The Tentacle Awakens Read online

  Chapter 1 - I Have No Mouth

  I look in the bathroom mirror and can feel my sanity points dropping.

  People have called me a tomboy or said that I possess no feminine qualities, but never has anyone told me that I'm ugly. Alright, it may be true that I have short, disheveled hair - or rather bed hair - like a boy's, and my body is more athletic than attractive since I'm the ace of the track and field club. Also, my interests have been aligned with those of boys ever since my grade school days. Furthermore, I'm only reading manga directed at a young male audience, while my female classmates don't even want to peek at them. Then, there is the fact that I get overly excited during hot-blooded special effect shows and events, even though I'm already in my second year of high school...

  Now that I list everything one after another, I feel depressed. But I'm not ugly! In fact, several people already confessed to me during middle and high school, even though they were all, without exception, cute female underclassmen. In other words, I'm sure I'd be considered handsome.

  The fact that I can only use an adjective exclusively utilized to refer to the male half of the population to describe myself with, rather than say the word 'beautiful', somehow hurts more than it should.

  I sigh, and the gurgling noise that comes out of my throat instead shakes me awake from my self-loathing inner monologue. I look into the mirror again and nearly scream at the thing that returns my gaze. It's something that would be blurred out by mosaic when shown on TV, but even that would be an understatement.

  Actually, why is this mirror framed in gold? I don't remember my bathroom having something this gaudy. Did my dad bring a souvenir from one of his business trips again? In fact, this doesn't look like my bathroom at all! Everything here appears incredibly expensive all of a sudden. The floor and wall tiles are a beautiful black marble with white veins; I think I've seen something similar on a TV show about a luxury resort. The bathtub changed into a free-standing cast tub made of solid bronze, with fittings of gold. How did this happen overnight?

  With this, I successfully avert my eyes from the main problem.

  Now that I think about it, I can't remember last night too well. I came back from an inter-high marathon - of course, I placed first, who do you think I am? - and was utterly exhausted, so I had dinner, took a bath and... hm?

  I don't remember going to bed, but I did wake up in a bed just now. Well, I guess I was so tired that I wasn't entirely conscious at the time. Maybe I slept longer than a day? But why would my bathroom change in that time? It's not like my parents are affluent enough to do a quick upgrade as a surprise to me. For now, it would be best to find my parents and ask them; I can't make sense of this situation on my own.

  But when I walk into my bedroom, it has changed, too. I admit, I did sleepwalk out of my bed into the en-suite bathroom and didn't take note of my surroundings at the time since I'm unexpectedly the type to be weak in the mornings.

  Hey, it's cute, alright? I can't be perfect all around.

  Really though, why do I have a canopy bed? And why does my entire room look as gaudy as the bathroom? Actually, it would seem that the whole place has expanded to more than five times its previous size, too. The high-quality red carpet dampens the sound of my steps as I walk past a dresser made of mahogany and look up. A golden chandelier hangs from a ceiling twice as tall as I remember.

  I move around to the side of the giant canopy bed and look down at it. There are signs that someone has slept here, but somehow I can't picture myself in my current form lying tucked in under the sheets. After all, I'm only vaguely humanoid, and as far as my appearance goes, it feels like I should be leaving behind a trail of slime wherever I go...

  "Chaos-sama, excuse me." A knock and a girl's voice coming from outside derails my train of thoughts. The heavy-looking wooden door opens, and a maid with short ash-gray hair enters without waiting for a response. She sees me and her neutral and professional expression changes to a grimace of horror for a split second before she quickly bows before me to hide it. When she straightens her back and looks up again, her face appears strained, and she's staring at a spot slightly right of where my face is.

  Haaah... I'm ugly, aren't I?

  Wait, did she just call me Chaos-sama? I'm not a chuunibyou who would get happy at being called that, you know? At least I'm assuming that Chaos-sama refers to me since nobody else is in the room.

  "I-I shall be cleaning y-your room. The queen is a-about to have breakfast in the d-dining hall. P-please head there immediately." Stuttering while avoiding eye contact, the maid speaks of the existence of a dining hall. This isn't my home anymore, is it? And what does she mean by 'the queen'?

  I stand frozen in place as the maid passes me by and I spot something that shouldn't be there, coming out of a triangular hole at the base of her back: A scaly tail. It's curved downwards and presses against her skirt in a posture I would say signals fear - if she was a dog. But that's no dog tail and resembles a lizard's.

  No, wait a second... this maid has a tail!

  She must be doing cosplay. Yep, let's leave it at that.

  I leave my room and exit into a large hallway as gaudily decorated as everything else I've seen so far. At this point, I'm convinced this isn't my house, and that something happened to me tonight. I'm not at an age to drink alcohol though, so that can't be what happened.

  In either case, I'm supposed to head to the dining hall to meet this 'queen', and since I'm feeling quite hungry, it's killing two birds with one stone.

  Now, I only need to find this dining hall first. I realize that this must be a giant mansion from how the hallway extends in both directions for a fair bit, but something about the architecture is bothering me: There are windows in the hallway, but there were none in my room. Typically you would construct a building in a way which allows light to fall into the rooms you stay in most of the time so that you don't have to use lamps.

  When I look out the window, a sight both beautiful and terrifying greets me. This mansion must be located on a hill, because a sprawling city extends below me, just beyond a thick defensive wall, consisting of architecture unlike any I've seen before. It possesses a dark beauty, with sloped roofs and black tiles, dark gray walls and darkened windows.

  Actually, what's with all these dark colors? I can't imagine that living in this city can be anything but depressing.

  The sky filled with black clouds seems to be looming right over me, as if ready to unload a lightning storm on my head. Beyond the city's fortified walls is a barren wasteland with black rock formations jutting out of the ground, all seemingly pointing in the same direction.

  That was the beautiful part. The terrifying part is the fact that none of it looks familiar. This doesn't even look like Japan anymore!

  Am I in one of those? Did I get transported to a different world in my sleep? But if that were the case, why would my appearance change?

  Wait, don't tell me I died in my sleep and reincarnated instead? Why would I be fully grown, then? I mean I can walk and all, and I'm taller than that maid with the tail, who looked reasonably adult-like. If I just reincarnated, shouldn't I start out as a baby?

  I don't have any knowledge or memories about this place at all, but if I'm at the same age as I was in my previous life, I'll be facing a lot of difficulties.

  At least I don't seem to have a problem with the language. And speaking of which, I didn't pay attention to it earlier because I was too confused, but the maid certainly didn't speak Japanese. Yes, somehow I can understand it as if it's the most natural thing.

  Let's go and see this queen first. Maybe she can explain this situation.

  While walking along the hallway deep in thought, I come across a staircase. Should I go up or down her
e? The maid never told me where the dining room was and I have absolutely no knowledge about this place. I pick downstairs with the reasoning that a dining room is usually on ground level, though I have no idea if this doesn't just lead into the cellar. If it does, I'll be looking pretty dumb.

  But luckily for me, I come out onto another hallway with lots of doors on one side and large windows on the other. Will it appear odd if I start opening doors at random to find the right room? I'm sure it will...

  Then again, since it's a dining hall, the door should be appropriately large, right?

  And as I think that, I come upon a double-winged door that looks like it could lead to where I need to go. I push it open, the hinges creaking under the heavy weight of the wood, and find a large hall with a long mahogany table in the center. Countless chairs with tall backrests stand in perfect order, the whole setup reminiscent of those seen in the meeting rooms of evil organizations in movies.

  At the very end of the table sits a woman in a sectioned frilly white dress with golden trims, which reveals a massive cleavage. She has bluish-gray skin, long flowing purple hair and a large pair of horns curved upwards coming from her forehead. The white of her eyes is black, while the irises are a bright yellow, giving her a piercing gaze even though the corners of her eyes are sloped downwards. It would give the impression that she's a gentle woman if it wasn't for the fact that she doesn't look human.

  That's definitely a demon, right?

  "Good morning, Chaos-chan. It would seem you have gained a consciousness." Her voice possesses an undeniable allure, paired with the dignity of the rich and powerful. "You have come at the right time to partake in breakfast. We have just gained a large stockpile of food yesterday."

  Yes mama, I'm actually quite hungry.

  For some reason I know that this is my mother; I can feel it the moment I lay my eyes on her, even though I've never seen her before.

  But why are our appearances so different? I'm something I don't even want to begin to describe, but she's a real beauty. Do I take after my father or something? That aside, her wording just now was strange and quite interesting. 'Gained a consciousness' suggests that I didn't have one before this morning. So does this mean I was just born? Then I guess I won't have any troubles with lacking knowledge of this world.

  I'm having difficulties choosing where to sit, but my mother gestures to the seat right next to her, so I make my way there. Just when I sit down, she rings a small bell, and several maids enter from doors hidden in alcoves. They push in carts carrying silver trays with corresponding covers.

  Every single girl looks inhuman. Some have horns, wings or tails; others are no different from humans except for their skin tones, which include blue, green and gray.

  A petite and very slender maid with a pair of black bat wings in place of her arms pushes a cart next to me. Her short reddish-brown hair is in a bob, and where a human's ears would peek out from normally, two huge and pointy ears covered in fur cover the sides of her head. Her eyes, including the irises and sclera, are entirely black, she has a small pointed nose and a slightly protruding pucker. She looks like a bat-girl.

  Another maid, one with long brown hair, large horizontal pupils, and a wide mouth, picks up a big covered tray with webbed hands that feature bulbous fingertips. Her skin has a greenish hue with a wet sheen, and there are black markings on her face and the back of her hands. I'm not entirely sure, but I'd say that this is a frog girl.

  She places the tray in front of me, and I eagerly await her opening it - then I remember that there's a little problem.

  I have no mouth, and I must eat.

  Before I can turn around and ask my mother how I'm supposed to consume any food, the cover is lifted before me. What greets me is a small plume of steam and underneath it the face of a man. The eyes are rolled back in their sockets, and the skin is the pinkish color of steamed but still rare meat.

  It's a severed head.

  And as if to add insult to injury, the bat maid lifts the head's skullcap with her single claw, to reveal the brain within, before the frog girl places a large spoon next to me.

  I have no mouth, and I must scream!

  After the shock of seeing a human head and its contents being presented to me on a silver platter, all my wonder at seeing the inhuman maids has been blown away. I have to say, all this looks incredibly life-like, almost like they're all real. Wings for arms, webbed hands, and now a severed human head with a steamed brain inside. Not like I know the real thing's appearance.

  It's one of those, right? A cake shaped like a human head, one of those novelty birthday cakes that you can order online.

  "Please enjoy your meal, Maou-sama." When she speaks up, I finally notice the presence of the giant maid standing behind my mother. She looks like a normal human compared to all the other people here, so she didn't even enter my vision before. Easily standing at a head taller than me, she towers above everyone else and has the physique of a man rather than a woman, with broad shoulders and thick arms. The only reason I can identify her as female is that her face looks quite ladylike, though a stranger to smiles.

  Wait, Maou-sama? Leaving aside the fact that it's clearly a Japanese expression, which is being mixed with this completely foreign language that I'm able to understand somehow, this makes it clear that my mother is the demon queen.

  No no no, there's something wrong with this situation!

  The pattern for these reincarnation stories is that I'll be reborn as the fated hero or something, and live the life of a protagonist in a harem manga. This is just a crazy dream brought on from a mixture of exhaustion due to the marathon yesterday, and having read too many of those trending reincarnation web novels, isn't it? Time to wake up by pinching myself.

  If only I had fingers to do so with.

  I do have an overall humanoid appearance, with all the extremities you would find on a human. But my arms and legs are composed of countless tentacles, ending in tentacle fingers which don't have nails at their ends. Furthermore, the face I've seen in the mirror is one even a mother couldn't love.

  Unless that mother is the demon queen of course...

  Rather than ugly, it's just that my face is something I can't even begin to describe. At the very least I can say that it lacks eyes, a nose, and a mouth. I have no idea how I'm even seeing, hearing or smelling anything right now.

  "Chaos-chan, you must be wondering how you can eat without a mouth, right?" The demon queen asks in an understanding tone. Before her is a plate with the same content, but rather than a man's, it's a woman's head. From my angle, I can only tell that it's still wearing large ornamental ear-rings.

  Actually, those ears seem kind of long and pointy. Is that an elf?

  "You could change your appearance, but I will teach you the basics first. Here, mama will show you how you eat as you are now." And without further ado, the demon queen lifts the elf's head and hugs it to her cleavage. In the next moment, the head begins to disappear into her body.

  What? A magic trick?

  "Ah, quite delicious." She makes a satisfied expression when the head has wholly submerged into her body.

  Wait just a second! Please give me a step by step breakdown. Else it'll end like one of those situations where people get some important body part stuck in some awkward place because of unclear instructions.

  "But I do not like this." From her chest, the bare skull of the elf pops out and falls into her palm, along with the earrings. She places the leftovers on the tray, and a maid immediately collects it, while another one brings the next dish.

  This one contains a pair of small and delicate hands placed like wings, over which a light brown sauce is spread out.

  I bring my attention back down to the head in front of me. Maou-sama, if you have me eat heads, at least give me that of a beautiful elf, too. Well, I have to admit that this one would be quite handsome if it weren't for the fact that he looks like he was in terrible agony right up to the moment of his death.

&nb
sp; Still, no harm in trying out eating a human head, right? After all, this is a dream... right?

  Papa, mama, I'm sorry. Your daughter has become a cannibal. Then again, I'm not a human right now, so that doesn't count as cannibalism, or does it?

  In either case, it was a sensation unlike any I've felt before. Having a man inside me for the first time was a little scary at the beginning, but it started to feel really good soon after. When I pulled him out after his essence melted into me, it felt really hot inside.

  "For my cute child, I left only the best parts. That was some the head of the foolish human king or prince, who dared to challenge me at the gates of my very home yesterday." When the Maou-sama notices my satisfaction - despite the fact that I have no face, and therefore, no facial expressions - she comments with a smile.

  Thank you Maou-mama!

  Pfft- wait, what?!

  I would do a spit take if only I had a mouth.

  It would appear that I just ate human royalty. So what was that elf's head? Don't tell me it belonged to the elven queen or something like that?

  "Although I have to admit, the elven queen was unlike anything I have tasted before. Next time I shall leave some for you." She continues.

  Argh! Don't answer as if you read my mind!

  Eating their leaders will only draw the wrath of the humans and elves. Well, considering we're quite obviously the demon folk, they must already see us as their bitter enemies.

  I have so many questions popping up in my head, but for now, I'll just go with the flow. I mean, this is a dream, and I'll wake up soon, right?

  Right! I've never had such a lucid dream! Everything feels so real!

  Yes, I still believe this is all just a dream from which I'll wake up any second now. I'm just an average high school student - one not even especially good at my studies, with my only redeeming feature being that I'm great at running. So if someone were to tell me that this is my new reality, I think I'd break down crying.

  "Now that you had your first conscious meal, shall I teach you how to take on a form that will cost fewer maids their sanity?" The demon queen suggests when I finish absorbing the stuffed and baked human torso into my body.