Chapter 456: Dinner Invitation

Nathan had provided him with the metals he needed, allowing Ethan to strip them down with his Aspect of Charge; repurposing them into wiring, plating, connectors, and most of the other components required for the station.

He worked on it during his free time after training, and within a few days, he had finished the compact device.

Now, everyone was gathered in the large common room when Ethan finally decided to put it to the test.

He walked over to the station and pressed the switch, putting the machine on.

A series of small indicators flickered across its surface as the equipment powered up. The antennas mounted above it extended, and Ethan watched the station establish its connection.

"All right," he said, turning toward everyone. "Go ahead. Give it a try."

Everyone immediately reached for their Arcphones and a few seconds later, the absence of a signal disappeared.

Bars appeared on their screens, then different notifications started coming in.

Missed calls.

Missed messages.

Old notifications from various online platforms.

Messages that had been waiting for days suddenly poured into their phones, each device coming alive almost simultaneously.

"Holy shit!" Percival practically shouted.

He immediately began tapping through his notifications, his excitement growing with every passing second.

"You’re the best, Man!"

He hurried toward another corner of the room, already trying to place a call to Aliyah.

The others were just as occupied, their attention quickly drawn to their Arcphones as they caught up on everything they had missed during their time on the Demon Continent.

Ethan stood back and watched them with a smile.

After days of struggling with the continent’s lack of connectivity, seeing everyone immediately return to their phones was strangely satisfying.

The principle behind the device itself was fairly straightforward.

The station created a localized cellular network around their quarters, allowing their Arcphones to connect to it just as they normally would to a cell tower.

Ethan had then used his control over electromagnetic phenomena to establish a long-range connection between the station and the communications network on the Western Continent.

The station handled everything from their end.

Their Arcphones connected to it locally, while the station carried their calls and messages through the long-distance electromagnetic link to the existing network beyond the Demon Continent.

As long as the station remained powered and its connection held, they could communicate with people thousands of kilometers away just as they had back home.

Right then, a few system notifications appeared before Ethan’s eyes.

[Self-imposed objective completed: Build a Cellular Base Station.]

[Reward: — 35,000 XP.]

[Experience Points Balance: 475,650]

Ethan glanced at the notification for a moment before dismissing it.

——

Much later that night, the team received an invitation to the palace.

It had come directly from one of Lord Krygon’s five wives, making this only the second time they had been brought into the palace since arriving on the Demon Continent.

The first time was on the day they arrived.

This second time was with the exception of Pan, who chose to remain in seclusion within the quarters.

The team entered the room to see the members of the Krygon family already gathered.

A very long, low table stretched across the center of the room, with everyone seated on small cushions placed directly on the wooden floor around it.

Plates and bowls filled nearly every available space, carrying an assortment of dishes that looked distinctly unfamiliar to the foreigners.

Lord Krygon’s twelve children were all present—seven sons and five daughters.

Kimora’s skin tone was one of the exceptions among them in terms of appearance, her skin was lighter than most of her siblings.

The others displayed a wide range of demonic features and skin tones. Some had gray skin, others red or pale complexions, while a few looked downright grotesque by human standards.

All of them wore large traditional robes and sat quietly on their cushions, watching the expatriates as they entered.

Kimora looked delighted to see them again.

The five wives of Lord Krygon were seated among the children. Most wore neutral expressions, showing little reaction to the arrival of their guests.

The woman who had sent the invitation was different. Lady Lilinlea had gray skin, a pair of red horns and a distinctly welcoming smile.

"Welcome," she said warmly.

Ethan and the others bowed politely in response.

She then gestured toward the empty spaces around the table, indicating where they should sit. The group followed her instructions and took their respective places.

It was only after sitting down that they got a proper look at the food.

And several of them found it so disturbing.

The dishes were cooked, certainly, but much of what sat before them looked nothing like the food they were accustomed to eating.

Some of the meat was difficult to identify, while other dishes contained parts of creatures that could only be encountered in the Breach Zones.

Percival’s eyes landed on one particular dish; A cooked monster’s head.

He recognized the face immediately, and his stomach lurched.

For a brief moment, he looked as though he might actually throw up. But Wilson subtly drove an elbow into Percival’s side, an gesture asking to Behave.

Percival swallowed and straightened himself, quickly forcing his expression back into composure, hoping nobody had noticed.

The practice of eating monsters was not unusual on the Demon Continent.

The creatures that emerged from the breach served a very different purpose here than they did on the Western Continent. After their cores and other valuable components were removed, much of the remaining creature was treated as food.

Only a small number of monsters had parts valuable enough to be preserved for weapons or other purposes.

The rest went into the kitchen.

Lilinlea who had invited them seemed to notice the uncertain expressions around the table.

"I hope this isn’t too different from what people from the West are accustomed to," she said.

Ethan turned toward her with a polite smile. "No, this is quite fine."

He delivered the answer with such convincing composure that, for a moment, it almost sounded sincere.

Hayley, seated directly opposite him, lowered her head and covered her mouth, struggling to suppress a laugh.

One of Lord Krygon’s sons seated by her side, a male demon named Tonsua, stared her at briefly.

His appearance was particularly grotesque and monstrous.

Hayley noticed and pressed her lips together, and cleared her throat, trying desperately to keep herself composed.

Once everyone seemed to have settled into their places, Lilinlea smiled and said, "We’ll wait for our husband to return before we begin dinner."

So they waited.

For the next five or ten minutes, the table remained quiet and awkward at the same time.

Most of Lord Krygon’s children seemed unable to keep their eyes off the visitors.

A white-haired male demon with dark horns, in particular, kept stealing glances toward Isabella.

A few others seemed more interested in Hayley, while another pair occasionally looked in Miss Bernadette’s direction.

The girls were no different.

One particular gray-skinned demoness with red horns had made her interest in Ethan especially obvious. Her red eyes seemed almost fixed on him as she watched him from across the table.

This was Jaenera, Lilinlea’s daughter.

Ethan could feel it; every so often, the sensation of being watched became strong enough that he turned toward her, only to find her still staring.

He would quickly look away again, growing increasingly uncomfortable as the strange atmosphere continued around the table.

For the most part, it was the five wives and Ethan’s group who managed to maintain their composure.

Then, thankfully, the entrance doors opened for Nathan and Jillia who walked into the room.

He took only a few steps before noticing the scene before him.

His family was gathered around the long table, and his guests were sitting among them.

A flicker of surprise crossed his face, quickly followed by irritation.

"What is this?"