Chapter 313: The Eyrie on the Mountain

The shriek of the Siren's Song drowned out the cry of the Heron Sculpture. Under the cover of Dissonant Chaos, the bronze sculpture became a streak of turquoise and red lightning. It tore through the turbulence kicked up by the Gargoyles, shooting straight toward the giant Gargoyle that was still trying to flee the battle despite being hit by the Hand Crossbow.

Though the Gargoyle's body was far from ordinary, the sculpture clearly had a formidable history of its own. As they clashed, the Gargoyle let out a pained roar. Its entire lower body was pierced by the heron's beak as it shot past at high speed. Paradoxically, this only made it fly faster. The shriek from Ron's Hand Crossbow had not yet faded, but the Gargoyle, now just a torso, had already vanished over the horizon.

Seeing their leader escape, the remaining Gargoyles lost their will to fight and tried to flee. But they were far weaker than the giant Gargoyle, and Ron's enraged squad gave them no opportunity to escape. Explosions and shouts echoed continuously as fragments of the shattered Gargoyles littered the entire village.

"Silvia!" Victoria's eyes were bloodshot. She slammed her warhammer into the ground, and sacred flames erupted, scorching the surrounding soil and even the stonework black. She glared menacingly to the side. The demons and mortals who had been peeking out from their shelters, thinking the crisis was over, looked horrified and quickly slammed their doors and windows shut.

"Thank you for helping restore peace to the village," the Pollution Worm Demon said, walking over slowly. She crossed her hands before her, expressing her gratitude to Ron and his party. "Regarding what happened to your companion, I am so..."

"Shut up! You Evil Demon!" Victoria, glaring with fury, charged toward the Pollution Worm Demon. "If it wasn't for you, Silvia would have never been abducted!"

"You'll pay for this!"

"That's enough, Victoria!" Ron signaled Aive and Quest to restrain the Priest, who was nearly mad with rage. "We don't have time to waste on them! We have to get her back immediately!"

"I am sorry for what happened to your companion." The Pollution Worm Demon showed no fear in the face of the Priest's death threat. Even if the Half-Elf and the Tiffling hadn't restrained Victoria, the demon would have made no move to flee or resist, determined to finish her sentence. "As per our agreement, we will provide you with enough rations for several days."

"Furthermore, Ron, I sense an unusual aura about you... an aura from the Abyss. Would you care to explain?"

The Pollution Worm Demon paused for a moment. "Perhaps... I can help you."

"I'm sorry... I lost my composure." With her companions' intervention, the Priest gradually calmed down. Her gaze toward the Pollution Worm Demon was still filled with loathing, but she lowered her weapon and stood down for the moment.

"Are you talking about this?" The Pollution Worm Demon's words took Ron by surprise. After a moment's thought, he took out the obsidian-like Essence Blood Crystal from a Demon Lord. "Gracia gave this to me as a reward a while ago."

"Her Highness must have her reasons." The Pollution Worm Demon carefully sensed the Essence Blood Crystal in Ron's hand and shook her head regretfully. "I'm sorry, I don't have the power to do anything with this. Her Highness's strength is far beyond my comprehension. However..."

The demon, who had pledged herself to Hell, sounded somewhat perplexed. "There seems to be some kind of trigger mechanism hidden within the essence blood. I can't decipher what will set it off... I'm sorry."

Her slender body trembled slightly, and she immediately fell silent, refusing to discuss the topic any further.

With a companion inexplicably snatched away by a Gargoyle, neither Ron nor anyone else was in the mood to trade riddles with the Pollution Worm Demon. After accepting the food that the terrified villagers offered, the party set off at once for the Giant Eagle's Nest she had told them was now occupied by Gargoyles.

The weather in the mountains was decent, making it a good time for a forced march. Ron's Magic granted the party extraordinary physical prowess, allowing them to move quickly without draining their stamina. It might not match the flight speed of a Gargoyle, but they wouldn't be too far behind.

"CAW! CAW! MANOR, MANOR! CAW!"

The bronze Heron Sculpture circled over the party's heads, letting out strange, piercing cries. It was speaking the Common Language, but its poor pronunciation made it sound incredibly eerie.

"Can you make it shut up?" the Shadow Spirit sighed. "I know you just got this thing, but it obeyed your command a moment ago. It should listen now, too, right?"

"STATELY!" The heron looked down at the Shadow Spirit with its blood-red eyes, its cry full of dissatisfaction.

"Looks like it's no use. Ron can't control it at all," Delaford muttered. He, for one, didn't find the sculpture noisy. Goblin life was far more "lively" than this.

"It's all my fault... all my fault..." Victoria mumbled, walking distractedly behind Aive and following in her footsteps. "I ignored Heim's warning... I failed to fulfill my duty... I—"

"If you continue like this, you'll only drift further from Him," Aive said, stopping in her tracks. She let Victoria stumble into her back. "Victoria, snap out of it. It wasn't your fault Silvia was taken."

"Or rather, it's not your fault alone," Quest said. "I was the one who knocked that thing flying. Its initial target was Yelena. Nobody understands why it suddenly attacked Silvia, let alone why it abducted her. The whole thing makes no sense."

"What does that have to do with—" Yelena began to object, but she shrank back under the others' reproachful glares. "Yes, I was the one who left an opening. I share the responsibility."

"Victoria, you're a vital member of our party. If you let one mistake crush you like this, you'll just have to watch as the rest of us get captured or even killed, one by one," Ron said, patting the Priest's shoulder. "Tell me, is that what you really want?"

"Or would you rather we slow down because of you, and lose our chance to save Silvia forever? This is not the time for penance."

"...You're all right," Victoria said, blinking as she looked up at her companions. "You're right, Ron. This isn't the time for penance."

"I'm sorry, I was just... Let's pick up the pace. We might still have time."

With the Priest no longer despondent, the party's pace quickened considerably. Even so, just as Ron and the others were about to reach the summit, a massive shadow blotted out the sun above them.

The avian cries carried a clear warning. For some reason, the bronze Heron Sculpture landed on Ron's shoulder and huddled there, not daring to make a sound.

However, this didn't mean there was no one left in the party who could understand the "true language of birds." To the Goblin Hunter, the meaning of the cries—which the others could only interpret as emotional squawks—was perfectly clear:

"We just took our home back! You won't take it from us again!"