Giganterra (G/T)

Chapter 61: The Deepest Layer of Hell

As Chester leaned over to test the king's dish, he smelled Ronny. He didn't know why, or how, since Ronny wasn't present in the dining room. He sniffed closer and perceived that the prince's scent was coming from the plate of pasta. He located the source and stabbed into one of the rigatoni noodles with curiosity.

"No!" Eren gasped from below, almost inaudibly. Chester made eye contact with her and noticed her frantically shaking her head, silently pleading with him. He looked back into the noodle with renewed interest as he lifted it up.

There he was: Ronny, smaller than an ant. He was barely a dot, like a flake of pepper, indiscernible if not for Chester's superior olfactory capabilities. Chester barely managed to hide his surprise. Why was Ronny in the king's dinner, miniaturized into nothing? He glanced over at King Richard. The brute was drooling over the tiny lady in his food, as expected, but appeared to be completely oblivious to the presence of his son. Chester had seen him eat enough people to know that he enjoyed terrorizing his prey before chowing down: He'd be tormenting Ronny if he intended to devour him.

So why was Ronny here? If, by some odd twist, he'd been accidentally shrunk, he could cry out for help or run away. If he didn't wish to be eaten, he could make himself known. That didn't appear to be the case, and Eren's reaction was not lost on Chester either. They were up to no good. He was certain of it.

"Chester? Is there a problem?" King Richard questioned with impatience. Chester's heart jumped into his throat. He had only a millisecond to make a snap decision.

"No, sire," Chester responded. He allowed the noodle with Ronny inside to slide off his fork back to the plate. "Oops."

"Then hurry up already," the king growled. "I'm starving." Chester picked out a different noodle and tasted it.

"All clear," he confirmed, and backed off, his heart hammering. He could scarcely believe what he'd just done, but the more he contemplated his decision, the more he knew it was the right one. If the prince was taking decisive action against his father, Chester wasn't going to stop him, for he harbored no fondness for the ruthless king that ordered him to be flogged for his failures. A spark of hope ignited in his soul. If Ronny assassinated his father, and Chester won favor for allying himself with the successor in a critical moment, he had a chance to save Jackie. Chester excused himself from the dining room as soon as he was able, not wishing to be implicated in any plot in case the prince failed.

Ronny panted from the stress, collecting himself after being dropped in a squishy mess. He slowly became aware that Chester had retreated without exposing him. However, he had little respite, burdened with the horrifying knowledge that he was about to be eaten alive. The giant began to dine on his dinner, impaling his massive fork into the pasta around Eren. He used more force than necessary, with the sole intention of frightening her. He poked her with the prongs, causing her to yelp, before scooping her up. Ronny peeked out and watched with horror as the giant's mouth opened wide and engulfed her. He slurped her off the fork, savoring her rich flavor as he rolled her around in his mouth.

Ronny clasped his own neck with discomfort as he watched the king swallow. The giant hummed with satisfaction, a thrumming roar, as his Adam's apple bounced in a decisive stroke. Ronny had witnessed the king eat countless humans, and had indeed swallowed multitudes himself, yet the sight of a woman who was as big as a giantess to him being gulped down an even more massive throat produced within him a visceral reaction. He would sprint like a rabbit, if he wasn't pinned down in his hiding spot with paralyzing fear.

His insides lurched as the colossal fork collided against the bottom of the plate with an earsplitting screech. Metal scraped on porcelain and the eating utensil raised with a mountain of pasta noodles. The whole pile was ingested with startling speed, with minimal chewing as the goliath jaws flexed a few times in mastication before the food was sent down.