Chapter 95: Come to your senses! |
Why the hell is he doing that?
The sight made those words leave my mouth involuntarily.
A grotesque monster was opening its mouth wide, but Kim Cheonsu, seemingly unaware, was approaching with a dazed face.
If left alone, Kim Cheonsu’s face would end up shattered like a chewed lollipop.
I took off the clothes I was wearing, threw them aside, and ran towards Kim Cheonsu.
Having come this far, I didn’t have to worry about meeting other people, and now that a confrontation was certain, it wasn’t a situation to be picky.
…Although it felt strange, like transforming in a cartoon, I didn’t have time to indulge in such weird sentiments.
With *squish squish* sounds, I ran towards Kim Cheonsu while taking off my clothes, and whatever didn’t come off easily, I just absorbed into my body.
I felt a chill as if my jelly would freeze.
Somehow, I had a feeling I wouldn’t make it in time.
It seemed Kim Cheonsu would reach that monster faster than I could cover the remaining distance.
If only I could make a sound at a time like this… Even just yelling…
Cheonsu! Come to your senses! You'll die like that!
Did my wish reach him?
From the device around my neck, Han Seori’s loud voice rang out.
Her clear, high-pitched voice spread haphazardly in the cave as if shouting in a public bath.
My jelly trembled from the reverberating voice, so you could imagine how loud it must have been.
And did it have an effect?
Kim Cheonsu’s dazed steps faltered.
Then, as if responding to that, from the monster’s throat…
“That voice is fake. Come this way.”
A voice like Han Seori’s flowed out.
It may be a bit rude to say this to Han Seori, but… it really sounded the same.
Soon after, Kim Cheonsu’s halted steps moved again.
No matter how much Han Seori shouted, Kim Cheonsu’s steps would no longer stop.
Just when I thought his head would surely snap off…
I noticed a cube floating around in my body.
A toy presumed to have been dropped by Kim Cheonsu.
With my gaze on it, I took the cube out of my body.
Feeling like I’d become the blue robot from a cartoon, I vigorously threw the cube I took out.
The target was Kim Cheonsu’s head.
The distance was closer than I thought, so it didn’t seem like it would be hard to hit.
…I wondered how effective it would be even if I threw it with my strength, but it wasn’t a time to be picky.
I put all my power into the jelly and threw the cube!
The cube that left my hand like that…
The cube…
…flew towards Kim Cheonsu’s face with a thrust different from what I expected, making a strange sound.
The quickly flying cube hit Kim Cheonsu’s head with a *thud!*
It shattered into pieces and scattered in all directions.
At the sight that could be called gruesome, even I, the one who threw the cube, flinched with my jelly and stopped.
And Kim Cheonsu also stopped.
…Although it flew more strongly than I thought, what matters is that I achieved my goal, right?
However, Kim Cheonsu didn’t just stop moving…
“Ugh…!”
As if he’d fainted, he collapsed backward.
I ran to him in a fluster and sat on the ground, catching his body.
His head landed safely near my lower abdomen.
Feeling the chill and hardness coming from my bottom area, I broke out in a cold sweat behind the jelly.
If… the usual man had fallen straight down…
I thought his head might have shattered, making the cube’s sacrifice meaningless.
…The back of his head touching my body seems a bit protruding, but since his life was saved, isn’t that what matters?
As I wobbled my jelly in relief, I finally noticed the monster’s presence and focused my gaze.
I thought it would come rushing in a rage… but strangely, the unidentified monster just stopped and opened its mouth wide.
As if it couldn’t come any closer from there.
…Or maybe it was so focused on what would enter its mouth soon that it didn’t notice it couldn’t approach.
Seeing that, the former possibility seemed more likely, so I tapped Kim Cheonsu’s shoulders and face with *squish squish* sounds as he collapsed on my body.
But I had to exert delicate force control.
Thinking of how the cube flew… I couldn’t help it.
This force control seemed to happen automatically before I threw the cube without me knowing, but now that I was aware of it… it didn’t go as I wanted.
So I was a bit scared that his head might suddenly twist off while I was hitting his body.
Meanwhile, the monster kept its mouth open, letting out Han Seori’s voice.
“Come here… come here… hurry…”
He doesn't seem able to approach... I wonder if there's a reason...
Since it was the same on our side with Han Seori, the two voices mixed chaotically.
Eventually…
“Heuk!?”
Kim Cheonsu, who was being hit by my soft jelly punches, exhaled roughly and opened his eyes.
*Squish, squish.*
My hand stopped a bit more slowly, so Kim Cheonsu took my jelly punches with open eyes.
Having been hit, he… made a somewhat dazed face and then grabbed his head.
“Another dream… This is driving me crazy….”
…Huh?
Did he dream of me appearing or something?
…How creepy!
To wake him up to reality, I grabbed his wrist that was holding his head and pushed it away.
“Huh, whoa!?”
Kim Cheonsu’s wrist comes down easily, like snapping a child’s wrist.
Easily pushing away the hand of a guy bigger than me… it felt good somehow.
Should I say it feels like I’ve gained tremendous strength in my hands?
Anyway…
After pushing his hand away, I moved his head to make him face the monster.
“Heuk!?”
As if finally coming to his senses, Kim Cheonsu jolted and abruptly sat up.
He moved in a fluster like lightning…
…and timidly hid his body behind me.
He seemed to have fallen into a slight state of panic, so I let it slide.
Honestly, if I were human right now, not slime, I would have fainted, too, seeing that hideous sight.
In the meantime…
Cheonsu, you're awake.
“…Oh, Dr. Han?”
Upon hearing Han Seori’s voice, he coughed, *ahem, ahem*, and stood up from his spot.
…It felt a bit too late, but that’s a man’s pride for you.
Smiling inwardly, I pretended not to know.
Han Seori probably saw everything anyway.
That’s not something I can do anything about.
Should I have covered the camera…?
Were you drawn here by my voice, Cheonsu? You looked sort of entranced... What was your state of mind like?
Hmm.
…Perhaps to Han Seori, the anomaly that appeared before her eyes now might be more important than that.
In response to that voice, Kim Cheonsu answered with a somewhat bitter yet relieved expression.
“That’s right. At first, I thought you had come to rescue me, so I went outside… But when I came to my senses, I was on a snowy field. And when I lost consciousness again at the voice… I was in this state.”
Is it putting him in some kind of trance?
That aside, it seems to be able to lure from quite a distance.
Although it’s currently clinging to Kim Cheonsu… if it gives up and targets other prey…
It doesn’t seem like it would lead to good results.
...We'll have to deal with it right away, or there will be an accident.
Han Seori also quickly noticed that and spoke in a regretful voice.
Somehow, that voice seemed to pity me…
And I had a feeling it wasn’t a misunderstanding.
After all, how could Kim Cheonsu, who is practically bare-handed right now, deal with that hideous monster?
Honestly, looking at those jagged teeth filling that monster makes me shrink back a bit, but thanks to the bizarre strength I experienced a moment ago, I feel like I can handle it.
…Ahh.
I didn’t want to show off my skills here.
They’ll probably tell me to handle everything.
Come to think of it, it seems to have been like that for a while now.
What the…
*Sigh*
In the end, it’s going to turn out like that.
As I was accepting my fate, Han Seori’s questions continued.
How is it now? Is your mind clear?
“Yes, yes. I think I’m okay.”
That's a relief.
This is all possible because that monster is just opening its mouth wide.
Oh.
Come to think of it, I only hear one of Han Seori’s voices?
Feeling strange, I focused my gaze and saw the monster with its mouth closed, staring at me and Kim Cheonsu.
Vertically split, pitch-black pupils.
It gave off a strong monster vibe.
It was as if wanting to show that it appeared in a pure white space, like outside. Its body was covered in white fur.
I was relieved… that the fur wasn’t dyed red.
Anyway…
Since it showed signs of taking other actions, I slowly stepped forward and shielded Kim Cheonsu’s body.
…With my gaze that could see the back as well, the mass was woefully insufficient, but the meaning seemed to be conveyed as Kim Cheonsu made a face that seemed somewhat moved to tears.
It felt a bit… excessive, but it didn’t feel too bad.
And so…
A contest with the unidentified furry monster began.
Not with snowballs to throw, but with eyes to stare.
In the first place, there was no snow piled up in here, so it was only natural.
As it stared at me…
I also stared at it.
Its body seemed to extend deep into the cave, forming a shape that continued into the darkness.
Perhaps there was no barrier, but that place was its limit.
Now, what should I do?
Should I charge at it and coolly subdue it… to get rid of it?
While I was running simulations in my head about how to cook it after rushing at it, since Han Seori had yet to give further instructions…
*Rumble rumble!*
Suddenly, the cave began to shake.
