After reading the book, my mind felt a little clearer.
My plan had just become even simpler.
Now it was just a matter of getting them all into the same place and finding a way to start a fire.
It shouldn’t be that hard.
At least, that’s what I thought.
Then again, ever since I got here, I hadn’t found a single flammable thing.
They kept only wood.
Honestly, I should’ve expected them to be weak to fire or something. Their whole nest was practically built without anything related to fire.
I put the book back in its place and absentmindedly ran a hand through my hair.
After a moment, I finally looked at the mirror.
I had been avoiding it, and the reflection I saw explained why.
I looked even paler than before. The dark circles beneath my eyes had deepened from days of sleepless nights and constant paranoia. My face had grown gaunt enough that I almost looked undead.
My eyes drifted down, tired.
A patch of skin had started peeling away.
I hesitated before brushing it with my fingers.
It came off.
"..."
I quietly looked at the small piece of skin resting in my palm, then back at the stranger staring at me through the mirror.
’I kinda expected something like this, but this is still hard to see. Until a while ago, I lived in a modern society. Now I live in a goddamn horror movie.’
Forget about that. I must concentrate on my goal. I have to.
I must annihilate them all—every last one. Don’t forget that. I can’t and won’t forget. The goal is to kill the four Regents.
I calmed myself after looking at my reflection. My clothes were still the same—rotting, wrapped in those flower-like growths. Disgusting. Though I noticed part of them had turned a dark crimson, only about halfway. It had probably absorbed Bramble’s blood.
I finished gathering my thoughts and stepped out of the room. My eyes swept across the hallway, making sure nobody was around before I quietly closed the door behind me.
Unfortunately, someone was.
Thorn.
She was standing there.
I only noticed her at the very last second.
Her eyes bored into mine.
Then she started walking toward me.
Slow.
Intentional.
Ominous.
She stopped only a few steps away.
Her expression gave nothing away as she opened her mouth.
"..."
"What were you doing in Mother’s room?"
I kept my calm, but my composure faltered for just a moment—half a second. I couldn’t afford to let it linger.
I straightened myself almost immediately.
"Actually, Mother gave me a small task before she left."
I smiled and closed my eyes.
"Mother... gave you a task?"
She sounded like she was about to laugh.
My thoughts stayed sharp, but none of it reached my face.
"Yes, sister."
Every word flowed out as smoothly as honey.
"She told me to keep preparing food for our family until she comes back."
I made sure to sound as calm, innocent, and genuine as I could.
"I just went in to check her notes."
"She... said you can prepare the food?"
Thorn’s face twisted.
"What kind of bullshit is that?"
She stomped her foot.
"That’s my job!"
I almost sighed in relief.
She wasn’t suspicious, but she was jealous.
Being the oldest meant most of the chores fell to her, and somewhere along the way she’d started taking pride in them.
For her, it wasn’t about the food. It was the only thing she could claim as her own.
I scratched my cheek awkwardly.
"Mother said I have to start learning."
I gave an apologetic smile.
"She wants us to share the cooking later, so she’s having me practice now. Relax, Big Sis."
"Besides, isn’t it exhausting? You have to prepare it every single day."
"..."
She looked down, her hands clenched so tightly her nails nearly dug into her palms.
"Tch."
"Just wait until Mother gets back."
She turned and walked away.
I let out a slow breath.
My heartbeat finally began to settle.
I couldn’t believe that worked.
Looking back, the lie wasn’t even that convincing.
Maybe that was the discrepancy.
She was intelligent... for a Horror.
But beneath all of that, she was still a monster. Instinctive. Easy.
She never stopped to question what didn’t immediately concern her.
For once, I felt grateful for that.
I barely heard her, but one sentence still reached me.
"You’re gonna ruin dinner..."
"I already know it."
She vanished into the shadows, moving with hurried, frantic steps.
I scratched the back of my head.
How petty.
I let out a quiet scoff.
I’ll kill them at the dinner table.
First, though, I needed to figure out where the hell they actually cooked.
I needed Petal.
My little angel.
My personal encyclopedia.
I started searching for Petal.
"Petal? Where are you?"
A tiny head peeked out from behind one of the roots.
The moment she saw me, her face lit up.
She hurried over on her little legs before wrapping her arms around mine.
"...Found you."
A smile escaped me before I could stop it.
I gently patted her head.
"There you are."
She happily rubbed her cheek against my sleeve.
".Do you need petal.."
"I do."
Her chest puffed up with pride.
"Petal knows everything."
"Then it’s Petal’s turn to help her clueless big brother!"
Well... she’d actually helped me more times than I could count. I kept framing it as us playing around with her, and she kept helping me.
I scratched the back of my head, my expression turning a little strange before settling again.
I told her I wanted to know where Thorn and Mother usually made dinner.
She looked confused, so I quickly explained that Mother had given me a job. She wanted me to start taking turns with Thorn since she wouldn’t always be around.
Petal’s eyes immediately lit up.
"Oh! Big Brother’s gonna cook for us?"
She clapped her hands together.
"I bet it’ll be super yummy!"
Before I could even answer, she grabbed my wrist.
"C’mon!"
She practically dragged me down the hallway.
Petal excitedly dragged me through the nest before stopping in front of a massive wooden enclosure.
"Here!"
I looked inside.
My body froze.
People. Dozens of individuals. Men, women, and children.
They were crammed together behind crude wooden bars, filthy, bruised, and barely alive. Some stared blankly into space. Others quietly sobbed. A few didn’t move at all.
The smell hit me a second later.
Sweat, blood, rot.
"What the fuck"
My voice came out as little more than a whisper.
Petal tilted her head.
"Hm?"
She followed my gaze before smiling innocently.
"Food."
She said it so casually it made my stomach turn.
One of the prisoners weakly reached through the bars.
Petal instinctively stepped toward him.
"No."
I grabbed her shoulder.
"Don’t."
She blinked, genuinely confused.
"...Why?"
"He’s touching you."
"What... are you talking about? What if he is...?"
She looked at the prisoner the same way a child would look at a stray dog begging for scraps.
"He’s hungry."
Before I could stop her, she crouched down, poked his forehead through the bars, and giggled.
"No biting."
The man’s trembling hand slowly fell back to the ground.
Petal frowned.
"See?"
"They’re nice."
Right. They feed on humans. What did I expect? A pantry? Calm down. This isn’t your world anymore. They’re just livestock here. Nothing else. If I start seeing them as people, I’ll hesitate. And hesitation means death. Keep that in mind. Don’t form attachments. Not again.
"I see."
My voice came out hoarse, but after clearing my throat, it returned to its usual calm.
Then, without warning, a frail hand wrapped around my ankle from the other side of the bars.
"Don’t touch Big Brother!"
Petal’s voice echoed through the room.
The woman flinched, her grip loosening immediately.
"P-Please..."
Her voice cracked.
"Please help my child..."
Tears streamed down her dirt-stained face.
"We... we didn’t know what coming here meant. I swear... I was only visiting my family in a nearby village..."
She pulled a little boy closer.
He looked barely alive.
His cheeks had caved in, his lips were cracked, and his eyes had long since lost their light.
"My husband..."
She swallowed.
"...he died."
Every word reached my ears.
Yet...
I felt nothing.
"Please..."
She lowered her head until it touched the wooden floor.
"At least... feed him."
"I don’t want anything."
"You can take me instead..."
"Please... just let him eat."
My eyes drifted toward the child.
She wasn’t lying.
He looked like he could stop breathing at any moment.
I looked at Petal and then at the child. If he lived... in a few months, he might end up just like her. The mutation was spreading through the forest, corrupting everything it affected. Humans. Animals. It didn’t matter—no one was spared.
"I’ll take the child."
I leaned closer and lowered my voice.
"He’ll be today’s feed."
Petal instinctively flinched. It was a subtle, almost involuntary reaction, perhaps a leftover from who she had been before her mutation.
"Okay..."
The woman’s face went pale.
"N-No... please... not him..."
She clutched the boy tighter, but he barely reacted. His breathing was shallow, his eyes dull. He looked like he could die at any second.
’He’s already gone.’
Even if I got him out of here, he wouldn’t survive. And if he somehow did, the mutation would finish the job. He’d become one of them. Another Horror.
I wasn’t trying to save him I was ensuring he died before losing his humanity.
I reached for the child. The woman resisted for only a moment before her arms gave out. She knew it too. Her fingers slowly loosened, and the boy fell into my arms.
She covered her mouth as a quiet sob escaped.
"...I’m sorry..."
Petal led me through the tunnels until we reached a crude kitchen carved into the roots. A large pot simmered over an open fire while rusted knives and cleavers hung from the walls.
She carefully laid the boy on one of the wooden tables.
"I’ll go tell Thorn!"
Before I could answer, she skipped out of the room.
Silence returned.
The boy looked at me.
Barely.
His eyelids were too heavy to stay open.
...You got unlucky.
That was all there was to it.
Wrong place.
Wrong time.
I picked up one of the knives hanging from the wall and tested its edge with my thumb.
Sharp enough.
Good.
If I was going to do this...
It had to be quick.
The child never even looked at the blade.
Maybe he didn’t have the strength.
Maybe he already knew.
I placed a hand over his eyes.
"You won’t feel much."
Whether that was for him
Or for me
I wasn’t sure.
Then, with a single clean motion, I drove the blade into his neck.
He didn’t resist. His body twitched once and then went completely still.
"..."
Better this... than waking up as one of them. Actually, I mean as one of us.
I exhaled slowly and looked around.
The place was cleaner than I expected.
Guts were separated into wooden tubs instead of thrown aside. Bones were stacked neatly against the wall while strips of meat hung from hooks above the fire.
Focus.
I tried remembering every meal I’d ever made back home. Anything would do.
My eyes wandered across the shelves.
There weren’t any spices.
Just rows of clay jars.
Blood — Child.
Blood — Adult.
Blood — Beast.
Blood — Horror.
Blood — Young.
Blood — Elder.
Some had dried blood caked around their lids from years of use.
"You’ve got to be kidding me."
I pinched the bridge of my nose before looking around again. If I wanted to poison them, I’d have to figure out exactly how they prepared their food first.
It’s not exactly poison.
Just enough to paralyze them.
Long enough for me to start the fire.
I’d already figured out how I was going to do that.
With my body the way it was now, it wouldn’t be difficult.
Even cavemen figured out how to make fire.
They were a hell of a lot weaker than I was.
I opened the pouch and pulled out one of the dried herbs.
A small piece of parchment slipped out with it.
Herb of Paralysis
Paralyzes the body for approximately five minutes.
I stared at it.
"Why would she even have this?"
I stole it from her room, so she clearly kept it around for a reason.
Five minutes wasn’t exactly useful for hunting.
Which meant...
She probably dealt with the other Regents more often than I thought.
Or maybe she was the one supplying them in the first place.
Right. Focus.
I slipped the herb back into my pocket and set the parchment aside. The Broodmother could wait. The plan couldn’t.
I turned toward the table.
For a moment, I simply stood there. Funny. A few days ago I would’ve thrown up before even getting close. Now my eyes lingered only long enough to make sure I wouldn’t have to look at his face again.
Don’t think.
I let my hands do what my mind refused to. Somewhere between one motion and the next, something inside me quietly stopped speaking. I didn’t notice when it happened. I only noticed the silence afterward.
I kept waiting to feel disgust, guilt, or my stomach turning... but strangely, nothing bothered me.
I washed my hands, watching the water carry everything away until it ran clear.
Today, dinner still had to be made.
The first day was a mess.
The second wasn’t much better.
By the third, I could at least make something they’d willingly eat.
I crushed the last of the Herb of Paralysis into the stew and stirred it until it disappeared completely.
"That should do it."
Petal was already sitting at the table, bouncing her legs impatiently.
Moss quietly took his usual seat without saying a word, staring blankly at the bowl in front of him.
Thorn walked in carrying a stack of bowls before dropping them onto the table.
"Mother said she’s finishing something."
She clicked her tongue.
"She’ll eat after she gets back."
I nearly smiled.
Perfect.
Thorn didn’t bother waiting any longer.
"Just eat."
Petal immediately dug in.
Moss followed without a word.
Thorn muttered something under her breath before taking the first bite herself.
I slowly sat down across from them, leaning back in my chair with one arm resting against the table.
They ate. I watched.
Every second that passed made my heartbeat slower instead of faster
I wanted to do it before the Broodmother came back. This was my best chance. God... it almost felt like everything was lining up for me. The last few days had been nothing but one convenient thing after another. It didn’t make sense. I should’ve been suspicious. Instead... I liked it. It made me feel like the world was finally on my side for once. And I wasn’t about to waste that.
You’re about to walk through that door, expecting everything to be normal. You’ll call out their names, wait for a response, and then— you’ll understand. You’ll realize what it truly means to lose everything in an instant.
Just like I did once upon a time in a different life...
A smile slowly crept across my face.
Come home, Mother.
Gradually, the Herb of Paralysis took effect.