Episode-922
Chapter : 1843
Stepping out of the Shadow Path into the Gluttony State was a physical shock. The atmosphere hit them like a physical blow. The air was incredibly dense. It felt heavy on their shoulders, pressing down with a humid, sticky heat. The sky above was not the calm purple of the Sloth territory. It was a churning, angry mix of crimson and bruised orange clouds that moved too fast, as if they were boiling.
The landscape was a tactical nightmare. The ground was made of red soil that looked like raw meat. The rocks were white and jagged, jutting out of the earth like broken teeth. But the worst part was the plants.
The trees in the Gluttony State were not peaceful. They were twisted, black growths with branches that looked like grasping skeletal hands. As Lloyd walked past a bush, he saw the leaves twitch. They turned toward him, tracking his movement.
"Biological hazards everywhere," Ben noted, his voice low and distorted by the mask. "Vegetation is hostile. Keep your distance from the flora."
"Agreed," Lloyd whispered. "In this place, the salad eats you."
Suddenly, a shadow passed over them. It was huge, blocking out the red light of the sky.
"Aerial bogie, twelve o'clock high," Ben hissed. He didn't need Lloyd to tell him what to do. He instantly dropped into a crouch in the tall, purple grass, his cloak blending perfectly with the shadows. He didn't freeze in fear; he froze with the absolute stillness of a sniper waiting for a target.
Lloyd crouched beside him. "Sentry of the Sky," Lloyd whispered. "Beelzebub’s eyes. They scan for mana spikes."
High above them, circling in the red sky, was a monster. It looked like a giant fly, the size of a carriage. It had four translucent wings that buzzed with a low, bone-shaking hum. But the most terrifying part was its eyes. It had thousands of multifaceted eyes that glowed with a green light, scanning the ground below.
"Standard patrol pattern," Ben analyzed, watching the creature's flight path. "It’s looking for active magic. If we use a spell, or if your fancy suit glows, it’ll paint us for an artillery strike. Or just vomit acid on us."
They lay in the grass for five minutes, the smell of the red earth filling their noses. The giant fly circled twice, its buzzing sound vibrating in Ben’s metal bones. Finally, it didn't see anything interesting and flew away toward the distant mountains.
Ben stood up slowly, dusting the red dirt off his leather cloak. "Clear. We need to go cold. Dampen your core output, General. Run on passive sensors only."
"Way ahead of you," Lloyd said.
They continued their trek toward the city. The road was paved with cracked black stones. Along the way, they saw other travelers. These were real demons. They came in all shapes and sizes—some tall and thin like skeletons, others short and round like balls of grease. But they all had one thing in common: they were eating.
Every demon they passed was chewing on something. Some were eating glowing blue bugs they plucked from the air. Others were gnawing on bones. One large demon was simply scooping up handfuls of the red dirt and shoving it into his mouth.
"Resource scarcity," Ben noted coldly. "They consume constantly, but they are emaciated. Look at their muscle mass—atrophied. It’s a closed loop system. The land drains them, so they eat the land. It’s a perfect system of misery."
"Rubel picked a charming retirement home," Lloyd noted.
In the distance, rising from the horizon like a jagged mountain, was Gator City. It didn't look like a normal city with walls and towers. It looked like a gigantic, open mouth. The outer walls were curved white spikes that resembled fangs. The buildings inside spiraled upward, glowing with a sickly yellow light.
"Destination confirmed," Ben said, adjusting his gauntlet. "The belly of the beast. Rubel is in there."
"Let’s hope he doesn't give us indigestion," Lloyd said.
"If he does," Ben growled, "I'll cut him out."
They stepped onto the main road, merging with the crowd of hungry demons, two predators disguised as prey walking straight into the trap.
Approaching the massive gates of Gator City was an experience that assaulted every sense. The closer Lloyd and Ben got to the walls, the louder the world became. It wasn't the noise of conversation or industry; it was the noise of consumption. It was a cacophony of chewing, slurping, grinding, and the clattering of plates. The sound hung over the city like a fog.
Chapter : 1844
Lloyd stopped about a hundred yards from the main gate. He touched the side of his mask, engaging a hidden feature. Beneath the bone mask, his eyes shifted. The blue rings in his irises began to spin. He activated his [All-Seeing Eye], but kept the output very low so the Sky Sentries wouldn't detect the flare of magic.
The world before him shifted from physical shapes to magical data.
"Hold position," Lloyd whispered, putting a hand on Ben’s chest to stop him.
Ben stopped instantly, his hand hovering over the hilt of his hidden dagger. "Contact?"
"Environmental hazard," Lloyd corrected, his voice dropping to a serious, analytical tone. "Look at the mana density. The city is vibrating."
To Ben’s senses, the city looked like a fortress made of red stone and white bone. But Lloyd saw the mana in the air wasn't flowing smoothly like wind or water. It was jagged. It was shaking back and forth at a very specific, high frequency.
"There is a layer of invisible 'noise' covering the entire area," Lloyd explained. "It’s a vibration in the mana field. It feels... hungry. The whole city is acting like a giant vacuum cleaner. It is pulling energy from the outside and sucking it toward the center."
Ben narrowed his single eye beneath the mask. "A localized siphon field? That’s high-level siege defense. It weakens the attackers before they even breach the wall."
"It’s an ecosystem," Lloyd corrected. "The environment itself is designed to consume. The air pulls mana from the ground. The ground pulls mana from the people walking on it. And the buildings funnel that energy to the palace at the top. It’s a giant recycling system for hunger."
Lloyd looked down at his own hands. Even through his gloves, he could feel a faint tingling sensation. The city was already trying to taste him. It was testing his defenses, looking for a leak in his spiritual armor.
"Ben," Lloyd said, looking at his companion. "Your limbs. Diagnostics?"
Ben flexed his metal fingers. A faint, low-frequency hum emanated from his joints. "Interference detected. My prosthetics are acting like lightning rods. The high-grade spirit steel is picking up the resonance frequency of the city. It feels like static electricity building up in the servos."
"That’s the vibration," Lloyd said. "Your limbs are dense with mana. They are picking up the city's hunger signal. You need to be careful. If you stay here too long, the city might try to drain the magic that powers your arms."
"Let it try," Ben growled, a dark amusement in his voice. "If it tries to eat my steel, it’s going to break its teeth. I didn't forge these arms to be batteries; I forged them to be hammers."
"We have to go in," Lloyd said. "Rubel is in there. If we wait outside, he might move again. And frankly, I don't want to camp out here with the giant flies."
"Breach and clear," Ben said. "Let's go."
They walked up to the gate. The guards were terrifying. They were "Gluttony Enforcers"—massive demons standing eight feet tall. They had four arms, and in the center of their chests, where a heart should be, was a second, larger mouth filled with rows of spinning teeth. They wore rusted, heavy armor and carried spears that looked like giant forks.
One of the guards stepped forward, blocking their path with his spear. The mouth on his chest opened and closed with a wet, snapping sound.
"Halt," the guard growled. His voice sounded like rocks grinding together. "Fresh meat? Or citizens?"
Lloyd stepped forward, adopting a slouched posture. He spoke in a slow, bored voice, imitating the accent of the Sloth demons he had met earlier.
"We are merchants," Lloyd drawled. "From the West. We bring gifts from the Lady of Stillness."
The guard sniffed the air. He smelled the foul potion on their clothes. "You smell like a goblin's armpit. What gifts?"
Lloyd reached into a bag hanging at his waist. He pulled out a handful of grey, smooth stones. These were "Stagnant Stones," items Monalisa had given him. They were rocks infused with the pure essence of Sloth. To a normal person, they were useless rocks. But to a demon of Gluttony who was constantly suffering from raging hunger, the essence of "Sloth" acted like a sedative. It numbed the hunger pains.
"Stones for the market," Lloyd said, holding them out. "To make the belly quiet. To make the hunger sleep for a while."