Chapter 595: Carnival of Desire [27]

Nick and Ember were yanked out of the Happy Water pool with such force that bright red water splashed all over the floor. The corrupted mascots were anything but gentle—they seized them by the arms and dragged them across the damp tiles, leaving two long, uneven trails of water behind.

"Put them on the table!" the Pig Overseer ordered, his metallic voice echoing through the room.

Nick pretended to struggle, but his body was still trembling after hours of soaking in the sugary liquid. His hands were so weak he could barely clench them, leaving him no choice but to watch as the meat-laden mascots dragged him toward the center of the room.

Ember was quieter—he said nothing, but his amber eyes had widened, scanning their surroundings with steadily returning alertness. He caught sight of the room they were being dragged into, and his pupils contracted.

It wasn't a prison or a factory.

It was a gigantic dining hall.

The soaring dome was decorated with strings of lights that glittered like crystal, but the longer Nick looked, the more he realized they weren't crystal at all—they were polished fragments of bone, dangling from the ceiling like grotesque chandeliers.

And at the center of the hall stood an endlessly long dining table, already laid out and waiting.

It wasn't made of wood. It wasn't made of stone.

It was made of flesh.

Massive slabs of bright red meat had been stacked together to form a long table, its surface unnaturally smooth and glossy, as though coated in a layer of translucent grease. Mountains of food were piled across it—pastries, roasted meat, glistening fruit, all of it giving off a sweetness so overpowering it was nauseating. Gigantic glasses, each one as tall as a person's head, stood in rows along the table, filled to the brim with bright red Happy Water that shimmered like wine.

The mascots hauled Nick and Ember onto the table and laid them on their backs against the warm, yielding flesh. Nick tried to sit up, but one of the mascots shoved him back down by the shoulder, pinning him in place.

The food wasn't there for decoration. It was food. Food meant for someone.

And they… were the main course.

The Pig Overseer stood at the head of the table, its chain whip coiled around one arm, bloodshot eyes fixed straight ahead. It drew in a deep breath, then cracked the whip through the air.

"Begin!"

The corrupted mascots surrounding them all began pushing the dining table. The enormous flesh table started to move, gliding smoothly along a system of deep grooves embedded in the floor.

The table moved forward.

The massive gate swung open, revealing a long corridor that stretched deep into the factory.

Adrian walked right beside the Pig Overseer, both hands tucked into his pockets, his panda mask still concealing his smile. He looked up at the ceiling of the corridor and saw enormous skeletal frames interlocking to form an archway. Each bone was carved with strange patterns—faces devouring food, gaping mouths, empty eyes.

"The path that leads to Him," Adrian said, his voice filled with admiration. "Magnificent."

The Pig Overseer snorted, but seemed pleased. "You haven't seen anything yet."

It stepped toward a stone wall covered in intricate carvings. There was no door, no opening—just a solid slab of stone.

The Pig Overseer raised a hand. Its claws touched the patterns on the wall, tracing them in a particular sequence.

Click... click... click...

One stone block after another began to move, sliding apart like pieces of a gigantic puzzle. After a few seconds, a narrow passageway appeared.

"Only I know how to open it," the Pig Overseer said, its voice brimming with pride. "He has granted me this privilege."

Adrian bowed his head. "What a tremendous honor."

They passed through the narrow passage, the flesh table being pushed along behind them. Ember and Nick lay on the table, eyes open, their ears still listening.

Click... click... click...

Then a third time, and a fourth.

Each time the Pig Overseer deciphered another wall, the space around them changed. The stone walls were gradually replaced by walls of bone—bones layered one atop another, covered in moss and streaks of moisture.

The air grew colder. The sweet scent of Happy Water vanished, replaced by the smell of dry bones and something rotten that invaded their nostrils, like death itself creeping through the darkness.

And finally, the corridor came to an end.

A colossal gate stood before them.

It was not an iron gate, nor a stone one—it was made entirely of bone. Colossal skeletons intertwined to form two towering doors, crowned by a skull as large as a house, its empty eye sockets staring down at them.

The Pig Overseer stopped. It turned toward Adrian, its bloodshot eyes glowing.

"This is where He resides."

It raised a hand. Its claws touched the skull, and the gates slowly swung open.

Inside was a space black as ink.

No lamps. No light. Only darkness and the smell of raw flesh.

Nick lay on the flesh table, his heart beating faster. He couldn't see a thing, but he could hear—an indistinct, hoarse groan, like something breathing in the darkness.

Ember was tense as well. He stretched one hand forward, ready to react at any moment.

The Pig Overseer stepped into the darkness, its chain whip swinging.

"He will be very pleased..." it whispered.

Adrian, still standing in the doorway, stared into the darkness. He removed his panda mask, revealing his refined features and brilliant sapphire-blue eyes.

He looked at the Pig Overseer, his voice still gentle.

"You can leave now."

The Pig Overseer turned around, its bloodshot eyes widening. It thought it had heard wrong.

"What?"

Adrian repeated himself, his voice even calmer. "I said, you can leave now."

The Pig Overseer froze.

Then it laughed—a harsh, wheezing laugh filled with mockery.

"Who do you think you are? A lowly worker, and you dare give me orders?!"

It raised its chain whip and pointed it toward Adrian.

"Deal with this bastard!" it roared.

The corrupted mascots charged from every direction, spears and nets in hand.

Adrian sighed.

He slowly reached up and removed the panda mask from his head. His brilliant golden hair spilled down beneath the faint light filtering in from outside.

"What a nuisance," he said, his voice tinged with regret. "I really didn't want to make a scene in here."

There was no deafening sound, no blinding flash of light. Adrian's human form simply bent, stretched, and began to rise—

His sapphire-blue eyes had become vertical, serpentine pupils, their usual gentleness gone. The beastly shell peeled away, revealing his true nature.

A colossal serpent coiled across the bone-covered floor. Its long tail swept in a single arc, lifting the Pig Overseer and the entire group of workers off the ground. Even the dim light could not conceal the golden scales gleaming with every movement.

All of them dangled helplessly in midair. The powerful tail tightened around them, leaving them no chance to fall even an inch. Every struggle only brought greater pressure crushing down upon them.

The serpent lowered its head, its massive head—nearly half the size of the Pig Overseer—drawing close to its face. Sapphire-blue slit pupils stared straight into the ruined face of the pig mascot.

"I told you," Adrian's voice echoed, deep and utterly calm. "You can leave now. Unfortunately, it's too late..."

With those words, he opened his massive serpentine jaws...