By the time I left the village, the sun had started to set. One of the guards had tried to stop me from leaving, declaring that it was dangerous at nighttime. I brushed him aside, and continued on my way. He probably meant well, but that didn't make it any less annoying.
A cool breeze whistled through the trees, sending shivers down my spine. It wasn't freezing, but that didn't make it any less uncomfortable. Still, It was better than the blistering heat that showed up near the end of spring. Being hot and sweaty felt way worse than being cold and shivering. That's just common knowledge.
...Anyways, on this particular night, I was on a hunt. I'd spent a good chunk of the day with Luka, and that made me... rather thirsty (Not in a pervy way, you weirdos.). I wasn't sure why, but being near that kid just made my cravings so much worse. It was rather unfortunate, considering the fact that I'd have to travel for him for at least a year or so. I could feel the urge to kill him practically writhe just beneath my skin, and it got worse the more time I spent around him. After a while, the only thing keeping me from dismembering him was the fear of Ilias striking me down.
As per usual, I kept slightly off the path, silently stalking through the foliage. I was getting really good at being stealthy. When Yuri had first tried to teach me, I was just fucking awful at it. I'd constantly stumble and fuck up. Though, for some reason, one day it just kind of... clicked. After that, moving quietly felt much easier. Yuri had been concerned about if for some reason. I think she mentioned something about my monster blood, but I hadn't really paid attention at the time.
For a while, I didn't see anything. That was normal, but still annoying. Animals were all around, but tended to stay off the roads. I'd have to go further into the woods to find a deer, or something like that. Finding a monster mid-rape was also kind of tricky. People didn't really travel at night, so it was unlikely to find someone who'd been caught by a monster. In such a situation, I'd usually end up using myself as bait.
Yuri had warned me that there would be consequences for hurting innocent people, so I made sure not to kill anybody unless they attacked me, or someone else. There were quite a few monsters in the woods that weren't hostile, so I'd had plenty of nonviolent encounters. It was disappointing, but what can you do? I wouldn't stoop so low as to attack everyone I saw. That would get me put down almost immediately.
I kept creeping around for a while, hoping I'd get lucky and stumble onto the scene of some horrible act of debauchery. That didn't happen, so I went with plan b: act like a hapless traveler until something attacked me. It was a bit more risky, but it usually worked. A lot of monsters were too damn cocky for their own good. They'd usually underestimate me, because I was a human. Unfortunately for them, they never lived to regret that mistake.
I slowly emerged from the bushes, stepping onto the main road. From there, I began walking, acting as if I was lost and scared. Every so often, I'd turn and walk in the other direction, as if I was confused. This strategy was usually pretty effective, but it came with a few drawbacks. For one, I had to actually look like a lost traveler, or my quarry would get suspicious. Also, since I was literally out in the open, I didn't have the element of surprise. I could be easily ambushed if I didn't stay alert. Thankfully, most monsters liked to talk a little before they attacked. I wasn't sure why they did that, but I didn't complain, because it gave me an opportunity to strike.
For about an hour, I meandered on the road, waiting for someone to attack me. As per usual, my patience was rewarded when somebody stepped out of the foliage. It was an elf, which was just a little strange. They usually didn't wander this far from Enrika. Maybe she was hunting for food? They usually sent out people to get some meat, so it wasn't impossible.
She had an expression on her face that seemed to be a mix of disgust and anger, as if she was staring at some vile piece of garbage that had landed on her shoe. Personally, that really, really pissed me off. Still, I remained motionless. She hadn't done anything yet, so I'd wait until she did.
"I thought I saw you creeping around here." She growled, giving me a fierce glare. "You've got a lot of shit to answer for. I don't know why that bitch Micaela didn't put you on trial, but I can't stand the thought of you going free."
I raised an eyebrow, and crossed my arms. Was she really trying to do this? I could easily kill her, and she was fuckin' dumb if she didn't realize that. I mean, I killed quite a few elves during the tentacle elf incident, so I was pretty confident of my chances.
"Really?" I asked, feeling just a tad bit smug. "You're going to attack me? That's a bad idea, and we both know it, pal. Unless you've got an army hidden somewhere, you're gonna lose pretty quickly."
She gave me a wicked, slightly sadistic smirk. I wasn't really sure where all this confidence was coming from. She was either delusional, or arrogant. I honestly couldn't tell which.
I chuckled when a second elf came into view, scowling at me like I was some kind of pest.
"Wow, you have a friend." I commented, my tone becoming just somewhat haughty. "You do realize that this changes nothing, right?"
I felt a weight begin to appear in my stomach when three more jumped from the trees. Okay, so there were a bit more than I thought, but that wasn't so bad. I could deal with them still.
When more than five emerged from the woods, I knew I might've been in trouble. Surely, there weren't any more, were there? I scanned the surrounding forest with my eyes, horror rising in my chest as I caught sight of more than ten elves waiting in the bushes.
"...Shit." I cursed, slowly backing away. "Can't we talk about this like rational adults? I'm sure this is all just one big misunderstanding..."
She took a step forward, which signaled for all the other elves to get into position. I began to sweat nervously as I felt more than fifteen pairs of eyes glare at me with a menacing mix of anger and lust.
Ew.
"You know," I tried. "Micaela will be quite upset with you all if you do this. Besides, that whole incident was ruled as self-defense anyways. By attacking me, you're just committing assault."
The leader laughed darkly, taking another step forwards as she eyed me with disdain.
"She won't find out." The elf drawled. "By the time we're done with you, you'll just be a dried-up husk."
...Okay, diplomacy wasn't working. I could try to fight, but I had a feeling that I'd get overwhelmed in a flash. So, I did the only thing I could do. I turned on my heel, and began to sprint like my life depended on it (which, it did.).
With a roar, the mob charged forwards, leaving their hiding spots and attacking with reckless abandon. They were all focused on me, pursing relentlessly as I hoofed it to the house. Yuri would know what to do. I was sure of it. I mean, she'd handled worse odds before, so this should be fine.
The elves weren't gaining on me, but I wasn't losing them either. One wrong move, and I'd be in the mob's grasp. That would be a horrible and embarrassing ending, let me tell you. I'd rather get stabbed, honestly. At least then my death would be somewhat respectable. They were monsters though, and they'd do what they damn well pleased.
I tried to confuse them by veering off the path, but they just kept on following. I dodged and weaved through dozens of trees, hoping that some of them would get tripped up. However, elves are masters of the forest, so that didn't happen. In fact, they actually started to speed up a little. With a curse, I turned back onto the road, willing myself to go faster. My legs burned from exertion, sending sparks of pain up into the rest of my body. Still, I kept going, not daring to look back at my pursuers.
Suddenly, I felt a violent, stabbing sensation in my back. The feeling of pain lasted for only a few seconds, before being replaced with something much stranger. From the initial point, a pleasant tingling began to radiate throughout my entire torso. The breeze suddenly felt much more intense, giving me goosebumps as it flowed past my skin. My breath grew a bit more labored as my face seemed to rapidly heat up, being clearly affected from whatever just hit me. The most noticeable symptom however, was the sudden stiffening of a very specific body part.
It was about this point that I realized I'd been hit by some kind of aphrodisiac. That was... inconvenient. Quickly, I reached back to grab at whatever hit me, growing vaguely confused when I felt a long wooden rod. Pulling it out was... painful, but that pain was quickly consumed by that strange feeling. Bringing it in front of me, I was more than a little displeased to find that it was a fucking arrow. Those bastards shot me! I mean, I would've been way more okay with that if it hadn't had aphrodisiac poison on it. Don't get me wrong, I'd still be pissed, just less so.
Thankfully, it hadn't really gone all that deep. By the looks of the arrow's tip, it wasn't designed to. It was a rather dull thing, which meant it was likely made only to break the skin. Perfect for poisoning.
I mean, it made running a little bit harder, but I figured I could still get away. However, now I had to be wary of more arrows. I started to zig-zag a little bit, making it harder for them to hit me. I probably looked stupid, but that was just about the furthest thing from my mind at that point. I just kept on running, because there wasn't much else I could do.
I could hear the elves shouting at me. It was mostly insults, but there was also a disturbing amount of... lewd things. It really just made me angry. I mean, for fuck's sake, just kill me! Don't do any weird shit. Make my death a normal one, okay.
After what felt like hours of running, I could finally see the house coming into view. My legs felt like lead weights, but I kept going. If I stopped, I would die. It was that simple.
Once I reached the door, I practically ripped it open, darting into the house. With a loud *CRACK*, I slammed the door shut, locking it as fast as I could.
Yuri looked up from her book, her expression neutral. Still, I could see that she was tense. I mean, she'd have to be deaf to miss what had been happening outside. Her sword was propped up beside her, within easy reach. With a sigh, she laid her book down on the ground, and grabbed her weapon.
"Yuri, I really need some help right about now." I grunted, wincing as I heard the angry shouts of the elves outside. "There's at least fifteen of them, and I can't take them on alone."
She silently walked closer to the door, scowling at the sound of the elves' taunts.
"Are you okay?" She asked, glaring at the door.
I shrugged, turning to show her the small wound in my back.
"They shot me with an arrow, but it didn't go all that deep." I stated. "Unfortunately, it was tipped with some kind of aphrodisiac, which makes things just a bit more... difficult."
She gave me a weird look, but didn't say anything. Maybe the topic made her uncomfortable? It was possible, but I'd never seen Yuri get all that flustered about such topics. Then again, our conversations never usually strayed into that territory, so I wouldn't really know.
"Get out here, coward!" A voice shouted suddenly, startling me out of my thoughts. "Come out and fight!"
Yuri sighed, before taking her sword and stabbing through the door. Judging by the loud, obnoxious scream, she'd hit someone. When she withdrew her blade, it was soaked in red. I felt my cheeks heat up just by looking at it. Fuck, I needed some of that right then. The tingly sensation in my body seemed to get washed away by the red's sheer magnificence. As soon as that coppery smell hit my nose, I was ready to fight.
"Take that as a warning." Yuri said loudly, her voice becoming cold as ice. "I will give the rest of you one chance to leave here alive. If you continue this pointless assault, I will kill you myself."
There was silence for a moment (other than that bitch who was still screaming, of course.), the elves seemingly too shocked to reply. Unfortunately, the mob was only as smart as its dumbest member.
"Get out here, Yuri!" One of them shouted. "We'll kill you and the animal you call your son!"
That, as you might guess, was the wrong thing to say. Hell, the only right thing to say would've been "Sorry, we'll just leave now.". Though, that would never happen. They always wanted to fight, no matter what. Nobody ever retreated anymore, it seemed. They just had too much pride. Well, I wasn't complaining. It was just more red for me.
With a snarl, Yuri threw the door open, and darted into the crowd. With a flick of her weapon, she decapitated the first elf she saw, spraying red all over the other fools in the mob. One of them stepped forwards with a sword, only to die pitifully as Yuri whipped around and brought her sword into the woman's side, swinging with such force that she completely bisected her.
I felt... really jealous after watching that little display. I wanted to fight as well, so I charged in, sword at the ready. One of the elves noticed my approach, and made to call out to the others. Before she could get a word in, I rammed my sword into her chest, feeling shivers go up my spine as my weapon tore through her body, splashing me with the red. I kicked her to the ground, relishing the noise of my sword rubbing against her insides as I ripped it out. It was a unique sound, and I wasn't quite sure how to describe it.
A few more elves noticed their comrade's distress, and broke away from the group to attack me. I dashed forwards, thrusting my sword at the closest one. She blocked it with hers, but was unprepared for the kick which I launched into her knee. She collapsed with the audible *SNAP* of bone, crying out as she hit the ground. With a flash of steel, I slit her throat as she writhed in the dirt, turning her yells of pain into choked gurgles.
The other two attacked as a team, both charging in side-by-side. I wasn't sure if they intended to catch me or cut me down, but I wasn't gonna let them do either of those things. With a grunt, I picked up their dead comrade, and threw the corpse at them with all the force I could muster. Since they were so close together, it hit them both, knocking them over. While they were on the ground, I disposed of them with a few quick swipes of my weapon.
I didn't see any more elves, which confused me at first. I mean, there had been quite a few chasing me, certainly more than the number I just killed. Quickly, I glanced back at Yuri, wondering how she was faring. Judging by the pile of bodies surrounding her, she'd done pretty well, as always. That's where most of the mob went, it seemed.
Upon seeing that Yuri and I were alone, I picked up one of the corpses, and began to drink the red. All of my aches and pains ceased to matter in the tide of euphoria that washed me away. I let out a groan of satisfaction as I tasted the sweet, coppery fluid that resided within all living things.
Monster blood was always the best. I wasn't sure why, really. I mean, all red tasted the same, but there was something just infinitely more satisfying about it when it came from a monster. It was strange, but I wasn't complaining.
After practically draining one corpse dry, I moved onto the other, taking a moment to fill my flask, before continuing on my little feast. I wanted so badly to eat them as well, but I knew Yuri was watching me, so I refrained. It was difficult, but I managed.
By the time I reached the third corpse, I began to feel a little bloated. Ah, whatever. I could handle a little stomachache without much issue. I wasn't sure when I'd get a chance to drink like this again, so I gorged myself just a tad bit.
Once I was done with the third, I let out a hearty belch, and tossed the corpse away. That was enough for right then. If I drank anymore, I would've ruptured something.
"Alex, help me clean this up." She said suddenly. "This might be a bit much for one person."
Indeed, it was. It would take a little while to haul all these corpses away, and it was already getting kind of late. We'd have to hurry if we wanted to get any sleep. So, without a word, I got to it, eying Yuri as she did the same.
*LINEBREAK*
Yuri wasn't quite sure what she had just witnessed. Well, that isn't entirely accurate to say. She was, in fact, quite sure that she'd just seen the small wound in Alex's back knit itself closed. Of course, she was watching through a hole in his shirt, so it made things a little difficult to see, but there was still no denying what happened.
She had honestly hoped that tonight would be normal. She just wanted to read her book until Alex returned, and then fall asleep once he was safely in his room. Of course, that didn't end up happening.
It was nearly midnight when Alex had burst through the door, panting heavily. His eyes were unfocused, and there was a slight tinge of pink to his cheeks. The way he moved seemed a little awkward, as if he was struggling to keep his balance.
She could hear the loud shouting of elves outside, which made her feel a little bit angry. Just what had happened here?
Alex quickly explained that he needed help, claiming that there were "at least fifteen" elves. She'd have to ask him about what happened after this was all said and done. That large a group was unusual. Occasionally, Elves from Enrika would go out to hunt for food, but they almost never went out in a group larger than six. After that point, moving quietly was much more difficult.
He also mentioned getting hit by some kind of aphrodisiac arrow, which nearly tripped her up. She'd never used one of those herself, but she knew that they were powerful enough to stop a grown man dead in his tracks. Alex had been hit by one? And still got away?
Maybe his monster blood made him resistant to poisons? It was the only real explanation she could come up with. He wasn't immune, as she could see that he was rather... uncomfortable.
She needed to get him some baggier pants. He was pitching a rather obvious tent, and those elves would surely pick up on that. Of course, Alex wouldn't give them the opportunity to take advantage of that, but it was still a problem nonetheless.
After dispatching of the first few, Yuri watched as Alex charged into the crowd, sword at the ready. That was fine, she supposed. If he wanted to take part in the fight, there was no reason to stop him. She'd trained him for this kind of thing, after all. If he couldn't handle a few elves, then she really needed to beat some more training into him.
The battle was swift, and brutal, as always. As she ruthlessly slashed through her many opponents, Yuri began to feel a sick sense of satisfaction. It had been at least a few years since she got to cut loose like this. While she didn't go absolutely insane, she did allow a small grin to slip onto her face. Really, was there such a problem if she enjoyed herself a little bit? These people had attacked her son, so they deserved death in Yuri's eyes.
She didn't prolong the fight, as that would be rather stupid. Still, she did try her best to cut her opponents into multiple pieces. It was just more fun that way.
Once she'd dealt with the last of them, she took a moment to calm down, dispelling her bloodlust at least somewhat. She glanced over to Alex, unsurprised to see him draining a few corpses dry. It was gross, but necessary, she supposed.
That was when she'd noticed his wound close itself. She couldn't get her mind off of it, even as they carried the bodies away. It was just such a strange sight, and it brought up more than a few questions. What had caused it? Had it happened before? Was it related to his monster blood? She'd ask Micaela, but that ship had sailed. Yuri didn't want to go anywhere near that town after all the bullshit they'd put her and Alex through.
After hauling the last of the bodies into a rather well-hidden spot, she made to walk back to the house, before being stopped by Alex. Her eyebrow raised when she saw his rather nervous expression. Still, she remained quiet, waiting for him to speak.
"H-Hey Yuri." He stuttered, grinning sheepishly. "I know you said that I couldn't eat anymore corpses... but can I just have one bite?"
Yuri let out a sigh, unsurprised at her son's request. Really, where had this sudden hunger for flesh even come from? One day he'd just walked up, munching on the remains of a roper. It was disgusting! If anyone other than her saw it, he'd be branded a lunatic!
Though, to be fair, if she didn't let him, then he'd probably just eat something else behind her back. She knew he'd been lying through his teeth when he promised not to, and it wasn't like she could really stop him (Well, she could, but that would require doing a lot of things that she didn't really want to do.). Besides, the bodies were hidden, so there was almost no chance of someone finding him while he ate.
And now that she thought about it, they were probably just going to get eaten by the local wildlife. Was it really so wrong if he had a few bites?
The answer was yes, obviously. Though, he already drank blood, and that was probably just as terrible in the eyes of most people. Really, she was mostly worried about him getting caught, and that wasn't really an issue in this particular situation.
"...Fine." She gritted out, feeling a sudden urge to slap herself in the face. "But only this once!"
His eyes lit up like little stars, which made Yuri feel just a tad bit sick. He looked like a kid in a candy store, and that only made the whole situation even more disgusting. Yuri looked away as he practically dove into the pile of corpses, ripping at them with his hands. Once the sound of tearing flesh and crunching bone reached her ears, she felt herself nearly throw up. She'd seen (and done) some absolutely horrific things in her life, but for some reason, this was the most horrifying.
"Alex, I think I'll go ahead and walk back to the house." She called out to him. "Wash up when you're done with that, okay."
Alex poked his head up from his impromptu meal, burping a little as he did so. His face was practically slathered in viscera, and there were chunks of meat stuck between his horrifyingly sharp teeth.
"Alright then." He said, nodding at her. "I'll be down in a little bit."
Then, he went right back to eating, seemingly unaware of how loud the act was. Tearing a body apart was hard work, and effectively impossible to do silently (especially when you were only using your hands.).
Quickly, she walked back to the house, trying her best not to hurl until she was out of sight. Once she was far enough away, she bent over, and promptly threw up, spewing her half-digested lunch all over the ground.
That... had been awful to witness. Still, she wasn't sure why she felt so unsettled. Back when she was younger, Yuri had done some nasty shit to people, usually not even bothering to wait until they died! So why was the sight of someone eating a corpse just so fucking terrible?
Maybe it was because the bodies where of the same species as her? That would make sense, except for the fact that she'd never felt bad about butchering her own kind before.
After calming down for a moment, she shook her head, and walked back to the house. She could figure that shit out later. Right now, she just wanted to sleep.
*LINEBREAK*
Even though I drank all that red earlier, my appetite had seemingly diminished little, if at all. As soon as I was in that pile, I was feasting. There was so much meat, and I couldn't possibly eat it all, so I decided to fill myself up as much as I could. Every time I looked down at one of the corpses, I felt my gut throb with hunger. So, I just kept eating. Eventually, I managed to get hold of a heart. I looked at it for a moment, before my hunger forced me to give in and consume it.
The moment my teeth bit through that heart, I felt a strange tingling sensation begin to buzz throughout my body. In a flash, I ate it, basking in the strange warmth it brought me. I expected the sensation to go away, but it didn't. Since it wasn't harmful, I just enjoyed it, and kept on eating.
Strangely, when I ate another heart, it didn't seem to do anything. Oh well, it still tasted good.
Eventually, my stomach signaled that it was full, so I stood up, and wiped my face off on one of the corpse's shirts. Feeling absolutely stuffed, I sighed happily, and made my way home.
*LINEBREAK*
Unbeknownst to Alex, he wasn't quite as alone as he thought. A lone elf, one who had remained hidden during the assault, was crouched in the bushes, completely petrified by what she was witnessing.
That... that creature was eating the bodies of her fallen comrades! It was just tearing into them like they were nothing more than slices of meat! If she wasn't so terrified, she'd have attacked him already. However, she just couldn't seem to get her legs to move. So, she sat, watching silently as the being continued to consume the corpses.
This thing wasn't human. It couldn't be, after all the horrific shit she'd seen it do. It was a fucking animal, one more savage than anything she'd ever heard of.
And Yuri, for some reason, was protecting it! She treated this beast like it was her son, even going so far as to fight an entire mob just to keep it safe!
They both needed to die. For the safety of everyone on the continent, both would have to be put down.
So, as the creature began to leave, the elf ran, sprinting back to Enrika as fast as her legs could take her. She had to let everyone know. They needed to be aware of this beast that roamed the woo-
A sudden, violent pain interrupted her, arcing throughout her entire body. She spasmed, screaming as she dropped to the ground in agony. As her vision began to darken, she could distinctly smell the acrid scent of burning flesh. The air around her almost seemed to buzz with strange power, causing her hair to stand on end.
She made it a few more feet, before giving into the darkness, her mind swiftly fading away into nothing.
A/N: Ilias just saved Alex a lot of trouble. One can only imagine what might've happened, had that elf reached Enrika.
The aphrodisiac arrow thing was just something I came up with on the fly. I mean, it kind of makes sense. Elves are archers, and they have to capture men somehow, so... yeah.
Originally, I wanted to make that scene with the corpses a bit longer, but it was starting to make me feel a bit sick, so I cut it short. Even if I'm the writer of this shit, it still doesn't make it any less gross to me. In fact, I'd say it's a little worse for me, since I have to come up with the scene.
This chapter isn't quite as long as it could be, but alas, I have to work.
