GalaxyTL
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After devouring the two monsters, Emi proceeded deeper into the forest.
Staying vigilant of her surroundings, yet not overly fearful, she advanced.
Never looking back, she pressed onward.
Stretched out before her was the demon realm of the Kaise Forest.
The world of beasts. The world of monsters. A realm tinted with chaos, where the strong devoured the weak.
And what Emi consciously avoided looking back at was the human world behind her.
Quite different in nature compared to her previous life, a world where people were protected by law. A world where order safeguarded security.
Yet despite being human herself, Emi could never be accepted in the human world.
Her black hair and black eyes were the mark of a cursed child.
Facing prejudice, discrimination, and persecution, ultimately denounced before a crowd in the town of Yoshanka, Emi fled that human settlement and took refuge in this demon realm.
She had no particular objective deeper into the forest.
For now, Emi simply wished to distance herself from the humans.
Kamasse was a good person.
The original Sara was a bright, cheerful girl.
Baron Martz was a kind man.
Her master was a wonderful grandfather, full of dignity.
They had given Emi many precious memories as treasures.
Treasures she had yearned for desperately in her previous life.
Beautiful gems that warmed her heart, shining brighter than any jewel.
But what about the other humans?
They would point fingers, hurl insults, and chase her with raised fists simply for existing there.
How feeble of them.
Emi no longer wished to remain among the humans.
So she fled human society.
There was no need to forcibly endure such an unpleasant environment.
If she remained in that environment any longer, it would ruin her.
She would want to kill.
Emi didn’t want to tarnish the happy memories given by those who had been on her side with hatred and murderous intent toward the other, irrelevant humans.
“SHUBAAAAA!!”
A massive, agile green caterpillar lunged at her from ahead, screeching.
Its gaping maw revealed rows of sharp teeth lining its throat.
“……..”
Emi calmly picked up a pebble and used 【Stone Throw】.
“SHUBA…!?”
Pierced in the head by 【Stone Throw】, the caterpillar’s entire body stiffened, curling up motionlessly.
Emi approached the corpse.
Touching it, it was soft and squishy.
She took a bite.
Sweet. Quite delicious.
Noisily devouring the caterpillar meat, Emi thought:
It’s okay.
I’ll keep going like this.
I’ve grown stronger.
Strong enough to survive even in this demon realm.
And I’ll grow even stronger.
I’ll become stronger.
Strong enough to live through any environment.
GYUN!!
The next instant—
Emi’s hearing picked up the sound of something rapidly approaching.
In a flash, she extended her arm forward, caught the incoming object, and crushed it in her grip.
BUCHYU—the crushed object made that moist sound.
Blood gushed from her clenched palm.
Opening it revealed a small bird.
A small bird with a rocky tissue covering its head.
A Bulletpeep.
The voice in her mind informed her about that creature.
GYUN!!
However, Emi shouldn’t have examined that Bulletpeep on the spot.
Distracted by the corpse in her palm, she took a direct hit from another Bulletpeep charging her from behind!
An impact that would have shattered bones—no, punched through the body of an ordinary person struck Emi!
“GEH…!”
She momentarily staggered.
While avoiding fatal injury thanks to 【Body Strengthening】, the damage was severe.
The Bulletpeep that had charged Emi was stunned that its prey still lived, but temporarily retreated nonetheless.
A hit-and-run tactic.
Their basic strategy.
GYUN!!
Seizing the opportunity from Emi’s staggered state, more Bulletpeeps charged in succession!
Detecting their faint sounds and the slight leakage of murderous mana, Emi caught each one and crushed them to death!
But their numbers were great.
Unable to handle them all, she took several more hits.
Minutes later, dozens of small bird corpses littered the ground around the battered girl.
A gruesome scene that would invite suspicion of her being a deranged killer in modern Japan, but this was simply the result of their struggle for survival.
The result was Emi’s survival.
One misstep, and the corpse lying there would have been hers instead.
While some Bulletpeeps still remained, they retreated after determining Emi’s defenses impregnable.
“Gh…”
Propping herself against a nearby black Kaise tree trunk, Emi caught her ragged breath.
This was a demon realm.
Even a mere bird posed such grave danger.
Certainly, Emi had ventured into this Kaise Forest demon realm many times before.
But those had only been the outer perimeters.
Venturing deeper toward the center, the forest was teeming with such hazardous creatures.
……Should we turn back?
The voice in her mind voiced concern.
However, Emi shook her head, staring resolutely deeper into the forest.
What had she felt after battling the Bulletpeeps?
Did she become aware of her shortcomings, judging her challenge of the demon realm as reckless?
Had the winds of cowardice blown over her?
No.
Her heart burned fiercely.
The beastly nature Emi had hidden deep within during her recent time living among humans—
Ferocious, cruel, suffused with a combative spirit.
That aspect of her, surfacing whenever it briefly emerged before submerging again, was now being unleashed from the wedge of human society, gradually manifesting.
I won’t lose.
I won’t lose in a place like this.
I will grow stronger.
Stronger, stronger, stronger, stronger!!
Kill all enemies, kill, kill, kill, and keep advancing!!
Emi’s small frame renewed with firm resolve, overflowing with murderous intent.
The Kaise tree she was leaning against happened to be the dwelling of a venomous Yasago snake.
Awoken from its slumber by Emi’s bloodlust, the snake spotted the girl sitting at the tree’s base, slithering down the branches to sink its fangs into her nape, oblivious to her true nature.
However, without even glancing its way, Emi caught the Yasago, tore it apart, and began devouring its flesh.