Transformation usually meant changing from a weak form into one with great power, often accompanied by a change in appearance, like Sailor Moon, Ultraman, Super Saiyan 1, 2, 3, and 4, and Kamen Rider. These days, it also often meant a man turning into a woman, or a woman into a man. After changing sex, both men and women often had strikingly good looks.
There was a time when transformation novels were one of my favorite genres, too.
The most exciting part was guessing whether the transformed male protagonist would be a yuri or get married. Whenever I saw the protagonist flirting with girls, I got incredibly excited. Whenever I saw him harassed by guys, groped, or even forced, I'd let out a lewd laugh.
But now that it was my turn, I realized this wasn't funny at all.
Would I get used to having a woman's body? How would I deal with men harassing me? How would I choose my sexual orientation? Would my heart eventually turn into a woman's, too? If I managed to return to Earth, would my parents still recognize me? One headache-inducing question after another crowded my mind. The last one was especially troubling. If even my parents didn't recognize me, what would be the point of going back?
In the end, I gave up thinking. There was no point worrying about all that now. I could only take things one step at a time...
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Once I'd composed myself, I started thinking about what to do from here. My ultimate goal was to go back, and that was nonnegotiable. As for how, I could only start by investigating that Blood Mist.
The Blood Mist was almost certainly a resident of this world. Somehow, it had crossed over to Earth, and I vaguely remembered that in the spatial rift, after its consciousness vanished, the remaining part seemed to merge into my body! My body's transformation had to be related to that! Since it could alter my body, then, judging by the way web novels usually worked, inheriting some of the Blood Mist's memories was entirely possible. All I had to do was find a way back among those fragments of memory!
Memories... memories... Right, I remembered. When I was unconscious, I seemed to have dreamed of something. There was a man's voice speaking to me—or maybe to the Blood Mist... What had he said?
"So, you finally figured out what materials are needed to construct a World Crossing Gate?"
"Boundary Breaking Armor, Crystal Realm Fruit, Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire, Truth Incantation, Rakshasa True Word, Gleaming Gold South-Pointing Compass... What a bunch of troublesome things."
...That was it!
The "World Crossing Gate" the man in my dream had mentioned had to be some kind of device that could travel between worlds. It was the key to getting back to Earth!
As for those materials... Just from their names, they were clearly no ordinary things. If I wanted to gather them, I'd have to wait until I understood this world better.
Anyway, getting such a major lead so soon was beyond anything I'd expected. My next step was to leave the forest and find somewhere people lived. Better yet, I could find a library or something and learn about this world.
Feeling greatly encouraged, I slapped my butt and got to my feet. (The soft sensation against my palm made me lose focus for a moment.) I started walking... then heard a scream in the distance.
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"Hah... hah... Damn it, why is there a Bone Armor Lion on the outskirts of the forest? And a full-grown one, at that!" one of the two men in white from earlier wailed as he ran.
"Quit complaining and figure out how to fend it off!" said the other, raising his right hand. A mighty current of air gathered around it.
"Take this, Wind Blade!"
The man swung his right hand down with all his might. The mass of air in his hand instantly condensed into a blade and shot free, carving a vacuum through the air before striking the Bone Armor Lion in the head!
"Roar!" The Bone Armor Lion bellowed. Its speed didn't slow—in fact, it increased. The enormous Wind Blade left only a shallow mark on its forehead. It hadn't done any real damage; it had only enraged the beast!
"Its shell's too hard! I can't hurt it!"
"Then what do we do? Just focus on running?"
"I can manipulate the wind to make us move faster! You use your detection ability to scout the way!"
"Got it!"
As he ran, the man who could control wind spread his arms wide in an almost comical gesture. A powerful current of air gathered around both men's legs and propelled them forward. The other man held a compass in one hand and released an invisible detection field centered on himself. Everything within its reach, from giant trees to broken stones, became crystal clear.
"There's a river ahead! Bone Armor Lions hate water. We might lose it if we reach the river!"
"Finally, you're good for something!"
"Hey—huh?"
"What is it?"
"I think there's someone by the river!"
"Who? Someone from the Lineage?"
"I don't know! Let's just run!"
Crash! The two men burst out of the bushes at full speed, and then—both of them froze.
A woman stood by the quietly flowing river. Her black hair gleamed like silk, her skin was as smooth as jade, and her flawless face was adorned with delicate features. Her half-naked body glimmered in the moonlight, like a water goddess rising from the river, yet also like an alluring demoness. Purity and temptation, two utterly different qualities, coexisted in her beautiful form, leaving both men's minds completely blank.
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I was still wondering whether I should go see what was happening when the two men I'd seen earlier burst out of the woods across from me. They both looked disheveled, but the moment they spotted me, they stopped in their tracks and stared at me, dumbfounded... That was when I realized I still hadn't gotten dressed! I stood there, at a loss for what to do—
"Roar!"
A monster suddenly sprang out from behind the two men and lunged at them with a roar. Only then did they snap out of it. One of them waved his hand, and a gust of wind swept across the ground, shoving both men aside just in time for them to evade the monster's pounce.
The beast looked like a lion, but it was several times larger than an ordinary one. Its entire body was covered in bone-white plates, layered over one another like armor and encasing it from head to toe.
After its attack missed, the Bone Armor Lion suddenly stopped moving, standing still as the layers of bone plates on its body opened and closed with each breath.
One of the men cried out in alarm, "Damn it, this beast has evolved Bone Darts! We're done for!"
As soon as he spoke, several bone plates on the Bone Armor Lion began to buzz. In the blink of an eye, they shot toward the men!
One of them failed to dodge in time. His chest was struck, and he died on the spot. The other man shouted and swung his arm with all his might, releasing a Wind Blade that scattered the Bone Darts. He'd just begun to catch his breath when a Bone Dart shot through his head at an incredibly tricky angle, splattering his brains everywhere!
Seeing that both men were dead, the Bone Armor Lion threw back its head and roared, as if gloating over its victory.
But its roar abruptly cut off when it realized there was still someone else present—I was still there.
I was completely stunned. I'd spent eighteen peaceful years on Earth. How could I have ever seen anything like this? Two living people had withered away just like that. The thick stench of blood stung my nostrils and made me want to retch. The yellow-white brain matter assaulted my eyes and frayed my nerves. But even more terrifying was the ferocious beast responsible for it all. It only had to look at me to make my legs go weak and leave me unable to move.
The Bone Armor Lion seemed to see how frightened its prey was. It gave a soft growl, as if mocking my weakness. The bone plates covering its body began to open and close again, slowly preparing for another attack.
What should I do? What should I do? On one side was a terrifying beast; on the other, a helpless weakling. The difference in strength was obvious. I didn't stand a chance!
There was only one thing to do: run! If I could make it into the dense woods, the trees might shield me from its Bone Darts!
Having made up my mind, I bolted. At the same moment, several Bone Darts shot toward me!
I couldn't dodge—
At the last moment, I instinctively shut my eyes. I'd barely escaped the Blood Mist with my life, and now I was about to die in a lion's jaws... I'd only just decided what to do next... My journey home hadn't even begun... To end like this—
I didn't want to!!!!!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A strange, prickling numbness suddenly spread through my arms. Then, from right beside me, came the sound of impacts. The death I'd expected never came.
Slowly, I opened my eyes.
Scattered across the ground lay broken bone plates.
And hovering before me was a blood-red shield.