I Want to Meet You (2)
Those zombie larva bastards seemed to eat anything that moved. Not just people or zombies, but even shop signs flapping in the wind or those dancing balloon mascots—they tried to gobble those up too. The key to surviving them was simple: don't move. You could figure that out just by watching for a bit. But standing still in front of one of those things? Easier said than done.
First off, they were fucking disgusting. Like a long, black shield flipped upside down, with tentacles scraping the ground at the edges and long harpoon-like things wriggling on the head part. I hadn't gotten close enough to smell it, but I was damn sure it reeked. Not that I could sniff it out in this body anyway.
Someone might say, You've got a dog mask on—can't you smell it?! Yeah, yeah, I know it's weird. Anyway, if there was nothing moving nearby, those things just sat there stock-still. What made them move? They didn't seem to have eyes. If they could see far, they'd have crawled all sluggish toward anywhere something might be moving. Hell, even I was up on the rooftop riding a lion, and that lion was shaking its head or moving pretty roughly. I was already in bow range. I could shoot from here.
But I got curious about that larva. Hell, I was already on a lion—what's the harm? So I leaped down to the street. Right after smashing the sidewalk blocks on landing, I slowly urged the lion toward the larva. Distance: about 100 meters. Pretty far. I walked it down the center line, tap-tap, and the larva didn't budge. At 80 meters, 60, 40—it didn't even seem to know I was there.
Then, from the side—
"Aaaah! Help! Aaaah!"
A woman's scream. Desperate as hell. Coming from inside a cosmetics shop on the left building. I whipped the lion straight toward it, smashing through the door.
Crash!
And there it was—a monster. Big fin on its back, fins instead of legs on its body. Above its massive maw hung something like a lantern, gaping open like a mouth and screaming.
"Help! Help! It hurts, it hurts!"
The woman's voice was coming from there. Six eyes on the monster's head all locked onto me at once. It let out an indescribable screech and charged, squirting slime from its fins as it slid forward—whoosh!
"Fucking mimic freak."
Kill it.
The thought had barely formed when the lion reared up on its forepaws and roared.
Grrrrowl!
With a savage roar, its long claws shredded one of the monster's eyes. At the same time, I thrust my spear. The slashed and stabbed spots petrified instantly, crumbling to sand. But the monster didn't die easy. It thrashed wildly, knocking shelves over and sending cosmetics flying everywhere. I stabbed relentlessly, spear plunging over and over, while the lion clawed, bit, and tore. The thing tried changing direction to escape us, but too late. Most of its body was petrifying, sand pouring off. Guts were spilling out—and even those were turning to sand.
The lion pounced, clawing and pinning it. It sank its teeth in viciously. At the same moment, I gripped the spear reverse, twisted my body, and slammed it vertically with all my strength.
Crunch!
The monster hardened solid, then collapsed into a sand heap.
"Fucking shitstain pretending to be human."
Yeonsu mentioned monsters that mimicked human voices to lure and eat people, right? Or was it Hye-yun? Gotta brag about killing a mimic when I get back.
Coins acquired: 50
Oh. One of these equals 50 zombies. Jackpot... wait, HP dropped nearly 20 points. Guess each attack burned stamina. Still, cost-performance wise, way better than picking off zombies one by one.
Anyway. Scattered cosmetics. Some broken, but whatever.
...Hmm, cosmetics...? Do the girls need this stuff? They're pretty without makeup. Once I clear this whole shopping district and make it safe, maybe we can go shopping together.
Anyway. The larva. I circled back outside, and it was still just sitting there. How close do I gotta get before it reacts? Fucking curious now. Oh, another thing—what if this lion fights that larva? Larva's like 10 times bigger.
I hopped off and walked beside it. Shit. Never thought I'd be strolling with a lion in my life.
On the ground, something white caught my eye. Wouldn't have noticed from far. Not tentacles. Threads? Like spiderwebs scattered on the pavement.
...That's it. Touch those threads, and the larva reacts.
I stepped on them casually with the lion. Distance to larva: about 20 meters.
Yup. The moment I did, it twitched. Tentacles rustled, and it slowly turned toward me.
"Lion. Go fight that thing. Let's see who wins."
Grrrrowl!
It charged. I drew my bow, nocked an arrow, and crouched low.
Alright. Showtime.
Mana cost three points, huh? Gotta see how strong it is.
The lion lunged, and the larva fired spines—thwip thwip thwip! Lion spun midair, dodging. But too many, too fast. Shoulder torn, foreleg shredded, mane ripped—sand flying everywhere. It landed on the body, but was already wrecked.
Grrrrowl!
Roaring, it clawed and bit with its remaining paw. That spot petrified and crumbled to sand, but too small an area. Meanwhile, spines kept stabbing. Lion dodged left and right, clawing nonstop, but eventually...
Spines pierced it through. Sand pile.
Aw. Lion can't do it. It could handle that fish-mimic easy, but larva's too much.
I stood, drew the bow.
"Eye of Precision."
Glowing bow. Larva raised spines like springs, loading.
I released.
Twang!
Simultaneously, larva fired spines. I leaped back—the arrow punched into its body. That was enough. It split into multiples, punching more holes, splitting again. In a blink, a cocoon of light enveloped it.
Once this arrow hits, you're done.
...Usage a bit different, but whatever.
Boom boom boom!
Huge noise. Arrows multiplied so much it wasn't piercing—it was shredding. Cocoon vanished. Larva splattered.
"Hm. Lion's a letdown, but as a fast mount with some combat power... eh. Next time, just run on foot."
Waste of mana. Lion'd be useful for long hauls, but not now.
No. Definitely give 'em the underwear. Seeing them in my clothes is hot too. No argument there. Actually, best if they're naked. I like the nude look. But underwear... that adds a special flavor, right? Imagining them in it gets me going.
Today's a bust—mage's new skill sucked, summoning the lion burned coins. Shit happens.
Grabbed eight paper bags from the lingerie shop, strolling leisurely. Passing the familiar convenience store, something caught my eye. A paper on the door.
WHO ARE YOU?
I WANT TO MEET YOU—
THE ONE WEARING A MASK ON YOUR FACE.
Big bold letters for clarity. Four A4 sheets taped into a poster.
...Only one group'd post this. The one Yeonsu and Hye-yun escaped from? Haven't heard of others around here.
They wanna meet me?
The girls were thrilled with the underwear. Until they saw the crotchless ones—then they stared at me like I'd lost my mind.
"...Y-you want us to wear this?"
"Yup."
Whether they like it or not, I wanna see you in it.
"Doesn't matter during the day. But at night? You wear these."
"...This is too much, God. This... this doesn't even function as panties, fuck."
Yeonsu's face was already red. She always talks tough, but can't hide her reactions.
"Because."
I flopped down in front of Yeonsu and Hye-yun, grinning.
"I'm stripping you anyway at night. Worn or not, doesn't matter, right? So if I'm gonna strip you, might as well wear something I like."
".........."
".........."
Yeonsu and Hye-yun. We've rolled in the same bed, seen everything, felt everything—yet they can't meet each other's eyes. Yeonsu held red, Hye-yun white. Perfect.
"Wanna try 'em on?"
In for a penny...
"N-no... I don't wanna."
Yeonsu. Why say that while clutching the crotchless thong?
"Come on, hurry."
I got up, nudged their backs. Hye-yun whined and fidgeted, but they went into the room together.
Ah, nice. I tried to follow, but they blocked the door, staring.
"...We'll change and come out. Just... wait outside... please?"
"That works too."
My eyes were basically undressing them. They blushed at my gaze and shut the door.
I leaned against it.
"Oh yeah, Yeonsu, Hye-yun. Found something weird at the convenience store."
"What?"
Rustle rustle—clothes coming off. Whispers too, but can't make 'em out.
"Someone wants to meet me? Pretty sure it's from your old group."