Why does it look at me with such hatred? Maybe I accidentally eat one of its owners?

The cat approached me while hissing. As a former human, it doesn't scare me at all. What can the cute little puffball do to me, anyway?

But it proved me wrong. I don't know if it was actually so fast, or the reaction speed of my new body wasn't sufficient, but I was barely able to keep with its movements when the cat suddenly leaped. And then the pain came.

The cat's claw moved through my round body, and fluids were splashed around. It hurts. Hurts so much what I want to scream, but there are no vocal cords. In the same way as my sense of taste was amplified, I felt the pain with my whole existence.

It wasn't even close to anything I experienced before. When I was bleeding to death, I barely felt anything, probably due to the adrenaline. It seems now I don't have such a useful function.

Just why? It moved so fast, and it even avoided the fluids splashed from my wound and was completely unhurt.

Possible because of the pain, but my senses sharpened. I can not only see the cat but also feel its heat, each agile movement it does. Right, maybe it was the wrong choice to rely on visual clues in the first place?

After damaging me once, the predator started to make circles around me. Well, I'm not sure if there is any significance in it, considering that I don't even have front or back sides.

It seems my body somehow regenerated in a few seconds that passed from being attacked, but I also became smaller. The pain disappeared as well.

What should I do? Being killed like this would be ridiculous. I should fight; there is no chance to run away as my movement speed is way too slow.

Let's start by making a tentacle. It is the only way I can imagine damaging the animal. And so, before it resumed its attacks, I used my willpower to make a small extension out of my liquid body.

It took me less than a second to create the half-meter long tentacle. I'll wait until the cat tries to attack me again and then hit it as fast as I could. I concentrated on its body, not with my sight, but with tactile sense. Let's call it the Tactile Zone as I can sense everything within a certain range. For now, it is about three meters around me.

With the sound of angry hissing, the cat leaped again. It approached within my Tactile Zone. I can perfectly feel each of his movements, unlike the last time.

Tentacle Slash! I decided to give a name to my improvised attack. Woah! It was faster than I expected. And because of that, it missed. There is no way for me to dodge, so the intense pain, even greater than before, assaulted me.

Am I still alive? My body is almost half of how it was before. Both my tentacle and Tactile Zone became smaller. Would I be able to survive another hit? I don't know.

Should I resist at all, though? Is there any meaning to live in this form? No, stop it. If I was reincarnated, then there could be other people as well - what if Lily is in this world? I should survive and find out more. I can't die, not yet.

The last time I missed my Tentacle Slash because its speed was unpredictable, so now I should repeat the same mistake. I can do it. To be sure, I tried to move my tentacle for a bit. It is slower than before, but it is fine. It is more than enough to counterattack.

I wait. I wait for it to approach me again. The cat still hisses, but now it doesn't look so wary of me. It is good.

It moves faster than I can see, yet again. But of course, after it entered my Tactile Zone, everything became clear. Just a little bit, and I will destroy you, little beast.

Just when the cat was about to enter my attack range, its movements changed. It jumped back and then to the left side. Does it try to avoid my tentacle?

It leaped at me "from the side", but it doesn't matter. The cat is quick, but my Tentacle Slash is faster!

I sent my adversary flying. With a loud whimper, it landed on its back about two meters from me. It landed on the small pool of my liquid that was splashed from its previous attacks. Was it coincidence, or my instinct? Or maybe it was the karma?

It whimpers in the pool of acidic liquid, big wound from my attack on its side. It squirms and suffers, but nothing could help it. The cat's death is unavoidable.

Should I feel sorry for it? Maybe if I were still a human. Instead, my instinct tells me something else - assimilate it. While it is still alive, make it the part of you.

What does it mean? I don't know. But maybe I should find out. I'm too weak to do it right now, so first I should gather the lost parts of my body.

The crimson liquid is easy to see. More than that, I can still feel it somehow. Maybe in the future, I would be able to control it even when it is outside of my body?

It took me about ten seconds to gather all lost parts together, other than the pool under the cat. In this time, it no longer struggles so much, but it is still alive. Don't be afraid, little friend. You wouldn't suffer for long.

The cat lovers will probably hate me for this. But don't they eat kittens in some countries? I guess it is still much better than what I ate just a little bit before.

Something inside tells me - assimilate it, and you will be complete. And so I did. My body gently enveloped the still alive cat. We started to become one. And slowly, I accepted it as part of me.