Uh, uh… Ah, no!
Creak!
With a cracking sound, my body collided with what I assumed to be the ceiling.
…So, in the end, I couldn’t jump off the rising chunk of meat. As a result, I ended up colliding with something, together with the remaining chunk of meat.
The chunk of meat that hit the wall split apart like a fountain, being sucked into a hole.
And my jelly seemed to be stuck all over it.
The splitting chunks of meat were tearing away pieces of my flesh.
A wave of regret hit me like a tidal wave. Even though my eyes didn’t water, my jelly, trembling softly, seemed to sag as if sensing its final moments.
No matter how much I regretted not climbing step by step, it was already too late.
Now I was stuck to the ceiling like chewing gum and was only waiting to be sliced into pieces by what was essentially a meat cleaver.
I would be torn apart and scattered everywhere.
At the thought, I felt a strange sensation, as if my stomach was bubbling.
Instead of my usual stream of thoughts, a strange sensation came over me. I glanced at my jelly.
Focus on the present.
I could strongly sense the taste of meat I had experienced before in retort. However, though the texture was the same, it was raw.
That could only mean one thing.
Even as my body was being crushed by the chunk of meat, it was digesting it and steadily converting it into my flesh.
It was as if I had forcibly stuffed chunks of meat down my throat and, against all odds, was now swallowing them bit by bit.
Though the taste was unpleasant and my stomach wasn’t doing well, the high nutritional value seemed to help. Despite being shredded by the meat cleaver (the chunk of meat), I managed to maintain my form, fortunately.
…An ordinary human being would’ve probably already mixed into that chunk of meat and gone by now, but I survived because my body was a bit special.
Still, it wasn’t as if I was particularly grateful to this body. If I hadn’t ended up like this, these kinds of situations wouldn’t have happened in the first place.
Anyway.
In game terms, it was like getting an extra coin.
I didn’t realize my body could exhibit such vigorous digestion, but at the same time, it was too optimistic to think this could go on forever.
[@$5싶$]
While that voice kept ringing, it suddenly seemed as if there were audible words mixed in.
Thinking it might be a hallucination, I focused more carefully, but the unpleasant taste of the meat was overpowering, so I gave up.
Yeah, it’s not like something unheard suddenly becomes audible.
But since I didn’t know how much time I had left, it would be better to think about escaping first.
Even as I was lost in thought, chunks of meat continued to pile onto my body, and the parts I hadn’t digested were being expelled along with my jelly.
It was like trying to fill a leaking pot with water.
Even though it felt a little different, that’s how it was.
The reason I could remain calm in such a situation was probably because I didn’t feel any significant pain.
…Not because I’m no longer human, but because the pain a human would feel was absent, making the whole thing seem rather tasteless.
Even as I was grateful for my calmness, I felt a vague discomfort when my stomach started churning.
Apparently, there are limits after all. My stomach wasn’t a fourth-dimensional pocket like the one the blue cat carried.
Since there was no numerical gauge, I didn’t know exactly how much longer I could keep this up.
Kwa-gwa-gwa!
I looked once more at the chunks of meat intertwined with my body.
They were slipping into the hole, coated with my jelly.
I tried to move, but it was futile. The force pinning me to what I presumed was the ceiling was too strong.
With the meat chunks tangled around me, there wasn’t much I could do.
One option was to detach something that formed the basis of this body, but I had no idea how to even begin doing that, so I ruled it out.
What was left was to cling to one of the splitting chunks of meat.
…Ultimately, both were equally dependent on luck, but the latter was something I could attempt right now.
[귀@@다@)]
Meanwhile.
The voice came again, clearly this time.
The sounds I couldn’t comprehend were slowly transforming into a language I understood.
Although I didn’t know what it meant, the jelly gave me chills for reasons I couldn’t explain.
Whatever it was, it felt ominous, which made me decide to carry out my plan immediately.
I gathered my limbs, which were being crushed by the meat.
After silently counting one, two, three…
I clung with all my might to one of the chunks of meat as it split apart, gripping it tightly. Whether it would become a rotten rope or a lifeline remained to be seen.
It would soon become clear.
The moment I entrusted my body, my vision swayed violently. The meat chunk shot into a hole, much like being sucked into a vacuum cleaner.
My quivering body followed suit.
I feel like I’ve been experiencing too many rare moments lately.
…As I sensed that this might just be the beginning, I pushed the thought aside because I didn’t want to think about it any more.
Thinking about the future was exhausting in the moment.
While I was stuck there sliding through the hole,
Chomp!
I recognized the sound.
…And I saw the blade that had previously cut off my leg. Chunks of meat were being sliced off in chunks ahead of me.
Chomp!
Watching the chunks of meat being ruthlessly sliced filled me with fear, a fear of knowing what it feels like.
Then.
I realized I could let go of the meat now that I’d come this far, so I pushed away the chunk of meat that had been carrying me.
It wasn’t betrayal of a comrade but momentarily allying with an enemy I met on a tightrope.
…Now that we’ve both reached our destinations, it’s time to go our separate ways.
As for how the chunk of meat, covered in my jelly, would be dealt with, I had no idea.
Anyway,
While hearing the mechanical sounds from outside, I timed the blade’s next rise.
It felt like I had entered some kind of game.
