Renota's voice seemed to carry itself rather far across the dangerous void, almost as if he wasn't just calling out Arin, but every single creature that filled the pitch-black void.
"What the hell is wrong with you?! What if something heard-" Realizing that now he himself was calling out to any possible threats, Arin shut himself up and quickly ran over to where he last remembered seeing Renota. He only stopped running when he heard the sound of Renota's flames alongside an odd squelching noise behind him. When he looked back, he was utterly horrified.
Partially Illuminated by a now-dim flame on Renota's left fist, Arin was able to glean a look at the terrible giant insect. Azure fluid was endlessly oozing from its smashed-in head, which was directly connected to its insect-like body. The creature's torso was made out of thick, hairy chitin, and resembled a girthy mantis thorax. Extending from its torso were two arms, which similarly resembled a girthier version of what you'd see on a mantis. Extending from the arms' tibia was a terrifyingly large razor-sharp bone scythe, which was drenched in what looked to be the blue blood of its own brethren. However- the appearance of the creature was not what horrified him, rather, it was the actions of the man crouched over the giant insect that left him petrified.
Renota Ishogi was using his right hand as a bowl for the creature's blue blood and gray brains, using it to shovel the grotesque stew into his mouth. Arin intensely stared at his companion, completely bewildered by his actions.
'I knew he would be an uncivilized barbarian, but this... This is outrageous!'
For a few seconds, Arin couldn't do anything but watch as the Ishogian would dip his blue hand into the creature's head, allow it to up with blood and a few chunks of its fragmented cerebrum. He would then carry the putrid broth to his mouth, his mouth wide open for Arin to see his blood-bathed teeth cut up the chewy bits of brain. Renota noticed Arin staring at him like he was a psychopath and shrugged in confusion. He swallowed the insect's mind then asked Arin, with blood dripping from his mouth,
"What?"
The two young men stared at each other in silence for a few drawn-out moments, one staring with innocent confusion, and the other staring with absolute disgust.
"Ohh! It's because of the brains... Well, come on, what else am I supposed to eat? And besides, this bug's delicious!" Once Renota finished speaking, he was already shoving another puddle of gore down his throat.
Arin could no longer handle the disgusting sight, and his stomach's entire contents began to rise up through his throat. He put his hands on his knees and threw up all over the voided grass for a good ten seconds. Now that his stomach was absolutely empty, he-
He vomited a little bit more.
Now, with his stomach being fully—without a doubt—empty, a sudden and unbearable hunger came over him. He hadn't really paid much attention to what he was, or rather, what he wasn't eating for the past few days, and now it had finally caught up with him. His legs were trembling as he stumbled towards the creature's corpse, buckling completely when he finally reached it.
Acting on only survival instinct, he dipped his hands into the azure broth and brought it to his starving mouth. However, he stopped when Renota let out a dangerously loud laugh.
"So, even a noble man like you'll resort to eating with the Ishogs when he's hungry, huh?"
Arin, extremely offended, prepared to dump the blood out of his hands, but his preparations were ruined when Renota forced Arin's hand, pouring the stew into his mouth. Reflexively, he spat it out, but a small amount of the insect's ichor remained in his mouth. Arin stared at Renota, his eyes wide.
'To think that just one man could possess such insolence!'
Arin was about to go on his first racist tangent within this alternate reality before Renota interrupted him.
"Listen, I know you think I'm disgusting and all, but... You're literally drooling over this stuff."
Arin hadn't realized it, but an endless flow of saliva was leaking out from his mouth as he stared into his reflection on the blue pool's surface. As much as he hated to admit it, just that small bit of blood left in his mouth was undeniably delicious. Arin was utterly humiliated by this, but he just couldn't stop himself from dipping his hands into the gory concoction and pouring it all into his mouth.
The pleasure he experienced from eating the insect's mind was beyond anything he could truly comprehend. He almost fell to the ground squirming from pure happiness the moment he chomped down on the juicy bits of chewy brain, which filled his mouth with perfectly savory flavor. Its blood was sweet and light, causing a wonderfully delectable contrast of tastes upon his tongue. In his entire sixteen years of pampered life, this was easily the greatest thing he had ever tasted.
"I told you it was good, didn't I?"
With his blue eyes gleaming with joy, his cheeks reddened by pleasure, and his mouth curved upwards, Arin replied in the least convincing nonchalant voice in history.
"It's alright."
The two Campaigners continued to scoop at and swallow the creature's brains and blood for a few minutes, eating until the creature's skull was empty and their faces and shirts were covered in gore. Once its blood stopped flowing and its brain was fully removed, Renota extinguished the dim yellow flame engulfing his left fist, and the grassland returned to darkness.
Arin had his bloody hand on the handle of his sword, ready to cut open the rest of the creature and continue to indulge his hunger. When Renota returned Arin to blindness, every bit of the small amount of respect this meal had earned him instantly disappeared.
"What the hell? I was just about to eat the rest, Ishog!"
"You can stay here if you want, but I'm getting away from here."
Arin was completely fine with eating the rest of the creature by himself, even if he had to do it in absolute darkness. But he was just slightly curious as to why he'd want to abandon a good meal.
"...Why?"
After he heard Renota's answer, his eyes widened.
"Why do you think I've been talking so loud? I'm luring them all right here."