The truth was just as Murphy had said. Though the Chaos Archdemon Steiner had appeared to provoke them and spew insults, neither that bastard nor his servants showed up to cause trouble during the rest of the journey.
From what Steiner had said, he had been lured into the Sacred Forest by Widia and Mairadin several days ago, only to get trapped in the Creator's Labyrinth. Who knew how those two had managed it, but it was certainly a good thing.
It proved that the two had meant it when they said they would join forces to kill the Chaos Archdemon. They weren't just running their mouths; they were serious. That also meant the goatman and the former cultist would definitely lend a hand when it came to dealing with the Chaos Archdemon.
But honestly, if Murphy's only enemy in the end were the Chaos Archdemon Steiner, his best move would be to turn around and leave the Sacred Forest right now, trapping the three lost bastards here forever.
Unfortunately, Abbot Steiner was only a pawn of Chaos.
Giving up on opening the Worldheart just to trap him would be foolish. Murphy had to find what was hidden inside the Worldheart.
That meant, as Steiner had said, Murphy would personally shut down the Sacred Forest's interference, freeing those loathsome nuisances from their imprisonment and giving them the chance to enter the Worldheart and reap its rewards.
"You bastard. You really know how to get under someone's skin!"
Murphy cursed inside King Osiris's carriage, then drew his two blades and began applying combat oil to their edges. Chuchute sat across from him, blinking at the sword oil he had taken out.
As it spread across the blades, it shimmered like twinkling starlight, looking rather wondrous.
"It's infused with primordial Creation energy.