With hunger gnawing at him, Tenma attempted to grab some of the rat corpses nearby.
He had devised a plan, although it would take some time. If he could eat the rats and stack up a large quantity of their bones, perhaps he could do something with them and use them to escape from under the rocks.
The angel tried to help again, but he couldn't make contact with any physical material around him, and the surviving rats had already escaped. Now there were only two left.
Both of them were feeling very good despite everything, their spirits were high. They had been able to defeat several enemies and learn more about each other's abilities.
Tenma, for his part, congratulated the angel on his ability to possess bodies. They had theorized that perhaps the angel couldn't escape from a body unless it died, and then he, as the soul of the body, would be freed again.
Another possible solution they had planned was for Tenma to let himself be possessed by the angel, but he feared that if he had to explode like that giant rat, then he might not be able to regenerate again. Although, of course, the pieces that had caused the rat to explode were no longer there.
As they had some time while Tenma devoured the rat corpses, he occasionally checked his list of unlocked abilities.
[Name: Shinma]
[Species: Shiba Inu]
[HP: 20/100]
[Level: 2]
[Abilities:
Immortality: Lv 999
Detection: Lv 002
Regeneration: Lv 002]
As far as he knew, he had the Immortality ability since the beginning of his new life.
Curiously, he looked at the angel, trying to see if he could extract its statistics.
[Name: ???]
[Species: Angel]
[HP: ???/???]
That was all that appeared in the pop-up window above his head, although there wasn't much to analyze; the angel was busy trying to possess dead bodies in vain, experimenting with his newly discovered ability.
Apparently, Tenma could only see the basic statistics of living beings around him, such as their name, species, and HP.
So, it was advantageous for him to level up his abilities sooner, as he would feel safer. To be honest, the situation didn't worry him too much. At least he could count on someone for company from now on, someone he could fully trust.
And the taste of the rats wasn't too bad either.
The angel turned his head for a moment upon hearing the noise of some small rocks coming from the entrance of the path Tenma and he had come through, noticing that someone was approaching.
["Hey, hey, hey! It seems another one of the rats has returned."]
The angel seemed too excited because the experience of being in a mortal body had seemed interesting to him, if he put aside all the pain of the battle. Perhaps he could do something more to help Tenma by possessing the rat that was approaching.
And finally, he emerged. But it wasn't a rat, it was the squirrel from before. Dave.
Seeing the angel approaching quickly to possess him, Tenma barked forcefully to stop him.
"Be careful, it seems he hasn't died when I devoured him... If his brain is somehow infected with a virus, it could cause you some trouble if you possess him."
The angel stepped back, understanding. He had also realized that Tenma had become a little more attentive to details than before.
["That... that's true."]
Tenma would try to emerge with the bones he had accumulated, but he couldn't do much with the few he had. He feared that if the zombie squirrel approached him, he wouldn't be able to defend himself completely; although he still had his claws and fangs.
The squirrel approached slowly towards the puppy, walking on all fours. And the closer the distance between the two, Tenma noticed something that left him astonished.
["Tenma! If I don't possess him, he could attack you!"]
"No, wait!" Tenma thought forcefully, not wanting to bark at the squirrel, who moved his whiskers while placing his hand on the puppy's forehead. "He... he's alive. This time for real... He's alive!"
The angel's eyes widened, confused, approaching the squirrel.
["Then there would be no problem in possessing him..."]
Just before the angel attempted to enter the squirrel's body, it placed its small paws under the rocks, lifting itself with great strength. It pulled the puppy forcefully to free him and would leave him on the ground, replacing the stones back in place.
Tenma would be stunned, looking at the ceiling without understanding what had happened.
Although, he had his body completely damaged from the waist down.
Letting out a scream of pain, he fell unconscious again.