The air was thick with swirling dust.

The aftershock of the impact stirred up fierce winds, causing Moen’s hair to whip around messily.

Just as messy as his hair was his heart.

But fortunately, his heart was strong.

Moen held a grilled fish in his hand, contemplated for a moment, then silently turned his head back.

——Let’s just pretend I didn’t see anything.

It’s just a mere meteorite crash—there’s no way some parasitic alien would pop out of it, ready to take over the world or something. Nothing worth freaking out about.

He was a man who had endured the trials of life, even being struck by a truck and being transported to another world. Could something as minor as this really get to him?

Time to eat. Let’s not think about it.

Crunch—

Just as Moen was about to take a bite of his fragrant, tantalizing grilled fish, a toothsome sharp sound resonate amongst the direction of the crash.

The noise came from within the cloud of dust shrouding the impact site.

It sounded like… metal opening and closing.

Huh?

Moen paused mid-bite, his mouth slightly open, his expression one of stunned confusion.

Metal opening and closing?

You’re just a meteorite—how could you possibly make a sound like that?

Unless…

Could it be…

A spaceship?

Moen’s eyes widened in shock.

Could it be that it wasn’t a meteorite that crashed, but a lost spaceship?

And the sound was actually the spaceship’s hatch opening, with aliens stepping out, about to take their first thrilling steps on Earth.

**"This is one small step for me, but one giant leap for the Celestial Star People."**

Oops, sorry, getting carried away there.

But aliens? Oh, how tempting it would be to have a look...

No, wait, how could there be aliens? This was a Western fantasy world!

If aliens actually appeared, readers would undoubtedly curse the author for pulling random nonsense out of nowhere.

It must be something else.

But that didn’t matter right now.

At this very moment, eating his fish was the top priority.

I mean it—even Jesus himself couldn’t stop me from finishing it.

“Cough, cough…”

As Moen prepared to once again sink his teeth into the delicious grilled fish, a sound came from behind him: a cough, harsh and muffled as if choked by the swirling smoke.

The voice… it sounded oddly familiar.

Like… Ann?

Hah, no way.

He had traveled so far already—how could Ann possibly find him?

She wasn’t a bloodhound that could track him from miles away, after all.

“......”

But what if… I mean what if…

What if it really was Ann?

And that metallic sound—if it was Ann’s ability, then… it made sense.

Moen looked down at the fish in his hand, silent for a moment…

Then, in one swift motion, he hurled it to the ground.

“You damned thing, how dare you jinx me!”

Without another word, he took off, prepared to flee.

Jesus couldn’t stop him, but Ann? Ann was far scarier than Jesus.

Jesus wouldn’t lock him up and subject him to role-playing captivity games.

But——

“Young Master?”

It seemed he was already too late.

A familiar, mildly confused voice came from behind.

It really was Ann!

“Haha...”

Moen let out an awkward chuckle, turning around stiffly. With an uneasy smile, he stammered:

“Long time no see, Ann. How… have you been doing lately?”

He originally intended to start with the classic three lines of a scumbag as a way to stabilize her emotions, but before he could even get the routine rolling, he stopped himself.

Something about Ann seemed off.

Her usually immaculate hair was disheveled, her typically polished maid outfit dirty and torn in several places, revealing patches of pale skin beneath.

Behind her, in the massive crater left by the impact, lay what looked like a large metallic sphere. It must have been something Ann had conjured herself, but the surface of the sphere was riddled with gruesome dents and scratches, as if it had been subjected to a vicious assault.

“Ann, what happened?”

Even someone as dense as Moen couldn’t ignore the abnormality anymore. He wiped the smile off his face, his expression turning serious.

“Were you fighting with someone?”

“......”

Ann didn’t answer immediately. Her gaze stayed fixed on Moen for a long moment before she inhaled deeply, her expression settling into its usual calmness.

She smiled.

“It’s nothing, Young Master.”

“Liar. Look at yourself…”

“I simply fell.”

“And I’m supposed to buy that?”

“I’m telling the truth.”

Ann steadied herself and said:

“Besides, Young Master, shouldn’t you be running away? If you don’t, I’ll have no choice but to bring you back.”

“This time, I’ll lock you in a specially made cage, ensuring you’ll never be able to escape again.”

As she spoke, Ann took two steps forward, as if preparing to apprehend him.

But Moen didn’t move.

He stood there, staring at her intently.

He watched as she approached, step by step.

For once, an air of authority befitting the son of the Campbell family, the heir of a duke, emanated from him.

“Then go ahead. Capture me.”

“……”

“Ann, if you want to catch me, I won’t run.”

“……”

Ann’s hand, which had been extending toward him, hesitated in midair. And then, slowly, it faltered and dropped.

A wry smile appeared on her face, tinged with helplessness.

“This… this is the part where you’re supposed to escape, Young Master. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance.”

“I only run when you’re chasing me. If you’re not chasing, what’s the point of escaping?”

Moen shrugged, offering up a reason so weak even he didn’t believe it. His voice softened as he asked:

“Now tell me—what's happening, Ann?”

“Well…”

Ann sighed helplessly. Just as she was about to speak, a massive roar interrupted her.

From behind the small mountain in front of them, came a thunderous series of quakes that reverberated through the earth.

At the top of the mountain, countless trees began to topple, while flocks of birds that hadn’t had time to migrate burst out of the forest in panic.

As if they were fleeing from something.

“Master—”

“Where are you? Come accept my love!”

“I love you!”

Dozens, maybe hundreds of overlapping voices rose together, echoing through the forest like a dreadful chorus. The sound was so loud it made Moen’s ears ache.

Instinctively, he clapped his hands over his ears. Before he could even process the words, something appeared—

A colossal monster, as tall as the mountain itself, slowly emerged from the far side of the peak.

“What the——”

As he saw that monster, his eyes went wide, his jaw dropping so low you could fit an egg in it.

The creature was grotesque beyond words: a malformed mass of blood and flesh, with limbs sprouting haphazardly, flailing wildly. Its body looked like it had been stitched together from countless human corpses, writhing as it crawled.

Wherever it moved, the ground beneath it was left soaked as if drenched in blood. The plants it touched withered instantly.

Countless disfigured hands and feet protruded everywhere from its body, waving like grass in the wind.

And in the monster’s chest… were hundreds of human faces, crammed together in a horrifying jumble. Some were crying, others laughing, still others wore expressions of despair or fury.

Regardless of their individual emotions, every single one of their mouths was curved into an eerie smile.

And they chanted in unison, their tone hauntingly tender:

“I love you…”

“Holy crap.”

The sight sent a shiver down Moen’s spine. He felt his sanity slipping away at an alarming rate.

All he wanted was to enjoy a peaceful moment fishing. Where had this utterly bizarre monstrosity come from?

He racked his brain… but in his memories, no magical beast had ever looked so uniquely horrifying.

A mutation caused by drinking radioactive waste?

No, no, there’s no Japan in this world.

And besides…

Moen’s eyes roamed across the monster, lingering especially on those densely-packed human faces on its chest.

No matter how he looked at it… this thing… had to be related to humans somehow.