Chapter 3: Incomplete Metamorphosis

Chapter 3: Incomplete Metamorphosis

*Splash!*

I emerge from the water, accompanied by a small splashing sound.

Even this slight noise ripples out as I cautiously peer around.

*Splash, splash.*

No matter how carefully I move, the sound has been made, so I give up trying to be silent.

Fortunately, the guys chasing me are nowhere to be seen.

Right after fully digesting the dog I killed, I feel something stirring inside me.

It’s a sensation as if some change is happening within me.

Amidst this unfamiliar feeling, loud noises echo around me.

*Boom! Roar!*

*Woof!*

*Grr!*

I quickly move to avoid the creatures without even understanding what’s changed within me.

I can’t tell if they’re friends of the guy who just died or if they’ve caught wind of the faint scent of blood, but the roars coming from all directions spur me into motion.

I painfully realize that there’s no time for leisure in a crisis.

It’s like one problem after another.

Desperately, I move my sluggish body to escape, but I can hear the enemies’ shouts wherever I turn.

And it’s crystal clear what that means.

They’re clearly targeting me, though I have no idea why.

Noise surrounds me, making it hard to distinguish reality from paranoid delusion.

Lost and confused, I make a choice.

There’s nowhere to go but up.

A canal with murky water flowing through it catches my eye.

The thought of plunging into the water with this body is quickly overtaken by the fear of being torn apart if caught.

*Gurgle.*

I hear the sound of submerging in the water.

Not long after diving, a faint thudding noise echoes from below.

Although I can’t estimate how close it is because I’m underwater, it’s certain that something is approaching.

Luckily, I don’t need to breathe, so I crouch tightly until the outside sounds subside.

Crouching in the cold, light-deprived space, I realize the value of solid ground beneath me.

I feel occasional tremors inside me, like a fish swimming in water.

I taste the tang of raw fish, and the thought of consuming it disgusts me.

I miss home.

If I were there, I could have something simple like cup ramen instead of this tasteless meal.

Or maybe even some curry.

At least if I could cook these raw fish here, it would be better... No, I don’t really want to eat what’s here in the first place.

Given its inherently bitter taste, it seems unfit for human consumption from the start.

While eating, I consciously turn my gaze away from questioning what I’m actually consuming.

How long have I been submerged in this misery?

Perhaps because there’s no need to breathe, I can’t gauge how long I’ve been underwater.

I don’t want to die in such a nauseating place.

...I want to stop eating things I can’t even mention.

Deciding to find an exit leading outside, I immediately hit an obstacle.

It seems like following the main passage, excluding the minor corridors, would be the way to go.

But I can’t figure out which direction the wild dogs fled.

One side has a presence that scared off the wild dogs.

The other side is probably closer to the exit.

...I have to make a choice.



In the end, the entry order had been given.

As the man read the orders, his brow furrowed, and he retrieved a crumpled cigarette case from his pocket.

*Click, flick.*

The flint struck, igniting the cigarette he had taken out, and smoke began to rise.

Taking a deep drag of the smoke, he felt his mind calming down and exhaled a sigh.

Being tasked by his superiors to regain control was something he had already anticipated. Still, he seemed unable to hide his discontent.

“If they like it so much, why don’t they go down there themselves?”

As long as it was a place where people could go, he didn’t particularly mind, even if it wasn’t a regular place or even somewhat dangerous like a frontier or a mountain pass.

He knew that this job was risky, but with decent money and good benefits, who would have complaints?

...He had to sign a somewhat unusual contract, but for people like him, there was no other job like this.

But.

“Entering an anomaly is like signing up to die, isn’t it?”

It was a term used to describe places or entities that were difficult to explain by human standards, so the danger would be beyond words.

Outside the work, there was no one to complain to because no one knew about its existence.

Remembering the chaos caused by those ranting about publicizing things, he swallowed a sigh.

“Sigh....”

His anger transferred toward the one who had caused him and his team to spiral down, but it didn’t last long.

“That jerk, I almost feel sorry for him. He just did what he was told.”

Since he took responsibility for it and went to this place, he wondered if he would ever see his face again.

Rather than worrying about some ungrateful nerd who might have already turned into a traitor, it seemed more productive to worry about their safety and the team’s.

Smoking, almost like chewing on the filter, he extinguished his cigarette with an ashtray and then double-checked the command.

Once he filtered out the flowery phrases, the content was quite simple.

Secure the tentative ‘Fused Liquid Monster’ codename 0746-KR-1.Necessary equipment to secure it will be provided with utmost effort.Accordingly, permission is granted to enter the 0015-KR, commonly referred to as the sewer, until the ‘Fused Liquid Monster’ is secured.The sender wished for their safety.After achieving the goal, he was instructed to burn the orders.

If they wished for their safety, they shouldn’t have sent them down there in the first place.

They were guys who pushed them here and laughed, saying they wished for their safety, so what could they expect.

The man chuckled at the formally written safety wishes.

‘But where’s the equipment they promised to provide?’

Folding the order neatly and tucking it into his pocket, he pondered upon the equipment he might get.

Although he said that, he thought that the place where the personnel would be deployed, as per his instructions, was relatively safe compared to elsewhere, so as long as they paid little attention, nothing serious would happen.

Despite being a space that didn’t make logical sense.

He mulled over the information about the ‘sewer’ reported so far.

“Just need to watch out for the big guy.”

With that thought, he called the assistant manager.

For some reason, the paper in his arms felt unusually heavy.