Undead Seeks Warmth

After leaving the plains, I went through the gathered intelligence and sorted out my prey.
It’s not too difficult to hunt lower ranks which are in large numbers such as Night Wolf and Tsuchigumo. I have decided to hunt mainly them for the time being.
When the intelligent Pseudo-humans noticed my existence, they took various actions depending on the individual and species.

There were those who ran away and those who didn’t approach me.
Behaviour of these fellows is saving me trouble. I am not able to kill Pseudo-humans, if possible I don’t want to fight them.
Naturally, there were exceptions. But those were not particularly harmful.
If you think about it. Pseudo-humans who can understand the human speech would rather avoid me, unlike the beast that attacks instinctively.
They are monsters at their roots, so I can never be careless around them, but there is around 80% chance to be avoided.

…… Just, part of the belligerent fellows consider me their target.

Pseudo-humans with strong combative instincts are always in search for a fight.
These fellows are interested in the Undead that recently defeated a lot of monsters.
I did not think much about it until now, but if I keep hunting in such way, of course, I will attract some of those nasty fellows.
I considered restraining myself, but it’s already too late so I stopped.
The seed has already been planted. Therefore, I need to quickly collect magic so these guys won’t be a threat to me anymore.

If I am not able to kill them, I need to get strong to the extent I could go easy on them.
If I don’t want to fight, I need to get strong enough to crush their spirits.
In the end, there’s no other way for me, but to become stronger.
I should have done this from the beginning, such feelings acc.u.mulated inside me.
In order to regain the warmth of life.
In order to grasp the memories that faded away.
In order to avoid killing beings that are similar to humans in appearance.

I saw my hand incidentally.
A pure white hand with slender fingers and sharp nails.
This hand reaps lives for my selfish reasons.
…… The human girl I met before. Was her name Merlin?
I remember the words I yelled at her when we were escaping from the Corpse-Eating Dragon.

People should live to their utmost limit until they can’t carry on.

I’m dead and I kill in order to live.
In order to live once more.
It surely isn’t the right thing to do.
…… But.
Even still, I want to live.
I kill beasts, I kill demons, I can’t kill Pseudo-humans.
Even tough it’s so selfish, I want once more.
I want once more to feel the warmth in this body.

While running through the plains, I sense heat in the 100-meter radius around me.
100 meters is my limit while on the move.

I catch the heat.
I guess it’s Big Tarantula from its temperature and shape.
It’s impossible to distinguish monsters with similar traits as Pseudo-humans, but I can distinguish other races.
This heat detection ability is very useful, but I’m freezing cold because of it.
I dash towards the heat while complaining about my freezing body.
It’s hard to see the body because its color is similar to the gra.s.s in the plains, but I was able to find a body of a large spider.
I appropriately pretend not to see and turn my back.

I can win against such monster sufficiently upfront, but it never hurts be cautious.
I leap the last 10 meters and kick the abdomen of the Big Tarantula from below.
The large spider did a half-turn in the air while letting out high-pitched scream.
It inevitably faces upwards, the spider’s grotesque head is in a full view.
The tarantula struggles in order get back on feet but I naturally don’t waste time and swing my handsword.
The sharpness of my nails and the handsword nicely separates the Big Tarantula’s head. It stopped moving after a few seconds.

I shake off the sticky fluids from my hand and wipe my hands in a handkerchief made from the same material as my clothes.
After carefully wiping my fingers one by one, I put the handkerchief away on take out my pocket watch from my breast pocket.
Approximately four hours pa.s.sed since I started hunting.
I should return soon. My mental fatigue has already piled up, and Nee-san will get worried if I don’t return soon.
She has been waiting for my return at the labyrinth entrance lately after all.
I was told that waiting for someone to return is considerably fun.
I don’t understand. Most likely, because I myself don’t like waiting.
Therefore, in order not to keep Nee-san waiting, I turn on my heel and return to the labyrinth.

I stop.
…… Again.
Again, I feel eyes on me.
I’m being watched from somewhere.
However, from where?
I don’t know. I don’t feel any heat in the range of the heat detection.
Is it hiding with magic or is it more than 200 meters away?
It’s probably the latter. Because the former would definitely conceal the ‘watching you’ feeling I’m getting.
I look around, but can’t find anything.

Lately, I feel as if someone is watching me, but I can’t find the culprit at all.

The eyes fade away before long.
I stop in this place for a while.
Still can’t find it after all.
I clicked my tongue and returned to the labyrinth.

『Freezing Undead』Himuro Takahina
93rd Day.
Present Magic Power/Magic Power Containment Limit: 699/1621