The roar did not sound like the others.
It was deeper.
Heavier.
Not just noise, but pressure.
The moment it echoed through the red mist, the smaller cries in the distance seemed to stop for a brief second, as if everything nearby had heard it too.
Kenji stood still.
Then he grinned.
Whatever made that sound was strong.
He could feel it.
Not with his eyes.
Not with his ears.
But with that strange sense that had started growing inside him ever since he had begun eating stronger prey.
Something was there.
Something dense.
Something dangerous.
And for some reason, his body was already moving before he had fully decided to chase it.
The ground blurred beneath his feet.
The mist split apart as he rushed through it, his claws digging into the earth with each step.
He passed through a field of jagged black stones.
Past the half-eaten corpse of some horned thing bigger than a horse.
Past claw marks carved into the ground so deep they looked like trenches.
The further he went, the quieter it became.
That alone felt wrong.
There were always sounds in this place.
Skittering.
Growling.
Screeching.
Wet chewing.
But now, there was less and less.
As if the creatures here knew better than to stay.
Kenji slowed.
The grin on his face faded slightly.
His excitement was still there.
But now caution had mixed into it.
Up ahead, the mist was thinner.
For the first time since arriving in this world, he could clearly see more than a short distance ahead.
The land opened into a wide clearing.
The red ground there was cracked and dark, almost black in places.
There were bodies everywhere.
Not one or two.
Dozens.
Some looked like the creatures Kenji had been hunting.
Others looked much larger.
One resembled an oversized wolf with three broken jaws.
Another had too many limbs and a shell split straight down the middle.
There were even humanoid ones among them.
All dead.
All torn apart.
Kenji stopped at the edge of the clearing.
"...The hell happened here?"
Then he saw the center.
Something was sitting there.
At first, he thought it was a pile of black stone.
Then it moved.
Kenji's pupils narrowed.
The creature was huge.
Even while sitting, it towered over every corpse in the clearing.
Its body looked vaguely humanoid, but only vaguely.
Its arms were too long, thick enough that each one looked like it could crush Kenji flat with a casual swing.
Its shoulders were broad and uneven, lined with jagged protrusions that looked like bone.
Its skin was dark, not black exactly, but something close to burnt metal.
And from its head curved two massive horns.
One was broken halfway.
The other remained intact, sweeping upward like a blade.
The creature was eating.
In one hand, it held the upper half of something that had once been alive.
Now it was simply meat.
The thing's mouth opened, revealing rows of brutal, irregular teeth, and it bit down with a wet crunch.
Kenji stared.
For the first time since coming to this world, the hunger inside him did not immediately rush forward.
Something else did.
Instinct.
A warning.
Run.
Kenji's body tensed.
He hated that.
His smile faded.
"...So you're that kind of thing, huh?"
As if hearing him, the creature stopped chewing.
Slowly, it lifted its head.
Its eyes met his.
They glowed faintly in the red light.
Not like the tiny glowing eyes on the small monsters.
Not like the mad stare of the werewolf.
These eyes looked aware.
Sharp.
Old.
The creature stood.
The sound of its weight shifting made the ground groan.
Kenji did not move.
Neither did it.
For a few seconds, they simply stared at one another.
Then, to Kenji's surprise, the monster spoke.
"You smell strange."
Kenji froze.
It had a voice like stone grinding together.
Slow.
Deep.
Clear.
He blinked once.
Then pointed at himself.
"...You can talk?"
The creature's expression did not change.
"That is what I am doing."
Kenji stared for another second.
Then, for some reason, he let out a short laugh.
"Right. Fair enough."
The horned creature took one step forward.
Kenji felt pressure hit him instantly.
Not physical pressure.
Something else.
Something heavier.
It was like standing too close to a cliff and realizing how easily you could fall.
"You are weak," the creature said.
Kenji's eye twitched.
"...Excuse me?"
"You are weak," it repeated. "But you have eaten well."
Kenji narrowed his eyes.
So it could tell that much just by looking at him?
Or smelling him?
The creature's nose twitched once, as if confirming something.
"Fresh blood. New flesh. Unstable change."
Kenji clicked his tongue.
He should have attacked.
Normally, that would have been enough.
Something strong was in front of him.
It talked like it was above him.
That should have irritated him enough to throw himself at it.
But he didn't.
Because every instinct he had was screaming the same thing.
If he attacks carelessly, he dies.
Still, he forced a grin.
"And what about you? Sitting in the middle of a mountain of corpses like some boss monster."
The creature gave no reaction to the mockery.
"I killed them because they came."
"...That's it?"
"That is enough."
Kenji had no comeback to that.
The creature tilted its head slightly.
"You are new?"
Kenji's expression changed just a little.
How could it tell?
Maybe it was obvious.
Maybe everything about him still screamed newcomer.
The creature continued.
"You move without knowing. You kill without understanding. You feed without choosing."
Kenji went quiet.
Those words struck harder than he expected.
Because they were true.
The creature took another step forward.
Kenji resisted the urge to back away.
"If you continue like that, you will become food for something greater."
Kenji forced a smirk.
"You're talking pretty calmly for someone who might end up as my next meal."
This time, the creature actually reacted.
Not with anger.
With amusement.
A low rumble left its throat.
It took Kenji a second to realize it was laughing.
That pissed him off immediately.
"What's so funny?"
The creature looked down at him.
"You still think hunger makes you a predator."
The words felt like a slap.
Kenji's grin faded.
The creature lifted one hand and pointed toward the corpses around them.
"These were predators too."
Silence fell.
Kenji looked around the clearing again.
The dead bodies.
The torn limbs.
The split skulls.
All of them had probably thought the same thing before they died.
He clicked his tongue and looked away.
"...So what? You giving lectures now?"
The horned creature lowered its hand.
"I am observing."
"That's creepy."
"You came closer."
"...Yeah, well. You roared first."
The creature stared at him for a long moment.
Then it said, "Name."
Kenji blinked.
"What?"
"Your name."
He hesitated.
He had not heard another being speak since arriving here.
Something about giving his name felt strangely important now.
"...Kenji."
The creature nodded once.
"Kenji."
It then placed one hand on its own chest.
"Vargan."
Kenji repeated the name in his head.
Vargan.
So this thing had a name too.
That made it feel even less like a beast.
And somehow more dangerous.
Kenji crossed his arms.
"Alright, Vargan. Since you're apparently smart enough to talk, maybe answer something."
Vargan waited.
"What is this place?"
Vargan's gaze shifted toward the red sky.
"The lower grounds."
Kenji frowned.
"The lower grounds?"
"A feeding land. A place where lesser things eat lesser things until stronger things come to eat them."
"...That sounds stupidly simple."
Vargan looked back at him.
"It is."
Kenji went quiet for a moment.
Then he asked the real question.
"What am I?"
Vargan's eyes rested on him for a few seconds longer this time.
"You do not know?"
"If I knew, I wouldn't ask."
Vargan's gaze moved to Kenji's horns, his fur, his claws, then to his mouth stained with blood.
"Something mixed."
Kenji's face deadpanned.
"That's not helpful at all."
"It is the truth."
Kenji sighed.
Of course the first intelligent thing he met had to be this annoying.
Still, "mixed" stuck in his head.
Was that why he felt so weird?
Why his body felt natural here, while his mind kept lagging behind?
Vargan suddenly spoke again.
"You have changed since arriving."
Kenji's shoulders stiffened.
"...How do you know that?"
"You smell of recent growth. It is loud."
Kenji really didn't like being described like that.
But again, the thing was probably right.
His hunger had grown.
His instincts had grown.
Even that strange energy inside him had become easier to move.
Vargan took another slow step.
"You should leave this place."
Kenji stared.
"...What?"
"You kill much. You make noise. You spread your scent. Stronger things will come."
Kenji clicked his tongue.
"And you're telling me this out of kindness?"
"No."
"Then why?"
Vargan looked at him without expression.
"Because if you die now, your growth ends here."
Kenji frowned.
That was such a weird reason that he almost laughed.
Almost.
Instead he narrowed his eyes.
"And why do you care if I keep growing?"
Vargan's answer came immediately.
"I want to see what you become."
That shut Kenji up.
For a second, only the distant movement of the mist could be heard.
Then Kenji scoffed.
"You're weird."
Vargan did not deny it.
Kenji glanced around the clearing again.
Then back at Vargan.
Part of him wanted to leave immediately.
Another part wanted to attack just to prove something.
A louder part wanted to ask more.
He hated that last one.
Still, one question slipped out before he could stop it.
"Is there a way out of this place?"
Vargan's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Out?"
"Yeah. Out. Somewhere that isn't just red mist, corpses, and freaks trying to eat me every five minutes."
Vargan looked at him in silence for several seconds.
Then he said, "Up."