When the Portrayal System notification echoed inside his head, Adrian Vale felt a flash of genuine delight—
but his face stayed calm, unreadable.
Based on his own guess, this boost in Portrayal Sync was almost certainly because of Black Reaper.
Before this, Adrian had searched for plenty of outfits that looked similar—trying to increase Sync through appearance alone—
yet none of those normal clothes ever raised it even a fraction.
But the moment he saw Black Reaper, he'd had a strong feeling:
This one would work.
To outsiders, Black Reaper was just an extremely practical combat outfit.
To Adrian…
it was a real, tangible power-up.
Of course, nobody else knew that.
To everyone watching, Adrian acted like nothing happened.
He simply lifted his hand and pointed at the corpse of the Greenback Croc.
At first, most people hadn't believed him when he said he'd eat it.
But now—seeing him point at the body so clearly—
they finally realized:
He wasn't joking.
Instantly, the livestream erupted.
...
"Adrian—don't mess around! You can actually eat that?"
"Even if you can, that's the last resort, right? Don't do it unless you're desperate…"
"Honestly, that thing looks like a 'special' burger to me…"
"Someone tag that hardcore survival guy."
"Do it! Let's go!"
...
They joked—
but deep down, a lot of viewers didn't want their newly crowned "handsome on-screen boyfriend" eating something that disgusting.
Over on I'm Watching the Divine Domain, the panel immediately started debating.
Sienna Blake hesitated, then asked:
"Uh… Captain Cole, what do you think about Adrian's choice…?"
Captain Cole answered bluntly:
"It's not wrong. In an extreme environment like this, having meat is already a luxury. When you're starving, you stop caring whether it's gross. When you're really hungry, you'll eat anything."
Dr. Hart chuckled.
"Right. In the wild, if you're about to die, even eating something you normally wouldn't touch can become an emergency necessity."
But Derek Vaughn—naturally—made a face like he'd smelled sewage.
"They're not even pushed into a corner. This is just a sick hobby. Disgusting."
"..."
"..."
As always, his words instantly killed the room's mood.
But the outside world's opinions didn't matter.
Adrian kept walking toward the Greenback Croc.
Beside him, Raven Shaw clearly saw he'd already decided.
She stayed composed, but still couldn't help asking:
"You… sure you're going to eat that thing?"
Adrian only shrugged.
No answer—
but his steps were the answer.
The livestream chat went numb with dread.
...
"Bro… he's really doing it? Like nothing can talk him out of it?"
"Adrian, calm down! Your image is going to collapse!"
"No—don't do this…"
"Fake fans. Loving someone means accepting everything. What's wrong with eating a man-eating croc? If I were there, I'd help him start a fire!"
"Shallow. I'd ask if he wants cumin!"
...
Adrian ignored them all.
He stopped in front of the corpse and slowly bent down.
And inside, he couldn't help feeling a strange nostalgia.
The last time he'd tasted something that felt this delicious…
…had been three years ago.
Sure, this E-rankDivine Domain beast wasn't as irresistibly tempting as human flesh—
but for Adrian, it was more than enough.
No one watching knew how hard Adrian had been suppressing the urge to—
to tear into Raven.
The scent coming off her was unlike anything he'd ever smelled.
Even so, he forced that ghoul hunger down.
And now, this E-rank beast was the perfect outlet.
Then—
in front of everyone—
Adrian did something that made their scalps crawl.
RIIIP—
he tore open the Greenback Croc's armored hide with his bare hands.
Blood surged out in a hot spray—
splashing the ground.
Splashing Adrian.
Because his outfit was black—and because Black Reaper didn't stain—his clothes didn't show much.
But the blood at the corner of his mouth was unmistakable.
And then Adrian…
…licked it.
A single motion.
Casual.
Terrifying.
The scene was already bad enough.
But what came next made everyone's brains short-circuit.
CRACK.
RIP.
GULP.
Adrian grabbed a chunk of steaming, fresh meat—
and ate it raw.
The livestream went dead for a second.
Then chaos.
...
"Huh? Huh? HUH?"
"W-what—"
"I… I think I just got dumped."
"Fire? Cumin? No. He's eating it RAW—"
"The 'Adrian boyfriend' image just shattered…"
"You want chili powder for appetite?"
"Just… why?"
...
Adrian didn't see any of it.
Right now he looked like a starving predator finally given prey.
And in truth—
that was exactly what he was.
Raven frowned.
Even with her composure, Adrian's state was… unsettling.
Blood on his hands.
Blood on his face.
The wet, grinding sound of chewing—
and the thick stench of fresh gore in the air, hammering at her senses.
Then Adrian suddenly lifted a large chunk of meat and held it out to her.
"You want some?"
"..."
Even Raven paused.
But she wasn't normal either.
After a moment, she took it—
though unlike Adrian, she didn't eat it raw.
She stepped aside, lit a fire, and began roasting the meat.
Adrian didn't interfere.
His eyes were only on the feast in front of him.
Like a man dying of thirst staring at an oasis—
that was Adrian right now.
Each bite brought a wave of satisfaction so intense it felt unreal.
His ghoul half was roaring with pleasure.
And in the middle of his single-minded feeding—
the Portrayal System chimed again.
[Detected: Host is feeding, matches Ken Kaneki. Portrayal Sync increased — 0.1%.]
...
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