Chapter 107: The House of Flesh (1)
The beams of the house were dusted with white sugar, and towering chocolate columns stood in perfect rows. The door was made of a well-baked cookie, and the chandelier hanging from the ceiling was a piece of sparkling crystalline sugar candy.
Walls over ten meters high were constructed from loaves of bread and pastries stacked like bricks, forming an enormous structure that could only be described as a house of sweets. Or perhaps, given its sheer scale, it was more appropriate to call it a castle or a mansion.
Dangling in the vast hall, with its colorful candies and confections, were dozens of cages suspended in midair. Inside each cage, a person was imprisoned.
What an utterly bizarre sight, thought Alius, trapped in one of the cages. He sighed heavily. What’s the point of all this?
Alius was no stranger to the bizarre experiments of necromancers. Yet, was it really necessary to create a bizarre place seemingly straight out of a children's fairytale? Still, there was one silver lining.
At least the missing people are alive.
From his cage, Alius scanned the other cages. Each held a single captive, most of whom were the missing Swindler border guards. In the distance, he spotted the members of the Brigade of Purification—Leocolt, Lestane, and Stronoff—also confined. Even Felix, the inquisitor of Saisha who had vanished earlier, was unharmed and caged.
Not a single person was dead. It seemed like a stroke of extraordinary luck, but Alius knew better. He knew that the witch had deliberately kept them alive.
After capturing her prey, she had imprisoned them in these cages and brought an assortment of food—candies, cookies, biscuits, sweet creams, and sugary desserts.
Then she’d cackled and proclaimed, "Kehehe! I’ll fatten you all up nicely before devouring you!"
Naturally, Alius refused to eat. Who could eat after hearing that? Even if she hadn’t said it outright, he wouldn’t have dared to touch the food. A house made of sweets may sound delightful in children’s stories, but in reality, standing before such a place was nothing short of terrifying.
But that resolve was only possible for the second wave of captives, who had been imprisoned for just a day. Those who had been held for nearly a week had no choice but to eat. Feeding time was fast approaching once more.