KYODAI KATATSUMURI

Lore

Kyodai Katatsumuri translates literally as “Giant Snail.” Legends portray it as a creature that emits eerie sounds after dark and lays waste to farmers’ fields. Outwardly the yokai is described as an oversized land snail: a body stretching ten to sixteen feet (3—5 m) long, a massive, fleshy foot coated in toxic mucus, and an extremely durable spiral shell.

Its main anatomical anomaly is an enlarged mantle cavity that can create a vacuum and suck a victim into the shell, where a person or large animal is slowly dissolved by digestive fluids. The shell is almost impervious to stabbing or slashing weapons. While the slime corrodes both organic matter and metal, causes paralysis and, as the creature moves, bonds the soil into a sticky mire that makes maneuvering difficult.