The two of them walked in front, the wolf following Linge closely, wagging its tail gently and swaying its head, but it was not a puppy after all.
"Wow, it really likes you!"
Herluth looked at Polo, envy showing in his eyes.
"This fellow has always been arrogant and never gets close to anyone..."
"Is that so..."
Wolves are dangerous creatures with a keen sense of smell, which they naturally use to avoid danger; they are often cautious toward unfamiliar things.
But its attentive behavior meant there was something about him that it recognized.
Linge looked at the giant wolf's head; those expressive eyes seemed to be conveying something.
I see... it's the Big Bad Wolf from "Little Red Riding Hood"... Heh... Linge shook his head and continued walking.
"With the pursuers 'Kebro' and 'Kark' missing, perhaps this fellow is our only hope of finding Little Red Riding Hood's whereabouts."
Herluth tried to smooth Polo's fur, but the latter resisted.
Polo shook its fur impatiently, turned back, and sized up Herluth with a dangerous gaze, dangerous hisses occasionally coming from its throat.
"Don't! Don't eat me!"
Herluth quickly withdrew his hand and took several steps back.
But the coward's retreat only invited Polo to step further forward.
"No..."
At this critical moment, Linge held Polo's head, crouched down, and gently groomed its fur.
"Wooo~"
Polo kept rubbing its chin against Linge.
"Ha... ha..."
Herluth's eyes widened as he panted heavily.
"Your fur is very long and knotted in many places; it seems you haven't been well cared for... Well, have you been eating well?"
Linge nodded. "Being able to eat your fill is good enough."
"I feed it... isn't that enough?"
Seeing this, Herluth muttered under his breath.
"We are monsters..."
Linge shook his head.
"We only eat, and keep on eating; eating is an instinct, but food... has never been what we truly crave."
"Not craving food... is it because you've eaten too much?"
Herluth held his forehead and shook his head.
"Then what exactly do you crave?"
"At least some equal communication."
Linge intended to gloss over the topic.
"Is that so... Haha!"
With a couple of awkward laughs, Herluth continued forward, and the man and wolf followed.
The path ahead suddenly opened up to a large gate, gilded with gold, bright red throughout, solemn, magnificent, and even sacred.
Herluth stepped forward and whispered; the two beside him couldn't even hear a sound.
He stepped back and took a breath.
"Her Majesty agrees to see you, but we have to wait a moment for Kebro to join us before we can enter."
Linge didn't voice an opinion, and Polo had no objection; it crouched to the side, looking at Linge and slowly wagging its tail.
"Heh, just wait. Our Lord Kebro is very devout."
Herluth yawned and crouched right where he was.
Hearing this, Linge lowered his head and stood there, remaining silent.
Perhaps not much time had passed when a sound could finally be heard—a rhythmic thudding, the sound of kowtowing.
"That bastard is finally here!"
Herluth cursed impatiently.
Kebro stood up and carefully straightened his robes.
"Let's go," he said indifferently.
Without anyone touching it, the massive gate slowly opened, faintly revealing the swirling, ominous light within.
The group lined up and walked inside.
Red gems flickered with light; the space was extremely spacious but not bright.
With a splash, they stepped into water—only a shallow layer, but it was extremely viscous and dark in color; it was impossible to tell what it was.
It was profound, as if there were whispers in their ears.
Hollow, as if falling into the myriad phenomena of the universe, yet unable to catch even a glimpse of it.
"Awoo... Awoo..." Polo couldn't contain itself; the smell here made it extremely uneasy, and it growled repeatedly.
"Quiet!"
Kebro scolded in a low voice, and even Herluth had a fierce look on his face.
Polo knew better and fell silent.
With a soft bang, flames suddenly ignited in the air, lighting up the room with a hazy red glow.
As the light dimmed slightly, Linge finally realized... the place was very empty, and besides them, there were no guards or maids... It seemed the environment Her Majesty the Queen lived in was quite harsh.
Soon, the light faded completely, leaving only a faint glow near the floating embers in the air.
Clang, like someone hitting a metal object.
"Your Majesty, please forgive your servant's unintentional mistake." Herluth whispered his apology into the shadows, appearing extremely nervous.
After a long silence, he breathed a sigh of relief and turned to tell the group softly.
"Keep going."
The group continued forward, following the flames. Linge noticed that the iron ring Herluth had just kicked looked like a helmet, but its shape was somewhat bizarre.
Linge looked closely and realized what it was—an instrument of torture called the 'Tongue-Tied Hook'.
Oh, heavens, this is bad. It seems there's a serious problem here; that so-called Queen is probably a pervert... Linge grumbled inwardly but made no sound. This small scene wasn't enough to scare him; he figured... the real horror was yet to come.
Creak... the gate groaned, followed by a thud!
The environment became even darker because the external light source was cut off.
Then, a sudden flash of light!
It was impossible to look at directly; it almost blinded them.
When their vision returned, everything putrid, filthy, scarlet, sinful, and writhing was exposed.
Bleached bones interlaced, minced meat woven together; this was a web, this was a river of blood... In the center, the 'core' of all these connections was a throne built of skeletons and a crown pieced together from limbs... How massive, how majestic—how could that be called something of this world?
The heavy sins lingering here made it hard to breathe just by sensing them.
Yes, you all... have fallen into Avici!
But truly, even in this desperate place, Linge felt a sense of sorrow.
For whom... was all this, after all?
"Your Majesty, the candidate has been brought."
Herluth and Kebro knelt on one knee, not even bothering to remind the man and the dog.
So the two just stood there blankly until they heard a whisper from the soul... [Come here]
Hearing this, Linge was puzzled. He looked at Herluth and Kebro, but the two showed no reaction and remained silent.
This is really... Locking eyes with Polo, Linge understood that he had no choice but to face the challenge.
He walked forward alone and stood beneath that massive Blood Core.
A greasy sense of nausea washed over him. Linge immediately noticed a small, pink, spider-like thing writhing under his feet.
What is this?!
Linge immediately wanted to lift his leg and crush the thing; it was an instinctive reaction.
But that will was conveyed once more.
[Accept]
What on earth?
Linge saw it more clearly; that piece of flesh was moving by relying on several blood vessels, just like a neuron.
Accept... this?
Because Linge kept hesitating, the little thing had already crawled to his waist. Being in the heart of enemy territory, Linge endured it.
Finally, the thing bared its fangs, bit a wound into his neck, and burrowed straight in... "..."
Linge stood there, motionless. Then, turning around, he slightly raised his head, an arrogance ingrained in his bones fully exposed.
"Bless you, Woodworth. From now on, you are Her Majesty's knight." Herluth regained his cheerful expression, perhaps seeing a bright future for Linge, and spoke:
"From now on, you are the terrifying 'death'!"
"death..."
Linge muttered softly. His face was always cold; it was unclear whether he was deliberately imitating the girl or if he was just like that.
He walked back, but his heart was not as calm as his appearance suggested.
In that moment just now, he had actually been prepared to kill himself.
If his guess was correct, that bizarre 'neuron' was the means by which the opposing faction controlled people, likely possessing the function of manipulating one's mind.
However, Linge's free will remained, and he had noticed... within that small neuron, there was a tiny, filthy... black soul.
This reminded Linge of Gaul; that fellow's soul shared similarities with this.
Could it be that Gaul was a test subject?
Then what... exactly am I?!
In any case, it must have been the similarity of their souls that prevented Linge from being affected by that neuron.
In the next moment, Linge saw Polo trembling all over as it slowly walked forward.
Linge watched it walk up, step by step.
His own free will was still intact, and as an Undead, he could escape such means through suicide.
But would this dog, who also harbored its own ulterior motives, have such good luck?