Beast Soul

Chapter 121 – Hidden Discussion

As both Harold and Noah entered the secret passage, trying to find the other three boys and kill the monster that seemed to have taken the form of their physics teacher, Alphonso and Max changed their course and took a detour, diverting from the scent trail, fearing a trap.

"I did say that we'd ditch the scent trail because the monster might be attempting to bait us with Gerald, but god damn… This alternate route is simply too tight for people!" Alphonso groaned with annoyance as he moved through the thin pathway, and Max shook his head. "It's not as thin as you're making it out to be. Maybe you should stop eating too much and start working out."

"Hey! I'm not that fat, okay?" Alphonso shrugged his shoulders and spoke with annoyance in his tone, clearly bothered by Max's words. "I just have a bit of a chubby stomach."

The two moved through the thin pathway, which was covered in darkness, and it led them to another area. This place was a bit more narrower and smaller than the other area with the countless eggs that were lined up. 

"What the f*ck is this?" Max couldn't believe what he was seeing. Neither could Alphonso, who simply just stood there, unable to move his body. 

In front of them was a giant pile of bones and skulls, each of them placed on top of one another to create some sort of large pyramid structure. 

"Are those… are those human skulls?" Max said as he gulped down his saliva, and Alphonso couldn't help but tremble. The number of skulls that they could count had already gone past a dozen, and that was only the number at the bottom of the pyramid.

There were many more bone pyramids other than the one that they were looking at, and Max and Alphonso turned to look at each other. They both didn't say anything, as their gazes were enough to know what they were thinking. 

"What the hell has been going on underneath this neighborhood…" Max said with a frown on his face, and Alphonso walked up to one of the pyramid structures and looked up at the top.

The pyramid structures were a bit taller than a normal person, with its height probably reaching around two to two and a half meters.

"Hm, this is interesting.." Alphonso began to mumble under his breath in a hushed tone as he leaned forward, his face right next to one of the skulls on the pyramid, and he began inspecting it, staring at it and studying the skull carefully with his gaze.

"What? What caught your eye, Phonzi?" Max was curious as to what had gotten Alphonso so interested in the skeleton pyramid, and he walked towards him, intrigued by his actions. He wanted to know.

"It's just… look at the skulls and the bones…" Alphonso turned to glance at Max for just a second before shifting his gaze back towards the skull pyramid, and pointed his finger at the terrifying structure. 

Max turned his gaze in the direction at which Alphonso was pointing at, and he began to look closely at the skulls and the bones that made up the pyramid structure. 

"They're… covered in moss… dust and cobwebs." Max scratched his chin as he spoke, still unsure as to what Alphonso found so intriguing about the whole pyramid structure. He was confused.

Alphonso saw the confused expression on Max's face and shook his head with a disappointed look, waving his hands in the air and clicking his tongue in response. 

"Honestly, you can't tell?" He asked Max, looking at him as though he was an idiot, which made Max annoyed and let out a snort, shooting back with a question of his own with a sarcastic voice. "Well then, Mr. Smart guy, why don't you explain it to me?"

"You can see that these skulls are extremely old, right?" Alphonso rolled his eyes as he pointed his hand at the pyramid and spoke. 

"Yeah, so?" Max furrowed his eyebrows while replying to Alphonso's question, who in response, slammed his hand onto his forehead as he let out an annoyed groan.

"Just tell me, you b*tch!" Max spoke in a frustrated tone, and Alphonso once again rolled his eyes before replying, "The monsters have started to appear only about two weeks ago, and yet the skulls and the bones look like they're hundred years old? Does that make sense to you?"

Surprised, Max turned to look at the pyramid structure once again, and questions began to appear in his mind. 

"Maybe the monsters really are hundreds of years old?" Max raised one question that came to his mind. "Maybe they only started appearing right now, but were actually hiding all this time?"

"So they were hiding for hundreds of years, doing secret projects like making a skull and bone pyramid, and all of a sudden, decided to invade our planet?" Alphonso raised one of his eyebrows as he replied, and Max clicked his tongue. "You know, when you put it that way, it's going to always sound dumb!"

"The monsters that we fought were animals! Who couldn't even speak! I'm pretty sure they didn't even have thumbs! How the f*ck are they going to make a human skeleton pyramid in the nineteenth century?" Alphonso placed his hands on his hips as he finished speaking, and Max let out a sigh, admitting his defeat. "Alright, alright, I get it. What's the point that you're making, though?"

"Easy. I'm saying that these weren't made by monsters." Alphonso said and he tapped on one of the skulls that were on the pyramid as he completed his words. 

"You think people… human beings, made that.. whatever that is?" Max's eyes widened as he pointed at the pyramid, and Alphonso nodded his head furiously. 

"Who the f*ck would do something so horrifying?" Max asked, and Alphonso shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know? Maybe someone related to Mr. Carrick."

"You think Carrick's involved? The one before the monster?" Max raised his eyebrows. "It is his bathroom, after all. Maybe his parents were in a cult?" 

"Could be. But how is all of this relevant to the situation that we've found ourselves caught up in?" Max didn't know what they could learn from discussing someone who's already 'dead'. 

"Well, aren't we technically a hybrid between monsters and humans?" Alphonso responded with a serious expression. "What if Mr. Carrick is the same?"

"You think that he's still Mr. Carrick?" Max scratched his chin as he asked the question, considering its possibility. 

"Could be, right?" Alphonso shrugged his shoulders. 

GRRRRRAR!

All of a sudden, a loud growl was heard a few meters away from the two boys, causing them to turn alert. The boys looked around as they assumed a combat stance, trying to find out where the voice had come from.

—————

"Why do I feel like we've been walking forever?" Harold said with a long and heavy sigh, and Noah let out a short chuckle. "Don't worry, I'm pretty sure I can see something ahead. It looks like we'll finally get out of this pathway."

"Really?" Harold, who was walking right behind Noah, tilted his head sideways as he asked, trying to catch a glimpse at what Noah was talking about, but he could only see darkness in front of him, which made him disappointed.

"I can't see anything…" He said with another sigh, and Noah pointed ahead once again. "It's just because of the difference in our eyesight enhancement. You'll definitely see it when we get closer."

And sure enough, Harold caught a glimpse of a dimly lit opening right in front of them, and a relieved smile appeared on his face. 

They had reached the vast open area inside the cavern. Both Noah and Harold stared at the enormous cavern with expressions of awe. They weren't expecting such a large space underneath the ground.

"This place is amazing. It's so big!" Harold said with widened eyes, and Noah nodded his head. 

"Wait! I can smell something…" Harold's nose twitched, and Noah squinted his eyes. 

"Woah! This is a weird feeling… I don't know how this works, but I think… I think it's Gerald!" Harold said with a shocked expression on his face as he turned around to look at Noah for a second before walking forward, heading in the direction of the scent trail. 

"Not so fast.." All of a sudden, Noah stomped his foot on the ground, and his body shot forward, appearing right next to Harold's within a split second and grabbing him by his shoulders, stopping him from moving forward. 

"What is it? Is there something wrong?" Harold, who was caught off guard by Noah grabbing him, asked with a curious expression. 

Noah stared forward, his gaze on the path that contained the scent trail. A frown was formed on his face, and he whispered under his breath, "Something's off…"

"But I'm sure that it.. it reminded me of Gerald. Isn't that how this power works?" Harold asked, thinking that he had misjudged what the scent ability actually meant.

"No, no, you didn't do anything wrong. It's just…" Noah shook his head before continuing, "I think it might be a trap!"