Bab 11: Alisa - 2

The moment I saw the girl in the forest, standing helplessly as a giant boar lunged toward her, I felt a jolt of urgency. Her eyes met mine, and for a split second, I felt something—a flicker of compassion or perhaps a primal instinct to help. But it vanished just as quickly, replaced by the cold weight of caution. She looked desperate, searching for help, and I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

After I saved her and we ran toward the lake, those initial thoughts of suspicion faded. The adrenaline coursing through my veins pushed everything aside. Yet, as I submerged myself in the water, a strange clarity washed over me, as if I were being cleansed of more than just the dirt and sweat. But then, beneath that refreshing surface, a nagging discomfort lingered. There was something unsettling about Alisa, something I couldn't quite put my finger on.

As I carried her on my back, I felt a creeping sensation pouring into my mind, an unsettling unease that intensified with each step. I tried to ignore it, but it nagged at me relentlessly. This world was full of magic and dangerous creatures, so what if Alisa wasn't just an innocent girl? What if she had hidden motives, something sinister lurking beneath her facade?

That was the moment I knew she had done something to my mind. I acted as if I were asleep, closing my eyes while listening intently to the sounds in the cave. The darkness surrounded me, and I could hear the soft rustle of her tentacles as she moved, the faint drip of water somewhere in the shadows. I remained still, my heart racing, waiting for her to make her move.

Then, the moment she attacked, I bit down on her tentacle with all my strength. The taste of her flesh was both surprising and exhilarating. It gave me the chance I needed to fight back, and I quickly cut through the tentacles on her hands. I could see her face freeze in shock, her green eyes wide with disbelief as she realized what was happening.

I must have looked terrifying, covered in her blue blood, but I couldn't help it; the taste of the tentacle was delicious. I savored it, chewing slowly as I reveled in the unexpected flavor. It was richer than anything I had tasted since arriving in this world.

Before I came here, I had only eaten well from that Food Tree, which provided nourishment during my first few days. But that was long ago—four times in between my time skips—and since then, I had subsisted on nothing but raw meat, scavenging for whatever I could find. I didn't know how to start a fire, nor did I possess the fire element, which left me no choice but to adapt. I had grown accustomed to the taste of raw flesh, making it easier to devour her tentacle without a second thought.

I walked slowly toward her, relishing the fear that flickered in her green eyes. She knew magic, and I was certain she held valuable information about it—knowledge I could exploit. My mind was set; I needed to scare her, to subdue her completely. Once I gathered my belongings, I would end her life without hesitation.

Everything had unfolded according to my plan. From the very beginning, she had been in my grasp, unknowingly dancing to my tune. I had played my part well, pretending to be the naive boy lost in a dangerous forest, while all along, I was the one in control.

Maybe this is how manipulators felt when they had the upper hand, when they could twist and turn the threads of fate to their advantage. I reveled in the power that surged through me as I approached her, knowing that I was not just a victim of circumstance, but a predator hunting in the shadows.

As I loomed over her, the blue blood is still dripping from my mouth, as I said.

"Now, should we start talking? Who are you, and why are you doing this?"

Her green eyes widened in fear, the remnants of her monstrous form barely concealing the panic that coursed through her.

"My real name is Alisa, and I'm thirty years old. I used to be a hunter in the capital, part of a team that fought to protect our village from the monsters that lurked beyond our borders. We were a tight-knit group, bonded by shared struggles and dreams of glory. We believed we were heroes, each of us carrying the weight of our own hopes and fears.

But everything changed during one fateful hunt. We received a commission for a beast that had been terrorizing nearby villages, and excitement surged through us. We thought we could handle it, that we were prepared for anything. But as we entered the beast's territory, it unleashed a darkness we had never imagined. With a roar, it cast a curse upon us, transforming us into twisted versions of ourselves—monsters forced to fight each other, stripped of our humanity.

In the chaos of that battle, I watched my friends turn against one another, their faces contorted with pain and madness. The betrayal was unbearable. I tried to reach out, to save them, but one by one, they fell. Each loss felt like a dagger piercing my heart, each scream echoing in my mind. I was left alone, the last survivor in a brutal, savage arena. I fought and fought, but not out of courage; I was driven by sheer desperation to survive.

When the dust settled, I stood victorious, but the cost was unbearable. I was no longer Alisa, the proud hunter. I was a monster, cursed to wander a dark, twisted world. The beast that had orchestrated our demise cast me out into this desolate place, leaving me with a broken spirit and shattered memories.

As I tried to come to terms with my new existence, my mind began to fracture under the weight of the curse. I felt a gnawing hunger deep within, a primal instinct that urged me to hunt and consume. In a moment of utter despair, I gave in. I found a human and, driven by the need to reclaim something of my lost self, I devoured them. With each meal, I regained parts of my body I had lost to the curse, which made me so happy that I wanted to eat a lot of human at once. It became like an addiction to me, In the previous year hunt of a human whose age is almost 23 years old was killed and eaten by me which gave me back my ability to speak.

Please, please don't kill me, don't, I wanna live."