On the second basement level of the Ruins Hospital, in a dark underground room.
The lights ended at the stairwell. Now the only light came from a blazing fire in the corner, while an acrid stench and thick black smoke filled the room.
Given what they were burning, it was hardly surprising.
The fuel was a pile of half-naked human corpses.
Or Monster corpses.
The fat blond man Bai had met once—Consultant Bear Grylls—had his teeth sunk into a man's neck and was gulping down mouthfuls of blood.
The man had a fist-sized hole in his neck, with his spine and windpipe plainly visible, yet he still struggled with undiminished strength. Countless short, thick tendrils of flesh reached from his mouth like a sea anemone, trying to push Bear away. They had no effect.
That was no human face.
Besides Bear, the basement held a group of townspeople Loa had never seen. They stood Stillness-ly around him, staring with scarlet eyes at several bound figures in the corner. They growled under their breath like mad beasts, baring mouths full of sharp teeth.
"You shouldn't have come here, human!" Furious at being caught feeding, Consultant Bear spat out the words.
Then he spat the man from his mouth. The screaming Monster shot away as though struck by a locomotive and slammed into the opposite wall.
Crack! Crack!
Bones kept snapping until his whole body had twisted into a knot. Even then, he did not die. His limbs jerked and strained as he tried to stand again.
But the human body simply could not perform such a feat. Not even the greatest yoga master could have managed it.
Before long, he stopped struggling and lay motionless on the floor, staring at Bear and the others in terror.
"Well, well. Angry because I