Late at night.
The crackling of the bonfire, the clinking of bottles, the sound of swallowing, laughter, and the chirping of insects and birds all blended together, painting a picture of the idyllic outdoor camping scene.
Though ostensibly gathered to discuss the witch's abilities, as glass after glass of liquor went down, everyone—including Zoe—shed their 'model student' personas, fully embracing the holiday spirit.
The crate of beer they'd brought was visibly dwindling.
Zoe and Queenie were already looking rather tipsy.
Madison, the main force, remained completely unaffected.
For someone who was no stranger to heavy drinking, this amount of alcohol merely caused her cheeks to flush slightly.
Her gaze fixed on Ruboo with a fiery intensity.
Though he seldom drank, Ruboo remained perfectly sober under his 1.5 physique.
This was just as well.
Madison swept her gaze towards Zoe and Quini, thinking she should urge them on a bit more.
Quinn suddenly rose to his feet: "I'm off to the loo."
With that, she staggered towards the exit.
Ruboo glanced at Queenie, then at Zoe, whose head was already resting on his shoulder. Just as he wondered if tonight might end here, a wonderfully soft sensation pressed against his back. A voice, tinged with alcohol, whispered seductively in his ear:
"Right here would be rather nice."
Bloody hell!
Here too?
No need to guess whose it is, Ruboo sighed.
With both beauties in his arms, he was about to refuse with righteous indignation when his ears suddenly twitched.
The next moment, Ruboo's gaze sharpened as he turned his head towards the darkness beyond the campfire, deep within the dense forest.
"What is it?"
Madison asked, her two little hands, painted with rose-coloured nail polish, already impatiently splitting into two directions to seize the vital points. Ruboo quickly pressed them down.
His expression turned grave. "Hold on. Something feels off about the surroundings!"
His physique, considerably stronger than that of an ordinary person, granted him exceptional hearing.
In that instant, he thought he'd heard the sound of another set of footsteps crunching through dry twigs and leaves, coming from a different direction to where Quini had departed.
At first, Ruboo had assumed it was caused by some small animal passing by.
But upon listening more closely, he realised something was amiss.
It was too quiet.
Earlier, the dense forest had been filled with constant rustling and chirping sounds, bustling with activity.
Yet now, an eerie, unnatural stillness hung in the air.
Animals are highly sensitive creatures.
Such behaviour suggested the arrival of an unwelcome visitor that filled them with dread.
Ruboo gave Madison's palm a firm squeeze.
Madison's gaze snapped back into sharp focus.
Having developed considerable rapport with Ruboo during their previous encounters with malevolent spirits, she casually scanned the surroundings and murmured, "Something amiss?"
Ruboo nodded. "Any way to sober her up?"
Regardless of whether there was genuine danger, Zoe had to remain lucid in this situation.
"Hangover pills—one of Hollywood's essential items," Madison remarked as she picked up the handbag from the floor. She retrieved a tablet from the small medicine box and directly controlled Zoe's mind, forcing her to swallow it.
The effect of the ingested pill was swift.
Zoe rubbed her forehead as she sat up from Ruboo's shoulder, looking somewhat dazed. "What happened to me?"
Ruboo quietly explained the situation.
Zoe's face flashed with alarm, but with her boyfriend nearby—Madison, who showed no sign of panic—she quickly regained her composure.
Ruboo wasted no further time.
He glanced anxiously in the direction where Quini had departed and remained silent.
To avoid any further complications, he suddenly called out loudly:
"Come out. I've spotted you."
Ten seconds... thirty seconds... a minute.
The dark forest, like a gaping maw of the abyss awaiting its prey, remained utterly still.
Ruboo, seemingly performing a solitary farce, did not pause. He added:
"Your footsteps just now gave you away. Come out. My companion and I don't care for such pranks."
"Come have a drink. Two ladies need a gentleman's company, don't they?"
Squelch!
The very second Ruboo finished speaking, unmistakable footsteps rang out clearly beside him.
Whether lured out by Ruboo's bluff or tempted by the final invitation to join the ladies, a dark figure emerged from the dense forest.
"There's been a crocodile prowling these parts at night lately. I'm patrolling this area. Hope I haven't disturbed you lot? Heard there's fine wine and lovely ladies here. Might one of you ladies pour a glass for this dutiful fellow?"
A somewhat familiar voice sounded in Madison's ear.
She looked up to find it was the same man with the horse-like face who had tried to chat her up earlier that day.
Now clad in jungle-ready stab-proof gear and carrying a hunting rifle, he did indeed resemble a genuine patrolman.
If one ignored the greedy eyes that kept scanning Madison, and the delighted glance he cast at the fresh, innocent-looking Zoe.
'The quality of this offering is splendid. After all, the great deity requires nothing more than breeding vessels. Once they've fulfilled their duty, I'll claim my due...'
The man with the horse-like face was inwardly delighted, lost in his thoughts, when Ruboo suddenly asked:
"Are you alone?"
"Of course not..."
The man with the horse-like face snapped to attention and clamped his mouth shut.
He gripped his shotgun tightly, instinctively turning to look at Ruboo.
Bang!
A shot rang out.
Not from the shotgun in his hands, but from the Glock in Ruboo's grasp.
Thud!
The sound of a body hitting the ground.
Even as the man with the horse face closed his eyes, he couldn't fathom why Ruboo had suddenly fired at him.
How could he? How dare he?
Ruboo certainly dares.
He's not one of those well-meaning youngsters from horror films.
Who on earth is patrolling the dense forest at this hour?
He'd be the first to doubt that the American people possess such a sense of duty.
Besides, as if he didn't know the basic fact that crocodiles hunt primarily by daylight, not at night.
Late at night, lurking nearby, armed, lustful, lying—all these factors combined gave Ruboo ample justification to fire.
Scenarios where someone hesitates to finish off their prey despite having a gun, only to be killed by the villain themselves, would never play out in his story.
As for the possibility of mistakenly killing someone?
Well, if he made a mistake, he made a mistake.
Consider it a small contribution to alleviating Earth's population pressure.
With not a shred of remorse or regret in his heart, Ruboo dispatched the man with the horse-like face.
Without a moment's pause, he waved his hand, extinguishing the campfire. The encampment plunged instantly into pitch darkness.
The next second.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A cacophony of gunfire erupted, wood chips flying from the former site of the bonfire.
"Bloody hell! We're exposed!"
"That bloody fool Vincent couldn't even buy us a moment's delay. Utterly useless!"
"Quick, chase them! They're getting away!"
"Don't shoot! Take the woman alive!"
"Chase! Chase! Chase!"
"..."
In an instant, the once-silent forest erupted into a frenzy.
By the light of torches, faces of men, women, and children emerged from the darkness, all chanting their slogan with frenzied fervour:
"Blood is blood!"
"Blood is blood!!"
"Blood is blood!!!"