Chapter 97: Can you eat it? |
Kim Cheonsu stood at the cave entrance, his body hidden, blankly watching the fight of anomalies.
Part of his dazed state was due to his worries about 7496-KR until a moment ago.
…But the bigger part seemed to be the fact that the anomalies were fighting each other.
It was bound to be so.
While working where he worked… it was a scene he could rarely see.
If he was lucky, he would observe the ‘risk test,’ but it was a bit bland, one could say.
They did not conduct separate tests for anomalies likely to cause problems or become uncontrollable like the one currently facing off against the slime girl.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that this was the first time he had seen a proper fight between anomalies.
*Boom! Rumble!*
Every time the unidentified anomaly moved its massive body, the cave shook, and the ground caved in.
Kim Cheonsu felt his heart pounding at the intensity, but.
On the other hand, he felt a sense of relief.
At first, he, too, was trembling with anxiety.
He was worried that the slime girl who had returned would be hurt again.
…Of course, there was also the fact that if that happened, he would be in a situation where he could not move properly due to his injuries and would die.
Anyway.
Whenever the unidentified anomaly swung its body, the image of only the slime girl’s lower body remaining came to mind.
So Kim Cheonsu watched the fight with worried eyes.
However.
How's your body doing? Do you think you can walk?
“Yeah… Resting like this makes it a bit better.”
That's a relief.
The two people talked as if he could definitely return.
Collisions between anomalies, being a rare sight, made it very difficult to judge the outcome.
But to them… The fight between the slime girl and the unidentified anomaly already seemed to have a decided victor.
The anomaly with mucus on its mouth had its most powerful weapon, its teeth, sealed, and it seemed to have lost one eye, limiting its vision.
No matter how incomprehensible the power wielded by an anomaly may be.
If it had a physical form, it would inevitably struggle in such a situation.
Rather than fighting, the teeth-sealed anomaly seemed to be flailing in an attempt to drive out the slime girl prancing around the arena.
Through the tiny gap between its teeth, it let out an unintelligible roar and recklessly slammed its body against the cave floor and walls to shake off the slime girl.
Each time, the slime girl would hide in the hole she had made as if saying, “No way.”
She would then peek her body out again as if assessing the situation, and when the unidentified anomaly, the monster, turned its body forcefully to shake her off, she’d hide in the hole and prance out again.
She would hide in the hole when the monster took a breath and pop out again, prancing around.
…The reason she kept popping out was unclear.
Whenever the slime girl emerged from the hole, the monster’s body became drenched with wounds and blood oozing from them.
Watching that, Kim Cheonsu suddenly felt something strange.
‘What on earth is she doing inside?’
To endure the pain to that extent… and struggle like that.
Come to think of it, it was too much to say. It was just trying to drive her out.
*Gulp.*
Thinking about it, Kim Cheonsu recalled 7496-KR, whom he had always seen.
Seemingly harmless… a somewhat cute but annoying brat who likes to play.
But now, she felt like the dangerous anomaly he had heard rumors about.
While thinking that anomalies are anomalies after all.
Recalling how she did not hold back for his sake, he felt a stinging sensation in the corner of his heart.
He recalled the training he received at his workplace.
Don’t try to know too much about anomalies, and never give them affection.
Those incomprehensible beings may be useful, but… they are too dangerous to coexist with.
…Is that really so?
If it were the him of the past, he wouldn’t have even thought this way.
Even if he had helped Han Seori out of personal feelings, he wouldn’t have tried to learn more about anomaly-related matters.
But now, his mind was very complicated.
The image of the doll that had helped him also floated around in his mind.
The main body would be a blue slime girl, but… The appearance of the first derived entity was somewhat cute.
*Sigh.*
…It might have been a momentary sentiment due to his poor physical condition.
Then he let out a deep sigh.
‘I don’t know.’
Even if he, being close to a low-level employee, thought about it, nothing would really change.
If it were Doctor Han, it might be different.
…If she had the same thoughts as him.
What should I do?
While he was pondering.
*Boom!*
...It seems to be over.
“…Yes.”
The anomaly that had been desperately struggling to escape from the slime girl now lay its huge white body on the cave floor.
It never moved again.
Kim Cheonsu, who was holding his nose at the smell of blood wafting over, suddenly.
“Oh.”
...What is it? You're not trying to say it suddenly came back to life, are you?
“Ah, no. That’s not it….”
He looked out of the cave and muttered blankly.
“The snowstorm has stopped.”
...You're right?
The snow clouds that had darkened the surroundings receded, revealing a dark but blue sky.
“It seems… that anomaly was the cause of the snowstorm.”
It certainly seems so. It's too perfect to be a coincidence.
Kim Cheonsu, who was talking with Han Seori, spotted his miserably rolling bag and hurriedly reached out his hand.
Fortunately, the items inside were all safe, except for the toy he had thrown away.
…Except that the bag was soaked with snow.
The remaining items were frozen solid, but it wasn’t bad if he thought of it as being refrigerated.
With a sigh of relief, Kim Cheonsu picked up his bag and dragged it back to the cave entrance.
Then.
An ominous voice reached his ears.
So, Cheonsu.
“…Yes?”
Hearing Han Seori’s voice, Kim Cheonsu hastily mulled it over.
…When Doctor Han calls me by my name.
One is when the doctor is in a very good mood.
Recently, we had gotten closer, so she would call me by my name from time to time… But it was rare.
Originally.
Do you perhaps... have a little bit of energy left?
…When she had a difficult or troublesome favor to ask.
Kim Cheonsu, who inwardly sighed, replied with a cough.
“…Why do you ask?”
He wanted to say that he felt like it would be difficult because his body ached.
But thinking it was a chance to score points, Kim Cheonsu felt as if the pain that had come was fading away.
Rather, it was Han Seori’s voice that became reluctant at his answer.
Uh... You don't look like you're in a very good condition... Are you sure you're okay?
“Of course. Thanks to 7496-KR, I got a good rest.”
You don't have to push yourself.
“Ah, it’s fine.”
...Hmm.
It didn’t take long for Kim Cheonsu, who was twitching the corners of his mouth, to regret it.
Is this what it would feel like to ride a raging horse?
I’ve never actually ridden a horse, but somehow, it seemed like it would feel this way.
That’s how fierce and powerful the unidentified creature’s struggle was.
Well.
Even so, it couldn’t reach me.
…Honestly, when I pushed Kim Cheonsu, I felt the sensation of my slime shrinking.
Those jagged protruding teeth took a big bite out of my slime.
Its mouth was so big that not only my face but my entire upper body was bitten off.
I quickly moved my important parts downward and made my severed body sticky.
It was easy after I sealed its mouth.
While it was distracted by Kim Cheonsu again, I suppressed the regeneration of my severed lower body as it was.
The feeling of my body being cut off wasn’t very pleasant, so I didn’t really want to do it if I could avoid it… But anyway.
Like that, my shrunken self infiltrated the creature’s holes.
And gnawed at it from the inside.
The overly excited creature didn’t even realize I had entered its body and just kept puffing out air.
As a result.
It paid the price for devouring my upper body.
I had no choice but to savor its flesh, but it was tasteless.
Come to think of it.
In the middle, whenever the creature made a sound, I could faintly hear a strange noise… I was too focused on attacking it to listen well.
…Well, maybe it was begging for mercy while imitating Han Seori’s voice again?
If I had heard that voice, I might have flinched for a moment.
Thinking about it, it might have been fortunate that I was too busy to hear it.
While savoring that victory, I saw Kim Cheonsu, who had gone outside the cave, staggering back in.
I went through all that trouble to save that guy, so I was glad he was alive.
With this, maybe the debt of giving him a lump on the back of his head can be considered settled?
As I watched the guy while boiling my slime, he weakly smiled at me and waved his hand.
I also waved my hand, feeling a bit awkward.
I thought we would be going back now.
It's definitely dead, right?
“Yes. It appears so.”
Good. I don't know if it will be meaningful, but... Let's gather some data for now.
“…Yes.”
…It seemed like we’d have to wait a bit longer to go back.
Since my work seemed to be done for now.
The pupils are very unusual.
“Ugh… You can say that again.”
I watched Kim Cheonsu and Han Seori work, or more precisely, Kim Cheonsu trying to escape, and stuffed the snacks from the bag into my stomach with a plop.
Mmm.
The sweet taste I hadn’t had in a while.
It was… fantastic.
Eating it secretly by myself while the guys at the facility waited made it taste even better.
As I was melting the chocolate in my slime.
Kim Cheonsu, who had been rummaging through the monster’s corpse for a while, approached me with his body soaked in blood and held out a mechanical device.
I tilted my head, wondering why he was doing that.
Then, Han Seori’s voice was heard.
I'm sorry, but... could you eat all of that? I don't think we'll be able to collect it.
Huh?
I blankly boiled my slime.
Somehow, it felt like Kim Cheonsu was smiling.
No, I think he’s definitely holding back laughter.
This ungrateful bastard.
…As I felt the taste of chocolate circulating inside my slime.
I had to devour the monster.
