UCPA Chapter 6: Rescue

Chapter 6: Rescue

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: PlumSauce

 

Gilomorph Simeon cried and sobbed while racking his brain for a more reasonable threat.

“Mr. Coraci, it’s nothing personal,” Simeon said, “but I must take Linda away!”

Coraci, who was usually quite chatty, was now stumbling over his words and not even breathing smoothly. It seemed to be caused by claustrophobia. After John changed into mist, he drifted into the elevator car along the ventilation shaft. He saw Coraci had his shoulders hunched and kept anxiously changing positions.

Simeon suddenly became aware of something invading him and he screamed. The vaporous John gradually regained his human form inside the elevator and stood in front of Coraci.

“Are you all right?” John held out his hand to him.

Coraci shook his head. “Let me sit, I… can’t stand up…”

“What kind of monster are you!” Simeon howled. “Get out of my body! It’s disgusting!”

The whole elevator is inside your body... John thought silently. He knelt down beside Coraci and tried to talk to him, helping to distract him.

Coraci struggled to smile and show that he was okay. If it was just a few seconds in the elevator, he wouldn’t feel too uncomfortable; but once he was locked in the elevator for too long, he couldn’t stand it. Unfortunately, the Association’s office was on the 29th floor — if he didn’t take the elevator, he couldn’t stand it even more.

John couldn’t find where the gilomorph’s head was, so he looked up at the elevator ceiling and asked, “Is there any point in doing this?”

Gilomorph Simeon gave a light laugh. “You’re not human, are you? This is between me and the humans, so stay out of it!”

“I’m Coraci’s partner. You’re holding him hostage. How can I not interfere?”

As John said this, the pale Coraci gave him a look.

“I have no other way!” the gilomorph insisted. “My wife Linda was arrested by the Association. She was so…so transparent, soft, and full of elasticity!” His description was a bit bizarre. It seemed that this was the universal standard for gilomorphs’ beauty. “If I can’t see her, then I won’t live! And I want this human to be buried with me! Why should we not be able to eat cars?”

“Wait, where’s the logic between the last sentence and the first few sentences?” John asked.

“She…she just ate a dozen cars!” Simeon said with a sob. “And probably ate some mailboxes, and melted off some stuff. She didn’t even eat anyone!”

The voice of the girl at the front desk came over the speaker,”Simeon, your wife is not on death row. You will be reunited. Please calm down.”

“Calm down? Would you be able to calm down if your family member was balled up into the size of a slice of toast and crammed into a prison cage like the ones they use for cats at a pet hospital?”

“Because she caused a huge loss…”

From the conversation that followed, John got a general idea of what had happened.

Simeon and Linda, also a gilomorph, were living in a rented house that Deville Coraci had helped introduce them to after a small traditional wedding. Gilomorphs’ faces were harder to disguise. So their daily routine was making small crafts at home, and a collector regularly came to handle the sales.

The couple’s relationship with the neighbors was poor. Gilomorphs don’t need sleep and, by nature, prefer peace and quiet. However, the neighbors who lived above and on both sides of them liked to have lively house parties. On impulse, Linda secretly ate their cars at night in retaliation – gilomorphs could expand their size, wrapping around and slowly devouring and digesting almost anything.

After she tasted the joy of revenge, she became uncontrollable and moved to swallow other things as a prank. Eventually, she was arrested for her actions by hunters sent by the Association, and was forcibly compressed into a square and imprisoned in a prison that was like a travel cat kennel.

At this point Simeon’s protest resounded again,”Why should all laws be made according to human standards? Why should humans be the most protected?”

Despite being a little short of breath, Coraci tried to say,”I should remind you… Your neighbors are not human.”

“What?”

“Demons, reanimated corpses, tree spirits,” Coraci said faintly.

Simeon was quite shocked, “They… If they’re not human, why did they betray Linda?”

“Because she ate their car…”

Of course, she ate not only the cars of those three families, her desire to destroy them caused her to become addicted. She would often sneak out at night to do bad things, such as eating the mailboxes in front of people’s homes and eating street signs.

The voice of the front desk girl came over the speakers again,”Linda’s antisocial behavior has broken the rules. If you really love her, you should help her repent properly…”

“No! I want to take her away! Immediately!” Simeon’s emotions flared up again. “Or I’ll die with Coraci!”

John couldn’t help but interject,”You can’t fall to your death!”

Simeon paused and asked in a small voice,”Then how can I die?”

“You can be cut up or burned to death…” John said. This knowledge was previously unknown to him, and was all learned recently.

The gilomorph thought for a short while. Naturally, he didn’t really want to die, but just wanted to make a rather alarming threat.

Outside the elevator, the building’s property staff had called the police, and both firefighters and engineers from the elevator company had arrived and were currently deliberating rescue options. They certainly did not know that if a gilomorph wrapped itself around an elevator and forced it to fall down, the people inside would surely die. It would be even more tragic than an actual elevator crash.

Instructor Jere and the law enforcement hunters were currently discussing how to protect the hostage while nabbing the gilomorph. They had the option of attacking from the elevator shaft, but couldn’t find a good way to prevent the elevator from falling.

John felt a little helpless. He was still a trainee. He was able to get here only because he had the ability to morph into mist for a short period of time. He didn’t know how to deal with something without blood vessels, or even things with indeterminate forms, or how to help claustrophobic people.

Seeing that Coraci looked like he was having trouble breathing, John decided to take care of him the same way he would an asthmatic. He asked to put one arm around Coraci’s shoulders and for Coraci to take a deep breath with him… But Coraci waved his hand. “Come on, I… It’s not like I’m going to have a baby…”

“I know you’re not, but…” John scratched his head helplessly.

“I can let you guys have a conversation,” Coraci said to the gilomorph, his voice still weak. “And as for the rest… I don’t have access…”

Hearing him say that, Simeon’s eyes seemed to light up — of course he didn’t have eyes right now.

Coraci pulled out a marker and handed it to John. “Draw that rune for prying eyes.”

John took the pen. “For prying eyes?”

He had studied this rune, which did not seem to allow communication, but only allowed you to unilaterally view a location from a certain corner.

“Yes, here is the address…” Coraci pulled out another business card, which seemed to be the place where Linda was being held. The business card belonged to some “professional manager” and the address was a suburban development.

What Coraci gave John was not an ordinary marker. Like the silver chalk Coraci used earlier, this pen contained water mixed with some kind of powder. Although it wasn’t silver in color, it had the scent of a specialty agent.

“Where should I draw?”

“Here.” Coraci pointed to the elevator floor. The gilomorph freed a small space in the middle of the floor.

John thought, Would painting graffiti on an elevator floor be considered destruction of public property? Perhaps the building staff would call the police… Still, he deftly drew the rune. Coraci nodded in satisfaction, took the pen back, steadied his wrist, and added a few more strokes to the rune.

The center of the rune appeared as a virtual image, like a 3D projection.

The image really did look like a travel cat carrier with spells printed all around it and, behind the screen, a translucent, mauve gel similar to Amur grape jelly. It seemed that Simeon’s words were true, and his wife may indeed be a beauty among gilomorphs.

“Linda!” Simeon shouted excitedly at the image. “Did they abuse you or molest you?”

How would a prison guard molest a gilomorph… John sputtered silently in his mind.

“Oh my god, honey? Is that you?” The female gilomorph in the image squirmed a few times, she could only hear the sound and could not see the image on this side of the elevator. “I’m fine. I miss you so much… Where are you?”

The gilomorph couple started crying and wailing to each other. John looked at Coraci and once again reached out and pressed his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it’s not the first time.” Coraci didn’t look so good. He was breathing heavily, his gaze was wavering, and he seemed to have no idea how to place his hands and feet.

John wasn’t sure what “not the first time” meant, but he thought it probably meant that every elevator ride was uncomfortable, and it couldn’t be “not the first time I’ve been kidnapped”…

“Thank you,” Coraci said, forcing a smile, “for helping me… This is the second time.”

“It’s nothing. In fact, I had no idea what to do.” John shook his head. “Last time too. If not for your reminders, I would have escaped straight away.”

“Mr. Lockland, you should have a little more self-confidence.”

“Just call me John… Self-confidence? Are you saying I’m unsure of myself?”

Coraci seemed a little distracted by the conversation and his complexion looked better. “You’re rather lacking in self-confidence, aren’t you? You’re a bloodkin, superior to humans in every way, and even superior to many dark creatures… Also, the knowledge of the Association will make you more powerful.”

“But demons and gilomorphs are scary,” John said seriously, staring worriedly at the elevator car covered in pale green.

Gilomorph Simeon and his wife were still having their sorrowful heart-to-heart when the voice of the girl at the front desk came over the elevator speakers,”Gentlemen, we need to reach an agreement about this situation within thirty minutes, okay? Right now, the main entrance of the building is full of people! You’ll be discovered by regular people!”

The gilomorphs simply ignored her and continued their conversation as a couple, but Coraci’s expression suddenly became serious — the girl’s words were a code word.

Coraci secretly gave John a wink and said in a barely audible voice,”John, here comes three hunters. They will melt the gilomorph on the side of the elevator door.”

As a vampire, John already had keen senses. His hearing was enough to hear what Coraci just said. He was so surprised that he almost shouted,”What? Melt away?” 

He recalled what he had learned before: a mixture of exorcism silver and lava extract could seriously damage gilomorphs. This mixture could burn them and even melt their bodies.

Now, the gilomorph Simeon had transformed itself into a membrane that wrapped around the elevator car, trapping the car inside the elevator shaft. Hunters intend to attack him from the side of the elevator door. They could melt a hole big enough for a person to escape from the elevator.

Coraci suddenly grabbed John’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. John immediately understood what he meant: Coraci was telling him to open the elevator’s inner door.

John could indeed pull open the elevator door, although he had not done so for a long time. The last time was when he first came to the big city and did not understand the principle of elevators…. John was not afraid to break open the elevator door, he still had confidence in this; he was a little afraid the gilomorph would attack him. It would be very difficult to break free if the gilomorph were to wrap around him.

He was also afraid of the hunters outside the door. If their mixture of exorcism silver and lava extract splashed onto his body, what would he do? It would definitely be very painful…

The gilomorph and his wife’s conversation suddenly stopped. On the other side of the image, the mauve female gilomorph kept asking,”What’s wrong?” as the gilomorph Simeon fell silent. He seemed to have discovered something.

Suddenly, there was an ear-splitting bang outside the elevator car, followed by Simeon screaming in agony.

Coraci gestured to John,”Now!”

John noticed that the green film on the side of the elevator door had thinned out and disappeared within two seconds! He immediately approached the door and pressed his fingers so hard that the metal immediately dented. The elevator doors made a metallic scraping sound and were forced open, parting to the left and right.

The elevator was stuck halfway between floors, and a person could just barely climb onto the nineteenth floor from the upper half of the doorway. The moment he opened the door, John saw the blonde hunter Carolyn.

Instructor Jere’s voice also sounded from outside,”Stop the attack! We have to let the confinement spell finish first…”

He hadn’t finished speaking when the elevator suddenly shook violently!

Gilomorph Simeon screamed in anger. His body squeezed out of the elevator shaft, consolidated quickly, and lunged at Carolyn and the other two hunters.

The elevator hoist cable had been destroyed long ago. The gilomorph that had wrapped itself around the elevator car and trapped it in the elevator shaft suddenly rushed out.

Just as the hunters prepared to attack the gilomorph, the elevator, now without its anchor, plummeted down.

 

From The Unthreatening Creature Protection Association’s Guide to Unscientific Monsters:

Vampires (Bloodkin)

Fears and Weaknesses

They cannot enter a home without being invited. Public spaces are exceptions. (This is a traditional rule… I guess.)

They dislike running water, though it’s not an absolute barrier — mostly psychological. Oceans? They can just buy a plane ticket or take a red-eye flight.

They dislike the smell of garlic but aren’t afraid of it, similar to how I hate white fungus and feel nauseated just looking at it. It’s not the fungus’s fault.

Holy water and other sacred items cause actual physical harm. Mere symbols or signs only provoke aversion or fear — they don’t injure. Certain magical runes, however, can inflict damage, not just on vampires but on many other things as well.

Being stabbed in the heart doesn’t kill them immediately; decapitation does. Besides sunlight, ultraviolet lamps also harm them… though humans aren’t fond of UV light either!

Other traits are largely what people commonly expect from vampires, but honestly, none of this is the point. John, in particular, is utterly ordinary — completely devoid of any sinister glamour.

 

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