Hunger in the Gehenna Great Forest

After fetching firewood from the forest, I got straight to cooking.

Come to think of it, I should’ve asked that guy if he had a knife I could borrow so I could clean the fish.

No, wait. It probably wouldn’t have fit my size anyway.

I skewered the fish I’d caught earlier.

Five to a stick, nice and plump.

Once you laid the firewood neatly on the ground and lit it beneath, the basic prep was done.

How did I light a fire without a source of flame?

"Hoo~"

I could breathe fire out of my mouth.

Flame Breath.

It was one of the virtues a beast was supposed to have.

Blowing out fire was as easy as breathing.

Like how nobody taught me how to move my arms and legs, I had mastered it instinctively after reincarnating.

If I really let loose, I could probably burn down an entire forest, but I deliberately kept it gentle.

"Why'd the flames turn blue?"

The fire, which should’ve been red, had suddenly shifted to blue.

Sure, maybe your tongue could turn blue after drinking a Power Ade, but...

"It should be fine, right...?"

It felt a little hotter than before, though I had no idea why.

I folded my arms and watched the firewood burn blue.

The fish wouldn’t all burn to ash, would it?

Well, if it got too hot, I could just move it farther away.

"Man, but is it okay to eat it whole without cleaning it first?"

I glared at the freshwater fish skewers.

Normally, I’d have to remove the scales and gut it, letting the blood and innards out.

But with hands this huge, cleaning tiny fish without special tools was practically impossible.

If it had been a giant fish like tuna, maybe I could’ve managed somehow, but this was a river. There weren’t any big fish here.

Whole freshwater fish skewers were the best I could do.

I carefully set the skewers near the fire.

Then I fixed them in place with stones and watched the fish cook.

The scales charred, and the fat in the flesh melted and dripped down onto the ground.

It looked pretty damn appetizing, honestly.

A savory smell stabbed right into my nose.

Using my index finger and thumb, I slowly turned the skewers until the fish was cooked through.

I’d picked the largest branch I could find nearby, but even that was as flimsy as a toothpick to me.

It was bothersome and annoying, but I endured it, convinced that a reward was waiting for me at the end.

And then, when I finally tried this grandly finished bite...

Chew, chew.

Chew, chew.

Mm.

"Eh... not bad, I guess..."

I’d gone a week without eating in that cave.

I’d even caught the fish myself by the river and carefully cooked it after gathering firewood.

And yet the taste was oddly underwhelming.

Charred scales and tiny bones rolled around in my mouth.

Maybe because I hadn’t removed the blood, the fishy smell prickled my nose.

The texture of the innards mixed in with the flesh was dry and awful.

I’d been picky even in my past life.

Back then, I’d been the sort of gourmet who cared about how evenly vegetables were cooked and how perfectly the meat was done.

Even after becoming a beast that looked like it should chew up live prey whole, my taste buds were still the same.

Still, I was hungry, so I ate everything.

I tossed the empty skewers into the burning firewood and let out a sigh.

"Haaah..."

It felt like I’d eaten a hundred fish, and I was still empty inside.

If a hungry person who’d starved for a week tried to fill up on a single cabbage leaf, this was probably what it would feel like.

"It’s not just the taste. It’s not filling me up either."

I wondered if I should catch more fish.

But to fill my stomach, I’d probably have to fish until I’d wiped out the entire river’s supply.

"I need food with a little more quality and a lot more quantity!"

I sprang to my feet.

I’d had a good idea.

If fishing couldn’t fill me up, then this time I’d hunt.

This was the wilderness.

Surely there had to be at least one big beast around, something worth eating, even if it wasn’t on my level?

One top-grade wagyu cow would probably satisfy both my stomach and my tongue.

"No way."

I rose from my seat.

A body this massive needed a lot of fuel.

It would’ve been nice if I could’ve gotten by on fodder like a dog or a cat, but this beast needed food that actually tasted good, too.

Come to think of it, don’t even dogs and cats ignore pet food once they’ve had human food?

My palate had been trained by the stimulating flavors of modern food.

Was there anything out there that could satisfy it?

Well, I’d find out if I looked.

***

Behemoth walked.

He walked through the vast Gehenna Great Forest.

Each time Behemoth took a step, a tremor rolled through the earth, and birds scattered into the sky.

Small beasts fled to their burrows or ran for their lives, desperately trying not to cross the path of the monster’s gaze.

From Behemoth came an overwhelming pressure.

Even beneath the dim moonlight, where his true form was not fully revealed, every living thing that faced him must have felt as if it stood before a colossal wall like a mountain itself.

Humans used the word monster to describe all beings that were born “naturally,” rather than through a mother’s womb.

Monsters were different from other life-forms.

Among them were even species that resembled beastfolk in shape.

But all shared the same savage nature: they loved killing people.

They also possessed bizarre forms that could only be explained from a magical perspective.

A dragon with three heads, or a cyclops fifteen meters tall, were prime examples.

Disgust. Pressure. Fear.

Those were the only emotions beastfolk and humans felt when they encountered a monster.

No matter how many enemies there were, no matter how strong or weak they might be, monsters always tried to kill.

To the strong, they were more disgusting than cockroaches. To the weak, more terrifying than a bear that hadn’t eaten in half a month.

"We definitely made eye contact just now, right?"

"Yeah. I’m sure we did..."

"Then how are we still alive?"

Goblins and hobgoblins stared at Behemoth with dazed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠expressions as he passed by and even waved at them.

"If we made armor out of those scales, what kind of amazing armor could we make?"

"You saw that and still said something like that? You’ve got guts. Ack, that bastard just pissed himself!"

"N-no, sir! I just spilled beer, that’s all!"

The dwarves watched Behemoth from underground using special cameras.

"Let’s go together, holding hands, with our whole family. Novel Mar—t. We’re happy. Novel Mar—t, happy happy happy, Novel Mar↗t~☆"

The elves clasped their hands and prayed for Behemoth.

Countless monsters were born and lived in the Gehenna Great Forest.

That was why ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠humans did not live there.

The only intelligent beings living in the Gehenna Great Forest were beastfolk who had lost the competition against humanity.

The beastfolk always encountered monsters.

And each time they did, one more of their lives in this land was snuffed out.

To them, monsters were nothing but fearsome predators and hateful living things.

That was why the beastfolk would have had more than a little trouble deciding how to define the Behemoth that had appeared before their eyes.

The Behemoth, who had suddenly appeared in the Gehenna Great Forest, was different from other monsters.

By appearance, he was clearly a monster, but everything he did was completely different.

Other overwhelming monsters would demand sacrifices, or try to kill on sight. That was how it should have been.

But Behemoth merely passed by the beastfolk, or waved at them.

There were monsters with high intelligence who could even hold conversations.

The elder dragons were the most famous example.

But those creatures only used their intelligence to harm beastfolk; they were never friendly.

That was simply their nature.

To the beastfolk, the existence called Behemoth was sensational.

It was a mysterious being not even recorded in their ancient histories.

"If it’s lizardmen, maybe they know about that monster. Aren’t they the same reptile race?"

"They said that creature was called Behemoth. Some kind of figure from myth or legend, I think... Anyway, we’ll know once we go see for ourselves."

Beastfolk differed from one another in culture, instincts, and even physical condition.

Unlike goblins, whose average lifespan was thirty years, elves could live up to five thousand years in perfect health.

And unlike orcs, who considered destruction a sacred ritual, dwarves treated creation as sacred.

The beastfolk fought each other whenever they met.

Since they kept needling each other about age, barbarism, and proper manners, there was no way their relations ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could be good.

The biggest reason beastfolk lost to humans was not just their smaller population, but also the fact that they could not unite.

That was why they had divided up their territories and tried not to run into one another whenever possible.

"Shouldn’t we start telling the other beastfolk about that great being?"

"I think so too, Nillia."

"I should meet the other beastfolk."

"With a magic club?"

"Don’t use such vulgar language in front of the chief."

"Everyone’s acting like they want to meet him. What should we do?"

"We should go."

"Hah, if we don’t even wear pants, the elves are going to throw a fit, aren’t they?"

"A bunch of people who don’t understand the art of nakedness. Can’t be helped."

With Behemoth’s appearance, a mood of unity, the first in hundreds of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠years, began to form among the beastfolk of the Gehenna Great Forest.

And their meeting would take place after Behemoth hunted the cyclops and the man-eater.

***