Yuto and Nina had just reached the fifth floor after spending their morning hunting monsters. Walking side by side down the silent hotel corridor, they intended to return to their room to rest.
"Want to rest first or take a shower right away?" Yuto asked while digging into his pants pocket, searching for the room key card.
Nina smiled faintly. "I'd like to shower first. I feel sticky after walking under the sun all morning."
They arrived in front of their room—**Room 507**—and Yuto held the key card up to the electronic sensor beside the door. But before he could swipe it, something strange happened.
The sensor, which had been blinking, suddenly went dark, followed by a strange vibration that rippled through the walls. Yuto and Nina exchanged confused glances.
"Did you feel that?" Nina asked, her voice trembling slightly.
Yuto nodded, his combat instincts kicking in. "Something's wrong."
The moment he uttered those words, the door in front of them began to change. Its smooth wooden surface softened, bubbling like heated dough. The color shifted from dark brown to a purplish-red, and gradually, its texture transformed into something wet and veiny.
"What the hell is happening here?!" Yuto exclaimed, eyes wide, as he stepped back, pulling Nina with him.
The horrifying transformation didn't stop at the door. The corridor walls also began to change—the elegant wallpaper peeled away like shedding snake skin, revealing a layer of raw red flesh beneath. The marble floor beneath their feet softened, growing warm and… pulsing.
Nina let out a stifled scream as she felt the floor shift beneath her. "Yuto! The floor—it's moving!"
Indeed, the entire space was turning into living, pulsating flesh. The once-elegant corridor now resembled the interior of a colossal intestine—slimy walls, uneven surfaces. The corridor lights still flickered, but their glow was now trapped within the fleshy tissue.
And then, things took an even more terrifying turn.
Dozens of large eyes suddenly emerged from the fleshy surface, blinking rapidly. These were not human eyes—their black irises resembled bottomless pits, their yellowed sclera veined with red. And they moved, tracking Yuto and Nina's every motion.
"D-did you see that?" Nina whispered, her fingers clutching Yuto's arm tightly, trembling.
"Yeah," Yuto replied curtly, his own eyes narrowed in caution. "I saw it."
One of the large eyes blinked at them, its pupil dilating as if recognizing their presence. Then—no, all of them—began shedding thick, crimson tears. The red liquid trickled down, soaking the fleshy surface and releasing a pungent, metallic stench.
"We need to get out of here," Yuto said firmly, though cold sweat was already beading on his forehead. "This hotel is going through something seriously messed up."
Nina nodded quickly, needing no further convincing. Her grip on Yuto's arm tightened, as if afraid to let go even for a second.
The two turned and sprinted toward the elevator at the end of the corridor, hoping it was still operational. But that hope was quickly dashed when they saw its condition.
The metal elevator doors had transformed into a vertical maw lined with gnashing, razor-sharp teeth. The button panel had morphed into a grotesque, bump-covered tongue. Thick, blackish fluid oozed from the gaps in the "mouth."
"Damn it!" Yuto cursed, kicking the fleshy wall in frustration. "Let's head for the emergency stairs instead."
They turned and ran down the fleshy corridor toward the stairwell at the opposite end. But before they could even make it halfway, something even worse happened.
The fleshy floor beneath them suddenly shifted—like quicksand, but made of living, slimy flesh. Their feet began sinking, as if being dragged down by unseen hands.
"Yuto!" Nina screamed in panic, struggling to lift her leg, now submerged up to the ankle. "I can't move!"
Yuto was in the same predicament. The flesh was swallowing them, pulling them down with terrifying force. Within moments, they were buried up to their knees.
Acting fast, Yuto unsheathed the sword he always carried on his back—a blade of silvery-blue that had been his companion since arriving in this world. He slashed fiercely at the flesh restraining them.
***Slash!***
The sharp blade cut through the surface, but instead of splitting apart, the flesh merely parted briefly before sealing back up—like a wound instantly healing. No blood, no visible damage.
Yuto swung again and again, shifting from slashing to stabbing. "Why isn't it working?!" he growled in frustration.
Nina, hands shaking, attempted to use her healing magic—normally used to mend wounds, she now directed it toward "healing" their situation. A bluish-green light emanated from her palms, but it flickered out the moment it touched the living flesh surrounding them.
"My magic… isn't working," she whispered, face pale.
The flesh continued to rise, now reaching their waists. Their movements grew more restricted, their struggles increasingly futile.
*None of my attacks are working on this flesh,* Yuto thought, sweat pouring down his brow. *It's not normal. Am I really going to die like this?*
Beside him, Nina was already helpless. The girl he had saved days ago was now crying silently, her face drained of color. There was nothing either of them could do.
The grotesque flesh kept swallowing them, now up to their chests. Breathing became harder, both from the pressure and the suffocating stench.
"Nina," Yuto called, his voice strained. "I'm sorry… I couldn't save you this time."
Nina shook her head weakly, tears streaming down her pale cheeks. "You already saved me once, Yuto. That was more than enough. I… I'm glad I got to spend my last days with you."
As the flesh reached their necks, they were swallowed alive—
★★★★
Zen and Yumi hurried down the twitching, fleshy corridor, running as fast as they could toward the emergency stairs. Every step left a wet imprint on the floor, which now felt like stepping on internal organs. Zen led the way while Yumi followed closely behind.
"The emergency stairs should be at the end of this hall!" Zen shouted, eyes scanning their surroundings warily.
Suddenly, the fleshy wall beside them bulged and swelled. From its red surface, several protrusions formed—first fingers, then palms, until entire arms stretched out toward them.
"Look out!" Zen yelled, shoving Yumi aside just as a fleshy hand slammed down where they had stood a second ago.
They tumbled onto the soft, fleshy floor before quickly scrambling back up. But it wasn't just one—dozens of hands now emerged from the walls, floor, even the ceiling. They flailed wildly, grasping at anything within reach.
A massive hand shot down from above, aiming to crush them.
Without looking, Zen raised his hand toward it. His eyes narrowed in focus, veins bulging at his temples. "Stop," he commanded firmly.
Instantly, the hand froze mid-air before collapsing lifelessly to the floor.
"Wow, this hotel's really gone through some changes, huh?" Yumi remarked, panting as she ran beside Zen. "I've never seen a transformation this fast or thorough."
They raced through the narrowing corridor, dodging fleshy obstructions that forced them to climb or duck. Yumi tried using her elemental powers.
"**Aqua Edge!**" she shouted, thrusting her hand forward.
Blades of water shot through the air, slashing at the fleshy wall blocking their path. But instead of cutting through, the flesh merely rippled before returning to normal, as if splashed by harmless water.
"**Flame Lance!**"
A spear of fire shot from her hand, striking the ceiling flesh descending toward them. It burned briefly, emitting a foul stench, but the flames quickly died, leaving the flesh unharmed.
"Dammit!" Yumi cursed. "None of my attacks are doing anything to this thing!"
As they ran, they passed room after room, all transformed into parts of this colossal flesh organism. In every room, dozens—no, hundreds—of large, blinking eyes watched them, their black irises filled with malice.
"We're being watched," Yumi muttered, unnerved by the gaze of those eyes.
Zen nodded. "This is going to be a problem. This flesh won't stop attacking as long as we're inside the hotel."
They finally reached the emergency stairwell door, now resembling a vertical hole lined with fleshy folds. A putrid, metallic stench wafted from within.
"We need to find the core of this flesh," Zen said, scanning their surroundings carefully. "All of this must be connected to a central body—something controlling the entire transformation."
Yumi frowned, looking at him hopefully. "Can't you just kill the core from here? With your power to stop bodily functions?"
"You think I'm Takatou Yogiri?" Zen scoffed. "My power is way weaker than his. It has limits—humans or creatures I stop stay dead, but some beings are immune." He shook his head. "I can only stop what I can see directly."
*I see… so his power has restrictions.*
They stepped into the stairwell. The metal stairs were now just a framework covered in flesh—each step looked like a protruding spine embedded in the fleshy walls.
"Even the stairs are flesh now," Yumi muttered in disgust. "But at least we can still go down."
Carefully, they descended the fleshy steps, each footstep producing a sickening wet sound. Several times, they nearly slipped on the slimy surface.