When he was younger, Carter once read a book that said, "All beings suffer." At the time, he hadn't thought much of it.

Now, witnessing tragedy after tragedy, killing in battle, then rescuing those who survived but were beyond saving—those who’d lost their ability to move or whose minds had long since shattered—Carter wondered if these people still had any hope left in their lives.

In the towns, every day was a grim display of the strong preying on the weak, with robberies and fights happening incessantly.

Carter had never imagined that reaching middle age would bring such a strain on his mind. Overwhelmed by the brutality of the scenes he encountered, a sense of despair and fear began to take hold.

In front of him now were the same familiar fragments of limbs and bones, a few survivors barely recognizable as human, and some women who’d been captured only recently, crying out in desperation.

A wave of nausea rose in Carter’s throat, and he quickly lowered his head, covering his mouth with his hand.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed that Aino was still expressionless, though something seemed to have caught her attention.

Following her gaze, Carter saw a woman. Her body bore no obvious disfigurement, but she was filthy, smeared with dirt and blood, her belly visibly swollen—a stark contrast against her frail frame.

Despite her soiled and battered state, her face revealed an unusual beauty, though she looked weak, breathing heavily and clearly in a miserable condition.

Strangely, instead of relief or madness, the woman’s expression upon seeing them was one of confusion—even fear.

“Sobs… Someone finally came to save me, finally… Thank you, please get me out of this hell!”

The woman sobbed, her voice thick with emotion, looking as if she had narrowly escaped death.

But Aino only stood in place, her eyes narrowed, showing no reaction to the woman’s pleas.

The cave fell silent. A weeping woman sat on the ground, two figures stood before her, and around them lay the horrific remains of other humans.

After a while, the woman suddenly chuckled bitterly.

“So, even now, after all I’ve been through, you monsters still won’t let me go?”

“I thought if I could survive these creatures, there might be hope… but now a monster among monsters has come, hasn’t it? Hahaha…”

Carter studied her for a moment, hesitantly asking, “Is she… a witch?”

“Didn’t your teacher ever tell you to call a young, beautiful witch a sorceress, you monster’s lackey?” the woman interrupted sharply.

There were magicians in this world, but some didn’t adhere to the conventional path, instead dabbling in twisted, inhumane magic. These individuals often made bizarre pacts, frequently performing sacrificial rituals, sometimes even wiping out entire villages.

They had long been removed from the human realm, regarded as monsters themselves, devoid of humanity.

Some of them, due to their pacts and magic, had bodies that looked neither human nor ghost, twisted and terrifying; these were called witches. Those who retained the appearance of ordinary women, however, were referred to as sorceresses—a common terminology on the continent.

This woman before them was indeed a sorceress.

Carter immediately grew wary; witches and sorceresses were even more dangerous than monsters. Monsters, driven by hunger, might attack those nearby, but these deranged sorceresses killed for the thrill, for “magical research,” or as sacrifices for their gods. Their killing was always purposeful.

Yet, the sorceress before him was clearly in poor condition.

Seated helplessly on the ground, she spat insults at them continuously.

“Such evil… such a dense stench of blood! Just how many have you killed?”

“You kill just to eat, don’t you? You swallowed them all down, didn’t you? And you—this human lackey—you’re nothing more than a lackey of the tiger, aren’t you?”

Like someone who had nothing left to lose, the sorceress continued to taunt them, venting her anger.

“I know you’re eager, but calm down,” Aino finally responded calmly after listening to her tirade.

“So long as you behave, I won’t harm you. Otherwise, I’ll eat you.”

She sounded as if she were scolding a misbehaving child, and the sorceress froze, momentarily stunned.

“A monster who can talk reasonably…?”

Aino’s demeanor didn’t match the sorceress’s expectations, and upon hearing Aino’s calm reply, the woman fell silent, seemingly deep in thought.

Leaving Aino to converse with the golden-haired, strange woman, Carter busied himself with tending to the injured and gathering their loot.

“What’s your name?” Aino asked.

“Alea, a sorceress. And you, Miss Monster?”

“Aino.”

“What kind of monster are you? Can I see your true form?”

“…Maybe some other time.”

Dragons held an exalted position in this world. The mere sighting of a typical adult dragon would be enough to cause a massive stir, as these mythic creatures had the power to alter nature itself.

For example, an ice dragon’s territory would become an arctic zone, while a mountain inhabited by a fire dragon would become a volcano.

The famous Gale Gorge had once been home to the Wind Dragon King Tokjaks for over a hundred years, leaving it perennially shrouded in fierce winds, with legends of rare treasures and ruins hidden within.

Telling people she was a dragon would be absurd and would bring undue trouble. She wasn’t yet as strong as the Black Dragon King, Tananorn, and she wouldn’t be able to handle the dangers that would follow if her identity were exposed.

“Oh…” Alea looked disappointed.

“So, can you tell me how many people you’ve killed? The aura around you is stronger than any witch I’ve ever met…”

Aino couldn’t fathom what the sorceress was thinking. Was she not afraid of provoking her? Aino could sense that Alea had suffered severe injuries and was now as vulnerable as any ordinary human. She could tear her apart effortlessly.

“Could you keep track of every slice of bread you’ve ever eaten?”

The response took Alea by surprise, her smirk freezing on her face.

Damn… typical of a monster, wasn’t it? Bread, really…

Leaving the goblin cave, the first thing Aino did was find a place for Alea to bathe.

“Hurry up… you’re filthy,” Aino urged with a look of disgust.

“Can’t be helped. I was used as a goblin plaything in there for who knows how long, without any way to clean myself. Maintaining this much dignity is already impressive,” Alea replied casually, stripping off the few remnants of her “clothes.”

“…”

Aino paused, her normally impassive face cracking slightly as her mouth twitched.

A plaything… for goblins?

Could this beautiful sorceress really have endured such a thing, becoming like the other women who’d lost all sense of humanity, reduced to the state of animals?

Since arriving in this world and gaining knowledge of it through Tananorn’s memories, Aino had steeled herself mentally.

She’d known that no matter what happened, bloodshed and horror were to be expected. Things she’d only read about in novels or seen in movies would undoubtedly come to life here.

So, she’d prepared herself for it. She had resolved that, as a former ordinary person from a lawful society, she would be unshaken by scenes of slaughter, unbothered by humans killing each other, and unfazed by massacring goblins. Even the women Carter couldn’t bear to look at had failed to disturb her.

‘This is just normal in this world,’ she reminded herself. ‘Unlike my previous life, this is to be expected. As a monster, if I’m scared of these things, how will I survive here?’

Aino kept repeating this to herself.