The humans, who had been watching Jelly skipping around joyfully for some unknown reason, abruptly snapped out of it upon hearing a deafening roar and eerie screams coming from outside.
It was only then that they realized the situation they were in.
“…What’s happening?”
Until just moments ago, they lacked the courage to check what was happening outside. However, with Jelly having entered through the door, they found renewed courage and decided to investigate.
Even so, they doubted anything would change by merely checking, but they desperately wanted to cling to something.
This was something far beyond the capabilities of any individual human to resolve.
A situation beyond human comprehension—naturally, it was reasonable to seek help from something greater, much like seeking aid from a deity.
And just as they mustered the courage to look outside:
“…What is this?”
“…”
Sure enough, a sight beyond human comprehension awaited them.
They dumbly watched as the monsters that had been devouring humans moments ago now fought with the Jellies.
The monsters, with wings as red and thin as blood, fluttered about, but as the Jellies clung to them, they seemed unable to bear the weight and crashed to the ground.
The fallen monsters were unable to rise again; instead, they became prey for the Jellies.
Unlike with humans, the monsters apparently suited the Jellies’ palate. Each Jelly carried a red lump in its belly as it eagerly charged toward the remaining monsters.
Of course, it wasn’t a one-sided battle. A few Jellies were clearly falling victim to the monsters as well.
But with the Jellies blocking the monsters from taking the humans to the mango trees, the number of monsters steadily decreased. Moreover, the Jellies, having transformed into a vast pool, made it inconvenient for the monsters to take the Jellies to the mango tree instead of the humans.
A situation of forced, one-sided attrition.
Even this made it difficult to predict a victory for the monsters. But then the ground began to rumble, and something massive emerged from beneath it.
The humans, who had assumed another mango tree was growing and had turned pale, were left with their mouths agape when they saw the form that rose from the ground.
This was only natural.
“…What is that?”
“Is… is that a doll?”
What emerged slowly from the ground was a giant doll.
A blonde-haired giant doll resembling a human slowly rose and began attacking the monsters floating out of the Jellies’ reach.
Any thought that the monsters wouldn’t stand a chance once caught by the giant doll quickly dissipated.
The monster snatched by the giant doll transformed as if it were a persimmon dropped to the ground, shrinking into a lump of flesh.
When the doll casually tossed the monster aside, the nearby Jellies pounced on it like it was a snack.
Though it should have been a horrifying scene, something strange happened.
Perhaps it was because the monsters attacking humans invoked a certain sentiment, or maybe it was due to the image that Jelly, or more specifically Lime, had built up over time.
The humans watching this began cheering the Jellies on as they devoured the monsters.
At the very least, the Jellies were friendly to humans, so it wasn’t all that strange.
“Damn it! There was something after all!”
“It’s scary, but it’s cute!”
“Hee, keep it up!”
“Hey, don’t eat me!”
“The doll’s amazing…”
Whether the Jellies could hear this cheering or not, it seemed as if the doll’s movements attacking the monsters became even more aggressive.
“Thud, crunch. Thud, crunch.”
The doll moved forward toward the giant mango tree with heavy yet oddly light steps.
On its shoulder, a cute Jelly wearing a silver helmet kept watch.
Needless to say, the giant doll was Daesik, and the Jelly on its shoulder was Lime.
Initially, I had confidence.
I watched Kim Cheon-soo make pudding, and from my perspective, there didn’t seem to be any magical secrets to it.
He wasn’t using any special ingredients, nor did it require any particular finesse.
Had we been outside, it would have been so easy to say, “Mr. Kim Cheon-soo, we know of all your contributions, but now Chun-sik will be replacing you,” and dismiss him without any hesitation.
Given that the boy had even asked for my help, I joined in pudding-making without a second thought, imagining what it might feel like to replace Kim Cheon-soo as pudding supervisor.
However…
Cutting someone while maintaining everything seems to come with a price, and my overconfidence didn’t last long.
Even though I followed Kim Cheon-soo’s method perfectly, the Jellies ate his puddings but ignored mine.
To be precise, they did eat some, but… with obvious hesitation. Whenever I placed mine and his puddings next to each other, my portion remained untouched in a mountainous pile while his seemed to get devoured only after all his puddings were gone.
It was deeply shocking.
Although it might be my paranoia, that’s how it seemed to me.
Me, you little bastards.
I tested the pudding to check if my version was bad, but to be honest, it wasn’t bad at all.
That only made it harder to understand.
What’s the difference between what I made and what he made?
My frustration only ceased when I noticed Kim Cheon-soo’s sympathetic and awkward gaze.
I was filled with regret. It was the strongest emotion I had felt since becoming this body.
I was worried about what I might have done to Kim Cheon-soo if I hadn’t been wearing the helmet.
…Is this bastard withholding some secret technique from me?
Wouldn’t it be more humane to learn it instead of torturing him with electric shocks?
Today, no matter what, I will uncover the proper recipe for making crab meat… er, pudding!
As rational as my justification seemed—having perfectly mimicked his movements—I knew deep down there was no hidden technique.
What’s different here?
I don’t know. Since I’ve already tried and no one’s eating my pudding, let’s just leave this to our Mr. Kim Cheon-soo.
Once I lost all motivation, my energy drained from the Jellies too.
I was definitely in a good mood before I started making pudding.
This must be Kim Cheon-soo’s fault for asking me to make pudding in the first place.
While I was musing about removing my helmet and punishing Kim Cheon-soo in my mind, strange fantasies filling my thoughts, I suddenly sensed the surroundings becoming unusually chaotic.
I regained my presence of mind upon realizing Han Seori was in a flurry about something, and a peculiar sight appeared on the screens.
It was of the… tree producing fruit, which then turned into monsters and began attacking people.
This brought me back to my senses.
Han Seori seemed to be trying her best to handle the situation, though her expression was far from reassuring.
At that moment, I realized that this was my time to step forward.
Pudding-making was never meant for me from the start.
Awakening the Jelly, I escaped Han Seori’s arms and pounded my chest with my fists as a sign to her.
“Eh, L-Lime?”
Thus, conveying my resolve to her, I immediately left the control room and ran to where Electricity Scent (Gihyang) was.
I spoke with Gihyang, who was still busy creating more Jelly bodies, asking her to send the Jelly army and Daesik outside.
Once she promised to signal me when they were ready, I promptly headed to the Jelly isolation rooms.
As much as I was still irritated that they didn’t eat my pudding earlier, now was not the time for such trivial emotions.
Gathering as many available Jellies as possible from the isolation rooms, including those forming a new group, I sent them out as the vanguard.
This was the right thing for me to do.
Just like yesterday when I stopped those villains.
Giving orders to the Jellies, I instructed them to protect the humans and eliminate the unknown monsters outside.
I trust that they’ll do well today as they did yesterday, leaving my personal regrets aside.
After signaling the camera, I watched as the portals opened and swallowed the Jellies with great efficiency before vanishing.
Having sent the Jelly army off, I rushed to the hangar.
There, I placed Daesik into the Super Alice form, and I, too, took my position atop Alice’s shoulder. Electricity Scent (Gihyang) immediately understood, opening the roof of the hangar.
It wasn’t for nothing that the place was called a hangar.
I issued orders to Little and Jung-sik to protect the people here. (Though Little might be reliable, I was slightly worried about Jung-sik.)
As Daesik (Super Alice) and I exited the bay with a thundering sound, the reality outside was far worse than what the screens had shown.
Seeing people die right in front of my eyes was quite a distressing experience.
Perhaps it was because I used to be human myself.
Or maybe it was because they had come to see me.
Whichever reason, I immediately ordered Daesik to move toward the tree.
The tree’s enormity was no laughing matter. Even though Daesik was of considerable size, the tree appeared much larger.
Even though I came out here in anger, I was now unsure of how to deal with it.
Would exterminating all the monsters that have sprouted as fruit make it quiet?
Judging from the lack of new fruit sprouting, it seemed the tree needed some sort of nourishment to produce them.
…Ah.
As I mused over that, it seemed I had an idea of how to handle it.
After disembarking from the Super Alice, I ran toward the tree.
Just wait here.
I’ll turn you back into an ordinary tree.
