Chapter 424. Memories

Chapter 424. Memories

As Tobba continued his feast without restraints, Anna's elegant brows slightly arched. Reflecting on the last soul she devoured, her sharp instincts were telling her that something was amiss. It didn't seem like Tobba was mindlessly devouring these souls just for their memories.

Anna looked down to examine her body; there didn't seem to be any obvious changes. She steeled her resolve to carry out an experiment, her victim being a beautiful girl this time round. She curled the girl in and swallowed her.

A rush of ecstasy overwhelmed her as a hint of exhilaration crossed her visage. Her experiment revealed the true nature and purpose of Tobba's actions.

"Charles, these aren't merely memories. Tobba is right. These are really good stuff," Anna remarked before she swallowed an elderly woman whole. Despite the pained agony on her face, Anna refused to stop and targeted a middle-aged woman next. Updated from novelb(i)n.c(o)m

"Don't eat just any random individual. Focus on those from the Foundation; only they hold the clues we need," Charles reminded Anna.

However, Anna ignored his words and devoured her fifth victim. Her pace of consumption gradually increased until she reached the same state as Tobba, where their expressions cycled through pain and euphoria.

"Stop eating!" Charles shot out his chains and restrained Anna. Her erratic behavior had sounded the warning bells in his mind, and he was starting to doubt his own plan. Could consuming these souls be addictive?

Anna easily twisted herself out of Charles' restraints and cupped his face in both hands. Her excitement was palpable as she proclaimed, "Consuming them would strengthen the soul and make your soul more powerful! Tobba is right! These are really good stuff!"

"Strengthen the soul?" Charles asked as he glanced downward at his newly restored body.

"Yes, you can't perceive it, but as a Dioite, souls are our food, and I can clearly feel my soul strengthening with each one I consume. I have never felt that gaining power could be so easy," Anna remarked and dived back into her frenetic feast. Despite the discomfort of each person she devoured, she continued to stuff the bodies into her mouth relentlessly.

Charles couldn't care less about amplifying his soul's strength. His priority was to gain information from the Foundation personnel among the lifeless bodies. He wasn't sure of his crew's predicament outside of this perspective, but he had to gather as much intelligence as possible and made his exit soon.

His eyes zoomed in on an individual donned in a black uniform from the throng. Charles clearly recognized that attire to be the same one that the Meeh'eks had worn. This man was of the Foundation's Special Task Force.

Charles pulled the man out of the crowd and bit down on him. The man's form swiftly dissolved into a misty orb and slid down Charles' throat.

In a mere second, Charles felt as though he had lived through twenty years, only to die in a small-scale battle after being betrayed by his comrades.

Despite the diversity in departments and roles, the ultimate authority within the Foundation rested with the GK Council.

K9, the individual known to have acquired Divine Blood and brought about the annihilation of the Foundation, was a member of the GK Council.

The GK Council oversaw all actions of the Foundation and guided its long-term strategic planning. All council members possessed the highest level of clearance within the Foundation, allowing them unrestricted access to all strategic and sensitive information.

Charles unearthed no significant insights about the Council from the people he had consumed, but he wasn't entirely surprised about the situation.

As core members of the Foundation, their identities would be veiled in utmost secrecy; even their exact numbers would be confidential, too.

Based on the information he had gathered so far, Charles speculated the existence of at least five members on the GK Council, identified by their code names: E5, A2, K9, O5, and D4.

"Huff...Huff..." Charles panted heavily with his hands and knees on the ground supporting his weight. His consciousness was overwhelmed by the influx of alien memories that varied in name, gender and age.

At times, he nearly lost grasp of his own identity as Charles, and every so often, he would mistakenly identify himself as one of the memories he had absorbed.

"Anna!" Charles called out as he pressed his right hand against his throbbing forehead, the veins visibly pulsing. "Have you discovered anything?"

"No findings~!!" Anna's voice echoed from a distance. Opening his eyes, Charles turned in the direction of her voice.

However, he didn't catch a glimpse of Anna's human form. Instead, in the cluster of seaweed a few hundred meters away, he saw several dozens of tentacles curling around the lifeless humans and bringing them in.

Charles let out a sigh of resignation. He stumbled toward another figure, this time, a middle-aged man with a beer belly and features that mirrored his own Asian heritage.

Enduring the pounding pain in his head, Charles closed his eyes and muttered to himself, "The last one. If there are still no clues from this one, I'll just give up and get out of here."

He bent down and bit down on the man's neck. The next moment, he was thrown once again into the vivid memories of another human's life.