction.

What if he hadn’t died that day?

What if he had escaped this place, reached the city of Raphdonia, later founded the Ormi Revolutionary Corps, and eventually succeeded in building the underground city of Noark?

Was that too much of a stretch?

Maybe.

Even so, I couldn’t just blindly dismiss the idea.

After all, imagination is just the recombination of existing data.

The moment I connected the name Ormi Noark with the keyword Raphdonia, my mind naturally constructed that story.

However…

‘There is a contradiction.’

Neither the Ormi Revolutionary Army nor Noark had a particularly long history.

At most, they dated back only a few hundred years from the present.

There was a massive gap between this ancient era and the world I knew.

[No, I don’t know. It feels like I’ve heard the name before somewhere… but I can’t quite remember.]

I decided to gather a little more information first.

Clearly, there was some connection between this man, Noark, and the Ormi Revolutionary Corps.

[Well, if you’re from Raphdonia, perhaps that’s possible. My family served Raphdonia for generations. Maybe you’ve met one of my relatives.]

I could see a powerful longing shone in Ormi Noark’s eyes. It was an unshakable will to survive and return, no matter what. Of course, that did not erase all of his lingering doubts.

“[But… is it really true that Raphdonia survived? That it became the final fortress capable of holding back the Witch’s curse?]”

He spoke as though he still could not fully believe me, but then quickly continued.

[Take us there, quickly! I want to see it with my own eyes—]

[My verification test is not over yet.]

[Is there even a need for that? If that man is still the lord, I am certain he will welcome me with open arms once I—!]

[That is only your opinion]

[…]

I cut him off coldly.

The man faltered, unsure how to respond. Watching his reaction, I calmly asked another question.

[What is the name of Raphdonia’s lord?]

To be honest, I had asked because I was not sure either. But he seemed to take it as a question meant to confirm his identity, so he gave me exactly the answer I wanted.

[Ravigion Kommelby Raphdonia.]

So the Immortal King was still the ruler.

As I mentally marked off another confirmed theory, he continued.

[Ask me anything. I will answer everything. So please, take us… No. No, we are fine. There is a mother with a young child. Just those two. Please take them to Raph—]

He suddenly stopped before he could finish saying the name.

An eerie unease settled over me along with the silence.

No, it was more than simple unease.

Something was wrong.

The desperation in his voice and the sorrow on his face had vanished completely. Now, he was only staring at me.

I glanced at Zephyros, only to see the same thing had happened to him.

As if time itself had stopped, the two men before me had gone deathly silent, staring at me with blank expressions.

Like broken puppets.

Ba-dump!

In unexpected situations, I always acted on instinct rather than reason.

Instead of analyzing what was happening, my hand flew to my shield, ready to raise it at any moment.

Step.

Just as I got into a combat-ready stance, he spoke.

“Stop.”

This time, he did not speak in the ancient language we had been using until now.

He spoke in Rafdonian.

“I understand that you did not come here by choice, but stop making fools of these people.”

Ba-dump!

My heartbeat thudded low in my ears as I slowly parted my lips.

I had no idea what had just happened, but one thing was clear.

“Who are you?”

His personality had completely changed.

The man did not answer right away. He simply stared at me for a long while, as if gathering his thoughts.

Then, at last, he said, “If you go down to the basement, you will find the Orb of Fire. Use it, and the Orb of Fire you already possess will be strengthened by another stage.”

Oh, so it had that kind of effect?

While I was still slightly impressed by that new bit of information, the man continued in a cold voice.

“Once you obtain it, leave this place immediately. That is the only reward you will receive for coming here.”

Honestly, I was just as confused by the situation.

I still had no idea what was happening, and I had no way to figure out who the man in front of me really was.

But one thing was certain.

Who the hell was he to order me around?

He clearly didn’t know much about barbarians.

Because if someone spoke to us like that, we’d refuse to help, even if we had originally been willing.

“No. You’re wrong.”

“Rewards aren’t limited to material things. So stop interfering and get lost. I still have questions for Ormi Noark.”

I was dying to know who this man really was.

But I showed none of it.

The reason was simple.

The side that wants less always controls the conversation.

“He was just about to spill everything, and then some strange thing suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Tsk.” I complained with an exaggerated sigh.

For a brief moment, I saw his brow twitch.

From experience, that was usually a sign that someone was getting pissed.

And despite how offended he seemed, he still wasn’t doing anything.

So all he can do is talk.

Of course, I couldn’t be certain yet.

So I decided to push a little further.

“If you really want me gone, why not just say it properly? Something like, ‘In exchange for taking the Orb of Fire, please leave this place peacefully.’”

“Or can’t you say that? Wow. I don’t know how you were raised, but your manners are terrible.”

The entity opened his mouth to respond, but I immediately cut him off.

“Whatever. Just bring the other guy back. I have nothing to discuss with you.”

Silence lingered for a moment.

Then he finally asked,

“If I say that, will you leave?”

Oh?

Was he actually considering it?

Since there was no way to know for certain, I simply shrugged.

“Who knows? Sometimes a single sincere word can change everything.”

“…In exchange for taking the Orb of Fire, please leave this place.”

Wow.

He actually said it.

I quickly tightened my facial muscles to stop myself from smiling.

“That’s much better.”

“Then—”

“But isn’t it common courtesy to introduce yourself before asking someone for a favor?”

Caught by the ironclad logic of barbarian common sense, the entity visibly trembled with anger.

Still, anger seemed to be the extent of what he could do.

A moment later, he reluctantly revealed his identity.

“I am Ormi Noark.”

“Oh. So you’re the original?”

“If you already know that much, then this conversation will be brief. The one you were speaking with earlier is merely a recreation of my past self.”

I had thrown out the word original without thinking much about it.

The fact that he immediately confirmed it was surprising enough that I nearly blurted out my thoughts on the spot.

But something he said dragged my attention back to the important part.

“Since I have introduced myself, can you now—”

Heh.

He was trying to take advantage of every opening he got.

“Together.”

A puzzled look crossed his face.

“Now that you know who you are, make your introduction and your request together.”

For a moment, he remained silent.

Then, in a stiff voice, he complied.

“…I am the original Ormi Noark. Please stop disturbing this memory and leave with the Orb of Fire. Please.”

Compared to his earlier attitude, the request was remarkably polite.

I gave it a moment of serious consideration before answering.

“Hmm… no.”

“What?”

“I’m not leaving.”

“That’s not what you promised!”

“What promise? I said I’d think about it.”

“I… I am sincerely begging you.”

“And I sincerely thought about it. My answer is still no.”

“You were planning to make a fool of me from the very beginning…”

“Make a fool of you? What are you talking about? You made a sincere request, I took a sincere amount of time to consider it, and then I declined. Is there something wrong with your head?”

“You should know your place!”

Hmm.

So he had resorted to insults now.

Since this shameless man had no intention of learning basic manners despite all my efforts, and since he had somehow twisted my honest answer into mockery, I saw no reason to continue treating him gently.

Even as he shouted, I stepped forward instead of backing away.

And…

Using my barbarian physique, I looked down at him.

“So what are you going to do about it?”

At our level, size and physical build did not necessarily determine combat strength.

But our conversation so far had already proven one thing.

“From the look of things, there’s not much you can do about me being here, is there?”

…this man posed no threat to me.

“Because you would have thrown me out already if you could. Am I wrong?”

Just as I expected, he fell silent.

At least he wasn’t completely foolish. Instead of wasting time arguing, he skipped straight to the heart of the matter.

“What do you want?”

“Information. Or a physical reward of equal value.”

“That orb is the only physical reward you can take from this place.”

“Maybe under normal circumstances. But this isn’t a normal situation, is it?”

Things had already escalated to the point where an entity claiming to be the original Ormi Noark had appeared before me.

If I kept applying pressure, it was obvious he would eventually give up something.

Apparently, though, he had seen right through my intentions.

He bit down on his lip.

“Shameless bastard.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“There are no physical rewards I can give you. I don’t even possess the authority required to do that.”

“Then you’ll have to provide information.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“I’ve met several beings like you before. Beings that seemed to be ‘originals.’ What exactly are you people?”

“Huh. Are you invoking your right to remain silent?”

He grinned.

“And if I do? What can you do about it?”

Oh?

A faint smirk appeared on his face.

So that’s how he wanted to play it.

“Not sure yet. But if you stay silent, I’ll go downstairs and take the Orb of Fire.”

He snorted.

That attitude didn’t last very long.

“After that, I’ll destroy everything. The house. Zephyros. Your body. Even that mother.”

“Even… the mother?”

He sounded genuinely shocked.

Apparently, this guy still didn’t understand true equality.

“Didn’t you ask what I could do? I’m simply telling you.”

“What exactly can you do to stop me?” I grinned

“I will recreate everything.”

His answer came immediately.

“The Orb of Fire. This house. Their lives. I can restore them all.”

His gaze drifted around the room.

“This entire place is merely a play created by that child.”

I stayed quiet and let him continue.

Eventually, he revealed the one thing he truly cared about.

“However, even if I can restore everything afterward, I cannot bear to watch you beat Tarvian to death.”

“Oh?”

“Fine.”

His shoulders slumped slightly.

“You win, barbarian.”

There was unmistakable resignation in his voice.

“Ask me something else. I will answer anything that I am capable of answering.”

“Then—”

“But I cannot tell you about my origins.”

His tone sharpened immediately.

“That is something I cannot reveal even if I wished to. Do not misunderstand.”

“Oh…”

“Even so, the answers I can give will be far more useful than those of my past self. I know far more now than I did back then.”

Hmm.

He wasn’t wrong about that.

Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had somehow gotten less than I wanted.

“Now choose,” he said.

“I’ve already laid out every option available to you.”

The way he spoke made it clear this was his final offer.

After thinking it over for a moment, I nodded.

“Sure.”

It was finally time for a conversation between two intelligent people.

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