The Black Goat Head kept laughing. It was no longer a human laugh, but a broken, hoarse shriek, the sound of pure madness scraping against the damp walls of the slaughterhouse.
The laugh echoed, rebounding off the hanging meat, as if his madness itself had become a living entity in the room. He had truly slipped from the edge, on the verge of losing the fragile remnants of his sanity. The deafening laughter finally stopped, cut short by a harsh, dry, and painful cough, as if he were trying to expel poison from his lungs.
However, the Horse Head's gaze from behind her rigid mask wasn't focused on the goat's wild eyes. Her eyes were fixed on something else, something she had just noticed in the flickering lantern light. On the Black Goat Head's neck, amidst the stains of blood and sweat, a deep black mark—like a network of decaying blood vessels—was faintly visible, creeping beneath his skin. The sign of madness beginning to take hold.
Horse Head: "..."
Her silence was heavy, filled only by the goat's ragged, gasping breaths.
Black Goat Head: "This is madness… UTTER MADNESS!~" he screamed, spittle dribbling from behind his blood-streaked mask. "I did everything! I slit the throat of anyone you pointed to, just as I was told! I filled those damn pails with that disgusting, sticky, stinking blood! And… and even after I… I cut my own brother's throat…"
His voice broke on that last word, his eyes flashing wildly behind the mask.
Black Goat Head: "FOR. MY. LIFE. For the promise of that damn protection! And now, after all that, you just casually say… the Dome is going to break?!"
The Horse Head clenched her fists tightly, her wet leather gloves creaking. Her breathing sounded a little heavy behind her mask. That mad laughter, and the raw truth he'd spoken, had struck a nerve.
Horse Head: "Enough of your nonsense!" she snapped, her voice muffled but filled with a cold threat. "The Dome will never be destroyed. My Father will never be destroyed. No one will die… for those who obey and follow."
It was no longer a conviction; it was a dogma, spoken to mask the fear.
Black Goat Head: "But that is the reality, you fool! The Dome is cracking! We're all going to die under your blind leadership!" That insane laugh exploded again, louder and more desperate than before. "Haha… GIHAHAHA!! How does it feel, huh?! How does it feel to lick your rotting Father's feet for all these years? Bathing him in sacrificial blood and feeding him raw meat like a loyal guard dog… only to watch those damn Lunarians burn him to ash right in front of your eyes?! Before they hang you on a spear from behind—"
THUD!
The Stag Head lifted his massive war hammer and slammed it onto the floor between them. The thick wooden handle created an instant wall just as the Black Goat Head tried to lunge forward, his chest nearly hitting the solid barrier.
The Black Goat Head hissed, his voice thick with spittle and hatred.
Black Goat Head: "Tsk. You're just a blind dog. Keep following your master's path. It's a path that will lead you straight to the gallows."
He then backed away slowly, his insane gaze still locked on the Horse Head, as if trying to burn her alive with his hatred. He turned, staggered out of the slaughterhouse, and returned to his adjacent house. The door was shut with a violent slam.
SLAM!!
The sound echoed into the already chaotic night, leaving behind a heavy silence, the stench of blood, and a terrible truth.