It took about an hour for the wound to heal completely.
"………."
Unnatural.
This was the kind of wound that should have been stranger to heal, not easier.
Once the bleeding stopped, it shouldn’t have started recovering in an instant.
Come to think of it, the fact that the bleeding had stopped at all just because I’d been gripping it hard was ridiculous enough...
Even as I thought that, I could see the torn muscle, flesh, and skin slowly regenerating.
The sight of tissues writhing wildly, linking together again and again like threads until they formed a mass, was grotesque.
I could endure it.
No. Endure was the wrong word, since I didn’t even feel anything about it.
If anything, that was worse.
I saw something like that, and felt nothing.
Was that really the mind of an ordinary human?
At the very least, I should have felt disgusted, or something negative like that.
It made no sense that I felt nothing.
There was no way I hadn’t felt something.
Anything.
Surely there had to be at least one feeling in there somewhere.
I didn’t care how ugly it was. Just anything at all...
...And yet, even as I thought that, I kept watching the regeneration.
Right.
Come to think of it, saying I felt nothing might have been wrong.
Yes, that was it.
There was no way I truly felt nothing.
Right?
So.
I did seem to feel something.
But for some reason, it was maddeningly hard to pin down.
Hard to describe.
Hard to express.
...Huh. Why?
Why?
Why couldn’t I identify what I was feeling?
It was like...
I couldn’t even recognize my own emotions...
...Because I didn’t properly understand human emotions?
"……Ah."
No.
No.
It came to me.
Yes.
That was it.
I had felt this before.
Gross.
Horrible.
Unpleasant.
...No, not something that ordinary humans would feel.
Interesting.
Not bad.
Useful.
That was definitely it.
Only then did the tightness in my chest feel like it had burst open, like a clogged toilet finally flushing.
Yes.
I was interested.
I felt something.
I had reacted to it.
So I could breathe easy now.
...Come to think of it.
Wait a second.
For humans, what kind of emotion was interest supposed to be?
That was...
Not a negative one...
...Ah.
"……………."
...If this wasn’t a beast, then what could possibly be called one?
This was just a savage animal.
A barbaric monster that loved and reveled in soaking its whole body in blood.
An ugly monster.
How could something like this be human?
Humans were supposed to be more, something more.
Something.
There was supposed to be something more.
So there had to be something more...
...Anyway, there had to be more than this.
It had to be that way.
This kind of appearance...
There was no way it could be called human.
...
......
......No.
No.
I am human.
Even if I look like this on the outside, I’m human.
I must be.
I am human.
I...
...
………
I don’t want to become a monster.
"Kyaaaahhh!!"
"Uhehheh! A tasty-looking human woman, huh? Hehehe. And she’s pretty toooooo~"
I.
"...Uheh? Who are youuu...khe?!"
Monster.
Thud.
Squelch.
Slash.
Fwoosh...
No.
Crunch.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
I’m not a monster.
Crunch.
Gulp.
Gulp.
Gulp.
No.
No, I’m not.
No, I’m not.
No, I’m not.
I...
"...A-a monster... ate a monster...?"
"………."
Monster.
Monster?
Monster?
"...Huh? What is that? You found me... hoh. So you’re a monster too!"
Ah.
I remembered hearing that.
Monster.
That was definitely... Crocodile Mole, was it?
It was something the monster I’d killed and eaten a few hours ago had mentioned.
...Right.
When it asked, “You’re a monster too?”
it must have been asking that because it itself was a monster.
So.
A monster was...
"...No."
"Hii, hiiik!"
...not a monster.
That’s not it.
No.
No, that’s not what I mean.
Who the hell are you to call me a monster on your own?
Something like food...
"No."
That.
That small head.
Let’s grab it.
Let’s crush it.
One hand is enough.
With my sharp claws bared, I reached out.
Yes.
Kill it.
Shut it up.
Rip that annoying thing apart.
Don’t call me a monster.
I, I am...
I am...
Monster...
"………."
What am I doing right now?
I’m not a monster or a monster.
That was what I was trying to deny.
Then what did I do in the middle of that?
I heard a scream.
I found a monster that was about to attack a human.
I ambushed the careless monster from behind.
And then... I bit its head and chewed it.
Alive.
The sensation of its struggling.
That feeling of its head shaking because of it.
It was far too vivid.
Right after that, the human called me a monster.
And I...
Ah.
"………."
A girl, visible between my spread fingers.
Her long hair, which should have been neat, was a mess, and her face was twisted with tears and snot.
I hadn’t touched her yet.
But.
I had almost killed another human.
A human.
"………………."
...Quietly, I lowered my hand.
All I could do was get away from there as quickly as possible.
So that’s what I did.
I just ran blindly.
Until I reached a place where no one could be seen.
Where no one existed.
One thing was certain: it must have started raining while I was running.
The wetness around my eyes was probably because of that.
Because I was exhausted.
I didn’t know what I was exhausted from, but...
That had to be it.
[Main Quest: Acknowledge Your Identity as a Monster (1/1). Time Limit: (10/100) hours]
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