Evening light had dimmed as darkness spread throughout Haibam.
The air held a thick scent of blood, mingling with the aroma of various spices.
The humidity made the copper scent cling to the back of her throat.
A chaotic thud of cleavers hit the wooden blocks, and the sizzling of fat over open flames gave the area a wild kind of charm that could only be found in ancient dramas Severine had seen.
But she had no mood to experience this raw beauty.
If not for the mask on her face, she might have already guessed from the cloying scent.
Nonetheless, unlike her, the crowd roaming through the night market didn't have such worries.
They were long since used to the smell of raw meat being butchered, and the crimson blood flowing into the buckets like water.
Most of the stalls were selling fresh meat. To keep it that way, they would kill the demanded animal on the spot whenever someone placed an order.
