Dense networks of ghostly tendrils pierced the body of the already dead man. The person beside him stared blankly, frozen as if in shock.
"All his internal organs have ruptured, and there's evidence of abnormal growth."
Death Curse muttered to himself and quickly scanned the surroundings, but by now the crowd had dispersed, as if this was a commonplace event. I hurried over and started asking questions.
"What exactly happened?"
The person I questioned was the owner of this snack shop. He looked at me, confused.
"His body couldn't handle it, yet he ate so much. Dying does no good to anyone, and it's none of my business."
In the distance, a whirring sound arose as several figures dressed in black bodysuits arrived. With practiced efficiency, they stuffed the corpse into a black body bag and quickly took it away.
"There's another incident over there."
Basil Bertram shouted immediately. We followed him, floating along, and soon arrived at the scene—outside a barbecue shop. Two bodies lay on the ground, already dead. Their symptoms were identical to the previous victim: according to Death Curse's examination, their organs had inexplicably grown, then ruptured under pressure.
We hurried from place to place. In just a few dozen minutes, twenty-three people had died. These victims seemed to have arrived for today's solar eclipse; the only clue was their invitation cards, which turned into black particles and vanished.
It was already ten o'clock when we returned to the hotel. Rachel Lan seemed in low spirits. She and I sat side by side on the sofa; the pancakes on the table had gone cold. Her stomach growled for the third time, but despite being obviously hungry, she showed no appetite.
"Why don't you eat a little, Rachel? Just a bit should..."
I stared at the pancakes, conflicted. At that moment, Rachel Lan stood up, and we all looked over.
"I think I'd better not."
Leah King stared at Rachel Lan in terror. I glanced at Leah—she, like Rachel, was human. Basil Bertram quickly walked over, just as hesitant as I was. We had no information; those deaths were still unexplained.
Rachel Lan started chewing, then devoured the pancake in large bites. Soon, half the pancake was gone. She drank some water, while Leah King kept swallowing nervously.
"Are you okay, Rachel?"
Rachel Lan sat down and nodded, looking much more comfortable.
"Are you really alright, Miss Lan?"
Leah King looked puzzled. Rachel Lan nodded, but suddenly her expression changed—she clutched her chest, looking as if she was in great pain.
"Are you okay, Rachel?"
I called out urgently, and immediately a black aura of baleful energy erupted from my body.
"Instinct..."
The doorbell rang with a sharp 'ding-dong.' Basil Bertram instantly went to open the door. Outside stood a man in a hat, dressed in white, holding bags of food in both hands.
"Your delivery has arrived."
All of us widened our eyes in shock. In a flash, Isabelle Frost lunged at John Chou, her hand clamped around his throat.
"Hey, hey, sis, why greet me like this? Hurry up, or that woman is going to die."
I quickly floated over and closed the door, pressing a hand on Isabelle Frost's wrist until she slowly let go. John Chou set down the food, then leapt over to Rachel Lan, placing a hand on her forehead.
A streak of black energy surged out of Rachel Lan's body, slowly crawling up John Chou's fingers.
"Dark power. Why don't any of you think? With so many people, does nobody have a brain?"
Redmond walked over immediately. Rachel Lan was breathing softly, looking a bit better.
"What on earth is going on, John Chou? You should have been dead already, damn it."
John Chou sat down, took off his hat, crossed his legs, and gave me a sly smile.
"Ethan, explain everything to them in detail."
I acknowledged, and everyone gathered around. I began to explain how John Chou survived thanks to the Warden's Armor forcibly placed in my body by Lord Tai Shan.
"So that's how it is? Hah, you've always been like this—so sneaky!"
Redmond muttered, while Yuna Ji quietly watched John Chou and asked a question.
"Even if you escaped once, how did you arrive at the Dark Banquet ahead of time?"
"Well, things weren't as simple as you think. Back then, the little cat teamed up with Tan Tian and that old bastard—they almost killed me. If not for the Warden's Armor, I'd be dead. They never expected I'd survive; the Corpse Road is no picnic."
At that time, John Chou had indeed reached the end of his rope—his ghostly essence was scattered. He never explained how he managed to preserve his consciousness and gradually recover his essence with the help of the Warden's Armor. Instead, he went straight to talking about entering the Dark Banquet.