Jack pulled out another cut of meat, smaller than his own portion but still substantial and tossed it to S. The contract demon caught it deftly and produced his own small grate from seemingly nowhere, setting it beside Jack's over the fire.

They sat in companionable silence as the meat cooked.

Corvin had woken from his nap and hopped down from his perch to investigate the smell, his black feathers ruffled with interest. Jack tossed him a small piece of raw meat, which the raven caught in his beak and swallowed with evident satisfaction.

When the meat was done, Jack cut into it with one of his claws.

The inside was perfectly cooked, still pink but hot throughout. He took a bite.

The taste was incredible.

Rich, almost overwhelmingly so, with a flavor that was simultaneously familiar and completely alien.

There was a slight spicy undertone, like black pepper mixed with something that made his tongue tingle.

And beneath it all, he could feel the demonic essence flowing into him, not enough to increase his counter but enough to make his body feel energized.

S bit into his own portion and made an appreciative sound. "Excellent quality. Cho must have been quite powerful before you killed him."

"He was," Jack confirmed between bites. "I got lucky."

They ate in silence for a while, the crackling fire and distant forest sounds providing ambient noise.

Jack felt his body responding to the meal, his HP regeneration accelerating slightly, the aches from his fight fading faster than they should have.

When he'd finished eating, Jack sat back and stared at the fire, his mind turning to a task he'd been putting off for too long.

"I need to process the bodies," Jack said, more to himself than anyone else.

S looked up from finishing his meat. "Bodies?"

"Demon corpses in my storage," Jack clarified. "I've been collecting them since I entered the tower. Hundreds of them. They're just taking up space right now, but if I break them down properly..." He trailed off, doing mental calculations.

Demon hearts for power. Horns for crafting materials. Tails, eyes, meat, all of it had value.

He'd been hoarding corpses like a dragon hoarding gold, but he'd never actually processed any of them properly except for the hearts he'd consumed.

"That's going to take time," S observed. "How many are we talking about?"

"Seven hundred," Jack said flatly.

S's eyebrows raised. "Sounds about right."

"Most are from the ambush," Jack explained. He looked at Kyren. "I'm going to need help. This will take weeks to process properly, and I want to do it right."

Kyren turned from his watch position, his hollow eyes focusing on Jack. "Master requires assistance with butchering?"

"Yeah." Jack stood and pulled out one of the demon corpses from his storage.

A terror-class demon that had attacked him weeks ago. The body appeared on the ground near the fire, preserved perfectly by the system's storage.

It was humanoid, roughly seven feet tall, with gray skin and curved horns sprouting from its skull. The wound that had killed it, a spear thrust through the heart, was still visible.

Jack pulled out a knife from his storage. Nothing fancy, just a sturdy blade he'd picked up at some point. "I'm going to break this down. Hearts, horns, tail, eyes, meat, everything useful. Watch what I do, because I'm going to need you processing bodies too if we're going to get through all seven hundred."

Kyren moved closer, standing beside Jack with his characteristic stillness. "This one will observe and learn."

Immediately, he felt his hands become steadier, his understanding of anatomy sharper.

The skill guided his movements as he began working on the corpse.

First, the hearts. Demons had two, positioned slightly differently than human hearts. Jack cut carefully, following the natural lines of muscle and bone until he could extract both organs intact.

They were roughly the size of his fists, dark red and still containing residual demonic essence.

Demon hearts vary in size based upon the size of the demon and the rank.

[Demon Heart acquired]

Next, the horns.

These required more force, cutting through the base where they connected to the skull.

The bone was dense but brittle once you knew where to apply pressure. Both horns came free with satisfying cracks.

[Demon Horn x2 acquired]

The tail was easier, a simple matter of separating it at the base of the spine. It was thick and muscular, nearly four feet long.

[Demon Tail x1 acquired]

The eyes were delicate work. Jack had to cut carefully around the sockets, making sure not to damage the organs themselves.

Demon eyes retained magical properties even after death, making them valuable for enchantments and alchemy.

[Demon Eye x2 acquired]

Finally, the meat. This took the longest, carefully cutting away usable flesh from bone, separating muscle groups, removing organs that weren't useful. The demon was large enough to provide substantial yield.

[Demon Meat x247 lbs acquired]

[Demon Bones acquired]

[Demon Hide acquired]

When Jack finished, roughly three hours had passed. The demon's corpse had been reduced to organized piles of materials, all of which he stored in his system inventory.

Only a small pile of unusable scraps remained, which he tossed into the forest for scavengers.

"That's the process," Jack said, wiping blood from his hands with a cloth. "Hearts, horns, tail, eyes, meat. Sometimes you'll get hide or bones worth keeping. Most demons will yield between one and three hundred pounds of meat depending on their size."

Kyren nodded slowly. "This one understands."

"Good." Jack pulled out another corpse. "Your turn. I'll watch and correct you if needed."

Kyren approached the new body, this one a smaller demon, maybe five feet tall.

He began working.

His movements were precise, mechanical even, lacking the fluid grace Jack's Butcher skill provided but making up for it with unwavering focus.

The reanimated demon worked for exactly three hours, producing the same results Jack had achieved.

Two hearts, two horns, one tail, two eyes, and one hundred eighty-three pounds of meat.

"Well done," Jack said, genuinely impressed. "You're faster than I expected."

"This one does not tire," Kyren stated simply. "This one can continue indefinitely."

Jack did the math in his head. Seven hundred bodies. If he processed five per day at three hours each, that was fifteen hours of work daily. He could manage that. And if Kyren could do eight per day without needing rest...

"Two weeks," Jack calculated aloud. "We can process one hundred eighty-two bodies in two weeks if we work consistently. That'll make a serious dent in the stockpile."

"What will Master do with the materials?" Kyren asked.

Jack considered the question. "The hearts I'll probably consume or sell. The horns, eyes, and tails are crafting materials. I can either use them myself or trade them. The meat..." He paused, thinking about the Cho meat he'd just eaten.

"The meat from stronger demons I'll keep for myself. The rest can be sold or used as provisions."

S had been listening to this entire exchange while lounging against Fluffy. "That's quite the operation you're planning."

"Not like there's someone around here I can pay to do this.," Jack countered.

"Fair point."

Jack pulled out a third corpse. "Let's begin. We've got two weeks of work ahead of us, and I want to establish a good rhythm before we get tired of it."

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