【The Rise of the Ugly Monster】 The True Identity of the Yellow Light

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"N'eh, n'eh... N'EEEEEEEEH!?"

SPLASH!

Rolling and rolling and rolling through the interior of the Land Whale... Dokugegon eventually arrived at a place that could be described as a "lake."

(Where am I...?)

While soaking in the pleasant, lukewarm water that glowed a pale yellow, Dokugegon looked around.

Rolling around him were the same giant trees and carcasses of colossal beasts that had been sucked in from the outside. They were soaking in the lukewarm water just like he was, and gradually... with a sizzling sound, they were melting away.

(...Wait a minute—this is stomach acid! Uwaaaaaah!?)

In a panic, Dokugegon secreted poisonous liquid from his entire body and floated up into the air.

(This is bad, this is bad, this is really bad!)

He flapped his wings vigorously while scattering poisonous liquid... but then, he noticed something.

(...I'm not melting, am I?)

(Could it be... thanks to 【Poison Resistance】!? Is this what she meant by 'good match'!?)

The question of whether stomach acid counted as "poison" crossed Dokugegon's mind... but thinking about it, his own poison also possessed an acidic effect that melted the flesh of his opponents.

It was too late to dwell on it now; he decided to stop thinking about the details.

The important thing was the fact that he seemed to be able to move safely inside the Land Whale's body.

And... the guideline for how he should act from here on.

"N'eeeeee..."

Flapping his poisonous wings, Dokugegon slowly circled the area.

Since he had arrived here by rolling around, he had completely lost track of which direction he had come from.

As far as he could see, it was a shallow lake of stomach acid, without a single landmark.

Even if he wanted to escape... he couldn't!

"N'eee..."

Feeling lonely and helpless, he let out another pathetic cry.

ZUUUU... N.

But then.

From far away, he heard a faint sound, like something colliding... and ripples ran across the lake of stomach acid.

(...! Emi...)

Naturally, that was likely the work of Dokugegon's owner.

She must have punched or kicked the Land Whale.

She had said it.

'I'll stick with you until I've reached my absolute limit.'

Believing that Dokugegon was... fighting inside the Land Whale's body.

"N'eh..."

In the first place, Emi's actions were the result of a misunderstanding, based on her interpreting Dokugegon's inner thoughts through her own personal scale...

It was completely off-mark, and for Dokugegon, it was nothing more than a massive nuisance.

But.

"N'eh...!"

A flame lit up in Dokugegon's eyes.

He didn't want to betray her.

He felt fear toward the unknown environment of the interior of a giant, fantasy whale.

But.

More than that... he didn't want to run away from the trust of a precious "companion" who had staked her life on him!

"N'EEEEEEEEH!!"

Squeezing out every bit of his courage, Dokugegon let out a cry, spread his poisonous wings a bit wider... and soared upward!

SPLASHHHH!!

...But in that instant, likely due to the shock caused by Emi's violence, a great tsunami of stomach acid erupted!

"N'eee!? N'eh-cough, cough..."

Swept away by the stomach acid tsunami, Dokugegon immediately crashed back into the lake, becoming drenched in the pale yellow liquid once again.

Glancing to his side, he saw the carcass of a beast with a hideous face rolling toward him, likely washed in by the tsunami...

(If I had been crushed by this carcass, I would've died, wouldn't I!?)

It was true that with his 【Poison Resistance】, he was more likely to survive inside this Land Whale.

...However, the wild rampage of his precious "companion" was exactly what was putting his life in danger!

"N'eh, N'EEEEH!!"

Regardless!

In order to ensure his own safety as quickly as possible, Dokugegon flew high into the air once more!

◇ ◇ ◇

A few minutes later, Dokugegon was flying straight near the ceiling of the Land Whale's stomach, scattering poisonous liquid as he went.

He didn't know which way to go.

However, he couldn't just stay still.

Outside the body, Emi was fighting.

He would fight too!

Therefore, he was scattering poison indiscriminately... wherever he could reach.

"N'eee...!"

Glancing back, he saw the stomach wall of the Land Whale, corroded by Dokugegon's poison.

Flesh that was sizzling, melting, and turning purple.

"...N'eh, n'eh!"

Dokugegon changed direction, clung to the stomach wall using the high viscosity of his poison, and pecked at the poison-afflicted flesh of the Land Whale.

By eating just a small amount—one or two bites—he felt his consumed magic power recover significantly.

It was the flesh of a super-giant creature that lived for a long time... its magic power content was extraordinary.

"For a normal creature," that flesh and blood would be poisonous just to eat.

However, for some reason, that rule did not apply to Dokugegon.

Wreaking havoc inside the body with poison, and further supplementing his magic power by eating the flesh.

The Land Whale, which should have been an overwhelmingly powerful existence, was unable to stop Dokugegon's barbarism.

A miracle—a one-sided violation by the weak—was being established here, under the special environment of the interior.

However...

(Ah, geez, the meat over there... is already recovering.)

A super-powerful homeostasis, funded by the Land Whale's vast magic power, promoted rapid metabolism, replacing the poison-afflicted flesh with new flesh one after another.

The miraculous healing power that had restored its skin in an instant was still fully functional inside the body.

Dokugegon had vaguely thought that 'scattering poison inside the body would surely be more effective,' but... it seemed things weren't that simple.

As Emi had said, unless he attacked 'some important part deep inside the body,' it would be difficult to deal fatal damage to this Land Whale.

(That said... where the hell am I supposed to go...?)

However, the interior of the Land Whale was far too vast, and Dokugegon had no idea where he should apply his poison.

In order to deal even a little damage and be of help to Emi, he was currently scattering poison recklessly, but at this rate, he would never be able to defeat the Land Whale.

(For now... should I aim for the lungs? But where are the lungs...?)

While clinging to the stomach wall with poison, he looked off into the distance, at a loss, and let out a sigh.

...And that appearance.

Seemed to be viewed as the perfect opening.

"AAAAAANISAAAAAAH!!!"

It happened suddenly!

The stomach wall Dokugegon was clinging to trembled slightly, and then... from within that flesh!

A white, slender, earthworm-like creature leaped out!

At the tip of that creature, a round mouth opened, revealing countless rows of sharp, vicious, jagged teeth!

"N'EEEEEEEEH!?"

By immediately leaping away from the stomach wall, Dokugegon narrowly evaded the surprise biting attack.

If he had been bitten by those teeth, he would have suffered a fatal wound.

That was close...!

(W-What is that!? A parasite!?)

While circling the area, Dokugegon observed the creature, which was still partially embedded in the stomach wall, shaking its head and screaming in frustration.

Aside from the mouth at the tip, which seemed to be its head, it was a thread-like creature with no other distinguishing features.

Though called a "thread," its diameter was about one meter.

Since it was a parasite of a creature as mountainously giant as the Land Whale, it was likely larger than any giant snake living on Earth.

And...

(Ah!!)

In the next instant!

The creature began to glow yellow, as if it were discharging electricity, snap, snap!

(No way, the reason the interior of this whale was bright was because these things were here!?)

The mystery of life!

However, Dokugegon did not have the luxury of taking an interest in the ecology of this unknown parasite!

Because...!

"KIIIIIIIIII-SS!!!"

"N'EEEEEEEEH!?"

This parasite began to attack Dokugegon by firing yellow lightning balls from its mouth with a crackling sound!

Dokugegon narrowly evaded the lightning ball and reflexively fired a counterattack with a poison ball!

The counter, which he had been forced to learn through Emi's spartan training, hit the parasite dead-on!

"ANISAKIIIIII-??"

Struck by the unexpected counter-poison, the parasite writhed in agony, letting out a scream of pain.

However, though it seemed to be suffering, it didn't die instantly.

Perhaps because it lived in an environment constantly drenched in stomach acid, this parasite's 【Poison Resistance】 seemed to be reasonably high, making Dokugegon's poison less effective compared to normal creatures.

"""AAAAAANISAAAAAAH!!!"""

(Uwaaaa!?)

Then, hearing the scream of their comrade, the parasite's companions approached Dokugegon one after another.

However, these parasites... perhaps because they usually dealt only with carcasses or giant beasts already weakened by being swallowed whole by the Land Whale... their combat ability didn't seem to be that high.

They attacked Dokugegon one after another by charging or firing yellow lightning balls, but they were quickly repelled after being hit by his counter-poison attacks.

(...Hm?)

Watching this... Dokugegon suddenly felt a sense of incongruity.

These parasites... they attacked Dokugegon from various directions... but the direction they fled in was always the same.

"N'eh...?"

Since the parasites were glowing yellow, their escape routes appeared as paths of light in Dokugegon's vision.

And the destination of those paths of light was...

A giant yellow sphere of light, glowing exceptionally brightly in the distance.

(What on earth is that...?)

Dokugegon hadn't the faintest clue as to its true nature... but at present, he was essentially lost.

In order to defeat the Land Whale, he didn't know where he should apply his poison.

And if he stayed here, he would just be pestered by the parasites.

In that case.

(I'll go check it out...!)

Seeking some kind of hint for conquering the Land Whale.

Dokugegon shook off the parasites' fierce assault and, scattering poison as always, flew toward the giant sphere of light!