Chapter 64: The Whale

Chapter 64: The Whale

I am pleased to present this bonus chapter, which has been made possible thanks to the wonderful review written by Espay_2000-_-.

Please enjoy this bonus chapter as a small token of my appreciation for Espay_2000-_-’s contribution to my translation work.

“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.

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.