Chapter 4 : Corpse Hill (4)

Hans saw a sharp protrusion emerging from Alje’s face.

It hadn’t been there before.

The ultimate ability of a mimic monster was complete transformation into a human, making any sign of its inhuman nature unnecessary.

However, a trivial conversation had triggered the girl’s hunger, and at the perfect moment, a suitable meal had been delivered right in front of her.

“Kreeeek?”

The thing that had seemed like a mere protrusion stretched and finally revealed its true form.

It was the grotesque, parasitic essence of a mimic monster far removed from Alje’s pure and beautiful appearance.

It resembled the mandibles of a stag beetle, the beak of a seabird, the pincers of a venomous scorpion, a pair of scissors forged by human hands, or even twin blades that intersected like a guillotine, designed to execute the condemned.

A form never before observed.

And just as a dog with three eyes was called a “Three-Eyed Hound,” and a giant with three fingers was instinctively named a “Three-Fingered Giant,”the creature that had only been given the vague title of [Mimic Monster] now revealed its true nature.

Squelch.

Hans stood frozen, caught between terror and awe.

The already overwhelming length of the ‘mouth’ stretched even further, gaping open.

If the world were a clock, the girl’s upper and lower jaws would be the hour and minute hands that moved its time forward.

And in this twisted world, those hands always pointed toward the same inevitable end.

Death.

A distant feeling.

Even as Hans instinctively prepared to fight, the end of the monster he had faced was utterly pathetic.

As simple as the ticking of a clock’s hand.

The moment the [mouth], precisely as tall as a Three-Fingered Giant, clamped shut, its existence was erased into darkness.

After completing its feast, the enormous mouth coiled back inside and disappeared without a trace.

The Three-Fingered Giant had been a massive being, yet somehow, it had been completely devoured by this small girl.

It was foolish to try applying logic to monsters.

“Ah!”

When Alje turned her head, a remnant of the protrusion still lingered at the corner of her mouth.

Other than that, she was nothing but an adorable little girl making the tiny stub, shorter than a single finger joint, stand out even more.

As Hans remained frozen in fear and shock, Alje trotted up to him.

“Oh no! I forgot to save some for you!”

“…No, it’s fine.”

Before the girl could sense anything amiss, Hans barely managed to keep his voice steady.

Even though he was accustomed to eating monster flesh, consuming a humanoid one was unsettling.

Maybe if he were starving, but for now, he had other options.

More importantly, Alje’s casual attitude suggested that the monsters roaming this pit were more than just a few.

“Aren’t you hungry? I could get more.”

“No, really. Look over there.”

“Hm?”

Hans brushed off her insistence and pointed at the trail left by the Three-Fingered Giant.

The footprints, with only three toes, looked more like a bird’s than an ape’s.

Tracking was a basic survival skill, after all.

“Let’s follow it.”

“Huh? Why?”

“There might be a clue.”

Hans didn’t have high hopes, but this space was vast, and they had almost no leads on an escape route.

Doing something was better than doing nothing.

“Hmmm… I don’t really get it, but I’ll follow you!”

In the quiet space, the sound of their footsteps echoed once more.

The sensation beneath their feet was like walking through a road blanketed in thick autumn leaves.

Hans had to force himself not to think about what he was actually stepping on.

If he didn’t want to become part of this graveyard, he had to keep his fear at bay.

“Hmm hmm .”

A soft hum drifted from behind him.

It held no divine mystery like that of a saint, yet it was charming enough to listen to.

However, to Hans, it sometimes sounded like something else.

As if a monster were breathing right behind him, licking its lips, staring at the back of his head while drooling.

Swish.

When he turned around, of course, there was nothing but the adorable little girl.

“Why?”

Alje asked with a tilt of her head.

Hans gave no answer.

Sigh.

They walked for a long time, but not only did they fail to find an exit, the trail of the Three-Fingered Giant eventually disappeared.

They found a place where it seemed to have fallen, but it meant nothing.

From there, the path continued up and down ridges in a relentless cycle.

Their crunching footsteps made it impossible to move stealthily in the darkness, leading to several fights with other monsters along the way.

“Let’s rest for a bit.”

“Tired already?”

“Yeah.”

After walking for what felt like ages, Hans sat down on a relatively flat spot.

At first, he tried to clear away the corpses to expose the soil beneath, but no matter how deep he dug, there was nothing but more bodies.

He had never heard of a place like this, nor could he guess how long it had existed.

“I need to eat.”

“Is that really enough?”

Alje tilted her head at the sight of the half-eaten Three-Eyed Hound dangling from Hans’ hand.

For a girl who could swallow a Three-Fingered Giant whole, of course, it seemed like a pitiful amount.

But Hans was human, not a monster.

This much was more than enough.

To be honest, he didn’t even want to eat it.

But survival left him no choice.

“I’ll be fine with this.”

“Huh. You don’t eat much.”

Hans held back the urge to say, You eat too much.

It wasn’t just that she was a monster she was still a girl.

Saying such a thing would be rude.

He dug a shallow pit, gathered dry scraps of cloth, and lit a fire.

The lack of moisture made it catch easily, though it still took a few attempts before smoke began to rise.

“Whoa.”

Ignoring Alje’s little gasp of admiration, he placed the meat on a skewer and began roasting it.

As the meat sizzled, he heard the sound of someone swallowing saliva.

She had just eaten, yet here she was.