44
Chapter 44
"W... what is that?"
Oceanus had fought countless battles at sea, but even they had never seen Monster Fish swarm like clouds like that.
"That's a 'Ghost Ship', right?"
"Yeah. I think so."
Monsters where every single one of them held the position of apex Predator in the ecosystem.
If Brachium was an unverified Predator, the Ghost Ship was the real deal.
There were many sighting records, and Oceanus had plenty of experience fighting them.
Through that process, they were classified as 'apex predators'.
And there were nearly hundreds of such Ghost Ships.
Besides them, an endless array of Monster Fish with unimaginable danger stretched out.
Of course, there were also countless Monster Fish that Oceanus had never encountered before.
Furthermore, the 'Statues' were also swarming in like an army.
Compared to the Pit from earlier, this was definitely a much harder battle.
No, but, still.
'Still, it looks like the Slayers can manage....'
It was certain to be a very, very difficult fight.
"Hmm, seems manageable?"
"It looks that way to me too."
However, just like the conversation the Slayers were having, it wasn't a battle where they would be absolutely annihilated.
They even had the insurance of an emergency Escape Device.
For the Slayers, who didn't know why they were dragged into this underwater area during Ascension, fighting and winning here to gather information was the right call.
"If it gets dangerous, escape immediately. If this is really Earth, we should be able to teleport to our Hideout just fine."
Hunter Han Siwoo quickly made a judgment.
"Got it."
"They're swarming in so disgustingly."
And so, the final battle of the Slayers began.
#
"Eek!!"
"Alexandra!! Are you okay?!"
"Yeah. It just grazed my side."
Han Siwoo instantly approached Alexandra, who had let out a shrill scream, to check on her.
Certainly, the tide of battle was turning against the Slayers.
In a fight against an absolute majority, a single hit naturally brings about immense damage.
Parang and Oceanus felt it clearly.
If it were only the army of Monster Fish that swarmed the Slayers, the Slayers would have achieved victory.
Even though a few of them might have had to use their Escape Device.
However, that thing.
"Pause it for a second. I think this angle shows it the best."
There was something extremely bizarre mixed in among the swarm of Monster Fish.
Its size wasn't that big. No, rather, it was incredibly small.
A micro-sized Monster Fish that seemed to barely reach 2 meters.
At first glance, it looked like black fog.
It writhed, had no definite shape, and its outline was difficult to grasp.
If it weren't for the glowing purple light radiating from within, they wouldn't have even known it was a living creature.
And that black fog, despite its small size of less than 2 meters, was having a profound impact on the battlefield.
First was the Mental Attack.
"Siwoo. I feel strange."
"...You too? I've been feeling it for a while."
All the Slayers complained of symptoms akin to suffering a Mental Attack.
They all shared a strong desire welling up in their hearts: 'I want to protect that black fog.'
Since the black fog was clearly their enemy, it was safe to assume that a very powerful Mental Attack capable of piercing the Slayers' Mental Barrier was continuously coming at them.
Anyway. With the constant urge to protect the enemy they were supposed to fight, the battle became incredibly uncomfortable.
This was significantly degrading the Slayers' combat abilities.
Second was the enhancement of the Monster Fish's abilities.
The trigger for this was Olivia's attack.
"Damn it, this is so annoying!!!"
The Mental Attack must have been extremely bothersome, as Olivia Cloverfield exerted strong willpower and blindly fired her Skill at the black fog.
Even then, the Mental Attack continued to take effect, causing most of her Skill to miss, but exactly one hit.
A 'Stone Spear' pierced right through the black fog.
Whether it was flustered by the sudden hit, or if it was in pain.
Whatever it was, the black fog shriveled up completely before slowly returning to its original size.
And at that moment,
■■■■-!!!
■■■■―!!!
♬♪♩♪♬-!!!
The cloud-like swarm of Monster Fish gathered before them suddenly started moving twice as fast as before.
"Oh, damn it!! What's this all of a sudden!!!"
"I don't know!! Why are they suddenly...!!"
That sudden change created a gap in the Slayers' solid defense,
"Eek!!!"
"Alexandra!! Are you okay?!"
Which led to the consequence of Alexandra, who had the lowest combat power, taking a hit.
And that wasn't all. The behavior of the Monster Fish also became more 'intelligent'.
If they were just blindly charging in until earlier, now it felt like they were utilizing their numbers very wisely.
Their attack pattern was roughly like this.
■■■■■■■!!!
The powerful Monster Fish, including the Ghost Ship, or
Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.
slightly massive Statues would rush in and launch near-suicidal attacks without sparing their bodies.
"Urgh...!!"
The targeted Slayers would block it with a powerful Skill, becoming temporarily incapacitated by the demerit.
"Charlotte! Are you okay?!"
"I'm okay..., just a bit tired. I'll get better soon."
Then the remaining Slayers would form an escort formation to protect her.
However, even if it was an escort formation, they could only surround and guard her from all sides. Due to personnel limits, anything more was impossible.
Then, in that timeframe, tens of thousands of Monster Fish would relentlessly rush in, aiming for the escorted target.
Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.
Of course, the Statues and the powerful Monster Fish rushed in just the same.
They attacked recklessly without sparing their bodies, as if it was worth dying just to land a single bite.
"Damn it...!! Taejeolgeom Ninth Form!! Jeolwol!!"
Then, to block the surging Monster Fish, another powerful Skill would be used, creating another gap in their manpower.
As this repeated, eventually Han Siwoo stepped forward and wiped out the Monster Fish in one fell swoop, and then,
Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.
Swoosh!!!
Without a moment's delay, the powerful attack from earlier flew in from a fierce angle once again.
Thirty minutes before Alexandra's death. The tide of battle was turning extremely unfavorably for the Slayers.
And in the midst of that chaos, Alexandra seemed to have made a decision.
"Siwoo!! I'm escaping!!"
"Got it!"
If the battle continued like this, Alexandra would definitely become a burden, so she intended to escape first.
Then, with a resolute expression, Alexandra used her Escape Device.
In an instant, her vision was covered in light.
It meant the Escape Device had activated normally.
She looked at Siwoo for the last time through her blurring vision and spoke.
"I love you."
"Yeah. Me too."
And so Alexandra tried to teleport to the Slayers' Hideout... located somewhere on Earth.
However,
Thud-!!
"Ugh...!!"
The sound of something heavy falling, or perhaps something exploding massively underwater. Anyway, a sound similar to that filled the battlefield.
"Si, Siwoo!!"
They had never heard a sound like this before; some kind of unexpected variable had definitely occurred on the battlefield.
For a moment, Alexandra wore an extremely anxious expression, but she soon relaxed her face and seemed to brace herself with determination.
It was a response likely made possible by her trust in Siwoo.
She probably planned to move to the Hideout above water and find a way to help Siwoo.
But upon seeing the place she had been teleported to, Alexandra's expression couldn't help but stiffen rigidly.
"Wh-where... where is this...?"
It made sense, because the place she was transported to was the East Sea Hive.
For Alexandra, who didn't know of the Hive's existence, escaping from a fight in the Deep Sea only to end up in the Deep Sea again was naturally baffling. She had no choice but to panic.
However, the part that truly shocked her was something else.
"M-my body...!!"
It was because her body had gone completely stiff, unable to move a muscle.
From the neck down, she had absolutely no sensation; she was just hardened like a stone.
"What, what is this...."
Parang was also slightly surprised.
'Just how can someone paralyze a Divine Body like that.'
"S-Status Window!"
Alexandra urgently called up her Status Window. Oceanus, who was sharing her vision, could naturally see it as well.
And surprisingly,
[ Status Effect ]
[ None ]
She didn't have any Status Effect on her at all.
"What?!"
"Gah! Jeez, you startled me!"
There was a brief commotion because Elvira suddenly yelled.
That was how shocking it was.
How on earth was this possible without a Status Effect?
Furthermore, the surprises didn't end there.
"Ugh, aaaaah!!!"
Suddenly, a purple light filled Alexandra's eyes, and she let out a scream.
"Wh-what!! Who is it!!"
Those were Alexandra's words.
"Who... what does she mean by that."
"I don't know this part either."
Before long, Alexandra stopped screaming.
And surprisingly... she looked at ease.
She nodded her head, her eyes showed a questioning look, and she even suddenly flinched in surprise.
The purple glow lingering in her eyes remained the same, and her body was still motionless.
After about 20 minutes passed, that problematic purple light disappeared from Alexandra's eyes.
Compared to when she first arrived at the East Sea Hive, she looked noticeably exhausted and haggard.
"Ugh...."
The hopeful part was the fact that her body could move. However, Alexandra seemed to have already exhausted all her energy and didn't even think about swimming.
"Haa... haa...."
Instead, she chose a different method.
Vwoooom-
The Artifact she possessed, the Evidence.
An item that could store one's memories and share them with others.
As Alexandra brought it to her forehead, a bright green light softly leaked out.
"What is she doing?"
"She's saving her memories into the Artifact."
It was exactly the same as the description in the Original Work Novel.
The surprising thing was that the Artifact, the 'Evidence', was breaking with a crack, crackle.
Since a case like this had naturally never appeared before, Parang was also puzzled.
Before long, the green light faded away.
The memory storage was complete.
The 'Evidence' now looked exactly the same as when Parang had found it.
Alexandra squeezed out her last bit of energy and threw it toward the entrance visible in the distance.
In no time, the giant arms that had been in the corner of her vision had approached right in front of her.
What waited ahead was undoubtedly death.
However, Alexandra closed her eyes as if dreaming.
Peacefully, as if falling asleep.
"I love you."
With Alexandra's final word, the Dive ended.