Reborn To Be The Imperial Consort [BL]-Chapter 74: Thalassotélos — XIII

Warning: Description (perhaps graphic) of cannibalism and mild. Please proceed with caution.

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"Hm... Not too shabby. Well, this is to be expected from the body of a nine-tailed fox," the ten-tailed fox scoffed, shrugging his shoulders as he adjusted in the body of Hu Lijing. "If it wasn’t strong enough, this pathetic fox would have died the moment I took over. Hehehe..."

The ten-tailed fox laughed, head thrown back as he looked around himself. The domain of darkness around him started decreasing the moment he entered Hu Lijing’s body.

He giggled to himself, feeling the thrill of having a physical body once more as he stood up, his feet — Hu Lijing’s feet — trampling on the bodies of other spirit foxes.

He raised his hand to heaven, slender fingers stretching upwards as an intoxicated expression took over his face.

"This, this feeling! This unity of body and mind!" He grinned manically. "Oh, how I missed it!!!" He screamed to the sky as the darkness dissipated, his body leaning back as he sucked in a deep breath, madness etched on his face as he threw his arms open.

"Maybe I should not start so soon. Maybe I should relish in these mundane joys! Or maybe—" he paused, eyes snapping open as a wide grin stretched on the face of his borrowed body "I should bathe in the scent of, the fragrance of blood! Of despair! Hahahahahha—! Where are the dragons, the tigers and the monkeys?!"

His laughter, however, ceased as abruptly as it came when his stomach growled louded. He straightened up, clearing his throat as he hummed to himself, thoughtfully.

"Uh-oh! I am famished it seems!" He chirped, clapping his hands together as he twirled in place before stopping. "Now, now~ what should I eat, hehehe...!" He smiled sweetly, saccharine dripping off his voice. He looked around himself, his red gaze fleeting all over the ruinous battlefield. "Hm! Isn’t it sad? The mighty ten-tailed fox is famished! And what is this? No food, no screams of terror greeting my arrival? I’m aggrieved!"

His lips morphed into a pout before it settled in a normal expression as fangs poked through the slit of his mouth while his serpentine tongue ran over his — not at all — normal teeth.

A petulant expression took over his face as he patted his belly, feeling the fading thrum of the child’s life force in his body as he yawned, sitting cross-legged on one of the corpses, elbow propped on his knee and cheek tucked against it.

He looked down at his other hand and picked at his claws, humming to himself quietly as he spoke to no one in particular.

"Say, what do I eat? What do I eat?!" He grinned, all too sharp rows of teeth revealing themselves — one of the few alterations his presence in Hu Lijing’s body made — under his lips. Like a child, he stretched out a forefinger and flicked it from one to another. "Who should I eat? Who. Should. I. Eat?"

With every word he spoke, the tension in the air heightened, every drawled syllable a thinly stretched rope that was being pulled at.

A bored expression painted itself on his face as the ten-tailed fox continued to chant the same words over and over again, until finally, his finger stopped at a corpse which was not too mangled.

"Oh?!" He perked, as though interested as he clapped his hands twice. "That will do, for sure! It’s been so long since I—" he licked his lips, saliva pooling in his mouth at the reminder of his distant memory "—have had a fulfilling meal. Fox spirit’s meat!" He declared, malice shining in his crimson eyes as he laughed, hooking his finger as the corpse came flying towards him.

He held the corpse by its neck, his clawed hand wrapped on its throat as his fingers traced the dead veins around it, the head of the fox spirit — drenched in blood from head to toe — lolling back and forth.

"Poor bastard, dying so easily," he commented, sniffing the scent of death that clung to the corpse as he smiled faintly, a bone-chilling upcurve to his lips. "No matter, you will make a fine welcome meal. And your kins, a grand feast."

His crimson eyes flickered around as he sat on the ground, his claws slowly digging throughout the tightening muscles around the fox spirit’s neck.

At first, his claws sliced through the layers of skin as coagulated blood clung to them. Largely discoloured, the pale flesh stretched around his claws as the ten-tailed fox tore it apart in leisure.

He moved his fingers, digging around in the hardened muscles as he hummed an uncannily jovial song to himself, words of the song forgotten with time.

Slowly but surely, his claws cut away at the strings of flesh, blood didn’t ooze, somewhat dampening his delight. However, he didn’t let it get him upset as he slowly brought the corpse closer to himself.

Clots of blood stuck to the tattered flesh as the ten-tailed fox leaned towards it, his serpentine tongue flickering out to lick at it. As he swallowed the clotted fluid of metallic taste, he let out a pleased purr at the back of his throat.

"Pity, I would have liked my meal fresh." He commented idly, dropping the corpse as he pulled his hand out and slowly licked away the remnant of crimson blood off his claws, his tongue wrapping around his claws as he hummed to himself. "But I suppose I cannot be too demanding in trying times." He giggled, his hand reaching towards the corpse once more.

"Poor bastard, your flesh would not taste as delicious." He mused to himself, stomach rumbling in hunger. "So why don’t I slice you open and have your hurt instead?" He giggled, leaning down as darkened blood stained his face, sliding down his chin as he put his claws on the young fox spirit’s chest, slowly applying some pressure to slice it open as he slashed down his chest, humming to himself when he was able to see the internal organs.

"Young ones are truly the best," he purred in delight, putting his hand in his chest as he used his claws to sever the veins and arteries attached to the cold heart and pulled it out, ripping it as residuals of warm blood spurted out of the muscle. "Oh what a delight it would have been, to hold your beating heart for you to see as a feast on it." He sighed in lament.

The droplets of blood rained on his face, the viscous red fluid dribbling down as it clung to his long lashes, half-lidded eyelids fluttered as the ten-tailed fallen fox deity crooned in pleasure, a soft purr rumbling at the back of his throat when the warmth of flowing blood trailed down his nose, tracing a path to his lips as he stuck his tongue out, taking in the drops, relishing in the taste of it.

"Oh, dear!" He laughed, too crazed, too far gone as shivers wrecked down his body. "I love this! This blood, this warmth! So beautiful how it sates my hunger." He tilted his head back, bringing the bloody heart to his lips as he pressed his mouth on it and gave it a gentle suckle, blood dribbling down his chin as he let out a moan.