The spheres buried in ice and snow began to explode with a loud noise a breath later. While deep pits formed under each of them, they continued to burn with dark red flames regardless of the conditions around them.
"My only one, don't get angry immediately! I just showed the children their rewards!"
The man, speaking while looking at the beautiful woman in a flirtatious manner, then blew gently towards the fires still burning in his region.
"Pufffff!"
A cold wind blowing not only extinguished the flames but also closed the pits in the places it passed in an instant. Alyon, who couldn't grasp the situation at first, would also figure out what kind of business they had gotten into after what happened.
"Sir, what I saw is sufficient for me. With your permission, we can proceed to the game part!"
After seeing the fire and ice marbles, Nafız started speaking without hesitating even for a moment with the desire to possess them. She was thinking about the army chasing them before entering the secret passage; if they had these marbles in their hands, maybe they could even have a chance to turn back and fight.
"Little lady, what is this rush? You saw the reward but didn't ask its quantity yet!"
The owner of the words was the beautiful woman whose red dress skirts swept the floor. The female orc's hasty state aroused curiosity in her.
"Ma'am, it is not my place to question the generosity of mighty people like you. I thought there would surely be an amount befitting your majesty!"
The old man was laughing with pleasure upon this answer. He was impressed by Nafız's quick wit. His pleasure couldn't last long; he would have to tidy himself up quickly when the flames of his opponent, with whom they clashed their attacks, flared up.
"Then let's start, children! We will ask you three questions. If you know, the gifts will be yours, but in a wrong answer, your end will be by the hands of my only one!"
While speaking gravely, the old man first gave hope, then showed the address of disaster. The duo was entering a dangerous road; there was no return from here. Either they would see the light at the end of the tunnel, or they would be remembered as stars that shone and faded in the history of the Orc Steppes.
"Your first question is coming; listen to me well. I won't repeat it!"
Looking at the excited orcs, the beautiful woman continued her speech puffing out her eye-catching décolleté.
"What is the most beautiful, strongest thing in the world that always emerges victorious?"
When Nafız heard the question, she felt as if she was shot in the brain. Although her body remained in this world, her mind had returned to the childhood years of her old life for a moment. At the same time, Alyon was busy sweating bullets watching his friend, his only assurance, in a daze.
Opening her eyes a few breaths later, Nafız smiled with pleasure. She turned to the beautiful woman to give the answer to the question.
"What you say cannot be anything other than reason. In the world, reason always emerges victorious!"
In the face of the extremely confident orc's words, the two old people's attacks underwent a momentary pause. One of the orcs, whom they thought would stumble at the very first answer and start begging for their lives, was giving a flawless answer.
"Interesting, you are right in what you say, little one. We can move on to the next question!"
The snow-white face of the woman in the red dress blushed a little. Although she hadn't raised the level of the question much, she didn't think it could be answered so easily either. After signaling with her eyes to the ugly man to continue, she set about waiting for what would happen.
Actually, answering the question she asked might be impossible for an orc, but what a coincidence that the same scene took place in a movie the Blood God watched in her previous life. Nafız loved heroes when she was little. From morning to evening, she watched cartoons and Turkish movies where the protagonist killed all his enemies.
"Second question; tell me such a thing that it cannot be held by hand, cannot be seen by eye, but we all know it comes and goes!"
When the old man completed his question, an expression of satisfaction would appear on his face. To him, it was impossible for two orcs to know the answer. Indeed, Alyon's face had fallen; no matter how much he forced himself, there was no answer coming to his mind.
On the Nafız front, things were getting even more complicated. The first question might be a coincidence, but the second question was also just like in the same movie. As she didn't want to show her joy, her face was assuming absurd expressions to suppress the emotions overflowing inside her.
To avoid raising the suspicion of the two old people with enormous powers facing her, she thought for a longer time this time; she was pretending to search for the answer to hide her joy. Deciding the time had come after about thirty breaths, she turned her eyes to the man with sporadic teeth in his mouth and started speaking.
"What you say is time!"
The old monsters, whose second question was also known, lost their appetite. Directing their sharp gazes on Nafız, they were scanning her from head to toe. Answers always came from her; the hulking orc beside her had no thought of participating in the events.
"This answer is also correct, but there is one last question. Wealth or death is entirely in your hands!"
They needed to give one more answer. The worst part was that the questions asked in the movie she watched had also finished. From this hour on, they would have to face the fate their luck dragged them into.
"Kagutsuchi, can I leave the last question to you?"
As a gesture, the ugly old man left the job of determining the duo's fate to the woman he looked at with emotional eyes.
"Tell me, female orc, what is the only continuous thing in the world according to you?"
The question was directed straight at Nafız. The old people had evidently given up hope on the hulking orc looking blankly.
The Blood God had listened to the question attentively; meanwhile, her gaze was also on the duo. Just as the beautiful-looking middle-aged woman asked her question, for a very short moment, a reduction difficult to see even with the eye occurred in the flames coming out of her hands.
This was quite normal actually; while occupying her mind with another subject, the previous setting of her attack was disrupted. What was interesting was the ugly man adapting to this instantaneous change and withdrawing his own ice immediately.
Nafız didn't speak for a long time. She watched the two people attacking each other with spells strong enough to perhaps destroy the army dragging them here. Some thoughts were sprouting in her mind; she turned her gaze to the scene above the old people. The side covered with ice and the furiously boiling side were colliding madly.
I wonder how long they have been here, the female orc, forgetting the question with their lives at stake, was currently thinking only about this. The two monsters had said with their own mouths that their last visitors came a thousand years ago, but how many years had they spent here before that?
Was the formation of the Cursed Lake really the Crazy Water pouring down from the Great Rift as everyone guessed?
"We have plenty of time, but I'm afraid you will die of old age before answering the question, little orc!"
When the old man in the blue robe spoke with a slightly mocking style, Nafız could shake off the thoughts she dove into and return to the moment. She looked at the ugly old man who owned the words for a long time once more; there was only a feeling of appreciation inside the Blood God's eyes.
"The answer is HOPE!"
The female orc had given the answer not to the person directing the question but to the old man with no teeth left in his mouth. Actually, she didn't need to speak; it would be enough even if she pointed with her finger to the man waiting for years to hear a pleasant word from the woman opposite him.
The environment suddenly became silent. The only thing heard was the sounds produced by magic attacks colliding with each other ceaselessly. Pulling his eyes from the Blood God, the ugly old man turned them to the woman sending her deadly flames at him.
He was looking into her eyes; in response, the beautiful woman didn't avert her gaze either. Time practically froze, and the scent of love in the air became almost visible to the eye.
"When should a person waiting with hope give up?"
When the old man spoke without looking at her, Nafız understood the question was directed at her. Another event attracting her attention was the beautiful woman's attack becoming obviously chaotic. The ugly old man's words, it seemed, were causing a great fluctuation in her soul.
"For a person who prays when putting their head on the pillow at night that the face from their dreams and voice from their ears of their loved ones they can never touch again won't disappear, there is no answer to the question you asked!"
When Nafız completed her words, tears were trickling down her cheeks drop by drop. For the first time, she was expressing the emotions she hid inside so intensely. Even Alyon, encountering many strange events since they entered the cave, would be surprised at this the most.