Chapter 61

The gazes of those around the table meet, each noticing and matching the expressions of disgust and repulsion of those beside them.

"This is..."

With a spoon in hand, Scarlet gulped as she observed the bubbling, greenish liquid in the bowls on the table.

"That's why I said you should eat elsewhere, Your Highness..."

"Aiden...!"

Her eyes blazed, and clenching her fist around the silver spoon, it quickly began to melt in her hand. Pushing the bowl away, Riley shook her head in denial and disgust.

"I said I wouldn't eat this... this trash...!"

"Hey!"

Following the burst of one of the soup's bubbles, Riley found his face nearing the bowl on the table after something struck his head. The bubble's explosion produced a strange and repugnant result, emitting a horrific groan and a foul odor that made his nostrils burn.

"Whose food are you calling trash?! It's just soup, stop exaggerating..."

The cook's words were soon followed by a series of bursts in each of the bowls on the table, causing the groans to echo like a long moan of pain, and the odors combined, intensifying their... specificity. Stepping back from the table, everyone brought their hands to their mouths.

"This stuff is... green cry?"

"Green cry? What is..."

Interrupting his sentence, Ethan glanced back for a brief moment, only to see Scarlet clinging to his back with her mouth covered.

"...What is this?"

"Mandrake. It's an annoying plant that emits a theoretically deadly scream when uprooted."

"Theoretically?"

"Well..."

Pulling his chair back, Clovis kept a certain distance from the table but didn't stand up.

"The scream is indeed deadly, but only for children at first. It could be fatal if heard, for example, at a moment when the person isn't expecting it, as they wouldn't have time to brace themselves before being affected."

"Where do you think you're going, Carlos?"

Stopping in front of the door, Carlos hesitated. His hand froze near the doorknob, and smiling, he turned, placing his hand behind his head.

"Oh, come on, Aiden. This is too childish, we're past doing these things. Mandrake soup, really?"

"Interesting, I don't remember any of you saying something similar when I had to eat sage last year..."

"..."

Their eyes met, and as Carlos' fingers slowly neared the doorknob, a cold sweat trickled from his hair. After a nod, his hand relented, and sighing deeply, he walked towards the table.

"...You too."

Narrowing his eyes, Riley stared at the substance on the table, bringing his hand to his mouth and shaking his head in denial. His throat closed up and his stomach churned. As he approached the small bowl, his body trembled and his leg momentarily froze.

"And you? Don't you want to try at least a little?"

Clovis shrugged immediately.

"I'll pass."

Pulling his and Scarlet's chairs back, Hye shook his head.

"...I think I've lost my appetite..."

"Argh!"

Just the sickly green color in front of them sent shivers down their spines. Looking around, both Carlos and Riley sought some form of support, but neither had any luck. Lifting the spoon to the viscous and sticky-looking substance, raising that small object was harder than moving the rock during their knight training.

A bubble formed, and as a shiver spread through their bodies, it burst, creating a grotesque face on the substance in the spoons. The odor hit their nostrils, causing their minds to waver for a moment. Before closing their eyes, the two exchanged glances, nodding to each other with the spoons near their lips.

Closing their mouths was all that remained...

"Sir! Sir! In the black forest...!"

Before the guard could finish his sentence, the spoons were thrown aside, and with bright smiles, Riley and Carlos were the first to disappear from the room.

"What the... damn! You scoundrels, if you think you've escaped, you're very mistaken!"

They crossed the corridors in moments, quickly reaching the outside of the castle and immediately flying towards the wall. However, they didn't need to reach the gate to understand why the guard was so frantic.

The skies, once clear and bright, were now covered with black clouds, even in the demonic dimension. From the black clouds, intense and trembling lightning spread everywhere, oddly resembling large serpents dancing in the air.

Flaming birds cut through the sky alongside various white eagles and beings whose current appearance instilled great fear and hatred in everyone there.

On the ground, traversing the black forest, beings larger than the trees walked slowly towards the wall, accompanied, a little above, by beasts whose bodies were an obvious amalgamation of many other creatures.

"Grrrr!" echoed the roars among the clouds, followed by a powerful thunderclap "Trooom!"

With the appearance of large blue serpents among the black clouds, the words of the black raven came to Ethan's mind, and he immediately realized, 'They have arrived...'