Second floor of the Drunken Sailor Tavern, guest room.
"Gah, gah..."
The Goblin, bound tightly with hemp rope, twisted on the wooden floor.
As consciousness gradually returned from unconsciousness, it first blinked blankly.
Then, it discovered that something seemed to have appeared inside its head.
The muddled, chaotic thoughts that had once only been expressible through screams or kneeling pleas were now linked together by complete words and sentences.
It even vaguely realized that this new ability might save its life.
"Let, let Duga go..."
It tried to bare its yellowed teeth at the dark-skinned elf not far away.
Though it believed that was a smile.
"Duga is useful, gah... Can dig holes, can steal things..."
Trist, standing in the shadows, did not even raise an eyelid.
Quietly, he used powder to trace a twisted pattern across the wooden floor.
The lines crossed and spiraled inward.
After lighting the candles, he walked up to the chattering Goblin, stretched out a hand, and held it above its head.
"What are you doing, gah?"
The Goblin struggled to raise its head.
"You want Duga to have babies for you, gah?"
"Lord of Rifts and Dimensions... incarnation of eternal hunger..."
The low chant echoed through the cramped guest room.
The dim candlelight abruptly turned a ghostly green. Amid the wavering light and shadow, the edges of Trist's shadow began to boil. Illusory tentacles, as if catching the scent of prey, slowly extended toward the offering on the floor.
A moment ago, Duga had still been trying to sell its worth. Now its pupils instantly dilated to their limit.
The absolute terror rising from the depths of its soul left it unable even to struggle.
Pale yellow liquid slowly spread along the cracks in the wooden floor.
As though he smelled nothing, Trist continued