As I fell, I caught sight of a giant crab, about a meter tall, brandishing two massive claws raised to the sky, as if waiting for me to land right into them.

"..." Breathing in and out.

If my new life were a game, I'd definitely have started on nightmare mode!

I barely escaped Death's claws, only to fall into the lion's mouth… Or rather, into the claws of a Giant Crab?

'What kind of bad luck is this?!'

Closing my eyes tightly, I wished to sprout wings again. Even if they returned in their smoky form, it seemed viable now. At least, it was a better option than continuing to fall and being caught by a Giant Crab.

With my eyes closed, I focused on a part of my body I'd never felt in my previous life, back when I was completely human. That part seemed to retract slightly, and I felt something was about to emerge… However, I couldn't force it, and at the same time, I felt the familiar sensation from before, when I turned into smoke.

'In the end, will I have to rely on Smoke Mode again?'

Time was running out; I couldn't waste another second deliberating. Since I couldn't force whatever it was to come out, I chose to risk using Smoke Mode again.

In an instant, a peculiar sensation coursed through my entire being. It felt as if I were being squeezed by something soft on all sides and then released, leaving me feeling as though I'd shed 20 kilos all at once.

When I tried to see, I realized I'd taken on the smoky form again. Although I had no idea how I was able to see in this state, I felt that no amount of pondering would lead to a definitive answer – and I didn't have time for that now.

Floating in the air, I felt as light as a feather. It was as if gravity didn't affect me. However, I also felt a lack of coordination. My body didn't respond to the usual commands, like flying or swimming through the air to escape the rocky area – particularly to avoid the Giant Crab below.

Speaking of which, when did more Giant Crabs show up? There was even one larger than the others, at least twice their size, standing out with its ocean-blue color.

When the wind began to blow – thankfully, not carrying me back to the sea (God forbid I return to that place...) – I saw the Blue Giant Crab open a kind of four-pointed triangular mouth, each point adorned with sharp teeth.

I shuddered at the sight and thought: 'What a horrifying scene…'

Before I could feel relieved that the wind was carrying me away, I wanted to cry as the Blue Giant Crab started inhaling through its mouth like a powerful vacuum cleaner, sucking me in.

'No, no, no!' I screamed internally. 'Damn it, give me a break!!'

Why the hell do they keep attacking me? Why has it come to the point where even in Smoke Mode, I'm being sucked in? Hell, can't they just let me live?

For the first time in my life, I really wanted to punch someone…!

'Should I cancel my transformation?' I thought. 'But how do I do that?'

While I had figured out how to "activate" it, I couldn't find a "button" to "deactivate" it. I kept getting pulled in despite my struggles. Soon, my fate was sealed as I was sucked entirely into the Blue Giant Crab's mouth.

For a moment, everything went dark. When I regained my sight, a few seconds had passed.

Inside, the Blue Giant Crab's tissues reacted violently, bubbling and releasing acidic vapors.

I didn't know what was happening, but it seemed like this was harming the Blue Giant Crab, not me.

'Is my smoke form corrosive?' I wondered.

As I reflected, a bright light appeared, followed once more by darkness. When my vision returned, I found myself outside the mouth of the Blue Giant Crab again.

Outside, I noticed several orange-reddish giant crabs surrounding the Blue Giant Crab.

I wasn't sure if it was because of what was happening to it, but now, the other giant crabs seemed to avoid getting near me.

"Skreee! Skreee!"

Opening its mouth, the Blue Giant Crab emitted strange screeches as its body expanded. Sounds of tearing flesh mixed with the crackling of a breaking eggshell echoed, and the other giant crabs backed away, terrified.

'Was I wrong? It wasn't negatively affected but the opposite?' I thought, gripped by fear. 'Is it evolving or something?'

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If that were the case, I was definitely screwed!

And that was the moment my transformation ended, leaving me in a curled-up position, lying on my left arm and right leg. Unable to feel my arms and suffering from severe leg cramps, I felt helpless as I watched what seemed to be the transformation of the Blue Giant Crab.

"Skreee!!"

"Pracc!"

With the Blue Giant Crab's loud screech, I saw its body tear apart, expanding into a massive ball of white flesh, with bluish-green slime oozing all over.

"Grrr!"

An indescribable hunger overtook me as I stared at it. I knew I shouldn't be thinking about this now, but all I could imagine was how good it would feel to sink my teeth into that gigantic ball of white flesh.

At that point, I couldn't even feel disgust, despite the grotesque scene of the Blue Giant Crab's shell fragments mixed with its bluish-green blood.

Even as I watched the Blue Giant Crab writhe in agony, the hunger became my dominant sensation. I desperately wanted to eat it.

For a moment, my mind went blank.

══════『☯︎』══════

P.O.V – Third Person

Noah's red eyes glowed dangerously, like those of a beast. He began dragging his body like a snake over the rocks toward the Blue Giant Crab.

The fangs in his mouth grew slightly, while saliva dripped as he approached. The sounds of his growling stomach grew louder and more thunderous.

The giant crabs, which had previously fled, seemed unwilling to stop him as Noah crawled across the ground. At last, he reached the ball of flesh that the Blue Giant Crab had transformed into.

That mass pulsed like a heart. It was clearly still alive, even in this state. Perhaps it was creating a flesh cocoon to evolve?

Whatever the case, Noah, driven by thirst and, above all, hunger, lifted the upper half of his body and, with a lunge, sank his fangs into the Blue Giant Crab's flesh.

His teeth met some resistance, but like a rabid dog, he shook his head, tearing the flesh. He fell to the side while keeping a piece of white meat in his mouth.

Lying on his side, he seemed unaffected by any pain as his mouth began to move, chewing the flesh relentlessly. The sound of his chewing was loud.

This seemed to alert some of the giant crabs that had hesitated to approach earlier. They began moving closer, cautiously circling him.

Noah, having finished chewing and swallowing the meat, didn't stop. He lunged forward again, mouth open, tearing off another piece of flesh as the Blue Giant Crab screeched.

By the third bite, Noah's arms began to recover miraculously. He braced his arms against the rock beneath him, sharp claws growing and leaving deep marks on the stone, which seemed incredibly hard.

With bloodthirsty eyes, Noah lunged at the ball of flesh, now using his hands, sinking his sharp claws into its surface. He practically buried his face into the meat, biting and tearing with his sharp teeth, devouring it at an even faster pace than before.

At some point, pieces of the Blue Giant Crab's shell ended up being chewed. Even so, Noah's teeth seemed strong enough, as the sound of cracking echoed while he chewed relentlessly, though a bit of red blood began dripping from his mouth.

As the blood started to trickle from the corner of his mouth, Noah's eyes changed again, taking on an even more dangerous and predatory hue.

"Growl!"

Noah growled like a feral beast. His fangs grew once more as he threw his head back, causing his white bangs, which partially covered his face, to flip back – though they quickly returned as he tightened his grip on the flesh. Then, he thrust his head back into the Blue Giant Crab's meat, sinking his teeth in once more. This time, instead of chewing, he seemed to be sucking, producing continuous sounds of something being swallowed.

At this point, several giant crabs stopped standing idly by. They began approaching, with one coming dangerously close, attacking Noah with an open claw as if intending to slice him in half.

Noah paused his bite on the ball of flesh. He turned his face and looked directly at the attacking giant crab.

Opening his mouth, he let out a roar.

"ROARR!"

The roar was fierce and powerful, enough to make the giant crab topple backward.

From Noah's mouth, a piece of blue shell, about the size of a bottle cap, shot out with incredible force, flying straight toward the giant crab.

"Whoosh!"

"Bang!"

The sound of something colliding with stone at high speed echoed. A hole appeared in the center of the giant crab's body, causing it to collapse sideways, claws pointing toward the sky.

"Skreee!!"

Bubbles rose from the giant crab's mouth, and greenish slime dripped from the spot it had been struck.

The other giant crabs, which had been inching closer, began retreating.

Noah stopped worrying about them and returned to devouring the Blue Giant Crab's flesh. Occasionally, he sucked what seemed to be the creature's blood.

══════『☯︎』══════

I felt myself abruptly awaken, startled. I was shocked by my current situation.

My face, which had been buried in the Blue Giant Crab's flesh, was pulled back, and I looked at my hands, veins visible as they gripped the meat tightly.

The Blue Giant Crab was no longer pulsing, or at least I couldn't feel it in my hands anymore.

It was as if time had frozen as I tried to comprehend what was happening, attempting to remember how I had ended up here. How, at some point, I was complaining of hunger, and when I opened my eyes, I found myself with my face buried in the Blue Giant Crab's ball of flesh.

'Did… did I do this?' I thought. 'Was I controlled by my predatory instincts?'

That was the most plausible explanation I could come up with in this situation.

No matter what, I was still a Tri-Hybrid – one-third Vampire and one-third Dragon.

Either of those two parts could have triggered the predatory instincts that took over me, or so I believed.

As for the truth, I didn't know. Maybe my elven side? Although everything pointed to that being nonsensical, I had no definitive answers. After all, I couldn't guarantee that my knowledge from my previous life was correct. Who's to say elves weren't more predatory than I had imagined?

But that wasn't the most important thing right now. Now that, miraculously, I had recovered—and, mysteriously, even my clothes had returned (a pair of gray pants and a long-sleeved black shirt)—all I wanted was to get out of there.

However, before I started walking, I glanced back at the Blue Giant Crab's ball of flesh, half-devoured by me—probably. I sighed and decided to go back. I tried dragging it with me and, to my surprise, though it was heavy, it wasn't as difficult as I'd imagined. I even managed to lift it off the ground.

In the distance, I saw the giant crabs retreating as I walked toward them. I even noticed one crab that appeared dead, lying in a pool of green slime.

'Are they afraid of me?' I thought, observing their obvious reaction. 'And did I kill that giant crab?'

Since I didn't have time to worry about that—it was a good thing they were avoiding me—I continued walking through the rocky ravine, heading in the direction opposite the water.

For a moment, I reflected on how strange everything that was happening truly was. This same Blue Giant Crab, which almost devoured me, was now being carried by me.

'Am I stronger than I thought?'

That seemed evident from the fact that the giant crabs were avoiding me as I walked.

Perhaps, just maybe, if I had faced that boar-rabbit head-on from the start, I wouldn't have gone through so many tribulations...

That reminded me of something my mother once told me: "Noah, there's no use crying over spilled milk. What's done is done. Lift your head, move forward, and keep living."

Adapting… That was what I needed to do, alongside better understanding my current situation and capabilities.

While reflecting, I had finished jumping from one rock to another. Soon, I saw the other side of the ravine, along with an enormous mountain and a landscape filled with trees behind it—lots of trees.

However, a problem presented itself. I was basically at a cliff. There was no passage; I either jumped or went back.

Looking to the right, I spotted a lake.

'Should I risk jumping into the water?'

It seemed like a more reasonable choice than trying to go back.

Before deciding, I walked closer to stand directly above the lake below.

"It looks deep enough…" I murmured.

Part of me believed I should jump. And although I wasn't afraid of heights, my heart pounded as I looked down.

I closed my eyes for a moment and tried to manifest wings again. However, even now, when I could feel their presence—at least, I believed I could—and almost made them appear, I couldn't.

Of course, Smoke Mode was an option. I could feel it; I knew I could activate it if I wanted to. But, feeling the strong wind blowing against my face, I realized such a choice wouldn't be wise.

Setting aside the half-devoured ball of flesh, I looked around and soon found a relatively large rock, about the size of a watermelon.

Carefully, I picked up the rock and walked slowly to the edge, fearing I might slip. Then, without hesitation, I threw the rock.

"Splash!"

Upon impact, the rock broke the water's surface, sending large droplets into the air.

I couldn't precisely calculate the depth, but it seemed deep enough that I wouldn't crash upon jumping—considering I was about 20 meters up.