Not a Coincidence

Brothers... killing one another?

Little Barney paused, his gaze growing distant.

As if he were recalling the past.

At these words, the Guard members reacted in different ways:

Semir scoffed, Belleti and Nai remained silent, Talding snorted coldly, Bri let out an anxious squeak, and Cannon, bringing up the rear, even cried out in shock.

Naki gripped his torch in pain, its flames flickering wildly:

"Barney, please... after we get out, can we just... let it go?"

Little Barney's brows drew together more deeply, as if he could not understand:

"Let... it go?"

Naki hummed in response. His words echoed through the passage, carrying a faint, hollow feeling:

"You know, find somewhere, live out the rest of our lives in peace, forget Sakrael, forget him..."

Listening to their conversation, Tales suddenly felt that something was wrong with the atmosphere.

Sure enough, in the next moment, Little Barney's voice suddenly rose!

"Forget him?"

His footsteps stopped for several seconds, throwing the group behind him into confusion.

"What about the thirty-seven brothers who died in prison?"

Little Barney let out a resentful snort:

"What about those who died in Revival Palace back then?"

"What about the old captain, Tony, and my father?"

He gripped his sword and shield tightly, his voice filled with indescribable anguish and fury:

"What about His Majesty and the princes?"

"What about all the blood the kingdom shed back then?"

After being hit by Little Barney's barrage, Naki fell silent for a moment.

Belleti worriedly patted Little Barney's shoulder. The latter shook his head to indicate that he was fine, then continued walking, catching up with Semir.

However, just as the anxious Tales thought everything had returned to normal, Naki's soft, eerie voice came again:

"But Barney, have you ever thought that those who died might..."

Naki paused,