Nameless Ones (4)

Its work appeared crude at first glance, but it had a unique process.

Ropes, stakes, bare hands.

Even in the absence of sophisticated tools, the immersion demonstrated by the one performing the task was overwhelming. Everything seemed extremely delicate. Plunging its arms deep into the carcass, it emptied the insides and sewed the skin with tough plant stems. Then, it rolled a barrel from the corner.

It inserted a long funnel between the upper and lower jaws of the creature and turned the barrel upside down. With a gurgling sound, the emptied skin began to fill with a thick substance. The filled skin swelled like a water balloon. As it pulled out a few stakes and the ropes loosened, it dragged the carcass into a small pit on the cave floor. When the carcass was laid down, the skin, without bones or fascia, wobbled like something soft.

And then it took a blade and cut its own flesh. Blood flowed immediately from the wound. Suddenly, I remembered a villager's words about his dead younger brother, who had been rumoured to be emaciated. I wondered if the blood had been drained in such a way that it caused the person to wither away.

Given its ability to regenerate, it could have recovered to some extent, yet it left its appearance unchanged. This suggested that the amount of blood drained at once was considerable, or it deliberately intended such a transformation.

Now, I noticed that the shallow, slightly sunken walls of the pit were stained with dried blood of the same colour as its own. How much blood would it take to fill that pit to the point of sloshing? 

I kept watching, curious to understand its intentions, but realized I could no longer bear to look. Something was about to happen.

"Now."

I immediately signaled Leonardo.

Crash!

As it turned around at the sudden noise, a greatsword, thrown like a harpoon, pierced its shoulder. Just like the creature's carcass impaled and displayed on the cave wall, it was now pinned and immobilized, its eyes rolling back. 

I took a step closer, putting on a calm face. The act was like a mask, serving to protect me from the abnormal situation.

"I didn't get the impression that you were a butcher or a tanner."

"..."

"Now I see, you're not even human. Right?"

It stared at us with an indifferent gaze and expression.

Crunch.

We heard the sound of soft flesh and hard bones being crushed together. It started moving forward, ignoring the greatsword piercing its flesh.

Leonardo swiftly closed the distance and snapped its bones. Despite its monstrous ability to heal quickly after consuming humans, Leonardo relentlessly applied pressure, breaking and re-breaking already twisted parts whenever it showed signs of healing.

No matter how much it struggled, it couldn't escape the trap. The situation was perfect for intimidation. As it hung high on the wall, its thin, small, farmer-like appearance was at my eye level. I watched it from a distance where Leonardo could ensure my safety.

"Should I apologize for the interruption? I couldn't help but wonder what this act meant."

I struggled not to avert my eyes. While partly aiming to engage in a battle of wills, it was mostly to avoid looking too much at the discarded skin lying on the floor.

[Accessing information on the designated entity.][Entity Name – Red-Crested Lizard]

[Role – Mountain Village Resident No. 19]

Now that I was closer, I could see what was inside the swollen, viscous mass.

"What did you do?"

Leonardo glanced over, sensing the agitation hidden in my voice. For the first time, it stretched its mouth wide. I didn't want to call that a smile.

"It's the process of evolution."

"What?"

But instead of answering my question, it said something else.

"Now I understand. It was you. Do you remember? 'We' sometimes share experiences."

It stared directly into my eyes, persistently scanning me up and down.

Leonardo, without a word, twisted its head and slammed it against the wall, treating it like a subdued criminal. Yet, even in that position, it managed to roll its eyes towards me. Leonardo's fingers twitched, curling into a claw-like shape, as if he wanted to extract something.

'...'

I hoped he would do it but also desperately wished he wouldn't. I have a weak stomach. It muttered slowly.

"You've seen through the essence. We can't fully consume or mimic you."

Lately, I couldn't help but frequently recall the events in the underground labyrinth. Its words brought back the memory of the time when it mentioned the 'subjects of the Great Empire,' causing one of them to go berserk.

"In any sense… you are special."

Hearing that didn't make me happy at all. Leonardo interrupted in a harsh tone.

"If you don't answer the question properly, I'll rip out that useless tongue of yours."

"It will grow back anyway."

"I know how to inflict pain even on beings like you."

Leonardo raised his hand. It rolled its eyes again and returned to the main topic.

"…It's quite absurd, we have always thought so. To have this fluid form and yet only be able to consume humans? It's unbelievable. Human flesh is so soft that it can be cut just by brushing against a leaf, and they can't even manage their fragile bodies on their own, so they must live in groups. Oh, how crude."

It chuckled.

"To hunt, we have to blend into those tiny groups, sometimes relying on the prey's emotions or memories just to survive."

I recall the story of the villager who took care of it because it resembled his deceased younger brother. It had settled in the village by exploiting those memories and sympathies, consuming people, and now it deems that as disgraceful.

"Survival isn't such a crude thing."

No, survival is inherently crude.

There are actions required to live. Every day, you have to put something in your mouth, chew, and swallow. You have to wash your body in its vulnerable and awkward state without adornments, and you spend those moments at night with your eyes closed to end the day.

Even if these processes sometimes feel tedious or contemptible, hunger, fatigue, and various needs are all part of the procedures for life. Through this brief passage, I realize that even if it wears a human shell, it can never truly become human. And then it looks at the carcass of the monster lying on the floor.

"Just look at that form, the rugged resilience that can survive even in the harshest wilds. That is a shape more suited for survival. We have always regretted that we can consume only humans."

Its face grew more distorted. In this short conversation, Leonardo had broken several of its bones and they had regenerated multiple times. I've lost count of how many times this happened. But one thing was clear: it was reaching a kind of threshold.

"But three days ago, suddenly, my thoughts became clear. Coming to this land—it's been 10 years! The restraints that had been suppressing our evolution and keeping us in a foolish state were lifted. So, I decided to conduct one—experiment. It wasn't just my idea. As I said, we sometimes share thoughts."

Three days ago?

Suddenly, a lightning bolt of realization struck me, sending a shiver down my spine and spreading a tingling sensation throughout my body.

[During the intermission, the scenario notes will not progress, and the characters' freedom will increase.]

Freedom, and characters.

These two words intertwine like threads, crossing each other. In the world of the play, a character refers to a role with weight. And that which has consumed and assimilated humans carries weight.

'Those who have eaten humans are treated as characters, increasing their freedom.'

Thus, the essence of it all is that the characters, freed from the stage's control, think and judge as they please.

"Yes, it was an experiment! Ah, ha ha! By utilizing the toughness of the skin and the characteristics of the beast while maintaining that form—finding a way to consume it. So I emptied it out—filled it with something we can eat—just like that!"

It trembled with excitement. Leonardo frowned and twisted the sword embedded in its shoulder. A horrible sound erupted as its joints nearly separated, but it didn't flinch. It still resembled an excited scientist, eyes gleaming as it leaned forward.

"Success is right around the corner."

It muttered. Its mouth stretched wide, lifting its cheeks and drawing crescent shapes around its eyes.

"And do you know why I explained all of this to you, our singularity, you?"

'Oh, damn.'

A bolt of realization jolted my spine again. I tried to say that I needed to kill it immediately, but deep down, I knew I was already one step too late.

"That's how this important memory will be shared. About you, our enemy, who disrupts us."

It declared this, as if to drive the nail into my realization.

"Now we will pursue you."

The crescent stretched into a bizarre half-moon. Leonardo finally pulled the sword back and drew a line from its shoulder to its neck. Instead of rolling away, the severed neck fell into the open mouth of the monster's carcass, and its remaining body began to flow like liquid. It wasn't ash. It was not a powder that danced in the air, but an essence that dissolved everything, demonstrating the movements of an organism.

Gulp, gulp.

It couldn't be stopped by human hands. It helplessly flowed through fingers, pooling in a pit before eventually seeping into the carcass of the monster. Only then did it consume something—an image I had not seen throughout the meal. Instead of dissolving the jaw and teeth, it melted and permeated the entire body.

[Accessing information on the designated entity.][Entity Name – Red-Crested Lizard]

[Role – Mountain Village Resident No. ■■]

[Role – The Name■■■■■???]

Thus, those three disparate elements merge, fill, and erase one another until ultimately becoming one.

[Role – The Nameless Ones]

It is newly defined.