CH 314

“Chapter 314: Exit ⇔ Entrance”

We resumed our ventures together, but things didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped.

We kept blowing up the insides of the whale, but it was getting faster at repairing itself.

After a few days, we concluded that there was no point in trying anymore. The explosives wouldn’t do.

So in order to escape-

– Welcome back. How did it go?

I’m currently working on a bomb using Unbreakable. Rather than covering a wide area, I want it to focus on a single spot and cause as much damage as possible.

– We used all the stones left, but the whale didn’t react much. It’s probably tougher than the usual walls. (Deko)

– Did you take a sample?

– Here. (Mira)

Mira gave me a piece of meat result of today’s experiment.

– The dark jerks were blown to almost dust. It was hard finding that. Still, I finally understood.

– Yeah. If there’s no exit, we have to go through the entrance. That must be the key.

After days of no results, I came up with an idea. Going back to where we came from.

We know for sure that the mouth of the whale connects to the outside.

We have to go through several organs before that, though.

– Once every few days, when the whale is supplied with whatever looks like water, there’s a gap for a few seconds where the esophagus opens up.

There’s no set time, but it’s a window.

We’ve tried increasing our firepower as much as possible, but we won’t be able to force open the entrance to the esophagus.

We need something else. Something stronger than a bomb.

– Man, it’s hot in here. I know we’re inside a whale, but still. (Takaya)

– You said it. We lived in a pretty cold place. It took us quite a while to adapt. (Deko)

– We used to play on ice ponds with Ralph all the time. (Mira)

– If you hadn’t been there he would’ve died of frostbite or something. (Deko)

– Yeah. He owes me big time. (Mira)

– Frostbite, huh… I visited a place that cold not too long ago. It was an island- (Takaya)

– Takaya?

– What’s wrong?

The idea hadn’t even crossed my mind. It’s an extremely risky bet.

– I need your help with something. It’s going to be stupidly dangerous.

– …Alright? What do we do?

– Just like you used to do with Ralph, get a bonfire ready. I don’t want to freeze to death.

– ????? (D/M)

If the heat from the explosions isn’t enough… What would happen if we combined it with super-low temperatures?

– “I hope our fates meet again”. Maybe they will, Moonlight.