Another 5 minutes passed after Theasi’s destruction. With this time, the group made their way to the food supply nearby.

They found themselves outside of a large fortress-like city that even surpassed Theasi in size. It was quite ironic to see a food supply that looked grander than the base it supplied food to.

‘It’s finally time for that, huh.’ Damien thought as he looked at the three.

They were huddled up together, going over a plan to take down the food supply.

Because it wasn’t an actual base, the number of Nox present within wasn’t too high. Because the duties at the food supply were much more hands-on, every Nox within was an intelligent Higher Nox as well.

Damien and Zara stood to the side and watched how the three decided to proceed. The only help they provided was in reconnaissance.

Zara gave the group a general overview of the fortress’ structure as well as an accurate view of the strength of each Higher Nox within.

There were only 20, and every single one was still in the early stages of 4th class, but that didn’t mean the group could let their guard down.

“We’ll go with the same strategies as usual. Are you both ready?” Tyler asked with a solemn face.

“Mm.”

“Let’s get it over with already!”

He received two vastly different responses with the same intent. After giving Damien a nod of confirmation, he moved towards the fortress with one woman on either side of him.

“Was it okay to not tell them?” Zara asked as she watched them leave.

“Mm, I don’t know. I felt like it’d be more impactful if they saw it for themselves.” Damien replied with a shrug.

Zara looked at him for a second and sighed.

During the time she’d spent under Tang Lingzi, she learned a little about what humans were supposed to be like.

Damien was definitely not like them at all. If anything, he was more bestial than even she was.

But that wasn’t her place to judge.

As long as he remained the same Damien she knew, she didn’t care in the slightest.

Putting away her stray thoughts, Zara refocused her attention on the trio who’d just arrived at the fortress gates.

Tyler silently gave the signal, and on his command…

BOOOM!

The fortress wall collapsed. A 10-foot-tall mech suit encapsulated Synth’s body at an unknown time, and a single blast from its cannons was enough to take down the wall.

With utmost confidence in their abilities, the group charged forward…

…only to stop the next instant.

“This is…the food supply…?” Tyler spoke shakily. He was barely able to formulate his words.

“Ah…!” Ash muttered a sound of astonishment, unable to speak at all.

And as they reacted…

“What is this bull**?!” Synth’s roar resounded through the surroundings.

In front of them wasn’t anything like a food supply at all.

It was a city filled with livestock.

Sentient livestock.

Lining the streets were hundreds and thousands of beings from all races. Humans, angels, elves, and even plant species sat withered in long lines aside the road.

Their bodies were frail, their skin without blood or life.

They were dead.

Within the various buildings of the fortress that was better termed an enclosure, even more life signatures could be felt.

Clearly, food supply meant something completely different when considering the Nox.

‘Concentration camps.’

Damien knew it from the beginning. The fact that the Nox were keeping the universe’s lifeforms in concentration camps and torturing them before devouring them as food, it was included in the Director’s information.

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‘They’ve been trained for combat, but they haven’t been trained for the brutality of war. I guess part of the reason they have practical training like this is so they can experience it first-hand.’

It was a cruel method. Those who couldn’t adapt would die in battle, while those who could would return victorious as changed men and women.

Was it to temper them? Or was it to dull their emotions and control them?

Damien didn’t know the academy’s intent, but what he could see was that Tyler, Ash, and Synth…

“Attack. Leave none alive.”

…were part of the latter category.

They moved without hesitation.

Synth flew into the air, using her mech suit to target the environment itself and destroy the fortress.

Tyler’s form changed into a mix between a panther and a human, speeding across the ground as he pulled the living victims away from their enclosures into the center of the city.

Their main goal was to save people.

By the time the Nox present reacted, Ash’s trembling form was already in front of them.

“You…you…how could you…?” She muttered as she faced them.

“Human?”

“Hahaha! A human has come!”

“Capture her! Capture her!”

The Nox didn’t respond to her question. Their thick bloodlust permeated the air as they moved to slay her.

Ash’s entire aura changed in that moment.

“HOW COULD YOU?!”

Her eyes blazed red with fury. Her small body emitted a series of cracking and popping sounds as she suddenly enlarged in size.

Bulging muscles populated her form, veins so thick they could be mistaken as snakes writhed across her skin.

“ALL OF YOU…SHOULD DIE!”

The female gorilla known as Ash charged without mercy. Her fists were covered in a thick red killing energy and her body seemed impervious to pain.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

With every punch, a shockwave rang out. Loud bangs accompanied her fists as the air collapsed from the pressure of her movements.

The Nox began to splatter across the ground as ink.

“Kill!”

“Threat! Threat!”

The Nox screeched miserably, mobilizing their mana and turning their appendages into various weapons as they charged at the berserker.

But before they could reach her…

VOOOOM!

A laser-like beam of energy descended from the heavens. Synth stood in the air with her mech suit primed, aiming at any Nox who blocked Ash’s path.

The slaughter continued just like that. Ash acted from the front, Tyler joined the two and supported Ash from the middle, and anything the two couldn’t handle was covered by Synth who watched from the air.

Their teamwork was impeccable. Within just 5 minutes, the 20 Higher Nox within the camp were killed.

What followed was a tsunami of hellfire. Tyler’s form changed into a draconian. When he opened his mouth, furious flames encompassed the entire battlefield and consumed the inky ground.

‘Thorough. They weren’t trained in the Hell Hole for nothing.’ Damien thought with a smile as he watched them.

They first cleared a proper amount of space for them to battle freely by destroying the buildings and moving the victims of the camp while Ash distracted the enemy with her insane defense and power. Once this step was done, the other two joined and used their synchronicity to absolutely decimate the Higher Nox.

They even remembered to eliminate the inky residue so the Nox couldn’t be reborn from the ashes.

It was a flawless victory.

But one that took a heavy toll on their minds.

Their rage and the proceeding battle allowed them to face it without much thought, however, it was over now. Reality was shoved in their faces.

There were tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of these food supplies all around Calypto. There was an uncountable number if they looked at the entirety of Eden.

And each and every one of these food supplies was another concentration camp filled with denizens of the universe.

Denizens who suffered every single day without any hope of salvation.