The Anatomy of a Monster

Mutant #5. It’s my first time ending up inside someone’s stomach, but I have to say, it’s much more spacious in here than it looks from the outside. What kind of trick is this? It’s easily as big as a university lecture hall. Maybe it’s some kind of sub-spatial principle at work.

—You idiot, you pathetic little piece of trash! Serves you right! Wahahaha, ughahaha...

I was trying to think calmly, but Max’s laughter echoed endlessly. What is he so happy about? I frowned and covered my ears with my hands. Ugh, it’s loud enough to kill me.

Plop—

A bright yellow digestive fluid dripped from above. It only touched me for a second, but my clothes started to melt, hissing as they dissolved. If I fall in there, I’m done for. Well, even if I died once, I’d just resurrect anyway. But I had absolutely no intention of offering my body as a nutritious snack to a guy like Max.

Rumble—

The ground beneath my feet shook intermittently. It seemed like a fierce battle was raging outside his belly. By now, my party members must be fighting hard to save me. If I stay in here too long, they’ll get worried. I need to finish this quickly and get out.

“Shall we begin?”

I gripped an Orc ceremonial sword and a standard dagger in my hands. The dual-wielding Frostblades had returned. It was time for some demolition work.

—Don’t you dare try anything stupid! No one can help you now.

Max must have sensed the shift in the atmosphere inside his own body, as he urged me on. He sounded like that, but I could clearly feel how terrified he was. Well, that’s understandable. If I swallowed a tiny insect and it suddenly pulled out dual blades inside my stomach, I’d be horrified too.

“They don’t need to help. I’ll get out on my own.”

—Arrogant wench. Just melt away quietly!

Gurgle, gurgle. I heard a torrent of liquid rushing toward me from the distance. Soon, a wave of digestive fluid filled my vision. If I got swept up in that highly acidic liquid, I’d definitely melt without a trace. I didn’t have time to take it easy.

I stopped holding back and immediately used the abilities I had stored up.

My hair floated up lightly, and vitality began to surge through my body. I bent my knees slightly and leaped into the air.

Whoosh—

By a hair’s breadth, the digestive fluid swept past the spot where I had been standing. I grabbed a tentacle on the ceiling I’d been eyeing and dangled in the air. It was squishy and sticky, and the texture was disgusting, but thanks to these tentacles, I had a path to move without falling into the acid. I swung the tentacle back and forth to gain momentum, then leaped with all my might to the next one. What is this, Tarzan?

A few minutes after I started climbing up through Max’s innards, a massive organ came into view. A lump of unpleasant, faint purple flesh. What is this? A liver? Or a kidney? I pondered for a moment what function this organ might serve in Max’s body, but then...

Whatever it is, it’s probably important.

Slash.

I sliced it apart with my Frostblades without hesitation. I didn’t come here to study the internal anatomy of a monster. I don’t need theoretical study. Practical dissection is all that matters. No, wait—wouldn’t it be more accurate to call it practical dismantling?

—Gyaaaaaaaah!

Blood sprayed in all directions, and at the same time, Max’s roar, loud enough to burst my eardrums, erupted. I never did find out exactly what organ I’d turned into rags, but it must have hurt to be cut. Yeah. That’s enough.

I leisurely enjoyed his pained screams as I moved to the next area. Oh, there’s a lot of stuff here. The place was filled with Max’s organs. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I cut, punctured, and minced every single one of them without exception.

—Gaaah! St-stop! Please, stop!

Where had his dignified, imposing air gone? Max started to beg pathetically. You thought you were invincible because you kept regenerating, didn’t you, you bastard? But even if you can easily regenerate external wounds, you probably had no idea you were vulnerable to attacks from within.

Boom—

The whole place shook as if an earthquake had hit. Was that Mitchell or Wagner’s attack? While I was tearing up the inside of Max’s body, they seemed to be struggling hard on the outside.

—Guaaah...

Suddenly, bright light leaked through a gap in the dark intestinal wall. The reddish ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flesh wiggled, trying to fill the gap, but the speed at which the new flesh grew was significantly slower than before.

Crack.

The crack through which the light leaked grew wider. Max’s stomach was shaking so hard I could barely stand, and then—

My vision suddenly shot upward. Did his stomach get smaller? No, I was getting bigger.

Crunch—

Soon, my head burst through the blood and chunks of meat.

“Estelle!”

“Kid, you’re alive!”

The pale, terrified faces of my party members came into view. They were drenched in sweat and blood. It looked like they’d been fighting without regard for their own safety during that short time. To save me.

If they wanted to run, they could have run whenever they wanted.

Even though they were facing a powerful enemy that their attacks barely affected, I could clearly picture them standing their ground without backing down. For a moment, my nose stung. Huh? It wasn’t my imagination. My eyes were getting hot, too. Why am I like this?

Of course, I was grateful and proud of my companions. But I wasn’t the type of person who cried. I’d even been told by people around me that I was too cold and detached. But for some reason, right now... if my emotions had surged just a little more, I would have burst into tears without even realizing it. Like a girl going through puberty.

...Is Estelle’s body influencing my mind, too?

I buried those confusing feelings and crawled out of Max’s body.

“Really, Estelle-ssi, I thought you were really dead, I, *sob*...!”

“Seonbae, I’m fine. Stop crying. There, there!”

The moment I’d felt a bit choked up, Flora had been sobbing her heart out. ...Even with snot running down her nose. This couldn’t be an act. The snot was sincere.

“Why, inside the stomach, suddenly—”

“I told you, I went in there on purpose.”

“But why didn’t you tell me beforehand— I didn’t know, and—”

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry, Seonbae.”

“*Sob*...”

I patted her back repeatedly, but Flora couldn’t stop crying until her eyes were swollen shut.

“Even to me, that was truly insane, kid. It’s a good thing the result was good.”

Mitchell shook her head, too. She was speaking calmly now, but I remembered her face had been pale and stiff earlier.

“Thank you for saving the girl. Oh, Prelium...”

Wagner was kneeling, deep in prayer.

“We won, so that’s enough, okay?”

I said, wiping my sticky, blood-soaked hair. I’d thought there was nothing worse than the stench of the Polluted Waste Deposit. But they say there’s always a deeper bottom beneath the floor. After rolling around in Max’s stomach, I’d discovered a new level of stench I’d never known before. I’d have to wash up as soon as I got back.

Of course, it was worth the trouble.

The Blessed Experiment had spat out an enormous amount of Magic Stones. A whopping 2,400 of them. As expected of a hidden boss, the reward was quite substantial. There were more stones dropped by him than all the ones I’d collected hunting monsters in the Polluted Waste Deposit combined.

And that wasn’t all. There was also the artifact I’d found in his corpse, Pure White Radiance. I didn’t know why Max had been carrying this precious bracelet, but... I’d thank him and use it well.

“What is this bracelet?”

Mitchell tilted her head. She looked like she didn’t know what to make of it. Then Wagner took the bracelet and examined it carefully.

“It seems to be a kind of holy relic.”

Perhaps he had a keen eye, as Wagner quickly grasped how to use it. “I’ve seen holy relics used by Rex’s followers before. I think the way to use this bracelet might be similar—”

Wagner stroked the bracelet and repeated a few trial-and-error steps before succeeding in lighting a small beam of light. Everyone’s gaze gathered on the bracelet, which was glowing cutely like a tiny lightbulb.

“Oh, Bear-guy—not bad?”

“It’s a bracelet imbued with a type of illumination magic. How pretty—”

“But it’s fascinating, sure, but is that all?”

Mitchell scoffed. Well, looking at its current ability, it was understandable she’d think that. The light emitted from the bracelet was too small and weak. To borrow Flora’s words, it seemed better to just use illumination magic honestly.

But that’s not all there is to the power of Pure White Radiance.

This artifact had a strange, and in some ways, bizarre usage restriction attached to it. Only those who met the Golden Unicorn’s picky standards could draw out its true power. Unfortunately, Wagner was already disqualified. If it were a job interview, he wouldn’t even make it into the room. Rejected from the resume stage.

Because the Golden Unicorn extremely detests males.

Next, Flora took the bracelet from Wagner.

“I want to try it, too—is this how you do it?”

Flora stroked the bracelet carefully with awkward hands. Her touch ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was clumsy. But perhaps the Golden Unicorn would like that even more because of it. Soon after...

“Whoa!”

A bright light erupted from the bracelet hanging on Flora’s wrist. It was a rich, abundant light, different from before. Moreover, looking at this light, it felt as warm and reassuring as if Flora were giving me a gentle hug.

Pass.

Anyone could see that Flora clearly met the Golden Unicorn’s standards. Adventurers favored by a unicorn were rare. In a way, you could say everyone was born with it, but you had to possess the kind of condition that was easy to lose as time passed.

Next was Mitchell’s turn.

“It’s dim when Bear-guy uses it, and bright when Flora uses it. I don’t know what the difference is.”

Mitchell grumbled and put on the bracelet—

“Oh! It’s bright this time, too.”

This time, too, a bright light illuminated the surroundings. Unlike Flora’s, the light felt bold and spirited, as if it were driving away the darkness. This was unexpected. Flora was understandable, but Mitchell also met the Golden Unicorn’s standards? People really couldn’t be judged by their appearance alone.

Our party’s two beautiful adventurers had brilliantly lit up the area. Moreover, both of them had significant light intensity. That meant the unicorn was very pleased with them. With the level of light from Flora and Mitchell, they must have received high marks not just for the basic conditions, but for various other factors as well.

“Is it the kid’s turn last?”

Mitchell took off the bracelet and handed it to me. Well, how would it go? I was a bit curious, too.

I probably won’t be able to use it properly.

I didn’t have high expectations. Even if the unicorn liked me, knowing what those conditions were wasn’t exactly a pleasant thing. It wasn’t something to be purely happy about; it just left me feeling bitter. But I couldn’t just not check. I put on the bracelet and used it with a disinterested face.

The next moment...

“Aaaah!”

“My, my eyes!”

“I, I can’t see...”

A light so intense it felt like it would burn my eyes covered everything. A sun had descended into the dungeon.