"....."
A weird tension hung across the room.
Clink! Clink—!
The soft clinking of the cutlery echoed within the tense environment.
The old man cut into his steak with slow, careful movements, as if the act itself mattered more than the meal.
He didn’t speak. Didn’t look up.
He just smiled as he ate.
With every bite, his jaw moved slowly, like he was thinking hard or listening to something no one else could hear. Sometimes he paused, chewing with his eyes half-closed, the sound echoing in the surroundings.
All eyes were on him.
Nobody dared to make a sound or disturb him; all communicated with each other through messages or other means.
’...I don’t have a good feeling about this.’ Mia whispered quietly, looking in the direction of the old man.
I shared the same feeling as her.
Something about the current situation felt unsettling. Despite the old man eating and drinking with a smile, it was his lack of action that made my heart race.
Just what was he planning?
Was he really just going to leave us alone if we didn’t eat?
I had serious doubts about this.
Still, I couldn’t just sit still. I needed to figure something out.
I—
"....!?"
Clank!
A low, muffled sound echoed from beside me, sharp and sudden. I jolted and turned my head toward it, heart already pounding.
My eyes paused on Sarah.
She sat rigidly, staring straight at the table. Her dark eyes were wide, trembling, locked on something I couldn’t see.
Several eyes fell in our direction.
I felt the tension grow.
And then—
Sarah slowly pointed at my plate.
"Worms," she mumbled, her voice soft, almost dazed. "...There’s worms."
What?
I lowered my head to stare at my plate.
And yet, I saw none of the worms she was talking about.
All I saw was the pristine steak, perfectly seared, its glaze catching the light, the aroma warm and rich as it drifted through the air.
"Ah...?"
Sarah blinked her eyes slowly, snapping out of it.
Staring at my steak, her head tilted.
"What, but... They were..."
I paid close attention to her confusion, keeping careful tabs on it as I soon turned my gaze toward the old man who was carefreely eating his steak. In just a matter of minutes, he was almost done with his dish, and as his knife slowly sliced through the steak, a quiet, unsettling pressure spread through the room with each delicate cut.
Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!
I swallowed nervously, observing my surroundings to try and determine exactly what I needed to do in order to clear this unknown scenario.
At some point, for some reason, I also found myself staring at my phone
That’s when I happened to catch a glimpse of the livestream chat.
—What are they doing? Why are they not eating...?
—...That shit could be poisonous. Of course, they aren’t eating.
—But they’re doing nothing.
—Should we watch from another angle? This team looks boring.
Live Views — [653]
The chat was still working?
I was a little surprised by this. However, it also made sense. Considering how we could also communicate with those outside, this made sense.
’Yeah, communication is allowed outside. If something truly goes wrong, and all hell breaks loose, I guess those from the Guild might come in.’
I calmed myself down and stared at the old man.
His knife cut the last piece of the steak, his fork digging into it as he brought it to his mouth and ate it.
The tension in the room heightened.
I started to grow tense, my muscles tightening alongside my breathing. Unknowingly, I started to lean forward in my seat.
And then—
Clink!
He placed the cutlery down.
"How delicious."
His gaze lifted towards us once more.
With the same smile, he interlocked his fingers and swept his gaze around.
"...Nobody else eating?"
His words were met with silence.
Besides the soft tune that dabbled in the air, and the soft footsteps of the attendants, nobody made a sound.
"Okay."
The old man placed his hands on the table and stood up.
I grew even tenser, ready to move at any second. The same applied to everyone present.
"...."
Slowly, the old man turned his head.
His gaze focused on the band as he clapped his hands.
Clap! Clap!
"Since our guests here aren’t hungry, how about we play them some music? Let’s go with the traditional music that we usually play."
The people in the band froze, almost robotically. A moment later, the violinists began to play a new song. The sound of the violins rose slowly, spreading through the venue until it was all you could hear.
It wasn’t a terrible song. It was rather upbeat.
The notes wavered unnaturally, bending at strange angles, like they were being dragged by the strings. High, shrill strings stretched on, then dropped without warning into low, trembling hums that buzzed against the walls.
I felt a weird and uncomfortable tingle in my ears.
Moments later, the people behind the old man moved towards the band and began dancing in circles, the sound of their soft steps moving in rhythm with the music.
"...This right here, ladies and gentlemen, is a tradition that we follow over here. It is a dance that symbolizes purity and good luck. Dancing means being part of the luck. If any of you wish to join, please feel free."
As he explained, the old man moved to the ground as they danced.
Ta! Ta! Ta!
He joined them not long after.
The music drifted through the air, and the group began to dance in slow circles to the tune. There was something unnatural about it. Their movements were extremely synchronized, almost creepily.
I couldn’t quite put it into words.
It was a strange and quietly disturbing sight.
And then—
Ta! Ta! Ta!
More steps echoed.
All heads turned towards the door as women in white entered the room, their faces filled with smiles, and their soft hair falling down their white clothes.
Just like the men, their clothes were clean and pristine.
And yet, unlike the men, the moment they entered, I felt every hair on my body begin to rise as they brought out what appeared to be a large hammer.
’What sort of...’
The chairs shifted, some of the other teams ready to move.
"Ah, you’re here."
The old man greeted the women, his smile growing bigger as he distanced himself from the dancing group and moved towards them.
As he did, he introduced them to us.
"These are the Maids of the Covenant. Chosen from birth, each comes from a line kept pure through obedience and faith. They’ve never stepped beyond these walls, never heard the voices of the world. Their bodies and spirits are well preserved. Their purpose here is sacred, and without them, the foundation of this house would falter."
The old man grabbed the hammer from the woman, looking at it.
"Well then..."
He paused, the smile on his face fading as a cold chill enveloped the room, and then—
BANG!
He smashed the hammer towards the nearest person, blood spurting out throughout the entire venue.
"....!?"
".....!"
All eyes widened in shock, nobody able to react in time.
Spurt!
The hammer dropped down again, smashing once again as blood spurted everywhere, and the squelching sound of the hammer pulling back from the face echoed loudly within the room.
All noise stopped in that moment.
So did the dancing as everyone’s attention focused on the dead body collapsed on the ground.
"Hehehehe."
"Hahahaha."
What followed was a series of eerie laughs coming from the old men and the people in white.
"Hahaha."
The laughs rang hollow as they all stared at the body on the ground, and as I slowly looked at the corpse, whose entire jaw had been shattered and caved in, I noticed it. The ring that sat at the bridge of their nose.
A-ah
An image flashed in my mind. One of a certain dessicated corpse. My heart sped rapidly, a cold chill rushing down my body.
And as if that wasn’t enough...
"Hahaha."
"He... hehe."
It soon started.
The laughs.
Not just from the men in white, but from the people around me.
"Hehe... he.
No... Not just around me.
"Hehehe."
I, too, began to laugh as my eyes shook.
And as I slowly raised my head, I noticed the others’ gazes shaking as well. In a manner that was similar to...
The attendants.
My heart sank.