Chapter 30: Feast of Monsters

The kitchen fell into a momentary dead silence.

For a moment, the moth wings behind the butler retracted, leaving only the sound of heavy breathing echoing through the room.

The butler covered his forehead with one hand, making it impossible to see his expression.

“…Gruxi.” The butler called softly.

It seemed he had not spoken this name for many years, so when the chef heard it, he was momentarily confused, taking a while before responding in a muffled voice, “Yes… Butler.”

“Are you afraid?” the butler asked. “Ricardo Moranden is coming back.”

“I am not afraid.”

The butler asked darkly, “Why?”

“I don’t… feel fear.” Gruxi paused, then replied seriously in a low voice, “I don’t remember what ‘fear’ feels like.”

“…Indeed.”

So what if Ricardo Moranden had returned from the dead?

The life they were living now—how was it any different from being dead?

A manic smile appeared on the butler’s face.

“Take a torch, Gruxi.” he ordered softly.

“Tie up young Moranden and bring him to the highest terrace of the castle.”

“As for that half-dead worm… bring it along as well.”

“If it dares resist, kill it. It doesn’t matter.”

“Understood.”

Gruxi replied briefly, opened the door, and left.

The butler’s gaze fell upon another person outside the door.

She was an ordinary maid, small in stature, and he didn’t even remember her name.

She stepped aside nervously to let the chef pass, then raised her head and looked at Butler Rudolf.

“Butler…” Her voice was full of guilt. “I’m very sorry… we failed to watch them…”

But she did not seem particularly afraid.

After all, although the butler was strict, he rarely punished servants without reason.

They all believed him to be a fair and competent manager.

At most, she was only worried about whether she would lose her job.

She had never imagined she might lose her life.

The butler opened his mouth expressionlessly.

A black proboscis shot out like an arrow, piercing through her neck.

In an instant, blood splattered everywhere.

A chunk of flesh was missing from her throat.

Trembling, she covered the hole in disbelief, but could not stop the blood from pouring out.

“Thud.” She collapsed to the ground.

The butler stepped over her without even glancing down, walking straight through the spreading pool of blood.

He bent down from above, his silver-streaked hair perfectly neat, his cold eyes rolling upward—turning into a horrifying pure white.

He stared at the voiceless maid and leaned closer.

Her eyes widened in terror, like two blurred mirrors reflecting his transforming body.

A few seconds later, the man beside her was gone.

In his place was a massive moth.

Its wings were gray, shriveled and dull like withered leaves.

“N-no… monster…!”

The maid struggled weakly, her blood-stained hands trembling as they smeared streaks of blood across the ground.

The moth slowly and silently approached her.

Moments later, faint sounds of sucking and chewing came from the kitchen.

After “feasting,” the moth lifted its head.

The patterns on its wings seemed fuller and smoother.

Leaving chaos behind, it flapped its wings and crawled out.

It was going hunting—to replenish its energy.

Aside from the sacrifices, the remaining servants in the castle were merely “supplements” it had prepared for itself.

…

Elsewhere.

The four awakened ones ran at full speed, escaping death as they returned from the black forest to the castle grounds.

Looking back, the fog had begun to rise from the forest.

Its spread was slow—it would take a few minutes to reach the courtyard.

By now, night had fallen.

For some reason, many places that should have been lit remained dark.

The castle was deathly silent.

“My… my god.” Song Zan panted lightly, still shaken. “Why did the fog suddenly appear again? And that Sophie’s soul wandering around—this is terrifying!”

“I glanced back while running,” Domingo said, pressing his crooked hat down. “The man in the coffin… I think he really came back to life.”

“Seriously?! A corpse resurrection?!” Song Zan exclaimed. “Good thing we ran fast!”

Domingo sighed. “With your courage, why did you even join the Disaster Prevention Bureau? Aren’t you afraid you’ll scare yourself to death someday?”

“Well… fear doesn’t actually kill you.” Song Zan said tactfully. “I just try to avoid psychological trauma.”

Everyone dealt with pressure differently.

Some, like Zhaolin, treated themselves like tools, venting negative emotions through missions.

Others, like Song Zan, complained when tired, attended parties anonymously when stressed, and constantly reminded themselves to maintain mental health.

Because he didn’t push himself too hard and kept reinforcing his mindset, he was less likely to suffer deep psychological scars.

As long as he stayed mentally healthy, he could continue working as an operative.

“Everyone has their own way.”

No one spoke further.

“This situation is really unusual…” Garcia muttered, shivering slightly as he stared at the endless fog.

“I wonder why that young master Moranden told us to release the man from the coffin.”

“With Ricardo, Sophie, and those two monsters in the castle… if they all fight, we’ll be attacked from both sides.”

“I’m not worried about winning.” Song Zan licked his dry lips. “I’m worried whether we chose the right path.”

“Let’s hope so.”

Silence fell again.

Song Zan secretly rolled up his dirt-stained sleeve.

As expected, his forearms had turned gray and lifeless—completely unlike normal human skin.

…The illusion was eroding him more and more.

He lowered his sleeve again, took a quiet breath, and said nothing.

Suddenly, the crackling of torches sounded in the distance.

They turned and saw the firelight coming from the castle’s third-floor terrace.

The light revealed part of the terrace.

Young Master Moranden was there—but his condition looked terrible.

He was tied up with ropes, lying unconscious on the ground.

Behind him stood the chef, struggling to drag something massive onto the terrace.

“No way… did the young master mess up?” Song Zan muttered.

Only Zhaolin knew—if Si Qingxuan were acting, he wouldn’t put himself in such a miserable state.

So the one on the terrace had to be his real body.

After much effort, the chef finally dragged a massive writhing object to his feet.

It was a grotesquely fat worm.

“…What the hell is that?” Song Zan said, horrified.

But soon, he dismissed the absurd thought.

The fog surged forward like waves, slowly swallowing the road before the castle.

From within it emerged a woman in a gray dress.

Her face was dull, but her eyes were fixed on the terrace.

…it was “Sophie who hanged herself.”

The worm suddenly stopped wriggling.

“M-mom…”

A childlike voice came from within its body.

The awakened ones froze.

Sophie’s reaction was even stronger.

Her pupils trembled, and rage spread across her pale face.

She raised her hands—

Black tree vines shot upward like living serpents, climbing toward the terrace.

The chef, seeing this, stabbed the worm’s tail.

It screamed and writhed.

Sophie froze.

The vines stopped instantly, though they twisted violently into the walls, cracking the stone.

Song Zan finally understood—the worm was Sophie’s missing child.

“Damn… using a child to threaten her?!” he cursed.

“That’s contamination,” Zhaolin said quietly. “They used their spiritual energy to corrupt the child.”

No matter how you looked at it, targeting a child was despicable.

“Gruxi. Release him.”

A man stepped out of the fog.

The mist parted before him like the sea before Moses.

Black vines grew at his feet.

His face was deathly pale.

The chef instinctively withdrew his knife.

“Long time no see, Gruxi.” the man smiled gently.

“And Rudolf?”

The conversation continued…

The battle escalated…

The moth and Ricardo clashed violently…

Flames and vines collided in chaos…

Betrayal, resentment, and madness intertwined…

Until finally—

The castle became a stage of slaughter, where monsters devoured one another.

And in the end, Ricardo turned toward the awakened ones.

“Now… only you remain.”

The battle was far from over.

High above the castle roof, a black-haired young man stood silently in the night.

His deep blue eyes lifted lazily.

“What a wonderful show… don’t you think, High Priest?”

“If only you hadn’t interfered… it would have been even more entertaining.”

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