Lucian and Ryan knew a lot of things. The only problem was that they couldn’t tell him, and Silvanus did no intend to entrust everything to them when he didn’t even know who they were.
Just who were they?
It was almost a question without an answer.
Silvanus relaxed slightly as he walked back toward the campfire, his expression quickly returning to normal, though tinged with a hint of caution.
After all, the villagers were just too strange—he couldn’t afford not to be wary.
By now, the villagers had stopped dancing and were sitting in an orderly circle around the campfire.
Families grouped, all frail and grey, looking like walking skeletons.
The worst was probably the children, with their bloated bellies and faces full of hunger, exhaustion, and illness.
Most of them were either cradled in their mothers’ arms or sitting listlessly to the side, completely lifeless.
Even knowing this was just a dungeon, Silvanus truly felt that this cursed village should vanish.
Silvanus sat down in the spot designated for guests. Ciel was already seated next to him, looking expectant—an entire day without food and a constant fear made his hunger worse. He couldn’t hold back anymore and just wanted to eat.
The only reason he hadn’t imdiately demanded food was because he, too, was a little frightened of these villagers. Though they looked weak, the kind of weakness made your skin crawl—there was sothing deeply uncanny about them.
After all, Ciel had never seen villagers who looked remotely human. They looked more like a pack of starving ghouls.
Ciel glanced at the villagers with disdain, not even bothering to hide his emotions. His disturbed ntal state made him more foolish.
Silvanus thought to himself.
The guests sat under the villagers’ stares—an experience that felt like a ritual cleansing.
Ciel appeared annoyed, Bryan smiled as usual, Ryan and Lucian wore expressionless faces, and Silvanus felt like the villagers were looking at them as if they were their next al.
In truth, after hearing Lucian’s warning, Silvanus had already guessed what kind of "beast" the villagers had managed to hunt.
Just then, a loud, echoing sound rang out—produced by the clash of two large iron plates—and simultaneously ca a multitude of footsteps. Looking over, they saw a group of village n approaching from one side. The leader was shirtless, wearing only a loincloth, with strange, incomprehensible symbols painted on his body.
Every step he took resembled a dance as if he were performing a sacrificial ritual.
Behind him were six other n carrying sothing that looked like a lidless coffin—though flatter, more like a giant platter. Flowers and leaves drooped from the sides of this large dish.
They moved in rhythm with the leader, and under the firelight, the scene painted a strange picture.
Sitting next to Silvanus, Bryan suddenly smiled and said, "I heard from the village chief that before the villagers enjoy their grand feast, they always perform a ritual offering to the god first. The god residing at the bottom of the lake must already be full by now."
Hearing this, Silvanus raised an eyebrow and responded without hesitation, "There are no such things as gods. And even if they did exist, no god would steal food from the mouths of humans."
As he spoke, Silvanus turned to look at Bryan, speaking slowly and deliberately:
"Gods are nothing more than a human illusion—sothing people invented to comfort themselves. If soone is too foolish, even a god couldn’t save them. All the senseless things these villagers are doing are just aningless. There’s no god here to save them. It’s blind faith, hopeless and pathetic. Don’t you think I’m right?"
He tilted slightly, watching Bryan with sincere curiosity, clearly waiting for a response.
Bryan stared back at Silvanus, and it was hard to discern any emotion from those deep, unreadable eyes.
"Heh..." Bryan suddenly chuckled. His eyes narrowed as he smiled—genuine, not a trace of falsehood. At least, that was how it felt to Silvanus.
Bryan raised his hand and gently brushed Silvanus’s cheek. Still smiling, he said, "You make a good point. If only more people could understand that, wouldn’t the world be better?"
As he spoke, his eyes narrowed even further. The veins on his hand bulged slightly as if he wanted to crush Silvanus’s face—but in the end, he held himself back.
Then he said slowly, "If that were the case, maybe there would be fewer people suffering in this world..."
Silvanus looked at Bryan in confusion.
"Smack!"
"Don’t touch people like that—are you not disgusted?"
Before Silvanus could react, Lucian stepped forward and, without hesitation, slapped Bryan’s hand away with such force that a clear imprint of five fingers was left on Bryan’s skin. Judging by Bryan’s twisted expression, it must have hurt like hell.
"And you—aren’t you afraid of catching sothing? Don’t be so careless. Not everyone is clean. So people may look innocent, but who knows how many knives they hide in their hearts," Lucian said to Silvanus, glancing sideways at Bryan in a way that made his aning unmistakably clear.
Lucian was undeniably hard to get along with, but his eyes were sharp—there was no denying that.
Silvanus thought this silently to himself, but outwardly, he frowned and said, "Could you not be so harsh with your words?"
Lucian frowned as well, clearly irritated by Silvanus’s reaction. He was trying to help him, after all!
Silvanus didn’t bother paying any more attention to Bryan. He wiped his face and turned back toward the campfire.
By now, the n had already set the giant dish down. The mont it touched the ground, Silvanus could hear the sound of gasps and people gulping.
So of those nearby even drooled onto the ground, their gaunt faces stretched wide with hunger, eyes bulging with longing as they stared at the massive platter—like a pack of starving beasts reduced to nothing but pure instinct.
Silvanus was honestly amazed they were even able to remain seated at all.
Then he looked toward the large platter. It was lined with a bed of leaves and flowers arranged in beautiful, vibrant colors.
But atop those flowers wasn’t symbolic or decorative—it was at. A steaming, fragrant pile of at!
Each large chunk of at was perfectly cooked and arranged beautifully on the platter. It was so juicy that it still dripped with a fragrant, bright red liquid—sothing both alluring and disturbing.
Without making anyone wait too long, the village chief signaled for the at to be portioned onto smaller plates and handed out to everyone.
Those who received a at plate imdiately lost all self-control and devoured it like starved beasts. Silvanus couldn’t help but think that the comparison was accurate—these people were dying.
"Ahhh, this is amazing! It’s so good! This is the first ti I’ve ever eaten at this delicious. What kind of at is this? It’s unbelievable!"
The at lted in his mouth, carrying a sweetness he had never tasted. Ciel had never eaten anything like this. Even the premium ats he’d seen in videos probably didn’t compare. Or maybe nothing in the world could match this.
Ciel was eating so ravenously that he started tearing up. "It’s so good... How can sothing taste this good?!"
Beside him, the sounds of Ciel chomping and slurping echoed loudly as he buried his face in the food. The bright red sauce sared the corners of his mouth and splattered across his face, making him look like a demon.
It was as if he were savoring the finest delicacy on Earth—yet the twisted, grotesque joy on his face gave the impression he was both enjoying it and suffering.
"I want more! I want more!"
Before long, Ciel had already finished his plate and was crying out for another.
The villagers didn’t hesitate—they quickly served him a second helping.
Watching Ciel in this state, Silvanus frowned slightly. He’s beyond saving, he thought.
"Silvanus, you should eat too."
At that mont, Bryan suddenly spoke up.
Silvanus turned to look at him, eting Bryan’s usual calm smile. He smiled back and said, "You’re the captain—you’ve worked hard these past few days. You go ahead and eat first."
He smiled evenly at Bryan, watching intently as if he wanted to see Bryan put the at in his mouth and chew.
Bryan’s expression didn’t change. He picked up a piece of at with his chopsticks and examined it.
The at was marinated in so unknown red sauce—bright and vivid. It was so juicy that not a single muscle fiber was visible. Looking closer, it didn’t resemble normal at—it looked more like a tongue.
And Silvanus was sure he wasn’t imagining it.
The sauce dripped onto the plate, and for a split second, Silvanus thought he saw the piece of at wriggling—trying to escape.
He blinked and looked again. Nothing. The at sat there, completely still, as if it had all just been in his head.
Bryan brought the at to his mouth and slowly chewed it, savoring every bite.
At last, he swallowed it and licked the sauce from the corner of his lips. A satisfied expression appeared on his face.
He said slowly, "It tastes even better than I expected. Silvanus, you really should try it."
Bryan smiled, picked up another piece of at, and brought it to Silvanus’s mouth. His eyes narrowed slightly, and in them, a darkness swirled.
At that mont, Silvanus was sure—
If he didn’t eat the at, sothing was going to happen.
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