My Chaos-senses are tingling.
What, you expected me to become a brooding teen who thinks the whole world should end because I watched my mother die and couldn't do anything about it even though I'm so strong? That I'd never regain my sense of humor and aloof attitude regarding all the fantastical stuff going on around me because of that? Of course I'd get back on my feet quickly, who do you think I am?
Well, to be fair, I did brood and have doomsday thoughts for a while, and all I did was gorge myself on all life I could find in my vicinity without doing much else. By now I've grown immensely once again, and I might have eradicated an entire ecological system in the process. But what do I care? I'm a Crawling Chaos, I need to grow.
The Chaos-senses I'm talking about are something I seem to have developed only recently. Apparently I can sense life force or whatever you'd call it, and pinpoint it to a frighteningly accurate degree. That's why even small animals burrowed underground can't escape me. And of course, I didn't even spare insects; after all, they're no different in that they provide nourishment.
There, found it! I extend a spike explosively into the ground and feel that it has pierced something living. It's one of those mole-like creatures that spend almost their entire lives underground. Absorbing its insides into the spike, I practically suck it up from the inside out, leaving nothing behind that wasn't attached to its body. I thought of doing this when I noticed that I can use considerable force when I want to pull something inside me. On small targets, it works wonders.
By now I might have reached a mass larger than what my mother showed during her battle against the sorcerers. Of course, I doubt mass is going to make a difference against their powers, it will have to be magic or sorcery. It's what Juzual tried to teach me, and I learned that it was true the hard way.
Speaking of Juzual, she sent us down to the planet most likely knowing that I couldn't do anything to help my mother. Considering her last words, it's clear that she can't enter the atmosphere because that's all Zenlith's domain. Then again, if that was true, he would be able to find me here and come to kill me as well, so his powers must be limited to a certain range. In other words, I can guess that this is far from the Demon Continent - or any of the human continents for that matter.
Why I have to guess? Because Mithra just left after telling me to eat, and never came back. I'm sure he's observing me somehow, and it's clear that he doesn't think I'm ready to fight the sorcerers yet. I have to admit, it's quite lonely though, especially when I kill and eat everything living that I see or sense. Then again, I haven't found any intelligent life that could try to communicate with me, or else I would have stopped and asked where this place is.
Aurelia, you ask? It seems Mithra somehow extracted her from inside me. I have no idea how he could do that, but when I arrived here and tried to take her out, she wasn't there anymore. Dissolved? No no no, that can't happen. I tried and failed before, after all. And she's made of gold. You can't dissolve gold with stomach acid... right?
Oh, and how much time passed? It's been at least thirty days...
Yes, I've been here for a month now, wandering this place and eating up things without ever finding any humans or demons. Maybe this is an uninhabited continent and Mithra literally wants me to turn it into a lifeless desert, before letting me return.
And why I'm not returning myself? Because I have neither a map nor any idea where in the world this is. In Chaos Warhead mode I might be able to just circle the entire planet in a day, but it's still a planet. Considering how much ground I can cover with my vision and how large a planet is, it'd take me a long time to maybe finally find a settlement, let alone a familiar place.
Why not contact Senka with her spirit telephone? It seems I'm outside the service area of her network. My own fault for shutting her out and then getting teleported away. That way she didn't see what happened to me and might be thinking that I'm dead. And even if she somehow realized that I'm not, not hearing anything from me for so long might make her think that I just ran away from everything.
And a month is a long time. I wonder how everyone is doing. Especially Hestia, who might lose her mind over my absence and go on a killing spree. Senka was there when my mother died, so that means Hestia should know, too. Maybe they flew all the way to the demon castle, although I assume they would take at least a day or two to get there, so hopefully by that time the sorcerers were already gone...
I feel like I've gone astray from my path, whatever that path was. I just wanted to have an adventure while returning to the demon castle, live a carefree life as a princess, have fun with all the beautiful maids there and then... well, I didn't think about anything after that. But where did things go wrong? Was it when I met Rolan and his party? Through knowing me, he somehow ended up in the demon castle and killed my mother, after all. At least I have to assume that there's a correlation between me knowing him and his presence during the final battle.
At this point it's just another name on a list of people I want to kill.
I'm in a jungle.
I've passed through a dry steppe with very little life, but it was better than the completely empty wasteland I left behind. But now the landscape is gradually turning towards more vegetation and the further I walk, the denser it grows. I've stopped simply consuming everything at one point and begun to explore my surroundings, since they look completely different from any I've seen in this world so far.
The trees are tropical, that much is for sure. The climate is really humid and hot, and I'm grateful for this body, which I can regulate however I want to, so that I don't have to feel any temperatures at all. Even if I ran outside in the sun a lot during my previous life, as a member of the track and field club, it was only in Tokyo. I really didn't like the heat in Okinawa when we went there on a school trip, since you can't stop sweating while it doesn't alleviate the heat at all. It's worse than the dry heat in the desert, which I experienced for the first time in the Khurut Sultanate.
I think I found a road. Maybe it's just an animal trail, but there's a path leading through the rainforest, so I decide to follow it. If it's really manmade, I might be able to find my way back into civilization, try to get a map of this place, find my bearings and then fly back to more familiar lands on my own, instead of waiting for Mithra to show up again at a potentially arbitrary point in the future.
In the distance I hear a swelling and ebbing sound, but I just can't put my finger on what exactly it is. I can somewhat pinpoint the direction of where it comes from, and this trail seems to lead there as well, so there must be something at the end of it. Maybe there's a mill or some other structure that makes a sound periodically. I actually hope it is, since it's quite lonely all on my own.
Soon I realize that the sound isn't anything artificial: It's waves. It seems that I've walked for so long that I'm near the sea now. The trail keeps going in a more or less straight line and I notice that some trees seem to have been chopped down to make way for it. In other words, I'm near a civilization that at least has the technology to create tools with which they can fell trees and maintain roads.
I walk around a rock formation and the landscape opens itself before me. Salty wind greets me as I peer out at the vastness of the ocean. I'm standing atop a tiny hill, and not far from me is a collection of small houses - a village, if you want to stretch that term to its utmost limit. There are no fields surrounding it and it's clear that the people here live off the sea, which is only a hundred meters beyond the furthest house.
Under different circumstances this would seem like a place for a quiet vacation, and I would have felt the urge to jump into the sea as soon as possible. But I have a goal in mind, and while it's not absolutely pressing right now, I don't really feel like wasting time having fun swimming.
Transforming my skin to take on the texture of clothes, I basically return to my academy appearance, with long blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a short skirt and a white shirt. I think I won't go with the same template as last time, since it's tiring to act weak when you're just so much more powerful than everyone else around you. Creating a small backpack from my own matter, I pose as a traveler this time.
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Descending the sandy hill, I keep my eyes on the village. Unlike the one where I met Rolan and the others in, this one doesn't look active at all. They must be in their homes right now. Well, I guess it's mealtime, since the sun is high in the sky, so that would explain it. In the last one, I came along in the morning, when everyone is busy with work. Then again, I don't know the working times of a fishing village, so I might be wrong.
Now that I'm getting closer, I find that the buildings look different from any of those I've seen in this world so far, but their architecture has something familiar about them. The houses are built on stilts that keep them off the ground by around half a meter, which is similar to traditional beach houses in tropical nations - which I've only ever seen on photos.
In line with the warm climate, the houses have a very open design, with large windows covered only with cloth rather than wooden shutters. The building material seems to be limited to wood, with the roofs being covered in giant leaves. I don't see any metal, let alone glass, so it must mean that this village is either very poor or it's part of a civilization that is much less developed, when compared to the ones I've seen so far.
When I walk between the houses, I find signs of life here and there. There is a wooden rack with fish hanging to dry standing in front of one of the houses. Judging by the fact that they look fresh, they must have been caught earlier today. In front of another house stands a basket of fresh fruits, which someone must have left temporarily.
Picking a random house, I ascend the few stairs to the front door and knock on it, which unlike the windows, are properly covered by a wooden panel. I'm fully prepared to be attacked the moment someone opens the door, but a thought crosses my mind first: What if they don't speak any language that I know? Also, isn't this door really tall?
"Eá?" A female's voice from inside speaks with a very distinct intonation that suggests a question. And of course, I don't understand the language.
"Umm..." I have no idea how to answer and suddenly I feel nervous at meeting strangers.
"Ók iaw?" With an impatient undertone the voice approaches accompanied by footsteps, before the door is opened and a woman with tan skin stands before me. She is almost a head taller than I am and looks to be around her early thirties. Her dark brown hair is very long and naturally wavy, which puffs up its volume and makes her look like a willow tree. With her piercing hazel green eyes, she looks down on me and blinks in confusion at my appearance. "Ahà?"
"... hello?" It's obvious that we won't be able to communicate, but I still try nonetheless.
"Ahà?! Rangi, ereáh iam! Rangi!" I would have guessed that she's shocked, if not for the giant grin on her face. Is she excited to see me?
"Eh ahà et eam?" A deep bass voice asks from inside and heavy footsteps approach from behind the woman. Then a giant of a man - even taller than Gram and arguably wider - appears in the doorframe, easily towering another head over the woman before me. He's topless, revealing an impressive physique that rivals that lumberjack's we encountered on the other side of the mountains back in the kingdom. There are tribal tattoos all over his chest and arms, and it's safe to assume that they extend to his back, too. His extremely curly hair is tied back in a giant bush of a ponytail, but he lacks all facial and body hair as if balancing things out. All but very bushy eyebrows, which are raised all the way to their limit upon seeing me. "Ók iaw ienét?!"
"Nice... to meet you... too?" I speak reluctantly, wondering at their reactions.
"Awhina! Ereáh iam, Awhina!" The man turns and booms into the house. I doubt it's so large inside that he needs to speak so loudly. Also, judging by context, Awhina is a name and ereáh iam means something like "come here", considering the woman used the same to call over the man, who seems to be called Rangi. "Eh oritok ám!"
"Ónit?" The voice of a younger girl - most likely Awhina's - resounds from within the house and the two make way for her to see me. I say younger, but she's barely smaller than the older woman. It's clear that they're a family, and this girl has inherited the mother's beautiful face and figure, and the father's mane and thick eyebrows. On any other girl they wouldn't have looked right, but on her it's just perfect. I'd even go so far as to say that they're her charm point. "Onóp, eh oritok ám!"
Yeah, I have no idea what they're saying, though. But the girl named Awhina is looking at me with eyes filled with curiosity and awe. There's not a hint of hostility in these people, so I feel that I can relax. Sighing, I smile to myself. It'll be a long and difficult road ahead...
"Agniák!" Gesturing at the food, presented to me on a large wooden plate, Awhina speaks in an energetic tone. I suppose it means "eat up!", though I wasn't given any eating utensils, so I guess I'm meant to eat it with my hand.
Really, I can't help but be strung along with her high tension, which must be a unique quality to people living near the ocean. It's the image I had of the local teenagers in Okinawa, too. But it seems that extends to the entire family, as both the mother and father are looking at me with curious grins, as if waiting for my reaction to the cooking.
Oh, and it seems like the entire village was invited over to see me, as I'm being surrounded by at least a dozen dark-skinned people with similar appearances. When I look around, all I can say is that they're most definitely humans. There's not a hint of any appendages humans normally shouldn't have, such as tails, horns or wings. In other words, I'm most definitely not on the Demon Continent anymore.
Well, I already assumed that, since I doubt Mithra would have practically told me to do as I wish with the ecosystem of this place otherwise - knowing what that entails. As far as I can remember, the Khurut Sultanate is the southernmost nation on the central continent, and there's no other human nation anywhere near this kind of climate. The fact that I can't understand their language, and that it sounds completely different from the one I heard then, means that this isn't the sultanate, though. And in turn, that means this is a different continent, potentially even outside the maps I've seen so far.
If anything, this place and culture makes me think of Hawaii, but it's clearly not just a small island nation, since it's a large landmass that has different climates and environments...
I look down on the food in surprise. It's been a long time since I actually ate something properly, using my mouth and tasting it with my tongue. I think the last time was when we were on our way back to the kingdom, a handmade meal by Hestia. I know that it was something very good, but it's been so long that I don't even remember its taste anymore, let alone what it contained.
"Eh iak, akít?" Awhina asks me with a confident expression. She must have cooked it and is asking me if it's good. I nod in response and her face lights up in joy as she turns to her parents and the other villagers. "E iap aná ai!"
I think it's a dish made with grilled fish, fruits and spices. I never knew you could combine these things to make something so tasty, and I find myself savoring the taste over filling my belly. After all, I've been eating tons of biological matter every day since coming here, so I shouldn't really be so hungry as to wolf this down. Instead, I take the time to enjoy a moment of peace, surrounded by these villagers who have received me so warmly.
A dark thought crosses my mind: What if they knew I was a demon? Would their excited smiles and friendly expressions disappear if I were to grow horns right at this moment? Would they run away or try to attack me?
I look at Awhina, whose piercing hazel green eyes - just like her mother's - are filled with sparkles as she watches me eat. She seems really excited to see someone who looks so completely different from her in appearance, but I doubt she'd give me that expression if she saw me transform into something else right now.
Of course their smiles and friendly expressions would disappear. Of course they would run away or try to attack me.
Without thinking, I let the backpack I refused to put aside - since it's part of my body - break out into demonic wings. My blond hair turns purple, I dispel my clothes and let my skin color change into a bluish gray tone, before sprouting horns like my mother's and basically turning into a copy of her. It's the very image of a demon, although I don't know whether that's true for the humans in this world or just my preconception from my previous life. Regardless, I'm making it sufficiently clear that I'm not a human with this.
Everyone is shocked and silence lays itself like a heavy blanket over the room. Of course they would be, this transformation came without any warning, after all. But unexpectedly, no panic breaks out and the villagers look at me in confusion rather than fear.
"Ah!" Awhina points at me in realization. "Tama, Tane!"
That's not the kind of reaction I was expecting at all. A grin returns to her face when she seems to make a connection of her own and recognizes my transformation ability. The other villagers hear her words and their faces light up in realization as well, as they begin to talk to each other while pointing at me. Hey, did nobody teach you that pointing at someone is rude?
"Etir unót ai ik a uotàr!" Awhina turns to her parents and grins. " Em ognát uotát e ai aik etik ai uotàr."
I don't understand a word she's saying, but it's clear that this isn't the first time she has seen someone transform. There's no sense of fear, and my motivation puffers out completely at their enthusiasm despite my demonic appearance. Returning to the looks I had in my previous life, with short black hair and dark brown eyes, I show off how I looked before being reincarnated.
"Eh akit uahá!" With this exclamation, the hyperactive girl turns to the villagers, who look at me with expressions of awe. Maybe they now think I'm a goddess or something... "Em ereáh ik ot enoát o opópá aik etik ai Tama auar ok Tane." Hm, this is the second time I'm hearing these distinct words that make me think of Japanese names. Maybe they belong to people who have the ability to transform, too.
Tama and Tane, huh? Sounds like names given to pet cats...