Chapter Eight: The Carnival of Calamity

"I never thought we'd stumble upon such good fortune..." Hitra tore into his food, mouth stuffed with chunks of meat, his hand still reaching for more on the table.

"Smack!"

Camilla frowned and slapped away his hand as it approached her side of the table, furious. "You are not touching what's in front of me!"

Hitra shrank back, saying nothing, and continued gnawing at his meat. Camilla turned to ask, "You two, why haven't you returned to your own tribe? Why are you still following me?"

"Mmm, mmm, mmm—"

"Hitra, you keep quiet!"

Daram, though robust, was more refined than Hitra, who ate like a starved soul. Hearing this, Daram's expression darkened as he replied, "We're refugees from the Mu continent..."

"Mu continent?" Camilla's brow furrowed, then her face showed a trace of sympathy. The Mu continent was ancient, but after ‘Judgment’ fell dormant beneath its seas, it was invaded by the Deep Ones, harbingers of ‘Chaos’. Yet even these dark forces might have been repelled; after Luluye sent Old Gods to defend Mu, they managed to hold off the chaos. But soon after, an evil god descended. The evil god seized the continent, renamed it the ‘Dark Continent’, and turned it into a gathering place for dark powers and the wicked gods. Now, surely, it must be a land of rampant madness.

So, Hitra and Daram were likely among those who fled from Mu, their homeland utterly transformed.

"I'm sorry..."

"It's all right. We'll reclaim Mu from those wretches!" Daram declared.

"Yes, yes... so we must eat more meat and grow strong..." Hitra interjected, his words muffled by food.

"......"

"It's not something you solve just by getting stronger," Camilla said, exasperated.

"True..." Though young, Daram had matured through his time as a wanderer; he was much steadier now. He sighed, "That's why we hope to enter Luluye and become Agents!"

"So... Boss..."

"It's fine..." Camilla waved her hand, pride in her voice. "Just look at who I am—Camilla! As long as we return, there will be no problem!"

But she paused, worry flickering across her face. "Though it may still be difficult... After all, the Old Gods sent to defend Mu all perished..."

Daram made a noise of dismay, left speechless.

"If you want to reclaim Mu, you'll have to face ‘Chaos’—the terrifying Deep Ones. The Deep Ones have two powerful leaders. And then there are the evil gods, already mad..." Camilla grew serious now, counting out the challenges to reclaiming Mu on her fingers.

"Oh... and ‘Judgment’—Gatanjeo..." Hitra managed to swallow the mouthful of meat, still shoveling more in. "Well, let's just keep eating..."

"No... That's our homeland. We must return..." Daram paused, looking at Camilla with hope. "Boss, you'll help us, won't you?"

"Of course. You're my little brothers," Camilla agreed.

None of them could have foreseen that they would indeed return to Mu one day, though in a form entirely different from what they imagined.

While the crowd feasted, the guards posted at the street corners watched with mocking eyes, regarding the revelers as if they were already corpses. One guard asked, "Is the Lord ready?"

"Should be..." Another guard licked his lips, flashing sharp fangs. "Soon, these tens of thousands will be the King’s feast..."

"And for us, the blood of those who have eaten their fill tastes sweeter..."

On the broad avenues, the banquet had reached its midpoint. Fine wines and delicacies flowed in abundance. People shouted, joked, and laughed. Then a faint sound drew all eyes upward—the sky bloomed with beautiful fireworks, lifting spirits even higher. The city was awash in joyous voices.

"It's begun..."

"Yes, it's begun... Now, it's our turn to revel..."

The guards, excitement gleaming in their eyes, slipped quietly into the shadows at the street corners as everyone else celebrated. From there, countless bats flew out, blending into the noisy crowd unnoticed. Their sharp fangs were sinister, their black wings beating as they expertly settled upon the people, carefully sinking their fangs into flesh.

"Ouch..." A traveler, already tipsy, scratched himself and muttered, "Feels like something pricked me..."

The bats were small, like hummingbirds, their light bodies barely perceptible. Many were deeply drunk, and only reacted slightly, their nerves dulled by alcohol, noticing nothing amiss.

From east to west, from one end of the street to the other, agile little bodies flitted through the chaotic crowd, darting from under tables and benches, gradually covering everyone. People felt only a light prick, paid it no mind, and continued eating and drinking.

"You're still eating?" Camilla pouted, growing annoyed. No one would have guessed Hitra's small frame housed such an insatiable appetite; he'd eaten most of the food on the table and showed no sign of stopping.

"Ouch..." In the midst of his ravenous assault on the feast, Hitra suddenly slapped his back, always quick to react.

"This sticky stuff... Something's biting me..." He extended his hand, revealing it under the fireworks and starlight to Camilla and Daram.

"Ew... It's all black and bloody... Disgusting!" Camilla cried.

"Is that... a bat?" Daram studied it carefully, then ventured an answer.

"But why are there bats here?" He spoke aloud, but received no reply, so he let it go.

"Ouch... Something's biting me too..." Camilla slapped her own back, her expression souring.

"This is odd..." Daram drew back his hand from his own back now, his face cautious. "Something's biting me too..."

The three, already alert from their escape from the base, stopped eating, glancing behind them. Everywhere they looked, a small, black bat perched on someone's shoulder or back, sharp fangs embedded in skin.

The three jumped to their feet, panicked, and tried to leave. Just as they rose, a violent tremor shook the ground. They saw—clear as day—in the street corner area, a giant mouth suddenly burst from underground, gaping wide, swallowing the entire corner. The revelers there had no time to react before being consumed.

"What’s happening..."

"Oh god... That's terrifying!"

"A monster! Run, everyone!"

The whole street, packed with banqueters, erupted in chaos as people tried desperately to flee the corner. Tables, chairs, even people were knocked over; countless screamed as others trampled over them.

But this stampede and escape lasted less than half a minute before something felt wrong. As they stood and tried to flee, the bats sucking blood released a paralytic toxin from their fangs. It wasn't strong, but it made it impossible to move—legs felt as if weighed down by massive stones.

"My legs feel..."

"I can't move..."

Screams, curses, and cries filled the city.

Camilla and her companions, hearing the uproar behind them, fled in terror, their lives suddenly insignificant amid such horror. No one knew what fate awaited them next—trampled by the crowd, swallowed by the giant mouth...

The three dared not imagine. Yet, in the shadowy corner ahead, a guard approached, a bloodthirsty smile on his face.