“…It looks more dangerous than I thought.”
“I-I’ve never seen it like that before.”
“…Hmm.”
Kim Cheonsu felt a cold sweat run down his back for so reason. Until just a mont ago, Hwangbo Yul had been gazing at the screen with an emotional air, but now her eyes had turned cold, much like when they first t.
Still, he couldn’t bla her for the sudden change in attitude. The noisy, distorted scene on the screen was sothing even Kim Cheonsu, who prided himself on knowing the Jelly Girl well, had never witnessed before.
When she first dove into the mud, Kim Cheonsu had wondered what Jelly Girl was doing. While he knew she wouldn’t die, given her ability to freely roam through the water—even sewers—he couldn’t help but find her sudden actions strange.
The screen then turned pitch black and ssy. Mud constantly clouded the display, leaving the two to wait calmly, assuming there was sothing they didn’t yet understand.
As ti dragged on, the unclear screen left Kim Cheonsu feeling both frustrated and bored. He glanced around, noticing Hwangbo Yul sitting next to him, her expression unflinching. Clicking his tongue, he shifted his gaze elsewhere.
Eventually, Kim Cheonsu discovered a kettle among the pile of supplies. Retrieving it, he found coffee and other drinks beneath it. Thinking it was fortunate given the increasingly chilly weather, he boiled water in the kettle and asked Hwangbo Yul,
“Would you like so coffee?”
“…Sure.”
Hearing her reply, Kim Cheonsu felt oddly reassured and prepared a cup, pouring coffee mix into it. Making instant coffee didn’t require great skill, but the water ratio was important. With precise control, he crafted the perfect instant coffee and handed it to Hwangbo Yul.
“Thanks.”
She didn’t say much more but seed in good spirits, perhaps enjoying the coffee’s balance. Kim Cheonsu felt a bit let down by the lack of conversation but sipped his own coffee while staring at the screen. He found himself thinking, sowhat guiltily, that it felt peaceful.
Apologies to the Jelly Girl out there solving the problem, but what could they do about the situation? Watching the blank screen and sipping coffee… wasn’t this natural?
Ti passed. Eventually, the screen rewarded their patience as Jelly Girl arrived at a new location.
There, she encountered a massive toad with a body similar to hers. Though obscured by mud, its size made it appear gigantic compared to the diminutive Jelly Girl.
Kim Cheonsu gulped nervously, his face pale, while Hwangbo Yul’s serious eyes remained fixed on the screen.
“…Gulp.”
“Is that the cause?”
Kim Cheonsu regretted jokingly considering the situation peaceful earlier. Of course, his thoughts weren’t responsible for this. Fixating on the enormous creature, he mumbled to himself.
“It’ll… it’ll be fine.”
After all, hadn’t Jelly Girl handled even larger threats, like the giant steel snake? That bizarre anomaly was equally imnse. She’d defeated those, so surely this soft-looking creature couldn’t defeat her.
Kim Cheonsu’s confident expression prompted Hwangbo Yul to blink and murmur,
“You think so?”
“…Probably.”
“…Let’s hope so.”
Watching Kim Cheonsu’s bravado crumble under her follow-up, Hwangbo Yul chuckled softly and turned back to the screen. Silently, she hoped things would turn out fine.
Then, the toad’s tongue lashed out, grabbing Jelly Girl, and the device on her neck flew off sowhere. Fortunately, the screen wasn’t damaged despite the static. Yet it seed the toad had swallowed Jelly Girl whole.
Was this really okay? Should they intervene? But they didn’t even know where “there” was.
As Hwangbo Yul’s unease turned her eyes red, Jelly Girl ripped through the toad from the inside. Pieces of the toad’s body were sliced apart. Whether it was due to Jelly Girl’s strength or the toad’s frailty was unclear. Still, Hwangbo Yul felt both relieved and uneasy.
Because the swamp hadn’t changed.
“Sothing else…”
As if responding to her thoughts, more toads appeared on the screen. Clearly, this wasn’t over. She felt oddly reassured by the difficulty of the situation.
Jelly Girl’s battle with the toads began. After defeating the massive toad, she seed more confident and fought fiercely. Her movents were destructive—so much so that Hwangbo Yul wondered if Jelly Girl could truly be considered safe.
Her blue tendrils slashed through the toads like leaves in the wind. Watching this, Hwangbo Yul’s expression grew grim. Kim Cheonsu, sensing her unease, tensed up beside her.
“Should we… help?”
“…We’re here because we couldn’t find a way to help. That’s why we called 7496-KR.”
“Th-that…”
Kim Cheonsu’s anxiety stemd from watching Jelly Girl struggle. The toads had lured her into a trap, explaining why others who ventured into the swamp never returned.
‘This is troubleso,’ Hwangbo Yul thought.
If 7496-KR failed, what would they do? Jelly Girl was the only one who had reached the swamp alive.
Watching her struggle stirred mixed emotions. Hwangbo Yul had initially hoped for mutual destruction but now found herself troubled.
Jelly Girl’s actions—retrieving dog tags and collecting the agents’ remains—may have humanized her.
“Ugh…”
Hearing Kim Cheonsu’s uneasy voice, Hwangbo Yul worried about her own ntal state. Had she succumbed to psychological contamination? Either way, she couldn’t lose focus, as any failure here would require her to strategize their next move.
Watching Jelly Girl claw her way out of the swamp stirred a stabbing pain in her chest. Suddenly, Jelly Girl froze, motionless within the transparent walls of the toad’s body.
“What?”
“…?”
Both stared in confusion. Was sothing wrong? Was this her limit?
As countless thoughts swirled, the screen began lting. No, it wasn’t the screen but the world beyond it. The toads, the swamp, and everything else started to dissolve like tal under intense heat.
“L-look at that!”
“…What is it?”
Kim Cheonsu pointed, and Hwangbo Yul followed his gaze. The swamp—suspected to be a singularity—and everything within it were lting. The eerie colors coalesced into a massive, sticky puddle.
In the puddle, remnants of the pre-swamp terrain erged, distorted and grotesque.
Sothing was happening.
Though the toads were gone, the enormous, viscous puddle remained. It wasn’t resolved, yet it wasn’t familiar either.
Hwangbo Yul, gripping her weapon, stared at the quivering puddle. She felt like sothing was watching them.
“Take this.”
“Y-yes.”
Handing Kim Cheonsu a weapon, Hwangbo Yul steeled herself. She didn’t know what would happen next but had a duty to report the truth… and to honor those who had disappeared.
Suddenly, the enormous puddle bubbled. Silhouettes erged under the moonlight.
Squelch. Squelch.
They slowly moved toward Kim Cheonsu and Hwangbo Yul.
Like the toads that had surrounded Jelly Girl.
If they were the sa, the two’s fate seed sealed.
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