SiraUlo, the leader of the cannibals, hated being lied to the most. And when he found out Marty was trying to deceive him, he was immediately overcome with rage.
"Throw him into the pot and turn him into a stew!" SiraUlo commanded. He didn't care about rituals anymore. A ritual that suggested that humans must be cooked in a humane way.
Led by BuangKo, they took out the giant pot made of clay and filled it with water to the brim. They then lit the firewoods below it and threw Marty in.
"Wait, wait, wait! I swear, I didn't mean to deceive you! I was just trying not to end up in your bellies, you know?" Marty pleaded but his words fell into deaf ears. "Guys? Uh, this is a bit extreme, don't you think?"
At the same time, Eli was getting pulled towards the chopping board to be washed and prepared for roasting.
"Wait, hold on a second," Eli said, trying to buy some time. "Can we, uh, talk about this? I mean, there's gotta be another way, right?" But like Marty's, his words fell into deaf ears as the roaster brought out these huge bulbs of garlic and began crushing them with his calloused fist.
Then there was Lilia. She was being mindful not to draw too much attention to herself as she helped Linda in slicing through the ropes using the knife from her inventory.
Unlike her, whose Super Hearing was constantly active, and whose Sonic Scream required her nothing but to scream, Linda had to physically touch the objects she wanted to bind and she couldn't do that if she was bound in an odd position and was uncomfortable. Binding stuff required focus.
June woke up just moments before Linda did, and Lilia whispered to them the things she had heard. She also told them her plan which was no different than what Marty had seen in his Precognition. June would lift them up in the air, except that Linda wouldn't be binding them. It was because she would be binding Lilia to the ground. Lilia planned on using her Sonic Scream to the cannibals to give the others time to escape but using this ability could generate enough reactive force that will push Lilia away to the opposite direction, which could cause injury.
And while all these were happening, the little boy that had been spectating them for a while started to make his move. His eyes only fixated on the crystal in SiraUlo's hands. His name was Andy and he belonged to the hawk's tribe residing in the heart of the forest and he was obsessed with shiny things, especially the rare ones.
"Guys, wait! Let me go!" Marty was getting desperate as he felt the water's temperature start to rise. "Oi! You can't just throw a carrot on me. Can't you see I'm struggling here?" But like the first time, his pleas fell into deaf ears.
The black wings jolting out of Andy's back began to flap, generating enough propulsion as he dove towards the leader of the cannibal, SiraUlo. And with one swift motion, snatched the Crystal of Truth and flew just high enough where he couldn't be reached, daring not to go too high lest he enter somebody else's territory. He stared at the crystal for a while, admiring its beauty.
SiraUlo was dumbfounded. Before he could react, the crystal had already disappeared from his hand. A kid had grabbed it and darted off into the sky. He stood frozen in disbelief, watching the thief admire the crystal mid air.
After the initial shock, SiraUlo's expression shifted from dumbfounded to anger. His eyes, wide with surprise moments ago, narrowed as his brows furrowed.
"BuangKo, quick, do something!" he ordered.
BuangKo reached for his bow, notched an arrow and took aim at the thief. But much to everyone's surprise, BuangKo's arrow stopped midway as it changed direction and hit a tree instead.
And at that moment…
"Now!" yelled Lilia as everyone from their group except her floated into the air with the help of June's ability. She then took a deep breath, feeling the power building up inside her lungs and with a sudden burst of energy, she let out a piercing scream.
Sound waves surged forward, growing in intensity like a violent storm. The ground beneath the cannibals shook, and the forest itself seemed to shudder in response.
The Sonic Scream was far stronger than she anticipated that when it collided with the cannibals, their bodies were instantly propelled backward with incredible force. One by one, they were sent hurtling towards the trees.
Her body then floated in the air as she clutched her head after feeling an intense throbbing pain. It was as if her skull was being used as a soccer ball. A translucent screen monitor then popped in front of her saying:
[Yuhoo, Lilia! I am sorry to tell you but it seems you have to faint for a while. I even told you not to use it yet.]
It was System Fernando communicating to her.
***
Dexter continuously clicked his tongue while watching the orb. His watch never stopped beeping for ten minutes.
"Who is it?" he asked.
A voice then rang inside his head. "The Higher Up."
Dexter clicked his tongue again. "What is he saying?"
"The Higher Up says that he is getting bored. That he might have to replace you if it continues like this."
Dexter started to fidget, sweat accumulating on his forehead, while his thumb played on the remote control. And in the end, he pressed a series of buttons as the glow of the orb shifted from white to red. He had made his decision. He was done being influenced by the clown.
***
The clown, on the other hand, just got out from a certain door. He was wiping his bloodied knife with a white handkerchief. When he was done, he tossed the handkerchief to the air as it slowly transformed into a dove and flew away. In a couple of days, it would reach its destination across the ocean.