“——Alright, alright. I get it already; I know what you want. Let’s just talk it over a bit first, okay?”
The youth held up both his hands as he spoke.
He looked fifteen or so. Definitely not twenty.
Black hair and black eyes. Average height. A slender frame without a hint of frailty.
“As you can see, I’m clearly unarmed. I’m not here to disrupt anyone’s living, nor to poach anyone’s prey. I just wanted to see if I could find some stuff to sell. Let’s be honest here – money is pretty much the second-most important thing for daily living. I’ve recently been through some hard times, and unless I want to starve, extraordinary times call for some extraordinary measures.”
The other party ignored his long speech, and instead closed the gap between them in an instant.
He wanted nothing more than to retreat just as far, but found his back already pressed up against the wall.
“On that note, the very most important thing is, of course, life itself.”
Raising his head, he laughed disarmingly.
“And so – would it possible for you to just let me go?”
Again, the other party revealed nothing of its feelings.
It was, after all, an insectoid Void Beast in the shape of a large praying mantis. It was roughly twice his height: around three and a half meters tall. Its forelegs were like enormous sickles, and hideous mandibles sprouted forth from its triangular head.
“…How cold of you. Not one for hospitality, are you?”
Suddenly, he ducked as the Void Beast’s sickle-like forelegs slashed through the very spot his head had been a moment before.
That was a close one, he muttered to himself as he escaped forward.
The Void Beast blocked off his escape by situating its enormous body in his path. However, as a mantis, its body was raised well off the ground, propped up by its many legs – this roadblock still left some gaps. It didn’t look like running to the left or right were options, but if he could break through the middle…
He watched its bladed forelimbs close in on him, one from each side – would he make it in time?
“Oooohhhhhhhhhhh!”
Yelling, he pushed off the ground with all his strength.