After resting and recovering a bit of their strength, they split up again, maintaining a distance that wasn't too far apart.
Reynold had requested this in the hope of finding any tracks left behind by Bovoy during his escape. Unfortunately, Bovoy was not careless; he left nothing behind to be traced.
Capturing a member of Eternal Darkness alive would have been a significant breakthrough. They would have been able to obtain information regarding the organization's true objectives.
An evil and extreme organization like that always harbored plans beyond reason. Generally, the appearance of its members heralded misfortune. Consequently, every city remained highly vigilant against infiltrators.
They were much like the Outcasts who would occasionally sneak into a city. However, while the Outcasts rarely caused major trouble, it was impossible for Eternal Darkness not to leave chaos in their wake.
Wherever they went, catastrophe always followed. For that reason, Reynold was meticulous, searching for even the smallest clue. On the other side, Drake had already sent another letter reporting what had transpired.
They would wait at this location and set up camp until Lunaria arrived. There could not be the slightest oversight, or the city of Aztec would be threatened. It had already been several hours since the letter was dispatched.
Lunaria and her group would arrive soon. Although it was now night, there was no reason to delay. They needed to move as quickly as possible.
Kaelan was currently retracing the tracks of his battle with the madwoman from earlier.
The forest atmosphere was now darker than usual; it was night. During the day, this world was dim, yet they could still see. But the night was different—there was almost nothing visible. Maximum visibility was a mere meter.
Kaelan needed light to explore. He walked cautiously, while still nursing the needle-prick wounds on his left hand.
At that moment, he witnessed something moving in the distance. It came from the spot where the corpse of the Eternal Darkness woman had been left.
A Big Eater? A Wolfhorn?
Kaelan guessed at the two monsters he had encountered before. However, the characteristics of what was in front of him were different. Kaelan felt a sense of familiarity with the two figures.
As he slowly approached, Kaelan discovered a familiar hammer and sword. Rebecca and Reynold.
He sighed in relief and approached them.
"What are you doing?"
Upon noticing the light and the voice, Reynold and Rebecca, who were kneeling on the ground, turned instantly.
There was blood on their mouths and faces; they seemed to be chewing something slowly. Like tasters carefully assessing a flavor. In their hands were lumps of black flesh emitting a faint gray smoke.
Kaelan was stunned. In a single glance, he realized what Reynold and Rebecca were doing.
The meat in their hands came from the mad girl of Eternal Darkness. Reynold and Rebecca were chewing that flesh in their mouths.
The horrific sight was enough to make anyone recoil and collapse to the ground, just as Kaelan did. He dropped the lantern in his hand.
"Y-you are eating—" His stomach acid rose immediately, and Kaelan vomited whatever he had eaten that day.
Reynold quickly threw away the meat in his hand. He took out a handkerchief to immediately clean the blood from his body.
Rebecca appeared indifferent as she stood up calmly. She swallowed the meat in her mouth and immediately took another bite. Her gaze was flat, and she simply let Kaelan witness it.
Kaelan once again threw up his stomach contents. He felt incredibly nauseous and disgusted by what was happening.
Reynold approached and tried to reach for his back. "Kaelan, calm down and listen—"
"STAY BACK!"
Kaelan brushed Reynold's hand away. He instantly put distance between himself and the two of them. The horror was indescribable and utterly repulsive.
"...You are monsters," Kaelan said in disbelief. "Why would you do something so cruel?"
Kaelan tried to stall for time; he needed a moment to stop trembling and compose himself. It was too difficult for him to process what he had seen.
"What else?" Rebecca answered. "To become stronger."
To do something so heinous just to become stronger... Kaelan could not accept it. How were they any different from monsters?
"Is eating your own kind worth it just for the sake of power?" Kaelan felt nauseous once more. But this time, he managed to hold it back.
"Calm down! You surely don't know about this yet—"
Without waiting for an explanation, Kaelan threw his lantern. Seizing the opportunity, he fled as fast as possible to avoid being caught.
He didn't know what was happening, but his suspicion was that Reynold and Rebecca had become monsters. They had suffered too much corruption and lost their minds.
Yes, that must be it! They've been corrupted and turned into monsters!
Kaelan could hear footsteps running after him. He could see how fast Reynold and Rebecca were running. Even though both were carrying lanterns, they were still able to move remarkably well. Without looking back, Kaelan increased his speed until he emerged from the forest.
He spotted a light burning in the distance. Vaguely, he could see Drake waving his hand in the air.
"Oi, Kaelan!" Drake called out. "The Captain has arrived!"
At that moment, Drake noticed something was wrong. He could see Kaelan running desperately and in a panic toward him, with Reynold and Rebecca right behind him.
Drake realized Kaelan appeared to be fleeing from the two of them.
"What happened?" Lunaria walked to his side. She stared at Kaelan, who looked strange. "Why is he so terrified?"
Lunaria quickly sensed it. Without hesitation, she prepared to strike whatever was frightening him.
"Run!" Kaelan screamed. "Rebecca and Reynold have turned into monsters!"
"Hey! Don't just throw accusations around!" Reynold shouted loudly. His shout was far more powerful than Kaelan's.
"He dares to spread slander?" Rebecca looked angry. "I should just kill him!"
Lunaria realized there seemed to be a misunderstanding. She halted her intention to attack. Her instincts told her there was no latent, terrifying danger at the moment.
As Kaelan stopped in front of her, gasping for breath, Lunaria held his shoulder and asked him to calm down.
"Tell me slowly and briefly... what did you see?" Lunaria asked.
Kaelan caught his breath as Reynold and Rebecca arrived. Without hesitation, Kaelan created a wound on his left hand, ready for combat.
Reynold, on the other hand, simply raised his hands and gave a wry smile. He appeared non-confrontational and made eye contact with Lunaria.
"They are... cannibals! I saw them eating the corpse of that Eternal Darkness member!"
Lunaria immediately understood what had happened and why Kaelan was filled with terror. Witnessing it firsthand must have been harrowing.
"Kaelan, they aren't monsters."
Lunaria stated it with conviction. However, Kaelan could not easily believe her until he heard the main point.
"They are your comrades, our comrades. They are still the Reynold and Rebecca you know."
Lunaria confirmed that nothing was wrong with either of them. Still, Kaelan felt it was bizarre and found it hard to believe until Lunaria explained.
"You might not remember it, so let me make it clear," Lunaria looked directly into his eyes, her voice like a whisper.
"As the name suggests, Devour Art is a technique to devour curses and make them your own. The method is simple—"
Kaelan wasn't ready to hear it, but he needed to. He had to know, even if he didn't want to face the bitter truth.
"To become a Devourer and increase the power of mutation... what you saw is how someone increases their strength. That is the Devour Art."