Praga's Terror
That night, Praga lay awake with her eyes wide open. Every time she closed them, the image of the white monster writhing in agony as it died flooded her mind.
"Here, drink this."
Her father Frindel seemed to sense his daughter's turmoil and offered her some alcohol.
"That's why I told you to stay home."
"……."
Praga had no words. The sight of the men she saw every morning wielding their brute strength to slaughter creatures—the raw violence of it all—was not something she could easily forget. What she had witnessed yesterday was different from simply butchering a pig. The sticky, flesh-clumped attacks that pulverized the monster didn't bring her the satisfaction she'd expected. She'd thought eliminating the creature she saw would ease her mind, but now she was plagued by a nagging unease. And Frindel knew it.
"Gulp…."
"Sleep well. Try to forget everything you saw yesterday."
"Yes."
"And don't go out of the village alone anymore."
Frindel set down his quill pen and fixed her with a stern gaze.
"I'm planning to put in a request with the guild about monsters appearing around the village."
"But the monster's already dead…?"
"There could be more of those things lurking nearby."
A chill ran down her spine. Praga felt her legs go weak at her father's cold words.
More of those things existing in this world…?
Just thinking about it made her skin crawl. The mere idea of breathing the same air as such a thing filled her with an unbearable disgust. It wasn't a learned revulsion. Praga sensed it instinctively. There was something utterly repulsive about that monster.
"I'll go submit the request to the guild."
"Yes, Dad…."
Frindel stroked the head of Praga, who clutched her pillow tightly.
"If you make that face, Aness will get worried too."
"……Ugh."
"You're all grown up in body, but still just a baby."
"No, I'm not."
"Did I ever tell you how your mom smashed a goblin's head in when she was your age?"
Praga smiled softly.
"I've heard it four times already, Dad."
It was thanks to her family. Though Praga's heart still trembled with fear of the white monster, she would gradually forget this incident. Once the vivid terror and regret from their first encounter faded, she'd venture outside again.
"Sis, what're you doing?"
"Aness, you're awake?"
"Yeah."
"Sorry, want me to sing you a lullaby?"
"I don't need that. I'm a grown-up now."
Aness had just passed her eleventh birthday, yet here she was acting all mature—while hugging her cute clown doll tight.
"Then you should graduate from your attachment doll too, right?"
"This is Brittany."
Praga's nightmares seemed to be over. A few days after her father returned from submitting the investigation request, and as the terror from the monster faded after ten days, Praga cautiously asked Frindel what had happened to the creature.
"You mean that weird worm?"
"Yes."
"They gathered it all up and buried it in one spot."
"Weren't they going to burn it?"
Frindel shook his head.
"They said it might release toxic substances."
"Toxic substances…."
"Its skin was so slimy, it wouldn't catch fire easily anyway."
Seeing his daughter's thoughtful expression, Frindel chuckled.
"No monster could survive in that state."
"I know."
"Still scared to go outside?"
"Not at all."
"Haha. Good, staying home seems to have put some meat on your bones…."
Praga flushed red and let out a squeal.
"Dad!"
"Just kidding. Kidding. My daughter's always beautiful!"
"Seriously…."
"Tomorrow, could you pick up my gear from the blacksmith?"
Praga nodded eagerly, as if pushing herself forward.
She still had nightmares of the white monster standing behind her. If she admitted that here, she'd end up clutching her pillow and crawling into her dad's bed like she did ten years ago. Praga didn't want to admit she was more scared than her little sister.
I'm not weird. Anyone would feel this way after that kind of experience….
On her way back with her father's longsword, Praga turned her eyes to the familiar forest path.
"……."
She entered the woods alone. Not to prove her courage. Praga wanted to return to the site and confirm the monster was truly dead. Like how you can't relax until you've checked that a bug invading your room is dead, she needed to see for herself that the monster was shattered in the place she used to wander like her own front yard, with no hope of revival.
"Blood…."
Even now, the bloodstains were immense. Despite the heavy rain that day, the soil was contaminated, stained dark red right there.
Praga set down the longsword, crouched, and reached out toward the tainted earth.
Burial marks….
A few shovels still lay scattered nearby, uncleaned.
"Phew…."
Now it's fine. Time to go home.
The moment she moved to tidy up the shovels as well, the ground shuddered….
Praga's pale, pretty leg sank in with a slurp.
"Huh?"
She still didn't realize what was happening to her body. When the tentacle coiled around her leg and climbed up, some primal female instinct for danger kicked in, perhaps. In just one second, she grasped the entire situation.
"Mmph!!"
Before she could scream, a grayish-white tentacle jammed into Praga's mouth. She thrashed as she was dragged inward. Shudder, shudder. Shudder.
The soil, buried not long ago, trembled, and a grayish-white monster emerged from the earth.
"~~~~~~! Mmmph! Mmph! Mmgh!"
Praga, shoved headfirst into the tentacle monster's main body like a sack, flailed her legs awkwardly with only her lower half sticking out. Her skirt flipped up, blatantly exposing her white panties.
The tentacle monster had swallowed her from the head down to muffle any sound, and the strategy worked.
"Aaaah! Help me!!"
Once it no longer needed to plug her mouth, the tentacle monster deftly maneuvered its primitive tentacles to seize the woman's legs. To pull her into its body before anyone else spotted her.
Squeeze. Squeeze.
"Mmph! Nghhbrr! Nmmph!"
Praga desperately kicked her legs. Did she know it was over if she got sucked in? Her frantic kicks for survival landed on the tentacles, but in the struggle, the tentacle monster held the advantage.
It was the female who realized defeat first. Soon, urine gushed out.
Drip, drip, drrrrrip….
As if that were her admission of defeat, her legs were smoothly sucked into the tentacle monster's body.
*
I thought I was done for. I really was on the brink of death. Being saved by the goddess's grace was great and all, but my body was already buried underground. Just when I thought one mountain climbed, another appeared.
But I learned something during the "burial"—my recovery sped up. Being underground improved my condition. I don't breathe with lungs like humans, so no issues there either.
Phew, a moment to breathe.
Ow, ow. My whole body still ached, but for the price of coming back from being shredded a thousand ways, it was a bargain.
Thank you, Goddess!
I won't disappoint you again.
Surviving as a tentacle monster. That's the top priority. And it's damn hard. Thanks to the well-placed goddess, I gained one more coin, but the situation hadn't improved.
If I moved carelessly and left traces, humans would send a pursuit team. They wouldn't tolerate a live monster in their front yard.
Better to play dead and wait for an opportunity. My body wasn't fully healed anyway.
Good thing underground doesn't guzzle energy.
This form might be meant for ambushing prey from underground. I'd seen countless works with tentacle traps like that, but my frail tentacles couldn't dig, so I'd never tried.
Thanks to them digging for my burial, I'd ended up in the perfect spot.
Focus on breathing exercises for now.
Sip, haa. Sip, haa.
The flesh mercilessly ground away was reattaching bit by bit. My once-smooth skin was ragged like tatters, breaking my heart. Red mucosa peeked through in places, stinging at the touch of dirt grains.
But I could humbly endure even that pain now.
This is a fight for survival where everything's on the line.
The loser ends up in a pathetic state better off dead. Isn't that nature's way? Sure, I wasn't born of nature, but feeling pity for the weak… that was a bad habit from my days as lord of creation, and it cost me.
No more. This is a battle for life.
Over ten days of camping underground, but I could endure.
Camping is the way to survive right now.
Stay low, Chokgoe! Until the chance for revenge comes.
……Humans are no pushovers. Homo sapiens specialize in killing, skinning, and turning anything different into combat invalids or spectacles. They even slaughter their own kind. From another species' view, no race is as murder-happy.
That's why they're so dangerous.
That big-assed woman… Praga, was it? Touching her means poking the human village. Obvious chain of events. No nearby village, no young woman wandering out alone.
Not seeking grand revenge, but to survive, I have to confront them. And the opportunity came sooner than expected.
Why is she here?
I could hardly believe the scene unfolding before me, even sensing it with my tentacle sense.
Why was Praga here alone?
What's in her hand… a sword? Not hers.
Observe. Tentacle sense lets me perceive objects from all angles based on distance and focus.
Her movements, expression—nothing escapes me.
Errand? No plan to come here originally.
Just a whim? Wandering aimlessly?
No way.
Her gaze fixed on the ground. Not mourning me with those eyes. More like confirming if I'm really dead.
……Wait. Errands mean the village is close enough to drop by?
Shit.
This was way more precarious than I thought. This really was their front yard!
If Praga went missing, they'd scour every bone.
But….
This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. The village had a monster issue once. Hunker down, and they'd launch a full assault unless wiped out.
Dragging out a young, pretty, big-breasted woman like that is tough. But now? Utterly defenseless. Felt like I could capture her if I wanted.
The problem? The aftermath.
Touching Praga—laying hands on those tits—meant war with the human village.
But I could buy time to grow strong.
No dad would let her out alone after that. Not 100% sure, but she probably didn't tell anyone her destination. Even if missing, hours before they notice.
Two hours—no, one hour tops.
Problem is if they catch on.
Could I escape in an hour? With just basic tentacles, no digging a tunnel to seal my body.
If my hideout got exposed, they'd hunt me forever. But if I hid like a coward until their vigilance faded… I could slip away from the village easier. Graze on grass, fruits, wait for the next chance.
Next woman like her? Hundred days, maybe years.
"Hoo…."
Gah! After super-monstrous patience camping, she squats right on me. Panties in full view! Seducing me?
If I'm doing it, before anyone sees!
Decision made. Take the risk and breed with her!
Can't resist that developed big bread-butt. Even the All-Nation Tentacle Association would approve!
I immediately coiled around Praga's leg and dragged her into my burial pit.