Chapter 64: The Whale
Chapter 64: The Whale
“Ugh….”
Feeling pain in her head, Han Seori opened her eyes.
A pure white ceiling.
As she took in the unfamiliar ceiling, she muttered in a slightly dazed voice,
“…Where is this place?”
As she mumbled that, Kim Cheonsu, who had his eyes closed next to her, opened them with a *snap!*
Seeing Han Seori looking relatively fine, Kim Cheonsu let out a sigh of relief.
“How is your body?”“Ah… Other than a bit of a headache, I’m alright. What about you?”
“I’m… unharmed. Yes.”
Seeing Kim Cheonsu unscathed, Han Seori felt relieved.
She had lost consciousness, so she didn’t know what had happened, but seeing Kim Cheonsu fine, it seemed things had worked out somehow.
Since 7496-KR was an anomaly… she likely wasn’t here.
However, a scene she had hazily seen before losing consciousness slowly resurfaced in her mind.
The red liquid was covering her vision.
She thought she had seen 7496-KR covered in that liquid jump out of the car.
…Was it a dream?
She looked at Kim Cheonsu with a slightly uneasy face.
As if knowing what she would ask, Kim Cheonsu’s face became somewhat resentful yet also guilt-ridden.
‘…No way.’
An ominous imagination slowly sketched itself in Han Seori’s mind.
It wasn’t a dream…?
“Did something… happen to 7496-KR?”
She hoped not, but the answer that flowed from Kim Cheonsu’s mouth was not what she wanted.
“…She seems to have been eaten by the thing chasing us. Perhaps she thought that thing was targeting her.”
“Ugh…!”
Han Seori felt slightly dizzy.
Feeling a throbbing pain in her head at the sudden truth, she clutched her head.
“I’m sorry. But it couldn’t be helped. Your safety was more important to me than 7496-KR
’s, Doctor.”“…I understand.”
Hearing Kim Cheonsu’s words, Han Seori waved her hand and reassured him as he looked a bit anxious.
Seeing his pale blue face, it was as if… she would harm him.
Han Seori had no intention of blaming Kim Cheonsu either.
Rather… She thought he had made the right decision.
Depending on the level of importance, it may differ… But fundamentally, prioritizing human lives is only natural.
Han Seori also understood that fact with her coldly logical mind.
But.
For some reason, she didn’t feel too good.
Was it because she felt regret over losing an anomaly that was friendly to humans and excellent?
‘….’
While repeatedly telling herself that wasn’t it, perhaps it was because she had become too attached to 7496-KR.
Her mind was a mess with complex emotions.
After taking a deep breath for a bit, Han Seori looked at Kim Cheonsu and spoke.
“So… Where is that thing now?”
“Ah, I’ll check right now.”
Seeing Kim Cheonsu go outside, Han Seori became lost in thought.
And put forth a hopeful conjecture.
‘Considering the size difference….’
If she wasn’t crushed to death the moment she was swallowed… The probability of her being alive inside the stomach seemed high.
It was still too early to confirm she was dead.
‘Come to think of it.’
…So they had a sky whale with them.
She had heard it went extinct a few years ago… To think it was alive and well like that.
Han Seori pressed her temples as if having a headache.
It seemed there were… more variables than she had thought.
Meanwhile, Kim Cheonsu, who had gone outside, returned.
Soon, hearing the story he told, Han Seori blinked her eyes in confusion.
The location had been identified, which was very good news, but the place the sky whale was heading towards…
It was a bit strange.
*Splat!*
Like a swollen tumor exploding, it burst and splattered dead black blood everywhere.
*Plop plop!*
The dead blood that splashed on my body floated around for a bit and soon disappeared as if it had never been there.
It was the same for Sosik, but in Daesik’s case… it was a bit unfortunate.
Daesik, wearing the doll, couldn’t avoid the splattered dark red blood.
Looking at Daesik being dyed red, I thought he looked like a ghost from a horror game.
I hugged and patted the drenched Daesik and scrutinized the surroundings.
The result of further exploring the surroundings as I felt something strange was not very good.
It seemed the traces left in the whale’s body… were artificially made by someone.
…Only an idiot wouldn’t know that after seeing this sight.
Some places where organs should have been were completely empty, and most areas were rotting with irreversible damage.
How the hell is it alive with a body like this?
Even if it’s an anomaly, considering it fundamentally has the characteristics of a living being.
To this degree… It seems it could drop dead at any moment.
The word “terminal” came to mind, and seeing its condition made me feel very disturbed.
Who the hell did this to this creature?
And why did this whale that flies the skies swallow me?
Considering it left the fleeing car alone and swallowed the smaller me, it seemed I was the target.
But.
I couldn’t figure out the reason… so I was a bit frustrated.
Then.
*Rumble rumble!*
Along with a huge vibration, as if an earthquake had occurred, the place I was standing on began to shake tremendously.
It felt like it had crashed while flying, and a bitter taste was felt from my jelly.
The vibration that had been going on for a while stopped after quite a long time.
This sound… Perhaps it hadn’t fallen into the sea but landed on the ground.
*Thump! Thump! Thump!*
Even feeling impending doom,
The whale’s heart kept beating without stopping.
As if it didn’t know how to stop.
…Rather, it would be dangerous if it knew how to stop,
Somehow, I felt the whale wished for death.
It wasn’t as if I heard any kind of voice.
But… somehow, it felt that way.
The whale’s huge heart boasted its vigor, unlike the surrounding areas, rotting and festering.
…Perhaps,
Did the whale swallow me, wishing I would kill it?
I seemed too small for it to think that way after swallowing me, but considering my ability anew… it may be fitting.
*Splash splash*
I walked over to the heart, feeling the floor stick to my feet.
*Thump! Thump! Thump!*
The heart beating vigorously, unlike other places, emitting the stench of death.
*Thump! Thump!*
My decision as I felt those vibrations wasn’t very hard.
Having already checked the surroundings and come back,
The only thing I could do for this “whale” was grant it eternal rest.
I climbed on top of the heart with Daesik and Sosik.
A heart so large that climbing on top of it was an appropriate expression.
Swallowing it whole at once would be impossible… But it would be possible if I swallowed it bit by bit.
*Thump! Thump!*
Feeling the heart under my feet, I, feeling somewhat heavy-hearted,
Put the bumpy protruding part of the heart inside my body.
The heart rapidly melts with gurgling sounds.
Once I made one fissure, its collapse was very fast.
It was as if it had been waiting only for that.
Dark red blood spurting from the crack quickly filled my insides.
Trying hard not to taste it, I swallowed everything inside me.
I could handle infinite meat chunks to some extent, so this much was no problem.
My body, which was blue in color, was dyed dark red.
I saw heart pieces finely sliced by the pressure floating around inside me.
I saw Sosik, who was hit by the spurting blood and blown away, flailing beneath.
Sosik soon floated around, looking as if he had come to a beach.
Alice (in Daesik) was now just… a red something.
I diligently moved until the whale’s heart disappeared, melting its blood and heart.
The heart kept *thump thump* beating even as it slowly disappeared.
While admiring its tremendous vitality,
It made me realize… that’s why it couldn’t die even in this state.
*Glug! Glug!*
How much time has passed like that?
I felt the slime feet on top of the heart touch the floor.
At that moment,
*Moooooo!*
The whale’s cry, which felt like its last struggle, made my jelly tremble.
Is it because I ate the heart and blood?
Somehow, I felt like I could feel the whale’s emotions.
Anger and relief and gratitude.
…What does that mean?
Feeling confused, I plopped down on the floor.
I see the tumors that had been bursting and festering quiet down.
As the whale ceased its life functions, everything stopped.
Even while thinking I needed to get out,
For some reason, I couldn’t move.