Chapter 124: Dutiful Obedience
At first, Althea couldn’t believe her eyes. After so many years of believing that every last ghoul had been hunted to extinction, the undeniable presence of one now sent a jolt through her entire being. It was impossible to ignore—the sharp, distinct sensation of her own kind lingering in the air.
But what truly unsettled her wasn’t just the overwhelming scent of a fellow ghoul. It was something far heavier, a suffocating aura drenched in death and decay.
Her breaths grew shallow as she moved cautiously through the muddy forest floor, brushing aside the damp pine branches that snagged at her clothes. A strange, unrelenting tension churned in her gut, tangling her thoughts and shaking her usually calm demeanor.
She couldn’t understand why she was so anxious. She didn’t even like ghouls. To her, they were nothing more than the grotesque byproducts of cowardly vampires who had refused to face death. They were the outcome of her own suffering, a painful reminder of her darkest days of submission.
Ghouls were creatures driven by a singular purpose: survival. But Althea? She had always aspired to more, to something greater, something beyond the base instincts that defined their pitiful existence.
So why should it matter now if she stumbled upon one?
And yet, when her gaze fell upon the source of the unsettling presence, her breath hitched.
A toddler?
Althea froze, her heart thundering in her chest. There, lying curled up like a wounded serpent on the cold, damp forest floor, was a child—barely a year old. The infant was naked, its frail body trembling violently in the autumn chill, its bony limbs giving way to the unmistakable signs of starvation.
The sight left Althea utterly stunned. How was this even possible? Ghouls could not reproduce; they could only create more of their kind by turning others. Yet here she was, looking down at a child who was undeniably one of her own.
Her gaze darted around the forest, scanning the shadows and straining her senses. Was the one responsible for turning the child still nearby? Was this a trap—a sinister ploy, with the infant as bait for a greater predator? But the only presence she could feel was the pervasive, heavy aura of death that lingered like a thick fog.