When Al walked back up the hill, the sight before him made his legs go weak.
As far as his eyes could see, the forest looked like it had been hit by a localized tornado.
Massive trees were uprooted or snapped like twigs, and the ground was cracked and heaved.
Blood and severed limbs were scattered everywhere.
A massive, blood-red figure stood in the center of what used to be a grove.
With her at the center, the trees were flattened in a radial pattern outward.
Alina was holding a hunter by the throat, hoisting him high into the air.
Al couldn't help but think of how she had held and lifted him earlier.
She tightened her grip. The hunter's legs kicked out straight, and his neck snapped at a horrific angle.
He was dead. Al felt a cold chill in his own neck.
One surviving hunter stumbled out of the wreckage, fleeing toward Al's direction in a panic.
Seeing the wounded man's frantic movements, Al was reminded of the escaping Beastman from before.
Their endings were identical.
Alina casually picked up a broken spear from the ground, weighed it, and threw it with a violent jerk.
The air whistled. A cloud of dust exploded at the foot of the hill.
Al felt the ground shake beneath him as the hunter was pinned to the earth by the spear.
Gulp...
The boy swallowed hard.
The Centigor clapped her hands and galloped over, stopping at the base of the hill and reaching out to Al.
Her palms were covered in thick, dark-red gore, hiding her natural skin color.
Al dazedlly reached back, and she pulled him into her embrace with a surge of strength.
She seemed incredibly happy, tucking Al's head right between her massive breasts.
It was an oddly perfect fit. She started running, her voice full of joy.
"The Blood Mother has rewarded me!"
Al was pinned by her massive muscles and couldn't move an inch.
His vision was limited to the two giant mounds of flesh directly in front of his face.
Up close, he noticed that the Centigor wasn't completely unscathed.
There was a small but deep-looking gash on her left breast, slowly leaking blood.
"You're bleeding."
Al couldn't help but point it out, but the Centigor didn't seem to care.
She kept sprinting through the woods. He decided to follow her lead instead.
"What... what reward?"
The wind was whistling so loudly he thought she might not hear him, but she suddenly snapped out of her trance.
"I can't tell you."
She gave him a playful, mischievous look, a mysterious smile touching her lips.
"Huh?"
Al was confused. Alina didn't seem like the type to tease.
She seemed like the type to tell you with a straight face: We're getting married today, I'm on top, we're doing it seven times a week, and don't you dare steal the baby's milk.
So, if she said she couldn't tell him, she really couldn't.
He wondered what that "Blood Mother"—the goddess who punched him through the void—was planning.
Wait!
A mysterious, "physically affectionate" female deity... constantly guiding the mortal world...
A deity who never appeared before the End Times... whose followers are incredible warriors...
The answer:
The Blood Mother! (Lileath?!)
No way.
The thought of his "mother" being a gender-bent Khorne or a new mask for the world's greatest manipulator, Lileath, made him shiver.
Lost in his fear, he didn't notice the Centigor had carried him deep into the forest to a quiet glade.
A clear, still spring sat nestled among the trees.
Before Al could process anything, the Centigor stepped into the water.
She set him down on a flat rock near the edge and waded into the center.
Her back was to Al. She began to strip off her leather armor and cloth wrappings, letting them fall into the water.
Great plumes of blood billowed from her skin, washing away in the current.
Al stared at her naked back, his face turning as red as a sunset.
She reached up and unbraided her hair, letting the long tresses fall down her spine.
Al bit his lip and tried to look away, but the sound of splashing water drew his eyes back.
The Centigor was now standing directly in front of him.
He looked up.
Two massive, snow-white globes with deep crimson tips loomed over him, swaying slightly.
"Aren't you going to wash?"
Alina didn't seem to notice his embarrassment.
She grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and dragged him into the middle of the spring.
She knelt down on her four legs and pulled Al into a horizontal embrace against her chest.
She began to gently pour the cool water over his head and body.
The icy touch made Al gasp.
Something strange is coming.
Al felt a deep sense of irony about his situation.
He had been in this world for less than a day, yet his body kept reacting in the most embarrassing ways.
In this position, he finally had a clear view of the Centigor's face without her breasts blocking the way.
Affection.
Pure, unhidden affection.
Alina looked so happy, as if they truly were mother and son.
In that moment, Al's heart softened. His lustful thoughts were buried by a sudden, intense craving for family.
He had never felt such genuine tenderness since arriving in this world.
"You're hurt."
He struggled to sit up in her arms to inspect her wound.
She just looked at him dotingly, pouring water over his skin.
The contrast between the cool water and her radiating body heat was incredibly relaxing.
"Mmhmm."
She nodded, not really listening, just enjoying the feeling of holding him tight.
Her body was incredibly muscular yet soft in all the right places.
Her "twin peaks" were full and firm, showing no signs of sagging despite their size.
The mix of strength and maternal warmth made Al feel like he was drowning in her.
She, in turn, looked like she wanted to absorb him into her very flesh.
"I mean, we need to treat the wound."
Al struggled a bit more before giving up and lying flat in her arms.
She had no intention of letting him move; she wanted total control.
"Saliva can heal wounds."
The Centigor suddenly snapped out of her dazed state and spoke.
Al thought he had misheard. He looked up and saw Alina's face flushing hot.
She was trying to maintain her calm, but her fluttering eyelashes gave her away.
"Using saliva... it can heal."
She repeated it, her voice trembling slightly with suppressed excitement. Her fingers drummed rhythmically against Al's arm.
Al blinked, his own cheeks burning.
"I... I can try."
Well, saliva has mild antibacterial properties, right? (Lie).