Currently, only five people are left in the at-selling area, Louis included.
Among them, two were ordinary people—a man and a woman—while the remaining two girls appeared to be subordinates of the red-haired man.
One of them was Aria. The other had short bobbed hair, wore dark glasses, and her pitch-black eyes stared fixedly at the group, ensuring they didn’t make any move beyond her control.
Just then, the light outside flickered. Imdiately after, darkness began to envelop everything like a hazy mist. Once again, the space around them turned pitch-black, with only the vivid red glow from the at counter remaining visible.
Lucen stared at the counter. He’d been trapped here for an entire day—a whole day without food. Although he had just eaten so dry rations provided by Blaze’s group, which had seed fine and filling at first, now his stomach felt strangely hollow again.
A bubbling hunger churned inside him, an urge demanding sothing to fill the void—or else he felt his hunger devoured him.
And the at on that counter... it looked so tempting, giving off an aroma that was simply irresistible. So fragrant... unbearably fragrant.
Lucen quietly swallowed his saliva, but the sound was far too loud in the eerie silence, imdiately drawing everyone’s attention—especially Aria’s.
At that mont, Aria had just set Louis down and spoke softly, "Don’t run off anywhere, okay?"
Then she turned toward Lucen, frowning. "Lucen, what’s wrong with you?"
Lucen couldn’t even swallow properly anymore. Drool was spilling from the corners of his mouth, running down his chin and neck, dripping audibly onto the floor.
Startled, Lucen hurriedly wiped at his mouth—but it was futile.
Elly, standing nearby, frowned and instinctively took a few steps back, as though afraid of catching so disease.
Lucen shook his head. "Don’t you all sll it? It’s just... I’m really hungry..."
Aria said, "There’s still so dry rations in the bag."
Lucen pressed his lips tightly together, staring at the dry rations in Aria’s hand. They seed utterly tasteless to him. The sll of the at was growing stronger and stronger, so much that he felt he could drift toward it just by following the scent.
Aria sensed the change in him. Before she could react, she was pushed back as Aice stepped forward, blocking her and glaring coldly at Lucen.
"The rule is no eating at," she said icily. "Don’t forget that."
At this point, Lucen no longer looks like soone who still possesses reason.
He tried to argue, "But Blaze said it himself—only by breaking the rules can we escape them... it slls so good, so good... I’m starving!"
Suddenly, Lucen let out a roar and lunged toward the at counter. His eyes were bloodshot crimson, and within that glimr of red light was nothing but hunger and madness.
Aice was faster. The instant Lucen leaped, she moved like a bullet, shooting forward and kicking him hard to the ground.
Her face was expressionless as she said coldly, "My apologies."
Then, without hesitation, she stepped forward, intending to knock Lucen unconscious with one blow.
But sohow—though Lucen should have had the strength of an ordinary man—he managed to evade her attack.
He sprang up, movents as quick and wild as a beast, a guttural growl rumbling from deep within his throat.
"Elly, stop!"
Aria’s sudden shout pierced through the chaos. She rushed forward to pull Elly back, but her entire face was already buried in the at rack. Her mouth gaped wide, human teeth now sharpened into jagged fangs like a shark’s. She tore viciously into the at, devouring it as though it were the most delicious thing in the world. The stench of blood and rot filled the air, making Aria wrinkle her nose in disgust—though to Elly, it seed like the aroma of pure bliss.
Aice narrowed her eyes. Raising both hands, she summoned two black blades that extended from her palms, glistening with fresh blood and shredded flesh as they erged.
At the sa ti, her arms began to wither and dry up, veins bulging across her face in pain. Behind her glasses, her eyes flickered with an eerie light.
Simultaneously, Elly and Lucen’s bodies began to mutate. Their flesh swelled grotesquely, ballooning into monstrous shapes. Layers of fat bulged outward as if ready to spill from beneath their skin, and their limbs—twisted and deford—now unmistakably resembled those of pigs.
The guttural sound of pigs echoed through the space. The two turned toward Aice in unison, raw at and blood still sared around their mouths, drooling as the red liquid dripped steadily to the floor.
The at on the counter could no longer satisfy them...
Aria staggered back in horror. "But only Elly ate the at..."
Aice replied softly, "Then that ans Lucen must have eaten—sowhere, sohow, before we ever got here. Fall back."
The last words were directed at Aria. And as soon as she said them, Aice lunged forward.
The twin blades in her hands glead, releasing a smoky vapor like gas as they sliced cleanly through the air.
The two of them had already turned into monsters, so there was no reason to let them live any longer.
Slash! The creatures were far too bloated and sluggish. Aice barely needed to exert herself as her blades cleaved through them.
Their bodies were sliced cleanly in half at the waist, sliding apart smoothly—dead before they even had a chance to react.
Aice said coldly, "The key problem in this dungeon is contamination. If we start thinking the at tastes good, no matter how strong we are, there’ll be no saving us."
Aria pressed her lips together. Their tolerance might be slightly higher than ordinary people’s, but staying here any longer was clearly not an option.
Just then, Aria suddenly shouted, "Where’s the kid?!"
Aice frowned at her. Aria looked panicked, stamring, "I—I just didn’t think he’d actually run into the darkness..."
Aice’s expression didn’t change. Adjusting her glasses, she said coolly, "A troubleso child looking for death. It’s none of our concern."
Aria opened her mouth to protest, but couldn’t bring herself to say a word.
anwhile, Louis took advantage of their distraction and slipped into the darkness. He still rembered where the guard had been stationed.
[Confirm purchase: "Cat’s Eye" x1]
Louis didn’t hesitate to spend the credits. Imdiately, the darkness before him cleared, and his surroundings beca focused. If he could find the butcher, great—if not, he’d look for the guard instead.
But what he saw made him freeze in disbelief.
In the dim stalls ahead, there were now "people" running the booths—or rather, things that only vaguely resembled people, their shadowy forms continuously emitting wisps of smoke.
What drew his attention most, however, was what they were selling. The counters were lined entirely with children—so bound together, others soaked in jars of liquid—laid out neatly on display. There was nothing else on the stalls but those children.
Their bodies were grotesque. Their heads were far too small, while their torsos were ten tis larger—round, plump, and unnervingly solid.
As if sensing his gaze, the tiny heads of those children turned in unison, dozens of eyes fixing directly on Louis.
He could barely breathe. His legs trembled uncontrollably.
Wh-what... what the hell is this?!
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