Chapter Warning: This chapter contains vivid descriptions of gore, blood, and intense scenes of violence and survival scenarios. Reader discretion is advised.
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"What do you mean, eat—" Before he could finish speaking, Raia felt something strange happening to his body. A wonderful scent filled his senses, and something within him stirred. He looked at his own body with a glint of gluttony in his eyes, It was as if he were staring at a grand feast.
Without thinking, Raia moved toward the canteen and picked up a knife. He walked over to the monster's carcass and began carving open its head. Inside, he found a glowing organ nestled just beneath the monster's antenna...its brain.
Raia felt like he had no control over his body, or maybe he did. It just felt like something he had to do, as though it were instinct. He could smell the organ's aroma, fragrant and irresistible.
He began to drool.
Without wasting another second, Raia started devouring the organ. The taste was bizarre. Awful, yet somehow sweet. Blood dripped down his chin as he ate like a wild animal. When he finally finished, a refreshing sensation surged through him, like cool mountain water washing over his insides. Of course, this was only how it felt to Raia. A mental and emotional representation but it was real enough.
His fatigue vanished, and he felt stronger. His senses sharpened, especially his instincts, as he sensed something approaching from the sky.
Whoosh~!
A sudden gust of wind tried to blow Raia away. He clung tightly to the Giant Worm's carcass, unaware that his fingers had actually dug into its tough skin. A massive shadow loomed above him. Without hesitation, Raia leapt away, landing under the tents of the canteen, away from the body.
What shocked him was the distance. He had jumped three meters from where he was standing. He knew he wasn't that strong.
'What in the world did I just eat?' he thought.
The shadow landed on the carcass and began to peck at it. It was feasting on the Giant Worm too. Raia saw that it was a Giant Bird. It resembled a Java Sparrow, with light grey and brownish feathers and a pink beak. It looked plump yet terrifyingly large, at least twice the size of an average human.
Soon, more Giant Java Sparrows swooped down, joining in the feast on the 15-foot-long worm Raia had killed. Not long after, the cries of terrified students echoed across the campus. Raia turned and saw greenish-brown creatures latched onto the students.
On closer inspection, they were giant bugs, grasshopper-like creatures the size of human heads, attacking everyone in sight. Then came the Giant Worms, similar to the one Raia had slain. They burst through the soft ground, devouring anyone they saw.
From a moment of silence, chaos erupted once more.
Students screamed. Some tried to fight back, while others fled. Many died instantly; others were gravely injured. The only stroke of luck was that the Java Sparrows didn't attack humans, they were solely interested in the insects and Giant Worms.
Rain began to pour, mixing with the blood that soaked the ground. Raia and a few surviving students stared in horror at the unfolding nightmare.
"What is happening to the world?! Why are these creatures so huge?!"
"What are those things?!"
"Am I dreaming?!"
"MOM!!!"
"It's the end of the world!"
"HELP MEEE!!!"
The cries of the confused, terrified, and dying students echoed across the school. But it was all in vain, no one in the world had the power to save them yet. The same chaos was unfolding across the globe, with different mutated animals and monsters attacking cities and towns. It was an apocalyptic scene. Gruesome. Horrific.
And then there was Raia, possibly the unluckiest person in the moment. Nearly every creature was chasing him. He had managed to escape the school grounds, drawing most of the monsters away and giving the remaining students a chance to survive.
With a knife in hand and newfound strength, Raia held his own, barely. It helped that the monsters were also attacking each other.
The Java Sparrows kept targeting the Giant Worms and the locust-like bugs.
'Eat those locusts.' The mysterious voice echoed in his mind.
Raia didn't question it anymore. He simply followed the command. Each time he consumed one of the creatures, he grew stronger. At first, he thought he would throw up from the taste, but soon, like a wild beast in a frenzy, he devoured everything he killed.
He tried to dodge the attacks, but the sheer number of enemies meant he constantly took damage. Fatigue eventually caught up to him. Raia slashed at a Giant Worm, but a massive Black Sparrow struck him first.
His body was flung into the air and slammed hard against the ground. Blood spilled from his mouth. This was the first time he had felt pain like this. It was also the first time he truly believed he might die.
"Help… Help… Help me…" he whispered, overwhelmed by pain and exhaustion. He couldn't move anymore. He closed his eyes, memories of his family and friends flashing in his mind, their laughter, their smiles, all from just days ago. 'How did I end up here? he thought. We were just having fun… but now…'
A swarm of creatures descended upon him like a mountain crashing down. Raia lost consciousness, and then—
"Die."