After gathering all the money, as I was heading outside, the Knights Order was walking in.
Thud! Thud!
I guess the loud noise gave away the location of the slave market to them.
Ding!
But honestly, that was none of my concern. I had already hidden and slipped away from that spot.
Whoosh!
It was kind of amazing that despite walking out confidently, no one recognized me.
Wiggle!
I even waved my hand right in front of their faces, but still, they didn’t notice me.
Flap!
When I stepped outside, it was still dark. Was it before sunrise?
Shhh…
Walking through dawn, drenched in blood, felt dreamlike in a way.
Woosh!
Maybe it was the sweet aftertaste lingering on my body. Perhaps I wasn’t in my right mind.
Hmm…
Even after over a year of being a monster, the feeling right after eating a human still hadn’t settled in.
Puff!
My breaths were ragged, and my face was noticeably flushed.
Gulp!
I didn’t enjoy it much, but eating humans felt really good.
Nom nom!
That’s why it was hard for me to maintain my sanity during and immediately after eating.
Chomp!
It was probably because it triggered a primal instinctive craving.
Grrr…
But right now, the intensity of that craving felt particularly strong.
Thump!
Usually, I minimized my eating schedule to keep those urges in check, but this time I had fed on humans for two consecutive days.
Crackle!
“Hah, hah…”
I grabbed nearby wall to catch my breath.
Thud!
I wasn’t feeling unwell. On the contrary, I felt too good, and that was the problem.
Zoom!
I was bursting with vitality. I couldn’t control my strength; anything I touched would break.
Snap!
Right now, I needed to calm down.
Shhh…
“Just a bit more. Please. How about just one more human? It doesn’t seem like I’ll get caught.”
Wheee!
I was too excited. My rational thought was about half-paralyzed at this point.
Bzzz!
I knew I shouldn’t be doing this, but my body was craving it.
Thud!
“Ugh…”
Maybe I should just sleep.
Zzz…
I could wipe everything clean, just like I usually did, as if nothing ever happened.
Swish!
But where?
Hmm…
Sleeping outdoors was too risky. Of course, I wasn’t dangerous, but I couldn’t guarantee I wouldn’t attack a passerby in this state.
Whoa!
And if I ate one more person in this condition, I felt like I would really lose control, and that was absolutely not okay.
Ding!
So, I needed to find a place to stay. Somewhere quiet where no one would come looking.
Tip toe!
Should I head to the back alley like always? That was my favorite place.
Shhh…
It was quiet and dark, and it always smelled comforting due to the magical energy.
Ahhh…
But there might still be patrolling knights around. If they ran into me like this, it would definitely be a hassle.
Clank!
I was feeling overly heated for no reason. I wanted to drink human blood.
Slurp!
I licked the blood off my hands slightly. The tingling sensation on my tongue was almost addictive.
Yum!
His blood was sweet. Very sweet.
Wow!
But it backfired.
Boo boo!
A mere amount of blood, failing to properly satisfy me, only left me frustrated, making my heart race wanting to taste more.
Thrum!
So…
Thwack!
I stabbed a dagger into my left shoulder.
Screech!
With the sharp pain, my body got stained red again. I was already drenched in blood, and now I just added more.
Gurgle!
“…Well, that’s a bit better.”
Phew!
At least it hurt a bit, so it brought me back to my senses.
Snap!
The blood now mixing with my own decreased my appetite slightly.
Huh!
I thought I should hurry and find a place to live.
*
With money, you can accomplish most things. Buying a place was one of them.
Cha-ching!
There are underground markets where homes, abandoned for some reason, are sold at a low price.
Ding ding!
I currently had 200 gold coins, so acquiring a place wasn’t too difficult.
Woo hoo!
“Hello there.”
“W-what the hell!”
Oh no!
There were some hiccups during the purchase process. People weren’t exactly warmly welcoming me, given that I was covered in blood.
Ewww!
“What happened to the blood…?”
“Curious, are we?”
“No! Never mind!”
Oops!
Maybe it was the dagger sticking out of my shoulder?
Oopsie!
No wonder things felt uncomfortable, I forgot to pull out the knife I stabbed myself with.
Whip!
I pulled out the dagger with a bit of force. Then, dark red blood spurted out like a fountain.
Gush!
“AAAH!! Get out! Hurry up and get out!!”
Whoa, chill!
Anyway, since I got the house, I decided to leave.
Step step!
The new place was okay.
Yay!
It was old and messy because it hadn’t been taken care of for a long time, but it was dark and quiet, which I liked.
Ahhhh…
Most importantly, it was really close to the back alley where I used to live. The owner said it was abandoned because no one wanted to go near a place where monsters come out.
Yikes!
Everyone was too wary, wanting to get rid of it quickly, hence, selling it at a low price.
Ding ding!
I got it for about 70 gold coins. I ended up giving him 10 more coins because I accidentally broke the wall of his house.
Oops!
“Sorry! I broke it.”
“W-what happened…?”
“I leaned on it, and it broke.”
Whoops!
I was not in a normal condition. I felt way too good.
Yay!
Was this what this body’s potential was like? I felt it might be better to go back to my usual state since living like this was inconvenient.
Hmm…
Anyway, I entered my new house and decided to clean up.
Splash!
I stripped off all my clothes and went into the bathroom.
Splash!
The first thing I saw again was my reflection in the mirror.
Ohhhh!
My eyes were stained blood-red, and my hair was a mix of silver and red, standing out.
Ewwww!
It wasn’t that my hair had turned red, it was caked with blood. With cold water, it washed away quickly.
Drip drip!
‘On the outside, I look just like a human.’
Hmm…?
At first glance, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I looked like a monster.
Gulp!
What was different between me and humans? I pondered for a moment.
Hmm…
No, it wasn’t just a moment. My contemplation extended long.
Tick tock…
This time, it seemed like my pondering lasted indefinitely. I was getting the feeling I’d be stuck like this all day under the running water.
Drip drip!
“…I don’t know.”
Hmm…
I still didn’t want to become a monster. I wanted to go back.
Waaah!
I hated the excitement I felt every time I saw human blood. I was terrified of my growing ease to kill humans.
Yikes!
Maybe it was because I was thinking deeper than ever before. Or maybe it was because I endlessly questioned the person reflected in the mirror.
Sigh…
I could accurately diagnose myself to some extent.
Hmm!
I still hadn’t gone mad.
Phew!
I wasn’t a monster yet.
Yay!
But I was heading that way.
Uh oh…
But I was slowly becoming a monster.
Whoosh!
“…It wasn’t like this just a year ago.”
Whoa!
Yeah, until a year ago, it was nothing like this. Back then, I was scared since it was just after I possessed this body.
Yikes!
I felt the passage of time in this body as I turned off the water pouring over my head. My head seemed cold enough now.
Shhh…
Feeling lazy about drying my long hair, I just stepped out as I was. I didn’t dry my body or put on any clothes.
Whoosh!
I simply lay down on the bed.
Sigh…
The bed sheets and blankets felt damp, but I didn’t care much.
Zzz…
I wanted to sleep for a bit.
Yawn!
I wasn’t exactly sleepy, but I wanted to calm down my overheated body.
Ahhh…
“The feel of the blanket against my bare skin feels nice.”
Soft soft!
I nestled into the softness and closed my eyes.
Shut!
I fell asleep not long after.
Snooze…
And then.
Zzz…
I had a dream.
Dreamy…
*
I came from the bottom up in life.
Thud thud!
When I turned seven, I was abandoned by my parents. The reason was that they couldn’t afford to feed me.
Boom!
Before I could even understand the world, I was tossed out onto the street. I had no money, no home, and nothing to eat.
Gulp!
Do you know how ugly humans become when they starve to their limits?
Ugh!
I survived by eating the leftovers thrown away by restaurants. Even that wasn’t enough, and I fought with other beggars over scraps.
Wrestle!
That’s mine! I’m going to eat it today!
Grrr!
I could put up with anything that was disgusting, so every day, I prayed to God to just let me live.
God help!
Please, God, allow me to eat that trash tomorrow. Punish the bullies who hit me.
Pray!
Please, keep winter away. I don’t even dare to dream of a warm home or delicious meals.
Please!
So please.
Beg!
Just let me survive in this world.
Survive!
“Hey! Catch that bastard!”
Run!
Having lost even the ability to eat scraps, I stole bread to survive. The angry shopkeeper’s voice was frightening. If I got caught, I would definitely be beaten to death.
Yikes!
I had to run for my life. Even though it was a cheap item that someone wouldn’t even spare a glance at, it was desperately important to me.
Quick quick!
I soaked the rock-hard bread in water to soften it, unable to bite it with my teeth back then.
Soak!
In the end, I lived to see another day. Perhaps it was not having the courage to die that allowed me to endure.
Hang on!
But surviving today meant I had to worry about tomorrow right away.
Oh no!
Today I was lucky, but starting tomorrow, they would start to be on guard too. I didn’t think the same trick would work multiple times.
Yikes!
“Damn it…”
Ugh!
I wished that no one would see me at all.
Shhh!
I hated the gazes that looked at me with disgust or contempt.
Yuck!
If I could, I wanted to live somewhere out of anyone’s sight.
Sneak!
I wanted to see money.
Bling!
And then…
“Beorn.”
Whoosh!
Had my daily prayers finally reached God?
Yay!
At some point, I gained the ability to hide my body.
Shhh…
“Become a mercenary.”
Whoa!
There was someone who took notice of my talent.
Ding!
And so, I became a mercenary.
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