[A/N: sorry for the delay, I forgot to post this chapter earlier
(〜￣▽￣)〜]
"So Anna, get ready for our adventure, it won't be easy, and don't worry we'll pick up some food on the way"
With that said, I started walking, but stopped after a few steps and turned to face her.
"Why are you still standing there?"
"I've answered your questions, I'm on my way."
So that's why she was so cooperative in answering my questions, what an innocent girl, if it were anyone else in this place who was in my position she would probably have been raped, dismembered and saved for the next meal. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a good person, I eat people for all my meals, I just think she might be of some use to me and maybe, just maybe, one day I'll be able to trust her, after all, I can't do everything on my own.
And let's be honest, a cute girl who hasn't yet been totally corrupted by this place is much better than a grumpy old man.
Now let's show Anna the reality
"Do you really think you can survive on your own without weapons, strength or even mana? Let's face it, at best you'll die without knowing what happened, this time permanently.
I'm your best option, unlike the pieces of shit around here, I won't get in the way of achieving your goals, all I want is your help to kill certain freaks, after that we'll go our separate ways, how about that?"
After a little thought, she nodded in affirmation, which made me happy. After all, I wouldn't need to make her a meal, it would be a waste.
"Great! Let's go, and here are your things"
I said as I gave the teeth I'd taken back for her.
"Any doubts? If you have any questions, it's going to be a long trip."
.
.
.
"Let's stop and rest here, I'm going to get something to eat, wait for me here."
After a long walk, when I saw that she couldn't go any further I stopped so that she could rest, she just nodded and sat down on a rock looking exhausted, I almost forgot that she hadn't eaten for a while, but it's not all my fault, she doesn't say anything other than what she's asked.
Anyway, I left her on some rocks that would be easy to recognize and searched for someone unlucky enough to cross our path, who knew I'd find something more interesting?
But instead, after getting over a certain dune, I found a macabre forest that looked like it had come straight out of a horror movie. To be honest, I wasn't thrilled, I've seen worse when walking through deserts.
Wait, what if there is something that can be eaten in this forest? That would be incredible, after all I've eaten nothing but sinners since I got here, which taste like rust and rotten meat, the problem is that I don't know if the monsters I find here will be edible, after trying the sandworm I had no more interest in the creatures.
That would actually be very helpful, it seems that Anna wouldn't eat other people's meat, as much as I think it's a waste of resources, I can't force her to eat, I'd lose what little trust I've gained and I probably wouldn't be able to regain it, so it's good that I can find an alternative food source.
As soon as I walked for a few minutes in the forest, my vision began to darken, all I could see were the silhouettes of the trees with the little light that passed through the tops of the trees and their leaves, even better was when a chill went through my spine, it was a good change of pace really, I was getting tired of the infernal heat, sand, rock mountains and lava.
As I enjoyed the coolness of the forest, I began to look for my prey, walking in such a way as to make as little noise as possible, for the same reason I haven't used my chain yet, it would make too much noise.
As I ventured deeper into the forest, I heard something cutting through the air towards me, something like a whip, which I couldn't dodge, now I'm only a little stronger than a human who trains his body regularly.
As soon as the whip hit my body I was thrown flying into a tree, which I hit hard enough to break several ribs, not to mention the lacerations on my torso.
"That's it? Come on, you can do better."
I said as I looked at the creature that had sent me flying, realizing that it looked like a mixture of a monkey, a rose, and a whip, with the head of a shallow rose that hadn't bloomed yet, a plant body full of thorns and a tail of vines;
[image here]
SCREEEE!!!
"Hehe, you don't seem to like witty comments, it doesn't matter, after all this time some fresh vegetables will be appreciated"
I said as I unwound the chain from my body and swung it towards the little bastard, two can play at this game. Unfortunately, he dodged and the chain caught on the tree branch he was standing on, well, it worked for me, I started to use the chain as a rope and climb up to the creature, who apparently didn't like the idea, and once again swung his tail at me, but this time I was prepared. As soon as the vine whip hit me, I let go of the chain and grabbed its tail, effectively pulling it down and making it fall several meters along with me.
As soon as we were on the ground, he looked dazed, while I presented a few more broken bones to the collection along with the rips in my flesh and a few other bruises, not that I care, these wounds will heal relatively quickly as long as I provide adequate nutrition, and let's be honest, pain, no matter the amount or intensity, doesn't make the slightest difference to me.
Not letting my thoughts wander any further, I began to orient myself and looked at the creature that was now getting up and coming towards me, an action that I copied immediately after picking up my chain that was still attached to the tree, without wasting any time I swung my chain towards it and finally managed to hit it, it seems that it didn't expect me to recover in such a short time, having finally hit a blow I did the only thing that anyone should do in this situation.
"GET OVER HERE!!!"
As soon as I pulled the chain with all my strength, it dug even deeper into the creature and dragged it towards me. Without much thought, as it was within arm's reach, I wrapped the chain around its neck, stepped on his back, and began to strangle it. The more it struggled, the more the thorns of the chain dug into it, increasing the cuts on its neck, but I realized that it wasn't weakening or dying in a short space of time, and from a distance I could already hear the squeals of more of these creatures coming towards me.
Although I would have loved to have been able to fight these creatures to a standstill, I remembered that I had to get food to Anna as soon as possible, and with that in mind, I began to squeeze the chain even harder, which at this point was digging into my hands, and even harder into the little bastard's neck, it was good because he was finally starting to lose his energy.
Unfortunately, I couldn't wait for him to die, as the squeals were only a few hundred meters away, and there seemed to be hundreds of them, so I simply tied my chain tightly around his neck and started dragging him out of the forest, totally ignoring the rose monke's protests and continuing to run with all my might.
A little while later I managed to get out of the forest, but I kept running anyway, I couldn't trust the possibility that they wouldn't follow me into the desert, so I just kept running, one of the only good things that happened to me here was that my body/spirit doesn't need rest as long as I keep eating, which I'm not opposed to, I've always been a bit of a glutton, I'd just like tastier food, I hope my new little friend tastes at least a little better.