Nadia stood, arms folded behind her, face expressionless.

Before her stood dozens of transparent containers, each containing one of her kind, all desperately trying to escape from where they were held. But unfortunately for them, it was to no avail. 

Their prison seemed to have been deliberately designed to make them as mentally draining as possible.

The walls, transparent and seemingly pliable, yet too hard to break through, gave them constant visions of a freedom that they would never be able to have. The enforced solitude, where their only interaction with other people was witnessing their gruesome execution. The uneven floor, with its constant bumps and pits that prevented them from finding any kind of comfortable sitting or sleeping position. And the smooth walls that tapered off in the middle, making it impossible for them to climb them...

Not that there was any need to, since they were sealed at the top in such a way that only ‘She’ could open them. But she only did so on two occasions. 

When she put her victim in... or when she decided that their time had come and took them out.

Right now, they were punching and kicking at the transparent surface of their prison, trying to find a way to escape or at least attract her attention, hoping that she would come to their rescue... But in both cases, they were just wasting their time.

It wasn't as if she hadn't tried to save them in the first few days. She did everything she could to save them from an ignominious fate. But by the dawn of the fourth day, she had had enough.

She would like to say that it was because she was so depressed by the lack of results that she couldn't go on any longer... But while that was part of the reason, it wasn't the only or even the main reason she gave up.

The real reason was... She didn't think they were worth the effort anymore.

It was a terrible thing just to have that thought in her mind.

These poor people, torn from their lives and doomed to live in terrible prisons where they were forced to watch their friends, acquaintances or even family members die horrible deaths, knowing that it could happen to them at any moment, unable to save them or themselves... all for the perverse entertainment of a monster.

But… wasn't this true for her, too?

Apparently, the prisoners didn't see it like that. They interpreted her 'freedom' as being on the monster's side and probably the cause of their misery.

Nadia understood this, too. After all, they were scared, confused... but the mental strain for Nadia was enormous.

Trying to save them all the time, in vain, and being forced to live with the knowledge that even her best efforts were useless and she couldn't do anything was exhausting, every single moment was pure despair. Every night she cried herself to sleep. Her whole body ached from the effort of trying to get them out! But did they care? No. They didn't care at all.

It was much easier for them to blame her for all of their suffering and to wish for the worst that could possibly happen to her...

It was simply too much for her.

No matter how sorry she felt for them, she had no intention of going on like this. If there was nothing she could do, and if there was no appreciation for even trying... why do it at all?

Sighing, Nadia turned away from the container. She heard a soft "Traitor!" from the prisoner inside, but she ignored it, as had become her habit, too busy adjusting the edges of her kimono, making sure she would always be presentable when her... mistress... returned.

She wasn't in the mood for another lecture about how lucky she was to have the clothes she had and how she should take better care of herself. As the keeper, or maybe better said, the jailer, she represented the monster... or Suki, as she'd called herself, and so she had to look her best.

At first, her thoughts were that... Suki, still seemed strange to her to call the monster by a name, had given her this task out of some ruthless and twisted mind game, forcing her to participate in inflicting suffering on those of her kind in order to make her life miserable... But that wasn't it.

While Nadia couldn't help but see it that way, the real reason Suki had given her this assignment was because... she trusted her.

Nadia was shocked to discover, after she had officially renounced the bonds of her old life and tried to curry the monster's favor in order to prolong her life, that... Suki had actually grown fond of her.

Nadia didn't know when that had happened, if it had been like that from the beginning or if Suki had changed her mind later, but there it was.

Although she was sure that her life would end as soon as Suki found other little people to play with, the truth was just the opposite and it seemed that Nadia was becoming more and more... special to her. All her threats to eat her or do other things that would end her life were gone, replaced by talks about their future together...

Nadia didn't really know what to make of it.

Part of her wanted to do something to show how much she hated Suki, even kill herself if necessary. But another part of her thought: It's not that bad…

Not that she was going to excuse the monster for taking her big brother and her master away from her in such a cruel way! No, she would never forget and never forgive!

Then again, it was also true that life had never been as easy as it was at this moment.

Her living conditions were infinitely better than before, even though it had only been a week.

Gone were the days when she had to go days without eating before she could find a piece of crushed fruit to keep from starving to death; now she had five warm, good, plentiful meals a day.

No more sleepless nights because of the cold or the fear of predators; now she had a nice, warm, comfortable, and safe bed to sleep in.

And no more of those uncomfortable and smelly rags that she had found in the garbage or taken from the dead bodies that she had been forced to wear. Now she had new, custom-made, comfortable, clean clothes!

All in all, her life was a lot better than it had been before... and maybe the prisoners were right to hate her and call her a traitor, but she was beyond that now. She would do whatever it took to save her own life, even if it meant sacrificing someone else's!

After all, wasn't that what her master had sacrificed himself for? And even if it wasn't, it wouldn't be a matter of concern to her. If her master had something to say about what she was doing or what she was thinking, then he’s free to come back to life and do something about it. But until then, she will continue as she is.

Her introspection came to an end when she heard the sound of a key being turned in the lock. It was something Suki had told her when explaining why nobody but her could enter the room. Then Suki entered the room, her eyes scanning the room before focusing on her.

"Mushi-chan!" Suki said, closing the door behind her and approaching Nadia with a beaming smile, "Tadaima!"

Seeing that smile, Nadia found it almost impossible to associate it with the monster that had killed her loved ones. And it was getting harder and harder every day.

Pushing such thoughts aside, Nadia performed the ritual Suki had taught her, putting her legs under her and sitting on them before bowing her head with folded hands on the ground in front of her, "Okaerinasai."

Suki gasped in surprise and covered her mouth with her hands before bringing them together and placing them on her cheek, tilting her head with a joyful smile and looking up at her in adoration before exclaiming, "Kawaii!”

After a few seconds in this position, Suki moved and knelt before the furniture she was standing on. She brought her huge face in front of Nadia, something that would probably never cease to terrify her for as long as she lived.

"Aww, that was lovely, my dear Mushi-chan! Thank you for the wonderful welcome!" Suki said, stroking her head with one of her fingers, like one would do with a pet... which was what was actually happening.

Rising to her feet, Suki went to sit on her bed and took her satchel off from her shoulder and placed it on her lap.

She rummaged inside and pulled out a small, sealed alloy box.

"Today has been a fruitful day as well, Mushi-chan. Take a look at what I found!" Suki said proudly before unlocking the clasps that held the box closed, revealing its contents.

Inside, there were two small people. Male and female, as far as she could tell from the distance she stood. It was obvious that they were both confused and frightened by the situation they found themselves in.

"Well, aren't they cute? And look at this one! Look! It's a plump one! Certainly a good candidate for today's snack position, don't you think?" Suki went on, licking her lips as she picked up the male of the two to show it to her... and Nadia gritted her teeth in disgust as she recognized him.

"Matt...!" A murmur escaped her lips, angry at him.

Matt had once been a friend of her brother's... although she had always thought that Shaun had only done it out of pity, since no one cared about that stupid good-for-nothing... except for one other person.

Mara.

Mara was older than Shaun and Matt and her. She was a kind and selfless girl who could not stand the sight of others suffering... and that was the reason why she had asked her and Shaun to take the lonely Matt into their group in the first place. She was the big sister and de facto mother of the group. She would scold them when they did something wrong, but she would also be there to support and encourage them in their most complicated and difficult moments.

Because of this, apart from Shaun and her master, Mara was the only person Nadia ever cared about...

But one day... she died.

No one ever really knew for sure what had happened. All they knew was that Matt had come running into the village one morning, screaming that the Black Titan had killed Mara while they were on a walk outside the village... But she never believed it.

There were just too many things about Matt's story that did not fit or made sense.

First of all, the Black Titan was undoubtedly dangerous and deadly, having caused the deaths of dozens of members of her kind. However, it was a phenomenon with an unchanging pattern of behavior. Every day, at the exact same time, it traveled the exact same route. There was never any deviation from this pattern in all the years it was there. All you had to do was avoid going there, and nothing happened! And everyone knew that. It was engraved in the minds of everyone in the village, so it was impossible not to know or forget. And Mara, with her reputation for being extremely careful, would never have gone there in the first place!

She even made them wash themselves with the rainwater, believing that the pond itself was too dangerous for them to even approach! Much less go into those very dangerous places! And why would she do such a thing? So she could go for a walk with Matt?

No, that made no sense whatsoever.

No, she had a pretty good idea what the real reason was!

Matt had been following her around all the time, making advances and trying to be romantic. But all he ever managed to do was be creepy!

Mara had turned him down several times, joking that it was too soon for her to think about love. Of course, these were just excuses to avoid making him feel bad about himself, but Matt never stopped coming on to her!

She did not have any proof, but she was sure that he had been the cause of Mara's death. It was probably to get back at her for having rejected him!

She had tried again and again to explain to the others that things didn't make any sense, but they ignored her words as an act of rage of a little girl who was overwhelmed by pain. And even if it was true, they should have at least listened to her!

Shaun, although not really believing her story, asked him for some details as to why they were in such a dangerous place in the first place, and the bastard had the audacity to say that he and Mara had been engaged for some time, and that they had to go there to avoid Nadia seeing them!

The bastard said that she had been nagging Mara to leave him because she hated Matt, so they had to do things in secret and far away because of her, and that it was her fault that Mara had died!

Just the thought of it was enough to make her blood boil! Even though it was true that she had never liked Matt at all, she had just ignored him! And Mara, who knew how to be authoritative, was used to stopping her from doing stupid things. If Nadia had really done what he accused her of, Mara would have given her a good spanking like she had on other occasions, not run off to her death like an idiot!

The bastard even had the audacity to feel insulted when Shaun called him out on his nonsense. He cut all ties with them as if he was the victim!

She was furious at the time. She was furious that he was able to get away with it so easily! But now, with her new beliefs and with him in such a position...

While Nadia was lost in thought, Matt, who was being held by Suki, recognized her and began to frantically call out to her, "Nadia?! Nadia, is that you? Please, you have to help me!"

"Huh? You know this?" Suki asked confusedly, looking at her potential snack with the sadness of a child who had been denied a piece of candy.

Nadia's mind was made up. She took a look at Matt's desperate and hopeful face before she turned back to Suki,

"Just in passing. I might have met him once or twice, but that doesn't matter. I wouldn't want to deprive you of a snack you're looking forward to so much... Suki-sama," she added, as if to seal her conversion.

Deeply shocked by her reaction, Matt tried to get her attention again, but was blocked when Suki covered her cheeks in embarrassment and squeezed him between her palm and her cheek.

"Really? You're okay with me eating it? Oh! You're such a sweetie, Mushi-chan!" Suki exclaimed in delight, a happy smile on her face.

Once free from that position, Matt barely had a moment to catch his breath before he lost it again when he saw Suki's smiling face, "And how about you, my little snack? Ready to join the rest of breakfast in my belly?"

Nadia knew it was rhetorical, something Suki said jokingly to lighten the situation. She still did not know if Suki was fully aware of the consequences of eating someone... but it was obvious that she did not care.

"Let's play a little game, okay?" she said, holding Matt above her head with her smiling mouth just below his shape, "In a few seconds, I'll let you go. So you're going to have to hold on to my finger as tight as you can, as if your life depends on it!"

"And it will, for when you let go..." she chuckled amusedly, opening her mouth beneath him to reveal the dank cavern leading to a dark abyss with no return.

Horrified beyond belief at the sight, he tried to wriggle free, but her grip was too strong, "Don't eat me, please! Just let me go!"

"Poorly chosen words..." Suki smiled before complying with his request.

Because Matt failed to hold on as he was instructed, he fell right into Suki's mouth.

Due to the tilt of her head, Matt fell directly into Suki's throat, causing her to start coughing like crazy and to hit her chest in order to swallow the annoying morsel.

Nadia was watching the scene with a smile on her face, thinking that justice had finally been served, but she was shocked to see that Suki was choking to death.

"You're an idiot, Suki! What were you thinking?! Drink!" she shouted worriedly before covering her mouth in shock at what she had said, her concern that she had said too much taking over in an instant, ‘I can't believe I just said that! I am such an idiot! And a dead one at that! I hope she didn't hear that!’

Suki immediately ran over to her minifridge and pulled out a small plastic bottle of orange soda and drank the whole thing.

Finally, as she felt the obstruction move down her esophagus and toward her stomach, Suki breathed a sigh of relief, "Ah, that's much better - burp!"

"Sumimasen..." Suki mumbled and closed her eyes in embarrassment.

Even Nadia heaved a sigh of relief when Suki had recovered. It would have been quite problematic for her, now that she had betrayed her species and cast her lot with Suki, if the human had committed suicide by suffocating with one of them, "Next time, be more careful, okay? Try to find a less dangerous way to eat..."

Suki looked away as she rubbed her arm, looking like a child who had been scolded, "I was just trying to look cool... But you're right, sorry..."

Then she looked back at Nadia and smiled, "But thank you for telling me to drink. Thanks to you, I was able to swallow that morsel without choking!"

Ignoring the small detail that the morsel was a person like her, Nadia froze at the fact that Suki had heard her, "Ah... did you hear what I said...?"

Suki nodded and looked down shyly, a slight blush in her cheeks, "Yes... I'm sorry I worried you so much... I will try to be more careful next time..."

Nadia was shocked by her answer, which was totally not what she had expected.

The mixture of surprise and shock, combined with the fact that the murderer of her loved ones had eaten someone she hated with her consent, plus the fear and suppressed anxiety she had accumulated over the past few days, made Nadia, who was not sure how to react... explode.

"Do you think that I am worried about you? Don't even kid yourself! It doesn't matter to me if you choke or not! The only thing I care about is that if you die, I won't have anything to eat!" Nadia said angrily before realizing what she had said and covering her mouth again, looking up at Suki worriedly to see her reaction.

But once again she was surprised when Suki just smiled and giggled, shaking her head in amusement, "Oh, you're even more cute when you're shy, Mushi!"

Then, picking up the remaining little person, who had tried in vain to escape while they had been busy with their conversation, and placing it in the bottle she had emptied earlier, Suki continued, "But I really do appreciate your concern. Thank you for that."

As she watched Suki's back, now that she was putting the new prison together with the others, a thought came to Nadia's mind.

When she acted like a normal person, she didn't seem so bad. Was Suki just... misunderstood? Someone whose drama had turned her into the monster that she was today? Someone who was... redeemable?

"Uh... having all these toys makes me want to try something new... Maybe I should try putting one of them in my vagina, like a tampon or something? Or maybe I should put it in my sweaty socks, along with my foot, while I am reading a book? Or stick it up my butt while I... I make a stink? Ooh, these are all disgusting but exciting ideas!" Suki said with excitement as she looked down at her caged prisoners.

'No... she's an irredeemable monster...' Nadia sighed, getting frustrated.