"One... two... UP!"
The voices shouted in unison. The pitch-black, thick, and dented slab of steel was hoisted off the ground by two burly men... Well, no, to be more accurate, only one burly man was shouldering most of the weight, while the other—Lucas—had legs trembling so hard they looked ready to snap.
Seeing this, Long rushed over, wedging his shoulder in to lend a hand.
"Urgh!"
The moment his hand touched the metal, Long felt like an entire mountain had come crashing down on him. Even with Lucas sharing the load on one side, the terrifying pressure still made his knees buckle for a beat, his finger joints locking up and screaming in pain as if they were about to be torn from his hands.
He stared wide-eyed at the object in his hands. Its surface was a glossy, cold black—less like a standard shield and more like a raw, absurdly thick slab of solid metal, unreasonably heavy. Right in the center, a dark purple gemstone pulsed with a ghostly, ominous glow.
"This thing..." Long managed to croak out, his voice filled with doubt and curiosity. "Is this... Bor's shield?"
Jack struggled to regulate his breathing, dragging his heavy feet to keep pace with the other two as the trio hauled the shield out of the room that reeked of death.
"Yeah, it belonged to that giant barbarian. God knows what he ate to get strong as an ox."
The word "barbarian" tumbled out of Jack's mouth like a grumble, but it drew Long's attention to the glossy black surface of the shield. Under the dim, flickering light of the dungeon, faint etchings began to emerge, telling a wordless story.
It started with crude strokes: a bustling tribe gathering around a fire, giants wielding weapons chasing beasts across the plains.
Then the carvings became shaky. A man and a woman waving a tearful goodbye. A long, winding road appearing, leading to an image of an iron cage imprisoning a human.
Further down, grotesque shapes appeared densely. The man in the picture, once tall and majestic, shrank bit by bit, until he was just a lonely speck standing in the middle of a blood-soaked stage.
Surrounding him were demonic faces jeering and hovering, along with hundreds of eyes staring down greedily from the stands. Arms raised, cheering, demanding slaughter.
But then, the picture changed. Another arm reached out from that chaotic crowd—an arm with a distinct shape, bearing the familiar silhouette of Jack.
From that moment on, the demon faces vanished.
The rest of the shield was filled with images of the whole team. The carvings became neat, meticulous, and incredibly polished—unbelievably so for the rough hands of a barbarian.
And surrounding them... were blooming flowers.
Seeing this, Long's chest tightened. His fingers unconsciously gripped the cold edge of the shield tighter, feeling the warmth and love the previous owner had poured into every single scratch.
Suddenly, a small hand grabbed the face of the shield, accidentally covering the drawings Long was intently admiring. He looked up to meet Lily's pouting, angry face.
"We have to take this and bury it later as a stand-in for Bor's body (since he got digested)."
Jack's eyelid twitched as he looked down at the stubborn brat with exasperation.
"And then what? Let some grave robbers swipe it immediately?"
Lily whipped around, furrowing her brows and glaring at Jack:
"Then what are you planning to do with it?"
"Sell it, obviously."
That nonchalant answer made the girl lose it, and she unleashed a kick, shinning him hard.
"Ouch! You little brat, what the hell?"
Lily ignored him, trying for dear life to tug the shield toward herself (even though it didn't budge).
"No! You can't sell it! It's Bor's legacy!"
Jack tried to use the logic of a veteran to talk some sense into Lily, while she clapped back with the stubborn logic of emotion. The heated argument pushed Lucas—the one physically bearing the weight in the middle—past his breaking point.
His face turned beet red, veins popping in his neck, and he screamed in despair:
"OH MY GOD! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, I BEG YOU! CAN WE PLEASE LUG THIS PIECE OF JUNK UPSTAIRS FIRST AND THEN FIGURE IT OUT?! MY ARMS ARE ABOUT TO SNAP!!"
The scream echoed through the dungeon, startling Lily into silence. Her eyes went wide, golden pupils sparkling as she looked at Lucas with fascination:
"Oh~ First time seeing you yell this loud. You look kinda intense."
Lucas ground his teeth, sweating bullets:
"Dammit, this isn't the time for you to get excited! Help me!!"
Hearing that, Lily obediently scurried to help, trying to use her negligible strength to support Lucas's arm. As for Arwen, she was loaded down like a pack mule with the vial, the purple orb, and tucked under her arm was Lily's staff, so she had no hands free to help, only able to trudge silently behind.
Witnessing everyone bickering but still protecting each other like this, a warm feeling welled up in Long's heart. They were like... a real family. Even though his body was falling apart from exhaustion, being able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with these people made him strangely happy.
Long's gentle gaze swept over everyone, then accidentally locked with Lily's eyes right next to him. She flinched, whipping her head away, face turning as red as a tomato, her inner thoughts in chaos.
"Kyaaa! What the hell am I doing? Did I get caught? No, I'm a cleric, I need to stay zen... But... that toned, naked body... I just can't tear my eyes away. Surely the Holy Maiden won't mind if I take one more little peek, right?"
The sinful thought had just flashed through her mind when Lily sneakingly turned her head back, planning to cop another look to satisfy her eyes.
But alas, greeting her wasn't a six-pack, but a pair of wide, violet eyes staring daggers straight into her soul.
"What are you looking at?"
Lia's voice rang out, cold and reeking of death, making the hair on Lily's body stand on end.
Lily hurriedly forced a placating smile, praising profusely: "Princess Liana's eyes are so pretty!"
She batted her eyelashes innocently. Lia just let out a cold hmph, then whipped around to Long, dropping a lethal question:
"Do you plan on taking a concubine?"
The whole group stopped dead in their tracks, eyes popping out, staring at the two main characters. Lily's face burned like it was on fire; she immediately let go of the shield, waving her hands frantically to explain when...
Thwack!
A small but powerful foot from Lia secretly stomped hard on hers, signaling 'Shut your trap!'. Lily froze, a long stream of tears flowing backward internally, looking up at the dark dungeon ceiling, bitterly accepting her fate.
The atmosphere was suffocatingly silent, everyone focused on the answer Long was about to give. Long himself was flustered, his mind reeling from the sudden question. He panicked, wondering: "Does their world actually practice polygamy?"
Long's eyes darted around, then he took a deep breath to regain his composure. He looked straight into Lia's eyes, speaking with utter seriousness and sincerity:
"For all eternity, I will only love Liana Vesperia Solari Evangeline de Valerius."
That answer was like warm sunshine, instantly softening Lia's murderous expression, her cheeks warming up. A radiant smile bloomed on her lips, her violet eyes sparkling gently, gazing at Long with deep emotion.
She hadn't expected it... since when had this kid silently memorized her long, difficult name by heart?
Everyone around let out a gasp of admiration at the sincere vow.
Lily alone felt a sharp sting in her chest, painful. She couldn't understand what this feeling was. She should have felt admiration, because Long was the Prince Charming straight out of the fairy tales she adored.
But that was exactly it—the perfect image she thought didn't exist was standing right there, swearing eternal love to another girl. The harsh reality made her maiden heart twist in agony.
Beneath his long, hanging curly hair, Lucas's dark eyes glanced at Lily's pained expression. He let out a long sigh, raising his voice to shatter the pink, romantic atmosphere:
"Hey, I'm about to drop dead from exhaustion in this life, and you're still standing there making vows? Hurry up and get this piece of junk to the pillar of light, it'll teleport up on its own. Lily! Snap out of it and give us a hand!"
Hearing the call, Lily snapped out of her thoughts. She hurriedly grabbed the edge of the shield, contributing her tiny bit of strength to lift it, temporarily burying those chaotic, stinging emotions deep inside her heart.