It was clearly a terrifying monster, yet it stood out completely from the surrounding tentacle beasts. Not only did it not attack humans, but it seemed to prefer attacking its own kind. It had saved her twice, liked to drink milk, and could even communicate like a normal person...
Was it really a monster? Summer Uehara found it hard to believe.
Her entire worldview was being...
"You can really communicate? Who are you, really? Where did all these monsters in the school come from? Why are they invading the academy? Are you—" A barrage of questions fired from Uehara Natsumi's lips like a machine gun—ratatatat—nonstop!
Mu Xiaoxiao could understand her confusion. This girl had more questions than the ocean had water, but… he was more lost than she was! He didn't even know what this bizarre world was supposed to be! Who was he supposed to ask?
"I'm hungry. Go get me something to eat."
He shifted the topic immediately. He was seriously starving. Turns out that fighting and using abilities drained a lot of his energy, and the only way to recover it was through food.
Without eating, he couldn't even grind monsters properly.
"Food..." Natsumi hesitated, but eventually swallowed her curiosity. "I-I'll take you to the cafeteria... though, with the school like this, there probably isn't much left..."
Chaos was everywhere.
The girl walked dizzily ahead, constantly glancing back at the waddling tentacle monster following her. The strangeness in her heart only grew stronger. A tentacle monster with a mind of its own, capable of communication, who didn't harm humans and even massacred its own kind…
A milk-loving, hungry tentacle monster...
Just what was this thing?
"Wait, there's a vending machine over there. I'll get you a box of milk."
She stopped, quickly jogged over, slipped a bill into the machine, and retrieved a milk box. Just as she handed it over, a tentacle snatched it right from her hands.
One box? That's nothing.
BANG!
CRACK!
Natsumi stared, stunned, as the tentacle monster exploded the vending machine like it had gone berserk, grabbing drinks and milk and shoving them into its mouth one after another.
She was speechless.
"Ah! Isn't this a little too much? This is robbery..."
"You teaching me how to live?"
Flashing cold text on the phone screen.
Seriously? You're worried about robbery when the school's gone to hell? Mu Xiaoxiao cast her a scornful look—not that she could see it.
And continued gorging himself.
Natsumi sat off to the side, blank-faced, helpless, somewhere between crying and laughing, watching this tentacle monster gulp down drink after drink. For some strange reason, she found it… kinda cute. The fear she'd felt earlier seemed to melt away.
Thinking about how it had saved her, again and again, showed its strength, and protected her, she couldn't help but feel a strange sense of safety.
Sure, it was still a tentacle monster—but it was different. Watching it eat like this…
So adorable. Like a pet...
Mu Xiaoxiao, gulping down calories, was unaware he was being mentally categorized as a pet.
Natsumi looked at the round blob of flesh in front of her. "Um, since you can communicate, could you talk with me a little? I'm really curious about your background."
"Why are you so different from the other monsters? Where are you from?"
Mu Xiaoxiao paused. He lifted her phone and tapped a message out.
"You want me to be like those monsters and do bad things to you? If that's what you want, I can make it happen, you little perv."
"Wh-What?!"
Natsumi leapt back two steps, arms protectively across her chest, her pretty face flushed bright red with embarrassment and frustration. "I-I'm not a perv! I was just curious, okay?! I never wanted to do… that kind of thing!!"
"Curiosity killed the cat. Stop asking."
"Ugh!!"
She grit her teeth. This guy was the worst... But strangely, talking with him didn't feel like she was talking to a monster at all. It felt… like teasing banter between humans. It was bizarre.
"At least tell me your name, then. Do you have a name?"
Technically, he didn't. Mu Xiaoxiao was about to say as much, but paused. Looking at Natsumi's energetic, pretty face, he ended up typing:
"Mu Xiaoxiao."
He actually had a name… Mu Xiaoxiao? That didn't sound like a monster's name at all. This tentacle thing really was strange. An idea started forming in Natsumi's head...
She tried to ask more, but Mu Xiaoxiao ignored her. Natsumi grew visibly pouty.
Whoosh—
She tried to snatch her phone back, but he effortlessly lifted it out of reach with a tentacle. "Hey, that's my phone! Give it back!"
"It's mine now."
Mu Xiaoxiao turned and left. Taking her phone wasn't just about communication—he wanted to search for information online. But even after browsing for ages, all he found was that this world looked like Earth—other than that, nothing useful.
"Wait up—!"
Natsumi quickly followed. Though she grumbled, she wasn't really mad. Watching the tentacle monster swipe and tap her phone like a pro, her expression twitched.
This tentacle monster... was really weird.
Now fully re-energized, Mu Xiaoxiao resumed his monster-hunting plans. The number of creatures on the field had dropped—they'd likely moved into the school building.
He made his way toward the central courtyard.
"KYAAAAAHHHHH—!!!!"
A terrified scream came from upstairs the moment they entered. Natsumi, still treating him like her personal shield, jumped. Her jewel-like eyes widened.
"That voice—it's Donghua-chan!"
Donghua-chan?
"She's my friend..." Matsubara Donghua, little sister of her childhood friend Matsubara Fuuichi. Was she in danger?
Mu Xiaoxiao flung off some stuck flesh with a flick of his tentacle, then looked up in the same direction as the scream.
Both he and Natsumi froze.
A giant worm-like monster clung to the outer wall of the school building. Tentacles writhed from its massive, bloated body. Its gaping, puckered mouth looked like something out of hell. It was clearly not one of the grunt-tier tentacle zombies.
It looked horrifying.
Even Mu Xiaoxiao—who was a monster—felt grossed out. As for Natsumi, her face went pale, hand over her lips, struggling not to vomit. "W-What is that...?"
Compared to her familiar tentacle monster, this thing was disgusting. Pure, unfiltered revulsion.
Second floor, infirmary.
Unaware of the chaos unfolding outside, Matsubara Donghua had been resting in the infirmary due to her chronic illness. Her long orange hair was tied in a side ponytail, resting delicately on her shoulder. A fragile beauty, her features were so delicate and refined, her very presence exuded the aura of a sickly princess.
An enchanting, tragic charm.
Unfortunately, girls like her usually met tragic ends. And now, the threat was right outside.
Donghua had heard something strange outside, and got up slowly from the bed. Slipping on her indoor shoes, she pulled aside the curtain—
Her pupils shrank to needlepoints.
A massive, grotesque worm monster clung to the window. It stank. Its slimy bulk twitched. Tentacles writhed as its abyssal maw opened, facing her.
Terror turned her face bloodless. "W-What is that...?"
A tentacle stretched toward her, inching close. The trembling, orange-haired girl stared wide-eyed as it drew near, as if examining her.
"N-No... No, stay away!!"
BANG—!!
"Donghua!!!"
The infirmary door burst open. Matsubara Fuuichi stormed in, his heart nearly stopping when he saw his sister wrapped in the monster's tentacles. Without thinking, he charged, "Let her go!!"
THUMP!
A tentacle grabbed Fuuichi and smashed him into the ground. He had no chance against this thing.
"Brother..."
Tears welled up in Donghua's eyes as she watched her brother crumple. Fear and despair swallowed her. She shut her eyes tight—knowing something terrible was about to happen.
But then—
The tentacles suddenly uncoiled. She was dropped to the ground.
What?
GAAAAAAAHHHHH—!!!
The fallen girl blinked, stunned to see severed tentacles and the worm monster shrieking in pain. Not just her—Matsubara Fuuichi and a girl carrying a bow had also just arrived, both dumbstruck.
"Donghua-chan! Fuuichi!" Natsumi was flung through the window.
"...Natsumi?!"
What the hell is going on...?