Chapter 75: Belly of the Beast

Further and further the two went across the beast's anatomy, hearing sounds from above them, as well as feeling the muscles bend up and down, making them try to hold their footing when exploring. Solomon couldn't help but be grossed out at all this, looking around the area in somewhat harsh disgust. "Jeez, you weren't kidding by it smelling like dead fish. Creature must've ate all sorts of it when it was resting. Question is, how have we NEVER seen this thing before?" His question would be reinforced when, after further exploration, they would be able to see something sharp within the esophagus: Wood. Large quantities of it, as well as some cloth and steel sticking out, jabbed right inside the muscles. The most peculiar part was that the beast didn't react to it, not even when Harvard went up and touched it, seeing the muscles bend itself without attempting to provide any discomfort.

Thus, an idea came to the child. "Heeeeey, hold on a second. Solomon, Look! Look!" The boy said, capturing the Biblical sorcerer's attention, letting him notice the muscle's pattern and movement. "It's not hurting the thing! No signs of infection, no signs of injury, it's like its perfectly fitting into its body like a glove!"

"Harvard, What the heck are you talking about?"

"You have eyes, right? Look!" Harvard would showcase the lining made by the muscles, showcasing its pattern, and at how it moved itself alongside the wood, showcasing no signs of injury. "You're understanding it, right?"

As Solomon would follow such directions, he'd come upon the same realization. "Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. You actually have a point! It's not that it's trying to hide in plain sight...It's just growing! Like how someone grows if you eat enough veggies and stuff. It's just getting bigger the more it eats!" The Biblical sorcerer would measure the wreckage, as well as having the lights display a set of images of what it could've been once: A House, a piece of the docks, a Ship. The latter is what made Solomon realize what it would be eating, and would have his theory be tested by grabbing ahold of one of the planks, attempting to rip it out. No hesitation, no warning. Harvard simply watched on, seeing Solomon try to explore more of this beast, finally starting to see him realize what was going on.

POP!

Like a Glove, just as Harvard said. The wood was stuck, but it was able to be removed like a cork in a bottle. The muscles that once had the imprint would be seen trying to close itself, moving its flesh to seal up the wound, slowly, but surely, repairing itself. Within a few seconds, it was now flat, still in the crisscross pattern that made up the rest of the structure. "I knew it. It's manipulating its own muscles to consume whatever it wants. This is Muscle Magic! It grew itself and ate everything with its muscles alone! This is crazy!!" As Solomon would announce the solution, the body would react itself once more, recognizing the presence of the two living children. Without warning, the muscles began to twitch and spasm, creating sets of arms to try and grab the child and strangle them, hoping to drag them within the pit of muscles embedded upon the layer. Harvard would react by casting a spell to burn the muscles, forcing them to bend and weave out the way, letting the other set to be injured. A Wailing sound can be heard from above, having the two be on their guard, watching the burns scrape themselves off of the walls, replacing them with a new set of muscles, whilst traveling the cooked set across the throat downwards. More hands would begin to emerge, and even some legs and a head, trying to get up from their makeshift anatomy to fight them singlehandedly. Harvard would cast a spell as a reaction, using the air and moisture to create a barrier around him and Solomon, even protecting them against the flooring.

As the creatures being made up of the muscles gained their anatomy, they lunged forward and tried to attack them, ganging up on the children's defenses, kicking, punching, and clawing at the shield to try and breach through it. Solomon was quick on the math as he'd look at the amount made. "4.....5....6....6 People. 6 People made up by just pure muscles from the Throat and the Esophagus. This is really creepy, alright. It's just shaping the muscles to be an entirely different form, yet its still reacting like the beast itself. It's awake, and its seeing us right now, wanting to digest us! It's like weaponizing the act of Cancer itself to kill us both!" Solomon would recognize more and more of this magic, being entranced by it all, sick as it was.

"Oi! Oi! Snap out of it!" Harvard would state, shaking Solomon somewhat to make him regain his senses. "We're under attack here! Fight back, won't yah?" Solomon would regain his senses when Harvard gave the direction, nodding in assurance as he'd try to contribute, opening his book once it regained its smaller size, ready to cast a spell. Slightly breaching the defense, right underneath them, Solomon would cast out what looked to be gnats, all crawling across the muscular structure and peering into the humanoid forms, letting them bite and gnaw at their fibers. The humanoids would react in the same way a human would react to a bug bite, trying to smack it away, showcasing a small detail in the muscles dodging themselves every time the Gnats try to take a bite, the display of multiple such reactions almost looking like they were dancing, moving themselves side-to-side. Harvard would add onto this feeling by combining the gnats with his own fire spell, having it so the damage can be caused by contact whenever the gnats walk atop of the creatures. More wailing sounds can be heard, as well as groans and shrieks of pain whenever they felt such bugs burn into their muscly skin. Using this as their advantage, Solomon and Harvard escaped through the defensive bubble deeper into the beast. "Ok, so now we know why its causing problems, and how its eating everything. Shot in the dark, its holding something valuable deep inside its stomach."

"Are you seriously suggesting we go deeper?? If we try to do that, the Bakunawa is gonna wanna kill us for messing its insides up!" Solomon answered, shocked that Harvard would come up with such a reckless decision.

"Hey, if it helps, We could get a big reward if its left intact! Besides, As you said, one big monster is more than enough to beat this thing! Let's just have some fun while we're in here!" A Cocky smirk was made on Harvard's face, wondering if he could pull of such a feat of defeating such a massive beast with such a scary style of magic.

If anything, it could even, rhetorically speaking, put him on the map as a powerful magician if he was recognized in defeating a monster as legendary as this.