[The Glutton] – The Prophet's Part (15)

Everyone turned to look at Prophet, waiting for his answer.

Prophet gazed at them and spoke softly: "The path you have chosen may not necessarily lead to an escape, but it is the only path you can take. You will face great danger, but if you do not choose to confront it, you will remain trapped here forever… forever."

The more he spoke, the slower his voice became, dragging an endless sense of unease.

Fiona glanced at Stall, her tone irritated. "So his intuition was right."

"But Prophet also said… this is the only path we can take," Ron muttered.

Drake propped his foot up on a chair and raised his voice. "What's there to be afraid of? We've already survived countless life-and-death situations. One more fight won't change anything."

Stall nodded. "That's right. At the very least, we can't pass up this chance to close the dungeon. We've come farther than anyone else."

Jessica's gaze burned as she looked at Prophet. "Besides, we have a god here. A god will surely protect us."

Prophet said nothing. The others couldn't help but shoot Jessica a strange look.

Drake sneered. "She's even more of a believer than I am. That blind fanaticism…"

[Even I can tell Jessica has absolute faith in Prophet. But why does she believe he's so powerful? Just because of his foresight ability? Ha ha ha, Lucifer's followers are no different from Drake—just a bunch of battle-hardened fools.]

[Which angel's fan is this, huh? Gabriel? Already trying to smear Lucifer's believers?]

[Doesn't matter, doesn't matter. The demon is coming soon. I can't wait to see Drake get swallowed whole, ha ha ha.]

[If Drake fails, humanity might have to weep!]

[Please stop acting like Drake is the center of the world. We still have Silas, Cocona, and the Three Great Followers. Do you think humanity will fall just because we lose Drake? Ha ha ha.]

Silvanus watched the comments scrolling past and silently agreed.

That's right. The world wouldn't be in immediate danger… but he was genuinely worried about himself. Jessica's sudden declaration had startled him as well. Like the viewers, he couldn't help but wonder—what exactly did she see in him to have such unwavering faith?

[If the demon appears, will it target me too?] Silvanus asked about the Acting System.

The Acting System replied: [Yes, my lord. Higher-tier monsters will prioritize attacking you, and demons are no exception.]

After a brief pause, the system suddenly asked: [Are you afraid of dying?]

Silvanus: […Could you come up with an even dumber question? Who isn't afraid of dying?!]

The Acting System hesitated, sounding almost embarrassed: [It's just… you always seem so calm.]

Silvanus said nothing.

He remained calm because of his nature—always prepared to face the worst. More importantly, panic and fear never solved anything.

And right now, he had to continue playing Prophet—a peculiar god who couldn't afford to show fear.

[There's no need to worry. You will win. I trust that you already have a plan.] The Acting System reassured him.

Silvanus felt the system had even more faith in him than Jessica did.

But the system was exemplary. He did have a plan. He hadn't used any system functions yet because no monsters had attacked him so far—and, in part, because he was waiting. He wanted to unleash one final, grand display, solidifying his divine status in the eyes of humanity and the viewers from the other world.

Only then would he be able to earn even more Acting Points.

He chuckled and spoke softly: [As long as the system's functions are fundamental, I can afford to gamble on this.]

Not just humanity—Silvanus, too, was fully prepared for this battle.

The system cheerfully responded: [Then I wish you luck, my master.]

The Earl's family only ate two meals daily—one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Right now, there was still an hour until the afternoon meal.

Drake slowly wiped his massive blade, speaking just as deliberately: "Ron, have you sent out all the intel?"

Ron nodded. "We've analyzed all the necessary information. The observation team outside has likely recorded everything."

Drake scoffed. "If they still can't gather any intel at this point, they're useless."

Ron: "..." Captain, you realize some of our superiors are on the observation team, right?

Just then, a timid voice suddenly spoke up: "I… Can I, uh, not join the fight?"

The thought of facing some unknown monster filled Mason with dread. He'd instead go upstairs and stay with John's corpse than be here.

Drake frowned at Mason, but Fiona just waved him off. "Go, go, go. You'd only be a burden anyway."

Mason loathed the scornful look Drake gave him, but seeing that Drake didn't stop him, he immediately bolted upstairs, not even glancing back. His footsteps were so quick it was as if his feet had been greased.

At that moment, Drake turned to Prophet. "You should hide somewhere, too. No one knows what we're up against."

"I know." Prophet cut him off without hesitation.

His tone was so confident and reliable that Drake couldn't even argue—only growing more irritated. "Ha, don't come crying for help when things get ugly!"

Just then, a deep rumble echoed through the floor.

Everyone turned toward the source, only to see Leo descending the staircase. At this moment, he was twice as large as usual—his enormous body nearly spilling over the railing.

Each step he took sent tremors through the entire castle.

It was as if they, too, had sensed something—an overwhelming pressure radiating from the monsters toward humanity.

"Dinner time has arrived. It seems you detectives have been looking forward to this moment even more than we have."

A voice suddenly rang out from behind them—no, two voices, speaking in eerie unison.

Drake and the others whirled around.

At some point, the two Earls had seated themselves at the dining table, their blank, white eyes staring directly at them.

Now, more than ever, the Earls resembled the dead. Even their once-noble attire was now tattered and filthy like corpses long buried underground.

On the table, plates of raw meat had been fully prepared. Most disturbing of all was the severed pig's head—except it wasn't a pig's head. It was the head of a child.

The child's lifeless eyes stared wide open, fresh blood trickling from its sockets and mouth. Then, sensing their gaze, it suddenly curled its lips into a chilling smile—despite nobody leaving.

The monsters had abandoned any pretense of appearing human.

Leo clumsily sank into his chair, his layers of fat squeezing and oozing through the gaps under his weight. His already grotesque voice now sounded even worse—like a broken television struggling to produce sound.

"Brother… I'm starving. I'm so hungry…" He muttered over and over.

"Alright, little brother. It's time to eat."

The Earls turned their gaze toward the humans.

"Now then, detectives, you should eat as well. You'll need your strength for your investigation."

Despite their words, the only thing on the table was meat—not a single vegetable. It was obvious they intended to starve them.

Perhaps because of the dungeon's influence, Ron swallowed nervously as he stared at the fresh meat.

What the hell—why am I reacting like this?

Fiona abruptly smacked him—hard. The slap was so loud that Ron saw stars.

He shook his head vigorously. "Sorry, sorry, sorry! I just lost focus for a second."

Just moments ago, he had been tempted to eat that meat. The very thought horrified him.

Drake's face darkened as he glared at the monsters. His voice was low and steady. "We've uncovered clues about the troublemakers. Don't you think you should listen before you eat?"

One of the Earls smiled. "Very well. Leo, go ahead and eat first. Let's see what these brilliant detectives have to offer us."

They narrowed their eyes as he spoke and grinned as if already knowing how this would end.