Escape and the Hungry Fly Girl at My Door
"If even Cthulhu can be summoned by puny humans weaker than itself, what's stopping ants from summoning a human?"
In other words, just as ants seem pathetic and weak to humans, humans must look the same to Cthulhu.
Of course, not every monster in this horror game could compare to an outer god, but it was clear that monsters held an overwhelming advantage over humans. Almost no human loses to flies or spiders, and likewise, almost no monster loses to a human.
"Huff... huff..."
How far had I run? My breath came in ragged gasps, my legs ached, and I'd run so much I felt a little dizzy.
...I was dying for some water.
But my rational mind screamed to keep running. I hadn't escaped the lab yet.
"...Doesn't seem like it's chasing me."
I glanced back cautiously, but there was no sign of the fly monster. I seemed safe for now. Still, I couldn't let my guard down, so I slipped into a nearby cabinet to hide.
Just a short break... I caught my breath and listened intently. For any footsteps.
But no matter how long I waited, no fly monster footsteps came. So, I took a moment to sort my thoughts.
'Did my plan actually work...?'
I felt a bit dazed. I hadn't had any other options—it was a desperate last-ditch gamble. But it looked like it had worked.
That was a relief, but it didn't erase my unease.
...Had I really knocked out the King of Flies with a few hits?
'To put it in human terms, it's like passing out from a spider bite.'
Things had gone too smoothly, which only made me more suspicious. Not that I planned to go back the way I'd come.
And something had been nagging at me for a while now.
Applying Cute Girl Mod to target.
Applying (14%)... Please wait a moment.
"...What the hell is this?"
When had it started? A system message had appeared in the corner of my vision.
I steadied my breathing and watched it. The 14% ticked up to 15%.
...It seemed to progress over time.
What was happening...? I got that the Cute Girl Mod was activating, but...
Did activating the Cute Girl Mod even change anything?
Honestly, I regretted downloading it. I'd gotten isekai'd into a horror game because of that mod.
...And it hadn't helped me at all. If anything, it had just gotten in the way.
Wasn't it because I'd turned into a cute girl that the King of Flies nearly caught me earlier?
...If I'd known, I should've installed a cheat mod like everyone else.
Aside from making me cute, it had been utterly useless so far.
"For now, ignore the mod and focus on getting out of here..."
I could figure out the mod later, after escaping. With that thought, I slipped out of the lab.
After that, the King of Flies never chased me.
And aside from it, there were no other monsters in the lab. The setting was that all the other monsters had already fled, leaving the King of Flies to monopolize the researchers' corpses.
Thanks to that, I escaped without much trouble.
"Ugh... Finally out, and it's pouring..."
The moment I stepped outside, a downpour hit me. No choice—I had to run through the rain.
I ran for a good while. My clothes were soaked, the ground slippery; I slipped and fell twice. My outfit reeked of muddy water now, but that was actually a good thing.
...The corpse rot smell had probably soaked into my clothes. The mud scent masked it, so it worked out.
"I'm out, but... where do I go now?"
The lab building was out of sight now. Safe enough, I figured, so I paused.
"First, somewhere safe..."
On a whim, I checked my pockets. Jackpot: my phone and wallet.
"Good, still got the phone... Though who doesn't these days?"
It was a remote area, but the GPS worked, showing my location. A bit farther, and I'd hit the main road.
And the wallet: a few debit cards and my resident registration card.
...Resident registration?
Mayuri () 001225-4XXXXXX
"Born in 2000, huh..."
I'd thought she was a kid, but nope—a super youthful 2000 baby.
The card also listed a home address. Head there?
I made it to the main road, stopped at a convenience store for a towel and raincoat to mask my smell. No one batted an eye.
"Kid, you didn't run away from home, did you?"
"...I'm an adult."
The taxi driver pegged me for a runaway teen, but I made it home safe.
Application complete (100%)
Cute Girl Mod successfully applied to target.
By the time I got home, that system message popped up. But nothing special happened, and after running all day, I was exhausted.
...So I just crashed.
A day passed. Another. Three days.
"They say humans are creatures of adaptation..."
In that time, I'd gotten pretty used to living as Mayuri. Waking up to a cute girl in the mirror felt natural now.
Three days as Mayuri, and even my high soprano voice didn't feel off anymore. Hell, looking in the mirror gave me a weird boost of confidence.
I mean, I'm a total cutie—couldn't I debut as an idol? Or flip the acting world? Or go viral as an eating show star?
"Damn, I am gorgeous."
Of course I was. I'd even hoped waking up would reveal it was a dream and I'd return to my old world, but no such luck.
Three days in, I was still super youthful cute girl Mayuri.
Looks like I'd be living as Mayuri in this world for a good long while. Maybe forever.
'A world where breathing wrong can drag you into an anomaly.'
Walking down the street and running into a monster that kills you? As a cute girl with no real advantages besides looks...
...Way too hardcore.
Isekai escape depends on wits. Living here was brutal.
So, I set my goal: return to my original world. No matter what. Survive to the end and get back.
"First things first, grocery shopping."
I grabbed a basket. I desperately wanted to go home, but you gotta live in the now. No food today, no tomorrow.
As for getting back... I had one hunch.
This was a game world, after all.
'Reach the true ending, and maybe I can return.'
It was a cliché: hit the ending to go home. Especially in monster horror games, where true endings were notoriously unique and cryptic—like soulslikes.
True ending it is, then. No other ideas anyway.
"...Daunting."
The path to true ending was long and perilous. Not a one- or two-day thing.
For now, eat well. Turns out Mayuri was an unemployed shut-in with about two million won saved.
...Job hunt starting tomorrow, while researching high-rank monsters for ending branches.
With that plan, I finished shopping and headed home.
"I'm hungry."
Right as I reached the front, I spotted a cute girl saying that.
Mayuri lived in a rundown villa—social newbie, no big bucks, so it had character. Peeling paint on the walls.
Sitting on the floor in front of the door, hugging her knees: a cute girl. Different type from me—tall, killer figure at a glance, long black hair.
But those eyes—red, compound like a fly's.
"I'm hungry..."
She pouted. And that smell—familiar corpse rot.
Ew.
"Wrong person."
I tried that. Didn't land.