The smell was divine.
Cassian, sitting on a nearby rock, watched Lena bustling around the campfire. The tomboy had insisted on cooking the goat herself. No way anyone else was touching that meat.
"Are you sure you don't want help?" Lucia had asked.
"NO." Lena had almost growled. "This goat is mine."
And she cooked like never before. Seasonings carefully measured. Cooking perfectly timed. Every piece turned with surgical precision.
She's taking this very seriously, Cassian thought, amused despite herself.
Finally, Lena straightened, brandishing a skewer of steaming meat. "It's ready."
Hiro was the first to serve himself. He bit into it, chewed once...
And collapsed.
Literally. His knees buckled, and he fell onto his back, staring at the starry sky with an expression of pure bliss.
"...It's too good," he murmured.
Cassian raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? It's just meat. Sure, it smells amazing and looks incredible, but to have a reaction like..."
"Taste it," Lena said with a strange smile. Almost... mischievous?
Lucia took a bite.
Her eyes widened instantly.
"Ah... AH... AHHHHH!"
Her entire body flushed violently, from her face down to her neck. She arched backward, her back bending at an impossible angle. An unrestrained moan escaped her lips.
"MMMNH!"
She writhed, pressing her thighs together, trembling all over.
Cassian stared, mouth agape. "What the hell is this reaction?!"
How can FOOD do that?!
She turned to Lena, who was now grinning widely. "Why are you hesitating, Cassian? It's delicious."
Cassian looked at the meat in her hands. Then at Hiro, still lying on the ground. Then at Lucia, who was panting softly, her face still scarlet.
No. No way. I'm NOT ending up like that.
She took a small bite. Timid. Cautious.
Explosion.
Her elegant face turned scarlet instantly. A high-pitched cry—not of pain, but pure pleasure—escaped her throat.
"KYAAAAH!"
She arched, her pointed ears flushing violently. Her body shook, her hands instinctively gripping the rock she was sitting on.
What is this... why... how...
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Her legs gave out. She slid to the ground, panting. Her hands clamped over her mouth, desperately trying to stifle the sounds that kept escaping.
"Mmph... mmmh..."
Her skin glistened with sweat. Her blonde hair stuck to her forehead. She trembled violently, every fiber of her being overwhelmed by sensations she couldn't control.
I hate this world. I HATE this world.
Lena's laughter echoed into the night. "Well, Cassian! You seem to be enjoying it!"
If Cassian could move—if her body obeyed her—she would've strangled Lena on the spot.
Instead, she could only sit there, red and trembling, hating every second of her existence.
---
The next morning, Cassian was sulking.
She sat apart from the group, arms crossed, refusing to look at anyone.
Pathetic. So pathetic. I acted like... like...
She didn't finish the thought.
Lena approached, still smiling. "Still mad about last night?"
"Shut up."
"Oh, come on. It was adorable. You should've seen your face."
"I'm going to kill you."
"So cute when you're angry!"
"SHUT. YOUR. MOUTH."
Hiro, watching from afar, laughed nervously. "We should get going. We still have a ways to go."
"Yeah," Cassian muttered, standing. "Let's get out of here before more bullshit happens."
---
They'd only walked ten minutes when Hiro stopped abruptly.
"You hear that?"
A sound. Light. Like... tiny footsteps?
A ball of fur emerged from the bushes.
The whole group froze.
It was... adorable.
A small round creature—no bigger than a soccer ball. A perfectly spherical body covered in incredibly soft fur. Two big black eyes shining with innocence. A long tail ending in a white tuft.
It was chasing a bird with endearing clumsiness, tripping over its own tiny legs.
"Oh my god," Lucia whispered. "It's the cutest thing I've ever seen."
Hiro approached slowly, bending to pick it up. The creature didn't resist, letting out a curious little squeak.
"It's..." He stroked its fur. "...incredibly soft."
Soft wasn't even the right word. It was like touching a cloud. Like petting liquid silk. A texture that shouldn't physically exist.
"Let me touch!" Lena rushed over, running her fingers through the fur. "This... this isn't possible. How can something be this SOFT?!"
Lucia touched it too, eyes lighting up. "It's magical. Literally magical."
Even Cassian, despite her sulking, approached. She touched it cautiously.
...Okay. I admit it. It's the softest thing I've ever touched.
"We should keep it," Hiro suggested. "It's harmless and adorable. No one minds, right?"
"I approve," Lucia said immediately.
"Same," Lena added. "Look at it. Impossible to say no to that."
Cassian said nothing, but didn't protest either.
It's kinda cute...
A bird flew a bit too close.
The creature's mouth opened.
Wide. Too wide. Impossibly wide.
Its jaw unhinged, revealing rows—no, circles—of razor-sharp teeth spinning like a living circular saw.
SNAP.
It caught the bird mid-flight.
The chewing sounds that followed were nauseating. Bone-crunching. Flesh-tearing. Blood—a lot of blood—dripping from its monstrous mouth and staining the soft fur.
The whole group froze, brains refusing to process what they'd just seen.
The creature finished chewing, swallowed, then let out an adorable squeak.
"KYUUU~!"
It looked at everyone with its big innocent eyes, tilting its head cutely.
"...What did I just see?" Hiro whispered.
Lena, who had been holding the creature, immediately threw it to the ground. "NOPE. NOPE NOPE NOPE."
Cassian didn't waste a second. She rushed forward, raising her foot.
"DIE!"
STOMP.
She crushed the creature. Again. Again.
"DIE DIE DIE DIE!"
"BUFF!" Lucia yelled, hands glowing with intense golden light. "MAX BUFF!"
A wave of energy enveloped the group. Cassian felt her strength multiply.
STOMP STOMP STOMP.
Lena drew her sword, spinning it. "I'LL CUT YOU TO PIECES!"
She leaped at the creature, blade slamming down with force that cratered the ground.
In the rush, Hiro dropped his sword.
It fell into a bush.
"Damn!" He dove to retrieve it, rummaging through the leaves.
His fingers closed around something. A hilt.
He pulled.
It wasn't his sword.
It was... something else.
A magnificent blade. Black as night, with faint glowing golden patterns etched into it. The grip was wrapped in worn leather, comfortable in his hand.
And a floating window appeared before his eyes.
[NAMELESS SWORD]
Quality: Legendary (Single Use)
Effects:
- Passes through all defenses
- Cuts regardless of distance
- Normal damage: +9999%
- Critical damage: +99999%
- Critical hit rate: 99999%
Uses remaining: 1/1
[Note: Forged by an unknown artisan. Lost to time. The smith died before naming it. Final wish: "May this sword be used for great things."]
Hiro stared at the screen. Then at the creature. Which had survived Cassian and Lena and was still squeaking happily.
"GIRLS! GET BACK!"
They retreated immediately.
Hiro raised the sword. Charged at the creature.
And struck.
---
Impact frame.
The world froze.
The blade touched the creature.
Then...
BOOOOOM.
An explosion of pure light. Cassian had to close her eyes, blinded.
When the light faded, the creature was... gone. Vaporized. No body. No blood. Just... nothing.
And in Hiro's hand...
The sword disintegrated. Dissolving into golden particles that floated in the air before vanishing.
Silence.
---
Later, they crossed a vast grassy plain. The Cursed Lands seemed to fade behind them.
"We're almost out," Lucia said with relief. "I recognize this place. One more day of walking and we'll be out of the Cursed Lands."
Lena nodded vigorously. "Finally. FINALLY."
Hiro glanced back at the lands they'd crossed. "You realize we only explored the edges? Apparently, the deeper you go, the more dangerous it gets."
"We were really lucky," Lucia admitted. "Not running into anything unmanageable."
LUCKY?!
Cassian nearly choked. I almost died MULTIPLE TIMES! The centaur! The centipede! The Hobgoblin! How is that "manageable"?!
"Technically," Hiro continued with a smile, "from now on, it'll just be a walk in the park. No more..."
Movement in the tall grass.
A rabbit emerged.
Cassian froze, unpleasant memories surfacing.
No. Not another fucking rabbit.
Then a second rabbit appeared.
A third.
A tenth.
A hundredth.
They kept emerging. Hundreds. Thousands. Completely encircling the group.
All staring at the group with glowing red eyes.
"...I shouldn't have spoken so soon," Hiro whispered.
