Lidien's giggles turned to laughter when he felt, deep inside his soul, something had loosened.
That's when he realized that his relentless experimentation and consumption of verve had finally loosened a barrier in his soul, upgrading his Echoes of the Flesh... From Rank 1 Initial Stage to Rank 1 Middle Stage.
As the Echoes of the Flesh gave deeper memories of the dead beast, Lidien was hopeful that it could help him unlock the prayer hidden deep inside the Relic.
Lidien couldn't wait to use the upgraded Echoes of the Flesh on the Relic. He then told the butcher to secure their work and gestured for the two beastfolk to follow him.
The beastfolk reluctantly followed Lidien, then stopped outside the carriage to watch him go inside it.
The beastfolk knew it too... escaping meant death. Even trying to escape was impossible for them; they couldn't even break the chain with their raw strength.
Sitting on the carriage bed, Lidien pulled out the Relic from his ring as his eyes widened from the sudden information injected in his mind.
'I need blood... and plenty of it...'
Lidien walked out of the bedroom and sat on the long chair, looking at the soldiers preparing for their travel.
'Even with this many people, it's not enough to conduct the ritual.'
Sighing, Lidien once again got out of the carriage and stared at the beastfolk having a hard time just to stand.
Lidien smiled and asked one soldier to make them kneel in front of him.
As the beastfolk weakly kneeled, he told the soldier to remove the cloth gagging them.
The two beastfolk growled, saliva dripping from their mouths.
"You're more of a beast than a person..."
Lidien smirked, then a female beastfolk stared daggers at him.
"And you're a monster compared to us..."
Lidien laughed softly as his eyes slit, turning sinister.
Then his smile faded when he heard the Whisper of Soul continuously ring in him.
'Kill... her... eat... her...'
As the Whisper of Soul usually only gave Lidien a warning whenever it activated, he was surprised when it whispered to kill the frail-looking woman in front of him.
'Sometimes mischievous... sometimes a guide... is this skill questioning my morality?'
Lidien closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming his mind.
He crouched in front of the woman and held her face, squeezing it just enough to see her teeth.
"Convince me not to kill both of you..."
Even though Lidien said it softly, both of the beastfolk knew it wasn't a joke, but a pure threat.
Remembering what happened to the dead beast, they knew what would happen once they were killed... either butchered or just feeding their heart.
Both of them frantically explained their usefulness, how they could serve Lidien, and even promised a hidden treasure.
Lidien watched, amused and thrilled, as he watched them do everything to keep living.
Then one soldier informed Lidien that they needed to proceed back home as planned.
"Time's up..."
The world seemed to stop when they heard Lidien's words as a final struggle for their life.
Trembling, the male beastfolk softly spoke.
"S-she's the Daughter of the Dark Wolf Clan's Patriarch..."
Hearing it, Lidien activated his Incite of Blood, thinking rapidly to exploit the information he just received.
'A patriarch's daughter. A valuable hostage... or...?'
Sighing, he stared at the female beastfolk before stabbing her with his partially transformed claws, then pulling out her heart and eating it in one big gulp.
The memory hit him not as information, but as sensation.
Through her eyes, he saw a towering, fur-clad chieftain... her father, whose mere presence made the air hum with verve. The memory-scene panned across a feast hall, not of tens of thousands, but of hundreds of fierce, laughing warriors, their claws tearing into meat that still wore the rags of a human settlement.
As the female beastfolk's body slumped to the ground like a felled tree, her blood pooling beneath her.
Then the male beastfolk's shriek...
It wasn't a sound of fear, but a raw, guttural cry that choked off into silent, heaving sobs.
He scrambled forward on his knees, chains clanking, and gathered the female's lifeless body into his arms, rocking back and forth as her blood soaked into his tattered clothes.
"Since you're willing to give such important information, you are free to live..."
Lidien watched.
He steeled himself to watch. The Whisper of Soul stopped its ringing, leaving only the cold, metallic taste of blood in his mouth.
He saw the man cradle her head, gently close her still opened eyes, and press his forehead against hers in a gesture of final goodbye.
"Inform the caravan not to kill that beastfolk. Also, give him three days' worth of food... or the beast I butchered. Also, tell Mad Dog we can go home immediately."
He turned and walked towards his carriage, the image of the grieving beastfolk seared into his mind, a far more potent memory than the taste of the heart he had consumed.
Getting inside the carriage, Lidien held the walls and threw up, including the meal he had for breakfast.
As his eyes cried and saliva dripped mixed with the vomit, he sniffed, steeling his resolve.
'This is all for my survival...'
As his mind calmed down, Lidien smiled and wiped his mouth, still full of vomit.
'So, who's the real monster now?'
Though Lidien eat her heart, he didn't regret his decision when he saw the memories of the female beastfolk eating humans just like their daily snack.
'It's hard to adapt in this world... but I need to...'
Lidien traced the wall back to the bedroom. Now, since he couldn't revive Lily even though he knew the prayer and the ritual, he could only stare at the ceiling and prepare for his arrival.
'If only the past Lidien had sufficient knowledge about this world, I'd gladly escape with the relic... But, if I want to revive Lily, I need to stick with the Clan... and leave after I pay my debt to her.'
Days passed.
The caravan cheered when they entered the Territory of the Clan. Though they still needed another day of travel to reach the center of the territory, they decided to at least relax, spending their remaining time in the brothel.
The soldiers who survived enjoyed their drinks; even Mad Dog was happily squeezing a prostitute's breast while laughing.
Yet, Lidien stayed in the corner, watching them party as he quietly ate his dinner.
It was just a simple meal, but he preferred to eat something without meat.
As he remembered the times he tasted blood, of either his enemies or magical beasts, cold and raw... he could only smile helplessly.
'At least in this life... I can afford what to eat.'