Inside the dim, musty-smelling hut, the old woman finally let go of her grip. She was still out of breath. "Did… did you read my letter, son?" she asked, her voice trembling with hope.
Rio frowned. "Letter? I don't know what you're talking about."
The old woman's face clouded over with disappointment again. "A while ago… ah, no, it's been years, actually… I wrote letters. About the strangeness of this village, about the missing children… I put them in a bottle and sent them down the river. I kept doing it, hoping… hoping that one day someone would read it, someone who would help…" She looked at Rio with a pleading gaze. "After all this time… you're the only one who has come."
Rio was silent for a moment, processing the information. So this is probably where Kakek Henry got his information. Or at least, one of the sources. "I truly didn't come here to do harm, ma'am," he said honestly. "And about the letter… I never read it directly. But, yes… someone told me about the situation in this village. That's why I'm here." He looked at the old woman carefully. "What exactly is strange about this village, ma'am? Tell me everything."
With a vacant stare that looked far into the past, the old woman began her story. Her voice was soft, trembling, filled with a bitterness and sadness that had settled over many years.
"Hundreds of years ago, son, this village was on the verge of death. Our harvests always failed, starvation was rampant. Many left to seek another life, but many also chose to stay, believing it was an honor to die on the land of their birth. We… we had given up by then, just waiting for death to claim us."
She stopped, taking a deep breath.
"Then, when all hope seemed lost, he came… a stranger, dressed in a neat, expensive suit, not like anyone from around here. He promised something we wouldn't have dared to dream of: our land would be fertile again, harvests would be bountiful. But… there was a condition." The woman swallowed hard, her eyes welling up with tears. "Every single week… we were required to offer a sacrifice. A human."
A cold chill ran down Rio's spine.
"We had no other choice, son. To survive… we agreed." The woman's voice broke. "And just as he promised… it happened. Our lands became fertile. To fulfill the agreement, the villagers back then… they raided the small villages around here, kidnapping their people to be used as victims."
"Is… is that cursed agreement still going on today?" Rio asked, his voice hoarse.
The woman nodded weakly. Tears flowed down her cheeks again. "Still, son… still. Do you see that large, church-like building at the end of the road?"
"Yes, I saw it."
"That's not a church. It's… a sacrificial temple. Built as a form of 'gratitude' by the villagers of the past because the man's promise was always kept. And unknowingly, this horrifying culture has been passed down through generations, to us. Every time a sacrifice is ready, the ceremony is held there…"
"and as you just saw, that town crier signifies that a sacrifice has been made available… who knows from where."
She sobbed again. "At first, after the agreement, our village did get better, even though it meant sacrificing the lives of others. But… a few years ago, when that video of Daniel Jan's murder went viral and the world learned about the Eaters… everything changed again. Our village was once again on the brink of extinction. We could no longer find sacrifices from outside the village."
"Why?"
"Because out there… Eaters are roaming everywhere. Every time our people tried to kidnap someone from another village, they became the Eaters' prey instead. In the end… the village elders decided on a more heinous path. They ordered all families to… to have as many children as possible. So that… so that there would be a supply of sacrifices from within the village itself."
Rio's jaw hardened, his hands clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.
"And my daughter… my youngest daughter who was only seven years old…" The woman couldn't continue, her sobs exploding uncontrollably. "…she… she was the sacrifice last week…"
"Why didn't you and your daughter try to run away back then?" Rio asked, trying to keep his voice calm even as rage boiled inside him.
The woman shook her head weakly. "We couldn't, son. Everyone here watches each other, looking for an opportunity. If anyone is caught trying to escape, or revealing the village's secret to an outsider… their entire family becomes the next sacrifice. But now… I don't care about my life anymore. My daughter is gone… what else is left for me?"
Rio was silent, a mixture of disgust and rage churning inside him. So that's why the woman attacked me earlier. Fear, desperation, and maybe a sliver of insane hope that this stranger could do something. "Then how were you able to send those letters if the surveillance is so tight?"
"I… I wrote them secretly at night, when everyone was asleep. Then I'd slip them into a small, used medicine bottle and send it down the river behind the village. I did it for years… just hoping for a small miracle."
Rio was shocked. For the first time since his mother's death, he felt such a strong wave of emotion—not just vengeance, but a deep pity and a burning anger at this injustice. The city of Antares, with all its splendor, turned out to be hiding such a rotten sore in its remote corners.
"In that case… come with me, ma'am," Rio said, his tone firmer now. "I'll take you to a safe place. Far from this cursed village."
The woman looked at Rio, a small spark in her weary eyes, but then she shook her head slowly, a bitter smile on her lips. "Thank you for your kind offer, son. But… I can't. Both my daughters died here… my soul has already been left behind with them. How could I just leave them? I… I just want justice for them. And maybe… peace for myself, by their side."
Rio tried to persuade her, arguing at length, offering various possibilities. But the old woman was firm in her resolve. Her heart was numb, her determination to join her children was absolute. With a heavy heart, and a promise that he would do whatever it took to stop this madness, Rio finally relented.
With the information burning in his mind, and a mix of emotions gnawing at his heart, Rio used Shunpo, moving as fast as a shadow as he left the old woman's hut, heading for their meeting point. He had to tell Lisa and Dany immediately.
However, when he arrived at their hiding spot, only Dany was there, lying leisurely on a large tree branch, chewing on a blade of wild grass.
"Lisa's not back yet?" Rio asked, slightly out of breath, not from physical exhaustion, but from the emotional weight.
Dany leaped down from the tree lightly. "Not yet. Maybe she found something interesting at that 'church'." He looked at Rio. "You look pale. Found something bad, huh?"
"Very bad," Rio answered curtly. "But before that, what about you? The village chief?"
Dany grinned. "Now, that's the interesting part. I decided to improvise a little. So, I didn't meet him secretly. I disguised myself as a freelance journalist interested in writing an article about 'the unique charm of this remote village'."
Rio raised an eyebrow.
"At first, the villagers were very closed off. Avoided me like I was carrying the plague. But luckily, when I asked where the chief's house was, one or two finally pointed the way. Maybe they thought I was someone important from the city," Dany continued, clearly enjoying his own story.
"The chief himself? Incredibly friendly. Welcomed me with open arms, told me about the village's history, traditions, harvests—everything sounded normal, like a typical farming village. Nothing strange at all. After he finished his story, I said my goodbyes. But…" Dany paused, his eyes gleaming. "Just before I actually stepped out of his house, he patted my shoulder and said with a meaningful smile, 'Mr. Journalist, son, if you really want to write something… interesting… and authentic about our village, come tonight. We'll be holding a very sacred ancestral offering ceremony. It's very rare for an outsider to witness it'."
Rio stared darkly at the large building, then remembered the old woman's words—about the villagers being watched, about the sacrifices having to come from within the village. And as his mind replayed Dany's explanation of the ceremony tonight, something felt wrong.
Lisa infiltrated that building alone. If she gets caught… Rio clenched his fists. A young woman, a stranger, sneaking in without permission. In their twisted logic, isn't that… the perfect offering? He looked at Dany, his voice low but sharp. "They might see Lisa as an outsider who crossed a line… and that's reason enough to sacrifice her."
Dany, who had been telling his story with a light tone, immediately caught the drastic change in Rio's expression. "Sacrifice? What do you mean, Rio?"
Without answering, Rio immediately turned and began to frantically dig at the spot where they had hidden their spare equipment last night.
"Rio, hey! What's going on?" Dany asked again, his tone now laced with worry at Rio's unusual reaction.
"That ceremony… Dany!" Rio finally said, his hands still digging rapidly. "I met an old woman… she said… the ceremony is a ritual for a human sacrifice! A human sacrifice!"
Dany's usually cheerful face froze instantly. His blue eyes widened in disbelief. "Hu-human sacrifice?" he stammered. The realization hit him like a physical blow. "If that's the case… Lisa…"
Rio ignored Dany's question, his mind already racing. He couldn't be sure, but his instincts were screaming that Lisa was in grave danger. His hands finally touched something hard in the dirt.
Dany, who had been frozen in place, now joined Rio in digging. Dirt and gravel flew as they both worked quickly. A few moments later, two wolf masks and two shorter, but deadly, Gladius swords were visible in the hole.
Without another word, they both immediately put on the wolf masks. A cold, focused aura enveloped them. Rio sheathed the short sword at his waist, as did Dany.
With a single, unspoken nod, signaling they were ready, they both used Shunpo. In an instant, they disappeared from that spot, leaving only a whisper of wind and a gaping hole in the ground, two wolves racing through the shadows, heading for the grand building at the end of the village, where a horrifying ritual was about to begin, and where one of their own might already be trapped in a nightmare.