## Chapter 54 – Night of Betrayal (1)
Anick is a very unique life form.
Possessing characteristics of both animal and plant, Anick can, in effect, survive simply by drinking water and basking in sunlight.
However, one problem exists: this applies only to adult Anicks.
‘It’s no different from an animal…
It consumes nutrients to grow…’
Plants can cover all their growth with nutrients produced through photosynthesis, but Anick must absorb and utilize external nutrients.
The prime example of this was carnivorism.
Something I had only done once.
Wrapping around the body of a ‘woman,’ tearing flesh, sucking blood and meat, grinding bones, and greedily devouring all the nutrients that constituted her.
For me, who had never even dreamed of cannibalism, it was inevitable that the shock of that time would remain with me.
Since then, I had struggled to find other methods, and fortunately, I learned to absorb the nutrients contained in the fluids secreted by the female animals used for breeding, as instinct led me.
‘The problem is…
It’s not very efficient…’
Of course, considering that I was creating nutrients from something no different from water, it was indeed overflowing with efficiency.
However, there was a limit to filling my belly with fluids that were merely byproducts or waste, rather than the nutrients contained within a living being itself.
Therefore, in a sense, I was no different from raising Vivian and Lanie in my lair by sharing my nutrients with them.
No matter how fervently they writhed and spurted like bitches in heat, how significant could the nutrients contained within really be?
To be precise, the fluids additionally collected by the spiders from the women’s restroom in the magic academy were barely enough to cover the needs of me, Vivian, and Lanie.
In the midst of all this, I was bound to face an overwhelming challenge…
“How’s your body?”
“So-so,” Arachne replied curtly, not even looking at my tentacles.
She only opened her mouth after filling her belly with nutrient solution just now; her reaction from yesterday to today had been nothing short of frigid.
The unsavory events between her and me, and the image of Arachne’s tearful expression at that moment, came to mind, and I quietly closed my mouth, feeling as if those tear-stained red eyes were tormenting my mind.
And perhaps for her, being a carnivore like me, that alone would be woefully insufficient.
Leaving her behind, who was bound to be on edge due to hunger, I turned my head towards Fina and the beastmen.
‘How about there? Is everyone alright?’
“Um… everyone wants to go outside…
I know it can’t be helped, but…”
No beastman would want to live confined in a narrow underground space.
For them, they had finally emerged from the dungeon they had so longed to escape, but it was no different from being trapped in a new dungeon within my lair.
Seeing the beastmen far off, leaning on each other for comfort, I began to ponder, looking at their seemingly hopeless state.
‘Fina. Tell the people.’
“Yes…? What did you say…?”
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“Wow…”
Lanie sucked in the drool from her salivating mouth, staring at the scene before her with a dazed expression.
And Vivian was no different; she meticulously took in the surrounding scenery as if she couldn’t believe her eyes, and began to think intently about something.
After all, how astonishing would it be to discover beastmen in Anick’s lair after returning from the special evaluation, when they hadn’t even shown their faces during it?
Moreover, Arachne, who they thought was dead, was sitting on a swing-shaped structure made of tree roots in the corner, quietly resting.
Not eating the beastmen, but simply sitting and tidying her long red hair with the tips of her sharp nails.
Yet, just the sight of Arachne slightly glancing this way and furrowing her brow was enough to make this situation all the more astonishing for them.
A beastman woman with rabbit ears cautiously approached them, and the sight was reflected in Vivian’s eyes.
“Um… which one of you is Vivian…?”
Vivian, who had been wary of her approaching, was taken aback when she heard the beastman speak first.
Asking that question meant that she knew she was here.
More than that, had she ever seen this beastman who knew her name somewhere before?
Vivian couldn’t help but feel tense, as it wouldn’t be good for her that the fact that she was here was known, but fortunately, she was finally able to understand the situation thanks to the beastman woman’s subsequent words.
“Um… I’m ‘Fina’…
That person…? I mean…
That monster-nim… told me to tell you…”
Fina, who seemed to be contemplating what to call it while looking at Anick, pointed towards me and eventually created a rough title to call me.
“I heard you’ve been here for a long time.
So you’re going to tell us what to do when we go out…”
Vivian, who barely suppressed a laugh at the title that didn’t quite fit, asked Fina, who was saying words that were just as surprising.
“You heard…? So…
Th-that… thing… spoke…?”
“Um… it’s nothing special…!!
This is like my talent…!!
More than that… ah… yes…
He said to go out to the entrance at night and take a walk together…”
Vivian, who had been staring blankly at Fina with an expression as if she had received a cultural shock, suddenly came to her senses and asked back.
“He… he said to go for a walk…?”
“Yes. That’s what he said…?”
At this point, one would become curious about the intentions of this tentacle that had captured them.
Not only was it letting out Vivian, whom it had bothered to capture in its lair, but it was even releasing the beastmen, whom it had brought here with some purpose, outside, risking their escape.
She knew that this being understood words.
That’s why she had tried to hide her affection, convinced that it was listening, and had even deliberately acted spoiled, hadn’t she?
The fact that it had them meet the beastmen wearing clothes, not naked, showed that this tentacle was equipped with common sense.
“If you listen to me, nothing dangerous will happen.
I’ll make sure of it.”
Would there ever come a moment when she could converse with this unknown being?
And would there ever come a moment when she could hear it respond to her words?
And…
‘I want to know what you’re thinking…’
Vivian’s eyes, filled with an unknown bitterness and envy, steadily gazed at Fina as she calmly opened her mouth.
“I’ll tell you about the precautions before we go out, so get ready and gather here.”
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As the ceiling of the lair opened with a small rumbling sound, the beastmen, with startled eyes, began to rush out towards the moonlight streaming in from outside.
I had already taken care of all the perimeter security, so all they had to worry about was following Vivian’s instructions in preparation for any unforeseen circumstances.
“Keep your voices down as much as possible.
We’re not out here for fun, are we?”
“Vivian-nim told you to!!
Don’t make loud noises!!”
“Lanie… you’re the loudest.”
“Ah… haha… yes…”
How long had it been since they had felt the outside air?
Of course, the beastmen, who had heard the whole story from Fina, were somewhat following the words of Vivian and Lanie, who were experienced…
But even for them, the joy and elation of seeing the outside world after so long was incomparable to anything else.
Vivian seemed to have heard some of the circumstances from Fina, so she was leaving them alone as long as they didn’t do anything dangerous.
From those sitting in the flower bed offering prayers, unlike beastmen, to couples who had relied on each other and made it this far hugging and shedding tears, and even beastmen running and leaping on the flower bed.
Watching their slightly invigorated 모습, I was able to judge that I had overcome the immediate crisis for the time being.
There was nothing as cruel as confining those who wanted to go out.
But perhaps I should have thought a little more.
The cruel things for them.
I didn’t yet know how far the minds of those who wanted to avoid it could be driven.
