Ugh.
Fighting against the dark red flesh that was pressing down on me with my tentacles… had its limits.
It wasn’t that there was any problem with my stamina. I could have swung my tentacles around all day if I had to, but the flesh was regenerating and multiplying faster and faster for some reason.
If this was all there was to it, I probably would have been able to tear my way out by now.
But… with the ground shaking as if there was an earthquake, it was difficult to maintain control.
In front of my eyes, a beam of light was shooting out of the uncle’s mouth, the flesh was wriggling toward me, and there was no sign of a clue as to how to solve the problem.
There should be some sort of center to this, but not being able to see it was driving me crazy.
Because of that, I momentarily lost control and, unfortunately, was buried under the dark red flesh. The wriggling flesh pressed down on me like it was going to crush my body, but luckily, I didn’t burst.
Instead, my body was trapped in the dark red flesh as if I were wearing a perfectly-fitting suit. It was so tight that I couldn’t even extend my tentacles.
If I were human (though I would have died before getting into this situation), I imagine I would be gasping for air by now, my voice choked in my throat, and losing strength, my world going dark, never to see light again.
But I’m not the same now.
Breathing was irrelevant, and while the sensation of the flesh pressing against my body wasn’t exactly pleasant, it also wasn’t particularly painful.
I acknowledged a long time ago that I’m no longer human, but it’s still not a great feeling. Still, I’m alive.
But then again, since I’ve ended up like this, is it not just like the age-old question of the chicken and the egg? There’s something round inside, so maybe the egg came first?
Anyway.
I couldn’t keep doing this forever. I needed to think of something clever. Unfortunately, the circumstances weren’t great.
To swing my tentacles, I would need at least a bit of space. Even with the strength I have, you need some space to properly use a tentacle— which is essentially a whip.
As an alternative, I tried sharpening my hands and feet, but my tiny hands, no matter how sharp I made them, were ineffective. Regeneration outpaced destruction.
It was essentially like scratching your back with your fingernails.
What should I do?
I didn’t want to remain buried like this. There was, in fact, a fairly simple solution that even a child could think of. It was that simple.
Which was…
To simply consume this dark red flesh. If I could create even the smallest gap, I could start eating my way out from there — it shouldn’t be too difficult.
The reason I’m hesitant is this: while I could assume I can swallow this red flesh, the fact that I saw the jelly army twist into bizarre shapes after eating it made me hesitate. It seemed like too much of a gamble. There’s a decent chance it might not affect me, but if it does… well, I’d rather not imagine that scenario.
Because of this slight possibility, the easiest method is blocked.
In truth, I’ve dealt with most issues so far by this method, so it may be inevitable that I struggle to think of other ways. Except for something like that board game (?) I experienced recently, I’ve mostly relied on sheer physical force to counteract physical opponents.
There was no avoiding that approach.
I let out what felt like a sigh, my jelly bubbling internally, and tried to twist my body to move forward within the flesh. The flesh squeezed me tightly, but moving was still possible. The path I moved was instantly filled by the flesh again.
It felt exactly like swimming through a sea of flesh.
I wanted it to end quickly, but the ocean of flesh seemed endless. I thought I might encounter something like a mansion if I kept going, but all I could see was endless flesh, just flesh.
Something was off. Even though I didn’t want to consider it, I felt like I might be playing into the hands of this mass of flesh.
I had no idea how much time had passed. With nothing but flesh in sight, gauging time was nearly impossible.
Perhaps it was because I grew tired of breaking through the flesh, but I started to feel my vision getting fuzzy. While it’s different from how I used to see as a human, the blurry vision gave me a sense of lethargy spreading throughout my body.
I just wanted to lie down and rest for a while.
But my senses, honed from overcoming countless close calls, sent a warning signal of danger. Detecting that signal, I realized this was akin to freezing to death and drifting to sleep.
Which meant I was unknowingly involved in something strange.
I needed to do something.
Sleeping was absolutely unacceptable.
Focusing on the task at hand, I decided the priority was to push through the flesh, no matter what. Straining every effort, I wriggled my limbs and pressed against the flesh to move forward.
Then,
Something snagged my foot. On examination, I found a deformed piece of jelly stuck to it. Its eerie shape reminded me of oversized furniture, and that led me to recall the giant Alice. The way she smashed furniture like TVs with one punch was unforgettable.
That made me envious. If I were as large as her right now, escape would have been simple, wouldn’t it?
Wait a minute.
Recalling the giant Alice and Daesik, I focused on the way Daesik operated the giant Alice—as if controlling a robot.
Could I do something similar? It made no sense for me to not be able to do what Daesik could.
It was not unwarranted confidence. It was based on knowing I was better than Daesik, so my confidence was justified.
Anyway, it’s not a particularly complex method.
The flesh surrounding me right now must essentially be some sort of mansion-like body part. Since the only thing that regenerated from what I destroyed was the flesh, I was certain. Could I follow Daesik’s method and control this body?
In reality, my aim was closer to identifying the center of this creature using that control mechanism. Instead of intentionally trying to bring it into my field of vision, I’d use bodily sensations to find it. Even without seeing with my eyes, I could manage it.
At this realization, I understood that I’d been thinking too rigidly, as if I were limited to looking through two eyes like before. As I gained the ability to perceive in all directions, I recognized that clinging to conventional senses was preventing me from solving the problem.
What could I do? The time I spent as a human was much longer, so the most familiar methods naturally came to mind first—and those were mostly constrained by human physique.
But my body doesn’t need to follow those limitations.
Alright.
Then… should I give it a try?
I wouldn’t have realized this if I hadn’t encountered the jelly furniture—it made me feel oddly grateful.
If I can resolve this situation quickly, I hope I can restore everything back to normal.
To do that, it’s best to act as soon as possible.
Focusing all my attention,
I spread out my tentacles in all directions, like a hedgehog raising its spines. Unlike the hedgehog’s spines, my tentacles were incredibly sharp yet very thin, almost like strands of hair.
The hair-like tentacles pierced into the dark red flesh and advanced like navigating through the insides. Extending long strands of tentacles, I spread them out inside the flesh, careful not to let them solidify into furniture.
However, I didn’t let my concentration falter, just in case.
For how long did I extend my tentacles?
It wasn’t entirely clear, but I began to vaguely grasp the silhouette in my mind.
That silhouette was bizarre. I thought it might resemble the framework of a mansion, but it looked more like a strange animal. If I had to compare it to something, it had a Tyrannosaurus-like feel. Yet, it had wings, so it was some horrific hybrid.
As I was astonished by the deformed silhouette, a strange voice came from the spread-out jelly.
I heard human screams, followed by the sound of something explosively bursting. Apparently, something unusual was happening outside as well.
Well, it would be strange if there weren’t any changes given that the mansion suddenly turned into a dinosaur.
They probably aren’t celebrating the sudden appearance of a dinosaur, so it’s likely they’re under attack.
In that case, I have to act.
Once I confirmed that the jelly had spread far enough to feel the outline of the red flesh, I tensed my entire body.
The jelly, which had spread out like blood vessels, began to harden, and thanks to the hardened jelly, I could feel the creature’s body contracting.
Controlling it just like Daesik manipulated the giant Alice might be difficult, but making it curl up seemed possible.
Exerting all my strength, I writhed my body as if having cramps, creating a loud roar, and everything around me shook.
Did this thing happen to be flying?
Well, that’s not important right now.
At least the immediate danger outside seems to have diminished.
Now, I need to find something that can truly destroy this monster.
