wyvern

I know different countries have different standards when it comes to Originium waste disposal, but this... This looks illegal just about everywhere.

Excuse me, sir? You said you worked at the brewery before, right?

Right...

Did you know all the Originium waste was dumped in the mountains after the factory shut down?

It wasn't me... I didn't do this...

No... It was the boss who made us do this. I didn't know this was going to happen—

Hey, what are you two spacing out there for? Hurry up and kill the slugs!

How come...?

What?

How come you're making that sound like the natural thing to do?!

They lived here, and it was you who ruined their home. In the end, you even want to kill them because of your mistakes?

Vanilla, calm down...

Come on... They're just slugs—

Just Originium slugs...?

You're the ones who turned them into mutants, and now you're saying you want to kill them without batting an eye.

When you don't understand the truth, your instinct is to lay the blame on those around you, condemning them to death.

Is it so easy for you to judge whether a life has value?!

Vanilla, snap out of it!

If Chard didn't stop her, Vanilla would not have noticed how tightly she was gripping her halberd.

Sorry...

We'll talk sense into this guy later. What do we do now?

There's... nothing we can do.

I'm sorry. We came too late. We weren't able to... save your Originium slugs...

Don't say that. You cleared my name, and for that I'm thankful.

The man earlier wanted us to tell you that he's sorry for what he's done. He said he won't give you any more trouble.

*Sigh*, and here I really wanted a sip of your secret brew.

Hahaha, looks like that's not going to happen.

I'm just glad we got the misunderstanding cleared up... but even though this is behind us, everyone here is probably traumatized by Originium slugs, and I don't want to give anyone any more trouble.

But I'm sure someone out there has discovered this same brewing technique. Maybe you'll come across a special slug beer someday. Make sure you try some when you do.

Hah, I gotta keep that in mind.

Ma'am, are there really mutant slugs outside?

Don't you worry. They've gone somewhere else. The Originium slugs won't attack the village anymore.

Really? I was so scared when everyone said there were monsters outside...

You don't need to be so scared... Actually, they're really scared too.

They aren't monsters. They're just like us. They are just living things trying their hardest to survive in this world.

Mm... Oh yeah, you should take this.

Is that...?!

When those men charged inside, I hid one of the slugs on me... but I only had the time to save one of them.

I guess I can't keep it. Could you take care of it?

I'll look after him, yes!

Thank you...

The explosives are ready to go. All that's left is setting them off, and there's more than enough in there to blow the entire cave.

But... Vanilla, are you sure there's no other way?

It's obvious that these are the slugs that attacked the village...

They've lived in an Originium-dense environment like this for so long that their bodies have mutated. Not only have they grown dramatically, they've gotten very aggressive.

We don't know the exact cause, but we don't have the time to get to the bottom of it.

If we just leave them be, they will destroy all the villages nearby sooner or later... We have to do this.

Hey, you okay?

Chard, give me the trigger.

You don't have to—Alright...

Sorry...

Yep... Incubator, food, water... Everything's the same as Kuro.

This is your new home. Welcome home!

Whoa, another one? Not bad, Vanilla. You find yourself a new pet every time you go out on a field mission... Did Dr. Kal'tsit really give you permission to keep so many pets?

Of course. Just like Kuro and Tiny, he's registered.

This place is starting to feel like an Originium slug museum... What's the new guy called?

He looks a tad bit rounder than Kuro. Okay, you'll be Puffball! Kuro, Tiny, be sure to get along with Puffball. Don't pick on him!

Vanilla? Why are you crying...?

Huh? Am I?

I... I'm fine... *Sobs*... Franka... I... I didn't run away this time... I did it...

*Sobs*... Waaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!