LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 37
As the Abnormal Creature and the Dog fiercely battled at a speed almost invisible to Jinseong’s eyes, the Slime comfortably devoured most of the Mosquito corpses scattered across the floor, growing into a massive body that easily surpassed Jinseong’s height.
In proportion, the needles—once hardly noticeable—had elongated and hardened, reminiscent of a porcupine’s quills, while the grotesque core, once a repulsive color, darkened further, evoking images of a black stone.
[ Krrr! ]
And at that moment, the Dog’s instincts, which had been battling the Abnormal Creature, issued a furious warning.
There was a threat on par with, or even greater than, the Abnormal Creature.
If it didn’t get out of the way immediately, it would be in serious trouble.
The Mukuri Kokuri no Inugami erupted in a burst of light, unleashing a Shockwave as it elongated like pulled taffy, heading towards the Torii.
Caw-caw!
However, that desperate escape was instantly thwarted. As the Dog tried to slip away, the Abnormal Creature unfurled its thick tentacle tips, forming them into trumpet-like shapes. The tentacles, stretched and thinned to translucence, blocked the Dog’s path entirely, limiting its Movement while spewing forth foul liquid from countless mouths atop its head.
Sssshh!
The disgusting liquid it ejected tainted everything it touched with a horrendous stench. Upon contact with the Wooden Pillar, it rotted away; when it splashed against stone, it melted with a rancid odor; and if it hit water, it became a putrid stream that could cause illness from just one sip. Even as a gas, inhaling it just once could rot the lungs.
Layer upon layer of pollution and defilement posed a lethal threat to Divine Power itself.
[ Kio! Kieee! ]
The liquid tainting the elongated form began to blacken the once radiant Divine Power.
This was the work of the contaminated liquid that had screamed at it to flee so desperately.
Witnessing how the liquid invaded like poison, darkening its Divine Power, the Abnormal Creature attempted to envelop the Dog entirely in a dome-shaped sphere of its tentacles, while the Dog struggled in pain yet puffed its body up with all its might to strike at the barrier.
Boom!
Boom!
It sounded as if a palm had smacked a water-filled balloon, resonating with a great pop. But despite the barrier’s thin appearance, akin to plastic wrap, it merely swayed and resisted the Dog’s massive paws, slick as if coated in oil, preventing any cut from penetrating.
Ultimately, the Dog gave up on breaking through and transformed its head into a sword shape to charge straight at the Abnormal Creature. If it couldn’t pierce the barrier, it resolved to eliminate its source of trouble directly.
As expected, the Abnormal Creature spewed forth its foul liquid like a water gun, contaminating the surroundings in response to the Dog’s charge, but the Dog rushed on undeterred, accelerating further without a care.
Woosh!
And that desperate charge bore fruit.
Whether it meant it couldn’t evade or didn’t need to, the Abnormal Creature stood firm, planting its legs into the ground and letting the Dog’s attack hit home while spitting saliva.
Because of that, the Dog was able to slice off the Abnormal Creature’s neck, which fell to the ground with a hollow thud, echoing emptily. Upon decapitation, the barrier that had restricted the Dog’s movement lost its strength, crumbling into a wrinkled heap and gradually reverting to its tentacle form.
[ Kraaang! ]
The Dog, despite feeling excruciating pain, raised one paw over the corpse in a victorious howl.
It had defeated the monster that had tormented it with physical substance.
After such a fierce struggle, the Dog had every right to revel in its victory.
Yes.
It was enough.
Except there was just one more enemy left.
Guul-ong!
As the barrier lost its power, another lurking foe began to move. It slinked forward with a motion befitting its immense frame, rippling like pudding, crashing down upon the Dog as an amorphous entity.
Kwaaaaaang!
The Dog hastily dodged the massive weight falling from above, and the spot where the Dog had just been became a crater as the Slime, having bulged from devouring Mosquito carcasses, smashed into the ground like a giant hammer, shattering the well-laid stones into pieces.
Landing on the ground, the Slime began to engulf the body and head of the Abnormal Creature, assimilating it as it digested its meal inside.
In tandem, the Slime’s form began to swell once more, expanding sideways as it restricted the Dog’s escape routes.
[ Krrr! ]
Just as the Dog, stretching its body to evade upward, faced the Slime—
Guul-ong!
The Slime pounced, seemingly waiting for the perfect moment, and the Dog was devoured whole.
As the Slime consumed the Dog, it drove its quills into the Dog’s body like needles, gradually injecting it with a poisonous substance.
[ Kiiiing. ]
With a scream, the Dog succumbed to being absorbed, its body turning black as it vanished into the Slime. The transformation looked as if black paint had dissolved into clear water, slowly yet unmistakably.
Guul-ong!
When the ink had completely tainted the Slime and it purified itself back into a clear form,
Ptooey.
With a clatter, the Slime expelled something that resembled the remains of a Dog.
“I got it.”
Jinseong grinned as he levitated the rocky lump into the air.
* * *
“Hmm, no contact.”
Iarin kept glancing at her phone as it sat frozen on the ground.
“Who’s… who?”
“Who’s who? I’m talking about the older brother who texted me, then vanished without a trace as if he was alive one moment and dead the next!”
Iarin huffed and tossed her smartphone onto the bed. Iserin, watching her quietly, smiled slightly and asked,
“Worried?”
“No way!”
Even as Iarin snapped a response, there was a hint of concern etched onto her face.
It was only natural; he had sent a message saying he had ‘acquired good information’ and suddenly disappeared, leaving her to wonder if he had fallen into some trap.
Especially since scamming capable people wasn’t unusual, she had valid reasons to fret. Just recently, there had been cases of people being smuggled abroad under the pretense of employment in magical particle studies, only to end up sold to drug dealers, or summoners with healing summons lured away for human trafficking.
Of course, those incidents had occurred in countries with poor public safety, so Japan, known for its safety, theoretically shouldn’t be a target, but the world was increasingly chaotic, leaving little room for complacency.
“Even so… it’s hard to believe my brother would fall for that, right?”
“Nope. That older brother of yours has a tendency to get lured away by claims of ‘good information’ and might end up facing hardships. If someone dangles magic right in front of him, he’d likely bite like a fish taking the bait.”
Iserin tried to ease Iarin, but the moment she began criticizing Jinseong, her tongue stumbled over her own words.
She couldn’t deny it.
[ Contractor. Your sister is remarkably perceptive, isn’t she? Clearly, she had been obsessed with magic, and the moment you dangle magic before her, she wouldn’t think twice and would take the bait like a fish. ]
She couldn’t refute the whisper of the Demon beside her either.
Back in middle school, Jinseong often lamented his lack of magical knowledge and expressed the desire to learn, and since then, he had busied himself gathering heaps of records related to magic.
Instead of denying it, Iserin came up with another approach.
“Uh, um, look! There’s a karaoke place nearby…?”
“Huh?”
That was her way of diverting the conversation. Remembering how much Iarin liked going to karaoke with friends, she aimed to redirect her anxiety into that realm.
It must have worked, as Iarin, who had been sprawled out on the bed, suddenly sprang to her feet.
“There’s karaoke in Russia?!”
“Uh? Yeah. It’s called a karaoke room…”
“Let’s go!”
Iarin grabbed her smartphone and wallet as if a cat starved for treats had caught a whiff of something delightful and dragged Iserin out the door with her.
Soon after, Iarin, following Iserin’s lead, sang and played joyfully at the karaoke. Despite the name karaoke room, it seemed they had brought in a Korean karaoke machine, as she found her favorite Korean songs and sang to her heart’s content.
As they immersed themselves in singing, Iarin pondered.
‘Is that older brother of mine on a sightseeing trip in Japan? I wonder if he’s hit up any of the karaoke joints there…’
* * *
Thunk!
Jinseong tossed aside the cheap wireless microphone he’d snagged in town and approached the slumped duo, placing headphones on their heads.
Connected to each headphone was a cheap MP3 player that looked like something only a museum would showcase now.
The headphones were so low-quality that the sound escaped outside, failing to effectively block out the noise.
Different sounds streamed into their respective headphones; a sharp electronic beep beep came from Kenji’s, while Li-se’s headphones echoed with Jinseong’s voice.