The humans who spotted the Jellies emerging from the bushes initially brightened up.
“Could it be that some wild animal finally came down?”
At first, they thought they might’ve caught sight of a legendary derivative entity that they had only heard tales about. Though it appeared somewhat faint compared to the descriptions they’d heard, there couldn’t be another creature resembling this, so it was most likely correct.
The daytime sightings had already seemed a bit unusual anyway.
The soft feel of the Jellies made their blurry appearance feel even more natural.
…Or maybe they just wanted to believe that.
It was already difficult enough having to dig the soil with crude tools like spades. Their spirits, already frayed by neglect and frustration, were quite fragile.
Hadn’t they said these things were safe?
But why were they here?
Did they really come to see us?
The humans never suspected that the Jellies were surveilling them.
Because of that, one human who had been closest to the Jellies smiled inwardly and reached out toward them.
Though he didn’t know why they had come, their presence felt like a sign of goodwill.
Thinking this, he unknowingly touched the Jelly.
“Mal-kang.”
Instead of feeling the Jelly’s supposed squishiness, there was a squelching sound, and his hand sank into the Jelly’s body.
“Eh, what?”
“Hmm…?”
“Ouch, didn’t you press too hard?”
The one who touched it was flustered, but the onlookers joked about it, their worn-out spirits feeling somewhat reinvigorated.
But that impression didn’t last long.
Because the hand of the man that had sunk into the Jelly began to slowly dissolve.
“Ah, what the hell?!”
In a panic, the man quickly withdrew his hand. When he observed it, it was covered in a sticky substance; his skin had peeled, and his nails were shorter.
If he had delayed pulling his hand out even just a little longer, it might have reached the point where only the bones would remain.
Realizing this, his legs began to tremble.
The previously fuzzy, gentle face of the Jelly now seemed stiff and menacing.
Without realizing that his clothes were also dissolving from the liquid splashed off the Jelly, the man quickly stumbled backward and fell flat on his back.
“Ho ho, how are you a researcher of the Singularity if you’re like this?”
“You seem more frightened than expected.”
“A, ah, no, it’s not that…”
Seeing the startled man fall, those observing burst into laughter.
Though each had different thoughts in mind, they were reminded of their own first encounters with the Singularity.
So, they thought he was overreacting to something trivial.
Even the man who had fallen began to wonder if he had overreacted.
But…
The Jelly that had engulfed his hand now spat it out, accompanied by some of the man’s own dissolved materials.
As the reddish Jelly seeped into the ground, it emitted a smell like burning protein and stained the earth black.
“Um…?”
“Didn’t you hear that Jellies don’t attack humans?”
“B-but! It melted my hand!”
“And by the way, your clothes are melting too. Goodness!”
While they were floundering, the Jellies tightened their encirclement. Their movements were coordinated, and among them were the Jellies from the quarantine room, whose clothes had been snatched by Lime.
All the Jellies in the quarantine room seemed to only be thinking of quickly ‘disposing’ of these tasteless humans and returning to their cells.
After all, only when they returned would Lime feel sorry and give them pudding.
Of course, Lime hadn’t promised any pudding, but the Jellies believed she would.
Let’s go take care of these tasteless things and get the pudding.
But how, exactly?
What do you mean, do you know?
I don’t know.
Me neither.
I want pudding so bad…
Sweet pudding…
Focus, softies! If the tasteless ones escape, there’ll be no pudding.
What?!
No way!
Tell us quickly, leader!
Right! Right!
L-leader? Hmm… hmm. Are we similar, do you think?
Why are you the leader? I’ve been managing them longer.
What?
Isn’t it true?
Um, leader, what do you do?
If we keep this up, we won’t get pudding!
Eeek.
“Is the purpose of this to terrify us?”
“I don’t know.”
As the Jellies murmured, someone saw an opening and tried to leap over them to escape, but their body dissolved upon touching the Jellies.
He failed to flee, now standing barefoot on the ground. If he had delayed just a bit, he wouldn’t be able to walk on two feet again.
At that point, those surrounded by the Jellies abandoned the thought of breaking through.
If these terrifying entities wanted to dissolve them, they would have done so already.
Thus, they found it even scarier.
They had no idea what the Jellies wanted.
And these Jellies weren’t even speaking, why?
The only option left to them was to initiate the development of the Singularity they had prepared for their tormentors.
They started whispering conspiratorially while the Jellies briefly hesitated.
“Is anyone really carrying water?”
“…”
“Come on, this is maddening.”
But electricity, let alone candles, were all they had been provided with, so there was no way water existed. The mere fact that they had brought a spade to plant the Singularity showed the futility of their plan. Had they been more pragmatic, they wouldn’t have ended up in this predicament in the first place.
Thus, they were unable to achieve their objective.
And in the meantime, the murmuring Jellies resumed their approach.
“Don’t, don’t come closer!”
“If you scream like that, you’ll be discovered!”
“Rather, isn’t it better?! Maybe they’ll stop if they come closer. They’re acting this way because we’re unfamiliar to them!”
As someone yelled out of frustration, the one standing beside them finally understood.
“Shit! This was a trap! A trap! How could you not know!?!”
“Damn.”
It wasn’t exactly the truth, but if no one could correct it, it might as well have been.
Unbetrayed but filled with the emotion of betrayal, they now sought not water but an alternative—harming themselves with the spades to produce blood instead.
But…
It was already far too late.
“Please, please… let me live!”
“Sorry, I made a mistake. Please, please don’t kill me…”
“Mommy…”
The Jellies that soon swarmed them pressed their bodies harder, further digging into the ground that the humans had previously excavated. The holes they had only managed to dig wrist-deep were now deep enough for a human to fit inside.
And so, they were buried alive, their necks exposed above the ground.
It really raised the question of why only their necks remained.
Even though only their heads were above the soil, they were still very much alive and were making quite a racket.
“Breathing… it… it’s getting harder…”
“My body… feels numb…”
“Help us! There are people here!”
“The Singularity… is harming people!!!”
The sight of heads sticking out of the ground chattering away was grotesque.
But according to human standards, the Jellies watching them were strangely satisfied.
It must’ve been done well, right?
Thinking happily about the pudding they would soon receive and getting their clothes back, they smiled faintly under the moonlight.
The humans who witnessed the Jellies smiling under the moonlight were overwhelmed by fear.
For they had never seen a Singularity bury people and then smile afterward.
Especially their cute yet eerie faces made it even more terrifying.
It was as shocking as a sudden scene in a children’s magical girl anime where someone’s head gets chopped off.
Ultimately, one by one, those buried became unconscious.
Apparently, in an already desperate situation, this was likely an act of protecting their minds from the unbearable terror.
Perhaps.
Meanwhile, the Jellies wiggled happily under the moonlight.
“…What in the world is this?”
Eventually, Kim Cheon-soo followed the Jellies at sunrise and found the scene. It felt like his senses were being scrambled.
White-faced necks of people were exposed like fruits awaiting harvest, while the Jellies were wiggling around like farmers waiting for them to be plucked.
Even with his extensive experience, Kim Cheon-soo couldn’t help but feel utterly shocked. Huang Bo-yul, who arrived shortly after, felt the same.
While they were both struck by a strange feeling.
Upon spotting Kim Cheon-soo, the Jellies eagerly swarmed toward him, their eyes gleaming like stars.
Kim Cheon-soo instinctively stepped back, startled, and Huang Bo-yul, sensing a strange omen, inquired quietly,
“Eh?”
“Did you do something?”
“No, I didn’t do anything.”
Why are they suddenly coming toward us?
As Huang Bo-yul gave Kim Cheon-soo such a look, Kim Cheon-soo, who had simply stepped out for a bit during his pudding-making process, felt quite wronged.
I just wanted to get some fresh air and relax.
What the…
What’s going on?
‘Having these trash buried here is quite satisfying, isn’t it?’
Seeing the Jellies gathering toward him, Kim Cheon-soo let out a hollow laugh when they started grabbing his pants rather than burying him.
How… familiar…
These guys probably don’t have a clue.
Right now, that guy is probably sleeping peacefully while dribbling Jelly.
…It’s annoying though─
No, kids, stop pulling my pants!
It was then that Kim Cheon-soo realized what the Jellies wanted.
Uncontrollable tears streamed down his face.
