Butcher Demon
Chapter 286

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The video message began with a scene of a woman shooting herself.

"I'm scared."

Wearing a gray knitted hat, the woman wiped away tears from her eyes and held her trembling lips.

The surroundings were pitch black. She was alone, sneaking through the midnight forest, talking to the camera.

"It's terrifying, even when I try to close my eyes..."

Every time she felt like screaming, she nervously looked around, restraining her breath so as not to make a sound.

"I want to apologize... to everyone..."

She sobbed, with tears streaming down her face, as she apologized.

"Mom, Dad, I'm sorry. I can't believe this is happening...⁉"

As a noise resonated from the depths of the dense forest, the woman recoiled.

The sound resembled that of a primal, human scream, but she desperately hope that it was something else. Her knees trembling, and she scolded herself for almost freaking out completely.

With sheer determination, she kept moving forward. She couldn't run because she had lost one of her shoes. If she ran, her feet would get all torn up, and she'd be immobilized. So, if she tried to run again, it would be her final struggle.

"Catherine, Dora, Alex, everyone... I'm sorry..."

She listed the names of her classmates one by one.

"――Feather, Haruka... Please, please call for help... I can't... I'm done...! I, aa――"

All of a sudden, the screen went crazy.

The video was shaking like crazy, swinging up and down and left to right, accompanied by the rustling sound of dried leaves being kicked panting hard, like she was running out of breath.

"Haa, haa, haa, haa, haa――"

Eventually, there was a small shriek, and the camera stopped moving.

The woman must have dropped the camera. In the tilted video frame, the image showed the woman huddled up, motionless, and the monsters that stood before her.

They were small creatures with green skin. They wore shabby loincloths and wielded clubs and tree branches. Some of them had knives and axes that she recognized as her friends' belongings. Just half a day ago, they were all laughing and saying they would gather firewood and have a campfire. Now, those stolen knives and axes were covered in blood.

The disgusting creatures hissed and approached the woman. Were they threatening her or making fun of her?

The woman stepped back. She had lost her shoe and didn't have many choices left.

Should she give up or pray to God?

Those who offered no resistance were taken away. Those who tried to escape or grabbed weapons were either get slaughtered like pigs on the spot or brutally tortured.

For the first time in her life, she witnessed horrifying scenes of people being dismembered. She saw for the first time the meat of her acquaintance disappears into the mouth of a living creature. She saw women being repeatedly violated by many men. She could never get the faces of the people who were taken to the basement out of her mind. In the cottage where they were supposed to stay for the seminar camp, the nauseating feast of debauchery was likely still ongoing.

What kind of fate awaited her? The woman wondered, caught up in unnecessary thoughts, a typical human habit.

Perhaps an even crueler fate awaited her, the one who had abandoned her friends and fled. She didn't want that. With desperation, she pleaded, something she had never done so earnestly before.

"Help... God, please...help me!"

She prayed to the tree in front of her. She imagined the tree as God. It was all she could do now. She prayed for the well-being and success of one of her friends who had driven away to call for help. They were her final hope for survival. Deep in her heart, she continued to pray, she prayed that they would return with help. Even though she knew that such luck could not possibly happen

"――?"

Suddenly, the woman noticed something strange. The expected pain didn't come.

She looked around fearfully.

The green monsters had begun to gradually move away from her, still holding their weapons.

Why?

The answer was captured clearly in the video.

Behind the woman stood a giant figure.

At first glance, it looked like a gray bear.

The green monsters trembled in fear of this giant presence.

The woman turned her head to look over her shoulder.

Her eyes met the giant. In the next moment, she fainted, her eyes rolling back.

After showing the scene of the grotesque giant reaching out toward the woman, the video faded to black.