Jules' steps faltered the closer he got to where he'd left Bastien and the girls until, ultimately, he stopped dead in his tracks, his heart still racing in his rib cage. He blinked and frowned, unsure if he should believe his eyes. Could he, perhaps, have entered a mirage…? It wasn't impossible, considering the number of odd beings they had encountered these past few days.
Still…
"There you are," Bastien smiled, and only then did Jules' doubts slowly disperse. Right, no ghosts could replicate the demon's aura this perfectly; it was too peculiar. When they first met, it was faint and weak. Now it was stronger and seemed to have grown similar to his own aura, influenced by the spiritual energy they shared every day, and this made Bastien's spiritual signature distinctly clear from other types of demonic beings. It'd be nearly impossible to mimic, as there was one thing evil beings couldn't do, and it was to imitate the energy of angelic beings.
Hence, however absurd it appeared, what Jules was seeing was what had happened in his absence. A one-way massacre had taken place, and arachnoid monster corpses now littered the white and black marble floor.
"…Yeah, here I am," Jules repeated mechanically, taking in the sight before him. It left him somewhat perplexed, if not outright dumbfounded. It made him unsure how to react. He opened his mouth to speak, but said nothing in the end. Instead, he pinched his lips, the corner of his eyes twitching. Now, he felt silly for worrying to death and rushing over like a madman, running through the sticky spider webs without a regard for his wings and the feathers that were ripped off in passing. At the thought, and at last, his brain started to register the throbbing pain.
"What happened here…?" he heard himself ask as his gaze fell upon giant spiders' corpses. They were neatly piled up, and whitish-red blood had seeped down to the ground, forming a small pond underneath.
"Hm?" Bastien hummed as he finished tearing up some hairy legs from a carcass, breaking them at the articulation connecting their last joints to the torso of the spider-like monster. "Well, nothing much. I've only done some hunting. These cowardly things decided to sneak up on us after you left. Anyway, care to light a fire? These taste better roasted, and the meat doesn't stay good long. It rots quite fast and turns into something gushy that isn't very edible, so…"
The demon's gentle smile drew a heavy sigh out of Jules. Still, he waved his hand, and a fire burst in a corner of the corridor, near the wall. It wasn't big and the flames flickered, but it should be hot enough to roast some spider meat.
"I can only maintain that fire for a little over an hour," Jules forced himself to smile, albeit coldly, as he tried to calm his heartbeat down. Everyone was safe and sound, and that was all that mattered. "I assume you'll cook?"
"Yes," Bastien winked. "Although… My skills might be a bit rusty. I haven't had giant spider meat in ages! Especially from this species. It went into hiding a long time ago, since it was the Forest people's favorite delicacy back then, and they almost got hunted into extinction. Crossing their paths here is quite a pleasant surprise."
"Tell that to the people who died wrapped in cocoons," Jules rolled his eyes, still taking note of Bastien's words. "I'm sure they also found their encounter quite pleasant."
"Why so snappy?" the incubus teased, his eyes glinting with golden hues.
"I wonder why, indeed."
The coldness in Jules' voice cut short the conversation, and Bastien got the cue. He turned around to work on preparing the spider legs to make them somewhat edible by human standards. As he did, he snatched a leg from Annabelle's hands just as she was about to take a bite. He warned her to wait, and, no, he didn't care about her sunken stomach. Giant spider meat had to be cooked first, or she could say hi to indigestion. Being bent in half due to stomach pains and unable to take another step wouldn't get them anywhere, maybe even less than if they ventured further inside the haunted house on empty stomachs.
"Come on!" Annabelle pleaded, giving the demon puppy eyes. "Trust me, my stomach is made of iron. I managed to digest way worse things back in that crazy realm… It's not raw spider legs that's going to be the end of me!"
"No means no," Bastien chuckled, flicking the now-grown woman's forehead. "Take an example from Iris and Melody and sit in a corner while I cook. It won't take long."
"But I'm hungry!"
"Yeah, and I value my life," Bastien shrugged, expertly skinning the spider leg with a swift motion. "Your brother is going to kill me if you get food poisoning, so how about being reasonable? Unless you want my death, of course."
"Fine, fine!" Annabele grumped before slouching beside Iris and Melody, who were eying the atrocious corpses with a half-disgust and half-envy. They hadn't eaten anything filling for too long, and the hunger was making everything look tasty, even things they usually would have rather die than take a bite of. It also didn't help that the moment Bastien started to roast the legs, an enticing smell wafted to their noses. Their stomachs responded by grumbling and twisting in more pain.
Meanwhile, Jules leaned against the wall, a frown furrowing his brows. The exchange between the demon and his sister barely registered in his brain. Of course, he knew Annabelle had veered off course earlier when he rushed back, following in tow. It wasn't easy to keep up with his pace, but her path hadn't been as hindered as his, which made it easy for her to chase after him. Not having wings had its perks.
It reminded him that he needed to figure out how to get rid of them at some point. He had grown somewhat accustomed to their weight on his lower back, but they were still getting in the way and grating on his nerves. Well, he had other things in mind to take care of first. They could wait for now.
What bothered him was Bastien's earlier words. What was a near-extinct species doing in a haunted house? The more they explored, the stranger the place became. Too many different types of monsters coexisted together, something he had never heard of. Even when he was studying the ancient, decrepit books Greg had thrown him, he never read anything about such a thing. Supernatural beings had their own habits and ecosystems, and they avoided intermingling, notably because some preyed on others, and their tempers clashed more often than not.
But here, they inhabited the same space, although they each had their territories. No one invaded the other's, and no one went after another's prey, patiently waiting for mortals to wander to their doors instead. It was all so strange, and he couldn't wrap his mind around how it could even be a possibility. If only Reyes were there… That guy might have known. Or he might not have. He was old, but certainly not as old as a primordial demon like Bastien.
'How annoying,' Jules silently snorted. They had been wandering this damned place, yet hadn't figured out a thing about it. The temporal-spatial array was too complex, and all he could do was hope Cains and Reyes got his message and were on their way to the haunted house. Or pray they would get lucky and find the core master of the array.
"Stop scowling," Bastien whispered, handing over a roasted leg. The girls were already wolfing down their parts, and seeing their satisfied expressions, the taste couldn't have been too unpalatable."Really, sweetheart, it's ruining your pretty face."
"And do I look like someone who cares about that?" Jules replied, nonetheless accepting the meat. "Thanks."
"My pleasure."
Even if Jules didn't need to eat much to sustain himself in that form, it wouldn't do him any harm to feed himself when he could. It'd help him regain a bit of stamina, and surprisingly, the spider leg was tender and almost tasty. It had a strong, meaty flavor, somewhat like wild game yet also crab meat, but it wasn't bad per se. It would certainly taste wonderful with a bit of spice and do justice to a rare delicacy, if one overlooked that it came from a giant spider. It was difficult to dissociate the meat from the hideous carcasses, although it didn't seem to bother the girls much. They had grown desensitized these past few days and had seen far worse.
What were a few giant spiders? At least, they weren't werewolves trying to pierce their stomachs with their bare hands, or look-alike ghosts strangling them! These monsters even filled their bellies, duh! So, yes, it wasn't bad… It really wasn't that bad, right?
Unbothered by the girls' complex mood, Jules chewed on his long-awaited meal, peering at Bastien, who was shamelessly staring at him. The golden hues in his eyes had subsided somewhat, but the hunter could still catch a glimpse of a few flickers now and then.
After swallowing down a mouthful, Jule licked his lips, which were moist with the fat juice, before saying matter-of-factly, "It seems like you've regained quite a bit of strength."
"Well, I've been eating like a king lately," Bastien shrugged. "Speaking of, I'm kinda hungry after exercising so much. So, how about feeding me now that I've fed you?"
A deadpan look was Jules' answer.
"Pretty please?"
Jules heaved a sigh before gripping Bastien's collar and dragging him down to his height to plaster his lips against his. The incubus was only slightly taller, but it was annoying nonetheless.
Squinting his eyes, Jules slipped his tongue inside the demon's mouth, sharing his spiritual energy and even his vital energy, as if it were a mundane thing to do. Perhaps it was now, between them. Jules had grown used to kissing the demon whenever he was hungry, to the point where it had become natural to press his lips against his. Sometimes, he even caught himself staring at the man's mouth, and Bastien always responded with a knowing smile. Jules never commented.
"Can I have a dessert, too?" the incubus chuckled against the hunter's lips.
"Not yet," Jules snorted, pushing the demon away as he tilted his head toward the fire, which was slowly dying. "Go roast a bit more meat first. I'm not full yet."
"Alright, alright," Bastien laughed softly, stealing one last feather-like kiss before getting back to the cooking. The girls were waiting for more food, eyeing him with a ferocious gaze. They were yet to be satiated, too!
'Oh well,' Bastien thought, licking his fangs. 'I can always eat later, when the girls are asleep. And to think that I spent centuries without needing to feed or having the urge to feed on someone. Now, I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to that life. Am I really that addicted already…?'
Yes, he was.