It has been a month since Rosemary had fully accepted her new job, and it had only been a week before she found the relief unfilling. With Ruby at most partaking on her only at night, she felt she wasn’t really helping Ruby with all she can. Eventually she decided to practice her cooking with Ruby’s permission, and without the fatigue causing issues with her coordination and balance , she could actually properly perform in the kitchen like she initially wanted to when she applied to work at Ruby’s restaurant, plating up meals good enough by Ruby’s standard to be served to the customers. And so she was back on the grind, happily cooking in the kitchen in the day, and at night helping Ruby in the bed, or in her belly.
 
 
Due to her rather drastic change, what with her body being more plump from her heavy meals as well as her complexion looking much healthier thanks to proper rest. The other staff ,especially those who mocked her before, don’t even recognise her and assume she was just a new recent hire and that Ruby had fired the old Rosemary. Not that Rosemary cared one bit, as she was happy to quietly work the stovetops.
 
 
As Rosemary continues to cook, her mind begins to wander. She thought of the various hints Ruby dropped, and how things at the restaurant were not as they seem. As she does,her mind then goes to the supplier of the ingredients she is using right now. How does the owner of the spa also supply such prime ingredients at such a quantity? Thinking more, the mystery only got deeper. Why was she just calling herself Iron Maiden, If she was so old to have forgotten her name. Such questions made her want to meet with the mysterious woman again, and during one of her cuddle sessions with Ruby, she brought up her inquiries. The hellhound arachne however declined answering, suggesting she get the answers directly from the woman herself, and thankfully the woman in question would be returning soon.
 
 
And so, Rosemary continued working in the kitchen, as she continued thinking of her questions she would ask the Maiden. She also honed her cooking skill, one she always wanted to properly pursue, if she had the money to in the past. With her current liberties, she is trying to make the most of it now.
 
 
—-------------------
 
 
The days flew by, and soon it was the day of Rosemary’s break, and Ruby informed her that the maiden had returned with a note in the morning. Eager to meet her, Rosemary got herself washed up and changed, before heading to the maiden’s spa. She did notice her resurrection crystal missing, but that wasn’t a special occurrence, as Ruby usually moves it to her room if she wants some longer fun with her adorable employee. Which is why Rosemary was quite surprised when she enters the Maiden’s spa, and finds her crystal there in the corner of the room, before a cheeky grin appears on her lips, thoughts of getting to really know the maiden appearing in her mind.
 
 
The maiden was by her massage table, preparing her equipment and oils as Rosemary entered her room, smiling at the woman as she closed the door behind her. “Welcome back. Ruby told me you wanted to get to know me better. I don’t mind, but I also wanted to give you a massage as we talked.” The maiden remarks with a smile, offering the massage table in front of her to the eager woman, who already began stripping so she can fully enjoy the massage. Soon, she is face down on the massage table, and enjoying the Maiden’s strong arms getting to work, rubbing the kinks out of her shoulders and muscles. She was actually enjoying the massage so much, she forgot what she was here for, till the maiden prompted her with a question as she had her flip over.
 
“So, what did you want to ask me~?” The maiden coos, giggling at the blush of embarrassment on Rosemary’s face as she realized what she did.
“W-well, I wanted to know more about you, Maiden. Like, is that really your name?” Rosemary asks, and she feels the maiden’s hands tense at her question, but quickly relax.
“It is quite a long story… But I guess I can tell you, considering you might be with us for the long run anyway.” The maiden sighs, as her hands go to massage Rosemary’s belly. Taking Rosemary’s silence as consent, the maiden begins recounting her tale.
 
 
—--------------------
 
 
Her earliest memory was when she was just a little child, the branding of iron around her limbs being the first memories of her life. The woman that birthed her was a slave, and her birth was already one in chains, the moment she was able to walk she was made to do whatever tasks the slaver master deemed necessary. Not long after, she was sold off to someone paying a hefty sum for the youngest slave, and transported to the castle of a massive city. She was fearful for her new master, but the very next day she was sitting down, being cuddled by a loving woman while eating a hot meal, being treated as a beloved daughter to the one that would be later known in history as the mad queen.
 
 
Her days were spent in luxury, and seeing the mad queen as her savior, she grew heavily attached to the queen, unaware of her plan. The queen was a cannibal, and after learning of a way of taking care of cattle where they treat it well, let it enjoy good food and life before their eventual slaughter. The meat is apparently much richer and more delicious, which was why the queen wanted to test the method with her preferred kind of meat.
 
 
Of course, despite the high life she was given, she did her best not to squander it. After she managed to convince the queen that training her mind would help with whatever task she was to be given, still unaware what that ultimate task is, she fervently studied in various fields. From finance to alchemy to cooking and even a bit of demonology, trying to learn almost every skill she could with the time she has. Her greediness for knowledge meanwhile burnt quite a hole in the queen’s coffers, and she realized her little experiment is something she wouldn’t want to repeat… though because of that, if it was a success, she wanted to make sure she didn't need to repeat it again.
 
 
With the help of her master demonologists and the very man teaching the slave about demonology, the queen worked on creating a ritual to ensure the meal she worked hard to prepare would not be gone in a single night. The slave, curious about her teacher’s sudden absence, decided to search for him, and accidentally stumbled upon the queen discussing her plans with him. It was then she learnt about her fate, to be eaten by the queen, but with her mind clouded by delusions of grandeur, she was proud to be the destined meal for her savior and did her own research on how to make herself a better meal. Using her culinary skills and alchemy, she made oils to infuse herself with flavor, similar to those she used on Rosemary, as well as mentally prepare herself for what is to come, her morbid curiosity eager to find out what the queen has planned for her.
 
 
—----------------------------------
 
 
A few years passed, and the queen had finally prepared her ritual. The still unnamed slave was brought from her study, and was feeling elated and excited, despite the rather grim look of the guards escorting her, taking her elation as being foolishly unaware of what is to come. They soon arrive at the ritual chamber, a grand hollow located deep in the dungeons of the castle. Many other slaves cry out for mercy from their cages at the corners of the ritual circle that takes up the center of the room, and a few of them were also tied up, stripped and gagged closer to the center. Her teacher was also in the room, overseeing the ritual, and he instructed her to undress fully and move to the unoccupied circle near the center of the ritual where the bound slaves are. She eagerly followed the instructions, and when she moved into position, her teacher activated the ritual, the room filled with chanting and the pleading cries of the slaves.
 
 
Then, one by one, the slaves at the outer circle begin dropping dead, their bodies turning to ash and soot that begins collecting in the center of the ritual circle. Their deaths only causes the unwilling slaves to cry and struggle more, but the future Iron Maiden just watches on in awe, mesmerized by the growing mass of ash, which looks like there is something wiggling just below the surface. Soon, the slaves in the cages were all silenced, not a trace of them remained, and from the ball of ash came tendrils that snake towards the chosen slaves close to the center.
 
 
The Iron Maiden didn't even flinch as the scalding hot ash caressed her nude body, while the other struggling slaves had a more violent reaction. The tendrils invaded their bodies, and when they rejected the gift, whatever entity behind the ritual bloated their bodies before popping them in a gory mess, then turning to similar ash to fuel the ritual. The chosen slave, however, felt warmth enter her form, and her nerves tingled as the ash entered between her very cells, accumulating into a mass in her torso. Then, she felt the mass begin to move, crawling around inside her flesh as it spread out, aiming for each end of her limbs as well as coiling around her organs. Her eyes then glaze over for a moment as she felt something deep in her very essence shift, as the tendrils inside her reaches the ends of her body and begin drawing on the floating mass of ash till none remained to create a core of similar tendrils in her very center, nestled right next to her still beating heart. Then, like a puppet whose strings have been cut, she falls over as the ritual ends, a smile on her face as she feels her soul settle into the strange new power gifted to her.
 
 
—-----------
 
 
The next time she awoke, she found herself upon a massive platter, her flesh being shaved off in delicate silvers and plated up, but to her amazement, the wounds close up soon after, ready for another stroke of the blade. A glistening and unmistakable blue liquid slowly drips from above onto her bare chest, concentrated mana seeping into her flesh and fueling her new regenerative abilities. Her mouth begins to drool as the appetizing platter of her own flesh grows bigger and bigger, before soon it is carted off by the guard for the queen’s consumption and the chef in charge puts away his blade, another slave like herself as no sane person would prepare the queen’s unique meals. As he was doing so, the Iron Maiden spoke up, and requested him prepare a platter for the two to enjoy, seeing as their only surveillance left with the meal. Seeing her eagerness, the chef complied, and soon they were enjoying a platter of freshly harvested meat, chilled atop ice and dipped into a savory sauce before consumption. She could already notice another facet of her new powers, as she tasted not only every ingredient used in the sauce, but how the various ingredients were cooked as well, all the knowledge being stored in some kind of memory bank within her essence.
 
 
After her quick snack, she made her way back to her room with the half used bottle of concentrated mana in tow, wanting to examine it closer, as well as a sharp carving knife so she could enjoy her own flesh in the comfort of her own room if she desired. She could literally feel the mana evaporating off the liquid, and it is tempting her to just gulp it down. What she knows of the material is already put into question, as it is widely known to cause severe mana burns on contact with flesh, akin to the blowback of a backfired spell. Even the slow drip she was put under would leave heavy scarring on mundane flesh, but her's was unblemished and greedily drawn in the mana.
 
 
She continued experimenting with her body in the privacy of her own room, learning that she can contain massive amounts of mana. It took a few days for her to realize her body no longer produces any wastes, any foods she eats are fully analyzed by her new instincts and digested, learning about the ingredients used though with no clear way on how useful that information is at the moment. The queen visited at some point, informing her that she is quite proud of her, and the results of the experiment, the compliments regarding how delicious her flesh is send a strange wave of pride through her.
 
 
By a week after the ritual, she felt her essence settle in her body. She had an epiphany of her new form soon after, and discovered how to create offspring, through a much simpler ritual but still requiring a host to be fully willing to the powers, with a few less than willing but greedy slaves had fatally experienced. She of course revealed her findings to the queen, and she allowed the procreation of her new race, which she decided to call foodite, and had a small group of fellow foodites by the time disaster struck, the chef she enjoyed her first meal in her new form amongst them.
 
 
—-------------------------------
 
 
A few more years passed, and the queen’s land had devolved into disarray. Her taxes have increased to fuel her research and experiments. In addition, her hunger for human flesh, despite the foodites willingly feeding her desires, sank its fangs into the populace, with many taken from their homes. The citizens, their patience at its limit, finally decided to revolt, storming her castle with pitchforks and simple spears, that soon got reinforced by her own military forces that only heard rumors of her deeds, and rose up in arms once the commanders were captured and interrogated, revealing the true depravity of her actions to the populace. Only her most loyal guards and the foodites remained in the way of the raving populace, and the foodites themselves were torn with who to support, majority of them only putting up a token effort in their defense. Even the maiden, who felt indebted to the queen, could barely do anything against the horde, her reluctance to harm the attackers not doing anything to help her. She eventually fell with multiple spears stabbed through her body, her body failing to respond despite her insistence to keep on fighting.
 
 
And so the kingdom fell due to internal strife, with the queen beheaded and body strung up over the burning pit filled with those who fought for her, their bodies lit ablaze in a mass grave. The iron maiden and her ilk were all amongst the fallen, and felt their bodies roasted black, unable to do anything. Eventually, the fires died down, and it would be many many years before the maiden would make a return, slowly training to move with her core along, without the need for a meat puppet to dictate her movements, teaching it to her fellow foodites, not leaving a single one behind. Hiding under the cover of night, they then dug out of their tomb, and made for the wilds, leaving their ruined home behind to find a proper place for them to settle down…
 
 
—------------------------
 
 
“... and so, after much searching, we finally found a place to settle down. After learning a few more innate abilities of my race, I decided to venture out, and that's when I met Ruby. We became fast friends , and her Grandfather's powers allowed me to venture to even further lands, assisting me in my quest to get exotic ingredients to increase my repertoire.” The maiden finishes, taking a sip of fresh fruit juice from a cup she prepared, having finished her massage and is now sitting by a dining table with Rosemary. She was likewise enjoying a cup of fresh juice, wanting to question how the maiden poured the juice out from her finger, but didn’t want to interrupt the tale. “That was amazing… you never did answer about your name though.” Rosemary chuckles, when she sensed the maiden being done.
 
 
“Oh, that was just a nickname adventurers called me. I apparently was doing bounties unauthorized by the government there, and was made to sign up as an adventurer. When I confessed I had no name, the clerk who already recognised me from the tales spread by others who saw me, suggested I just take the mantle of Iron Maiden, and it stuck ever since.” The maiden chuckled. “What kind of tales?” Rosemary then asks, curious what she did to get such a name. “Oh, some saw me defeat a dragon, others saw me casually walk through a bloody active battlefield between three armies, avoiding strikes that would have hit me while I was harvesting blood weed.”
 
 
“W-woah… so you are well versed then… What powers do you have? I saw you pour that delicious juice from your finger earlier, is that part of it?” Rosemary then asks excitedly.
“Yup, just a part, that juice is actually a mix of some fruits, as well as a bit of honey from an endangered species of monster honey bees.” She informs. “All foodites have power over food stuff, be it the base ingredient or the final product. The most basic one is them being able to produce whatever they eat at the cost of mana, which is also their life blood. If a foodite runs out of mana, they go into a hibernation state till they get enough to awaken again, but that is also when they are most vulnerable to attack.” She adds, as a bone crunching crack suddenly fills the room.
 
 
Rosemary gasps as the maiden’s chest suddenly bursts open with nary a drop of blood spilled, her ribs cracking open like a blooming flower, revealing her twitching insides, her heart and lungs all still working as the woman herself acts as if nothing is wrong. Right beside her heart though, lies a strange mass, looking like a tight ball of black centipedes. “This~” The maiden coos, as she points to the mass. “Is my core, my very essence and soul. This body I am using is nothing more than a puppet controlled by this, though even so entirely my own. If my core is removed, this body will fall dormant, and will die if left in that state, like this.” As she says that, the core pushes itself from the open chest cavity, using its centipede looking tendrils to move itself, soon escaping its fleshy prison, and the maiden’s body falls over like a sack of meat, the heart and other organs still working as if the body entered a coma.
 
 
The core continues moving around, waving its tendrils at a very stunned Rosemary. Unable to hold back her curiosity, Rosemary reaches out to touch the squirming core, and is surprised to find that despite the cool and smooth look, the core was actually quite hot, akin to a heavy fever. She can also feel something unseen pushing against her like some sort of pressure as she reaches close, not knowing that what she felt is the intense mana concentrated within the core. With Rosemary’s quick examination done, the core moves back to the discarded body, reattaching itself back to the body and the Maiden stands back up, stretching to make sure her muscles are all working properly.
 
 
“Ahhh… not really nice to do that, but at times it is necessary, predators would usually go after an easy meal, and if I need to throw my body away to save my friends’ lives, I would gladly do so.” The maiden remarks as she makes sure everything is ok. “So, that’s your real body? Can you hijack others with it?” Rosemary asks curiously, and the Maiden chuckles. “Unless they are already brain dead, not really. Though even if I wanted to, it is extremely hard and against our nature, so we not only need to fight against the creature we are controlling, but also ourselves… But that doesn’t mean we can’t use others to do our work for us.” The maiden chuckles, as she lifts her hand, which begins growing bigger right before their eyes.
 
 
Rosemary gasped as the hand continued growing bigger and bigger, till it was bigger than she was. The mass also begins taking a more recognisable shape, growing ears, legs and a properly functioning head. Then, the creature the mass grew into let out a moo, having grown into a full proper cow. “This is Bessie. Some would call her my summon, but she is actually just a part of me, made using a fragment of my core. We use the term familiars to refer to them, but they are as intelligent as their origin,” The maiden informs, introducing her pet, who moos and nods in agreement. Rosemary, seeing there suddenly being a living and breathing cow near her, decides to reach out and tentatively pet it, getting a happy moo from Bessie who nuzzles into her hand. The adorable action made her giggle and embrace Bessie in a hug, getting playful licks in return. “So, what can she do?” Rosemary then asks, as she continues hugging the cow, who moos happily.
 
 
The Maiden giggles at Rosemary’s question. “Well, she is a good companion, but she is more or less an extension of me, and as such, can use any abilities I can.” The maiden informs, as Bessie opens her mouth, revealing a rather big melon growing in the place of her tongue, then biting it off when it gets big enough. The maiden grabs the melon, and cracks it in half with her bare hands, revealing the delicious red watermelon flesh inside. “Also like me, we enjoy having others feast on things we grow, so do enjoy~” The maiden coos, and Rosemary happily accepts the melon, rather messily biting into it and her head is soon covered in delicious watermelon juice.
 
 
—-------------------------
 
 
After cleaning Rosemary up from her messy meal, Rosemary then asks how she unsummons Bessie, leading to an up close and personal view of the Maiden unhinging her jaw, and eagerly gulping down her massive pet. Bessie meanwhile happily lets herself get swallowed, and soon is tucked away in the Maiden’s now heavy and distended gut. With a contented sigh, the maiden sits back down, rubbing her gurgling gut, and Rosemary is unable to resist the urge, reaching out to knead the squirming and gurgling belly before her, showing her skill as a gut slut to give pleasure to the predator as she digests her meal.
 
 
“Mmmm, you definitely learnt well from your time here~.” The maiden moans as she enjoys the belly rub, her stomach working fast to digest Bessie and reabsorb the fragment of her core used to create her familiar. “I could actually just reabsorb her normally, just a reverse of what I did earlier, but this is much more fun~.” The maiden chuckles, her joke getting an agreeing laugh from Rosemary. She knows how much Ruby enjoys having her stomach full and squirming with an eager prey, and honestly was wondering how that feels too.
 
 
“So… you said you could make others into your kind… What does that involve?” Rosemary asks after enjoying the maiden’s gurgling belly for a while. “Well, simply put, I infest you with a fragment of my core, and similar to the ritual I described happened to me, the fragment will create a core within you. Like that ritual though, any resistance from you, and it will fail, killing you… I do wonder if you will just revive at your crystal though, so want to give it a try~?” The maiden asks with a cheeky grin.
 
 
Rosemary was tempted to accept right there, but decided to decline the offer, at least till she gets more comfortable with the idea. The maiden nods agreeingly, approving of Rosemary’s more cautious approach. “Good, I bet the ritual would fail had you accepted now. Maybe get more used to being around me, and my powers. You practicing your cooking in the restaurant is also helping, as I noticed that those inclined towards cooking have a better chance of becoming a foodite, holding on to the desire to further their craft to pass through the ritual.” The maiden coos, before letting out a meaty burp.
 
 
With all her questions answered, Rosemary spent the time enjoying the maiden’s belly, before eventually, she got a bit restless, and asked a question that made the maiden blush in surprise. “Can you eat me too~? I wonder if I am up to your standard~”
 
 
—--------------------------------------
 
 
After recovering from the surprise, The Maiden chuckles. “Well, I see you already have the mentality of a foodite, so eager to feed~” She coos, as she guides Rosemary to her face, kissing the woman on the lips.Rosemary enjoyed the kiss, moaning as the maiden reaches to her crotch to feel her moistness, the other hand groping her breasts and making them leak. Using the milk and her cum, the Maiden begins covering Rosemary’s body, while the woman continues to embrace and kiss the maiden. Once she was properly coated with her milk and juices, the maiden finally breaks the kiss, grinning at the eager meal.
 
 
With inhuman strength but delicate ease, the maiden lifts Rosemary up, and begins licking at her toes, humming happily at the delicious taste, before sliding the feets into her eager maw. Rosemare resists the urge to squirm as the maiden’s tongue tickles her feets, before they squeeze down the maiden’s throat and she begins gnawing on her plump thighs. The maiden decides to have a bit of fun once she reaches Rosemary’s crotch, sliding her tongue against Rosemary’s slit, Rosemary squirms in pleasure at the dexterous tongue’s assault, and she soon falls to it, cumming deep into the maiden’s eager maw. With the snack done, the maiden resumes her consumption, sliding her maw over Rosemary’s plump rear, and towards her heavy , milk laden breast. When she bites down on the breasts, milk flows from them, adding once more to her flavor. Rosemary continues squirming in pleasure as she slides deeper and deeper, blissful for fulfilling what she was meant to do once more.
 
 
Soon, the maiden sighs constantly, as she gives the final gulp, sending Rosemary into her gurgling stomach, who splashes down into the melted soup that remained of Bessie. Now inside the tight belly, Rosemary moans as she pleasures herself, squirming about as she enjoys the tight muscles massaging her body. “You were delicious, Rosemary~” The maiden coos, as she hugs her belly, enjoying the woman’s movements which hit all her deep pleasure points. “I-i’m glad you enjoyed me~.Y-your belly feels amazing~” Rosemary replies, as she kisses the stomach walls, already feeling the acid beginning to work on her body. Due to all the treatment she received though, instead of pain, the sting of digestion feels more like relaxing in a warm bath.
 
 
With Rosemary tucked away and relaxing in her stomach, the Maiden yawns happily, hugging her squirming gut before deciding to close her eyes, taking a nap as her body digests her meal.
Time passes, and the maiden’s belly eventually rounded out and shrinks, the digested soup of Bessie and Rosemary being absorbed by the maiden’s belly. With a flash of light, Rosemary revives, cuddling against the maiden’s shrinking gut, the gurgling of her guts lulling her into an even deeper sleep.
 
 
—------------------------------
 
 
When they wake, Rosemary continues to pester the maiden to make her a foodite, declaring she was born for such a role. But the Maiden was adamant in not allowing such a rash decision. She instead offered to tutor Rosemary in foodite ways, making sure she understood everything involved with turning into a new race, with the secondary goal to calm Rosemary down and ensure she made a proper decision so she has no regrets later. Rosemary accepted the condition reluctantly, wanting to gain those cool foodite powers, but eventually agreed that she might need to learn more about them.
 
 
To facilitate this training, The Maiden requested a month plus long trip to her town, which she and the other first foodites had set up after the kingdom fell. Upon hearing the news, Rosemary was elated, having the chance to see the land from the maiden’s tale. With that, she eagerly packed her bags, but was soon informed she won't be carrying any of it, to avoid any possible technological contamination. Even her phone, wallet and clothes were to be left behind, Ruby having made a number of dresses and underwear that were more akin to medieval times. With only the clothes on her back, she was led by the maiden to the back of her room, as the maiden revealed a hidden door behind a shelf full of her various massage oils. Behind it was a stone archway that burst to life as they stepped close, the runes etched into the stone glowing a purple color that matched the portal. The maiden goes first, and soon disappears into the portal, and Rosemary takes a deep breath to steel herself before following behind her.
 
 
The first thing that hit Rosemary as she stepped through the portal was an unseen force pushing down on her, an oppressive force that the maiden seems to relish. “Ahh, saturated mana… it's been a while since I enjoyed it~.” The maiden hums happily, before turning to notice Rosemary’s struggle. “Don't worry, you will get used to it. Your home has almost no mana, and even though Ruby’s grandfather built her restaurant atop a mana well, the low concentration makes it really weak.” The maiden informs , before helping carry Rosemary around to show her the place, the woman blushing as she is held in The maiden’s strong arms.
 
 
She is then paraded through the town, as The Maiden greets all her fellow foodites, introducing Rosemary to them. The first few looked humanoid, though some more beastial than others, sorting ears and tails that moved realistically. Then she got to the first clearly unique individual. Covered in growing mushrooms that covered one of her eyes, the foodite in question smells heavily of salt, alcohol and cheese, her swaying movements and slurred speech adding evidence to her clearly drunken state. As they left her abode, which was dug into a massive mushroom, the maiden informed her that the woman they just met is a foodite who was consumed by their path of growth, in her case fermentation and fungi. The woman makes the best yeast, wines, beers and sauces though, but needs the help of other foodites to make anything other than mushroom wine. It was clear to Rosemary that the maiden showed the woman off as a warning of what would happen if she gets too set into a single teaching. As they left, the woman stopped the maiden, asking her to help deliver a heavy urn to “the fish''. The maiden nods and chuckles, as a ring on her finger flashed, the jar vanishing in the light.
 
 
From then, the maiden carried Rosemary to meet more focused foodites, as the maiden calls them. The next foodite lives in what looks like the fresh carcass of a giant beast. The smell of fresh meat is overpowered by the delicious scent of freshly roasted meat atop the massive grill situated in the center of the “house”, a massive abomination of various creature parts happily cooking up its own limb on it. The maiden greets the abomination happily, and it turns around to reveal a woman within that whole mess of flesh. After a brief introduction, to which the woman just goes by the name Butcher, the meat woman offered them a meal of her freshly roasted meat, slicing off the perfectly roasted surface of her arm and serving it on a plate made of pearly white bone. It was cooked perfectly medium rare,with a surprising herbal aftertaste enhancing the juicy meat which was seasoned just right. With how it was cooked, there is a nice crispy bark that compliments the tender meat.
 
 
As they ate, Rosemary inquired about the Butcher, and like the maiden, she too was one of the slaves under the queen’s employ, a chef focused on meat dishes and the castle's grill master. She got the moniker of Butcher soon after her transformation, as during the assault of the castle, she was more than happy to chop up the sacks of meat coming for their lovely queen, and one of the first few to have any outwards mutations, her hulking mass making her much harder to put down at most. She also showed off the bone cleaver she used as a weapon, that she grew herself after she was disarmed early in the fight. Like the other foodites however,she eventually fell, but with much more resistance than most. She then decided to keep that nickname she was given by her enemies, as a way to remember the fun times. Rosemary shivered at the revelation, but figured the woman has her reasons, and seems quite nice otherwise.
 
 
The maiden and Rosemary then left, to meet the next focused foodite, who was focused on the freshest fish. The foodite in question lived in the lake, and looked akin to a mermaid, save for the cloak of octopus tentacles that drapes over her back like a cape, swimming around happily and leaping in the air as greeting as they arrive. The woman was excited when The Maiden delivered the jar from the mushroom encrusted foodite, and a strong salty smell filled the area as it is opened, the foodite eagerly pouring the clear, reddish brown sauce into a more manageable, spouted container, before sealing it back up and storing it in her home somewhere in the river.
 
 
After returning, she offers them another feast, slicing her own fishy flesh from her body with the help of her honed edge on her hip, which is a proper sword instead of cooking utensils. Regardless, the mermaid worked fast and effectively, getting some plates of ice to chill the sliced flesh before finally plating it up atop her body, pouting the sauce in the crevice just under her breasts to dip the offered meats into. Seeing the woman set up the meal, The Maiden decides to help, and gives the woman a green, spicy root. The woman excitedly takes the root, and part of her skin begins to shift, changing from glistening scales to dark skin. She then uses a tentacle to hold the root, and shaves off the outer skin of the root before grinding it against the altered skin, which effectively grates the root into a pungent green paste.
 
 
Rosemary blushed hard at the lewd and tantalizing display, her hand constantly hitting against the woman’s bountiful bosom as she tried to dip the slices of fish into the sauce. The saltiness brought out and complemented the freshness of the fish, and the pungent green paste added a spicy kick to the meal.
 
 
Soon, the meal is done, and Rosemary is feeling tired and extremely bloated, stuffed with two generous meals in the span of a few hours. The mermaid finds her dozing off to be quite adorable, and gives Rosemary a kiss before she lets them leave, leaping into the river to clean herself off. With that, The Maiden gently carries Rosemary to her home, and by the time they arrive, the woman is already sound asleep, nuzzling happily against her bosom.
 
 
—---------------------
 
 
The next month passes in a blur of parties, food fests and simple meditations to get her used to moving mana around and how to feel it. Rosemary herself finds it surprising how easy it is for her to move the mana around, the maiden suspecting it might be because she had direct contact with magical artifacts like her resurrection crystal and was influenced by it. It really doesn’t affect her plans however, and Rosemary herself welcomes the changes, trying but failing to properly channel the mana into some proper magic. She isn’t dissuaded by it however, and after failing many times to cast, she decides to draw the mana into her body and keep it there, mimicking what foodites do with the mana.
 
 
By the end of the month, Rosemary’s body was saturated with mana, her belly plump and huggable thanks to all the feasts every day. On her last day in the foodite village, Rosemary asks The Maiden if she can perform the ritual again, eager to join her after living with them for a month. Meanwhile, the maiden was happy with Rosemary’s progress and wanted to bring her into the fold herself. So, the maiden was already prepared for the ritual when Rosemary asked for it.
 
 
“So, you really want to become a foodite?” The maiden asks in confirmation when Rosemary approaches her about it. The woman eagerly nods, looking at her with determined and excited eyes, believing herself ready. “Well, I have two ways this can go. The normal way… or something a bit more… personal.”
“Personal? What do you mean?” Rosemary asks curiously, having the feeling this more personal approach is something rarely offered.
“First, you don’t really have a family, right? You told Ruby you had some family issues?” The maiden confirms, wanting to make sure Rosemary is unclaimed before pressing on.
“Y-ya… long story short. Family disowned me because I was and I quote, a failure undeserving of the family name. Just because I am poor academically and can’t become a lawyer or scientist or something.” Rosemary grumbles, sighing to let out the pent up aggression just thinking about her family. “They said my hobby of cooking is a worthless thing, that I will amount to nothing if I focus on it, and when I didn’t want to stop, they cut me off and sent me away.”
 
 
Her ranting was then cut off as the maiden gave her a deep hug. “Don’t worry, Rosemary…. You won’t need to think about them any more. Let them speak what they want, but I’ll be your mother from now on~” The maiden coos, holding the embrace till she feels Rosemary tear up in her arms as all the years of neglect rushes to the surface.
 
 
Minutes pass and Rosemary finally stops crying, looking up at the maiden with red eyes. “S-so, what is involved with the personal ritual?” She asks, smiling at the warmth and affection her mentor had shown her.
“Well, simply put, you just crawl into my womb, and let me do the rest~” The maiden coos, chuckling at the blush on Rosemary’s face.
T-then what happens after?”
“I’ll implant a fragment of my core into your body, and you should relax and let it do its work.”
Rosemary nods in agreement, recalling the maiden’s tale of her past, and the dangers involved with turning. With everything planned, the two head off to the maiden’s home, to perform the adoption in the privacy of their own home.
 
 
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Back in her home, the maiden lays down on the big double bed as she strips. Rosemary meanwhile blushes as she watches even though this isn’t the first time she saw the maiden nude. The implication and reason why she is nude however made her a little more nervous as she oogles at the woman’s form, not believing that this beautiful and strong woman would become her new mother. Only when the maiden had fully stripped did Rosemary strip herself, letting the maiden enjoy the show.
 
 
With the two women naked, the maiden spreads her legs, revealing her already moist nether lips to her apprentice. Seeing the spread lips, Rosemary gulps as she crawls forward, licking and tasting the maiden’s delicious arousal. After making sure she got the maiden nice and moist, she gently pushes forward, the slit easily spreading and allowing Rosemary entry. With that, she continues pushing, slowly sliding into the maiden’s pussy, then womb, while the Maiden cries out in pleasure as her entry hits all her pleasure points.
 
 
It isn’t long before the maiden is panting on her bed, the sheets soaked with her arousal and Rosemary snugly tucked away into her womb. She happily hugs her round belly, squishing Rosemary who squirms happily within. Rosemary meanwhile starts to feel sleepy, lulled by the warm embrace of the maiden’s womb and her rhythmic heartbeat. Soon, she falls asleep, and with Rosemary slumbering, the maiden begins the ritual. She extends a tendril into her womb, and pushes it into the base of Rosemary’s skull to release the fragment into her body, which crawls towards her brain to draw from and link itself to her brain.
 
 
With the core fragment linked, it then moves to her chest, nuzzling up against her thumping heart as it begins to grow, forming spindly thin, centipede looking tendrils that wrap around an invisible sphere right in Rosemary’s core, her very soul. The fragment of demonic origins then begins consuming Rosemary’s soul, infusing the core with it and making it her own as more tendrils spread out from her chest, connecting to her limbs and returning control of her body to the newly formed core. As that happens, something peculiar happens back in Ruby’s restaurant. Tendrils akin to Rosemary’s new form begins spreading out from the resurrection crystal, compressing its crystalline surface till the crystal shatters with a burst of mana, alerting Ruby as it does. The fragment of her soul in the crystal is then brought back to her new core, making sure her soul is fully whole.
 
 
The maiden meanwhile kept watch on Rosemary’s vitals as the changes happened, still worried about the possibility of the ritual failing. She does feel her body spasm a bit as the new core takes hold, and soon the woman is back to slumbering happily. Figuring the ritual is done, the maiden lays back, patting her belly more, letting Rosemary rest and relax, her own experience of the very first ritual reminding her that the changes are exhausting regardless of how much you prepare. Soon she too falls asleep, still hugging her pregnant looking belly
 
 
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Rosemary smiled as she opened her eyes, a new power welling up in her chest. She was still in the warm embrace of the maiden’s womb, and gave the walls a playful kiss. She is torn between leaving and testing her new powers, or staying and enjoying the loving embrace.In the end, Rosemary decided to do both, closing her eyes to meditate while she enjoys the warmth and unknowingly began tapping into the maiden’s knowledge as she meditates in her womb.
Her mind begins to swim with all the different changes she could do to her body, and she begins experimenting, changing her body randomly as she tries to make scales, claws and other parts appear on her body. Soon, she is a jumbled mess of various animal and monster parts, squirming around in the tight womb, and her mess wakes the maiden up.
 
 
“Hey, what are you doing in there? Trying to turn into a monster~?” The maiden chuckles, as she bonks Rosemary’s head through her belly, the woman within looking around at herself to see what she did, before blushing hard in embarrassment. Using a tendril, she connects to Rosemary’s body, and helps her return her body to her old human form, though with dragon’s meat in the place of her usual human muscle. When she is done, the maiden then pushes Rosemary out of the womb, the process once again pleasurable for the progenitor foodite.
 
 
“W-welcome to your new life, Rosemary~” The maiden coos, hugging Rosemary once the woman is out of her womb.
“Heh, thanks… mom~” Rosemary coos as she enjoys the embrace, hugging the maiden in reply. “So, what now?”
“Now, how about we inform Ruby what happened, and we can stay here for a while more so you can train under the other foodites, learn their crafts.” The maiden replies, as she breaks the hug and gives Rosemary a loving kiss.
“Sounds like a good idea… all this new knowledge… it feels amazing~ I can’t wait to be a brilliant meal for Ruby, she will be so surprised~” The two then chuckle at Rosemary’s words, the maiden certain Rosemary will be an amazing foodite and grand meal for Ruby for sure.
It was only when they returned a year later that they learnt about what happened to Rosemary’s resurrection crystal, the hellhound woman, though confused, was glad to have learnt that Rosemary’s transformation was a success from the maiden’s letters.
 
 
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Rosemary stepped through the portal, much more experienced with her new form. She happily embraces Ruby who was waiting for her return. The hellhound arachne's senses could already tell that Rosemary was dolling herself up for their reunion, the delicious scent wafting off Rosemary’s body as the woman hugged her. “You seem to have had fun, Rosemary. Did she teach you well?” Ruby asks as she gives Rosemary a playful lick.
“Yup, I did~.” Rosemary giggles as she nuzzles into the tongue. “Can you taste how delicious I am now?” She then asks playfully.
“Yup, I am trying to hold myself back from gulping you down right here~.” Ruby replies with a hungry gaze.
“Well, what are you waiting for then, boss. Your meal is prepared ~.” Rosemary offered, as she removed her simple robe, revealing her nude body to Ruby.
Unable to resist the tantalizing offer, Ruby gently grabbed Rosemary, and began gulping her down head first. The fresh foodite squirms eagerly as she gets consumed, almost cumming from the massage given by the hellhound's eager throat muscles, as she is pushed deeper into Ruby’s hungry stomach. It takes almost no time at all before the expert predator sends the human shaped snack into her churning belly, but Rosemary had more in store for the boss that gave her a brand new lease on life.
 
 
Once she landed in Ruby’s stomach, the acid already eating away at her flesh,she concentrated and channeled her new found powers. Her body begins growing, fighting against the digestion as she makes herself bigger and bigger, growing a whole feast within her body as her size grew. Ruby gasped in surprise at the sudden expansion in her stomach, as the human grew into that of a half giant, full of various foods that would fit a balanced meal. Ruby lets out a burp, and could taste the various dishes Rosemary grew in her body, roasted vegetables, fried meats and even extravagant seafood, all stuffed into her fleshy body that is already breaking down. Sighing contentedly, Ruby sits down on the floor and massages her massive belly, feeling Rosemary begin to break down as her growth stops, as well as the various foods spilling out and mixing with the soup in her guts. “You were a filling meal, Rosemary~.” Ruby giggles, as she rests, smiling as she hears a giggle from her tummy.
“Glad you enjoyed my surprise, Ruby. I'm glad you enjoyed it, now allow me to enjoy melting down in your strong stomach, and add to your beautiful body… at least for a while. I am excited to see the whole pass too~.” Rosemary giggles, speaking fast before her lungs and throat succumb to the acid.
 
 
To Rosemary’s credit, she lasted a lot longer than any meal Ruby had, but soon she is fully digested, her core squirming happily as it gets pushed through her loving boss's guts. It takes a few more hours before she reaches the end of her trip, popping out of Ruby’s rear squeaky clean, as the hellhound's digestive tract is so efficient that nothing is wasted. Rosemary’s core squirms happily as Ruby gives it a playful lick, before pouring a mana potion on the core, letting her absorb it and regrow her body. When she returns to form, Rosemary happily hugs Ruby, glad she enjoyed her meal, already eager to have her feed more~.
 
 
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