Chef in the Apocalypse

Everything happened so quickly. Agni watched on as Shadow was easily swept up by the handsome man and dumped at Jayce’s feet, not even being able to struggle. The atmosphere remained tense as the other large man and a woman dressed in a tight green robe disappeared into the forest, returning soon after with some unconscious bodies.

The fairy-like woman laid her hand above an unconscious man’s chest, sending out a warm light which fully enveloped him, before moving onto the next person. Agni’s green eyes widened as the man sat up, holding his head groggily.

’Healer...’ He exclaimed inwardly. He had never seen nor heard a whisper of the existence of healers, even in an area so densely populated as Delhi. A hint of greed crept into his heart before it was instantly extinguished, remembering how easily Jayce had dealt with Shadow and his faction.

The scariest thing was that he had only seen the large man Colin make a move throughout the whole ordeal. The handsome man named Zane was the one who silently dispatched the assassins that were hiding in the forest without alerting even Shadow himself.

What kind of ability must he have to be able to sneak up on a group of highly versatile assassins without alerting any of them. Not only that, he had used non-lethal force, which meant that he had to be much stronger than them in order to succeed.

He also did not know what other kinds of monstrous abilities the remaining 6 party members of the number 1 supporter had, yet he did not really wish to find out either. Despite Jayce saying that he valued human lives, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t kill them if he felt his party was in danger.

Jayce seemed unaware of the deep fear he had sowed into the people around him, his attention focused on dishing up some more servings of the delicious stew he had created.

Seeing his men waking up one by one, Shadow let out a sigh of relief, his hand moving away from the dagger at his side. They had currently lost nothing apart from some useless pride, which meant that there was no reason for him to go all out and risk his or anyone’s lives.

Shadow was actually a pragmatic person, able to go with the flow. He wouldn’t hold onto some useless pride if doing so would result in his gruesome death. His number one priority was survival, for himself and those in his faction.

He sat in place, merely observing the man he had tried to assassinate earlier, now rid of any thoughts of struggling further. As he observed, he noticed that there was something calming in the way that the man held himself, his movements seemed full of passion and a quiet confidence despite merely serving food into bowls.

As Jayce scraped the last bit of stew into the final bowl, he finally let go of his ladle, raising his head and moving his gaze to everyone in the surroundings. With a click of his fingers, the dark flames of hellfire which had been ominously flickering in the vicinity suddenly receded, returning to him swiftly.

With the removal of the dangerous flames, the oppressive atmosphere finally rescinded. Everyone let out a breath of relief as they felt their lost strength returning to their bodies.

"Come. Let’s all enjoy a meal together." Jayce finally said, gesturing for everyone to come closer.

No one spoke up in defiance, moving without question towards the man who clearly held all of the power. Agni’s faction, who had been mere bystanders throughout the whole ordeal, felt intimidated, not even looking to their leader for confirmation before assenting to the request.

Agni could not blame them, rather he would have been annoyed if they had not listened right away. He also did as he was told, his bowl still rather full of the delicious stew. He dared not take another bite until directed to do so, so as not to seem rude. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

While he was an ambitious and sly individual, he had already admitted defeat after seeing how swiftly and effortlessly Shadow had been captured. Choosing to not comply with the man in front of him was not an option, if he still desired to live that is.

Once everyone had moved closer, Jayce directed Colin to hand out the remaining bowls to those who did not have one. Soon enough there were only sounds of slurping and chewing as everyone dug into their meals.

They were so caught up in their meals that they seemed to completely forget the fact that the people in front of them were capable of taking them all out with little to no effort. Exclamations rang out as the flavors began to sing on their tongues, bringing them a sense of euphoria with every bite.

Jayce’s party were the only ones who seemed used to this kind of food, merely eating as if they were having a usual meal. This was also the case for the man himself, as he cleaned up his bowl and sat back with a satisfied expression on his face.

Shadow’s eyes were as wide as saucers, staring at the empty bowl in front of him with a mixture of emotions; surprise, regret and even guilt. He felt like he finished the bowl too fast and was unable to fully appreciate all of the complex and delicious flavors he had experienced earlier.

He raised his head slowly, gazing directly at Agni with shock written in his face. Being a top notch assassin, he was thoroughly attuned to his body, knowing every limit so he could utilize the perfect amount of strength for every action. Which was why he could instantly tell that his body had increased in strength, even before the notification popped up in front of him.

[You have consumed Delicious Stew - Vitality +10 for 4 hours]

Agni returned his gaze, mirroring the shock and awe that was in Shadow’s face. His mind racing.