The Second Transformation
The second transformation—*shhhk*! Aktoa’s acidic secretion was extraordinarily potent. It was a mad acid capable of melting anything it touched. The area had already been reduced to a wasteland in the short time since the creature’s appearance. And I…
“Gaaah!”
I writhed in agony as the acidic liquid that flew through the window struck my left arm. But Marcela, isn’t this a bit much? I’d only expected something like a burn, yet the acidity was far too strong. It hurt even more because I had shifted my body into that of an ordinary human the instant Aktoa appeared. I’d have to slap some sense into her when I got back.
Thankfully, only a tiny amount had splashed over. It melted a small patch of flesh before vanishing completely. And Sehwa…
Boom!
Having transformed into Leona wrapped in sky-blue light, she charged toward Aktoa with a tremendous roar that split the air.
Skreee!
Aktoa seemed to feel considerable wariness toward Leona’s overwhelming power. It directed every tentacle at her and unleashed a barrage of acidic fluid.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The acidic liquid spraying from the tips of thousands of tentacles was truly… grotesque. Nauseating, even.
Leona deflected the sprays with her dramatically enhanced dynamic vision and her sword.
Bang! Bang!
“You freak! Get out here right now!” Dr. Cash’s shout came from beyond the door. I frowned as deeply as possible and opened it. She recoiled at the sight of my left arm drenched in blood.
“You’re hurt?!”
“Ugh… Some green liquid splashed onto my arm…”
“Damn it!”
Swearing, she dragged me into her room, pulled a small syringe from her bag, and injected it into my arm.
“It’s a painkiller. Stronger analgesic effect than heroin, but zero side effects. Hard to come by…”
I know, you bitch. And this damn woman… is this the time to be stingy when your assistant is injured? Since it was an important moment, I let it slide.
The pain vanished in an instant. I rotated my left arm in genuine wonder.
“Whoa… This thing’s effect is…”
“Stop rotating your arm, you pathetic idiot. It’ll delay treatment if the muscles are damaged.”
“Ah, yes…”
I answered with an awkward expression and continued. “What should I do?”
“We need to analyze it quickly. First, put on the communicator.”
“Yes.”
I took the small communicator Dr. Cash offered and fixed it to my right ear, then tapped it twice. A crackling sound emerged, followed by the noise of slicing wind and something being struck. It had linked with the communicator on Leona’s head, letting me hear the sounds around her.
The sound quality is garbage. I’ll improve it myself later.
“Aaa… Sehwa… No, Leona. Can you hear me?”
The doctor gave me a pathetic look. Don’t look at me like that. You were supposed to be the one who named her.
“Leona?”
“I chose the name. It fits, doesn’t it?”
“Sigh… Even in this situation… Never mind. Let’s start the analysis. I’ve sent out a reconnaissance drone, so the scan results should arrive soon. Until then, watch the screen and look for behavioral patterns or weaknesses.”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
I alternated my gaze between the two laptops in front of the doctor.
At that moment, an electronic tone sounded from the communicator, followed by Leona’s voice.
It was Sehwa’s voice with added confidence—a perfect tone. No matter when I heard it, the sound always felt like it purified my ears.
“That’s right. Can you hear me clearly? How does that monster look?”
-Well… Eep!
She had been distracted by our conversation and barely avoided one of the acid sprays.
-I can hear you. It seems more troublesome than that horse-head, but… I think I can handle it easily.
The doctor scolded her immediately.
“Don’t let your guard down.”
-Yes, Doctor.
Aktoa was now swinging its tentacles while spraying acid. Yet they were helplessly severed by the giant sword Leona swung.
Slash!
Skree!
Enraged, Aktoa scattered acid in every direction. Leona moved faster than anything, deflecting the liquid to prevent damage to the surroundings. Provoking the creature’s temper in the process was simply a bonus.
In the meantime, the doctor and I examined Aktoa’s entire body.
“Even when the tentacles are cut, its movement remains unchanged. I believe the nervous system operates independently, and the main body appears fixed to the ground. There’s no concern about it moving. Even if it does, it will definitely be slow…”
“Yeah. I agree. The scan results… are in.”
The doctor, having quickly inspected Aktoa’s interior, spoke with a troubled expression.
“There is a hole resembling an anus on the submerged portion of its body. It would be ideal to target that, but… tentacles cover the torso, and the water pressure will slow Sehwa’s movements. It’s too dangerous.”
“There’s also an eye-like structure in the middle of the tentacles. Since cutting the tentacles proved useless, aiming for the eye seems correct.”
“Good. Well done. You heard that, right? Your gauge is currently at 62%, so approach quickly.”
-Yes.
Boom! Boom!
Loud explosions erupted around Leona. Each time she kicked off the air in midair, the atmosphere burst and sent shockwaves outward. She steadily sliced through Aktoa’s tentacles as she closed the distance.
Skreeee!!
With every tentacle that vanished, Leona’s speed rose. Before long she had reached the immediate vicinity of the eye.
-Haaap!
With a powerful shout she thrust her sword into the eye. However—
Crackle!
Clang!
The sword bounced off, blocked by the protective barrier covering the eye. The price was severe.
Skree!
Grab!
The instant Leona’s balance faltered, Aktoa wrapped a tentacle around her body.
-Kyaaak!
Leona screamed like a frightened girl and struggled, but the tentacle had already sealed her completely. Its pressure was immense. With her hands immobilized, she could not pry it off.
-Ugh…! This…! My body…!
Aktoa brought another tentacle before Leona’s eyes and made obscene movements. It was as if the creature were saying, Now I will explore every one of your holes…
The doctor, watching the scene, cried out.
“No!”
At this rate Leona’s entire body would either be crushed or melted by the acid.
Stupid bitch… Instead of just screaming, find a solution like I do. Well, since this was only the second monster and it had appeared so suddenly, I could generously understand that her preparations had been insufficient.
“Doctor! When the sword touched the monster’s eye, sparks flew everywhere!”
“I saw it! So what?!”
“It may be an electric barrier, so fire an EMP round! Are you just going to keep saying it won’t work?”
The doctor snapped back to her senses and began typing rapidly on the keyboard. The reconnaissance drone that had been keeping its distance sped forward and dropped a small, round orb encased in hard material directly above Aktoa’s center.
Thud!
Aktoa naturally refused to ignore the unfamiliar object. It swung a tentacle and struck the orb.
Whoosh!
Clang!
But Aktoa did not realize it had hit the orb too hard.
Boom!
Crackle-crackle-crackle!
The EMP round, detonated in midair by the heavy impact, instantly neutralized the barrier covering Aktoa’s eye. At the same time it delivered a massive shock to the creature’s main body.
This was a creation of mine and Marcela’s. We had modified it so that destroying the barrier would inflict a full-body shock.
Skreeeeeek!
Aktoa let out a tortured scream and thrashed wildly. The tentacle restraining Leona loosened.
It was as good as over.
She had been listening carefully to our conversation through the communicator. Maintaining her composure, the instant the tentacle released her she hurled her sword straight at Aktoa’s eye.
-Haaap!
I lay on the medical bed in the lab with my eyes closed. I wasn’t unconscious; I was simply pretending to sleep.
Dr. Cash’s voice drifted in from nearby.
“You can’t keep doing this in the future either. Even if it appeared suddenly, that was far too improvised. We need preparation. We must be ready for situations like this at any time.”
Of course we need preparation. Aktoa had been deployed both to measure Leona’s combat capability and to explosively heighten the doctor’s sense of alarm. The outside world was currently in chaos. After Amducias, another monster beyond anything imaginable in reality had appeared.
The World Coalition was moving frantically. Most major powers were sending personnel to Korea to investigate the anomaly. It was around this time that the doctor would begin contacting nations worldwide to secure cooperation. She was now preparing to fully activate the Beast Slayer Headquarters.
She would produce various inventions and modify the Device so that when Sehwa transformed into Leona she could utilize consumables suited to each situation.
The figure known as Leona would gain tremendous fame and become known as Korea’s guardian. Beginning as a hero of unknown identity, she would eventually become a global idol and a trustworthy guardian deity.
The doctor would work hard to ensure Leona’s true identity remained hidden so that Sehwa could continue living an ordinary daily life.
“Is Jihyeok okay?”
Sehwa, who was also present, asked with clear worry. The doctor answered.
“He’s fine. There will be a scar, but his arm will function perfectly. Don’t worry.”
Sehwa spoke in a gloomy tone.
“If only I had been a little more careful…”
“No, you did well enough. It’s simply that the monster appeared so suddenly… Sigh… If not for this guy, things might have gone terribly wrong. He really is impressive. Sharp mind, excellent improvisation… Honestly, I was so flustered I never even thought of using an EMP.”
“When I saw Jihyeok’s arm covered in blood, my heart sank… It must have been so painful, yet he didn’t show any sign of it…”
“That’s because the painkiller’s effect is quite strong.”
That bitch… She just had to ruin the good atmosphere.
The doctor continued.
“Still, he remained remarkably composed. The flesh had melted until the bone was visible.”
Hmm… I don’t particularly like it, but I’ll let it pass. Next time, skip praising yourself and only praise me. Otherwise I might just sever that neck of yours.
“When he wakes up, don’t you think he’ll try to quit?”
The doctor’s question was half joke, half serious.
“I won’t let him quit. I need Jihyeok. The same goes for you, Doctor.”
“He is an excellent talent. By the way, Leona? What’s with Leona?”
“That… Jihyeok suggested using it as an alias…”
“And you agreed?”
“Well…”
“Just use it. If you do, this guy will feel a sense of belonging here as well.”
“Yes… I was planning to do that anyway…”
After a brief silence the doctor spoke seriously.
“The current Device charge is 25%. You understand what I’m saying, correct?”
“Yes… I’ll charge it right away…”
“Good. We don’t know when Evelion Energy will appear again, so stay prepared at all times. I have research to attend to, so I’ll step out. Let me know when this guy wakes up. I’ll drive him home.”
“Understood.”
Some time after the doctor left the medical room, Sehwa stealthily took my hand. Her slender hand felt cold. It was time to open my eyes.
“Ugh…”
At my labored groan, Sehwa jumped.
“Jihyeok! Are you okay?”
“Se… Sehwa?”
“It’s me. How’s your arm? Do you need anything? Should I bring water?”
“One at a time… Ask one thing at a time.”
“Sorry…”
I slowly opened my eyes and stared at her. She was full of worry for me. It made me feel strangely proud.
“Water…”
“Water? Okay. Just a moment…”
Sehwa hurried to fetch water, set it on the table, then carefully lifted my upper body as though handling something precious. She brought the cup to my lips.
After drinking a sip, I looked at my arm.
“It’s fine…? The bone was visible earlier…”
“She said it would heal. And I was so worried. About what might happen to you… I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry?”
“If I had transformed even a little faster, you might not have been hurt.”
“Hey… That’s not true. That sea anemone monster popped out without warning. Then soon after you came flying in from the sky. That was fast enough.”
Sehwa said nothing and simply gazed into my eyes. I scratched my head as if embarrassed and continued.
“And… I saw your transformed appearance clearly on the monitor… You were truly beautiful. Your hair grew longer and even changed color… Couldn’t you dye it that way?”
At my silly joke Sehwa let out a small laugh. She giggled for a long while with a tired face, then spoke.
“Let’s go back. The doctor said she’d give us a ride.”
“Yeah, we should head back. My mind is exhausted. I desperately need my bed at home. So much has happened these past few days.”
Sehwa’s face flushed red. Mentioning that so much had happened must have reminded her of the events of the previous night.
“Um… Jihyeok.”
“What?”
“About what happened last night…”
“I won’t tell anyone.”
“Yeah…”
“Let’s go back. I want to rest at home as soon as possible.”
“Stay still. I’ll help you.”
Supported by Sehwa as I rose from the bed, I thought to myself. I should release the third monster a little more slowly. Instead, I would scatter mediocre creatures that even ordinary humans could handle throughout the world. That way the doctor could more easily travel around gathering information.
And while reshaping Sehwa to suit my tastes, I would gradually begin approaching Yuria. The earthling Rose… that is, Stella, could wait until she came to Korea on her own. But since Yuria had come from another world and arrived far earlier than in the original story, I could not leave her alone for long.
My mind began turning with all sorts of plans.