'There is one critical concern for this assault.'
[Yes.]
'I must not bleed.'
If he did, it was over. The assault would be ruined, and so would Yeon-woo.
From this expedition onward -- which amounted to a declaration of war -- it was impossible to know what irregular manner The Guest Without Taste might appear in. However, reviewing the Room 14 Event gave a rough answer.
'He will appear imdiately at the site of bleeding.'
There was at least one consolation.
'Blood that is already present is not a factor.'
Seeing that the guest did not react to the dried blood on experint tables, what it wanted was solely the 'fresh blood' of a Velmareth.
"......"
Well, of course.
'What he covets right now is my blood, after all.'
Blinded by the desire to devour a Velmareth and beco a complete being, old blood of unknown origin would not even register.
'So the key is that I do not bleed. If only it were sothing I could resolve simply by being careful, but here yet another enormous problem arises.'
[Penalty.]
'That is correct.'
The penalty incurred from the Contract with The Drenched One, which caused Yeon-woo to cough up blood. In other words, summoning The Guest Without Taste onto the 14th Floor was an unavoidable, predetermined future.
[Hello?]
'I am not particularly fine. It is quite a predicant.'
thods to suppress the penalty existed. But the Nightmare resources currently gathered were woefully insufficient to purchase the relevant items.
'However, I can use an alternative thod.'
Yeon-woo drew a peculiarly shaped piece of Phlebotomy Equipnt from his Inventory.
[No?]
'Do not misunderstand. As Phlebotomy Equipnt goes, this one has a comparatively decent purpose.'
[No?]
'The needle is a bit large, granted.'
It was a grotesque size that looked as though a single insertion would destroy not just the vein but the muscle beneath. Yet this was the moderate end. Far better than having entire limbs torn off as in Room 14.
'There is a saying: if your fortune says you are destined to be cut by a knife, you might as well get costic surgery.'
[Pardon?]
'I am not one to take such sayings at face value, but what I must do this ti is similar. If I am fated to bleed regardless, should I not guide it to a timing and direction of my choosing?'
Even if the guest appeared instantly wherever blood was shed, strictly speaking there was a slight delay. The ti it took for the guest to reach the location and materialize.
'In the current situation, where the opponent is watching for blood with eyes ablaze....'
[Six seconds.]
'We are of one mind.'
It was obvious the guest would appear within six seconds of bleeding.
'Moreover, upon appearing, it will be in a rigid state for approximately three seconds as it registers its surroundings.'
In other words, even if Yeon-woo's blood leaked out, a total of nine seconds of leeway would exist before the opponent fully comnced pursuit.
'That is more than enough.'
This phlebotomy device filled its capacity in a re three seconds. In a crisis where every tenth of a second mattered, the additional six-second grace period was sufficient ti to shake The Guest Without Taste.
'Being such a small instrunt, the blood volu drawn will be minimal, but that should pose no issue for luring the guest. The other side is drawn to the blood of a Velmareth itself. It follows scent before volu.'
"......"
'You look quite displeased, Coco.'
The back of Coco, trotting along while staring at the floor, seed sohow to be grumbling. Then again, this was a phlebotomy device that filled a thick tube in three seconds flat.
'It would not be strange for an ordinary person to go into shock from this.'
[Coco. Displeased. Phlebotomy.]
'Using it like this....'
But to Yeon-woo, his body was nothing more than a blood pouch. Jabbing a syringe into a Blood Pack to draw blood would not spoil or kill the pack.
'And the pain that accompanies it is a rather insignificant penalty for
as the Playable Character.'
Unlike ordinary people, it was rely sowhat uncomfortable.
'But if doing this allows
to lure The Guest Without Taste, think of how much easier things beco.'
[Yes.]
'In my estimation, even if the blood does not enter the open air, the guest will count any blood leaving the body's exterior as a bleeding event. Even if it only counts when sprayed outward, that would actually buy this side even more ti.'
[Yes.]
'So would you be willing to ease your mind, Coco?'
[Nope.]
'I will accept the concern with gratitude, at least.'
Yeon-woo's plan was as follows.
Perhaps because he had grown accustod to his body of blood, he could vividly sense the mont just before a penalty struck -- that is, just before he coughed up blood.
'Then at that mont, I insert the phlebotomy device, move to a suitable location to lure the guest, and within six seconds either relocate to another zone or find an appropriate place to hide....'
The opponent's chanism was simple.
It appeared in the zone where bleeding first occurred, but it detected only the space where blood was shed, not the target itself. It materialized within that space, not right next to the bloodstain.
In other words, if he drew blood via the phlebotomy device before the penalty made him cough it up....
'I can shake him with room to spare.'
He only needed to flee the spot where he had coughed.
'The objective is to stall for as much ti as possible.'
[I feel wronged.]
'What could you possibly feel wronged about?'
[Hm.]
"......"
Looking down, he saw the round crown of Coco's head. Walking while staring only at the floor -- it clearly found his plan disagreeable.
'...Does it feel the sa as the other staff?'
They regarded Yeon-woo's coughed-up blood as a part of him, or as him himself. If Coco felt the sa, this reaction made sense. He might call it a re part, but it was still 'Yeon-woo.'
He reached out and gathered Coco into his arms.
"......"
"......"
Yeon-woo murmured inwardly.
'It is my fault for not being more diligent.'
[No.]
'If I had been more industrious, I could have devised a better plan. Perhaps my inability to let go of my aversion to the field of Blood Magic is why things have co to this.'
Had he not shied away from Blood Magic, his achievents would have been greater by now. One always did best studying what one wanted to study. But Yeon-woo could not bring himself to do that.
This discipline that masqueraded as scholarship was too much of a cesspool to dive into with peace of mind.
'So will you not cut
so slack? I am sorry.'
[No.]
'I cannot tell what that "no" ans....'
Yeon-woo looked down at Coco in his arms.
"......"
"......"
"......?"
"......??"
After a mont of silence, he showed a look of alarm.
'The smile is gone.'
[Yes.]
'Wait -- it is not that it is not smiling... the mouth, where has the mouth gone?'
[Yes.]
'Gone?'
[Yes.]
'That is a situation difficult to overlook.'
Holding Coco in one arm, he used the other hand to fumble along its face. The crescent-moon toothy grin that was usually curved there was nowhere to be found. With the mouth gone entirely, what chance was there of a smile?
'Why the mouth? No, how, by what principle....'
His thought process stalled, then restarted. Yeon-woo realized:
"......"
"......"
That seeking common sense in this place was itself a luxury.
'I have co too far to be asking about principles.'
[Yes.]
Right -- a monster cat's mouth could go on a business trip now and then. Yeon-woo muttered the magical incantation 'these things happen' and readjusted his hold on Coco.
There was almost no weight relative to its volu.
"......"
An endlessly light body. Before this clumsy creature that circled him and fretted over his well-being ti and again... Yeon-woo felt his resolve soften, every single ti.
It was by no ans a given that soone would show goodwill and affection. Even with twenty-six years of tinted lenses, pushing away the flood of devotion was just... too hard.
'I know full well what Coco was in the ga.'
Even having noticed that the voice he heard in a dream on his first day in the hotel was similar to Coco's.
It still looked so small and young....
"......"
Coco, watching such a Yeon-woo, broke into a smile.
"Hehe."
"......?"
What was that?
After purring and rolling about in his arms for a while, Coco climbed onto his shoulder with practiced ease. A permanent reserved seat by now.
Unable to fathom Coco's shift in mood, he silently adjusted his glasses.
'Child-rearing seems to be a difficult task everywhere.'
[Yes.]
'So it is.'
He had experience raising a much younger sibling, but whether children, cats, or monsters, child-rearing was never easy. Perhaps because the communication format was fundantally different from that of a jaded adult.
'But by that logic, those above
had their hands full with
as well.'
Swallowing that idle thought, he opened the next door.
'This side is a regular storage....'
It was then.
"......"
"......"
Thud, thud, thud......
Thud.
'Footsteps.'
Footsteps. Three beats, then one arriving off-rhythm. Yeon-woo knew this particular pattern's owner well.
'It has finally appeared.'
He gently pressed down on Coco atop his shoulder to keep it from bolting, and murmured inwardly.
'A Watcher.'
[Yes.]
A 'Watcher' -- whose head was shaped like a cara.
The watchers of this 14th Floor had, true to their nas, only the sense they were responsible for developed to grotesque extres; the rest had atrophied to near nothingness.
'But that does not an the other functions are completely gone.'
Just as a Listener retained faint sight, the Watcher before him was rely dull to sound, not entirely deaf.
'At close range like this, a loud noise would trigger a response without fail.'
Yeon-woo scanned his surroundings.
'Cabinet.'
Fortunately, there was a place to hide.
He wedged himself inside and shut the door with as little noise as possible. Unlike in the ga, being able to personally take care to reduce sound further was a clear advantage.
'Just like in the ga, I can see the outside from in here.'
Despite being inside a sealed cabinet, the watcher pacing outside was clearly 'visible.' A phenonon similar to the earlier Room 14 Event.
'The watcher's movent is consistent.'
It appeared to be a routine patrol rather than having spotted sothing.
'My read was a bit late, but it seems I was not detected. Thanks to keeping quiet, perhaps.'
[Yes.]
'Fortunate indeed.'
Fortunate it truly was, but the problem erupted from within.
Yeon-woo felt along his own throat.
"...Ah...."
The faintest gasp escaped.
'Oh no.'
A surge of nausea rose.
'Of all tis?'
The timing was dreadful, as though orchestrated.
Yeon-woo clamped his hand over his mouth. He shut his exhaustion-laden eyes and pressed the other hand to his solar plexus. A vicious wave of motion sickness and physical breakdown crashed over him.
He had not failed to anticipate a situation like this.
'If there is truly no other way... the only option is to seal every opening so that no blood leaks out.'
From the throat to the blood vessels, even the pores.
But such an extre asure would clearly place devastating strain on Yeon-woo's body, which had weakened to the consistency of acorn jelly. His current body was maintaining only the most precarious of balances.
Resorting to such a brute-force thod would break his body before the assault even began.
'In the end, the blood will leak through whatever opening gives way. A long-term loss.'
Even having steeled himself, bitterness filled his mouth.
[Hm?]
"......"
Perhaps he looked truly unwell, because Coco, clinging to him, asked.
[Hello?]
'One mont... I need to take a deep breath.'
[Hello...?]
'I know this will not actually suppress the penalty, but let
just focus for a mont.'
[Hello!]
'Just a mont of focus, please, Coco.'
[No! No! No!]
'I cannot very well vomit in here.'
***
"......"
Tiny, tiny things blinked their eyes.
'Have they woken?'
'They have.'
In the dim, warm, tranquil abyss.
'Looks like they woke up.'
'Here, too.'
'Sa here.'
One by one, they surfaced into awareness.
They had no organs that could be called eyes, no substance that could be called a form. They were rely small droplets drifting through a cozy sanctuary. No -- not droplets of water, precisely.
They were blood. The monsters of Room 14, who had borrowed the form of blood and gained their freedom.
'It is shaking....'
'Why is water filling up in here?'
'That should not happen...?'
Even within their faint sense of self, survival instinct alone remained vivid. The conviction that this ho they had barely obtained must not be damaged or hurt. Without knowing why, they watched with anxious hearts as the 'water' rose, sloshing.
When the cold foreign substance rushed in and mingled with the blood, the small, fragile monsters huddled together in alarm. What do we do? What do we do? In their anxiety, they clumsily put their heads together.
'Shall we try eating it?'
'Let us block it.'
'If the water fills up, we will be driven out.'
'That is right.'
'We cannot let that happen.'
It was not any grand loyalty. They no longer possessed even that much will. They simply did not want to give up this comfortable nest they had barely gotten their hands on.
'Let us swallow it.'
'If we eat it all, it will be fine.'
'Yes, it will be quick.'
'We can do it.'
They might not be able to hold out for very long.
'But still.'
They felt they could do it.
***
"......?"
Yeon-woo gingerly felt along his solar plexus.
[Hello?]
'...No.'
[Hello?]
'No, that is not what I an.'
[Hello!]
'I am not in pain.'
All the sa words, but each ant sothing different.
'Would you give
a mont to assess the situation?'
Miraculously, the churning in his stomach had subsided.
Yeon-woo patted and soothed Coco in his arms. It had been nuzzling with particular fervor for a while now, and the deepening attachnt was a touch worrying.
He continued inwardly.
'The water that had been filling my lungs has disappeared.'
"......?"
'...I think I know why.'
The monsters of Room 14 that he harbored inside his body. Yeon-woo's expression turned peculiar. Should he call this good luck?
'After gradually waking since I coughed up blood in the dining kitchen last ti, it seems they are all bailing out the "water" to avoid being flung out along with their belongings by another storm.'
Their brief ejection that ti must have been quite terrifying. They had been diligently watching for signs, and sure enough -- this was the result.
'Having been forcibly evicted while peacefully asleep, their reaction is understandable.'
They seed to be attempting to seal off the very conditions under which Yeon-woo would cough up blood.
Of course, beings with selves so faint could not perfectly block the Contract penalty from The Drenched One, but he was grateful for this unexpected assistance.
'At this rate, the frequency of coughing up blood will decrease.'
[Yes.]
'Which ans, consequently, the inconvenience of having to use the Phlebotomy Equipnt will also decrease.'
[...! Yes!]
Coco seed overjoyed that the freeloaders inside Yeon-woo's body were finally earning their keep.
"......"
Yeon-woo suddenly wondered. When the day ca to release these beings from his body, could Coco and they truly coexist in peace?
In the dark cabinet, Yeon-woo foresaw a future that seed sohow even darker.
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