Chapter 177: A New Discovery
After moving forward for some distance, they made a new discovery.
From one of the Mountain Men, Gideon learned that an abandoned altar lay somewhere nearby.
He immediately ordered everyone to rest in place.
Places like this were often tied to higher-tier evil forces—ordinary people would be useless there and might even become tools for the malign presence instead. After repeated warnings, Gideon departed alone, taking with him the Mountain Man whose hand was covered in pus-filled boils.
Fortunately, the altar lay along the path they had already traveled.
No further obstruction appeared.
About ten minutes later, Gideon came to a halt as the Mountain Man pointed toward the forest ahead.
He raised his binoculars and observed the area for a moment, then sent the creature forward alone to scout.
Once he confirmed there was nothing amiss, Gideon set up a Demon-Binding Array around the perimeter.
The altar sat in a forest clearing, its gray-black stone slabs standing out sharply from the surrounding greenery.
Cross in hand, Gideon approached cautiously.
He found no traces of active power on the altar, and the Demon-Binding Array detected no evil presence either.
After splashing a bottle of holy water over the stone surface, the liquid slowly spread across the slab, revealing engraved carvings beneath.
"…This is—"
Gideon raised an eyebrow.
The stone was etched with strange, misshapen symbols. Most of them had been damaged beyond recognition, which explained why the altar no longer functioned.
The Mountain Man claimed that the altar had existed since before its birth, and that it had never known what the carvings meant.
Still, Gideon made a significant discovery.
At the edge of the altar, three numbers were carved distinctly:
666.
The mark of Satan.
Gideon had encountered this faction before—during the exhibition hall incident.
"Sacrifice…"
He rubbed his chin.
"That certainly fits their style."
A spark of realization flashed through his eyes.
At the exhibition, those cultists had used human flesh and blood to summon dark forces. Church records likewise mentioned that Satanic worshippers often engaged in mass ritual suicides.
Gideon turned his gaze toward the Mountain Man beside him.
If these deformed creatures truly served Satan, then perhaps their blood could still trigger a response from the altar.
Without hesitation, he ordered the Mountain Man to step into the center of the altar and cut open its own wrist.
Gideon felt no pity.
Throughout the Wrong Turn series, the Mountain Men committed atrocities without count—
including carving flesh from living victims and cooking it while they screamed.
If it obeyed now, it was only due to the influence of Psychological Counseling.
Drip… drip…
Thick, murky blood fell onto the stone.
The Mountain Man bared its teeth at the wound, seemingly trying to stem the bleeding. Gideon, of course, denied it the chance.
The runes soaked in blood, the crimson staining them with an eerie, unnatural sheen.
Gideon narrowed his eyes, watching the surroundings carefully.
Soon enough, the altar responded.
Wisps of pale blue energy seeped out from beneath the stone and began swirling above the altar.
Then—
Splurt.
Multiple wounds suddenly tore open across the Mountain Man's body, blood erupting violently.
A shallow pool formed on the ground as the pale blue energy thickened and multiplied.
At last, the creature collapsed in the blood, utterly lifeless.
Gideon took several steps back, his gaze locked onto the strange energy.
The Demon-Binding Array still detected no evil presence, so he held his position.
A few seconds later, the energy began to coalesce—
forming several humanoid silhouettes that appeared to be communicating atop the altar.
Upon closer inspection, Gideon realized these were not living beings, but recorded fragments of the past.
Among the blue phantoms were Mountain Men, while those kneeling and begging for mercy were likely their captives.
The Mountain Men slit their victims' throats and wrists, allowing the altar to drink in their blood.
And after the victims died, their souls were imprisoned here as well.
The altar seemed capable of altering those spirits.
What began as gentle, peaceful souls gradually twisted into violent, vengeful wraiths.
At the end of the vision, a pitch-black vortex opened at the heart of the altar, dragging all the tortured souls deep underground.
"…A soul sacrifice," Gideon murmured softly.
Gideon pondered in silence.
There were two primary ways demons acquired souls.
The first was through demonic contracts, like those he had encountered before.
The second was via ritual sacrifice using magic arrays.
However, in most cases, demonic followers willingly offered up their souls.
The array before him was far more vicious.
It forcibly corrupted human souls, stripping them of purity and turning them into slaves of Hell.
According to Church records, souls that had been sacrificed in this manner were utterly severed from the cycle of reincarnation.
In other words, those spirits were doomed to remain trapped in Hell forever.
As if its stored energy had finally been exhausted, the glow lingering over the altar gradually faded.
Gideon splashed another bottle of holy water over it, thoroughly purifying the lingering power.
Only then did he step onto the altar and smash open the center slab.
A hidden compartment lay beneath it.
Inside rested a stone idol shaped like a goat.
When Gideon prodded it lightly with a tree branch, the statue crumbled instantly into fine powder.
"So this was the power source sustaining the altar," he thought.
There were likely many more such altars deeper within the forest.
But now, Gideon had learned how to destroy them.
"This trip wasn't wasted."
Just as he finished packing up his tools, gunfire echoed through the forest.
"They're with the production crew," Gideon narrowed his eyes and hurried back.
---
Earlier.
After Gideon left, the film crew immediately went into hiding.
Following instructions, Dale set up perimeter warning devices.
The remaining teams carried out their assigned tasks.
Michael drifted between groups, filming behind-the-scenes footage.
This time, Jones and Elena had successfully captured several Mountain Men.
Just as they expected to become the stars of the show, they realized Michael was repeatedly turning his camera toward Dale instead.
The reason was simple.
As a former soldier, Dale possessed exceptional experience in wilderness combat.
As such, Gideon had entrusted him with part of the upcoming operational plan.
Hidden among the tall grass, Dale confidently demonstrated his skills in front of the camera.
Not far behind him, Jones and Elena crouched beneath a tree, jealousy burning in their eyes.
"The ones getting famous should be us," Jones muttered.
"These people are just riding on our work."
"I agree," Elena said softly.
"I thought you were a loser before—your performance in the promo footage was awful."
She licked her lips, her gaze fixed on Jones.
"But now, it looks like you're no worse than any of them."
Jones turned to her. "You really think so?"
The atmosphere between them grew thick and charged.
Soon, they were locked in each other's arms.
Three minutes later—
"We need to find the cabin first," Elena said as she fastened her buttons, hooking her arm around Jones's.
"That way, we'll steal all the attention."
She leaned in close.
"I think you're the only one who can pull this off."
Feeling the warmth against his side and her breath near his ear, Jones felt as though he had ascended straight to heaven.
"You're right!"
Seizing the moment while no one was paying attention, the two of them quietly slipped away into the forest.