The Eumma's End
The grotesque monster shrieked in agony, keening pitifully as its tentacle body thrashed in a desperate bid to escape the blade. But the man was faster. He landed lightly, stomped down once more, and the next instant his figure shot forward like an arrow loosed from its string. When he reached the creature fleeing for its life, the Eumma’s face twisted in panic. “Kyah—!” it wailed, body convulsing violently. The man’s gaze was ice-cold, devoid of any mercy. He drove his sword straight into the monster’s head. _Puuuk!_ The wet sound of penetration was followed by a choked scream that died away into nothing. At that moment he said, “Bon appétit.” As the blade emerged from the Eumma’s skull, a low hum rose and began to drink its blood. The creature thrashed wildly, trying to wriggle free, but every futile movement only drove the crimson blade deeper, sucking its vitality with greedy abandon. Before its helpless struggles, the thing could do nothing. Its body withered and twisted as life force was drained away. Meanwhile, from the front, the man had quietly drawn a small silver crucifix from his pocket and was murmuring a prayer. Soon the Eumma’s form had become a shriveled, withered rat-like corpse. Then the sword trembled once more, and from it emerged the massive face of a fox that began to devour the shrunken body, crunching through flesh and bone. _Quazik… quadduk…_ Even as the horrifying sounds continued, the man remained utterly motionless, eyes closed, continuing his prayer. “Heavenly Father, full of love and mercy, I praise Your holy name. An impurity has entered my life and distanced me from You; I pray earnestly for protection from every evil spirit and power of darkness that troubles me.” The sword—or was it the fox?—had the creature eaten? At some point the blade had become a beautiful woman once again. She delicately wiped the monster’s blood from the corner of her lips with a handkerchief, then smiled with genuine satisfaction. The man immediately stopped praying and opened his eyes to meet her gaze. She spoke in a slightly blunt tone. “What low quality…” “Well, you seemed quite satisfied with it, didn’t you?” “It looks like you were especially hungry for the vitality of a virgin. That part was indeed satisfying, but the creature itself was rather low-quality, so there’s that. Still, the virgin vitality was delicious, so I’m satisfied with that for now.” The man gave a bitter laugh and shrugged. “If you’re satisfied, that’s fine.” “Huhu… still, it wasn’t as satisfying as _your_ vitality.” The woman’s eyes sparkled with an eerie light as she gazed at him. Her gaze burned bright crimson, radiating overwhelming greed. But the man paid it no heed, as if such things were nothing new to him. From behind came a muffled groan. Turning, the man saw Hyesu lying naked on the ground. He approached her, his expression uneasy, and said, “It seems you may already be carrying the Eumma’s seed. If we leave it like this, the same thing could happen again.” “Hmm… I guess so…” the woman answered flatly. The man sighed and added, “Still, I received your order. You can’t be so indifferent about it, can you? How can we resolve this?” “But… I no longer want to eat anything tasteless.” The woman’s reply carried a playful tone, making the man frown in silence. Eventually the woman sighed, her expression helpless, and approached Hyesu, who was still struggling to grasp the situation. She had trouble accepting it, of course; anyone would. The very existence of such a situation was unimaginable for ordinary people. “U-um… you two…” “Shh… just stay quiet and watch.” Hyesu tried to speak, but the woman cut her off with a hypnotic smile. Then she brushed aside the man’s coat and placed her hand on Hyesu’s unnaturally protruding belly. Hyesu jolted, her face twisting in shock. Something was indeed moving beneath the bloated stomach. “W-what is this?! What the hell is happening?!” Hyesu’s voice rose in panic, terror, and disbelief. The woman warned her again, calm and emotionless. “I told you to stay still.” Hyesu could not move; her body froze. She only stared alternately at the strange woman and man, eyes wide with confusion. Then—“Aaaah! Aah…”—a pained moan escaped Hyesu’s lips. The woman’s hand still rested on the swollen belly, yet something sharp like the prick of a knife stabbed from inside. Hyesu gasped desperately, then felt a wave of nausea. Aaaah! The pain was so intense she feared she might lose consciousness at any moment. The woman’s hand on her belly made her feel the writhing thing within was in terrible discomfort. Whatever it was, it was suffering unbearably in front of her. It thrashed violently, making Hyesu suffer even more. Aaaah! Too much pain; her eyes rolled back. Then—_Chwaak!_—something like a bloody mass burst forth from between her legs. “A-uggh…” Hyesu trembled, breathing heavily as she looked down. Aaaah! It was a baby monster exactly like the one that had attacked her, tentacles still clinging to it. The woman seized it slowly and lifted it, glancing at the man, who nodded. Instantly her face transformed into a fox’s, and she devoured the tiny creature in a single bite—bones and all. The newborn never even cried out before being swallowed. Hyesu could no longer think clearly. Something felt like it was snapping inside her, and she fainted. The last thing she heard as consciousness faded was the woman’s calm words: “Hmm… I ate too much low-quality stuff today. Unpleasant.” “When I get home, I’ll give you what you want.” “Huhu… yeah… then I’ll look forward to it.” Such a casual conversation. ///// “Ugh…” Hyesu let out a soft groan. A chill crept over her, and the cold wind that followed made her skin crawl. Unable to bear the brutal cold, her eyelids fluttered open. After wavering dangerously, her eyes finally opened. Aaaah! A sharp headache stabbed through her. Yet it was brief. Slowly fading. At the same time, a refreshing feeling spread through her body. As if reborn? She had finally woken after a long, deep sleep. Had the cold finally left her? Anyway, where was she? Hyesu frowned again and slowly raised her head. The surroundings were turning a bluish-purple. Was it the time when night had passed and dawn was beginning to break? The snow that had been falling had stopped, but everything was now blanketed in white. Feeling puzzled, she realized she had been leaning against a streetlamp and fallen asleep. She shot up in shock. “Oh! Did I go crazy… What was I doing here?” She had no idea how confused she was. Good grief, her clothes were soaked through. Even though it was still early winter, the thought of almost freezing to death made her heart drop. She had only just finished her graduation project. She couldn’t freeze to death like this, could she? Her body was already freezing. She had barely recovered from the cold, and now she might catch a cold again. She huddled against the next gust of wind, shivering. Shame crept over her belatedly. Hyesu hurriedly gathered her scattered bag and rushed home. ‘But why did I fall asleep here?’ She couldn’t remember last night’s events. Something… something had happened. Unfortunately, nothing specific came to mind. All she recalled was that it was the last day of the semester and she had drunk massively. Yeah, she remembered getting drunk, but that was it.