FLIA 37

At the sound of whispering voices, Yohan opened his tear-filled eyes. The two dark creatures still showed no intention of attacking, simply squirming and staring blankly.

He wondered if he was just hallucinating – until, still sobbing, he grabbed at the fluffy tail coiled around him and cried even harder.

[He’s crying.]

[He’s really sobbing.]

Only then did Yohan realize the source of the voices, it was the small creatures huddled near the two large monsters.

Were the monsters reproducing? Now that he looked closely, they did resemble their larger counterparts, maybe offspring. A tiny fur-tailed creature and a little tentacle one giggled.

“You… you spoke…?”

Yohan rubbed his ears in disbelief.
Had he been corrupted and was now hearing things?

“Did a monster just talk?”

The little monsters immediately responded:
[We’re not monsters.]

“Oh! Uh, sorry for calling you that…”

He apologized, sweating bullets. Fortunately, the small creatures didn’t seem too offended.

Yohan still couldn’t believe he was alive. As he squirmed, trying to slip out of the tail wrapped around him, a thought crossed his mind.

‘Did my purification bring back some of their sanity? Were they… originally human? Maybe even children?’

The idea gave him chills, but also stirred a sense of pity. And, perhaps, a tiny sliver of hope. If he could talk to them, maybe he could persuade them.

“Hey, could you… maybe let me go? Please…?”

He pleaded earnestly, but the answer was blunt beyond belief:

[Nope.]

[Absolutely NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.]

They somehow communicated like a bizarre chat message, and though the words were strange, he still understood them clearly. And just as he was beginning to get his hopes up, the following replies made his blood run cold:

[You’ll be with us forever.]

[Foreverrrrrrrrrrrrrr.]

““Nooo… Mr. Hyunmook… huhhng, Hyunmook-hyuuung…”

Yohan burst into tears again, thrashing around. Since falling into the Abyss, he hadn’t cried this hard before.
Eventually, all the crying left him so drained that he managed to wriggle free from the tail, yet he didn’t even think of running.

While he still sat there sniffling, the tentacled monster that had stolen his knife earlier began to approach, squirming with low, raspy breaths.
The way its tongue darted out and licked his cheek made it clear, it was hungry.

Yohan screamed again.

Then suddenly, with a chilling roar, the fur-tailed creature lunged at the tentacled one. They fought fiercely, teeth bared, fur flying, until the fur-tailed monster came out victorious. The tentacled creature whimpered and backed away.

But Yohan’s relief was short-lived.
The fur-tailed one turned right around.
And swallowed Yohan whole.

This time, he didn’t even have time to scream. He was sucked into total darkness, his tears and everything else completely drained. When he was finally spat back out, dried and dazed, he sat in a stupor.

“Hhh… ugh…”

Even as he regained consciousness, the tears threatened to return.
But Yohan clenched his jaw and held them back.

‘Don’t cry. Don’t cry…’

He remembered how the corrupted Lee Hyunmook had reacted to his tears and blood. If monsters were the same, his tears might lure them in. This time, it was just tears, but next time, it could be flesh.

He scooted a bit farther away, trying to put distance between himself and the monsters.

The creatures sat motionless like stone statues, and time dragged on in unbearable silence. Exhausted and drowsy, Yohan forced himself to stay awake. He couldn’t sleep, not while imagining that Hyunmook or Seungryong had lost their minds and might already be wandering the jungle, forgetting him.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when the monsters exchanged glances, as if silently communicating.
Then they moved again. The fur-tailed creature wrapped around him once more, carrying him off at high speed.

The ride was surprisingly smooth, but Yohan felt no comfort. Half resigned, he let himself be carried for hours before they finally stopped.

He could tell they’d entered a deeper, more secluded part of the jungle.
His face darkened even further.

He kept glancing behind him, hoping Hyunmook or Seungryong would appear, but the oppressive darkness only flickered with the occasional gleam of a monster’s red eyes before vanishing again.

The creatures, now wandering around the area, finally settled down.
Then they began building what could only be called a nest.

They dragged in all sorts of materials and padded the center thickly, then sat Yohan down in the middle.
He flinched, sitting there gloomily, when—

Grrrrrrgle…

His stomach growled loudly.
After running, purifying, and crying since yesterday, he was starving. The monsters all turned their eyes toward him at once. Then the large tentacle monster and one of the smaller ones slowly left the nest.

The fur-tailed ones stayed behind.
Yohan shrank back, watching them cautiously.

‘Maybe… they’re really not going to hurt me.’

They’d had plenty of chances by now.
If they’d meant to kill him, they could’ve done so long ago. He felt a bit relieved. Dying was terrifying, of course, but what worried him just as much was leaving Lee Hyunmook and Yoon Seungryong behind without a purifier.

He let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Then, after hesitating, he cautiously reached out toward one of the fur-tailed monsters.

A soft band of radiant light shimmered from his fingertips.

“Don’t hurt me… okay?”

As if offering a bribe, Yohan released a wave of purification, and the monster’s red eyes narrowed with what seemed like satisfaction. Only then did he feel his fear begin to ease.

Cautiously, he glanced at its body again. How can anything be so black?
It was so dark it wasn’t even helpful for hiding, it stood out, like a warning to flee. The kind of ominous black that made his skin crawl.

Turning his gaze aside, Yohan slowly reached out and, cloaking his hand in light, gently stroked the creature’s fur.

“G-good… boy…”

Even though it was terrifying, the fur was unbelievably soft, like satin.
The sensation was unexpectedly addictive, and soon he was petting it in earnest, eyes fixed elsewhere.
The creature tilted slightly at the touch but, apparently enjoying it, simply laid flat near his legs.

Relieved, Yohan began petting it more boldly. He reached up to stroke its head gently. Then a rustling sound in the bushes made him flinch. Was another monster coming to attack?

But no, it was one of the monsters that had left earlier. It returned carrying something on its shoulder.
It had gone hunting.

With a thud, the wriggling prey was dropped onto the ground. A giant yellow caterpillar. Huge and disgustingly squishy.

Yohan barely managed to stop himself from screaming. The monster let out a low, displeased growl, as if offended by his reaction.

Yohan stared at the prey with trembling eyes. His mind flashed to a documentary, one where jungle tribes casually ate wriggling caterpillars and offered them to the filming crew like it was nothing.

If he rejected this gift, would the monsters get angry? He took a deep breath and scattered his purification light over the thing. Even if he had to eat it, he’d rather it looked a little more… palatable.

Fortunately, after one round of purification, the lumpy surface smoothed out and it stopped moving.

‘This shape… looks familiar…’

As Yohan tilted his head, the monster calmly slit the skin with a claw.
Inside was pale, soft flesh.He frowned, then his eyes widened.

“B-banana…?”

It had looked like a caterpillar when corrupted, but now, it was unmistakably a banana. As he hesitated, the monster pushed it forward with a thick tentacle, urging him to eat.

Carefully, Yohan picked up a chunk of the banana. The scent hit him, it had been so long since he’d smelled something this familiar.

“Thanks… I’ll eat it well.”

He lifted the piece, which was nearly as big as his face, hesitated for a moment, then took a bite.

“……!”

It was shockingly sweet and delicious.
By the time he came to, he had finished the entire piece. Glancing at the monsters, he reached for another. Only after three pieces did he finally sigh, full at last.

But fullness brought drowsiness.
He fought to keep his eyes open, who knew what the monsters would do while he slept? Just then, the fluffy furred tail slowly wrapped around him.

“Gasp…”

Yohan stiffened, wondering if they were they taking him somewhere again. But instead of carrying him away, the monster pulled him closer into its arms. He flinched, thinking it might try to swallow him like before, but it didn’t.

The dark, dark creature simply held him tightly to its body, then pulled over something soft and laid it on top of him.

Yohan’s eyes went wide. Is it… tucking me in? It was. It really was. Maybe offering purification had been the right choice. It seemed he’d earned some affection.

‘Thank god… If I can keep this up until I see Mr. Hyunmook and Seungryong-hyung again, I might just survive this.’

He told himself he wouldn’t fall asleep.
After all, he’d seen both of them go for days without rest. As a high-level awakener, surely he could manage it too. But the monster’s body was so warm, so soft. Yohan yawned before he even realized it, and soon…he drifted into a deep, peaceful sleep.