The air seemed to freeze at this very moment.
That giant lizard…
It…
Could it be…
my “mother”…?
Ugh…
At this point, I couldn’t help but recall the plot of the original work—a certain “loving mother” of a Queen Taratect who ate her own children like skewers!
One bite, one crunchy snack…
Does eating your own birth children mean you can eat with peace of mind?
…
Why is it still staring at me?
Oh no…!
What should I do…
In a closed space like this, I have nowhere to run!
Don’t eat me, don’t eat me…
I just arrived in this world…!
And just as my mind was running wild, the giant lizard’s gaze shifted away from me.
After scanning the area once, it retreated back through the rocky cavern it came from.
Shortly after, accompanied by the sound of something being dragged, it crawled back in reverse.
*Splat!*
A giant colorful frog was violently thrown onto the open ground inside the cavern.
About one-third of the frog’s body was petrified, and other parts were covered in bite marks, almost snapped in two down the middle, with gooey purple-red plasma slowly leaking out.
The rocks on the ground were soaked in the plasma, emitting puffs of white smoke.
Then came a few more trips back and forth, and one gruesome frog corpse after another was piled together.
I stared blankly at the “frog mountain” stacked in front of me.
My brothers and sisters also seemed to feel something, stumbling and crawling toward that pile of corpses, then flinging themselves onto it recklessly, opening their mouths to bite and tear.
The “frog mountain” gradually turned into a “lizard mountain.”
The giant lizard lay at the entrance, looking at its “masterpiece” with satisfaction.
Turns out that giant lizard brought us food!
You (lizard) are actually pretty nice!
I let out a long breath.
Phew…
As long as you don’t eat me, it’s fine.
*Gurgle~*
Mm, my stomach is hungry too.
There’s nothing edible here at all.
Other than the “little mountain” in front of me, there’s no other choice.
I slowly crawled forward, squeezing my way into the “lizard mountain.”
What met my eyes was a massive pile of dark blue frog meat torn beyond recognition.
Speaking of which, I remember this stuff seems to have strong acidity…
Eating it might grant relevant resistances.
While thinking this, I picked up a chunk of meat with my mouth, putting it in and chewing.
Huh?!
Instantly, a sharp, intense pain swept through my mouth.
Bitter and foul!
My mouth hurt so much inside…
This feeling was practically like taking a huge gulp of sulfuric acid!
(Though I’ve never drunk sulfuric acid before.)
…*Blegh!!*
With a gag, I threw up everything I had just eaten into my mouth.
This wasn’t something a human could eat at all…
Though I’m not a human right now either…
«Proficiency reached a certain level.
Acquired skill <Acid Resistance LV.1>.»
Mm…
So I really did get a resistance.
Do I really have to keep eating this kind of stuff…
That being said, the siblings around me didn’t seem to care about the pain in their mouths at all, still scrambling for the food before them like mad, as if eating some delicious delicacy as the piled corpses slowly dwindled.
Damn it…
How can I lose to you guys!
Watch me!
…Hmm?
Just as I overcame my psychological fear and prepared to take another bite of the frog, a lizard pushed against my hind leg, constantly squeezing forward to shove me aside.
Ah, so annoying!
I tried controlling my tail, swishing it in the air a bit, and then whipped it hard onto that lizard’s body.
*Eek!*
It let out a weird yelp from the hit and scurried off to the side in defeat.
Phew…
Steeling my resolve again!
Waaaaah!!
I’ll eat, I’ll eat, I’ll eat!!!
…
Before long, the once towering “frog mountain” only had a patch of leftover bones and broken remains left, with even the blood on the ground licked clean.
Through my unremitting efforts, Acid Resistance leveled up to LV.2.
It was way too gross…
Disgusting to death…
Speaking of which, when Kumoko ate these monsters for the first time, she threw up like crazy too.
Yeah, this taste really is no joke.
But I don’t seem to be full…
Even though I tried my absolute best to scramble for food (really), there were just too many brothers and sisters.
My belly didn’t feel the fullness it should have, and I was still very hungry…
I still wanted to eat something more…
All of a sudden, I noticed the atmosphere in the cavern felt a bit off.
Almost every lizard maintained a low, alert posture, as if preparing for a major battle.
How could this happen…?
This feels pretty bad…
*Drip…*
*Patter…*
*Drip…*
*Patter…*
The originally noisy cavern turned dead silent.
The space was left with only the sound of water droplets from the rock crevices constantly dripping onto lizard bodies and onto the rocks.
Instantly, a strong sense of unease drenched my body.
I slowly backed away, continuously brushing past one sibling after another.
I backed all the way to the corner until there was no way left to retreat.
I silently swallowed a mouthful of saliva, fixing my eyes dead ahead.
In a flash!
A lizard lunged forward violently, biting hard into another lizard’s forelimb!
Ignoring the other lizard’s frantic squealing, it just twisted its front neck frantically, wanting to tear that guy’s limb off.
This action seemed to become the spark that lit the powder keg.
One, two, three…
Attacking each other, more and more lizards began throwing themselves into this frantic slaughter.
Their desire to feed was completely ignited.
Around them were only the sounds of chewing and biting—a living picture of hell.
At this moment, a lizard very close in front of me had its throat bitten open in one bite by another guy.
Blood gushed out, splashing all over my face.
Waaah!
My soul still shaken, I turned my head to look at the giant lizard to the side.
Mother!
Are you really not going to do something about this!
It just sat there quietly, making no move regarding everything happening before its eyes, as if enjoying an exceptionally brilliant performance.
Damn it!
Could it be that letting us slaughter each other was your true goal all along?!
If that’s the case…
I have to do something too!
So, I pressed tightly against the corner, praying not to draw the attention of other lizards.
Can’t see me…
Can’t see me…
Can’t see me…
Just as I was still fantasizing that I could stay out of it, sudden sharp pain coming from my back shattered my thoughts.
Aaaagh!!
I got bitten!!
I twisted my body frantically, wanting to shake off the guy behind me, but it just held on for dear life without care, unwilling to let go no matter what.
I could feel my body being torn open.
Pain slammed into my brain like an electric drill.
I could clearly feel my HP draining away, and my vision gradually began to blur.
I even felt like my body was out of control…
Am I going to kick the bucket here…
No!
Are you kidding me?!
My story has clearly just begun!
I won’t accept ending here!
My four limbs suddenly surged with power.
Kicking forward while flipping my body, I slammed into the wall along with the guy biting me from behind.
*Splat!*
A sharp crystal on the wall pierced that guy’s nape, and a miserable scream rang out.
Oh, looks like fate is on my side!
It let go from the pain!
Good chance!
I took the opportunity to break free, turned around, and lunged with all my strength!
Biting hard into its flank!
Now the tables have turned!
It’s my turn!
As my fangs sank in, it struggled non-stop, its four claws flailing wildly, even trying to turn its neck back to bite me in return.
Too bad your neck isn’t long enough!
Compared to the back, the flank is softer to begin with, naturally making it easier to deal fatal damage.
I kept increasing the force in my mouth.
Blood exploded inside my mouth, and the rancid stench filled my entire nasal cavity, making it almost impossible to breathe.
But I still didn’t let go, until it gradually quieted down, and only then did I dare to slowly release my mouth.
Its four limbs were still twitching slightly, its throat continuously making sounds like a broken bellows, until losing its last bit of strength, the light in its bright yellow eyes faded.
Without another trace of movement, it lay on the ground, devoid of life.
Dead…?
Bitten to death by me…?
Blood spread out on the ground, reaching the tips of my claws.
…
I won, right?
….
«Conditions met.
Acquired title <Kin Eater>.»
«Based on the effect of title <Kin Eater>, acquired skills <Taboo LV.1> <Heresy Magic LV.
1>.»
…