Chapter 97: Is There a Traitor Among Us?
Abyss smiled, shaking the bottle in his hand. “Flora, do me a favor and block any sound from leaving the tent.”
“You’re actually going to taste it?! That’s disgusting! Just the smell alone is enough to make me puke my guts out!” Leona exclaimed, her face contorted in disgust. “I’m telling you, if you taste that thing, I’m going to call you the ‘Poop Necromancer’ from now on!”
Flora obediently cast a silencing spell within the tent. Now, even if Abyss banged drums and clanged cymbals, no one outside would hear a thing.
Abyss looked at Leona, puzzled. “Of course I’m not going to taste it myself. I have a knowledgeable friend I want you to meet. Come out, Glutton.”
He rubbed one of his rings, and a wisp of green smoke emerged, swirling and coalescing on the ground, forming a quadrupedal creature.
The smoke solidified, changing color, and a grotesque creature, dressed in surprisingly well-fitting clothes, stood before them.
“Master called Glutton?” the creature asked in a raspy voice, its large, fanged mouth opening wide.
“Yes, Glutton. I have a bottle of gel made from a corpse. Are you interested in trying it?” Abyss asked, holding up the potion bottle.
The creature’s eyes lit up at the sight of food. “Of course! Glutton eats everything, loves everything! Can eat, can help master, very happy!”
Leona’s jaw dropped. The ugly creature, eagerly awaiting Abyss to open the bottle, was a ghoul.
Ghouls were known for their insatiable appetites. Legend had it that their ancestors were sprites who had transformed after consuming too much carrion. These creatures were nocturnal, lurking in graveyards, devouring corpses, coffins, even tombstones. Their bodies were filthy and putrid, making them repulsive to most. Most importantly, ghouls were believed to be mindless, mere scavengers devolved from lower-ranking intelligent races.
But the ghoul before them was different. It not only spoke fluent Common Tongue but also wore clean clothes and didn’t reek of decay. Although its face was as hideous as any other ghoul’s, its shifty eyes hinted at intelligence.
What was going on?
“This is Glutton. I met him during my travels with my master. We found him in a tomb, digging up a grave robber’s corpse to eat. Instead of attacking us to protect his meal, he offered to trade a piece of rotten flesh for the spices I was carrying,” Abyss explained with a smile. “My master and I found him quite interesting, so I took him in. Later, I developed a spell to enhance the intelligence of lower-ranking creatures and tested it on him. It worked. That’s how I discovered he was a special ghoul. He travels the world, seeking to taste everything, from delicacies to garbage. He’s tried it all.”
“Taste everything in the world?” Leona said, impressed. “I want to eat everything in the world too, but only the delicious stuff.”
“Glutton loves everything,” Glutton said, opening his mouth wide, waiting for Abyss to pour the black goo into it.
Abyss obliged, tipping the bottle towards the ghoul’s fanged maw. The goo flowed slowly, disappearing into Glutton’s stomach.
“Have you tasted this before?” Abyss asked.
The knowledgeable ghoul savored the taste for a moment, then shook his head. “Glutton never tasted. New food.”
“Ah… I see,” Abyss said, slightly disappointed. “Thank you for your help.”
“Never tasted. New food. Contains old food,” Glutton suddenly added. “Black gooey made of many old foods.”
All three were intrigued. It seemed the ghoul had not only consumed the foul-smelling goo without hesitation but had also identified its components.
“What’s in it? Tell us,” Abyss asked eagerly.
Glutton thought for a moment, using his enhanced intelligence. “Black gooey has human blood, cow blood, pig fat, and apple. Mostly apple, but apple not fresh, rotten.”
“Apple?” Abyss’s interest intensified. “This goo contains apple? And a significant amount?”
“Could that half-headed mage have been created through magic?” Flora asked. She wasn’t well-versed in magic, especially black magic. “Were apples used as ingredients to create him…?”
“This is strange,” Leona said, scratching her head. “Why would such a disgusting creature be associated with apples? I love apples. Baked apples with nuts and caramel are one of my favorite desserts… Ah, I shouldn’t think about food right now.”
“Thank you, Glutton. I’ll treat you to something new and exciting next time. You can go back now,” Abyss said to the ghoul with a smile.
“Helped master, Glutton very happy,” the ghoul said, transforming back into green smoke and disappearing into Abyss’s ring.
“It seems our current lead has gone cold. Let’s set it aside for now. I think we should investigate that nightmare-manipulating Outer God from other angles. We might find a connection to this goo later,” Abyss said, nodding, not showing any frustration.
“There’s another issue. The ambush we encountered. We believe there’s a traitor among Givia’s guards,” Flora said. “But we haven’t figured out a way to identify them without alerting them. And I’m worried that using my Divine Arts to erase memories might expose Givia to further danger.”
Abyss nodded. “If the enemy could set up an ambush in that valley you described, someone must have leaked our itinerary.”
“Do you have a way to make them confess without realizing it?” Leona asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “If you need help catching them, I wouldn’t mind lending a hand.”
“No, I don’t plan to make them confess,” Abyss said with a smile. “I’ve considered a possibility. The traitor might not be a single individual with malicious intent. It might be everyone in the caravan.”
Leave a Reply