Weak from the ordeal, I could only watch as the werelycans crept closer, their laughter sharp and cruel. In fear, I chose to play dead.
"Well, look what we have here," one sneered, eyes gleaming with hunger and madness.
"Leftover spoil from a fight. Easy meat," another growled, drool splattering onto the dirt beside me.
I counted them—five in total. Even if I managed to take down one, the others would overwhelm me. My mind raced, searching for anything I could use, but my thoughts were cut short by another's command.
"What are we waiting for? Let's finish him off and bag him. The pack will be waiting."
Their unified howl sent a chill through me. Fear surged, but with it came a spark of energy. When the first werelycan lunged, claws poised to tear me apart, I seized his shoulders and sank my teeth into his neck.
Shock rippled through the pack—and through me. Instead of disgust, euphoria flooded my veins. My fatigue ebbed. I hadn't planned this; I meant to throw him aside and flee. But his scent was intoxicating, irresistible. It was as if he had bewitched me into devouring him.
The cursed ring on my finger pulsed. In a flash, I understood: this was the true price it had spoken of, not the jest it had once made.
Enraged, another werelycan transformed. Flames licked across its mane and back, burning without consuming. It leapt, claws blazing, but I rolled aside—straight into another's strike. Pain exploded as claws pierced my lower back. I screamed, stumbling forward, blood pouring from the wound.
The sight of my own blood, its metallic scent filling my nose, ignited fury. The ring flared, and I lost control. I smashed a stone into the nearest creature's eye, bursting it in a spray of blood.
Momentum carried me. I hurled the blinded beast into another, then ducked low, using a third's charge to impale him on a jagged stump. His death cry split the air.
Flames erupted, swirling into a tornado that trapped us. Yet the ring's glow intensified, and I inhaled the fire itself. Heat scorched my throat, but I devoured it all. Power surged, forming a mantra core of fire within me. I unleashed it in a blast, but the highbred resisted, pouncing with a flaming claw. I rolled, reclaiming my sword, and parried the strike.
I fought with speed and skill beyond myself, each movement guided by something greater. Two more joined the fray, but they did not transform. Perhaps they hadn't unlocked the ability. I shattered one's knee with a brutal kick, then parried another's strike and drove my boot into his groin. As he faltered, I slashed his throat, arterial spray painting the ground.
The highbred lunged again, but I struck his jaw with my sword's hilt, bone crunching beneath the blow. Blood dripped as he circled me.
Grabbing the crippled werelycan, I dragged him forward, provoking the highbred into a reckless charge. Using his momentum, I slashed deep across his side. He whimpered, staggered, and collapsed.
The ring's glow faded, leaving me in control once more—but drained. The crippled one pleaded for mercy. His whimpers reminded me of Peron's words: the weak have no place in this world. Without hesitation, I silenced him.
Hunger consumed me. The scent of blood drove me mad, and I devoured their bodies whole, leaving only what could not be stomached. Energy surged, but horror followed. I had eaten them—every part—and felt no revulsion, only exhilaration.
My senses sharpened. I could hear, smell, taste, and feel with unnatural clarity. Then, through the chaos, I heard her voice. Aeola.
I ran toward the sound, following a trail of perfumed mist. It led me deeper into the forest, to a sealed hall in the earth. I clawed at the barrier, but magic held firm. Defeated, I collapsed.
Her voice taunted me: "What's wrong? Can't figure out how to save your sister?"
"HELP ME!" I screamed.
"Why should I?"
Torn apart by despair, I sobbed. "What do you mean?"
"You're the user of Gluttony. My blessing follows you," it whispered.
"And how will being a glutton save me now?" I cried.
"You are the perfect glutton. My blessing grants you the power to consume and wield the abilities of your prey. Their mantra becomes yours. If you already possess it, their mana strengthens you further. Your limit is endless."
The truth struck me. Fire, heightened senses—all from devouring the werelycans.
"And when you controlled me?" I asked.
"Your hunger was too great. In such moments, the blessing merges us. You enter the flow state. But because you have not accepted me, I controlled you."
The presence faded. I called out, but silence answered. Closing my eyes, I focused. See weaknesses…
When I opened them, the world was black and white. The barrier loomed, pitch black except for a single white fissure. Channeling fire, I unleashed a stream upon it. Slowly, it melted. The ground trembled, and I fell into the abyss.