Monster

Neto rapidly fired tales as if his life depended on it.

Everyone was drinking except him- who viewed this all as a time sink- and Ume, who'd grown tired of this place after countless years. Charlotte stayed silent, sucking on her bone's marrow after splintering it with a hefty chomp.

The only hint of Hitoshi's inebriation were the two radish-colored targets on his face. Some dryads weren't as experienced and were already slumbering over their tables.

'This'll take longer than I thought.' Neto sighed. 'Well, It's only natural to be a heavy drinker when you're permanently stuck in one place.'

So, the night continued.

Consecutive courses grew in diversity and lavishness. Neto marveled at his ability to continue chomping through cauldrons filled with Ichor wick wax and dipping platters of vegetables, despite the amount he'd already consumed. The wax wasn't as bad as he imagined, reminding him of fondue.

"I'm impressed that you've been enjoying our food this much." Hitoshi admired. "The last demon who came here wouldn't eat anything but fresh meat."

"You keep livestock here?" Neto wondered. He rather missed the taste of meat, but wasn't too keen on eating dokkis for the time being. They were rather filthy and reminded him of vermin.

"No livestock here. Something better."

Out of the corner of his eye, Ume filled Hitoshi's glass once more. However, this time she held both bottle and glass out of sight. Her grimace was full of disgust for the man.

'She couldn't be...'

"I'm sure you hunger for meat as well."

Hitoshi hiccuped, eyes narrowing on a few points behind Neto. His speech slurred, meaning he was almost at a tipping point.

"As long as it's cooked."

"Cooked meat? No issue.' He gestured towards a dryad behind Neto. 'You! Server girl! You would enjoy providing meat for this gracious host, wouldn't you?'

Neto looked where Hitoshi beckoned, towards the dryad who acted as his server, Fumiko. She was already limping towards him with a solemn expression. Absorbed in their meals, the other dryads paid this grim procession hardly any attention. Hitoshi's voice punctuated the strange scene with contrasting humor.

'He couldn't be talking about... Her!?'

Charlotte seemed to notice as well, as she spit marrow out of her mouth to focus on this predicament. Hitoshi stood with a ruler's gait to confirm Neto's suspicions.

"We dryads enjoy passion, so its rare to find virgins like her among our ranks. However, we recognize their value among demonkin, so we always raise a few besides our princess."

Neto's lower back drenched with sweat. Hitoshi was running a flesh farm for demons? He turned to face Ume, but the girl lay slumped on her table. A cloud of spores fluttered above her head. Hitoshi's magic, no doubt.

"Don't worry about my daughter. She does not have a strong stomach for these things, and almost invoked the wrath of an archdemon after trying to save his meal!!"

Hitoshi laughed as if this were preposterous. Neto grit his teeth, standing on his feet.

"You-"

Snap!

Before he could tell that asshole off, Hitoshi launched a tendril of mana at Fumiko. A vine twirled through the air, embedding itself into the arm she tried to block her heart with. Her eyes shot open with surprise, and she fell beside Neto, unconscious. The vine swelled for a bit, as if it were pumping something into her skin.

Charlotte tilted her head in confusion.

"Fumiko!" Neto shouted, running to her side. She was as good as a stranger, but to see her brethren cast her aside so easily...

'Rakshasa! What should I do??'

He tried to pull the vine out, but it wouldn't budge. Even his mana-drill technique failed. The vine was magic-resistant.

'Goddamnit Rakshasa! Aren't you supposed to be helping me???'

"Don't worry. I'll cook your meal, so stand back a little. Patience is a virtue!"

"Fuck off!" Neto cursed, but he was no longer sitting in the place which would amplify his voice.

"You still won't move? So be it: [Conflagration]."

As Neto watched azure flames race towards Fumiko across the vine, his thoughts stopped, and his instincts took priority.

"UNBOUND!" He screamed.

Immediately, time became molasses.

Rumbles quaked the cavern as unbound mana shot towards a singular point, blooming vines and flowers along its path.

Chilled fluid replaced the blood in Neto's veins, and his sense expanded past walls of magic. He could feel the hazy atmosphere of a portal nearby, the anticipation of dryads awaiting his next story, and a sinister aura he thought he'd never feel again. ...The Bishop??

'No... that aura is definitely coming from Hitoshi. How are those two connected?'

"ROARR!"

Just like Neto, Charlotte had enough of that creep. His bear-sized dragon barreled towards the dryad king with killing intent.

'I'll leave him to you, then.'

Placing his hand on the vine in front of Fumiko, he created the smallest gate possible and severed it with a slight pulse. This time, his magic worked.

BOOM!

Even though the effect was subtle, the sound of mana slicing through that vine blasted across the walls of the cavern. The fire never reached her.

Neto then aimed his magic at the army of dryads. They looked confused, tangled in webs of bark and vines after massive amounts of unbound mana flooded the area. Each one of them disgusted him, tossing a comrade away so casually, without a hint of remorse.

He only fired once, but since his gate expanded for combat, three stygian spears launched towards the crowd.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Every one of those explosions was powerful enough to destabilize a building. Limbs flew everywhere, purple blood vaporized before it could splatter. Even though Neto's system was silent, he recognized the feeling of leveling up.

'level up???'

'Level up!!'

'Level up...'

What a preposterous amount of XP!! Just how powerful were dryads when prepared???

Neto felt like he was watching a slow motion massacre. Unbound sense gave this entire experience a disembodied effect. He continued his barrage until the last hint of life faded from that area. None of them expected such destructive magic, and their drunk hesitation cost them their lives.

'Level up.'

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

'Level up.'

"ROOAR!"

As the last dryad in the crowd died, Charlotte flew past Neto like a paperweight. For a moment, he thought he was imagining things, but the pained expression as she smacked against the far side of the cavern was too real. Her life force flickered.

"To think!!! I was supposed to hand you in alive, bastard! Look what you've done to my people!!"

Hitoshi stood over a newly created vine, which had dozens of empty bottles growing out of it. His face was a mess of wrath and inebriation. His onyx pupils expanded. Neto realized instantly what had happened.

"Stamina..." He muttered in awe, eyes focused on the sparking fluid dripping onto the floor. Dryads could create potions with their magic??? Even to Neto, that seemed overpowered.

Stamina probably wasn't the only potion Hitoshi quaffed. Neto sensed tremendous pressure coming from this dryad, and to make matters worse, the adverse effects of Unbound Entity on his unprotected body were showing. Neto sensed a vile corruption spread through his organs. He would have to finish this quickly.

"Don't die, Charlotte!" Neto screamed, lunging at the dryad king.