Early the next morning, the prisoners were given their breakfast: dried rice balls and a dubious water that smelled faintly of feces. As soon as Ethan saw the state of the food, he felt a wave of nausea.
"Damn, who the hell would eat these things?"
The sight alone was enough to make him vomit, expelling the contents of his stomach onto the ground.
Despite his reaction, the others around him seemed unfazed. They ate with a fervor that suggested they hadn't had a decent meal in days. Some even reached over to snatch Ethan's portion, stuffing their mouths with his share of the unappetizing food.
"Hey, you bastards, why are you snatching this young man's food?" the skinny old man barked at the group, his voice a sharp edge of indignation. He looked gaunt and worn, but his spirit was evidently undiminished as he stood up for Ethan.
Ethan was touched by his gesture, though he didn't need the food himself. The old man's defense of his dignity was something he truly appreciated. He gave him a small nod in gratitude but chose to remain silent.
The food was hardly worth fighting over, and the old man's act of goodwill was a rare and valuable gesture in their current circumstances.
The old man was surely an odd individual. Despite his menacing nature, he had a lot of kindness for a person he had just known. Ethan couldn't believe he was the same person who had eaten people after seeing this.
"What is the story of this old man? Why did he eat people?"
The leader of the group sneered, clearly unfazed. "What's this got to do with you, old man? Do you want to get fu*ked up in the ass?"
"Heh, boss, who will fu*k his old skinny ass? Where's the fun in that?" The group of rapists erupted in cruel laughter, their jeers filling the air like venomous whispers.
"You!"
The old man's face turned a deep crimson with anger. His eyes, once an ordinary shade, began to glow an eerie red, reminiscent of a vampire's. The transformation was startling. Ethan watched with growing interest, his curiosity piqued by the sudden change in the old man's demeanor.
Who was this old man, and what kind of power did he possess? Unfortunately, Ethan's ability to use [Appraisal] was restricted due to his sealed Mana, leaving him with only speculation.
As abruptly as it had started, the red glow in the old man's eyes faded. He stood there, visibly shaking with a mix of fury and exertion, his breathing heavy. After a moment of regaining his composure, he moved to Ethan's side, his anger still simmering beneath the surface.
He was clearly agitated, but his presence offered a strange comfort. Despite the bleakness of their situation, Ethan found the old man very admirable. He didn't understand what circumstances could have led him to eat human flesh and get trapped in this cell.
Everything fell into an eerie silence after the old man's outburst, with the only sounds being the occasional heavy breathing from the criminals, who had slumped into a deep, unnatural sleep. The stillness of the room felt oppressive, amplifying the tension that hung in the air.
The old man's expression shifted from rage to a sinister grin. He approached Ethan cautiously, his movements slow and deliberate, as if he were afraid of disturbing the slumbering criminals.
Leaning in close, he whispered, "Hey, boy, do you want to flee from here with me?"
Ethan blinked in astonishment. The thought of escaping had never occurred to him. Where would they go after escaping? The fear of being hunted, of living as wanted fugitives, made the idea seem far-fetched and unsettling.
"Flee? How? What about these Mana-sealing belts?" Ethan asked, his curiosity outweighing his apprehension.
From where Ethan stood, it seemed impossible to break free. Their physical strength was insufficient to make even a dent in the heavy metal door that sealed them in.
The old man's grin widened, his eyes gleaming with a dark, confident light. "You don't have to worry about that. Just be prepared to flee after I break the door. I've been preparing to break free from this prison for a while now. Every preparation is complete. You're lucky to have me here, boy."
His words left Ethan conflicted. On one hand, the prospect of escaping was tempting. On the other hand, the risk of capture and the unknowns that lay beyond these walls filled him with dread. If they were caught, would they face execution or worse?
The anxiety gnawed at Ethan, but the old man's confidence was oddly reassuring.
The old man seemed to sense Ethan's trepidation. His smile softened, and he said, "Just wait for my signal."
Without waiting for Ethan's response, the old man pulled out a small vial of red liquid from a hidden pocket in his tattered robes. The vial itself was unremarkable in appearance, but the liquid inside shimmered with an ominous red glow, casting eerie reflections on the old man's face.
He drank the entire contents of the vial in one swift motion, his eyes narrowing as the liquid disappeared down his throat. Almost immediately, he began to mutter incantations in a language that sounded ancient and alien. If there were any experts present, they would have recognized it as the language of demons—an unsettling realization that Ethan was entirely unaware of at that moment.
As the old man chanted, a transformation took place. His frail, wiry frame began to swell with muscle, his once-weak appearance now giving way to a formidable figure. The change was both awe-inspiring and horrifying. He seemed to draw power from the vial, his aura radiating a sinister, dark energy.
Moving with newfound strength, the old man approached the rapists who were still lying in their drugged stupor. With a wave of his hand, a crimson light enveloped them. The air crackled with malevolent energy, and the light seemed to pulse with an unnatural rhythm.
"Ah! What's happening? My body..." One of the rapists cried out, his voice trembling with fear as he felt his body start to deteriorate.
"Oh, no! Demon!" another screamed, his face contorted in terror as he realized the source of the horror.
The scene that unfolded before Ethan was nightmarish. The rapists and their leader began to wither and shrivel at an alarming rate. Their bodies, once full of life, now appeared as grotesque, desiccated husks. The transformation was swift and gruesome; within moments, what had been healthy humans were reduced to lifeless, skeletal forms.
Ethan stood frozen, his heart pounding in his chest. "Hey, what are you doing?" he managed to stammer, his voice trembling as he watched the horror unfold. The sight before him was beyond anything he had ever imagined.
"What kind of demonic magic is this?" he wondered aloud, his mind racing to grasp the reality of what he was witnessing. Was this old man a demon himself, or was he wielding powers beyond comprehension? The sheer scale of the magic and its effects left Ethan in stunned disbelief.
His face turned pale at the thought. "Will he eat me as well?"
After consuming their essence, the old man transformed into a grotesque figure from his earlier muscular build.
The grotesque monster then approached Ethan slowly, one step at a time. Ethan pressed himself against the wall, trying to stay away from the monster.
However, when it came close, it revealed its big bloody teeth. Instead of hurting Ethan, it broke his Mana-sealing belt with one of its tentacles, freeing him from its effects.
Without wasting any more time, the monster started to slip away from the cellar. Most likely, it knew that the guards might arrive at any moment.
As if on cue, two guards arrived before the monster could get away. However, the monster remained unbothered.
"Bang!"
"Puchi!"
With a casual swing of its tentacles, the guards became meat paste on the wall.
In the midst of the carnage, Ethan managed to activate [Appraisal] on the monstrous figure before it disappeared. The screen in his mind provided the following details:
[ Appraisal: ]
[ Name: Kylian Dilo (Demonised) ]
[ Age: 59 ]
[ Level: -- ]
[ Affiliation: Demon Faction ]