The chain-bound humans continued to march, their faces devoid of hope, while the demons laughed among themselves, drunk on authority. The sight struck Max deeply. He clenched his fists so tightly that faint cracks appeared in the ground beneath him.
Whatever had happened in his absence, it had turned Acaris into a place of despair. The realization settled like lead in his chest. His return had not brought peace—it had brought him face to face with a world drenched in suffering.
'Are they gathering humans for cattle purposes?' Max thought, his expression turning cold and dark. The sight before him stirred bitter mories of the past. He rembered the ti on the Lost Continent when he had discovered a similar scene—humans trapped, beaten, and herded like livestock to serve as food and energy sources for the demons.
The image of terrified villagers crying out in despair flashed through his mind, and for a brief mont, rage threatened to break through his calm. But he forced it down. Losing control now would only ruin any chance of understanding what was truly happening here.
Drawing a steady breath, Max's eyes glimred faintly. He knew that rushing in to kill these demons would satisfy his anger but would reveal nothing about the greater picture. If the demons were gathering humans in such numbers, then there had to be a reason—sothing larger and more sinister behind it.
After a mont of thought, he decided to blend in with the group to find out where they were taking the humans. He needed information before making his move, and observing from within would give him the clearest understanding of the situation.
He crouched low among the shadows, his presence concealed completely by the Black Soul. The faint shimr of dark energy covered him, erasing even the smallest trace of his aura. As the chained procession drew near, Max waited, unmoving, his heartbeat steady and his gaze sharp.
Soon, the first line of demons entered the clearing. They marched at the front with long, black spears in their hands, their eyes glowing faintly with infernal light. Behind them, the chained humans trudged forward, their footsteps heavy and unsteady, the clinking of tal echoing through the forest.
Max remained perfectly still, counting their numbers and studying their movents. Once the last group of humans ca into sight, he made his move.
His figure flickered and shot off in the opposite direction, crashing through the underbrush deliberately to make noise. The sudden disturbance drew imdiate attention.
"There's soone hiding here!" one of the demons barked, his eyes narrowing as he caught the faint ripple of movent. "A human is running! Go and bring him back."
The order was sharp, and another demon, larger and quicker, instantly took off after Max. The chase was brief. Within monts, the demon returned, dragging the struggling figure of a young man across the ground. It was Max.
Though his face was the sa beneath the illusion, none of the demons recognized him. His features appeared altered by a subtle distortion of his Black Soul, giving him the appearance of an ordinary human youth. Even his aura had been suppressed and reshaped to resemble that of a Master Rank cultivator—weak enough to be believable, but not so weak that it would raise suspicion.
"This human must have escaped from the city sohow," said the demon who had first spoken. His tone was filled with annoyance rather than concern, as if the life before him held no more value than an insect. "Tie him to the others before he causes trouble."
The demon holding Max nodded and roughly pulled him toward the line of chained prisoners. The heavy iron shackles clinked as they were fastened around Max's wrists, linking him to the rest of the captives. The cold tal bit into his skin, but he showed no resistance.
As the demons continued their march, satisfied that the situation was under control, Max quietly lowered his gaze. He walked with the humans following the demons like the others.
"Brother, you should have run faster," a voice whispered beside Max. The tone was trembling, filled with horror. Max turned his head slightly and saw a young man walking next to him. The man's face was gaunt and pale, his eyes hollow, but there was still a faint spark of defiance left in them. His hair was matted with dirt, and his wrists were bruised from the iron shackles that bound him to the others.
"I… I tried," Max replied, forcing his voice to shake as though fear had taken hold of him. "But they caught before I could escape."
The young man let out a bitter sigh. "At least you tried," he muttered. His shoulders slumped with exhaustion as he trudged forward. "I didn't even get that chance. One mont I was on alert at the war front, watching the skies, and the next thing I knew, a swarm of flying monsters ca down on us. They grabbed us like animals and brought us straight to the demons. I still don't understand how so many of us were captured so easily."
Max kept his head slightly lowered, playing the part of a frightened captive, but his mind was sharp, listening carefully to every word. After a brief pause, he spoke again, his voice low and uncertain. "Where are they taking us? Do they want to eat us?" He made his tone tremble, as though the very thought terrified him.
The young man turned his head slightly, his expression darkening. His lips pressed together before he finally answered. "No. They stopped doing that a few months ago." His voice carried a hollow tone, as if he wished they had not stopped.
Max noticed the shift in the man's expression. His face, already grim, grew even more frightened. The color drained from his cheeks, and his voice quivered as he continued. "But the truth is far worse than being eaten. What they are doing now…" He swallowed hard, his throat dry. "It's sothing beyond imagination. I would rather they devoured us like before than make us go through what they are taking us to now."
Max studied him carefully, his brow furrowing slightly. The man's body was trembling visibly, his chains rattling with every step he took. When Max looked around, he noticed that the other captives had the sa look of despair in their eyes. So were silently weeping. Others were muttering prayers under their breath. There was no trace of hope among them, only the hollow acceptance of sothing inevitable.
'The demons stopped feeding on humans and started doing sothing even worse,' Max thought, his mind tightening around the grim possibilities. His expression darkened as he glanced ahead at the demons marching at the front. 'What could possibly be more horrifying than being devoured alive by them?'
The air around him grew heavier. The rustling of chains, the sound of tired feet dragging against the ground, and the faint laughter of demons filled the silence between the trees.
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