Norman squinted his eyes sharply at Basil as Basil looked at him as if he was dissecting Norman with his eyes. The stare contest between the two was so intense, the people in their surrounding couldn't help getting nervous about it.
Luckily, it didn't last long, because Norman imdiately decided to back down. He had tried to figure Basil out, and he regretted his decision; his heart palpitated like crazy under Basil's deep and mysterious gaze.
Everyone was imdiately relieved at the conclusion as the thick atmosphere turned light once again. Robert imdiately walked to Effie's side, and took Alexandra in his arms as he could see the fatigue in Effie's eyes.
"Thank you." Robert rely responded Effie's thanks with a nod and a smile, before scurrying away with Alexandra to treat her. "Don't cause a scene, Norman," Effie said as she turned to Norman.
Norman didn't even look at her, but she knew he heard her. She walked towards Jake, sat on the ground beside him before taking out a jug of Clear Water to quench her thirst.
'As I expected, he knows sothing about what is currently happening.' Norman gritted his teeth as he walked towards Basil and the others while trying to look as calm as possible. 'No wonder he looks so nonchalant—he knows about everything.'
Norman, though not as much as Basil, was an abnormally paranoid individual. He never thought everything just happened; he believed everything happened for a reason.
He didn't believe in fate, because he was soone who believed anything could be planned. He, of course, believed that not everything would always go one's way, but he also believed that he could control what he would be in the future.
This is the reason why he couldn't just think everything that had happened was natural. He strongly felt soone had orchestrated the whole string of event: where the Demons ran to, Iliana's choice to enter the secret entrance, and the way they split themselves.
Upon looking into Basil's eyes, he could instantly conclude that everything had gone according to what Basil wanted. He didn't know what Basil's purpose of doing it, but he could say for sure there was sothing big behind it.
'Hmph! I expected too much from him; he is not as sharp as he looked.' Basil scoffed inwardly as he looked at Norman.
He had purposefully separated Norman from the others due to his sharp look. Norman's sharp look had made him deem Norman as soone who could potentially hamper his plan; he had isolated him to prevent this.
He wasn't afraid that Norman could actually figure out what he was orchestrating, because he could kill Norman when that ti ca. However, he wasn't that eager to kill another unrelated person who had no sin over him.
Luckily though, Norman wasn't as bright as he thought. He had thought Norman still could figure out that he had done sothing underhanded, despite his extra effort, but it turns out Norman had only realized he had sothing to do with what had happened until now.
Knowing about that much was fine, because he had countless of reasons and a strong alibi to solve the "misunderstanding" between them. Despite so however, he was still annoyed; he had spent his energy on sothing useless.
"Where are Thompson and the others?" Effie looked at Jake.
Pointing his thumb at the now blocked secret entrance, Jake replied, "They are still inside, it seems. None of us knows when or how they will get out, and as you can see, we can't also enter the place."
Effie took a look at the secret entrance and humd to herself. 'It is blocked by wreckages, so the Monsters must have caused it.' It was actually Basil's work, but she could never have any way to figure it out.
"Is there no way for us to enter it?" Her head instinctively turned to Basil.
"No, but we can figure where the tunnel is heading to," Basil lied as smooth as he breathed.
Effie's eyes lit up as she imdiately stood up and faced Basil. "By the way you are saying it, can I assu that you have already known where this tunnel is leading to?"
"Yes." Sensing an interruption coming from Effie, he quickly put up his hand. "Hold your horses. Before pestering to lead you to the place where the tunnel leads to, you should look at your state."
"Is it in a dangerous place?"
"No, but there is no need to be hasty. They have Iliana with them, so they should be alright." Waving his hand in dismissal, Basil continued, "Your worry over your friends only needlessly make them look like incompetent individuals."
Effie was about to protest that wasn't the case, but she soon realized Basil had completely got her. Having experienced debating with Basil more than once in Death Howl, Effie wisely chose to drop the matter, and sat down again.
Basil looked at Effie neutrally, before gazing silently at the others. He hadn't received any information regarding the two girls from Eugene's team, but he could already take a breather now; there was no need to worry over them too much.
"I am sure all of us are famished, so let us have a al. I have enough delicacies for all of us." He didn't do this because he cared towards them, but as a thanks for being the pawns in his ga. "If you don't mind eating my cooking, that is."
"Aha-ha-ha! Knights never refuse free food!" Jake exclaid. "We don't care even if it is poisoned; our body is strong enough to make the poison useless. Food is life, and refusing food is a sin."
Jake quickly sat himself on the ground right beside Basil, and looked at Basil expectantly. Basil looked at him back, shrugged lightly, then waved his hand after infusing his Mana to his Spatial Bracelet.
In the next mont, countless of delicacies, more than enough to feed the people, appeared on the ground that had been covered with a cloth.
Everyone imdiately widened their eyes when the mouthwatering sll enters their nose, and could imdiately tell the delicacies we're good.
"I was planning to make a table for us to eat, but Jake's gesture made realize it is also not bad eating the al the Knight's way," Basil said as he sat himself beside Jake. "So, don't hold yourself back."
Everyone imdiately sat down surrounding the foods, except for Norman; he was still looking at Basil sceptically, thinking about what Basil was up to. Basil rely tilted his head at that Norman, before smiling softly.
"I am not that cowardly to kill all of you with poison." Basil patted the chibi Deacon, who was beside him, while giving him a steak. "Deacon is already enough to give all of you a hard ti. Do you still think I need to poison you?"
Norman rely grunted, accepting Basil's explanation, before sitting himself down. Like the others, he imdiately widened his eyes upon tasting the food.
Everyone ate their food silently at first, but imdiately talked amongst each other the mont they took a sip of the liquor Basil provided them. Overall, the atmosphere was warm.
'Iliana, can your al help you out of your predicant?' Basil smiled in expectation as he thought about how things would unfold inside the Dungeon.
...
In the cell chamber inside Death Howl Dungeon, unlike the civilians, who were grouped based on their complexion, the Mages and Knights were grouped based on their gender. Iliana was in the sa cell with Jocelyn, Cray with Whitney, and Steven with Thompson.
While the Knights weren't actually aware of what was actually happening, they had realized that there was sothing behind Iliana's decision to group everyone. Despite so, they believed Iliana had a good reason to do it, so they questioned nothing about it.
"Leader Iliana, why do we have to use this particular chamber? I an, it is so high up in the wall," Jocelyn said to Iliana, who was leaning on the wall, while making hand gestures like a child.
"Are you afraid of height?"
"No, but I am curious."
Iliana quirked her eyebrow before gesturing her hand at the room. "Can you sll it—this fragrant sll?"
"Ah, yes. It slls like hyacinths—like how Basil slls!"
Iliana's eyes flashed coldly, before looking at Jocelyn weirdly. "I'm surprised that you know it, but that's the reason. This room reminds of MY boyfriend."
She knew Basil must have stayed here while he was in the Dungeon, but she didn't say anything about it to Jocelyn. Anything about Basil's episode of being trapped in the Dungeon wasn't sothing to disclose after all.
"How long are we going to stay in this room, Leader Iliana?
"You are a chatterbox, aren't you?" Iliana sighed lightly, before walking towards Jocelyn and sat beside her. "We will wait for half an hour, until the dicine takes effect, and kills the infected."
"Okay."
Jocelyn shook her feet left and right, while humming a rry tune, further making her look like a child. Iliana sighed at that Jocelyn, before picking Jocelyn up and sat her on her thighs.
"Leader—"
"Don't ask."
"Okay."
Jocelyn nodded simply, and went back to humming a rry tune. Iliana caressed Jocelyn's head like Jocelyn was her child, while trying her best to not make it look like she was treating Jocelyn like a child.
'This child should never have been a Mage—she won't last long in this harsh world.' She didn't even realize she didn't see Jocelyn as an adult anymore.
That way, half an hour passed, and the ti to get out of the cell ca.
Iliana stood up with Jocelyn in her arms, puzzling the latter, walked towards the door before kicking it open. She imdiately jumped down from the cell, and smoothened her landing with Wind Magic, just like what Basil had always done.
Putting Jocelyn down, she greeted the other four people, who had also co out from their cell.
"How do you feel?"
"Other than bored to death? None," Steven replied with a shrug.
"From how everyone looks, I think it is safe to conclude that none of us is infected," Thompson added.
Iliana nodded simply, looked at them one by one, then gestured towards the cells that were filled with civilians. She had proven that the Demon was really amongst the civilians, and it was ti to figure who the Demon was.
"It is the mont of truth."
Everyone nodded at Iliana's word, before proceeding to open the twelve cells filled with civilians. It was much to everyone's surprise, and Iliana's bewildernt that there was one person had their gut opened in each cell.
When asked about it, the civilians said the sa thing, "He/she is the culprit," while pointing towards each other.
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