When he opened his eyes again.
Those originally deep-crimson eyes had already turned into two pools of profound blackness.
The Black Robe Person hanging in midair caught the look Trist had just cast toward the ground.
He instantly understood what had happened.
"Wait!!"
Feeling the shadows wrapped around his body pierce deep into his soul like straws,
he thrashed wildly in midair like a dying fish while roaring at those pitch-black eyes, "Misunderstanding! This is all a misunderstanding!!"
However, there was not the slightest ripple in those pitch-black eyes—only endless greed and hunger.
To a devourer, whether the food on the plate had good intentions was unimportant. Flavor was the only standard.
The enormous shadow opened its maw and snapped it shut.
The Black Robe Person's voice twisted and stretched at that moment, as though coming from somewhere far away: "I... brought... him... to... help..."
Pop.
The final soft sound was not the separation of flesh and bone. Instead, it was like a ripe grape having its flesh sucked out.
The Black Robe Person's body fell to the ground.
As the feeding ended, the terrifying aura covering the wilderness receded like the tide.
The blackness in Trist's eyes also slowly faded, revealing his original deep-crimson pupils once more.
But he did not feel relieved. A profound weariness swept through his entire body.
The instant the shadow completely retracted beneath his feet, that hollow voice rang out one last time in the depths of his mind: "Remember... the price of power."
The wind and snow over the wilderness had stopped at some point.
The surroundings were frighteningly quiet. Even the occasional sound of branches snapping in the Withered Wood Forest seemed exceptionally clear.
"Ugh..."
He Xi felt as though a group of drunken dwarves had taken turns hammering his head with