It would have been better for me to ignore that old fart, but Fatima pestered me until late afternoon, and I couldn't take it anymore. Look how creepy he is, looking right through me on the window and waving his hand. The old woman does not notice him, or she is just blatantly ignoring him, but this is really bothering me, so I finally decided to talk to him.

We end up meeting and enter a tavern.

Both of us sat across each other with a table separating us.

"Sorry for taking a moment of your time. Do you want to eat?" the old man said.

Now that I have a closer look, his face is actually normal. Maybe my mind is just playing tricks on me, but he doesn't seem hostile, though he still looks creepy. I don't know, I just find it very hard to look at his smiling face.

"No, thanks. Just cut to the chase. What the hell do you want?"

"You do have a foul mouth even when speaking to an old man."

"I said, cut to the chase, you old shit."

I couldn't help but notice the stares around me. It doesn't matter to me what they think, but I might be attracting too much attention.

The old man leans closer to me, then whispers gently. "I know who you are, goblin."

"You bastard."

Shit, so my identity is already unveiled by whoever is governing the city. Did the princess tell them? No, that wouldn't make any sense since she is the one who provided me with my disguise. But it is also possible that this old shit is a fucking monster, infected, or something else. I don't know, it's just a feeling that I got.

"But don't be too worked up, I'm not here to bring you harm. I just want to warn you about you and Fielma's future."

Fielma? Why did her name end up in our conversation? No, don't be fooled by this old man's crap.

"It seems like you are still a bit troubled. Fine, I'll tell you how I knew about you. I've been investigating the Visage and yourself for a long time now. As a matter of fact, as soon as you stepped on this floor, I already knew about you and that monster behind your shadow, but I am unable to talk to anyone regarding this due to personal reasons."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Perhaps, you aren't aware of it. But I could see some things beyond your comprehension. Even from ancient times, some people do acquire this ability to see things beyond physical reality. We call this eye, the Eye of Fos. And with this eye, I could see a terrifying three-headed shadow behind you. You might not believe it, but that monster kept silently protecting you. You might have thought you survived an encounter with only your own strength, but the truth is, you were protected by them through luck. Though I doubt she wouldn't lift a finger and manifest physically once you are in grave danger."

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Wow. This old man kept blabbering nonsense. Though honestly, this old fart is hard to read with his lack of body language and static facial expression. I was unable to listen to him attentively, and it was uninteresting to begin with that I sighed while holding my forehead.

"You don't believe me? Well, it's fine. But it's not just you who has a guardian inside your shadow. All people do, even I, but interacting and manifesting them is not so simple. Please, search for a particular demon who will teach you about the Gehennian Magic System. It's in your best interest to learn a thing or two about it and converse with your guardian."

My fingers kept tapping on the table as he went on and on, seemingly like forever. No, I can't do this anymore. "For how many times do I have to tell you to get to the point!"

The old man paused for a second, then he repositioned himself to sit properly. "The round tables have made their decision. Fielma will be thrown to the Temple of Igrus to save their own skin from the wrath of Magroth."

"Ha? So what?" I exclaimed, crossing my arms in defense. "You thought I will protect her? Nah, you jest. Weak and foolish people will die; that's how the world works. And even if you guys throw her to that temple, she's so useless that you won't be able to save your own shit. You creatures will only die in vain just like her."

"You might tell me that, but it's not what's inside your heart. I told you right? My eyes are different; I could also see the meaning behind words. She told you about her alchemist friend, didn't she? She promised to help you cure your disease. You also want her to live since the Visage wants her dead. You might say you do not care, but you have found a glimmer of hope within her. That's why you are keeping her near you, am I right?"

"Right on the spot, I am keeping her alive for now since she's still useful."

The old man chuckled, "Lies..."

"Ha?"

"How about I tell you the truth?" The old man leaned forward, his eyes looking like they were slowly suffering from the early stages of cataract. "Shasha is dead, almost all of her friends are dead, and some became insane. There's no hope for you to find a cure for your disease through her. And Visage is not desperate enough to kill her. If they are, then this city may have already been reduced to rubble. Do you know why they are letting her live? It's because she's a part of their grand ambition."

"Grand ambition...?"

The old man leaned back before he spoke. "The conquest to interact with the Dungeon Core, the Roots of Akasha."

I never really cared about dungeons when I was a human since our sole responsibility was exterminating the spawn of the dark lord, but I heard rumors about dungeon cores. They are the lifeline of the dungeon, the main controlling unit or in my own terms, the dungeon's brain. Destroying it means the destruction or death of the dungeon, interacting with it means you are attempting to control it but there are many other use cases such as absorbing the raw power within them which makes an ordinary mage, sword mages and other magic oriented fighters transmute into witches and elder witches.

However, that's not only how the rumor goes. Dungeons are towers in the human eyes, but it is called dungeons in the perspective of the celestials... it is a bridge between heaven and earth, the last place where man could uncover truth and talk to its creator, the Gods themselves.

"If they lay hands on the core, they will have a power on par with a Ruler God. They will be able to destroy even the world. Hearing that, will you still protect Fielma even if there is nothing to gain?"

"What a foolish question..."

"I see."

So, there is more disadvantage to letting Fielma live? Still, I shouldn't take this old man's word at face value. He may know a thing about me, but I don't know anything about him.

"I don't understand, what will you get from this conversation?" I asked.

"I want you to protect Fielma without expecting anything in return."

You want me to protect someone who could be the cause of this dungeon's destruction? And... why would I risk my life if I have nothing to gain from it? He's asking too much!

"And then?"

"That's it. You must not let her die."