SOFTIE 6

When Yeonwoo called out, the slime raised its head and hopped toward him. Yeonwoo poked at it experimentally. He thought it might show aggression, but it was an unnecessary worry.

“Kkyuu!”

On the contrary, it seemed to like it, clinging to him even more and even flipping over to reveal its belly. It displayed a submissive intent, as if to say it had no plan to attack.

Every time his finger touched its body, he felt an unidentifiable warmth. It was a sensation remarkably similar to what he had felt just before losing consciousness.

“Do you really not know how to guide?”

“Kkyu?”

The slime shook its body back and forth, as if to say it didn’t know.

“…What on earth am I doing?”

Yeonwoo pressed a hand to his forehead.

A slime as a Guide? That had to be nonsense. It was definitely a delusion. It had to be a delusion, yet the thought of wanting to touch it continued to muddle his mind. Yeonwoo fiddled with the slime with both hands.

As he pressed, it was pressed; as he touched, it was touched. The slime was obedient to Yeonwoo. As peace continued to transmit through his hands, his suspicion gradually faded.

At that moment, a loud noise erupted nearby. Instinctively, Yeonwoo sprang up. A hole formed in the wall, and a monster in the shape of a large lizard appeared. His eyes met the monster’s.

Yeonwoo’s body moved reflexively. The venom spat by the monster grazed past him.

“Right. There’s no way you guys would just stay quiet.”

Creatures that devoured humans and destroyed people’s homes. Then, his eyes widened at the small figure visible behind the monster. Yeonwoo stared at his empty hands.

Ah, it’s not there. The slime.

The monster also turned its gaze toward the other presence behind it, rather than toward Yeonwoo. Monsters, who lived only for destruction, would often fight amongst themselves.

The monster roared at the slime. Without even thinking of dodging, the slime merely tilted its head and stared at the monster. It remained composed, as if thinking there was no way the monster would attack it. Yeonwoo shouted hurriedly.

“Hey, where are you looking! Your opponent is me!”

It was just a monster. There was no need to worry about a slime. However, his heart sank at the sight of the monster’s eyes gleaming and its tongue flicking toward the slime.

And then, the monster charged at the slime.

‘My Guide…!’

Without even recognizing the sentence he had shouted in his mind, he dashed forward.

However, the distance between Yeonwoo and the monster was far, while the distance between the slime and the monster was short. The monster’s tail approached the slime fiercely.

I have to block it. In a split second, a single momentary lapse in judgment leads to death. He had seen countless people like that.

Because of my mistake, my Guide will die.

His heart began to beat violently. The moment he gathered energy in his hand to use his ability, an electric current flowed from his earring.

‘Of all times…! I’ve never made a mistake like this…!’

The earring, which restricted his abilities, began to wail as it sensed the massive fluctuations. Since there was no matching Guide, it was a device set with a limit on his power to prevent his contamination level from rising.

It had to activate right now of all times.

Yeonwoo clutched his head and staggered. Being unable to move one’s body during a fight is the same as being on the verge of death.

Having received control training since he was young, the limit would usually apply naturally without him even being conscious of it, but he had crossed that line just now. Was it because of the guiding? Or was it because it was an event shocking enough to break down what he had always suppressed and restrained?

“Kki-it!”

At the sound the slime made, Yeonwoo’s gaze turned toward it. The slime, which had suddenly inflated its body to a massive size, threw itself toward the monster.

“…Huh?”

There was a clear difference in size, yet the monster was sent flying. The monster crashed into the wall and fell to the ground. Yeonwoo stared blankly at the monster, then at the slime.

It stood triumphantly, like a hero who had defeated a villain. Then, it turned its head toward Yeonwoo, its eyes sparkling as if asking how it looked.

“Right, you were a monster too, weren’t you…?”

Was it a strong monster despite its appearance? Slimes were supposed to be weak monsters. Yeonwoo stared at the slime with a skeptical expression.

Well, surviving is what matters. The monster on the floor shook its dizzy head, regained its senses, glared, and charged at the slime. The slime flinched in surprise for a moment, but soon puffed out its chest as if telling it to bring it on anytime.

Unlike before, it didn’t run and pounce but spat venom instead. The slime was slightly flustered. Then, it suddenly looked behind itself, inflated its body significantly, and took the venom head-on.

“…Hey, what are you doing! You idiot!”

Yeonwoo was horrified by the sight of it taking all the venom by inflating its body, when he had naturally expected it to dodge.

The sizzling, burning sound was gruesome. One side of its roundly formed body melted away. Yeonwoo dashed toward the slime. He bypassed the monster, took the injured slime into his arms, and blocked the monster as it continued its onslaught.

Since he could manipulate the flow of air, he created a defensive shield invisible to others. Ordinarily, he would have boasted a shield as solid as an iron fortress.

“Ah, I’m going crazy… You suppressed me earlier because I was too strong, and now you’re saying I don’t have enough power?”

Yeonwoo gritted his teeth and held on. The energy inside his body was faint, as if it would vanish at any moment. No matter how much guiding he had received, he was in a state where he had just regained his senses after a full-blown rampage.

The guiding to calm the rampage had brought Yeonwoo back to his senses, but his strength had hit rock bottom during the episode. It was only enough to put out the immediate fire.

Just a moment ago, his remaining power had only manifested explosively due to the thought that he couldn’t lose the Guide who provided that massive energy release, and the fear that followed. And that was the cause of his defeat.

He ground his teeth. Cracks appeared in the shield. To think I’ve ended up in this state just to protect this one monster. He looked down at the slime cradled in his arms. He didn’t know if its body was okay. But it was alive. That fact alone brought relief.

‘What a pathetic sight…’

It was funny that he was alive after resolving to die. He found it ridiculous that he was being swayed by a slime. It was uncertain whether he could even leave this place alive with this body anyway. If anything, at least you should.

“You, survive.”

At that moment, with a crunching sound, the shield shattered into pieces. Seeing the approaching tail, he moved the slime behind him for safety, while at the same time, the slime pulled Yeonwoo toward itself.

By a hair’s breadth, the tail struck the floor right in front of Yeonwoo’s nose, cracking the ground.

And then, something fluttered before his eyes.

“……”

White petals fluttering like falling snow caught his eye. When Yeonwoo realized those petals were similar to the flowers it had given him, he suddenly remembered the slime that had inflated its body.

‘No way, was it to protect this…?’

It was a crazy thought.

“Kkieee-ek!”

“…Ah.”

He had looked away for a moment. The monster let out a shriek and opened its mouth.

“Kkyu!”

Just then, the slime pounced and covered the monster’s eyes. Unable to see, the monster panicked and shook its head violently. After holding on for a long time, the slime was sent flying and hit the wall. Its short scream of pain was clearly audible. He felt a sensation as if his heart had stopped. An unknown rage swirled in his chest.

“You lizard bastard…!”

He gathered every last scrap of remaining energy. Then, a powerful electric current, hinting at his fury, surged from Yeonwoo’s hand.

As the lethally glowing current pierced through the monster, it let out a scream and was instantly turned into black charcoal.

“…You were nothing.”

His vision swam. Yeonwoo pressed his hand to his forehead and sank to his knees. He found himself gasping for breath. As if the world had never been quiet, useless noises rang in his ears. It was because his contamination level had risen due to using his power.

‘Is it true that Esper Seo Yeonwoo really went on a rampage?’

‘Please… please…’

The shouts of the people outside the Gate, waiting for Yeonwoo’s return. However, Yeonwoo’s eyes were fixed on the limp slime.

Yeonwoo struggled to approach the slime’s side. Its limp form looked as if it were dead. Yeonwoo carefully picked up the slime.

“Are you okay…?”

His voice trembled quite a bit. The slime didn’t move. Just as a frown was about to form on Yeonwoo’s brow, the slime twitched.

Only then could Yeonwoo breathe a sigh of relief.

“…If you’re weak, you should dodge on your own. You threw yourself into it just to win?”

“…Kkyuu…”

The slime mumbled as if all its strength had drained away. Seeing it look so dejected, Yeonwoo fell silent for a moment.

“Still, I survived thanks to you.”

“…Kkyu!”

The slime hopped, expressing its joy.