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I would have retreated from this herculean expedition if I did not have the blood of a fighter flowing through my veins. I had fought for eons, and the aftermath of those fights always saw me standing tall, piercing the hearts of my enemies with my spears and cutting off their heads with my Nchapu. The smell of blood no longer nauseates me because my nose had become familiar with it. Familiarity neither excites nor irritates.

But humans must always exude this innate trait of theirs: fear. Everyone feels the overwhelming impulse of fear, but only a few know how to suppress it. In my own case now, it seemed as if the overwhelming impulse of fear would take the upper hand.

It was now indubitable that Ógù would remain immortal until I laid my hands on the Ancestral Arrow and pierced his dark heart with it. And I wouldn’t blink an eye nor have a second thought before releasing the arrow. Ógù no longer appeared like my son to me. As long as I was concerned, he was now a monster, as beast, which must be killed before he killed everyone.

I was now standing before the dreaded Ogbagu Cave. It stood tall before me, blocking the moon that had crept into the clouds like a habitual bugler. The mouth of the cave was wide open, awaiting my entrance.

As I neared the cave, a colony of giant bats took to flight with high-pitched squeaks that made my heart fly to my mouth!