“It seems more dangerous than expected.”
“Uhm, I’ve never seen her like this before.”
“Hmm.”
Kim Cheon-soo could feel cold sweat trickling down his spine for some unknown reason.
It was due to Hwang Bo-yul, who had until moments ago exuded an emotional aura while gazing at the screen, reverting to a cold stare reminiscent of the first time he had met her.
However, Kim Cheon-soo thought he couldn’t exactly blame her for the abrupt change in attitude.
The sight displayed on the noise-filled screen—something that even Kim Cheon-soo, who took pride in having observed the Jelly Girl for a considerable amount of time, had never seen before—made it somewhat understandable.
Initially, as the Jelly Girl dove into the mud, Kim Cheon-soo had wondered why she was acting this way.
That said… Considering her ability to move freely in water or the sewers, she likely wouldn’t die, but her sudden behavior puzzled him.
The screen continued to display pitch-black and dirty images.
Since the screen kept being covered in mud, both individuals remained calm, thinking there must be something they didn’t know about.
As the screen persisted for a while, Kim Cheon-soo glanced around with a faint sense of restlessness and boredom.
When Kim Cheon-soo noticed that Hwang Bo-yul, sitting beside him, hadn’t blinked once, he poked out his tongue and shifted his gaze elsewhere.
Eventually, he spotted a kettle amidst a stack of neatly organized luggage, and upon retrieving it, found coffee and other beverages underneath.
Kim Cheon-soo, feeling it was perfect as the weather was starting to get chilly, boiled water in the kettle and asked Hwang Bo-yul,
“Would you like some coffee?”
“…Yes, thank you.”
At her reply, Kim Cheon-soo felt the thought, “She’s human after all…” as he prepared the cups and poured coffee mix into them.
There was no great skill required to prepare the coffee mix, but regulating the water was important.
Kim Cheon-soo perfectly balanced the water to create a nice blend of instant coffee and handed it to Hwang Bo-yul.
“Thank you.”
Hwang Bo-yul didn’t add more words, but she appeared to be in a good mood as the coffee’s strength pleased her.
Sipping his coffee with the absent reply lingering in his mind, Kim Cheon-soo inadvertently felt a sense of peace while gazing at the screen.
…He felt apologetic toward the Jelly Girl who had gone to resolve the matter, but what could they do about the situation?
Watching the screen, which showed absolutely nothing, while sipping coffee, how could it not feel unavoidable?
Would it be that simple an end, with Jelly Girl just finding the cause of the Singularity and resolving it?
How much time had passed?
As if answering the wait, Jelly Girl arrived at an unfamiliar place.
Waiting for the Jelly Girl was a gigantic toad with a body resembling that of Jelly Girl.
Obscured by the thick mud, it wasn’t very visible, but it appeared massive compared to Jelly Girl’s small stature.
With a pale face, Kim Cheon-soo gulped, while Hwang Bo-yul fixed her gaze back onto the screen with grave severity.
“…Gulp.”
“Is that the cause…?”
Upon seeing the colossal amphibian, Kim Cheon-soo internally reproached himself for making light of the situation with his comments about peace.
…Not that it was likely his fault.
While gazing at the creature’s towering figure, Kim Cheon-soo mumbled instinctively,
“Ah, it’ll be fine.”
After all, hadn’t the Jelly Girl dealt with something even bigger, like a monstrous steel snake? Especially the bizarre Singularity, which wasn’t small either, that had haunted him.
If she managed to defeat those, surely she wouldn’t fall to something as soft-looking as this.
Confidently showing his assured expression, Kim Cheon-soo caught Hwang Bo-yul’s eyes, who blinked and spoke in a low voice.
“Is it?”
“…Probably.”
“…I hope so.”
Upon being questioned, Kim Cheon-soo shrank slightly, making Hwang Bo-yul let out a faint smile before redirecting her attention back to the screen.
…Seems like neither of them wanted anything to go wrong with the girl.
Without uttering those words aloud, they remained focused on watching.
Suddenly, a tongue darted out and scooped up the Jelly Girl, sending the device around her neck flying somewhere.
Thankfully, even though the screen was disrupted by noise, it seemed undamaged.
In contrast, it appeared as if the Jelly Girl had been swallowed by the toad.
Will everything still turn out fine this way?
Do we need to help? …No, we don’t even know where this place is, right?
While Hwang Bo-yul was filling her eyes with redness due to growing anxiety,
…the jelly girl who had been swallowed by the toad started tearing it apart from within.
Whether it was due to Jelly Girl’s strength or the toad’s weakness, it was hard to judge seeing the pieces being ripped off.
But because it didn’t feel entirely anticlimactic, Hwang Bo-yul felt a mix of relief and unease.
As she realized,
…there had been no change at all in that colossal swamp.
“Something more…”
As if responding to her call, a swarm of toads appeared on the screen.
…Of course, there’s more. This can’t end so easily.
While she was instead relieved, the battle between the Jelly Girl and the toad swarm commenced. The Jelly Girl, perhaps gaining confidence after defeating the large toad, confidently engaged in battle against them.
But her actions were…
…almost too destructive, leaving one to question her true safety. Bright blue tentacles rapidly extended from Jelly Girl, their sharp tips beginning to decimate the toads.
Toads touched by the whirling tentacles were shredded like autumn leaves blown by a storm.
Even if those toads were replaced by humans…
…the situation likely wouldn’t change much.
Kim Cheon-soo felt a headache coming on, imagining her as a potential enemy in the future.
Because of this, Hwang Bo-yul’s expression grew cold and rigid, sensing her tension, Kim Cheon-soo stiffened unconsciously.
In the subsequent scenario, Hwang Bo-yul felt a complicated emotion.
“Shouldn’t we do something?”
“…There’s nothing we can do immediately; we summoned 7496 – KR because we didn’t have a method.”
“That, that’s…”
It was obvious why Kim Cheon-soo’s voice sounded nervous.
Because the Jelly Girl, who had initially looked like an unstoppable powerhouse against the toads, was now on the defensive.
Especially if the toads driving her to this predicament had planned the current situation, it explained why those venturing into the swamp never returned.
Though it appeared that the toads were being trampled on by the Jelly Girl…
…they were actually luring her into the trap step by step.
“…”
If 7496 – KR succumbs here, how will we deal with the aftermath?
Given that only 7496 – KR and the Jelly Girl had successfully ventured into this place alive, the situation seemed bleak.
Moreover,
…watching even this last hope fading away made Huang Bo-yul uneasy.
She had secretly wished for either their mutual destruction or the disappearance of one side, but seeing it unfold this way didn’t feel good.
The reason was perhaps because:
The Jelly Girl had recovered the tags and collected the bodies of the operatives.
“Ah, ah…”
Feeling the anxiety in Kim Cheon-soo’s voice, Hwang Bo-yul wondered if she, too, was succumbing to some form of mental pollution.
But if it were to play out this way, it might not be a big issue.
Given it was Hwang Bo-yul who would have to consider the next course of action if 7496 – KR failed.
Nevertheless,
watching the Jelly Girl desperately struggling in that place stirred something in her chest.
At that moment,
“Huh?”
“…”
As the Jelly Girl stopped hacking away at the clear jelly wall, both Kim Cheon-soo and Hwang Bo-yul noticed her sudden halt.
While they puzzled over this, the Jelly Girl, buried in the toad jelly, crouched motionless.
Had something gone wrong?
Is this the limit of 7496 – KR?
Numerous thoughts crossed their minds without delivering a clear answer.
And then,
as they hesitated,
the screen began melting. No, it wasn’t the screen; the world beyond it seemed to be melting.
The tower-like walls of toads…
The scattered remnants of the massive toad carcass…
The area presumed to be a toad’s nest somewhere…
Everything shown on the screen began to dissolve into a squishy mess. And that wasn’t the end of it.
“Th, there!”
“What is it?”
As Huang Bo-yul looked towards the sudden shout of Kim Cheon-soo pointing,
“…”
“World?”
“What could suddenly happen like this? I have no idea.”
The world was melting. Not the world beyond the screen, but the swamp due to the Singularity’s actions. Everything there…
It was melting like metal touched by intense heat, dripping, dripping away.
The chaotic colors blended together to form a large, bizarre pool resembling the sea.
Inside the pool, things that had been there before it became a swamp reappeared in a sticky form.
Something… Something was happening.
It had been too enormous a change to be deemed resolved, leaving behind the giant, sticky pool. And it was an unprecedented change.
Dumbfounded as she watched, Hwang Bo-yul grasped her weapon upon seeing the pool ripple.
Though she wasn’t sure yet what had happened, she had the distinct feeling that someone—or something—was watching them.
“You too.”
“Yes, yes!”
Hwang Bo-yul handed over a weapon to Kim Cheon-soo and readied herself, taking in a deep breath to steady herself.
They didn’t know what was about to happen, but…
…her mission was to uncover and report it to her superiors.
…for the others who had vanished.
She couldn’t retreat.
Eventually,
the large pool began to bubble, and from various spots, small silhouettes emerged.
Bathed in moonlight,
Plop.
Plop.
They began to slowly advance toward Kim Cheon-soo and Hwang Bo-yul.
Just like the toads that surrounded Jelly Girl.
If that was the case,
it seemed the fate of both humans had already been sealed.
