Chapter 10 Feeding Time

While all that was happening, Kane and Suzuka stayed further away from Jacob and the rest. Kane sat in the driver's seat, keeping an eye on the girl while taking a sip from his flask. As they waited, Suzuka continued reading Monsterpedia. 

She decided to check what monsters lurked in the water and looked at the "monsters" category. 

The first and most common water monster on the list was the "Jelly Slime." Slow, thick, water-based jelly that can harden at will, and comes in many colors, mostly green or bright blue. Size is measured in liters since it doesn't have a solid form, and varies from 1 liter to 250 liters.

 It kills by entering the human body or engulfing it and drowning. Found in small rivers, waterfalls, ponds, and lakes. Threat level one star, advised to have some alcohol, as Jelly Slime is weak to it, and simple physical attacks are not effective. 

After finishing reading the first profile of the water monster, Suzuka asked Kane, "So, um... mister Big manly man..."

"Name is Kane... what is it?"

"Big manly man Kane, have you ever fought Jelly Slime?"

"Pff! Kid, call me only Kane or by my title 'Orc Skull Crusher' okay? And yeah I had my share of thous, but not too difficult to deal with."

"Book says that it kills by entering the human body, how does that work?"

"They enter your mouth when you sleep or when you are unconscious, making your lungs or stomach their home, what happens next I think you can imagine."

"So that means, when slime enters me it's all over?"

Kane pulls his silver-coated flask out of his pocket and shows it to the girl.

"Oh no, no... look, all adventurers have a flask of alcohol not just because we are a bunch of drunks with a big sword but because of slime."

Suzuka takes a quick look at the slime profile and says, "So that's why it says in the book to have some alcohol."

"Yep! One sip and slime will come out... well, it's a nasty case. Anyway, keep on reading I need to keep a lookout here."

"Can I ask one more question? Please?"

 "Sure kid, shoot."

"Did Antonio say anything about me when he left?"

"Oh, sorry don't know who he is, I wasn't there when I arrived you were already sleeping."

"Okay, thanks."

As Suzuka flipped to the next page, she encountered the "Cuthona Slug" on the list of monsters. This creature is thirty centimeters in height, and over one meter in length, and its body is covered in ocean-blue soft scales with yellow stripes on its back. Although not dangerous at a distance, it is slow-moving, but deadly if approached.

The Cuthona Slug is a dangerous predator that hunts its prey by injecting them with a numbing poison through tentacles that protrude from its mouth. Once the victim is immobilized, the slug wraps itself around the body and begins to slowly melt and consume it. These creatures are a threat level of one star and are typically found in waterfall caves, underwater caves, and around rivers with rocky terrain. They also have the ability to spit strong acid.

While Suzuka was reading, Derrick retrieved some documents from his bag and began reading while he waited. Jacob kept watching, scanning the area for any uninvited guests or potential threats. Alex and Kane stood guard, positioned not too far from where Suzuka was sitting, ensuring she couldn't escape if she became suspicious of their plans for her. Jacob took a sip from a flask of Melwyngold apple wine, his last one, stored in his pocket.

 After having his drink, Jacob reflected on himself, "Dam! Antonio, ma boy! You sure make good Melwyngold apple wine. When I get back from this dump I am gonna buy a whole year's supply of his wine. Oh! Wait a minute! Dam! Good thing I didn't kill him! hahaha! But yeah... shit, he might be pissed at me."

Derrick notices Jacob chuckle to himself and asks, "What's so funny Jacob?"

"Your face, Derrick."

"Oh, Jacob! It looks like I walked right into that one didn't I, well I was a fool to think that you were going just to answer me in a normal manner."

Saying that Derrick checks what the beast looks like and it's almost time to start. Beast's limbs stopped growing, his body got weak, his fur was gray like an old man's hair and he could barely hold his head up. 

Derrick turns to Jacob and tells him, "We can start in twenty minutes, looks like the beast is about to reach its limit, and by Melwyn all mighty it's not a poison-type beast. Jacob! I may not show it but I'm really happy inside right now... and so when his wounds start to bleed that's our signal, the werewolf is ready to give his vitality powers to the next carrier."

Jacob looks at him and says, "Yeah, I can see your happy boner from all the way here. And so what? he's just gonna wrap it up like a present and give it to her, right?"

"Oh, Jacob! No need to be such a party pooper, better tell your men to get ready."

"Don't worry Derrick, my men know what to do. I show a signal and they bring the little girl here."

"Jacob, you better not get cold feet on me now, okay? Not after we come this far. Money is big, just keep your end of the deal. Don't ruin it for me."

Jacob makes a serious face and tells him, "Listen now, Derrick ma man, you don't need to be worried about me or my men. As long as I get my gold, YOU promised me, no one's feet gonna go cold. Oh, and you better don't forget to pay or the only one with cold feet will be you... ma man Derrick!"

Derrick makes a grin on his face and tells him, "Don't you worry, you gonna get all the gold I promised and more if this goes according to plan. If this experiment succeeds, Jacob, I will be high ranking MIS member. Just think about it, perfect soldier! Unlike failed experiments Minotaur's were."

While they were speaking, a few blood drops started to fall on the ground from the beast's leg wound. A few minutes later from both legs not long after from both arms. Derrick noticed that and tells Jacob to signal his man, "Look! Look! It started to bleed, hurry signal your man!"

Jacob turned, checked on the beast for a second then turned back and waved his hand signaling Alex and Kane. Suzuka finished reading the profile of a man-eating plant when Kane and Alex walked up to the wheeler she was sitting on and told her, "Hey kid! Get off the wheeler! We go to Jacob, now!"

Suzuka puts the book on the trunk floor and asks Alex, "But there is this scary beast, right? Why do I need to go there?"

"Hey! You can ask Jacob when we go there. For now, get out here!"

"Okay! Okay! No need to shout at me I'm going."

Kane took her by one arm and Alex by another and dragged her where Jacob was. When they got there Suzuka asked Jacob what was going on, "Jacob! What's going on? Why are they holding me? I'm scared."

Jacob stops scanning the area for threats, stands up, and tells, "Oh! Don't worry about us kid... we won't hurt you... but the beast will! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

Suzuka quickly shakes her arms, breaks free, turns around, and tries to run but Kane and Alex catch her immediately.

"Alex, Kane... you know what to do! Let the beast have a bite."

They started to drag struggling to break loose Suzuka with her back facing toward the beast while dragging her feet. No matter how hard she struggles or shout for help, she couldn't break loose.

"No! No! NO! Please don't kill me! Help me! Someone help! Jacob! No, please, don't! Let me go! Why are you doing this, I have done nothing to any of you! Let me go!"

The closer they dragged her to the beast, the more she got scared and desperate. Her mind went blank, her heart was beating faster and faster, and the adrenaline was rushing into her blood making her muscles harden and cower in a cold sweat. Her eyes were darting all over the place trying to spot anything that might help her out but that made her just more frightened and anxious.

"No! Alex! Stop! Don't do this! Kane! Please help me! Don't feed me to the beast! Please, I do anything! Don't kill me!"

But they just dragged her to where the beast was, ignoring her completely. Without any response from them, she got horrified even more and started to hyperventilate from panicking.

"How can you do this? I'm just a little girl, please don't do this! Let me go, I won't tell anyone!"

But they just dragged her toward the beast without telling her a word back. When she was about to begin shouting again Alex and Kane suddenly stopped and she felt a weak breath on her neck. Feeling a menacing presence from behind her, she got horror-struck, turn pale, and begin to cry.

Beast bites her without any mercy, werewolf's lower jaw sinks his teeth from her shoulder down to her lowest rib, cutting deep into her flesh along with the upper jaw's teeth sinking into her chest, ribs, and her stomach, shredding her clothes and flash along the way with tight bite, splashing blood all over the ground leaving her screaming in great pain.

After the beast bit, Alex and Kane let her arms go and stood guard right next to her. When they let her arms go she tries to claw the beast's face in hopes he would let go while cursing her evildoers but the beast didn't even blink from her desperate attempt to free herself.

"Curse you all! I hope you all die!"

At that moment her love for Antonio started to turn into hate. All that pain started to break her mind and she started to lose consciousness. Beast stood still for a few seconds while tightly holding his bite, Derrick got suspicious.

"Wait a minute! Jacob! Stop drinking for a second! Something is not right! Beast... it takes too long, I think it's up to something! It should be just one bite and the beast should be dead!"

Jacob finished drinking his flask in one go, what was left in it, and said, "No shit, professor! And what do you think I should do now, huh?"

Beast noticed them arguing and that's all the time he needed. Beast started to glow in dim dark purple color, then he bit the girl even tighter putting her in even more pain than she was already in, and twisted his neck with all his might to the left, swinging the girl's body and hitting Kane hard enough to knock him off his feet.

Alex jumped back a few steps and was about to draw his two swords from his back. After hitting Kane, Suzuka's several ribs got broken and dislocated shoulder but the beast didn't stop there, right after he knocked out Kane he twisted his neck to the right and trowed Suzuka's body at Alex while breaking off a few of his own fangs. Right, when Alex was pulling his swards off his back Suzuka come flying at him and hit Alex.

After the collision one sword cut Suzuka's back and send her in shock from all the pain she went through, and the other one cut deep into Alex's neck before he got knocked to the ground. Suzuka fell down on her back with her arm and leg broken, twisted in the wrong direction while Alex was laying flat, holding his heavily bleeding wound and rustling through his pocket. Alex pulled out his one and only healing crystal that he spend fortunes getting and tried to infuse mana to activate the crystal but he lost too much blood and couldn't do it. While cursing at the mistakes he made, he stared at the crystal until his consciousness fade away.

"Cut down by my own blade... curse it all, what a joke... all that gold I spent... for this crystal... can't even... use... it."