Heaven Destroyer

Chapter 140: Ghouls

"Secret base!" Everyone said in astonishment.

"Yes, there is a base under this room, " Ayaan nodded and opened the small door, revealing stairs that led underground.

"Someone must be hiding inside the chamber..."

"Shh... Don't make any noise, " Ayaan warned Noor when she tried to say something.

Everyone turned towards the dark passage and contemplated for some time. Ayaan looked at everyone, and said, "we won't know anything from here, let's go inside and check it out."

Everyone nodded in agreement and followed Ayaan from behind. As they lowered their feet on the stairs, the darkness descended and obscured their sight. They could barely see their companions.

"I don't think anyone would like to live in such a dark place, " Isobel whispered.

"Hmm, but there might be something interesting in this house, " said Ayaan, then asked to Leafwhisk, " can you lit up this place as well like before?"

"Sure, " replied Leafwhisk in a low voice, and her hand started to glow with green light, brightening the stairs that extended to even further down below. 

The group exchanged glances, and Ayaan stumbled below at a slow pace. The walls at either side of the stairs were covered in dirt and filth. The underneath was cold and damp, reeking with a smell that would make the dead walk out of their graves.

"I can't breathe here, " Noor complained, and nauseous look appeared on everyone's face.

"It looks as if something has been rotting here for a long time." Weighed Ayaan when he smelled. 

"Oh, shit, " Noor cursed and vomited.

"I-I also..." The little guy said and Ayaan hurriedly put him down from his shoulders.

And everything fell out of Akash's stomach, he also vomited.

"You two just stay here. We will go check out inside, " said Ayaan to Noor.

"No, I will follow you inside, " said Akash with a determined expression. Noor looked at the boy and felt ashamed for being too weak-willed and eventually decided to go down with everyone.

Ayaan smiled and didn't object either of them and let them tag along with him. He was curious about this underground room. Therefore, he continued and ultimately reached the end of the stairs; what revealed shocked everyone. Because it was something no one expected. The sight in front made their heart clench in terror.

In front of them was a group of five people, tied together. Their eyes were dull, faces dried and lips cracked. Everyone's hair was in a mess, filled with dirt and filth. Furthermore, their clothes were tattered, mixed with blood, quite a few wounds could be seen on their bodies.

However, there was something even more awful, every single of these five people were missing an arm or a leg. Addition to this, their wounds hadn't patched, flies gathered all over them. The rotten smell drifted in every corner of the room, making people nauseous. 

The five people tied around by the pillar looked at Ayaan's group with dull eyes, not reacting at all. There wasn't even a painful look on their faces, it looked they had lost their will to live any further.

"Can you tell us who did this?" Asked Ayaan with a concerned look when he saw such a sorry sight in front of him. He walked toward those people when no one replied to him. He squatted down in front of the woman who looked around the age of forty.

"Who did this..."

"Grrrr!!!" The woman suddenly opened her mouth and tried to bite him with her teeth.

"Damn!" Ayaan cursed and fell back, not letting that lady have her lovely meal that would cause him much more pain.

She struggled against the ropes, but to no avail. In the end, that lady again became dormant, assuming her pitiful look once more. However, no one dared to look at the lady as they did before.

"This is too peculiar, " said Leafwhisk, her eyes shining with intelligence, "they are hungry and for a very long time. Their limbs are missing and they had been tired by someone in this underground room. In this place, where it's hard to get a loaf of bread, someone had been eating meat. Don't you think this situation is bizarre?"

"Well, it is bizarre for sure, but why would someone capture these people?" Asked Ayaan in bewilderment.

"You didn't hear my full sentence, did you? If you had, you will know there is a pattern to every incidence here." Her eyes gleamed with wisdom.

"I don't understand; what do you mean?" Inquired Ayaan with a confused face.

"From where did someone get the meat if there aren't many edible animals?" Asked Leafwhisk and looked at the tied people on the ground with interest.

As everyone heard her words, they felt as if the room became colder. Only now did they realise what she had been trying to say all this time. What a horrible finding it was. 

Noor looked at the people on the ground with disbelief and said with a shivering voice, "y-you are saying that someone has been eating the people peace by peace all this t-time?"

At the end of her sentence her voice cracked, she had a hard time to push out those words from her mouth. Her temples covered in sweat and her back drenched, but she couldn't help but shiver in chill at the thought of such a scenario.

"That's exactly what I mean, someone's been eating these people." Nodded Leafwhisk confidently.

"But why would someone eat people? I mean no human could do such a thing at the very least, " said Noor, her voice trembled and she felt the temperature dropping even further.

"Can we save these people?" Asked Ayaan to Leafwhisk.

"I don't think so. They have lost their mind and I am not yet powerful enough to save them. There is only one cure for them and that is to kill them"

"How could we kill these innocent people!?" Shouted Noor. She didn't like the idea.

"I am just suggesting; it's up to you to deal with this matter." Leafwhisk didn't reply to Noor, but said to Ayaan, "remember we are doing a good thing by making them free from this damnation. Furthermore, we are already in trouble, do you want to carry more trouble? If they were in good condition I would have never suggested such a thing, but this life is worse than death for them."

After that, she didn't speak and let Ayaan consider. After a minute later, Ayaan looked at those five people and sighed, "we would do as Leafwhisk say.

"But"

"Would you like to live such a life?" Ayaan didn't try to clarify anything but asked a question to Noor.

Noor stopped and looked at those people and their miserable condition then said, " I would prefer to die."

No one spoke and Leafwhisk formed a tree that covered the five people and buried them in the ground along with it. Everyone was silent for a moment, then Rebecca said furiously, "I want to see the one who did this to these people."

"I also want to see that ghoul or if there are more than one, I would like to see them as well." Said Ayaan, fierce look appeared in his eyes.

"Grrr!"

Just when they were thinking about how to find the ghoul behind this incident, a weird noise interrupted them. The noise came from above the ground. 

Ayaan and his group looked at the stairs and heard the footsteps coming from there. The sound of the steps was deep but irregular. After the steps neared them, the group realised that it was two people, not one.

Leafwhisk looked at Ayaan and nodded, speaking, "looks like our preys have come on their own."

Everyone became ready and drown out their weapons. Only Leafwhisk and the little guy didn't take out any weapon. 

"Thump!" 

The sound came and everyone became ready. They didn't know how powerful their enemies were; so they waited patiently for them to arrive, not rushing things.

Thump! Thump!

At last, the two silhouettes revealed in front of them the group looked at them and shivered. Their hair stood on the ends. Not because these people were powerful or ugly or something like that, but because the two of them were completely naked.

The man who walked at the front of the woman and looked at them and turned towards the place where he had tied his food, and shrieked in fury, "how dare you to destroy my food!?"

"He can speak." Said Isobel. Everyone felt curious but they didn't look at the naked man, turning their gaze away from him.

Though everyone was curious, one person's eyes were spouting fire Ayaan. 

The man walked and revealed his road that hanged in between his legs and that was the reason for Ayaan's fury. How someone dared to come naked in front of his women, that was only his right!?

"Hehe, these women aren't bad. I will enjoy their bodies before enjoying their flesh." Cackled the man.

"I want that man, he looks amazing, " the voice came and a woman came from behind the man.

"Grrr... Hehe, alright"

"Boom!!"

"Ahhhh!!"

A kick smashed in between that man's leg, breaking his eggs from inside out. The man shrieked and landed on the wall behind him miserably.

"You fucking ugly naked ghoul dared to come in front of me and pose like a cool guy!" Shouted Ayaan, his eyes red.