The Essence of Eating

A meal means making them part of me. When you eat a pig, that meat becomes my blood and flesh. In a way, consuming nutrients by devouring something could be seen as dominating that creature.

I once heard a song like that. Something about everyone dreaming of becoming a ruler. I thought it rang true. What if I devoured everything in this world? No lofty thoughts like absorbing all living beings into myself, letting them live eternally within me. Just the simple joy of eating delicious things. And if I could dominate everything in this world, it'd be even more fun.

So become my sustenance. Become part of me. If you don't want to be eaten—devour me first.

"Ha, Harin...! There you are!"

Mayuri. That was definitely her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠name. I remembered it clearly. Spotting Ryu Harin, Mayuri strode right over. Ryu Harin's eyes widened.

"You... why are you still here? Didn't you escape back then?"

"That's what I want to say to you... Didn't you escape...?"

Was she scared of stepping foot in this dangerously perilous place again? Mayuri looked around tensely, like a frightened rabbit. Sighing at the sight, Ryu Harin said,

"...I don't know either. I thought I escaped, but for some reason, I can't get out..."

"Maybe there's some additional condition to escape...?"

"Could be."

Ryu Harin nodded. Mayuri rubbed her furrowed brow in frustration. She must be thrown off by Ryu Harin not escaping.

"Then... f-for now, we should investigate this building. There might be clues left behind."

"Let's do that."

"Oh, right...! Y-yeah! H-Harin..."

Mayuri closed the distance by a step. Caught off guard by the sudden proximity, Ryu Harin flinched.

"T-too close... What is it...?"

"I-I've got something for you... I brought it with me..."

"Brought something?"

"Wait a sec..."

Mayuri rummaged in her pocket, then thrust out her fist. Ryu Harin eyed the hand. What could be inside? She waited for the fist to open.

And then—the fist flew.

"Cute Girl Punch!!!"

Thwack!

My vision shook. Pain bloomed on my cheek. Maybe my lip split a little—there was a faint metallic taste on my tongue.

I'd been hit. By Mayuri's fist.

Ryu Harin—smiled.

"Aah, I couldn't fool you to the end... I was going to eat you first."

Giggle, giggle. Ryu Harin laughed. The monster wearing Ryu Harin's face laughed.

"Should've skipped the foreplay after all. I should've just eaten you last time. I was too cautious, not like me at all."

"Where's the real Ryu Harin...?"

"Where do you think? Maybe in my stomach?"

"Th-the real-world Ryu Harin isn't dead... So you haven't found her yet..."

Mayuri trembled but managed to say it. She knows. Then why ask?

Aah, I see.

"Trying to buy time, huh?"

"......"

"You look perfectly human no matter how I look at you. How does a human have this kind of power?"

What an intriguing ability. A power that seals a monster into a human body upon contact... An exorcist? An onmyoji? Digging through the dream owner's memories, Mayuri seemed to be the director of some fixer office. Hmm. Doesn't matter where the power comes from. It's dangerous to monsters, that's for sure. That's why I'd been wary of her from the first sight. Last loop, I was too wary and let her go.

But with Ryu Harin trapped in this dream, Mayuri would come back. I just needed to prepare more thoroughly and eat her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠then.

"G-give up already... You're not a monster anymore..."

"True. But it seems it'll take some time before I'm sealed into a human body."

"Ugh..."

"I wonder what happens if I eat you first?"

If Mayuri dies, do I become human? Or do I revert after killing her?

"Won't tell me, Mayuri?"

"......"

"Your face says you don't know either. Want me to let you in on something good? This dream's owner... Ryu Harin, was it? I figured out why that bitch is still alive."

I no longer needed to hunt Ryu Harin. I knew she was hiding somewhere here, but now it didn't matter.

Mayuri with her intriguing power. You're better, Mayuri.

"So I'll take your body instead of Ryu Harin's."

The monster said.

Fox Possession. Foxes have long been known as beasts that disguise themselves as humans or strive to become them. Like tales of gumiho pretending to be people to eat their livers. Extending that—Fox Possession is the yokai tale of a fox spirit inhabiting a human body. The possessing fox gradually pushes out the original owner. Ultimately, it's a form of 'demonic possession' where the fox fully claims the body.

I'd originally planned to eat Ryu Harin in this nightmare and be reborn as the real one, but

"—I'll eat you and become Mayuri."

The fox said.

Ryu Harin's mouth gaped wide. But the teeth it revealed were not human—beastly fangs. She stepped toward me, baring sharp teeth. Claws sprouted from her fingertips. Could you even call those nails? The beast unsheathed its talons.

Her facial skin tore open, a protruding muzzle bursting forth. Her hair seemed to lengthen as fur covered her body. She abandoned bipedal stance for quadrupedal, charging at me.

A fox. A fox covered in eyeballs. Countless pupils glared at me.

"Eek!?"

Facing the monster, I let out an undignified scream. Reflexively, I thrust out the ping-pong ball light source. With so many eyes, it had to be extra sensitive to light. That's what I thought as I unleashed the flash.

Fwoosh!

Light exploded like a stun grenade. I shielded one eye in preparation.

The fox... just closed a few eyeballs.

Giggle, giggle. The fox sneered. As if mocking my petty trick, thinking it could let me escape.

...She knows all about me.

I must have survived last loop with a similar method. And this nightmare remembered and learned from that previous me.

I gritted my teeth and charged at the monster instead.

"Oh?"

The fox looked down at me with interest. I didn't know how much she knew about me. I barely remembered what I'd done last loop myself.

But what could I do? In the final moment, humans have no choice but to trust themselves.

My name is Mayuri. The universe's cutest girl. Not just my face—my brain's sexy too. Which is why, in this world, I'm the most trustworthy being.

I believed I could overcome the monster with what I had this time too. I hadn't entered this anomaly without prep.

I trusted the me from before I lost my memories.

I swung my hand blade.

"That again? Boring."

Boom!

Once a day, it slices anything. The moment I activated my Bond Effect with Lisa—

The wall beside me crumbled. From the debris leaped a monkey monster. It jumped between me and the fox.

The fox leisurely stepped back.

Slash. Fresh blood sprayed. Right before my eyes, the monkey monster's head was severed clean off. It grinned with a fishy smile, exposing the neat cut.

She'd known I'd do this and used it as a shield.

By the time I realized, the fox's face was inches away.

I'll eat well ♡

And so, I was devoured by the fox.

"Ha, pathetic..."

—Or so I thought, when a voice echoed from my chest.

"What a letdown. What the hell is this?"

Even to the monster, it was an unfamiliar voice. Countless eyes turned toward Taemi.

"What're you staring at? Who said you could meet my gaze?"

Taemi merely tossed those words at the staring eyes. That was it. She didn't do anything special. Just met the monster's gaze with an irritated expression.

Yet the fox couldn't devour me.

"Pathetic beast, lick the dirt. I never permitted vermin like you to look upon me."

Only one person is allowed to look me in the eye.

Taemi said.