Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: Mod7
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Chapter 2 - Consumption
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An unbelievable, surreal pain surged through me. The sensation of flesh being ripped and crushed, of being eaten alive.
“Mmmmmmph! Groooooan…!”
Fuck. It hurt. It hurt so much.
I thrashed, fearing for my life, but the mermaids held me down, as if soothing a child.
“Тыныс ҡына тор. Джоохо, һин ысынлап та бәхетлеһең. Бынан ары һеҙ ҙә беҙҙең кеүек йөҙә алаһығыҙ. (Stay still. Juho, you’re truly blessed. Now you can swim like us.)”
As searing pain consumed me, Aria bit down on my ankle again.
The intense agony,
Overwhelmed me, and I lost consciousness.
***
I regained consciousness a few minutes later.
My eyes fluttered open, tears streaming down my face from the nightmare I had just endured, but
Crunch- crunch-
A grotesque sound still echoed in my ears.
“Gasp- Cough-”
The other mermaids were still kissing me,
One had even swallowed my penis whole,
“Ugh… gasp…”
But Aria was still gnawing on my ankle.
No, not gnawing…
“Stop! Stop! Agh!”
Devouring it.
The back of my ankle was mangled.
My mind, which had briefly blocked out the horrific sight,
Now registered the excruciating pain, and I screamed.
“Aria! Aria! Aria, Aria…!”
Adrenaline surged through me, my brain frantically searching for a way out.
Before, they had intended to break my legs,
But now, Aria was chewing and swallowing them.
This was different.
Breaking and eating were different.
Something had changed in Aria’s mind.
I attributed it to the brief bond formed after sex.
Just moments ago, Aria had glared at me, ready to break my ankles, but now, with a gentle smile, she was consuming them.
This was for my benefit. Or rather, they believed it was for my benefit.
Like animals that consumed the afterbirth,
Perhaps Aria was trying to make me resemble them by eating one of my legs.
Was this a mermaid tradition?
“Cough! Fucking…! Aria! Ariaaagh!”
As I cried out her name,
Aria, her mouth smeared with blood, looked up from my mangled ankle and approached me.
“Juho, Тик түҙ генә. Ҡойроғон бөтөнләй ашайым. Шул саҡта үҙәктә ҡалыу еңелерәк була. (Juho, just bear with it. I’ll eat the whole tail. It’ll be easier to balance then.)”
Calm, calm, calm…
Endure the pain…
“Aria… d-don’t eat it…”
Even though we couldn't communicate properly,
I grabbed my ankle amidst the excited mermaids and offered an alternative.
“L-Like this… t-tie it up… right…?”
I tucked both legs into my shirt. It didn’t look like a mermaid’s tail, but it created the impression of a single appendage.
The mermaids’ eyes widened, and they clapped. But Aria and the elder mermaid seemed displeased.
“Өләсәй, нимә эшләргә? Бер ҡойроҡ ашау йола түгелме? (Grandma, what do we do? Isn’t eating a tail a marriage tradition?)”
Blood oozed from my mangled Achilles tendon. I would die if it wasn’t treated.
No, the mermaids would take care of that. They wouldn't let me die. My priority was to save what was left of my ankle.
“A-Aria… Hmm…?”
Tears welled up in my eyes as I pleaded with Aria. I sent the same desperate, pleading look to the other mermaids.
“I-I can swim like this! I’m a mermaid now! See!?”
Even with my mangled leg,
Survival instincts took over.
I couldn’t die here.
Or rather, I couldn't live with a leg eaten away.
“Mermaid…! I’m a mermaid…!”
I mimicked them, flapping my half-eaten leg and my good leg together in the water, like a dolphin.
Blood bloomed in the water, staining my clothes crimson.
“Ah, ahaha…! How is it? See? тиклем яҡшы тойола! (It feels so good!)”
I repeated the phrase Aria had uttered during sex. The words I had struggled to pronounce now flowed effortlessly from my lips, my brain desperately grasping at anything that might help.
The mermaids laughed, and Aria’s expression softened, her head bobbing happily. To them, I must have seemed like I was being playful and charming.
“A-Aria… hmm…?”
I pleaded with her again,
And she nodded.
The other mermaids nodded as well.
“ҡарарға. Juho ла минең ирем булырға теләй. Ҡойроғон да шулай бәйләргә була. (See, Juho wants to be part of our family too. He can tie his tails together like that.)”
Only the elder mermaid remained unconvinced.
She watched my struggle, clinging to the traditions and rules of her ancestors.
“Өләсәйем кейәүгә сыҡҡансы бер ҡойроғонан башҡа бөтәһен дә ашарға ҡушты. (My grandmother said we should eat all but one tail before marriage. She said it was good for both of us.)”
But Aria and the other mermaids argued on my behalf.
“Барыһын да ашарға кәрәкмәй, шулаймы? Мин инде бер аҙ Джухо ашаным. Ошо дәрәжәлә йола һаҡланған. (We don’t have to eat all of them, right? I already ate a bit of Juho. That should satisfy the tradition.)”
The mermaids, eager to resume their pleasure,
Quickly persuaded the elder.
“Ярай, бер нәмә лә булмаҫ, ахыры. Һеҙ егеттәр нимә теләйһегеҙ шуны эшләйһегеҙ. Нисек кенә булмаһын, хәҙер һинең ваҡытың. (Fine, nothing bad will happen. Do as you please. It’s your time now, anyway.)”
The elder mermaid finally relented.
She couldn’t bring herself to refuse her children’s pleas.
Instead, she dove underwater,
Retrieved a skull, returned to her place,
Kissed the skull’s forehead,
“Дөрөҫ? Бал? (Isn’t that right, honey?)”
And embraced it, drifting off to a lonely sleep.
“Juho, Һин шул тиклем һөйкөмлө! Киләсәктә лә мине яҡшы ҡарағыҙ, зинһар. (Juho, you’re so cute! Please take good care of me from now on.)”
Aria and the younger mermaids gathered around me again, showering me with affectionate kisses.
My mind was still consumed by the throbbing pain in my leg, but I forced a smile, trying to appease them.
“Ah, ahaha… but please… can you stop the bleeding now…”
As if understanding my concern,
Aria, her lips still stained with my blood, kissed me again,
Then retrieved a strange, fruit-like object from a corner of the cave.
It exuded a sticky, rubbery sap,
Which Aria carefully applied to my mangled ankle.
“Ouch…! Gasp…! Hee…”
I maintained my smile.
Even as cold sweat plastered my skin,
And blood rushed to my head, blurring my vision,
I couldn’t stop smiling.
The mermaids rewarded me with more of their animalistic kisses. Like bees collecting nectar, they were persistent and thorough.
Some sucked on my nipples, even though there was no milk,
Others licked and nibbled, eager to taste my semen,
And Aria gazed at me lovingly…
“Fucking… hic… gasp… тиклем яҡшы тойола… (It feels so good…)”
They seemed to approve of my clumsy attempts at their language, their ministrations growing even more fervent.
But,
Inside my head,
All I could think about was my mangled ankle,
The pain,
And how to escape this place.
Far above, near the cave ceiling,
A faint starlight filtered through a small opening.
I looked at it, thinking the same thoughts countless others who had died here must have thought,
And planned my escape.
I imagined other males, looking at that same sliver of light, clinging to hope.
That distant,
Tiny opening,
Through which,
A single ray of starlight shone.