The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
chapter-316

Chapter 316: Surplus Humans (3)

[Underground 3rd floor ‘Familiar Ground (2)’]

The 68 survivors gathered here could finally fully grasp their situation.

“Damn it. We need to worry about food, water and survival tomorrow.”

“Did everyone see the video earlier? It’s impossible to fight back from the start.”

“So, should we start by choosing who will be the food for tomorrow…?”

“Who should we sacrifice?”

Finding a way to quench the hunger of the flesh-eating flowers tomorrow was more urgent than finding food and insulation right now.

Bloodsoaked Jade Flower

The fairy said that the dangerous carnivorous plants will remain quiet if it can only eat one person a day.

If there’s too much movement in catching prey, it’ll require even more prey to satisfy its hunger. We had to ensure that the creature could feed with the least movement possible.

“So, that means… one of us has to be sacrificed.”

“Damn it. Our unity, everything, will be shattered.”

“This is the demon’s scheme to divide us!”

“So what? What are we supposed to do if it’s a scheme? Are we not going to follow it?”

“…Who said that? I was just saying that…”

No one objected to the idea of sacrificing one person from the group.

So now the question is who will be the sacrifice, how many, and how to decide.

“We probably don’t have any volunteers to be the sacrifice, right?”

“How are we going to select the sacrifice in the first place? Nomination? Voting? Or considering conditions that would benefit the community?”

“Shouldn’t we first decide how many we’re going to pick?”

Food and water here are limited. And most of it is either rotten or contaminated.

Perhaps, if we endure, we might survive for about two weeks.

To shorten 68 days to about 14 days, we need at least 50 people.

“Damn it! 50 out of 68? That’s almost all of us!”

“That’s the minimum. We might have to offer more sacrifices. I can’t endure hunger for more than 3 days.”

“You crazy bastard, what do you suggest then? Should we throw everyone except you to that damn flower!?”

“Who said that!? People have different tolerance periods for hunger!”

“This chubby kid, seriously! He’s been whining about his hunger since school!”

Arguments escalated everywhere. And among them, one person shouted out of frustration.

“I’ll just eat you fatso!”

Instantly, the atmosphere in the room turned cold.

The student who spoke seemed flustered and stumbled over his words, glancing around.

“Uh? Uh, what’s with this atmosphere? It was just a joke, guys… Of course, not serious. Just… just…”

But everyone sensed it. What they needed to do to survive here for two months.

Deciding the ‘prey’ to give to Bloodsoaked Jade Flower was not the end.

They also needed to decide on what to ‘eat’.

Cannibalism. A long-standing taboo of humanity. But once a familiar survival method.

The message from the demon was simple.

‘Eat each other!’

Turning into mere prey in front of a flower monster wasn’t truly hitting rock bottom. What lay beneath that was the basement, a grim chamber where brutal cannibalism would take place.

The students were gradually realizing the demon’s intentions. No one spoke, but the growing heaviness and grimness of the silence spoke volumes.

After a prolonged silence, one person stepped forward. It was Arthur Gordon Phim, the leader of the noble faction, a third-year student.

Arthur opened his mouth with a grave tone. “Guys, we have to make some tough decisions.”

At his words, everyone looked up. Arthur continued. “There will be more harsh decisions ahead… But, for now, let’s focus only on the problem at hand.”

All students nodded in agreement.

Let’s put aside terrifying thoughts like food, water, prey, sacrifices, cannibalism, and tribal disputes for now. What mattered urgently was deciding the ‘prey’ to appease Bloodsoaked Jade Flower tomorrow.

Swallowing dry saliva, Arthur spoke again. “We need to decide who to offer as a sacrifice to the flesh-eating flower tomorrow. Does everyone agree?”

Everyone nodded. Arthur continued, “Does anyone have ideas on how to select the sacrifice?”

“…How about a vote?” someone raised their hand and suggested.

Voting. Yes, it’s a good method. Students have often made decisions using this method at school.

But voting is essentially a process of producing ‘yes’ or ‘no’ results when there’s a specific issue at hand.

“To vote, we need someone or conditions to be proposed as the sacrifice. Then we can vote on whether to follow that,” Arthur explained.

They could vote to decide whether to nominate a specific person as a sacrifice. But that was too direct and aggressive for ordinary minds.

Students chose a method that minimized guilt as much as possible, that is, a method where the ‘target’ was ‘turned’ and then nominated.

“Hey… what about this?” A muscular figure, arms folded, spoke up.

“In nature, weak individuals perish, and only the strong survive. So… the sacrifice should be the weakest among us. Even if a fight breaks out, the weak are likely to become the sacrifice anyway. So…”

“Nonsense!” An immediate rebuttal came from beside him.

A female student with a neat hairstyle and glasses chimed in with a clattering voice.

“We’re human beings! Civilized and intelligent! That’s not right! What does strength have to do with it? We’re not wild animals!”

“So, what criteria do you want to use to choose tomorrow’s sacrifice?”

“Well… as I said earlier. We’re civilized and intelligent, right? So maybe we should choose based on who’s not smart. How about using school grades as a criterion?”

An opinion emerged to sacrifice the weakest or those who are not good at studying.

The big, burly male student who had shouted earlier, still with his arms folded, shouted again.

“It’s right to sacrifice the weaklings first! Like that nerd over there!”

He glared at a small, timid-looking male student who was crouching nearby.

However, the timid student, who might have cowered at the shouts of the big male student during their school days, no longer cowered.

“Me, weak? Well, I think I’m taller than you now.”

“What, what did you say?”

The big male student momentarily flinched.

The timid-looking male student slowly stood up.

Then, with determined eyes, he stared at the big male student.

“Show me your wrists.”

“…”

At his words, the big male student could only sweat profusely and say nothing.

…Thwack!

In an instant, the timid-looking male student swiftly lunged forward.

The big male student, startled, released his crossed arms and took a defensive stance.

As the arms were released, it revealed that one of the big male student’s wrists was severed and wrapped in dirty cloth.

It was the student who had been bitten by the mimic that had come out of the random box given by the fairy earlier.

The timid-looking male student grabbed the wrist of the big male student and shook it, grinding it.

“How’s that? Maybe I was weaker than you when we were in school, but now I feel like I’m stronger than you here. Still want to go by strength?”

“Arrrggh! You, you won’t get away with this! You crazy!? Don’t you know I’m a high-ranking member of the noble faction!? If I say one word to my father, he can shut down whatever your parents do for a living!”

“Shut it down? Where would you have to go to do that? Outside this darn tower? Where? Huh?”

Seemingly filled with anger, the two male students began to exchange blows and fight.

Actually, it wasn’t much of a fight; it was more like the student with the severed wrist was being beaten unilaterally.

Perhaps it was from eating a few red candies? The timid-looking male student’s punches were surprisingly powerful.

At that moment, Gordon intervened between the two.

.

“All right, that’s enough. Now is not the time for us to fight among ourselves. Things could spiral out of control.”

When Gordon, the leader of the noble faction, spoke so firmly, even the timid-looking male student backed away with determination.

The big, burly student with the severed wrist also hurriedly crawled back on all fours.

His groin was already soaked in yellow.

Afterward, numerous proposals came up.

“As expected, it’s best to choose based on who’s weakest.”

“Let’s kick out those who can’t study! It’s a waste of brains, isn’t it?”

“Why should lower grade students even argue with higher grades! Sacrifice the first and second-year students first!”

“Grades shouldn’t be the basis! I’m old because I’ve repeated a year! It should be based on age! Shouldn’t we prioritize the elders?”

“Ridiculous! Age is something you just get for free, what do you expect to get out of that treatment? Let’s go by year level!”

“How about money! Shouldn’t we do it based on who doesn’t have money!? It’s simple!”

“How about based on the number of friends? Let’s sacrifice those without friends first! Friendship vote! Friendship vote!”

“Hey, you all know our family is the best if we go outside, right? The world runs on connections~ Let’s think about it when we go outside~ I’ll really remember the ones who’ll sacrifice for me, and I’ll make sure to take care of them later…”

As the atmosphere heated up, guilt evaporated faster and faster.

Students who had initially looked around timidly because of guilt were now spitting and bargaining like merchants in a bazaar, with bloodshot eyes.

“Let’s do it democratically with a vote! Through voting!”

“Okay! Let’s decide democratically!”

“Majority rules!”

“Yeah! Keep going until we have a unanimous decision!”

Like students of the prestigious Colosseo Academy would, intellectually, democratically, through debate.

And the result? It was decided that one student would become the prey for the bloodsoaked jade flower tomorrow.

A first-year student whose face and name weren’t easily remembered.

He couldn’t study, couldn’t exercise, didn’t have outstanding looks, and didn’t even have a friend to protest on his behalf.

He cried out in a plea that sounded more like sobbing or wailing, “It’s unfair that I’ve been chosen!”

“Shut up! It was a majority vote! You were chosen unanimously!”

“You guys colluded with your friends! I’m a loner, so I don’t have anyone to favor me!”

As the student chosen as the prey desperately shouted, the faces of the other students hardened.

“Hey, is being friendless something to brag about?”

“Connections are also a skill, you know?”

“What’s the point of useless people like you being alive? What benefit can you provide to the community?”

“…Seriously. If we beat you up here and make you look like an idiot, and then throw you to that flower tomorrow, what are you going to do?”

“Just quietly go since you’re chosen. Later, when we go outside the tower, We’ll compensate your family. I’ll tell them you were a hero. Okay?”

Threats and persuasions were thrown around everywhere.

Those who weren’t chosen desperately reinforced their walls to secure their safety.

“N-no… I have parents at home… and siblings…”

The male student chosen as the prey started to stutter and sob.

And at that moment, everyone who saw his tears averted their gaze, albeit momentarily.

It was something they didn’t want to admit. That the male student, reduced to mere prey, was someone’s precious child and sibling.

But what could they do? If someone else doesn’t die, I die. This place is like that.

…No, isn’t the world outside the tower the same?

Almost simultaneously, everyone felt nauseated.

Amidst the immense contradiction and chaos, the atmosphere was becoming increasingly distorted.

And then.

“Enough.”

The tightly swollen madness subsided in an instant.

There was a hand that captured the attention of all students.

“…I’ll be the prey.”

Steps resolutely walking forward, pushing through the hesitant ones.

Black hair, crimson eyes, an expression impossible to read, indicating unknown thoughts.

It was Vikir.