GalaxyTL
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“Hokeh, Kyorororororo……”
A beast, a bird, or perhaps an insect.
An indistinguishable cry echoed through the night in the Kaise Forest.
Emi was leaning against the trunk of a massive Kaise tree, catching a nap in the moonlight filtering through the leaves.
No matter how superhuman Emi was, rest and sleep were still necessary.
Even in this perilous demon realm, that didn’t change.
The damage she had sustained from the Bulletpeeps during the day had yet to fully recover.
While her body was exceptionally sturdy with extraordinary recovery compared to her previous life, her injuries didn’t instantly revert back.
The current Emi required rest.
“Suu……”
The sleeping girl’s soft breathing.
Had the culture not shunned her black hair and black eyes, any painter witnessing her slumbering form bathed in moonlight would have undoubtedly reached for their brush, so beautiful was the sight.
However, to the denizens of this demon realm, such beauty held no value.
To these monsters, she was not a beautiful girl, but merely injured prey.
And right now, one monster had its sights set on that prey.
Its name was the Night Trite.
Trites were dog-like monsters with large noses.
In size, if compared to creatures on Earth, it would be roughly equivalent to a Golden Retriever.
With a large dog’s frame covered in black fur, this one had tracked down the injured prey Emi by relying on its keen sense of smell.
“……”
Not uttering a sound, yet its expression was twisted with glee.
It was a nocturnal hunter.
A fool would never make noise to alert its prey.
Carefully, carefully, it approached the girl without a sound.
The distance was now less than a mere meter.
Close enough for its breath to reach her.
The Night Trite had drawn that near.
It was time to strike.
The Night Trite opened its maw wide enough to easily swallow a human head and lunged at Emi!
At this point, its hunt was practically a success.
No creature could possibly react when pounced on from such close range.
That was the unshakable common sense reinforced by its past successful experiences.
However—
Here, there existed a being that would shatter that common sense through its extraordinary reflexes!!
“–!!”
“!!?”
The next instant—
Emi’s eyes suddenly shot open, immediately thrusting her right hand against the Night Trite’s upper jaw and left hand against its lower jaw, blocking its biting attack!
Why?!
How?!
The Night Trite was engulfed in confusion.
Its surefire killing strike had devoured every prey until now.
So why was this one–?!
The answer lay in the slight leakage of murderous intent and mana.
Unconsciously, Emi had sensed that mana through her skin, waking up just in time.
Her reaction narrowly made it.
“…RAAA!!”
Letting out a shout to muster her strength, Emi forcefully pried the jaws in her grip wide open.
Compounded by her monstrous might acquired through repeated mana conversion and 【Body Strengthening】, the Night Trite’s jaws could not withstand that force.
The large-nosed monster had its head torn apart into upper and lower halves, swiftly followed by a palm strike severing its neck, perishing without even a chance to cry out.
“……..”
BUCHI…BUCHICHI……
Emi had a bad case of sleep inertia.
She frequently felt irritable upon waking up.
Taking out that irritation on the monster’s corpse.
Recklessly tearing off its limbs with brute force before devouring them.
“……..”
After eating her fill, Emi’s sleep-addled mind gradually cleared as she reflected on this latest incident.
That was too close.
This time, she happened to notice the night ambush, but it was purely by luck.
One misstep, and she would have been the one swallowed whole and killed.
She needed to urgently consider countermeasures.