In Terra, a Hunter, and a Bad Woman

Maria watched the other girl. After thinking for a moment, she slowly tossed the specially selected Stone aside, then took several steps back, letting the scent of the roasted meat spread more clearly.

"That way, perhaps you'll feel a little safer."

Maria's actions left the girl before her staring stupidly for a moment. Soon after, a deep look of confusion appeared on her face.

"Mm?"

"Come over, child. I mean you no harm."

Maria continued patiently trying to communicate with her. She even crouched down, making a gesture that seemed like an invitation.

Of course, even such an unconscious action carried the elegance carved into Maria's bones. The movement only filled the Puppy girl's face with confusion.

But she could still sense the stranger's goodwill toward her.

Though she was terrified, her growling stomach made it hard for the girl to endure any longer.

A moment later, she cautiously stepped out of the bushes.

The first thing Maria noticed were the large and small wounds covering her body... The girl seemed to be a wildling wandering through this forest. Even her clothes were nothing more than simple animal hides wrapped around her body. Rather than clothing, they looked more like some sort of armor...

Maria could not help feeling pity for her.

But then, her eyes suddenly widened.

On this girl's body...

There was a tail?!

Did normal people have tails?!

And beast ears?!

A beast?!

She was a beast?!

Instantly on guard, Maria retreated almost in the blink of an eye.

She gripped the polished Stone again. Looking at the brownish-yellow girl before her, thick killing intent flashed in her eyes.

Without a doubt, though the changes were slight, this girl was a beast!

She was not human!

Had this world... already reached this point?!

Thinking of that, Maria's emotions became complicated, and the way she looked at the girl gradually changed.

But the Puppy girl before her was startled by it.

She shuddered instinctively, then saw Maria assume a guarded stance.

After hesitating for a while, she still could not resist the scent of the roasted meat. Gritting her teeth, she pounced forward, seemingly intending to launch a surprise attack on Maria!

But unfortunately, this Puppy girl had clearly underestimated the gap between them.

Though her explosive power was astonishing and she crossed several meters in the blink of an eye—

Maria merely reached out and precisely let the girl's neck fall into her hand.

Then...

She slammed her to the ground!

Just like that, she pinned the girl beneath her, her face full of pain.

The Puppy girl still tried to struggle. Her legs weakly kicked at Maria while her hands desperately tried to pry away the hand gripping her neck.

But Maria's body remained as motionless as steel.

Her gray-black eyes turned from pity to coldness.

"Pitiful life... Rest easy."

"I will end... your suffering."

Time for a Bath, Puppy

"..."

"..."

Night deepened, and the forest gradually grew colder.

Maria sat beside the campfire, resting slowly.

Beside her, the brown girl who resembled a little puppy was bound by a vine.

But compared with the methods of a professional kidnapper, Maria had merely put a collar around the Puppy girl's neck.

The other end of the collar was tied to Maria's wrist.

In the end, she had not truly killed the Puppy girl.

Maria was not an extreme Hunter who killed beasts on sight.

On the contrary, compared to other Hunters, Maria was actually considered one of the gentler sort.

She knew perfectly well that not all Beastification victims were evil. Many had merely lost control of their desires.

Before the temptation of the Outer Gods, even the first Hunter—Maria's teacher, the man named Gehrman—had been unable to resist, much less ordinary people like them.

Thus, over countless cycles, Maria had protected Beastification victims many times.

She had even fought other Hunters for them.

It was just that, the further things went, the more Maria forgot that part of herself.

Lost in thought, Maria shook her head and looked at the girl before her again.

Though it was strange, this girl... seemed different from those people afflicted by Beastification.

The girl was wild, but not cruel. She seemed to have wandered alone through this forest for a long time and rarely interacted with people, which was why she behaved with such beast-like instincts.

After all, beasts were the only things she ever saw.

Even when Maria tried to ask her name, she could not say a single word.

That left Maria somewhat helpless.

What truly made Maria stop, however, was the girl's crying...

Those beastmen who had fallen into madness did not cry. They only hunted and slaughtered without end, until the day they were finally killed.

Clearly, the girl before her was not that type.

Before death, she felt despair and showed fear.

Even at the final moment, she would shut her eyes in terror.

That meant she was an intelligent lifeform.

Not a beast.

That was why Maria ultimately gave up on killing her.

Of course, not killing her did not mean letting the girl go.

No matter how rational a beast was, it was still a beast. Maria would not be foolish enough to let someone afflicted by Beastification wander freely.

So she chose to keep the girl by her side.

As she thought, Maria watched the foolish girl drool at the roasted meat. Without changing expression, she picked up a skewer and held it out before her.

"Mm?"

The girl tilted her head and shrank back, her face showing a mixture of nervousness and worry.

But Maria said nothing more. She silently placed the roasted meat into the girl's hands, then picked up a skewer herself and began to eat.

Maria ate elegantly. Her pursed lips opened slightly, gently taking a piece of meat between them and pulling it from the wooden skewer before slowly chewing and savoring it.

Since the blood had not been drained, the roasted meat tasted somewhat strange. Still, if it was treated as emergency food, it was barely edible.

But... to the Puppy girl, it was an exceptionally rare delicacy.

Compared to Maria's elegant manner of eating, the girl's dining habits could only be described as ferocious.

If Maria had not stopped her, she had no doubt that this foolish girl would have swallowed the wooden skewer whole!

Maria's eyes could not help softening at the sight.

"Though she's undergone Beastification, she's still just a child?"

"Mm?"

The girl tilted her head after finishing the roasted meat and looked at Maria.

"It's nothing, Puppy..."

Maria would not show much gentleness to outsiders. Even when she was kind, she was stiff and cold about it.

After learning that the girl had no name, she casually began calling her Puppy.

After all, her tail and habits truly were not much different from a puppy's.

And when Maria saw her licking the leftover grease from Maria's wrist, she could not bear it.

She took out several more skewers of roasted meat in succession and handed them to her.

This time, the girl was no longer as afraid of Maria as before. After awkwardly gripping the roasted meat in both hands, she stuffed them all into her mouth and began chewing wildly.

She had completely forgotten that Maria had nearly killed her moments ago.

She even looked at Maria with an unsatisfied expression, her tail wagging so excitedly that it could have been used to whip someone.

She was a foolish dog who remembered food but not punishment...

Maria could not help laughing and crying at the sight.

"Unfulfilled desire is not a good thing... It will make you fall into the abyss, Puppy."

Testing the waters, Maria extended her hand toward the girl.

The girl was clearly afraid of Maria when there was no food involved. Seeing her approach, she shrank back again.

I-is she going to choke me again?!

The frightened girl thought this as her body curled up from trembling, her eyes squeezed tightly shut.

But what awaited her was not some terrifying punishment, but a touch.

A very gentle touch.

Slender, cold fingers lightly cupped the girl's face, delicately stroking her.

Moonlight spilled over the black Hunter's attire, outlining Maria's beauty, which seemed almost inhuman.

Sharp eyes looked down at the girl from above, their gleam revealing a dazzling color beneath the light.

Her lips... still faintly glistened with leftover grease.

The foolish Puppy simply sat on the ground, blankly staring at her "kind" before her. An unfamiliar gleam flickered in her large eyes.

"Mmm~"

After pausing for a moment, the Puppy girl suddenly moved. She stuck out her tongue and fiercely licked Maria's lips.

That left Maria stunned for several seconds.

"Still not full? What a greedy little thing."

Maria was not angry. She merely raised her thumb and slowly wiped the remaining saliva and grease from her face.

When she reached out again, the Puppy girl carefully licked her hand.

It was clear that, to the girl, such food was truly unforgettable.

Rough calluses gently slid beneath the girl's chin, then moved to her neck before slowly circling around both sides and stroking the back of her head.

With a gentle exertion of force, Maria pressed the girl's head against her chest.

"Mm!"

Maria could clearly feel the girl's body instantly tense up. Her slight trembling seemed to show that she was still afraid.