A Monster That Cannot Pray

I noticed something was amiss― I’m not sure of the exact time, but judging by the cool breeze brushing against my skin, it was probably around dawn.

Perhaps it was because Mia’s soft warmth, which had been tightly embracing me until just before I fell asleep, had disappeared. As soon as I opened my eyes and raised my body to look around.

“…Frey, are you awake?”

“Mia…?”

“Shh. Be quiet.”

I don’t know when she had gotten up, but seeing Mia already fully dressed and holding a threatening-looking crossbow in her arms, I could immediately tell that something big had happened.

Nod.

After nodding to Mia, who was guarding the door with a finger to her lips, I quickly changed from my uncomfortable pajamas into the nun’s habit I usually wore.

“What’s going on…?”

“…Someone is targeting this place.”

After receiving a briefing from Mia in a voice so low that it could only be heard if we were close together and focused.

Bang―!

Not long after, I could hear the sound of something breaking from the direction of the dining room.

“Frey. Just in case, let’s escape to the chapel for now.”

“B-but… The old man said not to leave the church no matter what today…”

“Mm. He probably did… but this is an exceptional situation.”

Seeing Mia shake her head as if she knew something,

“…Okay.”

I had to nod quietly.

Bang―!

Right after, at the sound of another crash,

“Let’s go, Frey.”

We were moving stealthily towards the chapel with Mia.

Screech― Screech―.

As we were moving as quietly as possible, a chilling sound like something sharp being dragged came from behind us… I slowly turned around, making eye contact with Mia, and.

“―This is too much, really. I just came to talk, happy to meet a young fellow of my kind for once.”

“Don’t listen, Frey.”

“I’m telling the truth, you know?”

There, I could see a brown-haired man with four arms like me.

He was about 180cm tall, gently curving his reddish eyes as he spoke to me. Two of the man’s arms… had transformed into blade-like appendages that were scraping the walls and floor.

“Hey, you should be able to tell. That I’m the same as you.”

The moment I saw ‘it’― I could understand immediately.

-What they say is just a means to eat without exerting effort.

This man showing me the black clover mark engraved on his neck by pulling back his collar― he was the real monster Bernard had spoken of.

“If you come any closer, I’ll really shoot…!”

Then, as Mia took a big step forward and aimed her crossbow at the monster, I glanced at her before.

“…I. Am different from something like you.”

As I said that while making eye contact with the creature to divert its attention for a moment.

Twang― Thud!

With the sound of the bowstring being quickly released, the crossbow bolt, which was clearly painful even at a glance, pierced the head of the monster in front of me.

Fwip―! Fwip―!

Mia, with skillful hand movements, reloaded the crossbow and aimed for the shoulder of the creature whose head had been pierced, pinning it to the floor.

“Let’s run, Frey!”

“Y-yes!”

After that, I fled to the chapel following Mia, who roughly grabbed my hand and ran.

“Huff, huff…!”

“Are you okay, Frey?”

Perhaps due to excessive tension, even though we hadn’t run far, I took a moment to calm my rising breath.

“I-I’m fine, we need to escape quickly…!”

As I beat my chest with two arms and pushed Mia’s back with the other two to quickly leave the chapel, that’s when it happened.

Crack― Squelch―!

Suddenly, something burst through the door and pierced Mia’s abdomen with a chilling sound.

“Ugh, kyaaaah―!”

“Mia―!”

I rushed towards Mia in a panic, to stop the bleeding from the large hole in her stomach.

“Urgh―!”

“J-just hold on a little… Mia!”

With two hands, I took off the veil I was wearing on my head and wrapped it around Mia’s stomach, pressing it as a makeshift bandage.

With my other two hands, I held onto Mia’s hands, which were trembling aimlessly in pain.

It was the moment when my four arms served their purpose for the first time.

But.

“Ah― What’s this, did I only catch one?”

At the man’s voice coming from behind me― clearly the voice of the monster whose head should have been pierced by Mia’s crossbow earlier.

“…How?”

I asked not how he was alive, but― how the creature behind us had overtaken us and attacked Mia.

Swoosh―!

The creature answered with a pair of blades that brushed past my sides and clung to its body.

“You see, it would have been better if you had just talked with me instead of running away.”

That’s a lie. He had no interest in talking with me at all.

“Eh― What’s with that look? Those church executioners looked at me exactly like that.”

As he spoke to me, licking his lips as if savoring the taste while looking at Mia.

I continued to apply pressure to Mia’s stomach… and moved my body to block him.

“Ah― I get it.”

Squelch―!

The next moment, something silently pierced my shoulder and threw me aside.

“Ugh, aaaaah―!”

I screamed at the pain of something cold tearing through my body. Then, a pain like being burned by fire.

“Huhu. You didn’t like having your prey taken away, did you?”

“Ugh, urk… Get your… hands off…!”

As if seeking revenge for earlier… I struggled to pull out the silver blade that had pierced my left shoulder and pinned me to the ground.

Even while grunting, I threatened the creature who was approaching the unconscious Mia and grabbing her hair, but.

“Hmm― I don’t want to. Why should I when it looks so delicious?”

“Aaagh―!”

“Mia… ugh…!”

The creature, with a look of disdain, started to eat part of Mia’s left arm as if savoring it.

“As expected, the meat of a properly aged woman tastes the best. It would have been better if she was a bit younger.”

“Y-you―!”

Watching Mia scream in pain even in her unconscious state, I tried desperately to pull out the blade piercing my body.

Squelch― Splat…!

“I’m a kind adult, so I’ll share this much with you. They say it’s the most delicious part?”

With an unpleasant sound of flesh tearing, along with a splat―, I looked at the red lump that had fallen next to my head.

That thing, which was still twitching in front of me with faint warmth despite being separated from the body, was―.

“F-fuck…”

A part of Mia’s intestines that had fallen out of her stomach.

“It’s best to eat it while it’s fresh, young fellow.”

The creature, who had been nibbling on Mia’s arm as if to inflict pain, said.

“I heard. You haven’t eaten a person for over a year, right? I’d rather die than endure hunger.”

With Mia’s blood all over his mouth, he said with a grin.

“It’s hard, isn’t it? To make it easier for you, now.”

In a mood where I felt like I might lose my grip on sanity due to anger at any moment.

“You― I’ll kill you―!”

“Ahaha. If you’re going to say such things, why don’t you look at me properly?”

“…Huh?”

As if entranced, I looked at the piece of Mia’s intestine that had fallen next to my head.

―It looks delicious.

“Urgh―!”

What am I thinking right now?

“No, nono, it’s not…”

Growl.

I’m hungry. No, I’m not hungry. But, I’ve endured for over a year now. I’m human. Humans don’t eat humans. But, it’s a waste if it’s thrown away like that. The sweet smell of blood. Steaming… delicious meat.

“Ugh, aaaaaaah―! It’s not―! It’s not, I say―!”

Thud! Thud!

I banged my head on the ground. Every time I move, the blade stuck in my shoulder makes my whole body ache. When it hurts, I should eat meat.

Drool.

Saliva drips from my mouth. If I just reach out a little, I can eat delicious meat to fill my hungry stomach. But, I’ve endured for over a year. So, now….

“Oh.”

Crunch―!

I turned my head and bit down hard on one of my right arms that I had brought to my face.

Splat―!

The dirty monster’s blood splattered on my face. I could feel my sanity slowly returning.

“Huff, sniff…!”

“Haha. What, you don’t want to eat?”

“I am…! Human…! Not a monster like you…!”

So, looking at the stream of blood flowing from Mia’s stomach that he was shaking,

Rip, tear…!

“Ugh, hnnnngh―!”

With gritted teeth, trying to ignore the pain, I grabbed the blade stuck in my body with four hands and pulled it out.

“Whew.”

It hurts. My pierced shoulder hurts so much. My palms cut by the blade hurt.

However, more than anything else… the wound on my right arm that I had bitten hurt the most.

I resented myself so much for thinking of Mia as delicious even for a moment.

“Huff, huff… Right now, immediately…! Get away from Mia―!”

So, trying to steady my body trembling with fear, pain, disgust, and anger. I threw myself at the monster who was shaking Mia’s body towards me as if playing around.

Squelch, thud―!

The four blades protruding from the creature’s body pierce my stomach. They sliced into my left upper arm as if to cut it off, and deeply dug into my side and thigh.

But it didn’t matter. Compared to the pain Mia had endured, this level of pain was nothing.

“Hey, what are you going to do by rushing at me like that?”

I am weak. Despite having the body of a monster, despite being a man. I’m so weak that I need to be protected by such a frail woman. Even throwing my whole body like this, I couldn’t even break the creature’s posture.

But it didn’t matter. Even for someone like me, there was one thing I could do.

Grasp.

“Ahaha. Are you trying to shake hands in greeting? I don’t mind.”

I reached out to the creature who was laughing unpleasantly as if mocking me, and grasped his hand.

Yes. This is enough.

“―Have you ever tried praying?”

Because I’m a monster who can’t pray.

“What nonsense is that… Kyaaaaargh―!”

With our hands intertwined as if interlocking fingers, I concentrated.

Even if my body burns, I hope he can feel the same pain.

“Kuh, kuku… Serves you right….”

After that, even in the midst of pain as if my whole body was burning… I laughed at the sight of the creature’s body burning as if on fire, just like mine.

“Let, go of this―!”

The monster threw me as if swinging me around.

Crash―!

“Kuh, hack…!”

Fortunately or unfortunately, because I was thrown before my body could be completely burned.

I flew for a while, breaking several chairs in the chapel, and was slammed against the wall.

“Fellow kind or whatever― I’ll eat you first as you wished―!”

“I am… human… I’m different, cough, from bastards like you…”

With the last of my strength, raising all four hands― towards the monster approaching me with an angry face, panting.

“So, eat this… bastard.”

I quietly raised my middle fingers.

If possible, I wanted to heroically save Mia… but I could only regret that I couldn’t do so.

“Haa… Life really sucks, seriously….”

As I grumbled like that, seeing the monster that had already reached right in front of me.

“―You held out well, Frey.”

Along with a familiar voice, the monster flew far away.

“You dare to do this to our child― Know that you won’t die easily. You monster bastard.”

―A miracle had come to me.