The sheriff observed the tied goat for a few seconds before gripping the rope firmly.
"I'll take her now," Boyd announced. "Nathan should bring the billy goat in a few minutes."
Daniel simply nodded.
With the matter settled, Donna turned toward him. "You can use the house kitchen. Just try not to turn the floor into a lake of blood."
"I'll do my best to keep up to health code."
Hearing Donna's approval, Tabitha, who had already imagined the grotesque spectacle about to happen, acted fast.
She grabbed Ethan's hand and steered him in the opposite direction, improvising some excuse about helping organize cables.
Dragging the improvised sled to the back door, Daniel hauled the struggling animal inside through sheer brute force.
He hoisted the boar over the sink, located the carotid artery with his fingers, and ended the slaughter with one clean cut.
Dark blood streamed down the drain almost immediately, filling the air with a sharp metallic smell.
While waiting for the carcass to finish draining, he heard hurried footsteps in the hallway.
Julie stepped into the room with an expression that tried to hide her concern.
And failed miserably.
"Ethan said you came back with a huge boar." She crossed her arms.
"Look at you," Daniel replied, amused. "Pretending you came here just to admire the scenery."
She did not even try to deny it. Her eyes immediately locked onto the bandaged forearm.
Without waiting for another question, Daniel untied the gauze. The skin beneath it was practically reconstructed. Only a faint pink line remained, slightly raised where the bullet had grazed him.
Julie studied his arm for a moment before releasing a slow breath through her nose.
"I'm not even going to pretend this surprises me anymore."
"Good character development on your part." Daniel wrapped the bandage back around his arm. "Quick learner."
She rolled her eyes, but the relief beneath the sarcasm was obvious. She remained leaning against the wall while he went back to work.
Once the flow finally stopped, he picked up the knife and began skinning it.
The first cuts came out stiff and slightly awkward. The theory was crystal clear in his mind, but his body still needed to catch up.
Little by little, however, his movements became more precise.
The blade slid beneath the dark hide, separating skin from flesh without wasting material as he removed the organs with growing efficiency.
Donna appeared in the kitchen and silently watched the process briefly.
"Not bad," she admitted. "Come get me when you're done."
"Sure thing, boss," Daniel muttered, focused on the task.
Donna and Julie left the room shortly after, returning to the front lawn to help with the tower preparations.
Alone again, Daniel continued working while occasionally glancing at the clock hanging on the wall.
Twenty-six minutes since the slaughter. That was enough time.
He set the stained knife aside and walked toward the door. Peeking into the hallway, he confirmed nobody was nearby.
He also could not feel anyone watching him.
Returning to the sink, he placed both hands on the bloody carcass.
"System. Devour body and soul."
An indescribable sound vibrated deep within his mind, followed by a black mist that dismantled the organic matter beneath his fingers.
The heavy, seventy-kilo boar vanished.
[Reward: 600 silver coins. 3 attribute points. 4 skill points.]
Six hundred coins. Not bad.
He opened the shop immediately and purchased another boar of similar size, fully processed.
The version with the hide separated and the organs included cost only fifty coins.
A replacement carcass materialized on the metal counter beside the sink. The hide rested neatly folded nearby, while the organs had been sorted into individual bags.
Everything looked immaculate.
Almost too professional.
He picked up the knife again and smeared some of the leftover blood across his hands and apron.
Just in case.
A good liar always minds the details.
Once he judged enough time had passed, he went to get Donna.
The woman stepped into the kitchen and began inspecting the perfectly cut ribs, the hide with two small holes intentionally made in it, and the cleaned organs.
"This doesn't look like beginner work."
"Like I said, I know what I'm doing."
"The job is yours." She made the decision without needing to consult anyone since it was her responsibility in the first place. "If you ruin an animal because of laziness, the conversation changes."
"Fair enough."
"Nathan already brought the billy goat. I tied him up by the side of the house."
With the negotiation settled, Daniel carried the meat back toward the motorhome.
The residents scattered across the lawn watched him pass with expressions split between admiration and frustration, like people who still had not decided whether they wanted to envy him or thank him for existing.
Dilan was leaning against a nearby tree, holding a hammer. He stared at Daniel with a bitter expression.
"I bet that bastard won't share a single ounce of that meat with anyone here."
Marcos, standing beside him while unrolling a copper cable, shrugged. "Maybe he'll leave the goat with us. That'd already be something."
"I seriously doubt it," Dilan spat on the ground.
Daniel did not slow down. He merely tilted his head toward the voices.
He couldn't hear the actual words, but when he spotted Dilan, who had been keeping an eye on him ever since their earlier friction, he already knew it was nothing good.
Driven by cautious curiosity, he activated the Appraisal Gaze. A dark suspicion crossed his mind: what if the ritual that had corrupted Rick could also spread through resentment?
[Name: Dilan / Age: 27]
[Life Level: 1 – Common Human]
[Strength: 10 / Endurance: 9 / Intelligence: 8 / Speed: 9]
[Possesses a high level of distrust and resentment toward you.]
The tension in Daniel's shoulders vanished. Just ordinary jealousy. Nothing demonic.
He stepped inside, stored part of the meat in the refrigerator and the rest in the inventory, then went back out to deal with the goat.
As soon as he approached, the animal tried to ram him with its head. Daniel dodged and grabbed one of the horns, dragging it toward the trees before killing it there.
After finishing the bleeding process, he shoveled dirt over the red puddle to avoid attracting flies and secured a plastic bag firmly around the animal's head to keep blood from dripping onto the motorhome floor. Then he carried it inside.
The door shut with a metallic click.
"System. Devour."
[Reward: 400 silver coins. 1 attribute point. 2 skill points.]
Satisfied with the morning's gains, he went to take a shower. He was splattered with blood and reeked of animals.
On the other side of the lawn, Tabitha waited until Julie finished helping with a bundle of materials before asking her to come along.
Ethan had stayed with Jim. Ever since the kidnapping, neither of them could let the boy stay more than three meters away without feeling their chests tighten.
Julie walked beside her mother around the back of the house, already bracing for whatever was coming.
Tabitha remained silent for several steps.
Then she asked without looking at her daughter.
"You slept with him, didn't you?"
Julie froze, feeling the blood drain from her face.
"H-how... where did you even get something like that from?!" she stammered.
"When I came to call you earlier, I already suspected it." She stopped walking and turned slightly toward her daughter. "And the way you're walking now... confirmed it."
Julie's mind screamed in frustration. She genuinely thought she had been walking normally. It didn't even hurt that much anymore, just a faint soreness.
She braced herself for the incoming lecture. The speech about responsibility, about how absurd it was to get involved on that level on the very first day she moved in with him.
Instead, Tabitha stepped forward and hugged her tightly.
"Mom?" Julie murmured against her shoulder, completely caught off guard.
Tabitha pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes.
"Did you two use protection?"
Julie swallowed hard and nodded awkwardly. "Mm-hm. Yeah."
Some of the tension finally left Tabitha's shoulders. She let out a long breath and closed her eyes for a second.
"Look at me, Juls," she said, her voice now firm and protective. "If he ever forces you to do something you don't want to do, or if he does anything to hurt you... you come tell me immediately. Understood? Immediately."
Relief spread across Julie's face at the complete lack of judgment, and she nodded quickly.
"Does my dad know?" she asked apprehensively.
"He suspects it." Tabitha released her daughter's shoulders and crossed her arms thoughtfully. "Leave him to me. I'll talk to him."
"Thanks, Mom."
"You're welcome, sweetheart. Oh, and one more thing," Tabitha added casually. "It might be a good idea to hide that hickey on your neck."
Julie's eyes widened.
Her hand flew to her neck in a desperate reflex. She had no idea the mark was there.
The moment she realized she had spent the entire morning walking around with that thing on display like a billboard, she wanted to dig a hole and disappear.
"I... I'm going to change my shirt right now!" she blurted out in panic before spinning on her heel and practically fleeing toward the motorhome without daring to look at her mother again.
The motorhome door slammed open violently.
Julie stormed inside breathing heavily, fists clenched in outrage.
Daniel was sitting at the dining table. A glass of water rested beside him while he held a small rustic pendant resting between his fingers beside a metal needle.
"What happened?" he asked immediately. His deep voice hardened at once as the needle disappeared into the palm of his hand. "Did someone mess with you?"
Ignoring the concern in his voice, Julie marched straight into the bathroom, turned on the light, and stared at the mirror.
There it was.
A huge reddish mark standing out against her pale skin.
"Why didn't you warn me?!" she exploded, accusingly pointing at her own neck.
The instant Daniel understood the true nature of the "emergency," all the murderous tension in his body vanished.
A long sigh escaped his lips as he strolled over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.
"I didn't think that was a problem," Daniel murmured casually before leaning down and placing a slow kiss directly over the mark that bothered her so much.
The warm touch was like a short circuit in her brain.
The irritation she had arrived with melted almost immediately, replaced by a defeated sigh when her back met his broad chest.
"My mom figured out what happened last night," Julie confessed, her voice already losing strength.
"And what's the problem?" His lips pulled away, but his arms stayed exactly where they were.
"When they agreed to let you live here, they were already assuming something like this would eventually happen. Your parents aren't naïve."
Julie stayed silent for a few seconds.
There was absolutely no flaw in his logic.
Which was irritating.
"So the crisis is already over." He rested his chin on top of her head. "Were you expecting something more dramatic, or am I misunderstanding the situation?"
She did not answer, but Daniel felt her shoulders relax slightly.
As if wanting to end the subject once and for all, Daniel's hand slid down from her waist in a quick movement before smacking her ass hard enough for the sound to echo through the bathroom.
"Hey!" Julie jumped slightly, startled by the sudden sting. "What was that for?!"
"That," Daniel said with a laugh while stepping away from her and returning to the table, "was just a preview of tonight's schedule."
Julie froze in place, biting her lower lip as her brain finally processed the heated promise behind his words.
After spending a few minutes trying to cool herself off, she walked over to the small kitchen sink and filled a glass with water.
Leaning against the counter, she watched him resume his work.
"Is that some kind of new hobby?" Julie asked, motioning with her chin toward the stone and mysterious needle.
"Something like that." Daniel kept his attention focused on the thin line being carved into the mineral surface. "Therapeutic arts and crafts."
Julie did not press further. She went to the bedroom wardrobe and changed into a light turtleneck shirt, completely hiding her neck.
"I'm going back to help everyone."
"If anything happens, or if someone starts bothering you, call me," he instructed without taking his eyes off the pendant.
Julie nodded and left, the heavy door shutting behind her.
Alone once more, Daniel smiled faintly and shook his head before channeling his Spiritual Energy through the needle once more.
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