Flesheater of the Forests

Chapter XVIII

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In her mind and system, there exists a parasitic presence. It infiltrated her thoughts, her very being and she couldn't help but breathe and just listen to it. Yurie blacked out again and found herself walking mindlessly through the dimly lit and musty streets, straddling the line between reality and a distorted, alternate realm.

Suddenly, laughs and shouts disrupted her trance, ones of... nearby prey. She halted her steps, turning her head right to face a group of them, men and women in their mid twenties standing by their flashy vehicles, merely across the street from her.

They noticed her and they moved closer, incompetent grins revealing sets of decayed teeth and gums. With wicked laughs, a man questioned why such a young woman like her is venturing out into the night.

These strangers were clearly seeking trouble.
Devour them.
Fueled by defiance, Yurie retorted, "I wonder if a freak's flesh like yours would fulfill my innermost desire?" Her response provoked his anger as his friends sneered and teased him. His smug expression vanished instantaneously, replaced by a snarl.

He raised his hand and slapped her, her face mildly burned on the spot. She chuckled a little and felt as her eyes glowed, hundreds of wendigo generations and he took a step back.

"What the fuck?"

Without hesitation, Yurie firmly gripped his throat and forcefully propelled him against the nearby wall. The impact between him and the wall let aloud a sickening crack and crimson oozed down her hand as the man writhed and resisted, triggering a surge of enlightenment within her.

As he gazed at her radiant eyes filled with an unmistakable terror, she couldn't help but wonder if, in their perception, she appeared as the starved and emaciated creature. If she retained any semblance of her human form, he surely would have retaliated an attack.

His companions stood frozen, agape in pure horror only feeding the rage and hunger within her. They snapped each other out of their dazed states and, gripping chipped baseball bats, charged towards Yurie.

She stealthily vanished into the darkness, only to reemerge right behind them, effortlessly overpowering them one by one.

She manipulated bones, contorted bodies, and violently tore away their sticky guts. With fierce determination, she lacerated at their flesh with her fangs, extracting their lifeblood. Even the strongest of their useless defenses shattered under my relentless assault.

The anguished cries of the humans sent a ripple of chills down her spine. Some were severed completely, while others struggled to breathe amidst the suffocating flow of their own fluids that never stopped cascading. They were her prey.

Visions, both old and new, flooded her mind, clearer than ever before. It felt as though she'd been transported to an entirely different world - a dark, cavernous space devoid of openings and light. She found herself enclosed, surrounded by nothing but crisp cadavers and mysterious entities, both human and supernatural.

As she glanced at her hand, it was stained with blood, remnants of the people clinging to her fingertips. An eerie silence pervaded the atmosphere, accompanied by unseen eyes that observed her every move. She sensed their gazes, testing her, examining her, and perhaps even applauding her actions.

It seemed that someone had seen the horrific scene and quickly informed the authorities, as the blaring sirens grew louder. As her senses sharpened, distressing images flooded her mind. The figures in front of me remained still, unmoving. Grandmother's lifeless body showed a large, devastating wound to her skull. Mason was sprawled out, motionless, his limbs strewn about in different locations. These were the two individuals who held my deepest care. It broke off a piece of me, something I wanted to put back into place - furthermore starving me.

In an instant, the light vanished before her eyes, leaving her surrounded by cold darkness once again. She desperately reached out for the light, but it slipped through her fingers as if it had never existed. She blamed herself for this loss, knowing deep down that they were the source of her happiness and love. It was just one of many moments when she believed things could change, yet she remained the monster she feared herself to be. The light within her was extinguished, perhaps not by her own doing. It was the fault of those responsible for the deaths of her loved ones. Anger boiled within her, fueling a furious rage. They had taken away her light, and her heart raced in response. Her senses heightened, surpassing anything she'd experienced before. As she sat there, tears streaming down her face and screams echoing through the darkness, a sinister barrier of shadows formed around her. It was a pitch-black dome, oozing with terrifying whispers and consuming everything in its path. Suddenly, the dome began to shrink, unleashing bolts of red lightning. In the blink of an eye, the barrier vanished, and the air pulsed with a strange energy. The streets lamps, pieces of the road, and parked vehicles were flung back several meters.

They had arrived. She steadily lifted her gaze slowly, and there, in the distance, stood the two small children from the festival. More and more mysterious entities materialized, closing in on her from all sides.

It was as if a portion of her awareness was being forcibly torn away.

As she focused in on the hushed murmurs, the exact meaning of the language eluded her. A longing of lost hope surged through her veins, yearning to reclaim what was forgotten. The repeated utterance reran relentlessly.

"E..k.r.."

".le.t.a."

"Elektra."

Abruptly, a painful sensation writhed within her, like her own insides were moving around on a roller coaster ride, causing her to clutch her stomach. Elektra was on the cusp of detaching herself from Yurie's weakened state. However, just as she was about to break free, a thunderous gunshot echoed a deafening crack.

It brought her back to reality. She felt herself shrink and she reluctantly placed her hand to her chest where the fiery pain ached. A trickle of warm blood met her fingers. She gasped in shock. Then shifted her eyes up to whoever dared to fire the shot at their superior.

Grandmother.
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