38
Chapter 38
Beep-beep-beep-beep-
Following the fiercely ringing signal, they arrived at the very bottom of the entrance to the first carriage of the Train.
There, a thick mist of blood had spread out like a solid mass. It was about the size of a watermelon.
Underwater, the only liquid that takes such a shape is a Hunter's blood.
It was almost an absolute certainty that the Corpse of Alexandra Carmen of the Slayers was inside.
"Did you happen to find Alexandra's Artifact in the second carriage?"
"No."
"Then there's a high chance it's in the first carriage. Please take a look."
"Why not."
Bertea swam into the first carriage of the Train.
Left alone, Parang nervously gulped and reached her hand into the blood mist.
Thud-
Something touched her hand.
Groping around to check its shape, she realized it was a skull.
She couldn't feel anything below the neck, but fortunately, a Dive would still be possible.
Parang lifted the skull.
The blood mist followed it up.
Parang carefully placed it into a sack she took out of her Suit.
If she delivered this to Cylo, they would separate the blood and send the Skeleton to Xiao.
#
Meanwhile, Bertea.
She entered the first carriage.
Just like under the gas stove in the Hong Kong Hive, the interior of the Train's first carriage looked nothing like a train.
The inside of the Train's first carriage was a Cave. Thick clumps of Rock tightly packed the Train, so the actual interior space was only about half of what it appeared from the outside.
The color scheme inside was also entirely different, a very dark and deep blue. It was so dark that she could barely make out the silhouettes of objects in front of her.
Whir-
As Bertea activated her Skill, her eyes changed, the sclera turning black with red irises.
In this state, Bertea was no different from a living, ultra-high-performance radar.
Something caught Bertea's eye as she carefully scanned her surroundings.
It wasn't an Artifact.
A strange space in the center of the first carriage was completely filled with arms.
Massive arms stretched out from the crevices of the haphazardly piled Rock.
Countless giant, white arms, stiffly frozen without a single movement, reached out from the Floor, the walls, and the ceiling, all pointing toward a single spot.
It was a Monster Fish.
Its designated name was Brachium, meaning arm in Latin.
It truly was an incredibly intuitive name.
'No wonder.'
It was suspiciously empty of Monster Fish inside the first carriage, but was it because Brachium had settled there?
To think she would see a Brachium here. She had encountered one before, but hadn't had the luxury to study it then.
In the center, where the countless arms were reaching, several arms appeared to be supporting a giant white Sphere.
'Wait, a Sphere?'
Even Bertea had never seen it holding a Sphere before. Normally, it was just supposed to be arms.
Bertea felt a strong urge to study the Brachium.
Brachium was an ultra-rare Monster Fish that had only been sighted three times before.
Moreover, it had appeared right before her eyes in a form that had never been seen before.
It wouldn't be strange if Bertea went completely crazy over it.
However, Bertea held herself back.
She wanted to approach and study it right this instant, but there were more pressing matters at hand.
Besides, wasn't that the Monster Fish that Parang needed for her broadcast tomorrow? Given Brachium's behavioral traits, that specimen was likely the last Monster Fish left in this carriage.
If she were to study it herself, it would cause a huge disruption to Parang's broadcast tomorrow.
Bertea exerted superhuman patience and resisted the temptation.
Before long, she was able to find a Necklace embedded with a green Jewel, lying by itself a short distance away from the Brachium.
Next to it was a lump of blood.
When Bertea used her Skill to look through the lump of blood, she saw a brutally crushed and mangled Corpse inside.
Seeing that there was no Magic Stone, it seemed the Brachium had already taken care of it.
Bertea headed outside, feeling goosebumps rising on her arms.
#
"Did you find it?"
Parang asked as Bertea came out of the first carriage, and Bertea pulled out the green Necklace.
"I've roughly finished the Dispel. But...."
"Hmm."
Bertea trailed off, and Parang also let out a low groan.
It was because the Necklace in Bertea's hand was already half-destroyed.
The embedded Jewel must have shattered, as only about a quarter of its original size remained, the chain was broken and dangling, and all the once-beautiful decorations were completely crushed.
"It was already in this state when I found it. There was nothing but the Brachium nearby."
"A Brachium? In the Train?"
"Yeah."
A Brachium. Parang pondered.
Certainly, something like a Brachium would make for good broadcast content. Its appearance alone was a spectacle. It wasn't gross, yet it was terrifying, perfectly capturing the feeling of the unknown Deep Sea.
She didn't know why a Brachium had settled down here, but there was no use in arguing possibilities over something that had already happened.
And there was something more important than a mere Brachium taking up residence in the Train.
A Divine Object-grade Artifact had been destroyed.
There was a high probability that it was destroyed beneath Hawaii.
Even though Brachium was strong, it wasn't strong enough to break a Divine Object-grade Artifact.
Parang stared at the green Necklace.
Unlike during the Departure, this time she could immediately recognize what this was.
'Evidence.'
An Artifact, Evidence.
The strongest Druid in history, Alexandra Carmen. It was the Artifact she always carried around from the middle to the latter half of the Novel.
At this point, Hunter Han Siwoo's crafting ability felt like it had almost reached the limits of a Human, so all sorts of extraordinary Artifacts made an appearance.
And the ability of 'Evidence' was 'sharing memories'.
As the Novel progressed, Hunter Han Siwoo faced a situation where he had to sacrifice his memories, so he created this Artifact, named it 'Evidence', and entrusted it to Alexandra.
Later, while the completely amnesiac Hunter Han Siwoo was running wild in confusion, Alexandra, unable to bear harming him, took all his attacks head-on and approached him.
Bleeding from wounds all over her body and shedding Tears from her eyes, Alexandra faced Han Siwoo and placed 'Evidence' against his chest while saying the line, 'I love you.' This still ranks as one of the best scenes in the Novel.
Thanks to that, the fandom once passionately burned with the 'Alexandra True Heroine Theory'.
Parang remembered it because it was a part that left a deep impression on her as well.
Pure love blooming in the midst of a harem.
She knew it would actually exist.
And as Parang picked up the tearful evidence of love, a Notification Window popped up before her eyes.
[ [Caution] The state of the Artifact is unstable. Malfunctions, destruction, or other phenomena may occur when using this Artifact. ]
'Hmm.'
It seemed necessary to take it to Cylo at least once.
They would fix it or do something about it.
Thus, what Parang had obtained: Alexandra's skull, blood, and 'Evidence'.
The most meaningful of all was undoubtedly the skull. With this, she could get one step closer to the truth behind the Slayers' deaths.
The most meaningless thing was the blood. She could extract Alexandra's Skill through this blood, but it wouldn't be of any help to Parang at all.
Because Alexandra was a Druid.
To recall a few Skills that came to mind right now,
[ Blessing of the Earth Mother (S) ]
[ Can be activated when standing on the earth one has blessed. ]
[ Grants powerful vitality to up to twenty designated people. ]
[ Verdant Blossom (S) ]
[ Can be activated when there is a Seed planted by oneself nearby. ]
[ Immediately grows the Seed into the desired plant species. ]
[ Natural Fortress (S) ]
[ Can be activated when one has stepped on the ground and remained motionless for two hours. ]
[ Divine Body (S) ]
[ The designated Ascension Ritual must be completed. ]
[ Possesses a Divine Body. ]
......
......
And so on. Etc.
Thinking about it, Alexandra must have suffered the most when they came to the sea.
Unlike the other Slayers, she was truly no different from a normal person the moment she moved underwater.
As for the Divine Body, Parang didn't really know what it was either. There had to be some description in the Novel to know, after all.
Even at Cylo, they said they were still researching what exactly the Divine Body was, and whether it was actually a Divine Body at all.
Since the Status Window just called it a Divine Body, they simply accepted it as such.
Anyway. The point was that Alexandra's Skill was truly of no use to Parang whatsoever.
Since Alexandra was a Druid, there was absolutely zero overlap in their Skills.
It was a shame for Parang.
This also applied to all the members of Oceanus.
Anyway, Parang and Bertea headed for land with their loot.
On their way up, she received a text message on her Cellphone.
She thought it was from Cylo, but it was sent by Russell.
Russell Bright: Who am I?
Russell Bright: (A selfie giving a thumbs-up while holding a B-Rank Hunter License.)
Russell Bright: B-Rank Hunter Russell Bright
He did say he was taking the B-Rank Hunter exam last time.
Was the results announcement day today?
If that was the case, Parang couldn't just sit still either.
Yoo Parang: I see. So you've become a B-Rank too.
Yoo Parang: In that case, Elvira Petrov, Bertea Fabron, Xiao. You are expelled from Oceanus.
Yoo Parang: Our Oceanus is a B-Rank Hunter party, so we don't need C-Ranks like you.
Of course, their ranks meant absolutely nothing, but that just made it all the more perfect for teasing.
It felt almost like a customary event by now.
Elvira Petrov: Cut the bullshit.
Xiao: I seriously ought to smack her.
Parang smiled in satisfaction and turned off her Cellphone.
Bertea's gaze toward her was practically overflowing with disbelief.
"Is it fun?"
"Huh? I can't hear you because you're a C-Rank."
Parang swam away from Bertea at a formidable speed.
Bertea, who was dumbfounded for a moment, soon grasped what Parang had just said and immediately chased after her.
"Hey!! I can get a B-Rank too if I put my mind to it!!"
"Then go get it right now!!"
The voice of Parang, who was far ahead, couldn't have been more aggravating.
It was all her karma, so what could she do?
Parang slept like a baby for the first time in a while that day, and Bertea, having returned to France, immediately filled out and submitted an Application Form for the B-Rank Hunter exam. This was her 11th time.