Moving Forward to Protect

"So... you could kill your former comrades without any burden?"

Clemo forced his weakened body upright and looked at him.

Hearing this, the blindfolded man slowly lowered his hand and sneered disdainfully.

"Comrades?"

"What fucking comrades!"

"I never considered myself one of those damned Firewood Collectors. Whether it was the Witch, the Fire Aspect Temple, or the other Firewood Collectors... all they ever gave me was coldness and schemes..."

"Of course I have no burden in killing them!"

"Ah... perhaps, due to your stupidity, you failed to notice that."

"Since that's the case, I'll be merciful and tell you the truth. Your soul will be mine soon enough anyway, so there's no harm in letting you die knowing everything..."

The blindfolded man chuckled. Victory was already in his grasp. The immense power Ashes had granted him meant he did not consider Clemo a threat at all.

Before long, he revealed that every death of a Firewood Collector consumed part of their soul, and that the Witch only allowed Firewood Collectors with potential to enter the Fire Aspect Temple.

"So... do you understand now?"

"To the Bonfire, everything is a disposable pawn, everything is firewood to feed the flames!"

"Your loyalty and sacrifices for him are nothing but a joke!"

At the same time.

A voice sounded behind Clemo.

"I think you're the one who looks more like a joke."

A calm figure emerged from the shadows behind Clemo.

At those words, the weight in Clemo's heart immediately lifted. The summoned Candle Spirit had finally arrived. His efforts to stall for so long had not been in vain.

If things had truly gone wrong, he had even planned to use the item the Candle Keepers had given him...

"Who?!"

The sudden change startled the blindfolded man. He realized that the Firewood