Close Friend

Moses was in a very bad state right now.

To be precise, ever since he was captured, his state had never been good.

Although those half-beastkin and beastkin provided him with enough food and water to survive every day,

it could hardly be called delicious, but at least it kept him from starving to death.

He had not suffered any harsh abuse in the prison either.

On the contrary, apart from when the kobold named Fido had first come to interrogate him—and he had chosen to keep his mouth shut—he had not been subjected to any torture or interrogation since.

It was as if he had been completely forgotten.

But even so, Moses still lived in pain and struggle every day.

He felt like an ant on a hot pan.

It was psychological torment,

born of the regret of failing to fulfill his friend's final request,

and a touch of... longing for his family.

“Rudolf... do you think I can escape alive?”

In the corner of the underground dungeon, Moses curled up with his knees drawn to his chest, talking to the wall. “If... I fail to fulfill your request, will you resent me?”

As he spoke, his eyes were already heavily bloodshot, and his armor was long gone.

In its place was a dirty, coarse linen garment.

His wheat-colored skin had gradually grown pale from the prolonged lack of sunlight.

The endless torment had given him the habit of talking to the wall.

Moses, who had not yet completely lost his mind, naturally knew that the cold wall could not answer any of his questions.

This was merely his way of coping with the loneliness.

Picking up a stone, Moses carved heavily into the cold wall.

Amidst the harsh screech of the stone and the clanking of his handcuffs, another deep scratch appeared on the wall.

This was Moses's way of keeping track of time.

It was also the hope that kept him alive.

He hoped that one day he would escape from the dungeon, leave this savage land, return to his hometown, and deliver his friend's final message.

However, just as he put down the stone and quietly waited for his captors to deliver his daily portion of food and water...

He heard a cold, low shout:

“Hey, come on out.”

Moses turned his head and looked through the gaps in the iron bars, spotting a gnoll dragonborn gesturing to him.

“Me?” Moses pointed at his own face with a blank expression.

His guard immediately went up.

He wondered if these guys were finally going to make a move on him.

“Yes, you. There's no one else here anyway,” the gnoll dragonborn said, raising his voice. Unlocking the dungeon door with a key, he urged, “Hurry up, hurry up. Her Grace wants to see you.”

“Creak—”

The heavy iron door of the dungeon swung open.

The gnoll dragonborn strode inside, quickly reaching Moses. Under the prisoner's vigilant gaze, he hauled him up and led him out of the cell.

Moses did not resist.

His eyes swept over the dozen or so dragonborn standing outside.

His eyes flickered as he secretly calculated his options.

During his days in the dungeon, he had not neglected his daily training.

Thus, even though he was currently wearing handcuffs and shackles, dealing with these guards—whose strength was generally only at the Black Iron Rank—would not be too difficult, even if it might be a bit troublesome.

If he could quickly dispatch them without alerting others...

He would have a chance to escape!

Moses's plan was solid.

However, when he stepped out of the cell and saw a pitch-black iron can standing not far away, along with that iconic dog head...

The hope that had been burning in his heart instantly froze over.

It was as if a bucket of ice-cold water had been poured over his head in the dead of summer.

The fighting spirit he had just conjured vanished in an instant.

As someone who had researched power armor with Rudolf, he knew very well how powerful this suit was.

Now that it was being worn by this kobold dragonborn whose aura had already reached the Silver Rank, he knew he stood absolutely no chance of winning.

A look of dejection and disappointment inevitably washed over his face.

“What, not happy to see me? Back then, the two of us fought to a standstill. It was a pity we didn't meet sooner!”

“But... you guys ganged up on me...” Moses grumbled inwardly, his expression turning somewhat grim.

Fido keenly noticed the subtle change in Moses's facial expression. Grinning to reveal a mouthful of sharp fangs, he stepped forward and slapped his heavy, armor-clad hand onto Moses's shoulder.

“Don't be so down, kid! I'm taking you to see someone. An old acquaintance of yours!”

“An acquaintance?” Moses was stunned for a moment, but then he let out a bitter smile.

In this savage land, how could he possibly have any acquaintances?

Even his dearest friend, Rudolf, had already died at the hands of that evil dragon.

“Whatever. I'll just see what these guys are up to,” Moses thought to himself. “Even if they kill me, I'll just treat it as going to reunite with my dear friend.”

However, as Fido led him through a series of twists and turns out of the dungeon, Moses struggled to adapt to the blinding sunlight outside. When they finally stopped and he opened his eyes again...

Looking at the person in front of him...

He froze.

“Ru... Rudolf...?”

Inside the dragon's nest, illuminated by various sparkling gems, Moses stared in utter disbelief at the old man before him.

His bloodshot eyes, whether due to his inability to adapt to the sunlight or some other reason, actually welled up with a few tears.

“You... you're not dead?!”

Immediately, Moses could no longer care about anything else. He violently broke free from Fido's grip and, dragging his heavy shackles, stumbled toward his dear friend, who looked even older than he remembered.

Upon reaching Rudolf, Moses raised his handcuffed hands, wanting to grab the other man's shoulders.

But the old man stepped aside, dodging him.

Moses was dumbfounded.

Following that, he saw his former friend cast an indifferent glance at him, then turn to look at Irene, who had been watching the show from the side.

In a raspy, aged voice, he asked, “Mother, who is he?”

The moment Rudolf said those words, Moses's eyes widened dramatically.

He stared in utter disbelief at his friend, then followed his gaze to look at that... humanoid evil dragon.

He did not understand why his dear friend would call that evil dragon “Mother.”

This was absolutely absurd!

Soon, Irene answered his doubts.

“Not even this works? Tsk... It seems he really did resurrect into an idiotic lich.”

“A lich?” Moses's gaze shifted back to Rudolf.

This time, he finally noticed the blazing soul fire within the gaping hole in the old man's chest.

“A lich...” Moses murmured the word. His legs went weak, and he almost fell straight to his knees.

He stared at his former dear friend with a face full of despair and confusion.

His dearest friend, after all, was still dead.

Directly after!

Moses's bloodshot eyes locked onto Irene, seeing a trace of annoyance in her cold gaze.

That evil dragon had actually desecrated his dearest friend's corpse like this.

This ignited a fire of rage deep within Moses's heart.