NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 178
“Ahaha, Boss, seriously? At your age, you still can’t help but spill everywhere?”
Here, let me feed you.
I scooped up the slimy slime with a spoon and fed it to him.
The decaying cheeks overflowed with slime. Hmm, quite the eater. He really needs to take a break, though. He’s pushing himself too hard.
Can you eat by yourself now? Great, I’ll just go check on something else. After giving him a polite nod, I heard the sound of a spoon clattering to the ground as I headed outside.
No matter where I looked, the dark streets were filled with numerous slimes. I waved my hand to greet them, and they returned the gesture. Passing through the squelchy streets, I made my way to the Academy. The building was eerily quiet, as if class had already started amidst the kids’ noisy chatter.
Oh dear, this is a problem. I can’t be late…but I already am!
Entering the Academy, I took the elevator up to the fifth floor. As I stepped into the first-year class G on the third floor, all the kids who were attending class turned to look at me.
The expressionless, black slime-covered figures were staring at me, all of them.
Nice to meet you. My name is Blanca. I enjoy hurting people. Let’s take care of each other! The kids cheered and applauded, looking at me with a chilling amount of blankness.
Why are you looking at me like that? Because you’re weird.
What did I do wrong? It’s just how I was born.
Is it wrong for me to be happy?
…What was I doing? Oh right, I was eating. It felt like I had just been in a ruin until a moment ago.
Was it a dream? No, wait. Was it real? I can’t quite remember. Lately, my memories have been flickering like a faulty light bulb, leaving me confused. So, how did I…?
How did that come up? Nothing went wrong. Uh… Anyway, it’s all good. Yep. Everything is fine.
…Fine? Really?
No, for sure… everyone is fine. Let’s not think about it. The moment we think, the fish melts. So then… no, wait. What am I thinking?
I couldn’t forget something important. I can’t remember what it was, but I feel like I’ve already failed… yet there’s definitely something I must remember…
But anyways, what should I eat today?
As I pondered seriously, an unfamiliar vibration traveled through the slime. Also, whether that was something I should hear or not, I picked up on something that shouldn’t be there.
The sound of an airplane flying high above. This area isn’t a place where planes would even pass by. So what was that just now?
With a consistent curiosity, I made my way outside via the slime. Though the distance made it hard to see clearly, several figures that looked human were dropping down towards this place.
…It can’t be the Evil Society. Could it be the Liberators?
Oh, they’re here to save me! Ah, I knew it! I believed in them! Now they’ll bring Him and all the other executives, and… the subordinates too…
…What happened to the subordinates? Didn’t I wipe them all out?
No, wait, wait. Just a bad dream. Uh, just. It’s probably just a hallucination because I’ve been on edge lately. I should probably take some meds.
At some point, I went to a nearby pharmacy, took some meds, and decided to head towards the spot where they would likely land.
When I reached where he had been, I noticed his jaw had somehow fallen out. Oh for goodness’ sake. He’s been spilling everywhere again!
Jaws shouldn’t be allowed to fall out.
If that happens, you die.
…No, it might be possible to live.
After reattaching his jaw properly and reinforcing it, I helped him stand up and proceeded towards the landing point.
Other kids called out on the radio every now and then. Phew, just when I was about to give up; they finally showed up after holding out for a while.
Thank goodness.
– – – –
Once we entered the airspace over the problematic area, I understood why Heros Company was making such insane offers to target us.
We wouldn’t be able to survive down there without their help.
Literally, the entire city was covered in black slime. Pulsating and ominously writhing slimes. We had seen that before.
The original form of the Mimic. The black slime that Blanca had once demonstrated handling herself.
For a normal human, the moment you touch it, your body begins to be consumed. No… With that much quantity, as she said before, you would be dead upon contact.
“…That thing down there, it must be Blanca, right?”
“I can’t say for sure. It could be another one of her kind.”
“What if it’s not Blanca?”
Seolhwa asked Ageha what would happen if it turned out not to be Blanca.
“That’s exactly why I’m here. Heros Company has promised to provide full support for our survival, and our abilities won’t fall short either. The Protean should be helpful, and Teru… um.”
Changwon tried to lift our spirits with some hopeful talk but quickly shut up when he noticed Rapis’s condition.
“Blanca… Just wait, I’ll be there soon. This time… forever…”
Rapis looked like a mad person at that moment.
“Anyway, get ready. Whatever’s waiting down there, we first need to clear away the slimes to do anything.”
Trying to stabilize the atmosphere with our top priority, I asked Yeonhwa if she was ready.
“Yep. I have plenty of magical power, and the lighter’s gas is sufficient. I’m fully prepared, Maha!”
Although there was a high chance Blanca was down there, there was no guarantee she would be there.
So we had to be prepared for any situation. The best-case scenario would be if the source of that slime was Blanca and she had no intention of being hostile towards us.
The worst-case? Not only was it not Blanca, but she was filled with malicious intent towards us.
…That assessed worst-case scenario was just a product of my mind; reality could very well be much worse.
Still, Heros Company pledged full support. They must have gathered all the capable abilities from Class A. In the worst case, death would be the only outcome, so it was worth trying, right?
I know it’s irresponsible. I realize that without me, this world could take a turn for the worse.
But how can I save the world if I can’t even save one girl in despair?
As the pilot in front of us said that the doors would open soon, he mentioned he’d pray that we’d return alive safely.
“You can pray after you’ve done everything! Let’s go, guys!”
Not hesitating any further, I jumped out through the opened back to head toward the dark city below.
With all my senses tuned in case something shot at us from below, there was no sign of any incoming projectiles.
The city was still covered in black slime, ominously pulsating.
At an altitude of about 500m, each of us slowed our descent in our respective ways and carefully observed the situation in the city with the provided equipment.
“There’s something that looks like a person down there. Well, it’s not quite human, though…”
Slime figures that resembled human shapes were wandering the streets, like a child was given clay and told to create a human figure.
“Oh, yeah, that’s what it looks like. Some buildings don’t seem like they’re real either. But judging by the way they move as a mass and the quality being so poor, it might very well be Blanca.”
“To produce this much slime, what kind of magical power would you need to use?”
Jinhyeon pondered, but none of us had any experience dealing with slime, so we couldn’t give a definitive answer.
“…I can’t say for sure, but she probably has to use at least double the magical power that she can wield herself.”
Changwon could only guess.
“…Wait a second, there’s something coming this way. It looks… kind of like a person. But since it’s covered in slime, I can’t really tell… uh… wait a minute. That’s…”
Seolhwa cut herself off, observing something approaching us with the equipment.
Following her pointing direction, we too were left speechless.
It was literally a sludge of slime, making it difficult to identify, but we could tell that it was Blanca.
“Blanca…?”
We had no clue what had happened during our absence, but her state was a wreck.
In her arms, she was holding a skeleton forcibly glued together with slime, and her clothes were probably dissolved long ago, exposing her skin sporadically through the layers of slime covering her body.
With her white bob haircut mixed with black slime, she gave off an unsettling vibe, almost like a lunatic or a wild person.
Rapis seemed poised to rush over, but Changwon pulled her back, telling her to hold on for a moment.
“What are you trying to say? So… support… here…?”
“Support? Even after seeing us?”
“Maybe she still hasn’t realized we’re here. But… even if she did, I doubt the situation would turn in our favor…”
“Blanca! Over here, come here!!! Let go of that thing…!”
The kids were clearly feeling a strange fear towards the scene that seemed so off.
However, unlike the others, Rapis struggled against Changwon’s telekinesis, desperate to break free.
“What are we going to do, Maha?”
Changwon asked me while restraining Rapis.
What to do? We came all this way, so it’s obvious what we need to do.
“Let’s go down and talk.”
Whether I’m crazy or not, I’ll find out when I talk to her.