Banished from the herd, I was actually a member of a very rare species. ~With the unique skills that only I can use, I can grow and evolve quickly. I will become an unrivaled monster~ - Episode 38: The Horrors of My Hometown

Episode 38: The Horrors of My Hometown

“(What… what is that…)”

When I arrived at my hometown’s nest, I was left speechless. A gigantic monster, at least twice my size, was devouring the corpses of people and slimes alike. Its red, liquid-like body absorbed and dissolved the human bodies it took in. Roots extended from inside it, piercing into the corpses of slimes, sucking them dry.

No survivors were visible anywhere within my sight. Judging by the wounds on the human bodies, they were all likely impaled by those roots.

“Su, ra”

The only thing moving here was the hideous red monster, sluggishly walking around, feasting on the corpses scattered about. At first glance, it looked like a slime, but its red-black flesh was threaded with root-like plant structures inside. Its cry sounded somewhat similar to that of a slime, but the pitch was lower and more muffled, giving off an eerie feeling. Its body, unlike the typical slime’s smooth, mochi-like form, was bulging in an odd, grotesque shape. Covered in lumps, it sent shivers down my spine just to look at it.

“H-heeek…”

As the monster moved, it brushed against a nearby rock. Just that slight contact made the rock vanish completely, revealing a young man behind it. He must have been using some kind of camouflage magic. The chubby young man who was exposed looked absolutely horrified, trembling uncontrollably, unable to stand.

“Ugh… uuugh… I-I didn’t even want to come here…! It was Jaskal who said we needed more people… he promised I could get my spear back… That’s the only reason I came…! W-why did it end up like this!?”

“Su, ra… (Devour…)”

The red monster stretched a part of its body toward the pitiful young man—

“(—This is no time to just stand and watch!)”

For a moment, I had been frozen by the horrific scene. But if there’s someone I can still save, I have to act!

“(Come at me, you monster! [Challenge], [Bewitching Gleam]!)”

I jumped into action, using my [Skill]. The monster paused its movement and began extending its body toward me.

“While I’ve got its attention, you need to run!”

“W-wha… huh…?”

“Hurry up and go!”

Even after using [Communication], the man was slow to react, still not moving. Frustrated, I barked at him to get moving. Finally, he began to flee, but his legs were shaky and his pace was sluggish.

“(Is this some kind of [Skill] effect…? [Replicant Form], [Compact Slash]! Damn it, I can’t fight here!)”

I swung my spear, specialized for earth attacks, slashing away at the roots the red monster extended. Even without the special effect, this spear was my best close-range weapon. However, I couldn’t keep fighting here without risking the young man getting caught in the crossfire. After a few more slashes, I leapt backward and fled, drawing the monster away.

Once I confirmed it was chasing me, I headed into the forest.

“(The closest clearing… should be over there!)”

I ran through the forest, recalling the terrain near the nest. The monster chased after me, flailing its roots around. But it couldn’t catch up to me while I had [Flee] activated. Soon, the forest opened up into a clearing.

This clearing, where no plants grew, had always been feared by the slimes as a creepy, eerie place.

“(Come on, I’m ready for you!)”

“Su, ra”

The monster pushed through the trees, knocking them over as it entered the clearing. As soon as it did, it extended numerous roots in all directions.

“(Heh, doesn’t matter how many you throw at me, none of them are gonna hit!)”

Front, back, left, right, up and down. While dodging the roots skillfully and weaving through them with jumps, I hit it with [Slash] from [Cross Counter]. Each time the roots collided with me, I slashed them off. But, they immediately regenerated. However, it wasn’t like typical [Self-Regeneration]; it felt more like they were being restored, similar to recovery from [Storage].

“(Tch, this thing is persistent. But its |Life| should be dropping steadily, so no problem.)”

The monster’s main body approached, likely deciding it couldn’t rely on the roots alone anymore. But there was no reason to take unnecessary risks when I was steadily wearing it down.

I ran along the outer edge of the circular clearing, dodging attacks while keeping up my cycle of offense.

“Su, ra… (Devour…)”

Right when the monster’s dark intent reached me,

BANG! 

Several lumps on its body burst. From them, multiple red streams shot out. No, those weren’t water streams. Its body had morphed into long, whip-like tendrils. The red whips snaked toward me with intricate movements, but I avoided them with [Jump].

“(It’s like Sla-ta’s [bl00dstream Arms]…)”

I recalled my old comrade’s [Skill] and suddenly felt a deep sense of unease. Or rather, I could no longer ignore the unease I had been trying to overlook.

“(…The body color, the massive size—both are just like Sla-ta…)”

The slime corpses I found at the nest… most of them were slimes I had known. They had {Evolved}, but I recognized Sla-saemon’s and Sla-bi’s remains. However, I hadn’t found Sla-ta’s body among them. Maybe he was still out hunting, or maybe he had already been eaten by the monster.

But then again—maybe…

“—Are you… Sla-ta!?”

“Su, ra… (Devour…)”

“Why were you eating our comrades…? And some of those dead slimes were stabbed to death by those roots! Why did you do that!?”

“Su, ra… (Devour…)”

“And what are those roots!? I’ve never heard of anything like that growing from {Evolution}! If there’s some reason for all this, tell me! I’ll help you figure out a way to fix it!”

“Su, ra… (Devour…)”

“Stop mumbling and answer me!”

No matter how many times I asked, the red monster gave me no meaningful response. Was it really not Sla-ta? Just a random beast?

But even if it was just a beast, this behavior was bizarre. Even monsters are living creatures. They have emotions, thoughts—if you question them, they usually give you some kind of response. But this thing, all I could sense was the same monotonous desire over and over again. It was unnatural.

“(But now I understand.)”

I understood that we couldn’t come to an understanding.

I understood that reasoning with it was impossible.

And so, I—

“(If I let you roam free, both humans and slimes will suffer. —I’ll have to kill you here.)”

—I made the decision to kill what might have once been my comrade.