The cold wind whistled through the trees, causing me to shiver at the unexpected drop in temperature. The sound of chirping birds filled the air, their annoying little songs drilling directly into my ears. As I trudged along, I winced as the occasional spike of pain lanced through my body. Practically my whole torso was covered in purplish welts and bruises, each of which seemed to radiate a dull, throbbing sensation every second of the day. My head also hurt pretty badly, and the black eye that currently took residence on my face only further complicated matters.

Yuri was getting more and more intense during our spars. I wasn't complaining, because they were definitely helping me improve. The downside to this, however, is that I usually end up looking like a boxer that just went fifteen rounds.

...Okay, I might be exaggerating just a tad. Still, I felt like shit, but there wasn't anything I could do about that. To be fair, the pain wasn't nearly as bad as other things I'd experienced, so I wasn't, like, completely incapacitated, or anything like that. I was still able to fight. It would be... unpleasant, but doable.

...I'm getting off-topic.

Anyways, I looked pretty bad. Normally, I wouldn't really care about appearances, but I was going into town that day. It wasn't on Yuri's orders, of course. No, the reason I was subjecting myself to such torture was simply because that crazy bitch in the sky had ordered me to meet/befriend Luka. Of course, I didn't want to anger her, so I got right on that, as soon as my morning routine was finished.

Yuri had been thrilled at the thought of me making friends. Of course, I didn't tell her that I was literally being forced by the goddess of light (obviously.). All I said was that I planned to go meet a few people. I wanted to tell her what was going on, but I knew that would be a rather poor idea.

Slowly, I hobbled into town, swearing as a new bout of pain flared up in my legs. Still, I kept on, walking up to the gate. The guard stopped me yet again, but this time he actually looked concerned.

"Woah, are you okay?" He asked, looking me up and down with a worried expression. "You look pretty beat-up."

...Shit. I didn't expect to be asked about that. I mean, I knew I'd get some weird stares, but I didn't think anyone would actually say something. In hindsight, I probably should've planned ahead, but alas.

"Got into a bit of a tussle with a monster." I grunted, rolling with the first thing that came to mind. "I'm fine. She just caught me off-guard, is all."

That wasn't necessarily a lie. My injuries had come from sparring with Yuri, after all.

The man nodded in sympathy, his gaze briefly lingering on my black eye. He eventually looked away, after realizing that I'd caught on to his staring.

"Well, if you say you're fine, then I suppose there isn't an issue. Though, tell me, did she... succeed, in her goal?" He asked, frowning suddenly. "Such a thing would be blasphemy, as you know."

It took me all of three seconds to figure out what he meant, and then another three to bleach the thought of getting fucked by Yuri out of my brain.

Gross. So fucking gross.

I felt a sudden, violent urge to kill the man in front of me. Through an incredible show of self-restraint, I managed to stay calm, giving him a flat stare as I slowly shook my head.

With a sigh, I tried to let the simmering anger die down somewhat. I shouldn't be mad at this guy. He hadn't done anything, for fuck's sake! Still, It was hard to stop being mad at him, even if it was for completely illogical reasons. In the end, I just walked away, entering the village as I had originally planned to. Of course, it was at this moment that I realized something rather important.

I had no idea where Luka's house was. That was... problematic, to say the least. I couldn't really ask people about it, either, mainly because I'd look like a total creep. Legal or not, Luka looked like a child. He was quite literally the living definition of a shota. If some greasy fuck from out of town started asking about the local children, wouldn't you be worried? Yeah, I thought so.

...Anyways, it seemed to me that the only viable solution was to wader aimlessly, walking around until I found my target. Also, I just wanted to... familiarize myself with the village's layout. Yeah, totally. I'm definitely not stalling, and if anyone says otherwise, they're dead wrong.

I got plenty of stares, which, given my sorry state, was to be expected. I ignored it, too busy looking for that familiar head of purple hair. It was the middle of the day, so I assumed Luka would be out and about, doing... something. He didn't seem like the reclusive type.

As I continued my search, I spotted the priest from a few days before. He had his back turned, but I recognized him nonetheless. I cursed, turning down one of the few streets that branched off from the main road. I did not want to deal with that guy right then.

The road was a little muddy, and the houses lining it weren't in the best shape, even compared to the other buildings that were on the main road. It kind of reminded me of the road my grandparents used to live on, before they... well, died.

Old people tended to do that.

...Anyways, the point I'm trying to make here is that the neighborhood didn't look all that great. I'd been in far shadier places though, so it didn't bother me all that much. This quaint little town couldn't hope to compete with the depravity of certain cities back on Earth. Ilias would've never allowed it.

The road branched off again, leading into an empty field. I almost passed it by completely, but something made me stop. I could hear occasional grunts and yelps coming from that general direction. They didn't sound particularly suggestive, but you never knew with this place.

Curious, I turned towards the source of the noise, trying to figure out just what the fuck was going on. As my eyes scanned the clearing, my gaze caught a streak of purple.

"...Fuck." I groaned, slapping a hand to my face. Yep, that was Luka alright. He seemed to be "training" out in the field. I'm using quotation marks to describe this, because he just looked fucking pathetic. Like, he had absolutely no skill. It just hurt to watch.

By the time I realized what I was doing, I was halfway across the field, my eye twitching as I continued to perceive his lack of competence. He didn't see me until I was right next to him, having snatched the wooden training sword out of his hands. He turned to face me, a frown forming on his young-looking face. He began to say something, but I cut him off with a wave of my hand.

"If that's your idea of a combat style, then you need some serious help." I deadpanned. "It's so bad that I feel obligated to do... something."

From what little I saw, his attacks were an affront to fighting. I didn't really want to help him, but after that little display, I just had to. Besides, this counted as interaction, so I'm just doing my job.

I crammed the wooden sword into his hands, nearly knocking him off-balance. He glared at me, but didn't say anything, so I took that as an opportunity to begin.

"Get into a sword stance." I grunted, crossing my arms. He continued to stare at me for a moment, before reluctantly complying, slipping into an atrocious mockery of a combat stance. He was so incredibly unbalanced. It would take barely any effort to knock him over.

Lightly, I poked him in the chest. It was a negligible little tap, but it was still enough to send him toppling over. He tried desperately to stay standing, but his efforts only served to doom him even further. With a loud yelp, he landed on his back, the sword flying out of his hand.

I stood over him for a moment, before bending down to offer a hand up. Gingerly, he took it, allowing me to hoist him to his feet.

"Your stance is shit." I said frankly, causing the boy to wince. "Here, let me show you what to do."

I made him get into a combat stance again. This time however, I refrained from pushing him over (It was very tempting though.). Whenever I saw a mistake, I pointed it out, and made him fix it. After a moment of adjusting, he was in a somewhat serviceable stance.

"Balance is one of the most important things in a fight." I explained. "If you get knocked over, your opponent can take advantage of that."

He looked at me for a moment, a slightly befuddled expression appearing on his face.

"Thanks for the advice, but... who are you?" He asked, a lilt of suspicion in his voice. "I've never seen you in town before."

I froze for a moment, realizing that I hadn't introduced myself yet. I probably came off as a creep, which was problematic, considering that I needed to make friends with this kid. Oh well, the chance of making a good impression were probably shot. Still, why not make the best of it?

I gave him what I hoped was a warm smile, extending my arm for a friendly handshake.

"My name Is Alex Smith. What's yours?"

*LINEBREAK*

Luka wasn't sure what to think about the red-haired man.

Alex was a strange individual, that much was obvious. At first, he'd come off as rather rude, but after a while it became obvious that he really was trying to help. His advice was good, but he just wasn't all that great at communicating what he was trying to say. It seemed as if he wasn't used to talking with people, which was strange to think. Luka couldn't quite imagine a life where he wasn't speaking to other people at least once a week. Some folk were just... different, he supposed.

After introducing himself, Alex had continued to give him some pointers, mostly about proper sword-fighting technique, and whatnot. Luka had asked for a spar, but Alex declined, simply saying that he felt like shit, and didn't really want to do that at the moment. It was a fair excuse, considering the numerous bruises and welts that dotted the man's body. He'd certainly been through the ringer, that was for sure.

Something was off about him though... Luka couldn't quite place it, but Alex definitely wasn't normal. His eyes were sharp and cold, like that of a predator, and his muscles were constantly tensed, as if he was ready to move at the drop of a hat.

It was rather obvious that Alex was no stranger to fighting. That wasn't necessarily suspicious in it of itself, but Luka just couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to it than that. Still, he was genuinely being nice, so he probably wasn't a bad guy. Then again, Luka had never been a great judge of character...

"So, what are you even training for, kid?" He asked suddenly, snapping Luka out of his thoughts. "There's nothing wrong with learning to fight, but everyone's got a reason."

Luka frowned, glancing over at the man. He wasn't sure why, but his attitude felt... fake. It was as if he didn't really want to talk at all, but was being forced to. It was a strange feeling, one that made Luka feel just a bit more wary.

"Well, I plan to become a hero." He answered honestly, watching Alex for any kind of reaction. The man frowned, an expression of disgust briefly washing over his face. It was gone less than a second later, but that didn't stop Luka from noticing it.

A sick feeling wormed its way into Luka's gut. Why would Alex have such a reaction to the mere mention of the word "hero"? Luka was getting more and more suspicious by the second.

"A hero, eh?" Alex asked, his voice taking on a disturbingly neutral tone. "Well, that's... a respectable dream, I suppose."

Luka felt fairly sure that the man didn't really believe what he was saying. That was... odd. Luka had been taught all his life that heroes were the paragons of virtue, blessed by Ilias herself. Of course, he didn't blindly think that every hero was perfect, but most of them were supposed to be good people. To not have that same view was just... alien to him.

He'd either had a particularly bad experience with someone claiming to be a hero, or he was evil. Those were the only two explanations Luka could come up with. It probably wasn't the latter, but he couldn't shake the feeling that Alex was hiding something terrible. There wasn't any concrete reason for him to feel that way, but there was a strange, almost frightening aura that the man seemed to exude. It put Luka on edge, and it grew more and more noticeable as time went on. Something was definitely wrong here.

"Heh, it's been a while since I got to talk to somebody." Alex muttered. "You want me to help you train tomorrow?"

Nope. Nuh-uh. No way in hell. Luka wasn't sure why he was so put off, but he trusted his gut, and his gut told him to get the everliving fuck away from the man.

"Sorry sir, I don't want to be a bother." Luka politely apologized, hoping that Alex would take the hint. "You don't have to worry about that."

Then, as much as it embarrassed him to do so, he turned tail and fled, leaving the confused man alone in the field.

*LINEBREAK*

I watched the kid hurry away, his nervousness obvious to even someone as socially inept as me. A small pit seemed to open in my stomach, filling me with the familiar mix of anxiety and anger. If the little bastard hadn't wanted to talk, he could've just said so. Lousy prick!

"Really fucked that one up." I groaned to myself, wincing at the growing headache in my skull. "Great, now the little ankle-biter is afraid of me. This is just fan-fucking-tastic!"

I shook my head, trying to dispel some of the simmering rage I felt towards the kid. He didn't do anything to me. He just left because he was scared. There was nothing wrong with that, but the fire in my body seemed to disagree. I could feel my hands ball into fists as I resisted the urge to run over to him and tear him apart. Oh, how easy it would be to just tackle him, clamping my jaws down on his neck. He'd struggle for breath as I snapped my head to the side, ripping his throat open. I'd take a deep, long drink of his blood as I scratched at his eyes with my fingers, relishing the panicked gurgles and cou-

I was snapped out of my thoughts by the loud crack of thunder. I looked up at the sky, fully expecting it to start pouring rain. To my shock, it was completely clear outside. Huh, what made that noise then?

...Anyways, what the hell just happened? I'd just been about to rip that poor bastard's face off for no real reason! I'd gone hunting only a few nights ago, so it couldn't have been red withdrawal... I think.

My throat ached as I thought about him. Something about him just made me crave his red. I didn't know how, but It felt as if I could just sense how good it would taste, for lack of a better term. That was... problematic, considering the fact that I needed to make friends with him. It wouldn't do well to kill what was essentially the main character of this world's story. I'd basically doom the entire planet. Not to mention, Ilias would absolutely slaughter me.

Another thing to think about: why did I want his red so much? Like, on some instinctual level, I just knew his was better than anything else. Was it due to his heritage? That might be it, but I have no fuckin' clue. I remember him being really desirable to monsters (which was kind of required when you were the protagonist in a hentai game.), so that might have something to do with it. I had a considerable amount of monster blood flowing through my veins, so maybe that was influencing me?

I dunno. That seemed unlikely, simply because I wanted his red, not his... semen. Then again, monster blood affected dudes in strange ways, so maybe...

I'd have to ask Yuri about that later. She might know... something. Right now though, I needed to get the hell away from this town. I was in a real bad mood, and I didn't want to bite someone's head off because they sent me over the edge. I had to calm down, or else I would explode.

It was around midday, which meant I had plenty of time to hunt... Hmm, yes, that would definitely make me feel better. Just the thought of it seemed to sooth me somewhat.

I left town in a hurry, gathering a couple stares as I sped towards the woods. I didn't care that people were looking at me though. I had something to do, and I'd be damned if anyone got in my way. I was thirsty, for god's sake.

...That sounded better in my head.

*LINEBREAK*

As I hurtled through the air at blistering speed, screaming loudly as I braced for impact, I pondered how in the hell I'd gotten to this point in life. I mean, I'd just been walking through the forest, when all of a sudden, a tentacle wrapped around my foot. I, of course, took the most logical course of action, and stamped down on it. It did not like that, and showed its displeasure by throwing me like I was a mere pebble.

I hit the ground with a meaty thump, rolling along for another fifteen feet or so. I would have gone farther, but I was stopped by a particularly sturdy tree. Small cuts plagued my entire body, and I could reasonably assume that there was probably some internal damage as well. Quickly, I stood up, wincing at the pain that shot through my legs. It wasn't terrible, but that didn't mean it felt good, either.

I hastily unsheathed my short-sword, ready to defend myself against another attack. I scanned the area with my eyes, hoping to catch at least a glimpse of my assailant. I didn't see anything at first, which only heightened my suspicion. A cruel, sadistic laugh echoed throughout the forest, which gave me at least a general idea of where they were.

I watched as a large figure slowly emerged from the foliage, my distaste growing as I caught the sight of long, purple tentacles, and a strange, almost phallic body.

It was a roper, a monster known for their cruelty, and their evil, carnivorous ways. Why was one so close to Ilias village?

"Oh my, you're rather rude." She drawled, her voice taking on a seductive, yet dangerous edge. "I just wanted to get your attention, and you lashed out at me."

I gave her an unimpressed glare, silently sizing her up. She seemed decently powerful, much more than I was used to dealing with. She'd be a pain in the ass to mess with, but I had a feeling that running away would be even more troublesome. Those tentacles weren't just for show, after all.

"Why don't you just come a little closer?" She propositioned, giggling evilly. "Don't you want to feel the pleasure of being dissolved?"

...Ew.

"...Does anyone actually agree to that?" I deadpanned. "I just can't see the appeal."

She shrugged, her tentacles twitching lazily as she did so.

"You'd be surprised." She muttered, a smug grin on her face. "Besides, it's not like I'm giving you a choice."

With that, her tentacles shot forward, intent on catching/diddling me. I rolled to the left, narrowly avoiding the writhing, lewd appendages. Landing on my feet, I dashed forwards, weaving through the trees as I made my way towards her. To my shock, the tentacles turned practically 90 degrees, changing it's momentum on a dime. I was fairly sure that wasn't how physics worked, but I knew better than to question it. This world didn't care much for logic.

As I leapt to the side, once again dodging the mass of tentacles, I realized that this fight felt rather similar to the dark-elf mage incident, much to my dismay. I'd gotten my ass handed to me in that fight, and Yuri wasn't around to save me this time. I was a somewhat better fighter now, but I wasn't sure if a couple weeks of hard training would amount to all that much. I needed to go on the offensive. Hopefully, she couldn't just regrow her tentacles on the spot, because that would make things much, much harder.

"All this fighting is making me rather famished." The roper moaned. "Be a gentleman and feed me your body."

Gross. Honestly, I really wished she would shut the fuck up. I know she was trying to kill me, but talking seductively while in the middle of a fight was weird as all hell. Why couldn't someone just stab me for once? Why did it always end up being a battle to protect my virginity?

I missed fighting heroes. At least they just kept it normal, trying to slash me to bits. Monsters just took fighting and made it feel filthy. The red was always worth it, but for once in my life, I just wanted a monster to try and kill me the normal way.

...What was I doing? Oh, yeah, the fight.

Quickly, I continued running towards her, intent on lopping her head off right then and there. To nobody's surprise, she tried to catch me with her tentacles again. This time however, instead of dodging, I flicked my short-sword out, severing a few of the nasty appendages. The roper shrieked at the unexpected pain, the remains of her tentacles thrashing wildly. One of them caught me in the side, sending me flying away yet again.

I slammed into an inconveniently placed outcropping of rock, crying out as I felt my left arm snap. Thank god I hadn't hit that back-first, because my spine would've been in twain. Still, having your arm get practically shattered was not a pleasant experience, obviously. That was... inconvenient.

Slowly, I staggered to my feet, my eyes watering as I was hit with wave after wave of white-hot pain. I forced down the urge to scream, grabbing my sword with my right hand.

"Normally, I like my men to be feisty, but you're just making me mad." She growled, glaring at me. "Looks like I'll have to punish you~."

I spat at her, showing exactly how I felt about that. She scoffed, but didn't come closer. Her remaining tentacles writhed threateningly, promising doom if I was caught.

I stalked towards her, my eyes firmly locked on her tentacles. I couldn't use one of my arms, but that didn't mean I couldn't dodge. I sidestepped a barrage of limbs, once again swinging at the wriggling mass. This time however, I wisely jumped away after cutting into the horde. It was a good thing that I had the foresight to move, because a tentacle slammed into the ground where I was standing not three seconds prior.

"CHRIST!" I hollered, backpedaling away hurriedly. "Fuck off already!"

She gave me a hateful stare, her scowl making her look much uglier. She was definitely mad, that was for sure. I mean, that was kind of bullshit, because she was the one to start this whole thing.

"I've had enough of this!" She roared, her voice echoing throughout the woods. "I'm going to tear you apart!"

Ah, now that was better. That was the kind of fighting I enjoyed. There was no sexual activity anymore. Just two people trying their hardest to kill each other. As previously mentioned, I wished more fights went that way. Alas, due to the strange, perverted logic of this world, it rarely did. Always with the sex! I tell you, these monsters were entirely too fixated on it. Why couldn't they be into something less lewd, like the red? It would be less embarrassing, at least.

...I'm getting off-topic again. Anyways, Once again, I found myself the target of her tentacles. This time however, instead of grabbing me, they were just trying to whack/spear through me. I could dodge them if I was paying attention, but it made advancing towards her a chore. For every step I took forwards, I had to evade another attack. It was also getting much, much harder as I grew close, because she'd started speeding up once I was within roughly five yards of her. On top of all this however, was the fact that every time I moved, my shattered arm would get jostled around, sending great shocks of agony throughout my body. I wanted so badly to scream, but I knew that even a second of distraction would end in my death. So, I continued on.

After lopping off yet another tentacle that threatened to take my head off, I realized that perhaps this monster wasn't quite as smart as I initially thought. Ropers were known to be cruel and strong, so I assumed she'd be somewhat cunning. However, this seemed less and less plausible as time went on. She barely changed up her attack at all. She'd try to hit me with a tentacle, which I would sever. Then, she would retaliate with another attack, which I would dodge. Then the cycle would continue.

I understood that her body was somewhat limited. She didn't have much in the way of legs, but there was a lot you could do with the assemblage of appendages she had. Maybe she was just so used to preying on hapless travelers that she never thought of that as a possibility? I'll admit, she had hurt me pretty badly, but that honestly just seemed like a fluke. I knew what to look out for now, so unless I stopped paying attention, I'd be fine.

Essentially, her attacks were strong, but predictable. They were fast enough that most people would have trouble avoiding them, though. At the end of the day, she was a relatively strong monster, even if she wasn't all that smart.

The roper was down to about two-and-a-half tentacles when she realized that her "strategy" wasn't working. Before she could come up with anything else, I rushed forwards, closing the distance within seconds. I ducked under a rather desperate blow, and plowed into her, sword-first. The blade skewered completely through her disgusting body, splattering a healthy dose of the red all over my hand. My built-up momentum sent us both careening to the forest floor, with me landing on top, face firmly planted into her breasts. I would've been flustered, had the woman under me not been currently bleeding out. That kind of ruined the mood. At least, that was what I kept telling myself. I had weird fetishes already, okay. I did not need a gore fetish. I had to draw the line somewhere.

She screamed, writhing under me in absolute agony. It was giving me a headache, so I shut her up with by clamping my jaws around her throat, sighing in bliss as the familiar taste of red banished all other sensations. I drank deeply, satisfying the awful ache in my throat. I was so caught up in this process that I didn't notice the involuntary twitching and cracking noises that came from my left arm, nor did I notice the remaining tentacles that were trying in vain to hurt me.

My stomach rumbled with hunger as I continued to enjoy her red, reminding me that I hadn't eaten since that morning. Before I quite realized what I was doing, I pulled a chunk of flesh from her throat, and, well, ate it. By the time my actions had caught up with me, I'd already swallowed it.

...You know what, it didn't actually taste all that bad. I mean, I was already drinking her red anyways, so what was the harm in getting a little extra protein? Besides, I was never one to waste food.

I ripped out another piece with my hand, devouring it like I was the hungriest man alive. The more I ate, the less weird it felt. Also, there wasn't really anyone else around, so that helped me feel at least somewhat at ease.

'...Hmm' I thought. 'Tastes like chicken.'

*LINEBREAK*

Ilias was... unsure of what to think about Alex's newfound dietary habits. One on hand, it was absolutely vile, and disgusted her immensely. On the other hand, she couldn't think of a better punishment for the roper. Killed an eaten by a human... how ironic.

The fight had brutal, but he handled himself remarkably well, even after breaking an arm. He was improving more and more every day, which only further proved that he'd be an excellent traveling companion for Luka. Of course, that was assuming Alex could withhold his more... violent tendencies.

Ilias had not missed how Alex looked at the purple-haired boy during their conversation. He'd been restraining himself, yet it was clear how much he wanted to attack him. That was... unacceptable. He'd seemingly gone into a sort-of trance at one point. She wasn't sure what Alex had been thinking about, but she could sense his bloodlust. She'd snapped him out of it with a clap of thunder, resisting her urge to just smite him then and there.

...Anyways, she'd also noticed how uncomfortable Luka had been around the man. Alex was obviously terrible with people, so it seemed like any further action on his part would only make things worse. It seemed like she'd have to intervene directly...

*LINEBREAK*

After eating my fill of flesh, I gathered a decent amount of it, and stuffed it into a sack for later use. Sure, it was weird, but what was so wrong with eating a corpse? I mean, people ate animals all the time, so how was this any different?

With that thought reassuring me, I began the walk home, whistling a jaunty tune as I held the bloody, dripping sack away from my body. Just looking at it made my mouth water. There was a decent amount of red in those chunks, so they obviously tasted delicious. Still, that was messy, and I didn't want it getting on my clothes. They were already stained, and I didn't want them getting any filthier.

By the time I reached my house, it was nearly nighttime. I'd gotten some function back in my left arm, which was... odd. I had been fairly sure it was completely fucked when I hit that rock, but I guess not. Then again, It had started doing some weird shit after I finished my impromptu meal, so maybe that had something to do with it?

Oh well, that wasn't important right now.

Yuri was leaned against the wall of the house, reading one of her few books. She looked up at me, pausing when her eyes caught sight of the sack I held.

"...What is that?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

...I did not expect her to ask that question. Outwardly, I shrugged, trying to act nonchalant even though I was internally screaming.

"It's just some meat." I grunted. "I had a snack in the woods, and figured I'd save some for later."

Yuri continued to stare, which made me feel just a tad bit nervous.

"What kind of meat is it?" She asked, her eyes hardening somewhat as she sensed the unease I felt. "It's not something gross, is it?"

I chuckled nervously, wincing at her unimpressed stare.

"Oh, you know," I said quickly. "Just standard animal meat. Not sure what it was, but I was hungry. You know how it is."

Yuri crossed her arms, giving me a look that basically said "I know you're lying, so quit it.". When I didn't answer immediately, she took a step forwards, as if to grab the sack from me.

"Alright fine!" I yelled out, opening the sack. "It's... It's just a bit of roper meat."

Yuri froze, not quite sure how to comprehend that bit of information. After a moment, she sighed, slumping somewhat.

"Very funny, Alex." She grumbled in a neutral tone. "Seriously though, what is it?"

I said nothing, coming to the conclusion that anything I added to the conversation would only make things worse.

"Wait... Really?!" Yuri exclaimed, her eyes widening as she realized I was telling the truth. "Alex, what the fuck?!"

That was the loudest I'd heard her get in... a pretty long time, actually. Okay, she clearly was not pleased by my choice of snack. How do I fix this?

"Uhhh," I muttered, grinning sheepishly. "It's a long story."

...Perhaps not the best choice of words, in hindsight.

A/N: So now Alex has graduated from drinking blood to eating corpses! Can this get any weirder? Maybe. I don't necessarily want to make it weirder though, because there are certain corpse-related directions that I definitely do not want to explore in this fic. That way lay madness. Madness, and disease. Also... just ew.

I dunno, I'm kind of iffy on this chapter. I'll go back and edit, of course, but it feels just a tad bit... mediocre to me. Oh well, It's good enough, I suppose. Or at least, it will be when I'm done editing.

So you might be thinking "Wait, can Alex heal himself by eating people?" The answer to that question, dear viewer, is yes.