Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Parturition

Where am I?

When I opened my eyes . Darkness greeted me . And I felt the pangs of hunger viciously lash out from within me .

Hunger? No . It's more like . . . 'Starvation' .

"Gigi . "

I'm . . . hungry .

I wanted to say that, but I couldn't . The only thing that came out of my mouth, was a cramped, blurred shriek .

I close my eyes .

The pangs of hunger continue to torment me . Relentlessly, without pause .

I keep my eyes closed . I don't want to open my eyes . It's too much effort .

"Gagururu!"

Something . . . I heard something . Some kind of noise, from somewhere nearby .

"Gi?"

That noise slowly creeped in, eventually stopping before me . Then I felt something hit me . Something soft and tender, with a repugnant smell . . . Meat . It was meat!

Rendered delirious by the hunger, I hadn't the patience to ponder what meat it was . Greedily, I put the meat into my mouth as I sunk my teeth into it .

Delicious!

Hahahaha! It's delicious!

I don’t know what kind of meat this is, but it's delicious! Far more than anything I've ever tasted .

“Gigi–––gigigi!”

Before I knew it, I had already eaten all of it .

–––More! I want more!

It's not enough! I want more! More! More! More!

The craving within me, unsatisfied, grew fiercer within my body as it lusted for more meat .

Then all of the sudden, something grabbed me . It took me from the back of my neck as it lifted me up .

"Gi?"

If only I could look up now, then I would know that I am being held up by the huge hand of a figure as it walked .

But as I felt the wind caress me .

Light gradually began to fill my sight .

And as that light shone on me, I couldn't help but narrow my eyes .

Too bright . That light entered my eyes like a ray of fire, scorching my eyes .

I narrow my eyes . If I let my eyes slowly get used to it, then I should be able to . . .

"Gigi?"

When I was finally able to open my eyes, what greeted me was a great, thick forest .

Then I noticed it, my field of vision was shaking .

I wonder how long it has been, since I last carried something like this . 20 years? No, even as a baby, I would've carried things in a more . . . normal way . I mean humans from the start are . . .

As I wondered who it was that was treating me so roughly, I moved my eyes . But what I saw shook me to the core .

What has been dangling me around like a cub, was something that I could not have thought to be anything but a joke . A creature with a wide, green frame .

"Gi?"

No . . . No matter how you look at this . This . . .

This isn't human .

In other words . . . it's that .

It may simply be the fault of my diminutive lexicon, but I can find no other word more fitting .

Goblin . Yes, a goblin .

That hideous face . That bulky, wide, frame with green skin .

Yes . A goblin . It must be a goblin .

As I was muttering to myself, that goblin turned and looked at me with a face I can only describe as something turned hideous by hate .

Not good . I’m going to die .

I couldn’t help but think that as I gulped .

That green, bulky monster was so horrifying, its gaze, alone, was enough to make me brace for death .

However, to my relief, it only glanced at me, before walking again .

It continued to walk, and eventually, we left that thick forest . After which, it lightly threw me to the shore of a beautiful lake . That lake’s beauty was a rare kind in present times .

“Feed . Catch . No good, then die . ”

After the goblin told me that, it turned its back on me, and it walked away . Seeing that green monster turn, I noticed that it had a lethal weapon that looked somewhat like a one-handed club on its back .

Feed?

Is it talking about the meat from a while ago? But exactly what kind of meat was that?

In any case, I’m not in any mood to go against a monster . So for the meantime, I better refresh myself with some water from the lake .

By the way, this is safe to drink… right?

As I quenched my thirst, I noticed that I was able to distract myself from the hunger .

Now, what should I do? Should I try to run? But my biggest problem is that I have no idea what’s going on . As I was thinking that, I calmly glanced at the surface of the water . At which, all of the sudden, my thoughts stopped .

“Gi?”

Ah?

Why is it here? That hideous, green monster’s visage, was reflected on the surface of the water .

“Gigi?”

Ah?

I can see it . That same, ugly, green skin .

“Gigi?”

Aah?

Staring at the reflection, I turned my hand . Like a mirror, the reflected image imitated me, and it cheekily turned its hand . “Impossible,” I thought . Unwilling to accept, I touch my face several times . In response, the reflection on the water moved exactly in the same way . I stuck my hand into the water, and shook it several times . The undulating ripples crashed into the reflection, causing it to dissipate .

“Gigi? Gu?”

Me? A monster?

Still refusing to believe, I looked down on my hand .

That same, hideous, green color . Could anyone truly dare call this human? If so, then a dog’s hand or a pig’s should also be considered human .

As I touch my face with that very hand, I look into the reflection on the water .

“Gigi . ”

–––Monster .

No . I pinch my face, I tug on it, I twist, I contort, anything, just to grasp some hope that, that is not me . But alas, nothing could . Nothing could shine a ray of hope to that plea .

“Gugugugu . ”

–––Kukukuku

“Gya–gaggugugu!”

–––Ahahahaha .

I can only laugh .

What absurd comedy is this? Is there anyone who can explain?

Why?

I should have gone through life without any problems .

In a few years I would be getting a job .

Yet… why?

A monster? How? Is this a dream?

As I continued to laugh that parched laugh, what erupted next, within me, was anger .

Why?

An anger that no one should have to answer to .

I turned my eyes away from the surface of the water and I struck at the ground .

The feeling of the earth . The sensation of the grass . And even the juice of that biting louse I had just crushed . All of them were shoving into me, screaming at me, the truth of this shitty reality .

“Gigurua!!”

I wanted to scream . But what came out of my throat was nothing but a sour sound that could not even be called a word .

Something like this could only be called the cry of a beast, or perhaps, it is no different from the wails of a newborn .

But as reason screamed, so did instinct .

I’m hungry .

I had only eaten, and yet… what is this craving?

As I kept my eyes away, I submerged my face in the water, and I vigorously gulped it down .

My throat beat as I drank until I filled my belly . Then I separated myself from the lake, and laid on the ground .

Those rays of light that are burning both my body and my eyes are annoying .

Fuck . I feel like an utter fool .

I am going to sleep .

I took cover beneath a tree’s shade . It wasn’t much, but I was at least able to lessen that vexing sunlight .

There, I closed my eyes . Thanks to all that water I drank, I was able to somehow quell even that insatiable hunger . Like this, I was able to quickly fall asleep .

△▼△

When I opened my eyes, it had already become dark .

“Gi . ”

Shit .

I cursed as I opened my eyes .

As expected though, the voice that came out was nothing but an incomprehensible groan .

I tried raising my hand . Of course, it was that ugly green hand . With some bumps here and there, no one would definitely call it pretty .

“Gi–––?”

–––Hey?

As I left the shadow of the tree, I looked up at the night sky . Bang! It was as if lightning had struck me .

Up in the sky was the bright full moon .

But what hang there in the sky was far bigger than what I remember . Moreover, there were two of them .

Like a flash of lightning, I suddenly recall something I had once read from a light novel .

A different world .

In that story, people were transported from their world to another world, where they were granted special powers . Those people became heroes and they subjugated the demon king . Yes, it was one of those cliché happy endings .

I don’t remember the story much, but…

Because of this similar situation, for the first time, I couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat .

But still… to actually take my humanity away . Is this one of god’s pranks?

Absurd .

Absolutely absurd . Even if I think such things, what would it change? In the end, I’m still an ugly monster .

I’m hungry .

In my pondering, a cry of instinct echoed, and that insatiable hunger once again lashed out from within me .

Unconsciously, that hunger paralyzed my mind . So much so, that my eyes began to swim around, looking for food .

… In any case, I better drink some water first .

After I drank my fill, I stood up .

This should be enough for now .

Now, regarding the current situation, and regarding the question of whether I can go back or not . I can think about such things later .

Right now, my hunger takes precedence . Meat, I want to eat meat .

Meat

I want to eat .

I want to eat .

I want to eat .

I want to eat .

I want to eat .

I want to eat .

I want to eat .

I want to eat .

I want to eat!

Now that I think about it, I can see uncannily well in the dark .

I guess this is one of the advantages of being a monster .

My eyes begin to swim around, searching for a prey .

The instant a moving shadow entered my field of vision, I sprinted .

“Guruaa!”

Moving in the bushes, it was a rabbit .

It tried to run away as soon as it noticed me . But, surprisingly, I was able to leap with great strength, allowing me to drive the rabbit into a corner . There, without the slightest semblance of hesitation, I strangled it to death .

Opening my mouth wide, I brought that lifeless corpse’s head into my jaw, and I sunk my fangs into its neck . As the blood dripped down its fur from where I’d sunk my fangs . I licked that line of blood lustfully and savored every part of the beast . Ah, delicious .

I crunch the cranium . The spinal fluids burst forth . And delightfully, I slurped it, sending gushes of pleasure, surging throughout my body .

In this way, I was able to stave off my hunger .

Then I remembered something .

Wasn’t there a story about a man who became a tiger?