Ch#75
Flauros's carefully nurtured nest lacked its owner.
It was all because Flauros had failed in his role. He couldn't even properly deal with Astaroth, and he had no choice but to watch with wide-open eyes as the knights escorted Lady Evangelin away.
He wanted to immediately shred everything that had touched Lady Evangelin's body. He would cut out the tongues that had insulted her and use them to plow the fields, pluck out the eyes that had glared at her and hang them like fruit in an orchard.
"Stay put until I call for you, Pudding."
The reason he couldn't do so was that Lady Evangelin did not wish it. He revered her so deeply that he forcibly suppressed his rising hunger and murderous intent to mingle with humans. He was fine being called a mere snack like "Pudding." He turned into a cat, nestling in her arms and putting on a playful show. He was desperate for her affection.
How lovable she is. How pitiful and heartbreaking. That's why he'd ended up with his pride shattered just from acting cute. It had been so long since he'd preyed on humans while following Evangelin that it was only natural he couldn't stand up to Astaroth.
Only after being toyed with and utterly defeated by Astaroth did Flauros come to his senses.
Rather than groveling at Lady Evangelin's feet, he wanted to be of help to her. But someone who couldn't even handle Astaroth properly had no way of assisting her. So first, he needed to kill the irritating Astaroth. Since he couldn't even be a proper match for him now, he had to hunt and fill his belly.
Before Evangelin was taken away, Flauros had asked her permission in advance.
"May I go hunting until Lady Evangelin returns?"
"Yes. You're probably starving, so eat as much as you want."
Evangelin added a condition.
"But choose your prey carefully. Hunt the weak and the sick first."
It was obvious what "the weak and the sick" referred to. Flauros had been utterly entranced by her languid, gentle voice calling him "Pudding," only for the interlopers to shatter his immersion.
Dozens of hands stretched out from all directions. Each hand was desperate to touch Flauros. They yanked shoulders out of sockets or crawled along the floor with their teeth just to get closer.
The boy, beautiful enough to be called an angel's manifestation, recoiled in disgust and crushed the outstretched hands with his shoe heel. But instead of screams, cheers erupted from the bundle of dozens of hands. They had lost the ability to think properly and were fully prepared to be sacrificed as fodder.
Andras, who had returned after seeing Evangelin, clicked his tongue at the dizzying scene. This prey was a domestic abuser, the one next to him a rapist. And this one was a madman who enjoyed eating human flesh despite not even being a demon. They were all so repulsive it made one wonder how they had been gathered. Clumped together, they looked just like a basket full of maggots. These were the weak and sick that Evangelin had permitted him to eat.
"Pudding. Did you bring these to eat them all? Are you in your right mind?"
He hadn't expected someone with such picky tastes to try eating such low-grade trash the moment Evangelin permitted him to prey on what society called scum. He must have been pretty bruised by his loss to Astaroth.
"Is it because Astaroth beat you? But he's your natural predator, so you can't help it."
"Shut up. I went to be of help to Lady Evangelin, and I came back without accomplishing anything."
"Well, if I'd been there, our master wouldn't have fallen for Astaroth's cheap tricks."
Flauros vented his anger by kicking a "ball" at Andras. Only after snatching it did Andras realize it was a person's head. How could Pudding throw a pedophile's head at his friend? What a brat.
Andras gingerly picked up the head by a strand of hair, as if handling something filthy, and set it aside gently. Flauros was devouring things that even made Andras gag at the mere smell. And with a ferocious expression unbecoming his docile face, he declared in fury.
"Next time I see Astaroth, I'll tear him to shreds."
"Sure, I'll cheer you on."
Instead of eating this garbage, he might as well pluck the cherry blossom petals from House Rohanson's trees, but apparently his pride wouldn't allow it.
"Hurry up and eat. Once you're done, come run an errand with me."
Jelly turned his back so he wouldn't see the maggots, melting cherry blossom petals in his mouth. Even his appetite had vanished.
