..
..
Night fell rapidly, the floodlights around the lawn shone exceptionally bright.
Fully armed, the Bearded Man and his group surrounded the ancient Mysterious Stone Cabinet, its surface carved with bloody scenes of the Maya sacrificing to the gods, as they swallowed their saliva nervously from time to time.
We, we really have to..
Do you have any other choice?
Peterson glared unhappily at the Bearded Man, the Mexican.
Upon hearing this, the Mexican's eyes instantly clouded with darkness, his hands reached for the saber at his waist several times.
Seeing this, Wood, who held a cat in his left hand and a dog in his right, hurriedly mediated: "Everyone, please check the surroundings again! Once we are sure no one is around, we will officially open the container."
“OK！”
The tense atmosphere eased temporarily, the procession split into small groups to enter the bushes and small woods surrounding the lawn. After repeated checks to confirm—
No one!
There isn't even a bird on my end!
Confirmed! Perfectly clean!
Alright.
Having received an affirmative response, Wood set down the Jormungand Cat that was clinging to his neck, handed Anubis Dog's leash to Peterson, took the combat knife from the Bearded Man, walked toward the Mysterious Stone Cabinet.
I am officially opening the Mysterious Stone Cabinet now, all of you be careful! Because I don't know what will happen once the Mysterious Stone Cabinet is opened!
At this point, he paused: "If anyone loses their life because of this, do not hold it against me!"
“Understood!”
Understood!
“——OK～”
Wood raised his saber and pried open the gap in the Mysterious Stone Cabinet.
Clatter—
After the knife pierced into the gap, it cracked apart like a pile of scattered building blocks, as if the ancestors who built the Mysterious Stone Cabinet had used a plant-sap-based glue instead of molten metal to join the six granite slabs together—now that the glue had dried, a light stroke of the knife caused the Mysterious Stone Cabinet to disassemble itself.
This anomaly caused the intuition known as his sixth sense to scream wildly in Wood's mind.
Danger!
A massive danger!
An absolute danger, so terrifying it was impossible to even look at!
About to—
Clatter!
The stone slab hit the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust accompanied by a bizarre, foul stench.
Wood could not afford to cover his nose or complain at this moment; his gaze was deeply drawn to a mass of viscous matter revealed after the stone slab split open, a substance that looked like something between jelly and mucus, appearing translucent and pale blue under the intense light.
(What is this? What is that thing?)
Wood thought, his heart trembling with fear.
(It looks like a Slime, but.. Slimes in fantasy novels and games could never emit such a powerful aura of evil.. It's as if.. as if..)
[Papa! Watch out! This thing is dangerous!]
Jormungand Cat let out a cry.
The Anubis Dog shook the collar and leash from his neck with practiced ease, rushed to Wood's side, roared at the bluish-white viscous substance.
Why are you here! Where is that thing!
Little Anubis, don't get excited, we—
[I can't help but be excited! That thing.. I've seen that thing.. in Ancient Egypt thousands of years ago.. Yes, it, it..]
As he spoke, Little Anubis had already reverted to his form as an Ancient Egyptian God with the head of a jackal, standing over three meters tall, clutching a cold, shimmering Scythe that harvested souls.
What is it?
Wood asked curiously.
Before the words had even finished falling, Jormungand had already reverted to his giant serpent form, wrapping around Wood in a matter of course.
Papa! That thing is dangerous, but I will protect you~
(Your protection looks even more dangerous..)
Wood muttered to himself.
Just as he was about to speak, the translucent, jelly-like, pale-white viscous substance on the stone slab suddenly stirred!
It churned and rolled like boiling liquid, making "Gu Lu Gu Lu" sounds, its volume expanded rapidly like frothing bubbles, spreading from the size of a palm to enough to cover the entire stone slab in the blink of an eye.
What was even more terrifying was—
After That thing covered the stone slab, it actually—as if feeding—dissolved the slab! The slab melted as rapidly as if it had been dropped into strong acid, becoming part of the viscous substance.
(What kind of monster is this!)
(A living thing? Or—)
Wood's heart leaped into his throat as he witnessed this scene.
Everyone else on the scene was like geese being grabbed by the neck by a farm woman—eyes wide, breathing heavy, hearts pounding—the group of escort mercenaries from South America even raised their weapons, ready at any moment—
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
It was the sound of Jormungand's breathing, caused by his worry that the Monster would attack Wood.
Buzz.. buzz..
It was the vibration of Anubis's Scythe, the tool that reaps life.
Gu Lu Gu Lu.. Gu Lu Gu Lu..
It was the sound made by the viscous Monster, which was constantly expanding and devouring the stone slab and the grass beneath it.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
It was the sound of heartbeats—including Wood's—as all humans were driven nearly to madness by the current tense atmosphere.
(What should we do next?)
(Can we really defeat this terrifying Monster?)
(This thing, this thing.. what kind of monster is it, after all!)
(I.. I.. I..)
The people, crushed by extreme tension, attempted to communicate through their eyes, but—
This exchange only served to intensify the unease in their hearts!
—I can't take it anymore!
Someone let out a massive shout.
Immediately following that was—
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bullets poured out.
At that moment, almost everyone, including the Staff of the Special Events Investigation Department, simultaneously chose to empty their magazines, attempting to use overwhelming firepower to kill the ultimate fear deep within their hearts.
However—
Before the smoke from the bullets and the gunfire could even dissipate, something even more incredible had already occurred!
That Monster—that Monster that had simultaneously endured hundreds or even thousands of bullets—had not only failed to die from the hail of bullets, but had also used its own strange, viscous properties to easily devour them all!
Under the bright light, Wood could see that the semi-transparent, bluish-white body was filled with metal-cased bullets, the bullets were melting—as if they had been placed in King's Water, they were being invaded and melted by the strange, viscous substance surrounding them, eventually becoming part of the Monster's body.
What.. what kind of monster is this thing! A Cthulhu Creature? Or—
Peterson couldn't help but let out a cry of alarm.
“If we knew what It was, our fear of It would be greatly diminished, but unfortunately—so far, we know nothing about it..”
Wood spoke heavily, his emerald eyes staring intently at the monster that looked like a Slime yet also like an Amoeba, as a terrifying Voice gradually rose from deep within his heart.
(That thing.. that thing.. I've seen it, in ancient dreams.. If those dreams were truly just dreams.. But..)
Cold sweat began to bead uncontrollably on Wood's forehead.
(That thing.. That thing..)
Papa, stop thinking about it! If you keep thinking about it, you'll—
Jormungand's voice suddenly boomed in his mind, dragging Wood out from his boundless terror.
“I—”
[Papa, don't worry. Even if everyone in New York City dies, I will ensure your safety!]
But.. wait! What did you just say? Everyone in New York City dies? Is That thing really that terrifying?
Wood asked in a panic.
Uh..
Realizing he had let it slip, Jormungand hurriedly shook his head from side to side, pretending to be very busy.
Seeing this, Wood looked toward Anubis, who was facing off against the oversized Amoeba, which had tripled in size after swallowing the bullets, while holding his Scythe.
Anubis, can you tell me—what exactly is this thing?
Sorry, I have no obligation to tell the truth.
What?
Wood could not believe his ears.