"Venri, Zilna, make sure no more enemies are around."
"Katrin, Anna, go over this area; take anything that can be used for weapons, crafting or even tailoring; their scales are pretty strong. Have the dark elves peel them; try to clean them before you store them, though."
Alexander gave the two groups orders; as he began to limp towards the centre of the dome, a strange altar and pulsing black stone stood in its centre with an eerie feeling.
"I don't like this one bit."
Alexander muttered and looked around, his eyes narrowed and his senses at their highest peak.
"Nothing in my range; it looks like whatever was here is dead."
Alexander mumbled and turned his attention back to the black stone in the middle of the forest, his body was still tired and sore from the battle, but he couldn't take his sights away from this stone, which seemed to be made of obsidian.
He stepped closer and inspected the stone, but nothing came to him as he reached out to touch it until his fingers met the cold surface, and then a voice sounded in his mind.
[Sigil of Gluttony Discovered]
[Assimilate?]
[Devour?]
Somehow that annoying woman's voice came out; this time, it wasn't the old man, but the woman who caused the entire of his planet to become fucked up; Alexander lifted the strange black stone, wondering if this was something special.
'Gluttony.... that's something I should know...'
He began to think before remembering many light novels and games that used the theme of an old religion which stated there were seven deadly sins; Alexnder knew there were also positive virtues but couldn't think of any but Justice right now.
'If only that damn old man would give me some hints...'
- My name is Kayne, brat!
- If you want to assimilate, will you become its slave? Are you stupid? Of course, you should devour it... use it as the catalyst to become stage 3.
- Do you think I've been stopping your evolution forcibly for no reason!? Why are you so stupid, like a monkey without eyes or a brain... Why can't you be like those easy teens convinced they are some special hero if I guide them?
'....'
'Old bastard! Your family are monkeys!'
- ...
Alexander felt he was insulted by the old man, tightly gripping the stone, wanting to ask, "How do I devour it."
"Fuck that old man shouting at me again; what if he slips and hurts his back... Sapphira will cry!"
'Ugh, fuck...'
Since he didn't know how to do it, he tossed the stone into his mouth and chewed down; the instant he felt the stone and his teeth collide, he realised he fucked up, but through sheer arrogance.
With a loud crunch, his teeth finally broke apart the stone as it instantly became a soft fluid, tasting like raspberry syrup, forcibly making him guzzle it down with a slight cough and splutter.
The moment he swallowed the last drop, he felt like he was going to explode; he staggered forward and fell onto the ground, his vision blurry and his head spinning.
'Was this some sort of poison?'
Alexander had never tasted anything before, so he could only assume it was poison, but he soon stopped thinking about it when a stream of blood from his nose and ears started to leak out, and his organs began to ache.
"No..."
It was different!
This feeling was like back in the room where he was with Samantha and Mildred, fighting those annoying dogs; his blood counter began to tick, finally going past the 99% mark and reaching 100%.
He was about to evolve again; thankfully, his visual body wouldn't change too much; this one was more about his internal structure, muscles, bones and blood.
Alexander rolled onto his side, trying to get up, but he couldn't control himself; he tried to stand but collapsed on the floor.
"Ngh..."
Blood poured out of his nose and ears; he could hear his heart beating loudly, and blood pumping into his veins echoed inside his skull.
His vision was becoming hazy, and he couldn't move properly anymore; his arms were numb, and he could not feel his legs.
A coughing fit suddenly hit Alexander, vomiting up red liquid and blood mixed, coughing uncontrollably as he lost consciousness.
-
Meanwhile, back away from the dome's centre, the girls were working hard, Most of the little den of lizardmen had become a baron wasteland now clear of anything valuable as they stripped the corpses like professionals.
Thanks to Alexander's training over this week, of course.
Katrin, Anna and Venri carefully examined the battlefield; what they found was terrifying.
"There's a lot of corpses."
Anna commented, her hands shaking and shivering as she stared at the bodies strewn everywhere.
"Who did this?"
"Who cares?" One of the dark elves said, her arms filled with lizard scales, weird leather and leaves as the three dryad girls also helped; they were picking the still salvageable herbs and plants.
They claimed to be able to make a beautiful forest anywhere.
When asked if they could do it beside a village and if they could help with farming and growing seeds, they mocked Venri with their cute voices.
The women could still hear the howls Alexander; despite wanting to rush over to help him, there was a constant order being sent through their connection to stay away; only Zilna didn't receive it, but she chose to finish the task at hand, just looking over to make sure he was alright whenever he moaned loudly.
"What do we do with these?" Katrin asked, holding up a lizard scale.
"That weird duo will probably make something sexy with these, no? Maybe a leather thong... Alex seems like he'd enjoy that... right?"
Zilna replied, taking the lizard scales and wrapping them around her fingers.
After they finished collecting the herbs and plants, they went over to Zilna's group, who were preparing to depart, but listening to their master, they didn't know whether to set up camp.
Suddenly the agonising cries of Alex sounded once again, and his bones began to crack.
The girls could hear the sound easily as they stood only a few hundred metres away; while the sound seemed bad, they could also feel a sense of excitement and joy in his voice.
Maybe that's why they could accept just sitting here and waiting.
"I'll go check on him," Zilna whispered, the only one able to move closer, as the girls hugged her.
"Big sis is the best!"
"We love big sis!"
"Come back soon!"
After saying goodbye, Zilna ran over to Alex's side; her huge body was so agile, despite the heavy booming sounds from her steps, without care for stealth or hiding.
She saw Alexander on the floor, cringing in pain; his face was pale and sweaty as he coughed up blood again.
"Alex?"
He pulled his body up, the tight muscles of his chest and abdomen wriggling, as they seemed to be alive, moving and reforming, his eyes shut tight as he continued to cough up blood.
"Are you okay, Alex?"
"... I'm fine."
He managed to say before falling back down; after staring at his form for a second, Zilna decided to help him, giving him support as he got up.
The moment she touched him, there was a strange feeling; she felt secure and comforted, and his mere touch soothed her worries.
Alex noticed as well, as his own body felt warm and comfortable; her being close caused the pain to lower as the warmth began to spread from his abdomen all through his body.
His tight muscles and cramping no longer hurt; it felt comfortable as her huge hands stroked along his back; as the transformation ended, his green eyes filled with a tranquil feeling, but under the surface, a fierce and deadly fire was waiting to explode.
"Thank you."
Alex said, feeling a sense of relief.
"You're welcome."
Zilna replied, smiling as she let his tired body lean against her chest, his head almost squashed between her huge mountains of flesh and Justice.
"I'm really tired, you know..." Alex spoke honestly; since he arrived here, there was the battle in the sands, training with them daily and at night, then going to the forest to improve them; these were the first few moments he had to himself in a week.
Alexander rested his weary head on her bosom as her hands stroked his soft white hair with a silver shimmer.
"You look happy, though... When you arrive, train the girls... always look brilliant, like the shining sun, more radiant than Sapphira's moon... To me anyway..." Zilna whispered with a slight blush on her caramel skin.
"I never noticed, honestly."
"Mmmm, especially the dark elves, or Venri, you will speak with a more serious but excited tone, act more strict but secretly let them off by helping them fix their mistakes with your guidance..."
"Zilna, it feels like you always watch me."
"I can't help it; you're very charming."
"Haha, you're not so bad yourself."
"I know you are obsessed with my Gigante body, right? Did you think your eyes burning holes into my ass would go unnoticed."
The two began to bicker before they started to walk backwards slowly; Alex didn't want to check his status page just yet...
Because speaking with Zilna made him feel happy, he wanted to chat with all the girls like this, stupid jokes, boring day-to-day things...
Their hands slowly joined as the others waited like lost puppies with their swaying tails when they saw the pair return.