"Come, let’s go. The god wants to see you." The village chief looked at the twins and Ryan, then without paying any attention to Lian and Seris, he turned and went inside.
Excitement appeared in the eyes of the twins. They had heard many things about the Mountain God, and finally they could see him with their own eyes.
Aria took Ryan’s hand, and then all three went inside behind the old man.
"Should we go too?" Seris looked at Lian. She herself did not feel good and preferred not to do this.
"Don’t worry." He did not want to retreat now. He wanted to see this monster with his own eyes.
The girl nodded, and they also entered. But when they entered, they froze in their place and stared at the creature sitting on a black stone throne at the end of the hall.
For a few seconds, neither could speak. As if the air itself had become heavier. As if every breath had become a painful effort.
Lian felt his heart beating with unnatural intensity. Not from fear of a strong enemy, not from the excitement of battle, but from a primitive instinct.
An instinct that screamed:
Run.
Run right now.
In front of his eyes, a system notification appeared.
[Dreadmaw Sovereign]
[Level 20]
[Rank: Unholy]
That was it.
No other explanation was needed. It was not necessary. These three lines were enough for any sane person to turn around and run with all their power and speed.
This made Lian’s frown even deeper.
"So this is the Mountain God?" Seris whispered quietly. She also had no interest in fighting such a monster.
Lian did not answer.
His eyes were fixed on the monster. At least three meters tall. Red skin. Horns twisted like tree branches. A long smile that looked more like a permanent scar on its face than a real mouth.
But suddenly, something else caught Lian’s attention.
Around the creature’s neck, there was a golden key. A key that, unlike the dark atmosphere of the hall, emitted a bright and calm aura.
Lian’s eyes widened a little.
That was it. Without a doubt, the exit key. The key they had been looking for since the beginning of entering this realm.
But now it hung around the neck of a creature that seemed difficult to even look at directly.
At that moment, the village chief stepped forward and with absolute respect, the words came out of his mouth.
"My god." His voice echoed quietly in the hall.
"As you wished, I have brought them."
The Dreadmaw Sovereign raised its head a little. Its dark eyes slid over the three teenagers.
"Are they ready?" It said with a deep voice, completely devoid of any emotion, as if it looked down on all creatures from above.
"I think we are about to find out." The village chief smiled.
Aria was confused. She looked between the old man and the creature on the throne.
"Village chief..." Her voice trembled.
"What is happening here?"
Alisa also turned pale.
"You said this place was sacred. You said the god protects us... You said he could help us go back home..." Aria added with fear. The creature in front of them looked more like a demonic god than a mountain god.
But the village chief looked at them playfully. His face was still calm, but the usual kindness was no longer in his gaze.
As if the mask he had worn for years had finally fallen off.
"Naive children. Still haven’t you understood? You were never going to be saved?"
"What...?" The faces of Aria and Alisa lost their color.
"You are just sacrifices."
A heavy silence filled the hall. As if even the wind had stopped moving.
Aria’s eyes filled with disbelief. Alisa stepped back.
"Stop joking." Ryan also frowned.
"Joking?" But the village chief just laughed.
"Especially you. You are going to be the god’s sacrifice." Then his gaze fixed on Aria.
Aria froze.
"Me...?" Aria froze, feeling a bone-chilling cold in her spine. Her body started to tremble from fear.
"Yes." Suddenly, the old man raised his hand, grabbed the girl’s neck tightly, and her body slowly lifted off the ground.
Fear slowly formed in the young girl’s eyes. She tried with all her might to free herself from those hands.
She was trying to breathe, but it was useless. Every moment, breathing became harder, and less air entered her lungs.
Her eyes turned red. She could feel death. She could feel that this was her end.
She was truly scared!
"Let my sister go!" Alisa stepped forward, begging and pleading for the old man to release her sister.
Ryan also stood between them, trying to separate the village chief’s hands from Aria’s neck.
"Bastard, let her go!" He shouted and tried to save his love. But his efforts were useless.
He felt like he was trying to move a mountain. Simply impossible.
But the village chief did not even look at them. His eyes were only on Aria, like a hunter who had finally found his desired prey.
"Please... let my sister go... anything you want... I’ll do anything..." Alisa cried from the bottom of her heart and begged.
"Really? Anything I want?" The village chief gave a sadistic smile and looked at her.
"Yes... please... just let her go..."
The old man released Aria and threw her to the ground, causing her to start gasping and coughing.
Then a sword appeared in the old man’s hands, and he threw it in front of Alisa.
"Kill him." He then pointed at Ryan.
His words caused absolute silence in the space. No one else knew what to say.
"What...?" Alisa felt she had heard wrong.
"I won’t repeat myself. You have 30 seconds. Either you kill him, or I kill your sister."
A sword lay on the ground. Tears flowed down Alisa’s face. She sobbed. She did not know what to do.
She had never hurt even an ant in her life. How could she kill a human?
But she did not dare say anything to the village chief. She was terrified.
Ryan clenched his fists. It seemed he had made his decision. He sighed.
He stepped forward, looked at the crying girl, and said calmly,
"Pick up the sword. I won’t resist."
Alisa heard those words and felt her heart hurt even more. Because of the crying, she could barely see.
"Only ten seconds left." The old man reminded.
Alisa looked at the sword with determination. She picked it up and pointed it at Ryan. She could not let her sister die! She would save her at any cost.
But before she could move it forward, Aria struggled to get up and stood between them. She could still barely breathe.
But she could not witness such a thing. It was as if her whole world was collapsing.
"No! You can’t do this!"
"Sister?" Alisa whispered in disbelief.
Aria said nothing. Then she suddenly gave a bitter smile. She looked at Ryan, her eyes trembling.
But her voice was calm.
"I don’t want you to die..."
Ryan remained silent.
"Ever since we came to this damned realm... you have been by my side..." A tear slid down from the corner of Aria’s eye.
"When I was scared, you were by my side... When I cried, you were by my side..."
"When I thought everything was over and I was going to die... you were still by my side."
Alisa lowered her head. She understood. Her sister had really fallen in love. Her stupid sister had really fallen in love...
Ryan still gave no answer. Aria gave a trembling smile.
"I..." Her voice broke.
"I love you..."
Suddenly, silence took over everything because of that confession. No one expected such a last-minute confession.
No one spoke.
But at that moment, Aria turned and looked at the old man.
"If you want to sacrifice someone, kill me. Leave them alone." It seemed she had made her decision and was determined.
But at that same time, Lian suddenly frowned. His enhanced senses had felt something. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
His eyes fixed on Ryan, and for the first time, he noticed. The boy’s eyes were no longer completely human. A strange darkness waved deep in his pupils.
As if something inside him had died long ago.
"Wait!" Lian suddenly shouted.
But it was too late. Everything happened in an instant.
Aria looked at her chest in disbelief... A large hole had been made there, and blood was pouring out.
And she saw a hand. A hand holding her heart.
She turned and looked at Ryan. With disbelief in her eyes, at his cold gaze, at his silence.
Her lips trembled. A tear fell from her face.
"Why...?" She asked with a weak, broken voice.